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Tuesday
Jul202010

BLANKA - INTRO - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4

 NORMAL MOVES | SPECIAL MOVES | COMBOS | MATCH UPS 

CHARACTER STATS & INFO
TYPE RUSHDOWN OR TURTLE, MIX-UPS, SHENANIGANS
STRENGTHS Tremendous array of mix-ups on a downed opponent. Shenanigans!
WEAKNESSES Some of his moves are unsafe, even on hit, against some characters.
STAMINA 1,000 - AVERAGE
STUN 950 - BELOW AVERAGE
CROSS UP  JUMPING MEDIUM KICK
ANTI-AIR STANDING HEAVY PUNCH, STANDING HEAVY KICK, CROUCHING MEDIUM PUNCH, UP-BALL
ARMOR BREAK FORWARD BALL
GOOD MATCH UP VS. ZANGIEF
BAD MATCH UP VS. BALROG

 

STRATEGY ARTICLES 

Basic Tips for Dealing with the Blanka Menace

Understanding Blanka's Lightning Cannonball (Ultra 1)

Tuesday
Jul202010

BLANKA - MATCH VIDEOS - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4



Thursday
Feb252010

BLANKA - NORMAL MOVES - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4

JAB (LIGHT) PUNCH

     

Standing Light Punch is a pretty good poke for Blanka if not abused.  It is very fast and has fairly good reach. It can be used to apply some pressure.

STRONG (MEDIUM) PUNCH

     

 

Standing Medium Punch is a pretty good poke by Blanka standards. It's not the fastest move but it has pretty good reach.

Crouching Medium Punch is an excellent anti-air.  It does not look like it by looking at it, but try it out in training mode. It works really well once you get the timing down.

FIERCE (HARD) PUNCH

     

 

Standing Hard Punch has excellent range and does good damage. Because of its reach and its sweeping arc (Blanka swipes his claws from above in an arc to the ground), it is an excellent move to try to hit the extended limbs of characters who whiff moves.

Crouching Hard Punch has even more range! However, it has long startup and recovery so use it carefully and preferably at its maximum range to lesson opportunities for your opponent to react and punish.  You can also cancel out of this move into his Super.

SHORT (LIGHT) KICK

     

 

Crouching Light Kick is a very fast attack by Blanka standards. However, it does not have a good reach.  For a fast move, it takes a lot of practice in order to get it to link into itself.

FORWARD (MEDIUM) KICK

     

 

Jumping Medium Kick is one of Blanka's best normals. It has good reach, does OK damage, and it's virtually impossible not to hit with the thing unless you press too early in the jump. If you aren't 100% sure of hitting with a Hard Kick, use the Medium Kick. 

Jumping Medium Kick is also the cross-up weapon of choice if you are in the air. This attack makes cross-ups super-easy. When used in combination with the Surprise Forward, Blanka really has a lot of options for mix-ups as a downed opponent tries to get up.

Crouching Medium Kick is an excellent poke. If you already have a charge you can follow crouching medium with a Blanka Ball or, if you are really good at links, a Super or Ultra. 

ROUNDHOUSE (HARD) KICK

     

 

Jumping Hard Kick: If you really want to reach out and touch someone while jumping in, jumping Hard Kick is your attack! It does lots of damage and Blanka really stretches out with the attack, giving it very good reach. However, it has zero crossup potential. If you miss, you will miss completely, so know how and when to use it. 

Standing Hard Kick can be used as an anti-air.  However, you need to practice the timing to be sure that Blanka is at the right spot in his backflip as the opponent connects. 

Crouching Hard Kick is extremely useful.  It's pretty quick and has fair reach.  There are many ways you can use this move.  You can stick it out when you anticipate that an opponent is trying to throw out a slower move as a counter.  It can also be used to punish some whiffed attacks.  Its also great to use on an opponent who is trying to get up. If you use it meaty (throwing out the move so that the kick is already active the moment the opponent gets to his feet), it will pretty much sweep them out of any move they try to throw trying to get up.  It even works on Balrog, who arguably has the best jabs in the game.  Do not abuse against characters with great wake-up moves like Ryu and his Shoryuken, however.

THROWS

  • Blanka's face bite throw (Wild Fang) was nerfed pretty bad in Street Fighter 4 compared to other games in the series.  In Street Fighter 2 the name of the game is to bite people in the face. In Street Fighter 4 it's harder (range seriously reduced) and doesn't do quite the actual and psychological damage it used to do. However, it's still good, still does good damage, and still annoys many opponents, which is in Blanka's favor.
  • Blanka's Rolling Throw (Jungle Wheel) throws your opponent away from you. It usually is not in Blanka's best interests to throw your opponent away from you but if you wish to do so, he has the option.

