Zero - Capcom

"The key to victory is understanding your enemy's strengths and weaknesses."

TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM BIO:

Zero is a member of the Maverick Hunters, a group that hunts down renegade Reploids known as Mavericks.  He is one of the top hunters and has earned an A rank.  He is easily distinguished by his crimson highlights and long, blonde hair. His weapon of choice is the Z-Saber, a sword with a blade of concentrated energy. This powerful weapon can be changed to match the vagaries of battle.

CHARACTER ORGIN

Zero first appeared in the 1993 game Mega Man X for the Super Nintendo.  Zero has since been present throughout the Mega Man series, has starred in the Mega Man Zero series and played supporting roles in other series'.  Zero was first developed by Keiji Inafune when he attempted to create a new design for Mega Man for the Mega Man X series.  Instead, Zero became a foil for Mega Man.

Gameplay Details:

Zero is an easy character to pick up and use, but not necessarily an easy character to master. He boasts excellent ground mobility and safe, fast attacks with great range and is able to perform a variety of tricks to keep his opponent guessing, with fast crossups and safe approaches. He has a tool to deal with just about any situation, and features a range of classic fighting game core skills that one would expect from the likes of Ryu. On the downside, Zero's damage output is VERY poor. He struggles to deal even average damage compared to other characters due to heavy damage scaling on all his attacks. Because of this, Zero needs to engage the opponent many times, whittling down their health instead of defeating them in two or three damaging combos. He also ties for the second worst defense in the game along with Roll, meaning that he needs to play carefully and precisely to avoid taking unecessary damage.

CHARACTER STATS

Difficulty:

Style:

Defensive power:

Offensive power:

Approach strength:

Combo ability:

Meter Usage:

Key Techniques:

Partner Options:

SPECIAL MOVES

RYUENJIN (in air ok)

    
FORWARD DOWN DOWN-FORWARD + ATTACK

A fiery dragon punch that does what one would expect from a dragon punch. A very reliable anti-air which can also be used to end combos. The light version does only one hit but is very fast and very safe, and the others do more hits and more damage, but are less safe. It comes out very fast but sometimes seems to lack range horizontally. The hitbox actually comes out before Zero's body even leaves the ground. This attack is not invincible like a regular shoryuken, but it's large hitbox makes it often seem like it is.

HADANGEKI (in air ok)

   
CHARGE BACK, FORWARD + ATTACK

Zero attacks with a plasma wave. It travels slowly and doesn't deal very much damage, but the attack itself is almost instant and can catch rushers by surprise. The light version travels slowly and can be followed to allow for cover. The mid version hits once and is fast, and the heavy version hits twice. In the air it will fire diagonally downwards.

HIENKYAKU (in air ok)

  
QUARTER CIRCLE BACK + ATTACK

A quick dash that passes through opponents but is not invincible. The light version travels a short distance, the mid version goes further and the heavy version travels diagonally upwards. Using the light version in the air will cause you to fall directly downwards, and the strong version has a similar fast-falling mechanic. You can use one of these per jump. This move is very useful for mobility and for crossups and cancelling out of unsafe attacks.

HYPER ZERO BLASTER (in air ok)

HOLD

Zero charges up his megabuster and then releases a buster shot at the opponent. It can be charged 3 levels, each giving the projectile some improvements. A level 1 charge simply does a very small amount of damage, wheras a level 2 charge knocks the opponent down. A level 3 charge deals the most damage and fires the fattest projectile, causing the opponent to be knocked down more slowly. The startup and recovery of this attack is almost non-existant, and Zero can move almost immediately after firing. This allows for the attack to be useful to extend corner combos. If used in the air, it will fire downwards at an angle.

SENTSUIZAN

IN AIR    
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ATTACK

Zero pauses for a moment and then dives into the opponent with his sword. The light version is a fakeout and does nothing, but cancels all aerial momentum, making it very useful for playing tricks. The mid version has a very fast startup but has landing lag, and the heavy version has some startup time, but almost no landing lag. This attack hits overhead and must be blocked high. It has a large hitbox and can be used for crossups. It also will hit downed opponents. The actual attack itself knocks down on airborn opponents and causes stagger on those who are standing. It's possible to use it right at the start of a jump to create a quick overhead, which is very useful for Zero's mixup game.

HYPER COMBOS

REKKOHA

    
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ANY TWO ATTACKS

After a short delay, Zero punches the ground, causing coloured lazers to rain down upon the stage from above. This attack covers a huge portion of the screen and Zero is completely invulnerable while performing it. The lasers will each juggle the opponent into the next one, making it most powerful if hits at close range. Unfortunately, the startup is very slow and it will often require an assist to combo into it. It can do a total of 5 hits for moderate damage. The real strength of this attack lies in it's usefulness in Delayed Hyper Combinations. If this Hyper is cancelled into a partner's Hyper any time after Zero's fist hits the ground, then the lazers will still appear, allowing for some interesting combinations.

SOUGENMU

    
 QUARTER CIRCLE BACK + ANY TWO ATTACKS

Zero surrounds himself with an aura of energy. The startup is very brief and under some circumstances it can be used to link a combo. When under the effects of the aura, Zero's attacks will do less damage scaling and the effects of all his offensive special moves are doubled, followed by an after image. He is able to fire two projectiles in one shot and the number of hits given to his melee specials are doubled, allowing him to combo in ways he previously could not before. This effect lasts for about 10 seconds and during that time, Zero cannot gain any super meter.

DARK HOLD

   
FORWARD DOWN DOWN-FORWARD + ANY TWO ATTACKS

Zero engulfs his opponent in dark energy before slashing them with his blade. Fairly mediocre damage for a level 3 super, but it is insanely fast and has massive range, hitting from half a screen away in most instances. As well as this, Zero is completely invulnerable while attacking. Best used as a punish rather than in combos, since Zero's attacks scale damage so much that the overall damage output will be severely butchered.

COMBOS

BEGINNER COMBOS

Light, Medium, Crouching Medium, Hard, Launcher -> Light, Medium -> Light Medium ->Ryuenjin

Light (Hold), Medium, Crouching Medium, Hard, Forward and Hard, Release Light (Hyper Zero Blaster)

Light, Medium, Crouching Medium, Hard (1 - hit), Dark Hold

 BREAD AND BUTTER COMBOS (intermediate)

Midscreen

(charge L) M, D+M, H (omit H for less damage scaling) Launcher,  air M, air M, jump, air M, air M,  Buster Shot, H FDP

ADVANCED DAMAGE COMBOS (high-level)

in the corner:

(charge L) M, L+M, H, Launcher,  Air M, Air M,  jump, air M, air M, Charge Shot level 3, QCB+L (land), L, (charge L) M, L+M, H, Launcher,  Air M, Air M,  jump, air M, air M, Charge Shot level 2, RDP+H

Video by "Fantasystar"

Japanese Tatsunoko vs Capcom Blog Combos (Advanced)

Source: http://www.capcom.co.jp/blog/vs/blog/20100129_1590.html