INO'S STREET FIGHTER IV TIER LIST - FULL TRANSLATION

Well, looks like Claw is F tier after all which is surprising. Thanks again to poonage from SRK for the full translation. 

Here we go folks. I did have to look up a couple of fighting game terms I didn't know for this one, but I'm confident in this translation's accuracy for the most part.

Read and discuss!

begin translation
--
I'm free today, so here's my 2nd diary update for the day . . .

Tentative character rankings!

Whether it's perfect yet is subjective,
but I doubt there are any mistakes.

S: Zangief

He's different. Perfectly different.

When people say he's at a disadvantage to Sagat, I think "what the hell?"

It's one thing to say,
"There's a bad matchup when I use Zangief"
"All characters have a bad matchup against Zangief"
is more like it.

Without taking into consideration the Zangief players who have a life lead and think "I'll SPD them one more time",
I'm really talking just about "the Zangief in my head",

But those "I will keep attacking with Zangief until they're dead" people,
While I don't think that's the best way to play him, I still think that style is strong enough.

For people who have a different opinion,
Against "Zangief with a life lead holding down back",
Please clearly show me an attack style that will beat it!

BESIDES a Ryu with a Shinkuu Hadouken or charging up for one.


AA: Sagat

Strong enough, maybe the character for Street Fighter 2 specialists?

That's what I thought,
but Tiger Knee destroys everything.

If you watch closely it's almost like a dragon punch,
and you can punish whiffed footsies against some characters,
but that's not the problem.

The fact that in addition to his natural SF2 effectiveness,
he still has Tiger Knee puts him at this rank.


A: M. Bison (Dictator)

The fact that he can hang with Zangief/Sagat is his strong point.
There's an overwhelming feeling that he can't do anything to lower ranked characters,
But if you just play regular footsies (or even if you're forced to play footsies), he's strong.


A: Ryu

The speed of fierce Shoryuken is a point of Ryu's adaptation to SF4.
There's also the perfect backdash counter, his hurricane kick.

The rest doesn't need to be said.


A: Rufus

The only character in SF4
who gets a huge return on on throw motions and holding down back.


I can't say anything flattering about his footsies,
but unlike ST and 3rd Strike,
Attacks that control the screen (like fireballs that don't disappear)
Don't exist in SF4, so it doesn't matter too much.


B: Chun Li

By all rights, she's below Zangief/Sagat,
but "she will always lose to any Zangief"
Is too strong of an assessment for this spot.


B: Ken

From here on out, Ken's potential is vast.
Fierce shoryuken and fierce hurricane kick are the bottlenecks.
Bearing Zangief/Sagat in mind,
You can assume that he's not the 3rd best character.


B: Balrog (boxer)
I thought this when I tried him myself, and he's definitely strong.
Because his value is dependent on mind games/readability (besides just headbutt),
You can assume this character has his pros and cons.


B: Abel

As I thought, a strong character.
This is a simple way of saying it,
but he feels a lot like 3rd Strike Makoto.

He's more stylish than Makoto.


B: Blanka

For people who don't understand, his matches probably looks shitty and boring,
but actually he's a character that's easy to understand.

Keeping in mind that he can hold his own against Zangief,
The next time, there's a good chance he will be higher.


C: Viper

She holds much power,
but as I thought, it seems like she doesn't fit the game.

Nonetheless, I haven't used her much myself,
so there's a chance she may climb up to B rank.

There's no way she'll become better than Zangief/Sagat.


C: Fuerte

Depends on your ability to link 18 fierces.

Well . . .
I usually think of it based on me not missing in tournaments,
But I guess this loop is an exception.

That being the case, he goes here.


C: Guile

Even comparing him to the old Guile,
I think he really did become more interesting.

The scariness of letting go of a charge isn't as bad in SF4,
so I really want more Guiles to focus on that when they play.
But I digress.


D: Honda

His basic stats are high,
but each of his moves are way too bad.

Nonetheless,
in SF4's gameplay,
You can't say "this character is weak, therefore they can't win",
So I expect character specialists and hard studiers to make an appearance with him.


D: Dhalsim

For people who say he can win against Ryu and Ken,
I have no idea what you're seeing.

At least now,
There is no Dhalsim that I've lost more than 2 games against.
Someone please explain this to me.

With a CVS2 player like Iyo's skill level,
He might rise a little higher,
but my skill level is lower so he goes here.


F: Vega (claw)

Extremely disadvantaged.

You must be willing to really win with time-ups only.
Or should I say, he's just that kind of character.

It's just that he doesn't have the adequate tools to do even that with,
so that's basically the reason he gets the lowest rank.

With all the tools,
If you concentrate solely on time-up wins . . .

Maybe.

That's the idea.




I am completely riddled by Akuma.

Summary below.

--
S: Zangief
AA: Sagat

A: Dictator, Ryu, Rufus
B: Chun Li (she's only here because of Zangief), Boxer, Abel, Blanka

C: Viper (for now), El Fuerte, Guile



D: Honda, Dhalsim
(Up to now, haven't used them at all)



F: Claw (I expect him to stay here)
--

If I were to write the main idea behind these ranks,

"At my skill level, and the current metagame, this is about right".


