VF5FS Sarah Start Guide

Hey, everyone. I'm YOU (pronounced 'YOr'- Modelah), a Sarah player from Osaka, Japan. You can usually find me at the Monte50 arcade in Umeda, Osaka. I don't have a PS3 at the moment so unfortunately I'm unable to play online. I've tried to make this guide easy to understand for newcomers to the game, but still there might be some unfamiliar terminology to deal with. On to the guide!

Sarah's Characteristics, Strengths and Weaknesses(top)

Sarah has a great all-round movelist, and can be played as basically as you like. However, if you just stick to her basic moves you'll find she's quite a weak character. Her most standout characteristic is her Flamingo stance, and making full use of it turns Sarah into a true attacking machine.

Without a doubt, her ability to inflict damage after scoring a knockdown is amongst the best in the game. I'll mark Flamingo Stance in this guide with (FL).

On the downside Sarah lacks decent defensive moves, so her defensive game really boils down to the player's skill and knowledge of the game's other characters. She's also light, so the damage she takes can be potentially high.

Basic Skills(top)

First, try out the following attacks. Moves with ＊ require careful timing to execute. The moves I've listed here are the most important so hit the dojo to get accustomed to them.

Linear Attacks(top)

- A punch. A basic move all characters share. Speedy and useful in many situations.

- A follow up to the above, the hits mid.

- A low punch. A basic move all characters share. Speedy and useful in many situations.

- An elbow attack. Hit check and follow up with to knockdown on hit. Go to this move first when you have the advantage. When practicing, train yourself to hit after gives a yellow flash (counterhit) effect. Don't just use the follow-up automatically every time.

- A hit-checkable kick, the follow-up launches for a combo. As above, practice your hit checking!

- A kick attack that transitions to Flamingo. This gives you advantage on block, so as long as the move touches the opponent you'll be able to continue pressuring the opponent. Also, hitting this on a crouching opponent will cause a stagger, mostly guaranteeing F afterwards.

- A heel drop that you can combo off. You can cancel this move into Flamingo with .

Half-circular attacks(top)

＊ (evade to Sarah's stomach)- A high half-circular punch string. starts the string with a back-knuckle and kick, the next part requires timing; as soon as the second connects hit again. On a major counter all attacks in the string will hit, giving you a knockdown.

(evade to Sarah's back)- A half-circular jumping kick. It executes almost immediately, allowing you to crush low attacks most of the time. Launches on counter hit giving you a combo opportunity.

Full-circular attacks(top)

- The first attack is a full-circular high kick. The second is linear, and transitions to Flamingo.

- A full-circular low kick. Knocks down on hit.

Throws(top)

- A throw that the opponent can tech-recover from. Try to read your opponent to guess what they'll do next, if the opponent doesn't tech a down attack is guaranteed. If the opponent tech-recovers go for a meaty attack or look to keep the pressure on.

- The best -direction throw.

- The best - direction throw. When the opponent's back is to a wall, is a guaranteed follow-up. Hold during the throw animation and hit after it finishes so you don't do a down attack instead.

- If you're not confident with input command for the above throw, use this.

Moves from Flamingo (FL)(top)

FL - The first of two strings from a high punch, the second attack hits mid.

FL - A fast mid knee. The following is a mid full-circular.

FL - A mid kick. Gives a stomach crumple on hit, affording you a combo opportunity. Extremely useful.

FL - A full-circular high kick. The follow-up is linear. After the hit go for a midair combo.

＊FL :- A slowish mid heel smash. As long as the kick touches the opponent you can go for the throw. Great for getting damage on opponents even if they block the first attack.

＊FL - The second of two strings from a high punch, the second attack hits low. If FL hits as a minor counter or greater the will hit also. As hits, enter . Even if FL misses, when connects the rest of the string will too, and launch for a combo.

＊FL :- A low kick. When the initial kick hits enter for a hit-throw. Try to enter the throw command just as the kick connects.

Basic Strategy(top)

When at advantage(top)

When you have the advantage, try to put your opponent in nitaku between mid strikes and a throw. For starters, try this with and a throw. If hits, follow up with for a knockdown, and continue appying the pressure. When the opponent starts guarding your , attempt a throw. In turn, most often the opponent will try to abare to beat out the throw attempt so switch back to , which in most cases will connect. If your is guarded, you'll find yourself at disadvantage.

