User:Lord Grammaticus/Street Fighter IV Official Game Guide

Introduction
In 1991, Capcom revitalized the ailing arcade market and broughtfighting games to the forefront with the release of the legendry a Street Fighter II: The World Warrior arcade machine. It took the humble beginnings of Karate Champ and created a genre thet spawned a multitude of the other fighting games were good, but they weren't equal to the almighty Street Fighter.

Focus Attacks
A Focus Attack (sometimes known as a Saving Attack) is done by pressing the Medium Punch and Kick buttons at the same time. This combines both defense and offense in one powerful package.

Your character will enter a special preparation pose, which will absorb one attack — which is usually referred to as having Super Armor — and then they'll unleash a move in retaliation.

Your character can only absorb one attack, and only then if it's not a throw or armor breaking move. Two or more attacks will knock your character out of their Focus Attack.

There are three levels of Focus Attacks depending on how long you hold down the buttons.

Level 1: Simply tap the buttons or release after a split second. Your character will launch a weak attack.

Level 2: Hold the buttons for about a second and you'll see your character flash. then release. This causes you to do a medium powered attack which will open up the other fighter for a combo if it lands.

Level 3: Hold the buttons for about 2 ½ seconds. This causes you to flash yellow and the resulting attack is unblockable, you can also combo after this move if it lands.

Absorbing a hit with a Focus Attack also builds Revenge Meter, used for executing an Ultra move.

Throwing and Counter Throwing
Throwing is done by pressing the Light Punch and Kick buttons at the same time when you're close to your opponent and holding back or towards. You can break your opponent's throw attempt by pressing the Light Punch and Kick buttons at the moment they try to throw you

Ultra Moves
This is basically an enhanced super move, which you can execute by doing the same motion as your character's super move, but pressing all three punch or kick buttons instead of just one.

You can only perform an Ultra move by building up your Revenge Meter so its over half-full, then the word "Ultra" will light up meaning you can execute one. You build up Revenge Meter by taking damage.

Your Revenge Meter does not transfer over to the next round.

Super Moves
These are usually an enhanced special move. Most times they are executed by doing a double motion and pressing a punch or kick button.

Your Super Bar is the Blue meter at the bottom of the screen. The word, "Super!" appears when you've fully charged it, and then you can perform your character's applicable Super move.

EX Moves
EX moves are executed by pressing two punch or two kick buttons after doing the respective motion for a move. For example to execute Ryu's EX Hadoken (Fireball) you would do the down, down-forward, forward motion and press the Light and Medium punch buttons. Some players find it easier to press all three buttons at one time to help ensure their EX moves come out.

Doing an EX move takes away some of your Super meter.

Dashing
You can dash forwards or backwards by double tapping the joystick towards or away.

Focus Attack Dash Canceling
Sometimes referred to as a 'FADC' or a 'SADC'. After executing some special moves, you can Dash Cancel by pressing and holding the buttons for your Focus Attack and hitting forward twice and then releasing the Medium Punch and Kick buttons to cancel the animation to set up more hits in a combo.

This also takes part of your Super meter to do.

Getting up quickly after a knock down
When you're being knocked down, you can get up quickly by tapping down on the joystick when you're just about to hit the ground. Your character will rise up faster than they normally would, but this doesn't work with throws and some other attacks.

Super Armor and Armor Breaking
Some EX-Moves and all Focus Attacks allow you to absorb one attack, this is often referred to as having Super Armor.

But all of the characters have some moves that will negate this effect, and these are called Armor Breaking attacks.

Also remember that while Super Armor allows you to absorb one attack, you can still be thrown.

Taunting (Personal Action)
You can taunt your opponent by pressing both Hard Punch and Kick buttons at the same time.

General notes
Street Fighter 4 uses the traditional 6 button layout in most Capcom fighting games. The gameplay is 2-D, even though the graphics are 3-D. Characters move along a 2-D plane, and the camera will make 3-D flourishes based on what's currently happening.

Survival & Time Attack
If you want to unlock all 10 colors and personal actions in Street Fighter 4 you have to beat the Survival and Time Attack modes all the way up until round 17.

This is a long, tedious and sometimes difficult process, but there's a way to make it much easier.

Street Fighter 4's computer AI has a really hard time with Zangief's Lariat (3x Punch) move. Even during the tougher challenges, it will only block the first hit, but subsequent attacks will usually get through.

In some rounds all you'll have to do is this move, while in others you may have throw in a little blocking and timing.