COMMAND NORMALS

AMAZON RIVER RUN (SLIDE)

DOWN-TOWARDS HARD PUNCH

  • Extremely quick startup makes it easy to surprise opponents who are not waiting for it.
  • Goes under projectiles and covers a fair amount of distance in the process.
  • Deceptive in that it stays active for a long time which makes it a good meaty move.
  • However, it is extremely easy to punish on block by most characters at almost any range because of its long recovery time.
  • Best used at maximum slide range where just fingers hit opponent to minimize punish opportunity on block.
  • This move is also easy to block by opponents who know how to effectively use focus attacks.  This move only does one hit and has slow recovery. An opponent can focus as you slide then release the attack during the recovery of the move. If you notice that your opponent is doing this, restrict your use of this move appropriately.

COWARD CROUCH

DOWN + THREE PUNCHES

  • Ducks projectiles including Sagat's Low Tiger Shot.
  • The longer you hold DOWN, the longer Blanka stays in Coward Crouch.  After a period of time, though, Blanka will stand up on his own.
  • Blanka can use Surprise Forward & Back out of Coward Crouch
  • Electric Thunder and Vertical Rolling Attack are also options out of Coward Crouch.

SURPRISE FORWARD & BACK

   

BACK/TOWARDS + THREE KICKS

This move gives Blanka many options and has several key uses. 

Increased Mobility: It can be used to quickly gain ground or retreat more quickly than a standard forward or back dash.  Between the Surprise Hops and his normal dashes, Blanka has a tremendous amount of mobility on the ground.

Ability to Maintain Down-Charge as you Move:  You can use these moves to move Blanka both forward and backward and still maintain a down-charge. You do this by holding down-back and three kicks for Surprise Back and down-forward and three kicks for Forward.  This is exceptionally useful as you can then Up Ball at any time, catching your opponent if they are a jumper or sometimes just surprise them with an Up Ball to the face if they are close.

Holding Down-Charge and move forward with Surprise Forward:   

Holding Down-Charge and move back with Surprise Back:   

Surprise Forward Into Ultra 1: You can use Surprise Forward to "hop into Ultra" by using the following commands:

  (initiates Surprise Forward)   (initiates Ultra 1)

This takes some practice to learn the timing but it is still very useful to a Blanka player who uses Ultra 1.  You need to do the second back and forward as Blanka is doing his hop and hit the three punches just as he's landing to get it to properly work.

Cross-Up Shenanigans: The Surprise Forward allows you to actually pass through an opponent and land on the other side (assuming the move isn't interrupted by an attack). This is tricky to use on a standing opponent as it can be interrupted by attacks, but when your opponent is on the ground it's a different story.  You can hop back and forth at will on a downed opponent, so you have lots of mix-up options when they are waking up.  Here are just a few options you can do on wake-up:

  • Stay on one side of the opponent somewhat close. At the last second as they are about to get on their feet, jump to the other side using Surprise Forward and throw out a Crouching Heavy Kick so that his foot is already out at the moment the opponent fully gets up.  If they are doing anything other than jumping or blocking (throwing or using a move that doesn't have initial invincibility like Shoryuken), they will be tripped again.
  • You can also hop to the other side and use a throw if you anticipate them blocking.  If you use the Surprise Forward to cross as the opponent is about half-way up, you can even sometimes screw up the opponent's Shoryuken attempt by confusion.
  • You can hold the down-charge as you Surprise Forward across a downed opponent and at the last second, as they are fully standing, hit them with an Up Ball.
  • Jumping Options: You can use Surprise Forward to go back and forth across a downed opponent and then, at the last second, jump either straight up and use a Neutral Jump Hard Kick to come down on them (will hit if they do anything but block high) or jump across him and use a Medium Kick to get the cross-up and combo into electricity, which will result in yet another knockdown.
  • Baiting a wake-up move: If you are playing against a character with a strong wake-up move like a Shoryuken and you feel like the opponent will use it on wake-up (likely), you can bait it by staying close to one side as they get up and then Surprise Back at the last second. Their wake-up move will miss and you can punish them.

These are just some of his wake-up mix-up options! Mix tactics up to really confuse your opponent. Do not be predictable.