To the people that say
"What?! You're not changing Claw??",

I don't expect you to be saying that much longer.
--
end translation

SFIV INSIGHT FROM GOOTECKS: RYU vs AKUMA

Just last week I was checking out this same Ryu vs Akuma video from Korea, (you can find my brief write up in the video analysis section) and saw this on Gootecks blog. A very in depth look at a couple rounds between Ryu and Akuma, shedding some light on the probabilities of each option you have in close quarters situations.

Check it out!

PRE-ORDER ARCADE MANIA FROM AMAZON

I will definitely be picking this up at some point. This is a book that covers Japanese arcades over the years, so it's not just about fighting games but as far as I know there is a significant portion of the book dedicated to such. From what I last read on kotaku.com, there are interviews with top players such as Dagio.

Pre-order at Amazon

ATTN MASSACHUSETTS SF PLAYERS - 9/25-28 @ TOKYO GAME ACTION

Wow, this looks like it will be a lot of fun....and a great deal! The 25th-27th of this you can play SFIV all day at Tokyo Game Action in Winchendon, MA for a flat rate of $20. This goes for all other games in the arcade as well on certain days. This is a release party for their SFIV machine so there will be prizes and food too.

Check out their site for more details: Tokyo Game Action

INO'S SF4 TIER LIST

Well, dont look surprised, we all knew it would be coming at one point or another. 

One thing that is interesting and somewhat puzzling to me and others in the SRK Ino thread on this is.. Claw is F tier? How come he gives me so much trouble at the arcade? I must need more practice.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/vsino/?p=2

S
Zangief

AA
Sagat

A
Dictator
Ryu
Rufus

B
Chun
Ken
Boxer Claw (?)
Abel
Blanka

C
Viper
Fuerte
Guile

D
Honda
Dhalsim

F
Claw Boxer

Update on Monday, September 15, 2008 at 10:02PM by haunts

Looks like the list translation isnt 100% correct, F tier is Balrog...which I guess could potentially be Claw anyway so we'll see. Check the SRK thread for more updates on the translation.

TEKKEN 6: BLOODLINE REBELLION - 2 NEW CHARACTERS

MarkMan over at sdtekken.com posted up some new information on the updated version of Tekken 6 that will be shown at Tokyo Game Show next month. Two new characters will be added to the roster. Rumors have it they will have ridiculous juggles and possibly some broken moves... Just kidding Tekken fans.. well, not really..

Check out sdtekken.com's Tekken 6 page for more information on the vanilla release and the upcoming Bloodline Rebellion.

BRUTAL 144 PT AKIRA WALL COMBO

Another video pulled form the VFDC VF5:R video thread, this time showcasing some Akira shenanigans. The second round, the first two hits alone do 99pts of damage!

Check it out:

SUPER TURBO: HD REMIX INSIGHT & INTERVIEW

Pulled this off of the offical capcom blog, an interview with the ST: HD REMIX producer. Give it a read if you want some new bits of information on the title, which im sure you do!

Rey Jimenez Interview

NEXT LEVEL RYU PLAY.. FROM KOREA?

Looks like those rushdown KOF and Tekken strats are carrying over to SF4 in Korea... Probably the most interesting combo in this video is after the fwd. Fierce, he does a c. jab into a number of other moves, ending with either hurricane kick or fireballs. I usually just see players doing a dragon punch after the fwd. Fierce..

Check it out:

TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM: CLEANER MOVE LIST AND LOCATION TEST VIDEOS

Ok pulled a clean copy of the move list from NeoGAF earlier today.. I'm also posting some of the more interesting videos from the location test that is going on in Japan.

Looks like my theory of the Vital Suit being a one-man team was right!

Wow check out these combos..

Alex taking the Vital Suit to the cleaners!

KING OF FIGHTERS XII & SAMURAI SHOWDOWN: EDGE OF DESTINY COMING TO U.S.

Strait from the GameStop managers confrence (ah, they didnt have this kind of dope shit when I was a manager at GameStop!) we have conformation that both the new HD sprite based KING OF FIGHTERS XII and the 3D SAMURAI SHOWDOWN SEN games will be coming to PS3 and 360 Q2 of 2009.

Ill put $5 down to reserve KOFXII, that's for sure!

A video compilation if you're not familiar with said games.

AM2 NO JUTSU!

Before we get into it... I love the beginning intro with Kage where he is bustin' out the Naruto seals! Okay, i'm sure its old but its new to me..!

Anyway, the real news here is an awesome back throw into wall combo by Taka-Arashi at the end of the video. Check it out..

TATSUNOKO VS. CAPCOM LEAKED MOVE LIST

Looks like this was picked up from the latest location test..  More interesting than the moves themselves is the addition of a Lost Planet character, the end mech in the game, VITAL SUIT PTX-40A. I wonder if he will be a one man wrecking shop like Gold Lightan?

INO'S RUN DOWN OF SFIV'S ABEL

Another great entry from Ino on Street Fighter 4's Abel. Thanks to poonage (love that screen name) from SRK for the translation.