So while spamming Zangief's Lariat over and over may not win you style points, it will make getting through these challenges MUCH easier, and then you can have full access to the taunts and colors for each character.

Abel
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Abel is like a cross between Fei Long and Zangief with a bit of Alex thrown in. His EX moves are terrific and some of his normals can set up his opponent for easy juggles.

His Tornado Throw and Marceaux Roll combination can play lots of head games with your opponent. Because of his mobility and a few tricks up his sleeve, Abel is capable of staying on his opponent and not letting off.

• Strengths •

+ Great mobility and speed, for a big guy.

+ Powerful character, moves take off a lot of damage.

+ Can juggle with his Ultra move after a Crouching Hard Punch.

+ Change of Direction is a great attack against mid-level and worse players who don't know how to block it consistently.

+ High stamina (defense) ranking, he can take a beating before he goes down.

+ Great rush down game with his EX-Change of Direction and Marceaux Roll into Tornado Throw.

+ His EX attacks are really, really good.

• Weaknesses • - Can have a difficult time consistently getting in against turtle characters.

- His anti air options are not good.

Akuma/Gouki
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The Demon is back and he's powerful. Akuma is most similar to his Street Fighter 3 Third Strike version. He does a lot of damage with his moves and some big time combos he can throw out there during the match.

But he takes more damage when he's hit than any character in the game besides Seth, so eating a few large combos will wipe you out.

Akuma has three handy projectiles in which he can use to help control the match, and his damage potential is still very, very good.

He's versatile in that he can apply a lot of offensive pressure or kick back and use his excellent Fireballs to frustrate some opponents.

• Strengths • + Powerful character, takes off a lot of damage when he hits.

+ Excellent offensive options. Lots of ways to mix up his attack plan.

+ Medium and Hard Red Fireballs act like an EX-Projectile.

+ Air Fireball can set up some great pressure situations.

+ You can easily combo after landing a Demon Flip Dive Kick.

• Weaknesses • - Horrible defensive (stamina) ranking. Can die very quickly.

- Gets dizzied easily.

- Red Fireballs have a terrible recovery time, can leave you wide open.

Balrog/M.Bison
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Balrog is one of the best characters in Street Fighter 4. He has decent speed, is powerful, has some great combos plus is adept at mixing up his attacks. He even has a solid defensive game to boot.

The ideal situation for the Boxer is to be up close and rushing down the other fighter. To do this you need to break down their defense, but doing so is dependent on the character you're going up against.

All of the fighters have different ways to get Balrog off of them, but you also have various ways to get back inside and mix up your offense with a combination of high and low attacks along with some cheese.

Rog runs into the most trouble against heavily defensive characters who can keep him out. Bad match ups are few and far between for him though, as a recent tier listing has him as the 2nd best character overall.

• Strengths • + Great power — attacks take off a lot of damage.

+ Easy to land his Ultra after a Headbutt.

+ Lots of good combos.

+ Super is powerful and very useful.

+ Running Low Uppercut breaks armor which comes in handy against some characters.

+ Crouching Light Punch is an outstanding move.

+ Super meter charges up quickly because of his style of play.

+ EX-Running Uppercut is freaking awesome because of the combo potential.

+ Pinning him down is difficult because of his Headbutt and Turnaround Punch.

• Weaknesses • - Can have problems against heavily defensive players.

- Well-timed projectiles give him trouble.

- Has a solid learning curve. Knowing when and how to properly use his Running Punches takes time.

- Headbutts and some of his Turn Punches aren't safe if blocked which can present problems against some Fireball characters.

- Timing on some of his charge combos takes a lot of practice to learn.

Blanka
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This version of Blanka most closely resembles his Super Turbo counterpart. His mobility is good and his Beast Roll is pretty safe, plus both of his supers have good juggling ability. This guy is a beast, both literally and figuratively.

Cammy
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Chun-li
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Chun Li is mostly like her Capcom vs. SNK and SF3: Third Strike versions, although she has some Super Turbo elements. Her ground game is great, and she has a lot of poke attacks.

• Strengths • + Very good mix up game that will keep your opponent guessing

+ Foot and move speed are fast, and her normal attacks have good priority

+ Her move set is very diverse which helps her adapt to most situations

+ Her poke attacks have good range and priority

• Weaknesses • - Chun Li does not have consistent anti air options

- Super and Ultra attacks are mediocre compared to the other fighters

- Many of her attacks can leave her open to counter attacks if not executed correctly

Crimson Viper
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Some players think Crimson Viper is most similar to Cammy in the Street Fighter games, but after playing her you'll find she has a style all her own.