Thursday
Feb252010

BLANKA - SPECIAL MOVES - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4

ROLLING ATTACK

CHARGE BACK, TOWARDS + PUNCH

This is one of Blanka's main ranged attacks.  He uses himself as the projectile.  In Super Street Fighter 4, this move's usefulness is limited.  This move is easy for many characters to interrupt (characters with fast Light Punches can just jab him out of it).  It is also pretty easy for many characters to punish the attack if it is blocked.  To make matters even worse, there are some characters who can punish this move even if it hits!

That is not to say that the move isn't useful, you just have to be careful and know which characters can punish this move on block and which ones can punish on hit.

If you use the Rolling Attack as part of a combo or if you are close to your opponent when the attack is initiated, you can Focus Cancel (if you have 2 EX stocks) after the Blanka ball hits the opponent.  This takes away the opponent's opportunity to punish.

The strength of the punch button used determines the distance the attack travels as well as the damage it inflicts.  Light Punch travels the shortest distance and does least damage and Hard Punch goes farthest and does most damage.

EX version goes through fireballs, travels the entire length of the screen, and inflicts the same damage as the Medium Punch version.

The Rolling Attack can also be cancelled into Super (Ground Shave Roll) if the move is part of a combo.  However, Blanka's EX moves are very useful in the match, so using the Super should mainly be used when it can give you the opportunity to win the match.

VERTICAL ROLL (OFTEN REFERRED TO AS UP-BALL)

CHARGE DOWN, UP + KICK

This is Blanka's main anti-air attack.  It is also extremely useful on wake-up. 

The strength of the punch button used determines the distance (height), speed, angle, and damage of the attack. The Light Kick version has the shortest height, has the steepest angle, is slower, and does the least amount of damage. 

The EX version of this move has a few frames of invincibility on its start-up, which is why it makes for an excellent wake-up move.  Like the EX Rolling Attack, the EX version of this move goes through fireballs. It does the same damage as the Heavy Kick version. 

Remember, you can keep a down-charge as you move if you use the Surprise Forward and Surprise Back (see above under Command Normals).  This is extremely useful to help you chase down an opponent who likes to jump back a lot and play keep-away.

 

BACKSTEP ROLLING (OFTEN REFERRED TO AS RAINBOW BALL)

CHARGE BACK, TOWARDS + KICK

This is a move that has limited uses in most cases, but it does have some.  It is sometimes referred to as the "rainbow ball" because it travels in a rainbow trajectory.

The strength of the kick button used determines the vertical and horizontal distance the move travels along its trajectory as well as the damage inflicted.  The Light Punch version travels a short distance, has the lowest height, and does the least damage.

All of the normal versions of the Rolling Attack are risky to use. They are all slow enough in flight that a skilled player will easily block in the correct direction and leave you open to possible punishment.

The EX version of this move is extremely useful.  It has a few frames of animation at its start-up. Also, you can adjust the range of the attack by pushing Forward or Back as it is in the air, which turns it into something akin to a guided missile! Here are a few ways to use the EX Backstep Roll:

Get out of the corner:  Blanka isn't at his best in a corner, so if you need to get out this is your ejection seat!  The fast start-up and few invincibility frames make it difficult for your opponent to stop you from doing this and your ability to control the distance traveled means you can put yourself down at pretty much any point you desire.

Create ambiguous blocking situation:  If you absolutely have to use this move as an actual attack against a ground target, the EX version is the version to use.  Because you can control the flight path, you should guide the flight path so that it lands as close to the very top of the opponent's head as possible but still be on the side you want to attack.  This makes it difficult for the opponent to block, as the move is pretty fast and the opponent often has to guess which side to block on if he doesn't have fast reflexes.

Whiff into Bite: Here is yet another way you can whiff into Bite.  You have to practice this some to be able to land exactly where you want, but once you do it can be effective.  What you do is control the EX Backstep Roll so that it doesn't actually hit your opponent, but lands right in front of them. They will often be blocking, expecting to be hit. The moment your feet hit the ground, grab the opponent for the throw.  Now, keeping in mind Blanka's short throw range, you can see why you might need to practice this some before putting it into your arsenal because you have to land right in front of them. If you land too far away your throw may whiff or it will be telegraphed too much to the opponent who will react with an attack instead of blocking like you want.

 

ELECTRIC THUNDER

TAP PUNCH REPEATEDLY

Electric Thunder has several key uses.  You have to rapidly tap the punch button to initiate it, and it takes 5 punch inputs of any punch strength to initiate. The last punch button presssed determines the strength of the Electric Thunder used. You can also keep tapping the punch button to keep Electric Thunder continuously active until you either get hit out of it or you stop pressing the buttons.

