Evo Akira guide for beginners

I have recently noticed an influx of new players of VF and more so some new Akira players at this site. As an idea I though I would write a guide to enable a completely new person to the VF series, a chance at playing him as a first character. With that in mind I've an awful lot of basic infomation I wanted to get down and as such will deal with this at first. Hopefully this should also be useful to older players who may have just joined the site and have a feel for what they are doing but may not know exactly what all the terms and abbreviations mean. So, without delay I'll begin on...

1.BASICS

Frames: In essence VF is built on the concept of frames. 1 frame = 1/60th of a second ( ie 60 frames per second ). All moves have a set amount of frames ( time ) associated with their execution and other properties such as hit on a guarded opponent or counter hit for example. Whilst not integral to a new players understanding it is important to have an idea of what they are. I'll try not to refer to frames too much in what I write other than to illustrate how fast a move is. If you look on a characters move list on this site you will see the frame data for each move. This lists how many frames it takes to execute and whether you have an advantage or disadvantge on the move being gurded or a normal hit or a counter hit. You may often see people on the forum discussing things like +2 frame adv or when at -6 frame disadv for example. This simply refers to whether you or your opponent has the advantage after a particular move. If you have a +2 frame adv then your opponent has a -2 frame disadv and so on. Some moves will leave you in such a disadvantaged state that when blocked your opponent will have a guarnteed follow up for example the move is called a guaranteed throw move since if it is blocked your oppponent is guaranteed a throw ( this is a slightly misleading description as you shall see later that all throws can actually be escaped ).

Hit type: All moves in VF have the property of being high, mid or low in nature ( some special moves will be none ). Holding will block high and mid attacks and leave you open to a throw or a low attack and holding ( ie ducking and holding guard ) will let you dodge throws and high moves , block low attacks but will leave you open to mid attacks and low throws.

Counters: There are two types mC and MC:
MC is a Major Counter hit and this is when your move hits an opponent as there move is about to hit you. Flash damge is yellow. MC hits will generally leave you with a large advantage.
mC is a Minor counter or recovery counter. This is when you hit an opponent when they are recovering after doing a move. Flash damage is red. Maybe less useful than MC hits but still useful none the less.

Weight: There are 4 classes of weight. LWs are Light Weights and include Aoi, Pai and Sarah. MWs are Middle Weights are most common and include most characters. Akira and Jacky are defined to be middle heavy weights and Jeffry and Wolf are Heavy Weights. The weight of a character will affect the range of moves or combos you can use against them

Throws: Throws are initiated with "some direction/motion++". Low throws will only work on crouching opponents and are "some direction/motion +++". There are also catch throws as well. These generally have a slow start up. High catch throws can be interupted with a low punch and low catch throws a high punch.
All standrd throws can be escaped. To escape a throw you must input the last command of your opponents throw + + so if Akira tried to throw you with + from the p2 side you would need to enter + from the p1 side to escape it. This must be done at the time your opponent tries for the throw.

Evade: If an attack is made towards you you can use or to evade/dodge it. The motion must be quick and the stick/pad must be returned to neutral for an evade. The motion of your character will be quick. If you evade when there is no move coming at you your evade will turn into a failed evade and this is a slow move. Some moves can not be evaded due to there nature and some moves can only be evaded in a specific direction eg to evade Akiras SPoD you must evade towards his front.

Footing. This is how you stand with respect to your opponent. If both your backs or both your fronts are showing to the screen this is OPEN footing and with on back and one front showing this is CLOSED. Vs most characters you start the fight in closed footing. Some combos and moves etc will only work in one footing wheras some will work in all footing.

Inashi, Reversal, Sabaki: These are special types of attack. An inashi is a move that will deflect an attack doing little or no damage but leaving your opponent in a struggling state. A reversal is a move that will reverse an oncoming attack and cause you to score damage. In general reversals and inashis must be entered as an attack is made and must correspond to the hit level od an attack eg + is a high reversal and + is a mid reversal. A sabaki is an attack which will deflect oncoming attacks doing little or no damage. Thers are two types. A sabaki-attack will activate all the time and will do damage for example Akiras ++. A Sabaki-reversal will deflect an attack doing no damage. It will only activate on successfully deflection of an attack and like inashis and reversals must be matched with attack hit level.

TR and QR: This is the Tech Roll and Quick Rise. When knocked to the floor you have a few options of how you get up. You can use ++ as soon as you hit the floor to get up instantly and defend against any ground attacks. You can use /++ as you land to TR to safety or you can use as a rising attack. TRing can be dangerous in the wrong situation though since you are classied as crouched and thus are vunerable to low throws and other moves.

2. MOTION

Crouch Dash: The CD is a quick and effective way of entering a crouched state quickly. The command is or for forward CD/backward CD respectively. It is useful to use this in moving around quickly but also in modifying "from crouching" moves.

Modifying a move: While of good importance to Kage players in particular ( and most other characters ) this technique is more or less essential to Akira players. Akira has several moves done from a crouching position:
or
+

To use these moves in combos they generally must be modified with a crouch dash to enable them to come out quickly. Direction of the CD won't matter as long as it is done quickly and smoothly. It may not be apparent now but it is the only way to do combos like,

+(MC)>+>

The actual motion I would personally use to do this combo would be

+(MC)>+>

but different players will prefer to modify things in different ways. The correct name for what you're doing with the crouch dash in this combo is "buffering". Essentialy all this means is that you are entering the command for the move before you see it coming out. This leads nicely onto...

