CAPCOM VERSUS SNK 2: GEESE HOWARD FAQ (Masters' Edition) -= SAL's guide to organized crime management made easy =- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ NORMAL ATTACKS: (Note: I'm leaving a lot of simple and/or pointless attacks out of this list) LIGHT PUNCH Good speed and priority. Pitiful damage. You can chain a few together though, and cancel into specials. Snuffs out a lot of opponents' attacks up close. D + LIGHT PUNCH Good speed and priority. Basically just like the standing Light Punch, but lower. D + LIGHT KICK Slightly better range than the crouching Light Punch, but also slightly slower. MEDIUM PUNCH A short punch in front of him. Little range, but can bo cancelled into specials. His close standing Hard Punch tends to be better, but this still gives him some much appreciated additional combo potential. D + MEDIUM PUNCH Crouching punch similar to his standing Medium Punch. Pretty useless, since it can't be cancelled. Just use his crouching kicks instead. MEDIUM KICK This is like half of his double-hit close standing Hard Kick. Okay as a poke sometimes. Can't cancel out of it though, making it mostly useless. D + MEDIUM KICK A low poking kick along the ground. Decent range, and can be cancelled into a Reppuken. Not quite as safe as his crouching Hard Kick due to having less priority, but useful as a combo starter, which the Hard Kick can't be used for. This is also the only move you can reliably combo a Double Reppuken after, although you must be very close to get it to properly chain. MEDIUM KICK (while jumping) An odd looking jump kick. Great for cross-ups, and easy to combo from. Use this whenever your jump will land you just barely on the other side of the opponent. Very vulnerable against jumping attacks. The jumping Hard Kick is generally more useful, but this is more effective at crossing-up an opponent, so make use of it for that purpose. HARD PUNCH (far) A long straight punch. Often misses crouching characters completely because it's so high. Decent range, but it's generally better to use his standing Hard Kick or F + Hard Punch in place of this. HARD PUNCH (close) A quick palm strike. Limited range, but has excellent priority and high damage. It can also be cancelled into special moves, and is generally his best combo starter on the ground. F + HARD PUNCH A hammer punch that looks like it should be an overhead, but unfortunately isn't. Good range though. His only normal attack that reaches further is his far standing Hard Kick. Does tremendous damage, but also knocks the opponent down, so comboing other moves off of it isn't really possible. You can still cancel it into a special move though, which can be useful for when they block it. Train yourself to always chain a Reppuken off of it just to be safe. D + HARD PUNCH A quick upwards punch. High vertical range, but not much horizontal range. Great anti-air technique, especially against cross-up attempts. You can chain special moves off of this on the ground, but not quite as well as with the standing Hard Punch, so it's better to limit this to anti-air purposes. HARD PUNCH (while jumping) A flying double punch. Can score two hits on some larger characters. Seems even easier to combo off of now. Not as much range as his jumping Hard Kick, so you have to make sure you're jumping in close. It's also fairly vulnerable to jumping attacks, so use it carefully. Though not as versatile as his jumping Hard Kick, this is his best aerial combo starter when used in situations appropriate to it. HARD KICK (far) A leaping kick that resembles his jumping Hard Kick, but this one just goes straight ahead instead of up. Decent damage, and has the best range of any of his normal attacks. Also has good priority, making it an excellent way to close in or poke at your opponent relatively safely. Easily flies over most foot sweeps to deliver a free hit, and can hit people in the early stages of a jump as well. A very useful move overall. HARD KICK (close) A quick double kick. Does pretty good damage for a normal attack, but you can't cancel it into a special move. It's usually better to use his Hard Punch when in close and chain something else onto that. D + HARD KICK The king of foot sweeps. Incredible damage for a single hit move. It also has excellent range, speed, and priority, so it can be used often without much worry. Only leaves you vulnerable when blocked extremely close, but even then it's cancellable, so training yourself to always cancel it into a Reppuken will leave you pretty safe in just about any situation. HARD KICK (while jumping) A flying kick with great horizontal range. Very fast, and very damaging. Great for air-to-air combat, as it overrides most other jumping attacks with ease. Its high priority also makes it great for hitting people on the ground. Overall its tremendous versitility makes this his best jumping attack by far. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SPECIAL ATTACKS: REPPU-KEN (WIND SLICE) - D,DF,F + Light/Medium Punch Geese's standard projectile attack. A wave of energy travels along the ground. The Medium Punch version travels slightly faster than the Light Punch version. Can be chained into combos easily. It also has relatively short lag time for a projectile, making it usually quite safe to throw out on its own. Throwing one from the back of the screen allows you time to use Geese's super jump to intercept an opponent trying to jump over it from the other end, making for quite an effective projectile trap at long range. Note that certain characters can go through it with moves that propel them straight forward above the ground though. Moves like Blanka's Horizontal Roll, Terry's Burning Knuckle, and Joe's Slash Kick are all examples of moves that can be used to avoid and counter it. DOUBLE REPPU-KEN (DOUBLE WIND SLICE) - D,DF,F + Hard Punch A variation of the Reppuken attack. Geese performs two consecutive Reppuken attacks, which then join together into one larger one before travelling across the screen. When in its travelling mode the move only hits once, but if an opponent is hit by the initial Reppuken the second one will combo for two hits. The first Reppuken can be used to nullify an incoming projectile special attack, allowing the second to pass through uninhibited. It's only possible to reliably combo this off of the crouching Medium Kick, but you must be very close to the opponent to do this (like within the range his Hard Punch comes out as the close palm strike). It can also combo from a close standing Hard Punch, but only against a few of the larger characters in the game (Chang, Raiden, Zangief, etc.), and even then it doesn't seem too reliable. Often it can be best just to go for the Double Reppuken alone anyway, since it's high priority makes it very safe, and its own two hits already do significant damage on their own. Note though that the initial added lag time needed to create two Reppukens make this significantly more vulnerable to jumping attacks than a single Reppuken. But the good news is that the Double Reppuken is NOT avoidable by moves that would normally pass over the Reppuken. Moves such as Blanka's Horizontal Roll, Terry's Burning Knuckle, and Joe's Slash Kick will be stopped by the Double Reppuken every time. SHIPPU-KEN (GALE SLASH) - D,DB,B + Punch (in the air) Geese's aerial projectile. Angles downwards somewhere between 45 and 30 degrees. You can perform this move at any time during a jump, and also perform it at nearly ground level by using D,DB,B,UB + Punch. The specific Punch button used mostly just determines the lag time Geese has in the air after throwing it out. The Light Punch version is typically all you want, since it's the quickest and safest of the bunch. Great to hit jumpers with. It's an especially effective anti-air technique against people jumping towards you while you're jumping away. You are left vulnerable while coming down afterwards though, so using it against grounded opponents can be risky if they manage to get past it by running/rolling/etc. and intercept you during your landing. Best to use whenever you're jumping back rather than forward, since the more distance between you and your opponent, the safer this move typically is. JOUDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (UPPER BODY BLOW) - F,DF,D,DB,B + Light Punch A counter throw. The throw is completely inescapable, but must first be triggered by the opponent as the move is initiated. This version of the move is triggered by being hit by any jumping attack, special attack, or super move, excluding projectiles and unblockable throws. Geese will not take damage from any attack that successfully triggers the throw. CHUUDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (MIDDLE BODY BLOW) - F,DF,D,DB,B + Medium Punch A counter throw. The throw is completely inescapable, but must first be triggered by the opponent as the move is initiated. This version of the move is triggered by being hit by any standing normal Punch or Kick attack, or any crouching normal Punch attack. Geese will not take damage from any attack that successfully triggers the throw. GEDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (LOWER BODY BLOW) - F,DF,D,DB,B + Hard Punch A counter throw. The throw is completely inescapable, but must first