Also, using at advantage (a move that gives advantage on block) opens more possibilities for Sarah players. If contacts the opponent you'll still have the advantage so try one of the moves from Flamingo listed above. To begin with, just using FL (mid) or FL (low) to force a nitaku guess is fine. If the opponent starts to abare with a fast attack mixing FL (mid) and FL (low) should take care of them. Also, if you notice the opponent starting to guard more switch to FL(mid) or FL (low).

When at disadvantage(top)

Sarah basically doesn't have any any special moves suited for defensive play. Guarding, reverse nitaku and evading are pretty much your only options. For starters, stick with the basics and try to read your opponent. If you think they'll throw you, abare. If you think they'll attack you with strikes, guard. For reverse nitaku I recommend and . Look to hitconfirm , launch and go for a combo. If hits you'll now be at advantage, so look again to the section above.

So, some of you may be asking, how do I get advantage in the first place? An easy way is to hit the opponent with . Get close, and throw out a . Generally you'll also be at advantage after guarding your opponent's attacks (though there are many exceptions to the rule).

After 6PK connects(top)

Here's where Sarah really shines. As I mentioned before, knocks down. After hitting there are two follow-up options I recommend but you'll have to move quickly; if you wait to see what the opponent does next, you'll miss the opportunity. Again, try to get a read on your opponent.

1. If you think the opponent will tech-recover, pressure them with ukemizeme. Enter Flamingo with , then try to force a nitaku guess between FL and FL . If the opponent doesn't tech-recover, cancel out of Flamingo with and go on to the next phase of the game.
2. If you think the opponent won't tech-recover you can go for an OTG (off-the-ground) combo. If the opponent DOES tech-recover, look to the section above that deals with being at disadvantage (in the case of , cancel out of Flamingo with first).

OTG Combos:

1. Combo
   Note
2. (hold early and then enter )
   against Jeffry and Wolf
3. 
   against Kage and Shun
4. , FL
   against everybody else

Bear in mind, won't knock Taka down (you'll actually be at disadvantage on hit). Playing against Taka requires a different approach, like totally different, so I'm sorry but I won't be dealing with him just yet. Remember, this guide is just to get you started, what I've written here really isn't enough to prepare you for matches against advanced players. However if you're able to do what I've written, you should find that most players at the same level as you won't be able to withstand Sarah's offense.

Versus Taka(top)

Written by Nidaime Kyobashi

First, against Taka there are 2 things you'll need to be wary of;

• , as YOU mentioned, doesn't knock down on hit. In fact, you'll be at disadvantage.
• doesn't knock down either, and doesn't lead to combo opportunities.

There are other moves that won't knock down Taka, but these two are significant as the properties for their follow-up attacks are now different.

On the upside, the good news for Sarah is that;

• becomes a natural combo on RH or greater.
• also becomes a natural combo on RH or greater.

A recovery hit (RH) is when your attack hits the opponent during the recovery stage of their own attack, when they are unable to guard. An example is when your hits after your opponent's attack misses, or after you guard against an attack that has a long recovery time. 'RH or greater' just means it will work on normal counter hits, too.

Basically, whenever your hits as an RH or greater, go for the somersault combo. Note how your opponent attacks, and look for chances to get a counter hit. Once you're used to counter-hitting , train yourself to finish the string with .

Another move is , and though it's kind of slow it crushes lows. In addition, and against Taka only, will connect. , will deal around 40% damage, so you should use this whenever you think they'll try or a throw. Taka can tech-roll to avoid the somersault though, is a much safer follow-up, and still deals a decent amount of damage so it should definitely be a part of your game.

The main thing with Taka is to stick with the , and throw basics, and when you guard or evade a big move counter-attack with . If you think they'll go for a throw or low attack, look to hit .

Don't use the follow-up kick after . Try to put them into nitaku with a throw or , for which you can use the following combo:

1. Combo
   Note
2. , , ,
   It will work on Taka regardless of foot position

That might be a little above beginner-level. Anyway, I think Sarah isn't as disadvantaged against Taka as some may think.

"That's a good start when dealing with Taka, Nidaime Kyobashi. As for other moves you can use, try instead of sometimes. is pretty useful too. - comment added by YOU.

