[QUOTE="ShenlongBo"]
[QUOTE="Metamania"]
First and foremost, to Shen, should he read this - GGs! He beat me in the majority of fights that he and I had today, but I also won a few rounds and even a couple of matches. I think I'm improving with my new main, which is now Akuma. To be honest, I know that Ryu can handle himself in most situations and has a great chance in most matchups, but I ultimately got burned out with him and needed a new change. Akuma filled that void for me and I'm now playing more as him these days. He needs work...then again, everybody needs work on their characters. The desire for improvement is always there!
Speaking of my new main...
Phantom_Leo, would you be so kind as if to change my main from Ryu to Akuma on your online challengers list for the 360 version? I would appreciate it highly - thank you!
Metamania
Good games indeed, bud. Yes, everyone, for all the trash I talk about SFIV, I still find myself playing the damn thing every once in a while. In fact, today was a venerable SFIV marathon. I can't explain it any other way than it's a love-hate relationship.I could just barely hear your voice message earlier, MM, but it sounded like you were asking me my opinion on what your strengths and weaknesses are. You want to just talk about it sometime over XBL, or would you like me to give my two cents here in the forum? Up to you, man.
And yeah, looks like you win, because sure enough, here I am back in the thread, lol. Didn't have the heart to ignore your shout-out like that, ya know?
Yeah, that was the question that I asked you over on XBL. See, I'm going to be honest. I think you and DC are two good players and are better than me at this game than I am. I'm just trying to catch up and do my best, which is why I asked for your opinion, since you're honest and don't hold back, which is something I would like to hear. You can do it on here, actually, since your opinion on the matter may be longer than to talk about over XBL. :)The biggest problem that I have with Akuma, right now, is that he has a very low stun value and can be stunned very quickly. I discovered that the hard way with your barrages and rushdowns. The upside to him is that he has some nasty combos and moves that make him a dangerous foe to go up against and I certainly saw that point proven when you beat me a lot with him. But you also taught me a few tricks and combos with him, so it was really cool to see what kind of stuff I can do with him now.
That said, it's good to see you back on the thread. I know that you have a lot of problems with SFIV, but sooner or later, I figured you'd come back to it and still enjoy it for what it is. Like I told ya before - just go with the flow. I'm sure that things will get a little better with SSFIV and eventually the next installment after that, should Capcom choose to make another one.
One important thing to consider if you want to be serious with Akuma is that he's got a ton of ways to do big damage, but your execution often has to be on point to open those options up. You can actually get a lot done without having to do a lot of flashy stuff, but getting some key links and combos down helps a ton. Here are the main I lean on:1) s.RH, cr.lp xx lk.tatsumaki, FP shoryuken
2) sc.FP xx lk. tatsumaki, FP shoryuken
Notice that these two combos are virtually identical. The difference in when you'll use them has only to do with spacing. From far away, go with the first one. From in close, option 2 is the way. Using these two virtually identical combos lets me do solid damage when I get a chance to punish, and I don't have to do too much thinking along the way. It's pretty much autopilot after you've done it a zillion times.
What's pretty cool, though, is that the cancelled normal into tatsumaki gives you another neat opening: the Demon Flip Loop. Even better, it's not too hard at all to do.
Basically, it starts after the lk.tatsumaki. Instead of finishing with the FP.shoryuken, wait just a moment longer and land a sc.FP xx lk.Demon Flip. Sometimes the sc.FP can be a pain to connect online, but in my humble opinion, it absolutely IS worth learning. Why? Because that Demon Flip alone puts your opponent into the unfortunate position of having to guess which of THREE awesome moves Akuma might come down with:
1) The kick, which opens up another possible cancel into Demon Flip, hence the "loop" part of the name
2) The grab, which gives does great damage and, unless I'm mistaken, great stun while moving your opponent into the corner, or...
3) The palm, which will catch someone trying to jump up and counter, or anyone trying to FA their way out of the situation. This also opens up a buffered Raging Demon/buffered crossup Raging Demon, but... that stuff comes later.
If I were to try and spell out all the different things that this loop can do, it would take me far too long. For that reason, it's much better for you to just get into training mode and mess around with it. Even if you decide it's not something you want to put in your arsenal (DC kicks ass with Akuma and basically doesn't touch loops. I do), it's at least good to know it's all there.
As for you specifically, you're a smart player and you have a good sense for punishing, but you have to remember that big punish opportunities don't always show up on a silver platter. That is, you can't just count on your opponent to let you cross them up, or land a Demon Flip Kick, or connect that s.RH. Against really good players, your openings might show themselves in the form of a simple cr.short. You'll eventually have to get mileage out of smaller openings like those, turning what would usually be a plain, weak cr.short X3 into a cr.short X3 xx lk.tatsu > PWNAGE. Make sense?
One good way to practice those confirms is to go into training mode and set the AI's blocking to "random." Just go all the way up to the bot, and throw out your three cr.shorts. Pay close attention to whether or not it got blocked. If so, do nothing. If your cr.shorts connect, cancel into the tatsu and finish the combo. Easy.
Anyway, I have Akuma tricks for days, but the main thing you, personally, should work on are those two BnB combos I first mentioned. If you like, you can finish the s.RH option with a Dragon Punch JR Rodriguez-styIe but whatever you choose, get to a point where you don't have to think about it anymore. You've got all the fundamentals, you're probably just spending a lot of time going "OMGWTF should I do" when you get openings - pretty natural when you move to a more versatile character like Akuma. I can tell you with a high degree of certainty that once you get those two things down pat, you'll notice a huge improvement in your win rate.
Well, maybe not against me :P JKJK
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