be triggered by the opponent as the move is initiated. This version of the move is triggered by being hit by any crouching normal Kick attack. Geese will not take damage from any attack that successfully triggers the throw. JA-EI-KEN (EVIL SHADOW SMASHER) - F,DF,D,DB,B + Kick A rushing combo attack. Geese slides across the screen, and if he touches an opponent he will perform a three hit combo attack, even if the move is blocked. If he doesn't hit his opponent he will stop at a certain point without attacking. The specific Kick button used determines two things. The first is the distance travelled, with the Hard Kick going the furthest, and the Light Kick going the shortest. The second is the initial lag time on the move, with the Hard Kick having the longest lag time and the Light Kick having the shortest. This second point is an important factor for combo purposes. The Light Kick version combos off of moves quite easily, the Medium Kick has a little more trouble, and the Hard Kick version will not combo at all. There is always a vulnerable lag time after the combo finishes though, and this is the same no matter what button was used. Because of this it's usually wise to only use this move in combos, rather than ever on it's own. The damage on this move has been noticeably toned down since CvS1, but it still provides him with his strongest non-super combo: jumping Hard Punch, standing Hard Punch, Ja-Ei-Ken (F,DF,D,DB,B + Light/Medium Kick). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SUPER MOVES: RAGING STORM (level 1-3) - DB,F,DF,D,DB,B,DF + Punch Pillars of energy erupt in a shell pattern upwards around Geese. A perfect counter against just about anything, but especially useful against jumping attacks and evade rolls. Completely uncounterable when blocked, and nearly uncounterable when it misses as well. There is a small window of opportunity for an opponent to counter attack right at the end of the move, but I'd say it's probably the single safest super move in the game overall. The level used determines the damage and number of hits. It does a maximum of three hits on level 1, four on level 2, and five on level 3. The damage seems even higher now than it was in CvS1, with the level 3 Raging Storm quite possibly being the most damaging super move in the entire game (except perhaps for the super bosses). It also has incredible priority, cleanly beating out most other same-level super moves, and can even absorb projectile super moves. The level 3 version seems to be completely invincible, out-prioritizing absolutely everything. DEADLY RAVE (level 3 only) - F,DF,D,DB,B,F + Light Kick, then Light Punch (x2), Light Kick (x2), Medium Punch, Medium Kick, Hard Punch, Hard Kick, D,DB,B + Hard Punch A rushing combo attack, basically a super Ja-Ei-Ken. Delivers one hit for each button pressed, resulting in a 10-hit combo when fully completed. The final motion and button press can be left out in place of chaining any standing combo in it's place though. Has very high priority, and travels safely through projectiles. Completely uncounterable when blocked, since you can stop the combo at any point, and most of the hits don't leave you open at all afterwards. It only combos on grounded opponents though, since jumping opponents will bounce away from one hit. Not as damaging as the Raging Storm, but still makes a very useful ground counter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COMBOS: These can always be started with a jumping attack. The jumping Hard Punch can add two hits against larger characters, while any of his other jumping attacks can add one. Note that when starting some of these combos from a jumping attack, you must land close to the opponent for the rest of the combo to properly chain, as well as hit them late enough in the jump for them to remain stunned when you land. TRUE COMBOS: MP, Reppuken (D,DF,F + Light/Medium Punch) D+MK, Reppuken (D,DF,F + Light/Medium Punch) HP (close), Reppuken (D,DF,F + Light/Medium Punch) D+HP, Reppuken (D,DF,F + Light/Medium Punch) D+MK (close), Double Reppuken (D,DF,F + Hard Punch) MP, Ja-Ei-Ken (F,DF,D,DB,B + Light Kick) HP (close), Ja-Ei-Ken (F,DF,D,DB,B + Medium Kick) D+HP, Ja-Ei-Ken (F,DF,D,DB,B + Medium Kick) D+HK, Raging Storm (DB,F,DF,D,DB,B,DF + Punch) SEMI-COMBO CHAIN PATTERNS: F+HP, Reppuken (D,DF,F + Punch) D+HK, Reppuken (D,DF,F + Punch) HP (close), Double Reppuken (D,DF,F + Hard Punch) D+HP, Double Reppuken (D,DF,F + Hard Punch) Note that you can replace the Ja-Ei-Ken with a Deadly Rave in any of the true combos listed above. You can also chain any true combo onto the end of the Deadly Rave in place of the final D,DB,B + Hard Punch attack. So, an example of a combo like this would be the following: HP (close), Deadly Rave (F,DF,D,DB,B,F+LK,LP,LP,LK,LK,MP,MK,HP,HK), HP, Ja-Ei-Ken (F,DF,D,DB,B+MK). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ATEMI-NAGE, THE WONDER COUNTER: One of the most important aspects of Geese is to make proper use of the Atemi-Nage. This is arguably Geese's strongest asset, allowing him to safely counter almost anything that's thrown at him. Of course, knowing what version of the Atemi-Nage counters which attacks is the first important step to making use of it. This section will go through and take a closer look at this wonderful move in detail. THE UNTOUCHABLES: Before going into what this move can do, it's important to look at what it can't. The following is a brief but (hopefully) thorough list outlining what is not counterable by any version of the Atemi-Nage: - Projectiles. This includes all special and super projectiles. (eg. Mai's Kachou-Sen, Ryo's Ko'ou-Ken, Kyosuke's Cross Cutter) - Throws. Anything that isn't blockable also isn't counterable. (eg. Zangief's Flying Power Bomb, Yamazaki's Yondan Drill super, any normal throw) - Energy based specials. Non-projectile special attacks that hit indirectly with energy. (eg. Raiden's Poison Spray, Dhalsim's Yoga Flame, Todo's Kasane-Ate) - Energy based supers. Non-projectile super moves that hit indirectly with energy. (eg. Chun-Li's Kikou-Shou, Joe's Double Cyclone Upper, Rock's Raging Storm) - Helper attacks. You can only counter the main controllable character of a pair. (eg. any of Nakoruru's bird attacks, any of Chang's Choi attacks) JOUDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (HIGH COUNTER): Performed with a half circle back and Light Punch. This is his most useful counter. It basically counters three things - jumping attacks, special attacks, and super moves. The following list will break this down a little further: - Normal jumping attacks. Any normal Punch or Kick attack in the air. (eg. Blanka's jumping HK, Benimaru's jumping LK, Chang's jumping HP) - Aerial command moves. Any normal command move from the air. (eg. Chun-Li's Yousou-Kyaku, Benimaru's Drill Kick, E.Honda's Sumo Press) - Special attacks. Any special move that doesn't fall into the uncounterable category above. (eg. Ken's Shoryuken, E.Honda's Hyakuretsu-Harite, Vice's Decide, Yamazaki's Hebi-Tsukai) - Aerial special attacks. All non-projectile aerial specials. (eg. Maki's Tengu-Daoshi, Rugal's Dark Smash, Athena's Phoenix Arrow) - Super moves. Again, any that aren't part of the uncounterable list above. (eg. Ryu's Shin-Shoryuken, Kyo's Final Showdown, Morrigan's Darkness Illusion) - Aerial Super Moves. Same deal as with ground supers. (eg. Kim's Hou'ou-Kyaku, Yun's Hiten Souryuu-jin) CHUUDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (MID COUNTER): Performed with a half circle back and Medium Punch. This counters all standing normal attacks, as well as normal crouching Punch attacks. The following list breaks this down further: - Normal standing Punches or Kicks. Any normal standing attack. (eg. Haomaru's standing HP Slash, Dhalsim's 'stretching-limb' standing attacks) - Normal crouching Punch attacks. Any normal crouching Punch. (eg. Hibiki's normal low sword strikes, Haomaru's D+HP Upper Slash) - Normal standing command moves. Usually a forward joystick direction and button combination. (eg. Ryu's F+MP Sakotsu-Wari, Kyo's F+MK Axe Kick, Yun's F+HP Dakai) - Normal crouching command moves that use Punch. (eg. Blanka's DF+HP Amazon River Run) GEDAN-ATEMI-NAGE (LOW COUNTER): Performed with a half circle back and Hard Punch. This counters all crouching normal Kick attacks. The least complicated of the three versions, but here's a list to break it down anyway: - Normal crouching Kick attacks. (eg. Vega's D+HK slide, Guile's D+HK double kick) - Normal crouching command moves that use Kick. (eg. Kyo's DF+HK 88 Shiki) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GROOVIN' TO A BRAND NEW BEAT: You might be wondering what Groove to use with Geese. Well, the simple answer is, any one you like. Being such a well balanced character really shows through in how Geese handles on different Grooves. No matter which Groove you pick with Geese you'll be able to make use of its strengths to help you out. Here's a quick run-down of each Groove and what is can specifically do for Geese: C-GROOVE: Evade rolling lets you avoid projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. With a full super meter, you can cancel a level 2 Raging Storm into a level 1 Raging Storm, which will do more damage than a level 3 Raging Storm on