Guard buffering. This is the act of holding buffering a command eg letting go of and entering . This will produce Akiras Super Dashing Elbow ( SDE ) from a guarding state. This is useful since moves like or + would normally be given away by Akira twitching on screen.

Guard cancel. The act of cancelling a command by holding guard. This can be useful in combos to ensure only jabs come out eg using quickly to stop a series coming out by mistake ( the actual technique is called senbon ) or by using > into a throw to trick your opponent. Since they will see the kick animation start up they may hold guard to protect themself , thus rendering themselves vunerable to a throw.

Fuzzy guarding. Not really much do due with motion but more to do with the motion cut that happens say when you cancel a CD with . Useful in a handful of situations fuzzy guarding is basically the act of guarding a mid attack whilst avoiding a throw by holding for approximatly 4 frames. Seemingly this is cheating but it is actually a very skilled technique and good defense. There is basically a point between holding and holding in which you can avoid throws and block mids. Lots has been discussed about this and it is one of the first parts of challenge mode on the evo disc.

3. OPTION SELECT

This is basically the defense options available to you. Some of these idea are from re-charred-sighs Akira FAQ and many other posts around the board. In the tutorial mode of evo and the challenge section in particular you will find lots of examples of how to use these techniques and I will run the ideas and abbreviations you are most likely to encounter:

GTE or TEG: Guarding Throw Escape or Throw Escape Guard are the same thing. This is where you enter a throw escape and then quickly release the button and keep the held down. Basically if you think your opponent is going to throw you and you enter a TE command and they don't try to throw you you will whiff ( miss ) the throw and leave yourself at a disadv. If you TEG you will guard if they don't go for a throw and will escape the throw if you guessed correctly at the throw they were attempting.

ATE: Attack TE. The idea here is that you do an attack then buffer on a TE into the end of it. Useful if your opponent always tries the same throw after blocking a big move.

RTE: Reversal TE. Entering a reversal and buffering on a TE. If the rev whiffs your opponent may try to throw. In which case you have the chance of escaping it. If the rev is successful the TE won't matter.

E-TE: An excellent form of defense the Evading TE. Useful after a guaranteed throw move ( for Akira , + , knee , ++ or evade ++ for example ). In this situation if a move gets blocked , enter an evade and buffer in a TE. If your opponent attacks you'll evade the attack if they throw you'll TE it hopefully.

E-TEG: Evading TE Guard. Just like the last option select but this time release the as before and keep held down to cut down on any whiffed TEs.

DTE/TTE/QTE: Standing for Double/Triple/Quadruple TEs. Basically entering up to 4 TEs quickly. This will seriously cut down any options your opponent has of throwing you but obviously the difficulty rises steeply which each number. These may also be combined with Evading and Guarding at the end eg E-TTEG. E-DTEG is proabably the most well used defense against throws. Aim to cut out your opponents 2 most powerful throw directions.

ECD: Evade Crouch Dash. This is entering an evade then CD very quickly and is useful in the fact it requires no TEs to be entered but the timing of it is hard ( about 5 frames is all you'll have to enter the command ). If your opponent attempts a throw you'll CD under it hopefully and if they try and attack you'll evade it.

ARE: All Round Escape. Useful to avoid a Nitaku or "forced choice tactics" scenario. A search on All Round Escape should give a link to Mykes post on it.


4. STYLES OF PLAY

Machi: This is a defensive style of play. Basically you are aiming to be moving around the arena a lot and then punishing your opponent for even the slightest slip up. Good examples would be to use SPoD after a whiffed throw attempt, >SPoD if an opponent tries to TR near you or even trying a big yoho ( ) combo after a mistake.

Oki ( Okizeme ). This is pressuring a downed opponent and thankfully Akira has many options here. can be used against those you use a low rising attack, and a + are good Vs mid rising attacks and + or are very good at hitting those who will TR. Experimenting is the key to good oki play.

Yomi: This is the act of seemingly "mind reading" your opponent. In this case you can predict so well at what your opponent will do, it is like you are reading their mind. Often this will come after playing against the same people for a while or even after a few well calculated guesses.

Nitaku: Sometimes I refer to this a forced choice tactics scenario. Basically it happens when defense is down by about 5 or 6 frames and all the defending player can do is stop a throw with a strike or a strike with a guard. Its a 50-50 mind game essentially and Akiras LBF + is a good set up to this.


5. AKIRAS MOVE ABBREVIATIONS

Finally after all this "background" knowledge I can start to get down to moves. It should be noted that more or less all of what I've covered so far can be found round this site or on the various training parts of the evo disc. It is nothing new and is suitable for all characters but I just wanted to cover it all before I make references to it from now on.

Often people will write moves in an abbreviated shorthand. I did this previously on another post but since I'm starting everything over I'll recap it all:

punch sometimes I call it jab
LP low punch
ohdbpm overhead double palm
double punch
punch kick
MP mid punch
mid punch-backstep
DE dashing elbow
SDE super dashing elbow
sgpm single palm
sgpm-DE single palm dashing elbow
stpm standing palm
dbpm double palm
overhead smash
yoho

roundhouse
shin kick
or LK low kick
SJK single jump kick
DJK double jump kick
side kick

+ shrm shoulder ram
+ DFS double fisted strike
+ BC body check
+ LBF low back fist

+ its called Zanshu but I refer to it as a modified knee
+ modified knee-punch
+ ( release after 1 frame ) knee

++ BG break guard
++ BS break stance
/++ eBC evading body check
++ power fist
++ crumbling hand
++ crumbling hand-elbow
++ to or or + not sure how to refer to this. If I mention it I'll include the commands explicately.