She's a cross up master because of her Burning Kick and Super Jump abilities, and quick reflex players can consistently keep the other fighter guessing which way to block.

Viper does most of her damage within sweep distance and when she scores a knock down.

• Strengths • + Exceptional ability to cross up her opponent, with her Burning Kick

+ Only character with a Super Jump and it can be canceled into her Ultra

+ Her moves come out pretty fast and her foot speed is good

+ Great High/Low mix up attack game

+ Excellent overhead attack

+ Most of her regular moves can be canceled into a Special Move

+ Attacks do a lot of stun to your opponent, which can make for a quick dizzy

• Weaknesses • - Low defensive rating mean she takes more damage than most when hit

- Doesn't do great damage

- Lacks consistent anti-air and "get the heck off me" moves

Dan
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Dhalsim
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This version of Dhalsim is most like his Super Turbo counterpart, although his normal attacks have changed a decent bit. He's still cheesy and slow.

Dhalsim's zoning game is pretty good. Because of his ranged normal attacks and special moves, he's capable of keeping his opponent where he wants them to be.

• Strengths • + His ranged attacks are very good

+ A pretty good 'zoning' game

+ A very powerful Ultra for trapping your opponent

+ His Light Punch Yoga Flame set ups are great

+ Dhalsim is a defensive beast

• Weaknesses • - He takes a good amount of damage when hit

- Dhalsim would probably lose a footrace to a turtle

- His dash is sloooooow

E. Honda
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Honda is most like his Super Turbo counterpart. He does a lot of damage in this version, and you can kill your opponents quickly if they let their guard down, unfortunately it seems like his Hundred Hand Slap range has been decreased quite a bit, and his mobility and speed — like always — leave a lot to be desired.

His Oicho (Command) throws are exceptional though, and Honda can get quite a few wins when he can set these up consistently.

• Strengths • + Very powerful character. He does a ton of damage

+ Oicho throw is one of the best command grabs in the game

+ Some very effective chip damage moves

+ His stamina (defense) is excellent, meaning he doesn't take a lot of damage when hit

+ Super and Ultra attacks are great anti-air options

• Weaknesses • - Still has a difficult time getting through fireball traps

- He's slow - Outside of a few moves, he doesn't offer much in the way of mobility

- Doesn't have consistent anti-air options unless you have Super meter

- Has a difficult time beating turtling (defensive) characters

El Fuerte
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El Fuerte is a lightning quick grappler who's somewhat like Alex from SF3 and Guy from the Alpha series.

His game revolves around landing his Infinite Combo Loop, getting in the Mix Up scenario (see below), playing keep away and using his pokes and anti air attacks.

Without his Infinite Combo Loop, he has a lot of trouble dealing consistent damage, but with it, he's one of the best characters in the game.

When the game is patched/upgraded, most players are assuming they will remove his loop, but they may also beef up El Fuerte a bit because without this, he's not a great character.

• Strengths • + Ridiculous Infinite Combo Loop.

+ Very, very fast, insane mobility.

+ Really good Ultra move.

+ Wall Jump is effective against projectile throwers.

+ Great at running away.

+ Pretty good zoning game.

• Weaknesses • - Very low damage output.

- Takes a lot of damage when he's hit.

- You have to keep your opponent guessing to win consistently.

Fei Long
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Gen
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Gouken
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• Strengths • + Powerful fighter, attacks take off a lot of damage.

+ His Back + Throw (Launcher) is an outstandingly easy way to set up his Ultra.

+ His Fireball is a good defensive tool.

• Weaknesses • - Kind of slow.

- Lacks great anti air options.

Guile
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The legend of the man with two special moves continues.

Guile is fairly similar to his Super Turbo counterpart. The main new thing that Capcom gave him is an overhead hit that can be done by pressing Towards and Medium Punch.

A few of his attacks have different properties now, but he has his typical high priority and damaging moves making him formidable in the right hands.

Most players argue Guile's main strategy is centered around Sonic Booms and deciding what to do next after each one is thrown.