its own. A-GROOVE: Evade rolling lets you avoid projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. Geese does a lot of damage from his normal attacks, so custom combos can be quite damaging. And to add even more damage, you can finish a custom combo off by cancelling it into a Raging Storm. P-GROOVE: Parrying provides a defense against projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. S-GROOVE: Dodging lets you avoid projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. You can also use Raging Storms at will when your life is flashing, or chain a level 1 Raging Storm off of a level 3 Raging Storm or Deadly Rave for a combo. N-GROOVE: Evade rolling lets you avoid projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. You can use the Deadly Rave or level 3 Raging storm with only two levels of the super bar. The 'Power Max' mode increases Geese's damage a bit, and since he's already so strong this can really make him a powerhouse. K-GROOVE: Just Defending provides a defense against projectiles and some other uncounterable moves. You can raise the Rage bar by using the Atemi-Nage. Even though you don't take damage, it still counts as a hit as far as the Rage bar is concerned. When in Rage Mode, damage is increased significantly, which makes the already strong Geese into a monster. This is my personal favorite Groove to choose for Geese. Overall, Geese is a pretty self-reliant fighter, and he doesn't really need to rely on the general abilities of certain Grooves. He doesn't really need evade rolling for anything except avoiding certain attacks, but the Grooves that don't have evade rolling all have some other way of avoiding or defending against attacks anyway. Running can be a bit of a benefit, but Geese can also get by with dashing easily enough. And other Groove abilities like safe falls, counter attacks, and short jumps are also all mostly irrelevant to Geese. As a result, there isn't really any Groove that Geese can't work with, which leaves the decision of which one to use best made by your personal preference, rather than any objective technical comparisons between their specific abilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL STRATEGY: While not completely invincible, Geese is probably the strongest and most balanced character in the game overall. The versatile arsenal of moves in his Kobu-Jutsu style gives him an answer to almost everything. But Geese is also possibly the hardest character in the game to master, so the challenge lies in getting good enough to make use of this incredible potential. This section will go over some general strategies that will hopefully be of benefit in putting together a solid gameplay strategy for him. SURF'S UP: Geese has some great projectile capabilities, and what's especially nice is that his different energy wave moves can be useful for different things. The Reppuken is your standard long-range projectile. It has relatively little lag time after throwing it out, so tossing it from across the screen is generally a pretty safe thing to do. If they try jumping it from that far away, you often have enough time to block, Atemi-Nage, or even super jump to intercept them in the air with a flying Hard Kick. The two different speeds of the Light and Medium Punch versions also add some variety that can throw opponents off. Use them at will when far away from the opponent, but you should avoid using it in close (except in combos), because like most standard projectiles, the Reppuken leaves you slightly vulnerable when blocked up close. The Double Reppuken is basically a totally different move though. It stays in place at the start, making it less ideal as a long-range projectile. Opponents are generally going to see it coming and easily avoid it from far away. But it is an ideal move to use as a close range attack. It actually has less lag time afterwards than the Reppuken does, meaning you won't risk getting hit if it's blocked up close. The first hit of the Double Reppuken can often hit attacking opponents, and then combo the second hit, resulting in a ton of damage. And even if it's blocked, you do a ton of damage to their guard bar and aren't left vulnerable to being hit back. It also makes a fairly reliable evade-roll deterrant, due to rollers easily getting caught up in the stationary starting part of it and taking those nasty 2 hits. If you see an opponent starting a roll which will not end up going behind you, just start the Double Reppuken and watch them end up inside it when they stop. Whether they get hit or block, there's always a payoff and almost no risk. But as a general rule of thumb, remember