++>+> SPoD stun palm of doom
+>>+ DLC dragon lance combo
+>> AS3 or ABC akira special 3 or axe blade combo

+ reaping throw and punches
+ IBC inverted body check ( also near wall too )
+ + variations... PIT pull in thorw
+ CIR close in ram
+ RBC reverse body check
+ SE suprise exchange
+ PIPo pull in push out throw
+ ST stumbling trip
+ ( left or right side) elbow rush
+ ( from behind ) BF big finish

High reversal: +
Mid reversal: +
Low reversal: +

Sabaki-reversal Vs High punch/elbow/kick and low punch :++ follow up on sucessful sabaki.

Down attacks: ( light )and (heavy )

BT ( back turned attacks ): , , , , and +.

Facing a wall: ++ is a spring kick and various rising attacks are done with .

I should also make a note that when a move needs to be modified by a CD I will put m beofre its name eg m-shrm.
It is not essential for a new play to instantly recall all these moves straight away however Akira does have a smaller move list than other characters meaning almost all of them can be put to good use. Before I start anything too detailed I'll go through Akiras most well known and most asked about moves...

6. AKIRAS "BIG" MOVES

I've seen countless posts by new players with regards to these and hopefully with the titles I give to each section will come up in searches people may make to reduse new threads being started in the future...oh well heres hoping /versus/images/graemlins/grin.gif

HOW TO DO AKIRAS KNEE

The command is + release after 1 frame. Thats all there is to it. As I said before 1 frame=1/60th of a second. What you are aiming to do is scrape the guard button with your thumb as you simultaneously press the button. Its a kind of quick reflex type action. If your having trouble go to training and switch inputs onto type B ( or 2 can't recall what it is ) and enter some random commands. The small squares you see on the bottom are frames. Aim to get a "picture" that looks like:
----

ie the has only been flicked for 1 frame whilst the has been held down longer. Its mainly a matter of feeling rather than actually thinking " god press and release a button in 1/60th of a second!!??". Knees are also possible on a pad. Creed put up a vid somewhere of him doing 6 in a row and there is also a vid of kungfusmurf pulling them off on a pad too.

AKIRAS STUN PALM OF DOOM

The command is ++>+>. I aim to think of it as actually 2 commands and these are:
++ and +
I find this useful for several reasons. Firstly the ++ I do very lightly and quickly to allow me fingers time to get ready for the next part. As soon as I have released the 3 buttons I have started the direction for the RBC throw. I then think of this as one command as it stops me (well generally) only doing 2/3 of a SPoD. Like the knee it takes time, patience and practice.

AKIRAS AXE BLADE COMBO/AKIRA SPECIAL 3

The command is +>>. Primarily used to end combos ( as with DLC ). This is especially useful in evo since now beatdowns require a well timed TR and failure to do this results in a free down attack for Akira. Make sure when doing the move that the stick/pad goes through neutral from the first move to the second and FULLY back from the second to the third. Again patience and practise are required. Some combos it is useful in;

A staple few once the move has been mastered is:
>AS3 ( whenever you see AS3 you must remember a free down attack is possible after it. I won't write it down all the time).
+>AS3
knee>AS3
>+>AS3 ( this requires a modified shrm )

Some which require a counter hit:
+(MC)>AS3 ( + is good on counter as it will result in a collapse of your opponent )
(MC)>AS3
knee(MC)>knee>AS3
Not all these combos will necesarily work on everyone in any footing. I'll come onto to those ideas later.

AKIRAS DRAGON LANCE COMBO

The command is +>>+. Arguably Akiras hardest move at first. The first 2 parts must be done quite quickly and the BC can be done at regular speed. It is important to press back and forward TWICE to get the BC out. Also in evo you can now dodge after the first 2 parts to leave you wth your back turned. + can be used as a body check from here and sometimes it will give you a higher damage in a combo. DLC is mainly a combo ender and should not be used in "open play" ( or at least not the full version the 2/3 DLC evade can be useful ). Some basic combos with it:

>DLC
+>DLC ( best follow up on normal hit and closed footing )
>>DLC

When timing is no longer of importance to you things like the following can be done, fairly easily:

>>+>DLC
>>DLC
>+>DLC etc

AKIRAS SINGLE PALM-DASHING ELBOW

is the command. The elbow will only come out when you correctly time the second and the sgpm must hit or be guarded by the opponent. I think you have roughly 16/17 frames with which to hit after the sgpm makes contact but I try not to think of frames in this situation. The way I do the moves is to hold down the button and to wait till the move hits then quickly release and tap it again. The timing is strange at first as with some of his other moves as it is very fast and if it is too fast for you slow down the move in training and try to get the timing spot on. After a while hopefully the move as with the knee will be "locked" into your fingers.

7. SOME MOVE ANALYSIS

Anyone reading this who has seen my other Akira post will hopefully realise that Akira has an insane amount of variations to his combos. Instead of start another endless list of them I'll run through moves which are good to use, some combo starters and some combos. I'll try to group combos into those that a rank beginner will easily be able to pull off to those which may require some training.