The "Part 2" doesn't have a summary for each character, so I'll slowly be doing all of the text for one character at a time.

First up, Abel:

begin translation
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General:

My first impression of Abel was that at worst, he'd be one of the four best characters.

Perhaps that impression was right.

Strong points:

In addition to his loops and rushdown being an extremely simple 2-way mixup, if you pay close attention to frames, you can construct an extremely low-risk offense.

In other words, think of it like Makoto from 3rd Strike:
"Since I can bully you with either a command grab or an attack, I can actually do nothing and then kill you however I want".
In this way, you can develop an extremely stylish offense.

A strong point even compared to Zangief is that by choosing the alternative to not attack and "waiting to see what happens", you can go for the best possible combo to punish with.

As far as footsies go, Abel has stuff far scarier than his normals such as command roll, flip kick, and his fast dash. These kinds of moves allow patterns that are difficult to deal with, so in a game like Street Fighter 4 which overall doesn't allow you to rush in, Abel is accompanied with a different play style.

In addition to the amazing ability of Forward+MK -> Dash --> Guard (even frames) or hit (guaranteed combo),

You have a small frame advantage after dashing if they guard a Level 1 Focus Attack, and you're especially dangerous against characters that Standing Fierce will connect while they're crouching.

And if that wasn't enough, there's his Ultra.

It will of course go through command (not charge) projectiles,
It's fast enough to punish a backdash on reaction,
It's going to do some damage no matter what.

Essentially, when playing footsies against characters with projectiles and high priority moves (like rolling) Abel may not be the strongest character, but saying he's amazing the moment your Ultra is ready wouldn't be an exaggeration either.


Weak points:

The fact that all of Abel's tools for getting around attacks all have openings is probably his main weakness.

A move that avoids throws, a move that avoids hits, a move that avoids lows; at any rate, he's too well-balanced (lol)!

For safe ways to escape,
Depending on the situation, you have change it up between backdashes and command grabs, and that's the main thing that raises Abel's difficulty to use.
Furthermore, besides a weak punch version Super, anti-air is difficult.
If you can dash under every jump, that's a different story, but . . .


In conclusion,

While noting the point of his strong two-way mixup,
He has good frame advantage, good ground crossup ability,
Even defense needing complex answers with the joystick,

Yeah,
Surely, besides being the one character I would recommend to a VF player,
I can, with confidence, especially recommend this character to players who want to love the game for a long time.

--
end translation

Up next: Chun Li.

GOH TRICKERY

A couple new Goh vids today pulled from the VFDC VF5:R video thread...

First one we have here, he's not doing anything you cant do in VF5 but interesting none the less. Round two, P,K into back turn, back turn throw into shoulder, then 2k+g as Lion quick rises for the trip. He lands a final down attack, so the whole sequence is well over 100pts of damage.

Next, we have Goh vs Jean. You'll see in round 3 something possible in VF5: R. Jean breaks one of Goh's throws, Goh then wiffs P,K and lands the new catch throw after the P,K... Makes you wonder what kind of mix ups are possible with a wiffed P,K in VF5: r now..  Also makes you wonder if it was intentional!

JEAN KUJO 159 pt COMBO

So whats with this trend of pulling off ridiculous combos just to end up losing the round? Nice combo none the less. I cant really comment on what's going on here since I havent played VF5:R yet but I am looking forward to some intense matches on these narrow wall stages if this game ever comes state side.

SAMURAI SHOWDOWN II ON XBLA

Check XBLA on Wednesday for Samurai Showdown II. Not bad for only 400 points.

I CAN HAS VIEWLIX?

Interesting write up by NeoGAF & Gametap's Mr. Jared about the current state of the SFIV arcade machines themselves that have sprung up across the country. Although you have to hand it to the arcade operators for going the extra mile to get SFIV playable here in the states, nothing compares to the true  HD experience. Hopefully someday we will get some authentic Viewlix cabs out here in the bay area before I am forced to make the trek out to Japan.  

I guess going to EVO or GDC and playing on the real deal can be a blessing and a curse.

Read the full article.

KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE MATCH COMING TO XBLA

With TGS right around the corner, a list of games to be at the show has been released and this little gem was on there. No price or date set at this point.

The Tokyo Game Show 2008 game list is up and it’s leaking bits of information. One revelation is The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match will be released as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game sometime in the future. (See page seven.) SNK Playmore just packaged The King of Fighters ‘98 Ultimate Match as a retail PlayStation 2 game in Japan in June. We’re supposed to get sometime in 2009. This remake of the King of Fighters ‘98 has a healthy dose of extra characters and balance changes for top tier players.

No price or details have been announced, but it’s pretty much expected that the Xbox 360 release will be modified for online play. Oh, and we’re still waiting for the Xbox Live Arcade version of Samurai Shodown 2 too which is not listed to appear at SNK’s booth.

12-HIT BALROG COMBO

Nice combo in the first round. Starts off with what looks like a jump in fierce, linking his c. jab after his ex moves, finishing things off with the ultra. Too bad it doesn't win him the match!