that the Reppuken is better for long-range projectile combat, while the Double Reppuken is to be used in close. The only time the Reppuken won't work at long range is when you're dealing with a character who has a move that can go quickly over the Reppuken and hit you out of it. Characters like Blanka and E.Honda are especially good at this, for instance. Against these kind of opponents you actually may want to use the Double Reppuken from far away instead, because unlike the Reppuken it will hit them out of their respective charging moves if they try using them as a counter. And alternatively, the only time the Reppuken should be used in close is when chaining it off of other moves, either as a true combo, or just to make your normal attacks less vulnerable when blocked. Geese's foot sweep (D+HK) is a good example here, where chaining a Reppuken off of it can actually decrease the chance of being hit when it's blocked. STAYING FOOTLOOSE AND FANCY FREE: One thing left noticeably undealt with by Geese's Atemi-Nage are throws. Luckily, Geese himself can throw with the best of them. Geese's normal throws, the Shinkuu-Nage (B/F+HP) and Kosatsu-Nage (B/F+HK), both have incredible range, priority, and damage, so make use of them. If your opponent evade rolls into your throw range, pick them up and toss them back. If they jump in without attacking, send them flying on a return trip. And if they walk in a little too close for comfort, a prompt throw should make them think twice about violating your personal space again. His two different throws are basically identical except for one aspect, and that's where the opponent will land after being thrown. If you want to keep your opponent in close, use the Kosatsu-Nage (B/F+HK), which will slam them down right in front of you. If you'd rather toss them away to get some breathing space, use the Shinkuu-Nage (B/F+HP), which will launch them clear across the screen. Whichever one you use is mostly arbitrary, but throwing does fill a crucial part of Geese's defense, so don't neglect to use at least one of them when appropriate. STORMING YOUR WAY TO THE TOP: Geese's two super moves are both nothing short of incredible, and very complimentary to each other. His Raging Storm I would even go so far as to label as the best super move in the entire game overall. Like most supers, on level 1 the priority isn't the best, and he can he hit out of the startup frames on occasions. But once it safely comes out it's almost invincible even on level 1, and does incredible damage. On level 3 is where it becomes a real monster though. In this form it's quite possibly the strongest super move in the game, speaking in terms of raw potential damage. On top of that, it takes priority over any other super move, comes out instantly, is completely uncounterable when blocked, and is almost uncounterable even when it misses. This is due to the fact that throughout the entire time the Raging Storm is active, the energy pillars will punish all incoming attacks, and will even absorb super projectiles. The only chance someone has of attacking you is the slight lag time at the end of the move, when the pillars dissipate and Geese is still crouching in position. This is a very small window of opportunity though, making the Raging Storm not only the most powerful super move in terms of damage and priority, but the safest super move overall as well. While best used on level 3 for the added priority, even the level 1 version makes an excellent counter if you can get it off ahead of time. The most obvious use for the move is as an anti-air technique, as it will easily trap jumping opponents and punish them ruthlessly. But it also makes a great counter for evade-rolling too. When an opponent rolls in, just start the Raging Storm, and they're guaranteed to get trapped in it when their roll stops. It also makes a perfect attack to use while getting up from a fall. If your opponent is standing over you or jumping in while you're down, pull off a Raging Storm as you get up and watch them pay dearly for any attack they might try. And even if they don't attack, they'll still have to block it if they're standing within its range, which will at least leave you able to block any attempted retaliation afterwards. Because of the Raging Storm's safety, you can also use it to counter any incoming attacks of pretty much any sort. If anyone gets close enough to you while it's active they'll be helplessly caught in the energy pillars for tons of damage, so use it whenever you see your opponent charging in with a special attack. In fact, because the move has such a low risk and such a high payoff, you