The strength of the punch button used to initiate the attack determines the size of the horizontal area that the electricity covers as well as how long it stays in effect and its damage. The Light Punch has the shortest electric area, inflicts the least damage, and stays in effect the least amount of time.

The EX version of Electric Thunder gives it the widest electrical range and inflicts the most damage, but unless you absolutely need to use EX in a particular situation it is usually better to reserve your EX bars for Blanka's other moves.

All versions of the Electric Thunder are safe on block or give Blanka frame advantage and you can determine when to stop the attack by ceasing to tap the punch button.  If you wish, you can keep the Electric Thunder going by continuing to tap the punch until they are pushed away from you.

This move is useful as a general anti-air, but it is not as safe as some of Blanka's other anti-airs. For one it takes some time for the move to actually start up, and you can be hit out of it if you are struck before the Electric Thunder fully initiates.  Also, you can sometimes still be hit by a jumping attack if they hit you at the right time, as there appear to be brief moments in a continuous Electric Thunder where you can be hit by some attacks from above.

Electric Thunder is also useful on wake-up if you think your opponent is going to use a jumping cross-up on you, as this move pretty much shuts down cross-up games for most characters.

Comboing into Electric Thunder is a good alternative to using a Rolling Attack in combos that start with a jump-in attack, as Electric Thunder does great damage, is very easy to combo into, and is not nearly as punishable as the Rolling Attack is. 

If you are able to use the pianoing technique, you can combo into Electric Thunder to maintain pressure.

Finally, you can use Electric Thunder to just build up EX meter from across the screen if you and/or your opponent are just facing off and trying to determine what to do next.  Keep in mind that one continuous Electric Thunder will not keep charging the EX meter. You have to start and stop the move over and over again quickly to build meter.

COMMUNITY VIDEOS

Half Animal Half Man : Blanka Electricity Tutorial by ReNiCGaming: This tutorial video shows various ways to combo into Blanka electricity using a joystick. It shows all the inputs very slowly, which makes it very useful.

 

SUPER - GROUND SHAVE ROLL

CHARGE BACK, TOWARDS, BACK, TOWARDS + PUNCH

If you are about to win the match and you feel this move will clinch the victory, you should go ahead and use it.  If you are not in this situation, however, completely draining Blanka's EX bar for this Super is usually not a good trade, as Blanka's EX meter is better used with his special moves.

The Ground Shave Roll may look like a mini version of his Lightning Cannonball (Ultra 1) but it is not nearly as dangerous.  You can cancel into this Super from several of Blanka's moves, however.  If a Rolling Attack is used in a combo, you can cancel into Super from that move.  You can also cancel into Super from a crouching Hard Punch.

ULTRA 1 - LIGHTNING CANNONBALL

CHARGE BACK, TOWARDS, BACK, TOWARDS + THREE PUNCHES

The Lightning Cannonball can be devastating to an opponent if you can get it to land.  To opponents who do not know how to block this Ultra, it can seem too powerful.  However, against opponents who know how to block this Ultra, getting it to land can be tricky.  In fact, you almost have to "trick" your opponent into falling for it.

When the Ultra 1 first initiates it connects low.  The Cannonball then rises into the air and comes down in an arch.  During this portion of the Ultra it is airborne and can act as an anti-air if your timing is good.  Lastly, the Cannonball hits the ground and then rolls along the ground for a set distance.  If you hold the three punches you can hold it in place and control when to release it.

So, if your opponent is right next to Blanka when the Ulltra is initiated, they have to block Low (for the initial low connect), then High (to block the aerial arch), then Low (to block the ground roll).

 

First hit connects low then acts as an overhead on the way down. Does massive chip damage. Makes for goofy cross up games.

 

ULTRA 2 - SHOUT OF EARTH

 OR  

 

Two versions:

Kick version acts as a ground type attack, useful vs fireballs.

 

 

 

 

 

Punch version used as anti air, can stop jump in attacks.


Thursday
Feb252010

BLANKA - COMBOS - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4

BLANKA BALL COMBOS

Cross-Up Medium Kick, Crouching Light Kick, Standing Light Punch cancel into Heavy Blanka Ball

Thursday
Feb252010

BLANKA - MATCH UPS - SUPER STREET FIGHTER 4

VS SAGAT

EX Blanka Ball can be countered with Low EX Tiger Shot when Sagat blocks high.

VS BALROG

All Blanka Balls can be punished with Dash Straight!