Joe the Condor - Tatsunoko

"The tragedy of all losers is that they think they were on the verge of victory."

TATSUNOKO VS CAPCOM BIO:

Joe the Condor puts his skills as a crack shot to use as the second-in-command for the Science Ninja Team. His weapons of choice are his trusty Air Gun and Feather Shuriken, and he employs them to a deadly advantage in battle. After his parents were killed when he was very young, he vowed that he would not rest until all evil was eradicated, and he will use any means to achieve that single-minded goal.

Character Origin

Ken the Eagle is a member of a 5-hero super team in the popular Tatsunoko series originally named Kagaku Ninja Tai Gatchaman. The series is best known to English-speakers by its adaptation title of Battle of the Planets (or G-Force).

 Gameplay Details:

Joe the condor is a speedy fighter who can attack at any range. His moves are sometimes a little wild but for the most part he is able to keep his blockstrings tight when he gets in close and begins to pressure the opponent. At a distance he has a range of projectile specials to poke at opponents who try to run. He sports a very effective counter attack to deal with over agressive opponents as well. Joe the Condor's combos are powerful and he can use his shurikens and guns to extend his air combos in very creative ways, and as his shurikens can cancel special moves he is able to keep himself safe while pressuring the opponent. While he may seem easy to play at first, the complexity of his feather shurikens keep him from being easily mastered, and make him difficult to play using anything other than a fight stick.

CHARACTER STATS

Difficulty: Moderate-Advanced

Style: All-range/rushdown

Defensive power: He has average HP and his counters and shurikens allow him to stay relatively safe while attacking. The shurikens can be used both offensively and defensively.

Offensive power: Joe deals great damage overall, with strong options to get damage from his combos and finishers. His singular projectile attacks are quite weak though, so he will rely on getting close in order to deal any real damage.

Approach strength: Once Joe gets in, he can keep attacking for as long as he has a shuriken prepared to cancel out his specials. With an assist to help him, this allows him to put on some serious pressure.

Combo ability: Joe can use his shurikens and guns to extend his air combos, which can be complicated since buttons need to be held. The result is fairly impressive when done correctly.

Meter Usage: Joe rarely uses meter except for Megacrash and finishing off his combos with either Condor Magnum or Science Ninpo Tornado Fighter,  although this isn't necessary most of the time. His Bird Missile is very rarely used in Variable Hyper Combinations. Other than this, Joe builds meter fairly quickly thanks to his ability to pressure at close range.

Key Techniques: Players should learn how to use Joe's guns and shurikens to extend air combos, which is more complicated than it seems. Learning how to buffer shurikens during combos and blockstrings is crucial to making the most of Joe's unique skillset.

Partner Options: Joe can use any projectile super to keep his pressure on. He also works well with Polimar, who's assist is helpful. Joe and Polimar can do a powerful Variable Hyper Combination using Polimar's Tenshin Polimar Drill and Joe's Bird Missile against downed opponents. He also works well with Roll for the same reasons.

Special Moves

WILD LASSO

   

CHARGE BACK, FORWARD + ATTACK

Joe lassos his opponent, pulling them to the ground and firing his gun at them. The first hit comes out quite fast and counts as a projectile throw, but can be blocked. The light version fires at his feet, the Mid version fires straight ahead and the Heavy version fires diagonally upwards. The light version of this attack will hit opponents who are down, making it very useful to finish long combos ending with an aerial Heavy attack.

SAVAGE SHOT (air ok)

    

FORWARD DOWN DOWN-FORWARD + ATTACK

Joe fires his gun diagonally. If used in the air, he fires downwards at an angle. This projectile comes out 

very fast and is good for playing keepaway and harassing opponents who are trying to jump too much. If used while airborn, it allows him to attack afterwards, which gives him the ability to string together some interesting air combos. The button pressed determines how many bullets he fires.

SHURIKEN FEATHERS (air ok)

HOLD 

Joe flings a feather shuriken at his opponent. This projectile travels horizontally full screen quite quickly and has very little startup or lag. The button held determines the speed and power of the projectile. Light deals one hit and moves the slowest, Mid moves fairly quickly and deals two hits, and Heavy is the fastest with 3 hits. Joe can charge all three shurikens and release them separately, making it more useful to players using arcade sticks as opposed to game pads. The amount of time needed to charge the shurikens also increases with the strength of the button. This special is unique in that it can cancel from other special moves.

CACTUS BUNKER

    
 HALF CIRCLE BACK + ATTACK

A counter move that activates when Joe is hit while in a back-turned stance. The game cuts to a stylish red and black silhouette scene of Joe firing at his opponent, who is then launched into the air. This move will counter all melee attacks, regardless of whether they hit high, overhead or low including air moves. It doesn't hit Hyper moves. After the attack, Joe can baroque to continue a combo, or he can use wild lasso to get some more damage. If he's close enough he can even combo afterwards with a crouching light attack and turn it into a launcher combo.

BATTERING RAM

     
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ATTACK

Joe does a step kick, planting his boot in his opponents face. The light version of this attack is the fastest, but it causes a crumple when it hits. Opponents can only be hit out of the crumple via baroque, Hyper attacks or a partner's assist. The Mid version causes stagger and is a bit slower. The Heavy version is very slow but has super armor for the startup and wallbounces the opponent if it hits.

Hyper Combos

CONDOR MAGNUM (air ok)

    
QUARTER CIRCLE FORWARD + ANY TWO ATTACKS

Joe throws two waves of shurkens at the opponent before moving in and delivering a powerful punch which puts them into a crumple state. The animation differs depending on how close he is to the opponent. At close range he will walk over and punch them, but at far range he dashes offscreen and then flies in from above. The first hit of this super stuns while the last hit puts the opponent into a cinematic state, making only the first hit useful in Hyper Combinations. If used in the air, Joe will throw the shurikens diagonally downwards, and the punch will slam the opponent into the ground.

BIRD MISSLE STRIKE

   
FORWARD DOWN DOWN-FORWARD + ANY TWO ATTACKS

Joe summons the God Pheonix, which peppers the ground with bullets and then launches a Bird Missile. The Bird Missile will return exactly 5 seconds later and damage anyone who is standing on the ground, or down on the ground...including Joe himself or his partner. Not a particularly useful move by itself, but it can be canceled early into a Delayed Hyper Combination for some amusing results. With enough creativity it's possible to combo into it, especially if you have a partner such as Roll who can keep the opponent grounded for some time.

SCIENCE NINPO: TORNADO FIGHTER (air ok)

     
HALF CIRCLE BACK + ANY TWO ATTACKS

Joe and Ken team up, striking the opponent before sending them into a tornado. If Joe's partner is Jun, she will assist instead of Ken. The initial hit is easy to combo into and can be performed in the air. Afterwards, Joe can add a bit more damage by hitting the opponent with a light Wild Lasso as they hit the ground.

Assists

Assist

Joe uses his Wild Shot as his assist. Not really all that great at continuing combos, but a fairly decent anti air and good for discouraging opponents from jumping in certain situations.

Variable Counter

Variable Hyper Combination

Bird Missile Strike

Combos

BEGINNER COMBOS

Light, Medium, Crouching Medium (2 Hits), Hard, Launcher (HOLD HARD) -> Light, Light, Medium, Medium -> Medium, Medium, Release Hard, Hard Savage Shot