should feel free to abuse this thing almost as much as you possibly can. The only exception is in times when a Deadly Rave is more suitable. While not as damaging as a level 3 Raging Storm, the Deadly Rave is perfect to use in two types of situations that the Raging Storm isn't as appropriate at handling. One is against ground attacks that aren't within the Raging Storm's reach. If someone attacks you with a ground attack from foot sweep distance, for instance, they might be blown back for only one hit by the Raging Storm, rather than normally being trapped for its multiple hits. This is because the Raging Storm actually has to come in contact with their body, not just an extended limb, to have the full and proper effect. The Deadly Rave will override their ground attack and be able to land the full string of combo hits though. So if your opponent likes to play a ground game and doesn't jump or roll a lot, the Deadly Rave can sometimes be a lot easier to connect. Another nice ability of the Deadly Rave is against projectiles. Using this allows Geese to slide harmlessly through all projectile special attacks, and even some supers. The Raging Storm absorbs all projectiles, but it's not going to score you any damage against someone tossing them at you from a distance outside its reach. So when you see an opponent throw a projectile from a medium distance away, just activate the Deadly Rave for a free 10-hit combo instead. SOAR LIKE THE WIND: Not only is Geese a formidable opponent on the ground, but he can play a very effective air game as well. His super jump in particular is one of the best in the game. It flies an amazing full screen's distance, and very quickly. Fast enough, in fact, that he can use it to counter most projectiles thrown from a full screen distance away. Suppose you're on opposite ends of the screen from Ryu, for instance, and Ryu throws a Hadoken. If you immediately super jump towards him, you'll be able to hit him with a jumping Hard Kick into crouching Hard Kick combo before he recovers from the move in time to block. Note that this doesn't work against all projectiles, but a large majority of them have enough lag time to let you make it in like this. While airborne, Geese has several moves that are very useful. His jumping Hard Kick has excellent reach and priority, and should be your main jumping attack. It's excellent for air-to-air combat, and fairly good for air-to-ground as well. His jumping Hard Punch is slightly better in this department though. It seems even easier to combo off of than it was in CvS1, and makes an excellent air-to-ground tactic. It's pretty horrible against jumping opponents though, and doesn't have much horizontal range, so you want to make sure you're coming down right on top of a grounded opponent with it. If you go even further with your jump, his jumping Medium Kick can be useful for cross-ups. And one last important aerial move that can be forgotten is his Shippuken. This isn't to be thrown out constantly, because it is avoidable on the ground and you will be counterattacked as you're left vulnerable on the way down afterwards. But it excels in two specific uses. The first is in air-to-air combat. Even if they use some sort of air blocking to defend against it, there's nothing they can do to hit you afterwards. You typically want to tag jumpers with this while jumping back or straight up rather than forward though, just to be safe. Remember that you're helpless on the way down from this thing, and generally speaking, the closer you are in horizontal range to your opponent, the higher the chance is they'll be able to intercept and punish you on the landing. The only time you want to use it while jumping forward is if you're fairly sure the opponent will try to use an anti-air move on you as you come in. The Shippuken will then stop your forward movement and hit the opponent out of whatever technique they were using to try to intercept you on the way in. This will likely make them think twice about trying to air counter you blindly every time they see you jump, and this in turn can leave them more vulnerable to your jumping normal attacks. You don't want to overuse this move too much, but mixing it up well in your aerial game now and then can really have a significant effect in throwing your opponent's guard off, so you also certainly don't want to be completely neglecting it either. HOLDING YOUR GROUND: Geese tends to play his best ground game when just out of combo range. He has some excellent close pressure tactics abilities, such as his standing and crouching Hard Kick, the F + Hard Punch Hammer Fist, and the Double