Polimar - Tatsunoko

"Transformation is just one of my many abilities!"

TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM BIO:

A heroic crime fighter with a strong sense of justice, Polimar is a master of the invincible Hurricane-style martial art, which is known for its magical movements. He also wears the Polimar Suit, a special high-tech crime-fighting suit made of shape-shifting memory plastic. The real man hidden under the suit is Takeshi Yoroi, a private detective’s assistant, whose undercover identity is that of a hapless loser.

 

CHARACTER ORIGIN

Hurricane Polymar first aired in 1974. Polimar is the secret identity of Takeshi Yoroi. He wears a special suit made of memory plastic which enables him to assume any shape which he uses to fight crime.

Gameplay Details: Hurricane Polimar is one of those characters who needs to work to get in on the opponent, but can really lay down the pain when he does manage to find an opening. He is a short ranged fighter with quick moves, but his walking speed is incredibly slow. While Polimar may not deal huge damage per hit like Tekkaman, his combos just go on and on and on, and with his aerial grab super reset he can add even more damage to his already frightening combos. Through his emblems he is able to cancel his special moves into other specials up to three times, making him friendly towards players who love making up free form combos on the fly. With patience and good support, Polimar only ever needs to find an opening twice and he may as well have defeated one opponent.

CHARACTER STATS

Difficulty: intermediate

Style: combo grappler fusion

Defensive power: His HP is average, but many of his defensive techniques are a little risky to perform. His invincible stance and F+M feint may discourage some opponents from attacking, but against fighters who have better range he needs to be cautious to prevent from being overhwelmed.

Offensive power: Polimar deals scary amounts of damage if he can land a combo, moreso with emblems (which are fairly easy to aquire.) His Hypers are also incredibly powerful if he can land them, which makes him a great partner for some specific Delayed Hyper Combinations.

Approach strength: This is one field where Polimar is lacking. He has trouble pushing his assault due to his short range and slow movement. His stance and feint only get him so far, but are still important for overcoming his weakness.

Combo ability: Even without his emblems, Polimar can carry his combos on and on. Almost all of his normals can combo into each other and into specials, and from there his specials can combo further into other specials into links into an air combo into a powerful reset. It also helps that his combos are not particularly difficult or technical to perform.

Meter Usage: Meter is mainly used for Polimar's infamous aerial hyper grab reset. He builds a lot of meter through his combos and usually will have at least 1 bar before finishing his combo with the hyper. However, sometimes players may want to forgo the finisher in order to save up the meter for megacrash.

Key Techniques: Polimar players should learn how to use his emblems to extend combos, as well as how to use his reset to finish air combos. Other than this, Polimar doesn't have any particularly difficult techniques.

Partner Options: Anyone who can cover for Polimar while he approaches is a useful partner. Characters who can make use of his skills in Hyper combinations may also be worth a look. Polimar  himself is a fantastic partner due to his assist, which is great for characters who need some time to land a slow but powerful attack during combos.

Special Moves

STORM KAMAE

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 QUARTER CIRCLE BACK + ATTACK

Polimar takes a stance and gains one emblem, during which he cannot move or block but has some invulnerability. While taking this stance, pressing an attack button will cause Polimar to execute one of three attacks depending on what button is pressed. Light will cause him to perform a sliding kick, mid will cause him to perform a backfist and strong will cause him to dash forward and automatically attempt to grab the opponent with his forward throw. The strong version is often useful for closing in on the opponent and for pressure.

RAZOR CHAIN KICKS

   
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ATTACK

A rapid kick attack. Hits 4 times and comes out quite quickly. Doing this by itself leaves Polimar vulnerable as it doesn't cover much vertical space, but it's quite useful during combos. On a grounded opponent it will keep them standing, while on an airborne opponent it will juggle them in place, allowing for it to be comboed easily into Hurricane Destruction Fist at the expense of one emblem.

HURRICANE DESTRUCTION FIST

   
CHARGE BACK, FORWARD + ATTACK

Polimar pauses for a moment and then hits the opponent with a gut punch followed by a palm strike. Button pressed determines the damage and startup time. This attack wallbounces the opponent and is vital in continuing some of Polimar's more damaging combos. Like his other specials, it's really not that useful outside of combos as it can be punished if blocked and has short attacking range. During combos it's generally safer to use the light or mid versions, as the strong version takes some time to start and will cause the combo to drop on many occasions.

3-STAGE REACTION KICK

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FORWARD DOWN DOWN-FORWARD + ATTACK

A three-hit rekka-ken style attack. Each kick requires it's own input. Quite useful as an anti-air due to it's speed and also very powerful in combos. The last hit of the attack causes knockdown. The first hit is safe on block, but everything afterwards can be punished.

Hyper Combos

SINGLE HANDED VACUUM SPIN - HYPER COMBO LEVEL 1

    
360 MOTION + ANY TWO ATTACKS

An unblockable grab super with very short range. The startup time is very slow and the opponent is able to jump out after the super flash. It's more powerful on the ground, but the real strength in this attack is that it can be used as an unescapable air reset against most opponents. If throwing this out at the end of an air combo, the opponent will fall right into Polimar's grasp without being able to retaliate. A standard Hyper's worth of unscaled damage at the end of each combo is quite significant, especially considering how much damage Polimar's regular combos do even by themselves. Polimar can easily take off more than half of most character's life just by comboing into one of these. However some characters who have aerial shoryukens or teleports can escape it. As a general rule it should never be used on the ground outside of Delayed Hyper Combos as it's just too slow and easy to avoid.

TENSHIN POLIMAR DRILL

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Polimar gets down on his knees and throws his hands in the air before transforming into a drill car, driving across the screen before disappearing and driving back in the opposite direction. Deals incredible damage for a level 1 super (upwards of 20,000b which is more than some character's level 3 supers) but it comes at the price of being incredibly slow. The last hit of the first drive-through will knock the opponent down, allowing the second drive-through to land. If the opponent is airborn during the first part of the attack they will be able to block the followup. By itself it can rarely be used as a punish but it's true worth is in Delayed Hyper Combos. This super will hit downed opponents too. While in his car form, Polimar is completely invincible.

ILLUSION DESTRUCTIVE FIST - HYPER COMBO LEVEL 3 (REQUIRES 3 EMBLEMS)

    
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ANY TWO ATTACKS

After a short pause, Polimar strikes the opponent into the air before splitting into several illusionary copies, attacking from all angles before slamming the opponent to the ground and giving a final crushing attack with his feet. One of the most powerful level 3 supers in the game. It's fairly standard to use but is a bit slow. He can otherwise combo into it naturally, so it's a good way to finish off a combo if the opponent would soon be able to megacrash. Just be wary as this attack also requires 3 emblems to use.

Assists

Assist

Polimar jumps in and attacks with his katana kick. One of the most useful assists in the game, it keeps the opponent pinned for a very long time, allowing for most characters to combo into their slower supers and set up for more complex strategies. Unlike the regular katana kick, it will always lift the opponent off the ground even if they were standing at the time.

Variable Counter

Polimar attacks with the same animation as his F+H backfist. Not overly spectacular as a V.counter but useful enough to be used.

Variable Hyper Combination

When used in a Variable Hyper Combination, Polimar will attack using his Henshin Polimar Drill super.