Float Starters: Akira has 3 good float moves at his disposal:
Yoho
shrm + and
knee
Yoho and knee will give a bigger float than a shrm and bigger float means more damage potential. On counter moves will do more damage ( eg yohos 30 rises to 45 ) and floater moves will float even higher meaning floating a LW character with a counter hit float can do an awful lot of damage. A draw back of float moves is that they are throw counterable. This basically means that they take such a long time to recover when blocked that your opponent has a free shot at throwing you. If a floater move of yours is blocked one of the best froms of defense is to E-DETG against your opponents 2 strongest throw directions. However the risk of big damage hit or counter is what makes them worth using.
Some basic float combos:

float move>>+ if you use a shrm may require open footing
+>> open ( when you see what it means is to hold the stick/pad forward as soon as you have done the preceding move )
>>>
+>>
Slightly harder ideas would be things like:
float move >>>
float move >>+
knee/yoho(MC)>>knee/yoho> etc...
Limitations are almost endless.

Combo starters not requiring a counter hit:

, , +, + and / ++ are but a few examples.
Staple combos worth mastering:

> open
>> up to Akira and Jacky Vs HWs use >> for more consistent damage.

>
>>+ ( walk to the side and do a BC for decent damage )
{ > }
Whilst the ohdbpm is slowish coming in at 24 frames exe it can be used to catch opponents unawares.

From the RBC throw and a m-dbpm are both guaranteed follow ups. SDE is another good option.

From a ST the most consistent follow up is probably the > series and this works after break stance/guard too.

Combos from a counter hit:

+(MC)> or AS3 or DLC or knee

(MC)> or or > or or AS3 or >+>>/>+ etc...many options open

(MC)> or AS3 or DLC

For now I'll leave it like this and hope to post some actual move analysis and series ideas soon.

 

Always a welcome sight...thanks buddy.
As a beginner (been seriously studying Akira for 1 month) I hunger for any useful tidbit on Akira, and I advise any player who wants to better their game to read every FAQ you can.
Oddly, I know some folk who claim they want to improve their game, yet never bother to read any FAQ's at all.
Wierd.

 

Yes there are some excellent faqs available here. I started studying Akira about 10 months or so ago now and reading re-charred-sighs guide and having people like myke and sanjuro round helped me an awful lot.

 

Xcellent stuff man, it's good to have something usefull and interesting to read after my exams... /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
seriously: this is just what people need that aren't familiar with the "whole" VF concept yet: I'm kicking that abbrev.faq off my computer. thx

 

Yeah thanks. I did realise that if I started using abbreviations or casually saying things like fuzzy guard or E-DTEG in this situation I would just lose half my target audience as they wouldn't know what I was on about. As soon as I have some more free time in the next few days I'll try and finish off some move analysis. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Hey, it's cool you wrote a helpful guide for beginning akiras. Not many people are inspired to do these sort of things.

Try not to get mad... you're about to find out why /versus/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
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Hit type: - you should list special high at least along with the other special hit classes. There's no confusion about most but special high is important - it's the difference between someone eating sarah's + a lot and never eating it.

counters ... Flash damge is yellow. MC hits will generally leave you with a large advantage.

Damage cannot be a color :/ ...maybe explain that there's a different colored flash for MC's and they do 50% more damage.
Apply the same idea to minor counters.

Weights - unless someone invented something new, the weight classes have always been three - people usually just footnote the fact that some combos work on heavy midweights or light midweights.

High catch throws can be interupted with a low punch and low catch throws a high punch.

Catch throws can be interrupted with any attack, not specifically d+P/P. I dunno where you came up with low catch throws needing a high punch... the only low catch throw is vanessa's and vanessa can't be hit with a high punch during it - she ducks during the low throw animation.

Also on throws - there are throws with no direction + , important when playing as or against shun.

The motion must be quick and the stick/pad must be returned to neutral for an evade.

Super picky but - for the down evade, you need a neutral input... but for the up direction you don't need anything. If you keep holding up you dodge and then proceed to do all-range-movement.

Footing.

Why make up a term for something that's been called "stance" for a decade? :/
It avoids confusion to use the same terminology - that way I can see other posts that say "this combo needs closed stance for akira" and know immediately 'oh yeah, that's what csnape was talking about in his stance section'.

inashi/reversal/sabaki These are special types of attack

Inashis and reversals aren't attacks. That's why they get their own special names, "inashi" and "reversal". Sabakis are attacks, but some people debate that zero damage moves that makes the sabaki sound effect are just inashi reversals. I don't mind the idea of sabaki-attack and sabaki-reversal though.
You should mention the input for low reversals, since akira has them. You should also mention that sabakis are made to deflect incoming attacks of a specific class, not just any old incoming attack.

It will only activate on successfully deflection of an attack and like inashis and reversals must be matched with attack hit level.

It's got to be matched with attack class, not hit level - i.e. akira's b+P+K+G deflects high and low punches, not high and low anything else, not e.g. high elbows or low kicks. Also the sabaki itself comes out no matter what, it just won't necessarily sabaki something if they don't attack or do the wrong attack... i.e. I do goh's b,f+K and they don't do a mid kick, but they do a really slow move and I connect with my kick and crumple them. Bottom line is that you can and often should use certain sabaki attacks even if you don't truly expect a particular move from the opponent, cuz some sabakis are just useful attacks in general.


TR and QR - you should mention that KKK is only an option if you don't TR and QR, and that you can also do d+KKK instead. It might be worth mentioning something about rising attack priority and risk. There are other important bits you could mention about TR and QR, but a link to my TR/QR guide would probably work.

the actual technique is called senbon

Senbon is something else. Guard cancelling is an ok way to describe the trick of using to avoid getting a combo, but guard cancelling is also used to describe going i.e. , to cancel a kick. So maybe a better term needs to be made.
Senbon, for the record, is short for senbon nokku, I think it means 1,000 punches. It describes the VF2 technique of using repeated fast PKG's to kill your opponent (they couldn't block between jabs if you did P,K,G with the correct timing). People often refer to a single P,K,G as a senbon punch.