Combos(top)

When it comes to combos, things can get a little complicated. I can't list every single one here so I'm only going to post the very basic ones (I don't really use such basic combos so there might be some here that require specific foot stances and so on. If some of these don't work first time... Sorry!).

or FL

1. Combo
   Note
2. , FL
   against Jeffry, Wolf and Akira
3. , FL
   against all other characters except Taka
4. Versus Taka
   4F advantage but no combo opportunities

1. Combo
   Note
2. , FL
   against Jeffry, Wolf and Akira
3. , FL
   against all other characters except Taka
4. 
   against Taka

FL

1. Combo
   Note
2. , FL
   against all characters except Taka
3. , FL
   against Taka

FL

1. Combo
   Note
2. FL , FL
   against Jeffry, Wolf and Akira
3. FL , FL
   against all other characters except Taka
4. Versus Taka
   4F advantage but no combo opportunities

From the Author(top)

This is a game with particularly solid gameplay mechanics. It's definitely a good idea to look beyond what's written here in this blog for information on how to play Sarah.

As I mentioned earlier, Sarah is very much an offense-oriented character. The quickest way to getting good is to try to copy how advanced players play. You'll be able to find lots of material online so you should just go ahead and 'steal' as much as you can! The better you can mount an effective offense, the easier it'll be for you to get those wins.

But, there will come a time when you will 'plateau'; so here are some tips that'll help you get your game back on track:

1. Practice your defensive skills. Looking after that health bar is important too, right? I'm sure someone's going to write something like that here on this blog.
2. Think about how you're losing health points. Is your health bar draining the same way, after the same certain actions or situations?
3. Outwit your opponent. It's nice when opponents play into straight into your hands, right? Think back to point 2 here. There is always a way to turn the tables.
4. Create your own set plays. Using someone else's is fine, but creating your own style and flow is important.
5. Try using moves you don't usually use. There are bound to be other moves that will prove useful. In the end, you'll have more variety in your offense, won't you? And as Sarah, you LOVE offense, right?
6. Don't just copy the techniques advanced players use. Think about why they're using them in the first place. You'll become stronger by deepening your understanding of how and why things work.
7. Make VF friends. Write down 'Tough Opponent' and read it as 'Friend'. This point is probably the most important, and most of all, makes VF fun.

Well to be honest, I feel like I've only gotten started with this post. Even so, it's still kind of long, and though I'm worried I'm not making certain points clear I think I'll finish it here for now. I apologise if what I've written has been hard to follow. Anyway, best wishes to you on your VF adventures! (^-^)/ And, when you've got the hang of things, please make your way to the arcade and play me sometime!

Still not convinced? If any of the following sounds like you, Sarah is the right character!

"I'm not interested in a brutishly strong character!!"
"I want to use a character with a strong offensive game!!"
"I want to blow away opponents purely by my own skills!!"
"I wanna be able to do stuff on one leg!!"
"A hot blond woman, YESSSSSS!!"
"I will NEVER leave you, my sister!!" (She's Jacky's sister)
"Sub character, secondary sub character or whatever, I'm picking a girl!!"
"Yukata style YEEEAAAAAHH!!!"
"Mini-skirt/China dress style YAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Yeah, those legs are mmm mmm mmm♪"
"YESSSS I glimpsed her panties!!"

...sorry about that, lol.

You said 'Yes, that's me' to most of those, right? You have to give Sarah a shot, then. If it doesn't work out, there are always other characters to choose from. Go on now, don't be shy and pick Sarah!

YOU

Additional Q&A(top)

No. 20

No. 22
, Forward Slide , , .
Another example for oki after a knockdown:
Use this to pursue nitaku opportunities. Forward Slide isn't really strong enough to warrant making it a 'main move' in Sarah's arsenal, but it should be used from time to time to accent her offense.
-YOU
No. 28

No. 30
Both do decent damage, and hitting the throw near a half-fence can ring the opponent out. Though not a main offensive strategy, you can set this up when you've got them up against a half-fence by hitting or and going into Flamingo, and then transitioning into Step. Good to use from time to time.
-Nidaime Kyobashi
No. 61

No. 62


No. 63
1. Fuzzy guard
2. Use the follow-up
3. Use the follow-up
4. Backdash attacks like and
5. Throw
The moves you should use depend on how your opponent reacts. Consciously trying to lessen risks through the use of fuzzy is the correct choice. Going for throws when you know they'll guard is the correct choice. Using when they try to throw you is the correct choice. Try the different options for yourself, watch others play and take note of what they do and when they do it.
-Nidaime Kyobashi
No. 86

No. 88

No. 137

No. 139
No. 174
No. 185

Source: YOU's VF5FS Beginner's Blog Post
Author(s): YOU (main article), Nidaime Kyobashi (versus taka)
Translator: Modelah