• Strengths • + Exceptional defensive game

+ Great zoning ability

+ Can apply some decent offensive pressure

+ His combos are very damaging

+ Some really good anti air options

• Weaknesses • - Doesn't have as many options for mixing up his offensive attacks as other characters

- His Super move isn't very useful

- Depends a lot of EX moves to win

- Requires a good bit of patience to play

- The range on most of his attacks is not good

Ken
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Ken seems like an even mix between his Street Fighter 3 Third Strike and Super Turbo versions. He's flashy, has a ton of combos, and his line of Shoryuken (Dragon Punches) are pretty good.

Most players seem to think he's best off played offensively, but you still find some people who like his defensive game.

• Strengths • + His Shoryukens can be Dash Canceled

+ A very effective Ultra move when used in combos

+ Excellent cross up game

+ Tons of awesome combos

+ Great range on his Kara throw

+ His Command Normal Kick moves are pretty good

• Weaknesses • - Super and Ultra moves don't have much range

- Light and Hard Shoryukens will often trade hits when used as an anti air move

- Medium Punch, Hard Punch Chain Combo can be ducked under and has a long recovery time if blocked

- One of the most popular characters, so most people know his game well

- Recovery time on his normal fireballs is slow

- His Focus Attack has poor range

M.Bison/Vega
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M. Bison plays like his Super Turbo and Capcom vs. SNK 2 counterparts. He's very mobile, has good speed and damage and can be quite formidable.

His poke attacks are excellent and you can use his EX-Scissor Kicks to get through fireball traps that used to give him so much trouble. He also has some solid reversal moves now.

This guy is very good.

• Strengths • + Tons of mobility with his air attack moves

+ Exceptional poke, standing Medium Kick

+ His EX moves are very good

+ Does pretty good damage when he hits

+ Strong zoning game

+ Master of the Tick Throw

+ Good foot and move speed

+ Bison dizzies other fighters fairly quickly

• Weaknesses • - Multiple jump ins and cross up attacks give him trouble

- Doesn't have great mix up options on offense, relies on a lot of pokes and throws

- Range on Focus Attack isn't good

- Psycho Crusher has limited use

- Relies heavily on bait tactics and feints to deal damage

Rose
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• Strengths • + Ultra move is ridiculously good.

+ Excellent anti airs when you're properly spaced.

+ Strong pressure game.

+ Throw damage is good.

+ Does great against people who throw a lot of projectiles.

+ Great poke attack with Crouching Medium Punch.

+ Crouching Hard Kick sweep has a ton of range.

+ Fast Dash and above average foot speed.

• Weaknesses • - Combos aren't that damaging outside of her Ultra.

- Timing on reflecting/absorbing projectiles can be tricky.

- Outside of a few moves, her damage overall is below average.

- Doesn't have Overhead hitting attack.

Rufus
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Rufus actually plays most like Yun and Yang from Street Fighter 3. He's VERY fast and has a multitude of quick-hitting moves and some pretty good combos. He also has Yun's dive kick from SF3.

Because of his speed and move set, he's capable of applying a lot of offensive pressure to his opponents. And he has a lot of moves you can use to juggle the other fighter.

Ryu
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Ryu in Street Fighter 4 is most similar to his counterpart in Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. His fireballs are powerful. They come out quickly, do good damage and he can still dominate a match by controlling the other player with his projectiles, although not to the degree seen in SSF2T.

His Ultra gives him exceptional juggling opportunities, and it's one of the main reasons why he's considered a top tier character.

This guy is nasty.

• Strengths • + Excellent juggling ability with his Ultra move.

+ Lots of effective combos to choose from which do good damage.

+ His Fireballs are excellent, they have very little recovery time.

+ Master of playing a 'zone' game, i.e. keeping the other player where he wants them to be.

+ His Focus Attack is pretty good.

• Weaknesses • - His Light and Medium Punch Shoryukens no longer have good anti air priority.

- Missed Shoryukens usually leave you wide open to be punished.

- Probably the most popular character in the game, so most players know his tricks.

Sagat
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Sagat is a defensive master. Most people are comparing him to a cross between his Super Street Fighter 2 and Alpha 2 versions. His juggling ability seems to be very good, and coupled with his usual strength... well, he hurts people, bad.

Also some of his normal moves like crouching Hard Punch and standing Hard Kick are really good.

He's looking very strong early on.

Sakura
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• Strengths • + Has great juggling ability because of her EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick.

+ Can combo directly into her Ultra without having to set up a juggle or Focus Attack.

+ Lots of her normal moves can be Canceled and Special Moves are easy to combo with.

• Weaknesses • - Some of her combos that involve a Link will be difficult for some players to pull off.