Fuzzy guarding

You explanation's sort of unclear. I'd just say that it's a technique for ducking under throws and then standing up in times to block mid attacks. You can use it to get out of an attack-or-throw guessing game at -1 situations, but only at -1. At -2 you need motion cut. For beginners, I would completely leave motion cut out of the this faq. It's difficult and it's of limited use (since you need a different technique at -1 and a completely different technique at -3 or more).

3. OPTION SELECT

This is basically the defense options available to you.

I'd retitle this. Option select is a term used to describe situations where you can use a single command that can be interpreted two ways, depending on what the opponent does. It's almost completely gone from VF now, but in VF2 for example you could do f,f+P and 'select' either a clothesline throw for sarah or an elbow... it turned into a throw if they stood and an elbow if not. Fuzzy guarding was the key to defeating it. In VF4 only dural gets an attack that doubles as a throw. ARE could maybe be called a form of option select, since you get option 1 if they attack and option 2 if they throw. I'd leave ARE out of the faq too /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Maybe just title this "Defensive options".

TEG - you should mention this is only useful after high recovery moves, and maybe list some akira examples (blocked double palm). If you are -7 or less, TE-G will not work because you will get the whiffed throw animation anyway. So TE-G is worthless when used in conjunction with i.e. blocked SDE.

ATE: Attack TE. - this is also unclear. Attack-TE is like this -
your attack is blocked ---> you enter a throw escape --> you enter an attack command. You'd use this also during guaranteed-throw situations, I think.

E-TE - Useful after a guaranteed throw move

It's actually at its most useful when you're NOT in a guaranteed throw situation. If you're in a guaranteed throw situation and try to buffer E-TE you may still get thrown due to the fact that you have to wait a bit before buffering a dodge, and during that time you could be entering legal throw escapes. Also, in the examples you use, yoho and shrm, ETE will actually fail because the opponent has a guaranteed punch counter and they'll often try P --> throw. ETE will fail because their jab throws off your timing. In the case of dodge attacks, the opponent frequently has a guaranteed combo and if the opponent is smart you can't use any defensive techniques to avoid eating a decent chunk of damage. In any case, TEG would be better.

DTE/TTE/QTE - For practical purposes, you can only combine DTE with a dodge, trying ETTEG or EQTEG always results in a whiffed throw animation. I wouldn't want newbie akiras trying to waste time doing EQTEG when they could be learning something humanly possible. To those who disagree - produce caps.

ECD - should be mentioned that this is only useful at a small disadvantage, the same way motion cut is. Very limited use, it won't let you get out of 90 percent of blocked-attack-situations. Maybe put something in the ETEG section that ETEG and EDTEG are pretty much the the best options in this entire section (unless one can do ARE?!)

ARE should be left out entirely.

STYLES OF PLAY

Machi is a style of play and should be mentioned, but my impression of machi is not the same as yours. It does involve punishing mistakes, but the key component of machi is waiting. It means to wait. The other key component is safety, never committing to big, slow, easily punished or interrupted moves.

Therefore machi isn't so much about tons of movement as it is about keeping your space and reacting to what the opponent does, rather than moving and trying to bait them into attacking. A truly machi player isn't going to try to bait a whiff and yoho combo you, nor will they try a spod in a non guaranteed guess situation. A machi player will pretty much avoid yoho or spod unless they're absolutely guaranteed (i.e. after a b+P+K+G reversal vs low punches).

Okizeme isn't a style of play, just a term used for the general habit of pressuring downed opponents, which most good VF players do regardless of how aggressive they are.


Yomi also is not a style of play, it's a term that applies to specific situations where any player (with any style) can outsmart his opponent.
It's just a key part of playing VF well... you need to know what the opponent might try to do whether you're a cautious machi player or a balls-out gambler.

Nitaku I guess could be called a style of play, but I'd call it more 'gambling'. Nitaku is usually just used to describe the -5 situations you mentioned, where you must guess between a big move or throw. Akira's LBF only creates a -2 situation for the opponent, which NORMALLY means you're setting up a guess between a weak elbow attack or throw. In akira's case he can set up a SDE-or-throw situation, which I guess qualifies as a 'big move or throw'.

Abbreviations - again, I recommend you use the ones everyone else has been using for years to avoid confusion.

QCB+P - stdbpm... or more commonly people just write "QCB+P" which is short and easy.

PP isn't useful enough to net its own special term, when people refer to it they just say PP.

K+G - I guess you could give this a special name, and there doesn't seem to be a popular one. I've heard people call it the "fake knee" since it's basically a knee with inferior stats compared to the "true knee".

d+P+K+G and f+P+K+G are called low guard break (LGB) and guard break (GB) respectively, I think.

eBC can also be called akira's DA, akira's dodge attack. On the subject of bodychecks you might want to add DBC to this list.

db+P+K+G - I tend to just call this akira's stance. Stance , Stance , etc.

The official names for throws are almost never used by anyone.
An exception is the Shin'iha (headbutt throw), which nobody calls PIPO.
b,f+P+G ... neutral P+G... df+P+G... are all referred to by their command.
Back throw is called a back throw.

AS3 This section should mention stance requirements for AS3, frequently you need to be in (closed?) stance at the start of the AS3.

sgpm-DE I think the hold punch --> release-and-press-again advice isn't necessarily good.. .it's a strange way of doing it. The sgpm-DE simply requires two normal punch presses with a certain timing. The timing is a small window (not 17 frames) and you press the second jab with the same timing you'd attempt a hit throw - basically enter the command the instant akira's palm makes contact with the opponent, whether or not they're guarding.