Reppuken. His far standing Hard Kick is one of the safest ways to move in on an opponent and poke at the same time. It's uncounterable when blocked, unless it's done very close. Learn to use it from an appropriate distance and it's almost completely safe. Opponents will often still try to attack afterwards though, making this a great move to set up some counters. If they like to try a foot sweep after blocking the Hard Kick, for instance, follow it with a Gedan-Atemi-Nage. If they like to do some other attack, just counter appropriately. Anything they do you can counter in some way. And if they do nothing, poke them with more standing Hard Kicks until they do decide to try something. Geese's moves have great guard breaking ability, so throwing them out like this basically ensures they'll either have to do something or get hit eventually anyway. And when they do start to attack, Geese's defensive abilities can often easily punish anything they throw at you. Ideally, you should always be using the Atemi-Nage wherever appropriate. If they jump at you you can also use a crouching Hard Punch or a Raging Storm. If they evade roll at you, foot sweep, throw, or just Double Reppuken them out of it. If they throw projectiles, remember you can either use a Double Reppuken to cancel it out, avoid or defend against it with whatever appropriate Groove ability you've got, jump in and combo, or just Deadly Rave right through it. When using all of Geese's abilities he becomes nearly invulnerable. But the key is getting good enough to instinctively know when to use what, so you'll be able to react appropriately to any situation. LETTING THEIR GUARD DOWN: As I've already briefly alluded to several times, Geese has incredible guard cruching ability, and the key to a good offensive strategy can often lie in making the most out of this. There is no other character in the game that I've found who can come close to matching the speed that Geese can potentially drain an opponent's guard bar. Several moves in particular are best used for this strategy. First there's his standing Hard Kick (far) and crouching Hard Kick. These are basically his long range guard bar chippers. Very safe to do from their maximum range. While you may find them easily blocked by opponents a lot of the time (especially his standing Hard Kick), these moves take off a lot of guard bar when they are, especially for a one-hit normal attack. If you're in a little closer, his F + Hard Punch is an ideal guard crush tactic. It's not perfectly safe due to it's slight lag on startup, but it can be worth it. When it hits it does a ton of damage, and when it's blocked it takes off a huge amount of the guard bar. In fact, I'm pretty sure this does the most blocked guard bar damage out of any normal attack in the entire game (the only possible competitor for this may be Chang). The real guard crush monster is his Double Reppuken though. The main reason you want to be aiming to use this whenever you're up close is because when both hits are blocked seperately, the guard bar takes a hit of about 30% damage. Not even most level 3 super moves can do that. And even when a Double Reppuken is too far for the two hits and is only blocked once, it still takes off quite a fair amount, especially for a projectile. These are his main guard crushing moves, but you can even boost their effeciency even more by chaining them together. The crouching Hard Kick and Reppuken are already big guard bar eaters, for instance, but if you always chain a Reppuken onto a blocked crouching Hard Kick, you're effectively combining their seperate effects to knock their bar down even more. Same goes for the F + Hard Punch, which can be cancelled into a Reppuken whenever it's blocked for that extra guard crush potential. You can also simply chain moves with high guard crush potential together into patterns even if they don't combo, like following a far standing Hard Kick with a crouching Hard Kick into Reppuken, a F + Hard Punch into Reppuken, or maybe just a Double Reppuken if you want to be safe. This offensive strategy lets you attack constantly, and effectively eliminates blocking as a proper defense against it. Being able to mix this with the ability to switch into a responsive defensive strategy at a moment's notice whenever the opponent tries to take the initiative, and Geese essentially becomes an unstoppable killing machine, able to control every aspect of a match to a degree unlike any other character in the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ email me at: bitoku_no_kishi@hotmail.com Also check out my CvS2 Eagle guide, available at www.GameFAQs.com.