Combo starters not requiring a counter

I dunno if I'd include b,d+P+G ... the single palm followup isn't guaranteed vs many characters. I guess ST --> dbpm is a true combo vs everyone.

staple combos worth mastering

I'd leave out b,f+P --> ff+K,K. It's good damage and easy, but THE staple combo is jab --> dbpm, and anyone can do d+P --> dbpm. It's worth practicing those rather than learning the less reliable open-stance-only combo.

From a ST the most consistent follow up is ..

You should mention here that a double palm can be done with the easy QCB,f+P motion. The st, sgpm, dbpm should at least be mentioned even if the beginner player won't be able to do it.

------
Ok done nitpicking. I hope you didn't get irritated. If so, give yourself an hour before replying to me /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif ...it's all done in the spirit of creating a better, more accurate guide that can help people.

 

Haha no I'm not irritated at all , more glad you pointed out all those things. I realise now that some of my comments were generalistions of other things such as that vanessa low throw thing-thats what I was thinking of when I wrote it as thats what you do in tutourial. I also understand that the names eg yomi, oki aren't really styles of play but basically terms. In fact there is an awful lot of stuff I missed saying that I wanted to that you have picked up on eg ST throw follow up or name abbreviations ( some I just abbreviated from the move list as I've not heard people talk about them before )etc.. I hope what I've written thus far isn't too misleading for new players though and in future when I add stuff I'll be twice a careful as usual before I say anything.

Any way cheers for the input. /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

Creed:

"akira's b+P+K+G deflects high and low punches, not high and low anything else, not e.g. high elbows or low kicks".

Just wanted to point out that this Sabaki actually does work against High Elbows (Vanessa and Brad's f+P+K). But, nothing else, as you've pointed out.

Spotlite

 

++ deflects high kicks also.

 

People, that's not the point. Reversals / inashi work against attack classes, not hit levels in general - that was the mistake in csnape's post.

 

Hmmm yes apologies all round. What I was originally going to do was simply add a link to the sabaki, inashi and reversal guide :

http://virtuafighter.com/view.php?section=vf4&file=vf4evo_sabaki_reversal.php

Instead I tried to explain things as briefly and easily as I could. However by doing this I failed to include a lot of things I wanted to. I am aware of what move sabakis what etc... but to be quite honest I was running outta steam half way through and failed to double check things and may have even confused people with what I wrote or how I explained it. The whole last part such as the combos and that was quite rushed and I failed to mention stuff like ST>m-sgpm is NOT guaranteed as the ST can be struggled and that ST>m-dbpm is possibley a more viable option or even ST>SDE>m-dbpm which will catch even the fastest of strugglers. Or the idea that with your back to the wall ST>m-dbpm(wall hit) >knee or ST>m-sgpm>m-dbpm(wall hit)>knee is useful. I think in future I'll stick to stuff I'm 100% happy with...like playing guitar or football or something /versus/images/graemlins/smirk.gif.

Ermm hang on I did accurately say exactly what ++ sabakis in my first post, I just double checked.

 

It's hard to include everything you want the first time around, but it's still a great guide. Most of what you need to know is already in there. It's cool that you took the time to do this.

 

Thanks for that DRE /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif. I do have more I want to add but will do so when I've tested a lot of stuff out and got some ideas clear in my head.

 

Yes my fault again sorry. I never meant to imply that a beginner player should be even attempting E-T/QTEG after a blocked guaranteed throw move ( ie yoho knee or shrm ). I added it at the end of the list to make the list complete. I did try to say the in these situations E-DTEG ing is what you should be aiming for and this can be practised in training in either tutorial or challenge. With the adjustments and other things from Myke, Creed and co noted I'll timidly continue...

8. IMPORTANT COMBOS

Yes I wrote them down up the thread but didn't go into details. This is a list of combos that are "essentail" IMHO. I don't play a very flashy Akira, I try to stick to doing the basics well and often rely on a lot of the following. I'll add in variation with regards difficulty of input for new players and I'm sure some of those in the list are debatable in their own right...hopefully not too many.

1. >> up to Akira and Jacky or
>> Vs HWs. I would say this is an essential combo to learn. 55 on normal hit 67 on counter ( Vs HWs variation slightly less ). AS3 can be used for variation ( ie stpm>AS3 ).

2. (MC)>
Again this is essential IMO. Works Vs anyone. Those having trouble reacting quick enough for the DJK can sub in > for slightly less damage or even go for a heavy down attack after the gut collapse. The better follow up is and damage for this can fluctuate between 66 and 73 depending on how quickly you make the follow up hits. This is a good combo for those who are happy with .

3.+(MC)> or AS3
The DJK is the easiest follow up on counter but AS3 works well too ( I emitted DLC from the follow ups as I would regard AS3 as an easier series to use ).

4. >>+>
By far and away my favourite combo and one you should aim to get into your fingers as soon as possible. Works up to Akira and Jacky. Vs HWs use >>. Stance doesn't matter and it will score 75 on normal hit 90 on counter. Shrm and knee can also be used to start it but in closed stance the shrm will need to MC in order to get the in. Definately THE float combo to use in a lot of situations. For those having difficulty with the p>m-shrm>m-dbpm motion try >> as variation ( does slightly less ) or even >+>+.
A good beginners combo is >>+. On counter you should be able to squezze in an extra jab. A variation when playing Aoi or Pai on counter hit is:
knee/(MC)>>knee/> for 97 damage generally in closed stance I think.

5. +>> open stance.
On counter you can get two jabs in. In closed on normal hit DLC is the best follow up.

6. (MC)> or AS3
Maybe less useful than those already listed but good to be able to fall back on. I have a feeling AS3 may be best in closed stance.

7.Opponents back near wall: +>(wall hit)>+ or knee
I failed to mention the DBC before and this is +. + is basically only useful for Ring Out purposes or comboing off walls. The knee is the harder follow up. Moves can be varied upn hitting opponents onto walls depending on weight and angle and a m-dbpm is also a useful finish.

8. > or evade>+ or
Again maybe not quite essential. The QCB+p is a slow move and so is not abusable but can be easily followed by DJK for nice damage. The dodge into DBC is slightly harder to get the better damage for and the is recomended to those happy with the move.

Some from throws:

1.+> or or possibley into a further combo
The is the easiest follow up for a back stagger. The m-dbpm is harder but better damage. SDE and maybe even yoho can be used depending on how your opponent reacts.

2. +>+> or
I'm leaving out other PIT off shoots for now. The PK is the easier of the two but the m-dbpm is more damaging.

3. +>QCB or > or >
The first move will produce a dbpm. I've written the motion you need to do to get it. Since ST can be struggled m-sgpm is NOT a guaranteed follow up but should be used until your opponent shows they can struggle against it. The m-dbpm must be buffered just after the m-sgpm hits NOT before. It is not posible to do ST>m-sgpm-DE. The SDE>m-dbpm will hit even those who will struggle fast but does less damage. If you manage to hit your opponent into a wall from these ( ie your back was originally near the wall ) then follow with a knee or DBC accordingly ).

From ++:
This move is good for keeping up an offense. If your opponent is in the habit of standing with held use it ( or alternatively a strong throw is another way to punish them eg + ).

>> ( > Vs HWs ) or even >AS3 for variation. ( all stpm combos are good follow ups to ++ .

Vs LWs ( mainly Aoi and Pai to be honest ) I use
>>
for slightly better damage than the stpm>p>m-dbpm combo. I listed some more /++ combos elsewhere. For these to work the opponent MUST be guarding when you use ++. Its also useful to point out that a fully charged DFS will have the same effect on a guarding opponent as a guard break and so stpm combos are good here too.

For those interested in any more...

http://virtuafighter.com/versuscity/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=training&Number=69529&fpart=1&PHPSESSID=

 

Throw Escape Challenge 6-G is E-3TE-G. I believe E4TEG is possible too and I quite sure I have it on tape when Ryan was doing it at evo. I'll try digging it up later.

Yeh, like I said... produce footage.
I'll buy ETTEG if one of the entries is P+G.
I don't buy 4. I probably will have trouble purchasing it even with footage.
Looking forward to it.

[/i]It's not worthless and actually you can TEG at small disadvantages.[/i]

I can concede it's doable, I'm not sure about it being useful. It's useful in Theory Fighter only.

We already hashed it on irc, but for the benefit of others, I say that because
1. Let's say DE is blocked. One frame after it's blocked, I try TEG and they try P+G. I need to enter the TE one or two frames after the DE is blocked and then be holding guard on the third frame.
2. That means that my TE is occurring exactly 8-9 frames before I am thrown, and you can only legally enter a throw escape 10 frames before the throw connects. I basically cannot waste more than a single frame entering my throw escape, and the opponent cannot waste more than a single frame trying to throw me. That also means he can't spend time doing complex motions like the 6 frame giant swing or even a 2 frame b,d+P+G. For practical purposes this seems too hard.

Why call the d+P+K+G a low guard break? When the opponent is crouch guarding, this move becomes a special mid, and won't result in any stagger.

I call it LGB from VF3 days, when it actually did break guard for crouching defenders. I guess that could be deceptive now.

 

SORRY KOFU!!!!!!!!

 

Probably the last section, just some ideas with regards to moves and their uses.

Hopefully it should be apparent to new players that Akira is a very aggressive character and best played in an attacking manner. I don't mean you should forget about defense or anything as drastic as this but more that you should always be looking for the oppurtunity to strike or react to an opponents attack.

A good way of getting some inspiration is to watch matches of good players and there are lots on this site. Thanks to madacasgar heres a link to a lot of Akira media worth checking out:

http://virtuafighter.com/versuscity/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=media&Number=77118&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=4

Akiras down the page. It is worth checking out DVD replays of Ohsu and Homestay Akiras on the evo disc as well as looking for the many new media posts DRE puts up regularly. Players I would recomend to watch would be Dongpal Akira ( from Korea ), Mukki, Minami and PK Akiras and Western Lariat but these are just my personal favourites and there are many other good players worldwide such as ShinZ ( Korean ) and Ryan Hart ( English ), not to mention the many that are regularly on VFDC.

9. SOME MOVES AND THEIR USES

Already covered by Hiro and re-charred-sigh I'll try to talk about new moves too.

Moves to keep on the offensive;

or in combos sometime or even () in combos. Why is a jab so good? Its fast and leaves you advantaged after hit, guard or counter ( more so after a hit or counter ). Though it has these good selling points it should not be used too often ( read ALL the time ). Some tricks you can use after it vary on your opponents reaction and the hit. If you get an MC jab a throw is a very good follow up as it happens so quickly your opponent is unlikely to escape it ( same as LP>throw ). On normal hit or guard it is still good to follow with a throw if your opponent stands or even a ++ is useful to un settle them. Occasionally on hit or counter I follow with a stpm for variation. If your opponent crouches use a DE or SDE to stagger them out of it. >(hit, opponent ducks)>>+ for example is a nice flow however with any flowchart or defensive idea you see there are nearly always places where it can break down.

. This will leave you at medium disadv on guard but adv on hit or counter. In essence it gives you the 50-50 gamble of shrm/dbpm or throw. and similarly + can also be put to similar use. LP>throw is a very handy trick for every character and no doubt included in many characters faqs simply as it requires such quick reflexes to escape from. As variation SDE is also useful after a LP ( check Tactics and Advice series 5. ).

. New to evo a mid-backstep punch. Useful for provoking attacks. Comes in 1 frame slower then a jab and leaves you at medium disadv on guard ( that is the ) but its especially good when used inconjunction with LBF follow up ( see Tactics and Advice series 1. ) The stepback will avoid short ranged elbows. Another neat idea is to use it and follow with an evade if your opponent tries to attack. With practise you can cancel this evade with a CD and throw out moves like m-shrm to float combo or a m-sgpm. Can also be followed with LP or .

Elbows: and .
Both exe in 14 frames but DE will have slightly better recovery. If DE is blocked try evading to the opponents back with an evade attack or even a LP. If it counters follow with AS3 or a m-dbpm. Neither SDE nor DE are throw counterable ( I think...) which is also good. On counter of SDE use the combos listed above. When guarded , evade will dodge most nasty stuff and like beofre this can be cancelled with a CD inot a m-shrm or m-dbpm for example ( theres a clip of Minami playing 8 where he does a similar thing at the end of a round to win the match. In this case its just evade>m-dbpm).

()
The command I've written is strange to look at but basically its a low kick. The CD back can give you some space and may entice your opponent to attack. The kick comes out low and has good length. If you mC with it a dbpm is a useful follow up. Useful for giving yourself some breathing space.

. A standard sgpm is good at closing distance to your opponent or useful when your opponent has their back to the wall and you can wall stagger them. If you hit a crouching guarder with it you'll both be even in frames but a recomended follow is the on hit. is a nice move to use as opponents can never be too sure that the DE will come out. Some will block the sgpm and eat the DE others will guard and wait for the DE to come out. In these cases using just the sgpm to a throw is handy. Can be put to good use as you rise from the floor too ( ie not using , or a TR/QR ).

. At 14 frames its like a slower high punch and nice in the fact that it'll knock an opponent down on hit or counter. On guard it actually has a small adv. One good flowchart with it in is LP>stpm. In order to get the stpm and not a dbpm ( a thread topic brought up by danny13 and solved by Myke asking Ohsu himself at evo2003!!!) do the motion neutral .

. Still good to use but be wary now against Aois players as she can reverse this ( as well DFS and shrm eeep! ). Excellent in combos and good for closing distances or from a crouching position ( eg +(hit)> or (hit)> ). Fast but throw counterable you should get an idea of how and where to use it from watching some vids.

For pressuring TRs:
Probably the best two moves for this are + and . will result in a back stagger allowing further punishing of the opponent.

Some words on throws:
. Obviously not a throw but a good set up to one. With any luck the motion will have your opponent freeze into high guard for an instant which is when you follow with a throw. Check out Ohsu using this on the DVD replays.
For beginners the best throw to use IMHO is +. It can't be TR'd and you have a free down attack at the end.
+ is maybe his strongest option and is useful for ROs or near a wall ( as is + ).
+ and + are also good options and I've already listed ideas utilising these...HOWEVER it is plain to see that Akiras strongest throwing directions are and ( maybe as well ). A good player will know this and so it pays to vary your throws.
+ does n't give many follow up options. Ocasionally you can use a m-sgpm but I tend to stick with a DE/SDE if I ever use it.
The + and its many offshoots can be fun to use. Here are some:
+>+> or
+>/+>> ( for beginners ) or AS3 or or DLC Vs Pai.
+>/>++>>> for beginners or SPoD if you are more confident.
The last one should be used against a person who knows how to correctly struggle the throw. ( Tactics and advice series 3. )

Sabakis and Reversals:

++ against HP HE LP HK
++ against HP HE LP
+++ HP HE MP EL HK

+ ( mid rev ) against MP EL MK SK KN SM

Those unfamilar with the names should consult the movelist legend:

http://virtuafighter.com/commands/index.php?chara=akira&ver=evoa

Thats right I've omitted his high and low reversals + and +. Why? Akira has sabakis that will deflect most high and low attacks and have a bigger damage potential than a reversal would.
I often use ++ against Sarah after she enters the flamingo stance ( some times I try to block her three string attacks and use LP>dbpm etc...). On successfull high sabaki you can follow with ideas like
>()>()>DLC or
> ( i've put in brackets as a reminder ).
Against a low sabaki you can step up and SPoD or try step up and try to float them with a yoho. All in all better alternatives to doing 30/40 damage with one move that can be exact recovered ( ie high and low revs ).

I don't use mid revs and awful lot but they are useful when your opponent is being predictive with their attacks or when near a wall (>wall hit>down attack).


Obviously I haven't gone through Akiras entire movelist ( float starters are covered on the first page for example) but these are the moves I would suggest that any new Akira players stick to using whilst they are learning him. In fact to me you never stpop learning about the characters you play as in VF. Theres always something that you can pick up from watching vids or discussing things with other people. Hope this guide can encourage other players not to be put off by his move commands and his style of fighting and gives Tekken/SC2 players at chance of giving VF a good go. Whilst not extensive I hope it provides a welcome starting platform to VF /versus/images/graemlins/smile.gif.