All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright owners. Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Author- Nnamz25@hotmail.com Version 1 This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of public display is strictly prohibited, and violation of copyright. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Introduction Piccolo is my favorite character in the anime series, and for the 3rd game in a row is my favorite character in the game as well. For the last few iterations of this game Dimps has been very kind to Piccolo. Budokai 1 -Piccolo was Mid Tier. He didn't have any cancel chains and no good way to combo into anything other then Destructive Wave, but that is pretty much the same boat as almost every other character in the game. Budokai 2 -Piccolo was arguably Top Tier in this game. He was a very unique character, being able to play defensive (Nullifying attacks with his <K starter) and offensive (Starter off the fast and good reaching >P starter) at will in a match, something very few other characters could do. His damage was above average also. (Dishing out something like 1900 damage) Budokai 3 -Piccolo was probably the best character in this game. In an attempt to make characters more unique, dimps gave Piccolo the ability to stretch his arms for some of his attacks. This opened doors to some nasty zoning strategy thanks to the reach, speed and recovery time of his stretch chains (namely >P>PPPP). To top it off, he was a mediation user and his level 2 death move only used half a ki gauge. He was also no slouch in damage, dishing out over 2000 damage with a death move combo. But how does he fair in Shin Budokai? He murders all his past iterations, that's how. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piccolo's Pros - He is now the most damaging character in the game. - "S" starter has HUGE reach, unheard of in any other Budokai game. It also nullifies attacks and is chargeable like any other S attack. - His combos are short (time wise). As a matter of fact he could do his best combo in the span it takes his opponent to recover 1 ki gauge, which is insane since it's the most damaging combo in the game. Piccolo's Cons Piccolo literally has no shortcomings. In some areas like close range combat he is average, however he has nothing that is below average in this game. A while ago it was thought a weakness of his was that his Special Beam Cannon was useless since it couldn't be comboed into and it was too slow to catch anyone. This rumor has been disregarded by recent discoveries. First off, it can be comboed into by Aura Burst canceling off of a charged "E" after his <S>R chain, so it can be used in matches. Second, even if it wasn't, you can transform mid combo and use his Hellzone Grenade off of the transformation, which you should be doing all the time anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piccolo's Main Strategy *For those of you who aren't familiar with Piccolo's Budokai 3 play style, please skip to the next paragraph, as the first one will make no sense to you* Piccolo has vastly changed from his last version in Budokai 3. This is mostly due to new combo starters, and new overall gameplay changes in speed and priority. As veteran Budokai 3 players already know, Piccolo's trademark technique in that game was zoning. His speed, reach, recovery time and the fact that his body remained where it was while he was using his stretchy limbs , enabled him to do so. By throwing out relentless >P chains, Piccolo was almost ensured the first shot at a combo and almost ensured that the next hit be his since his opponent will still be out of reach of him or too slow to beat his next attack. But Shin Budokai's version plays a lot differently, even if they have similar move sets. In this game, Piccolo's main combo starter is his "S" smash attack starter. Like all smash attacks, this attack is chargeable and nullifies 1 hit when used. If used against a rush attack, it will get priority. If used against another smash attack, depending on the timing and range, one attack will win, or they will cancel each other out. But unlike all other smash attack starters , Piccolo's "S" starter can reach someone who is halfway across the screen! No other move comes close to reach like that. For a demonstration, go into training mode with Piccolo. Once you're in walk right up to his opponent. Now take 4 full steps back. (His legs coming together, then opening again is counted as 1 step) Now use his "S" starter. It connects and can be comboed by adding on "SS" faster it, charged or not charged. Piccolo's S starter is also not counted as part of his hitbox. This means that if your opponent gets cheeky and tries to hit Piccolo's arm while Piccolo is using his "S" starter since he can't reach his body, that it won't work. To hit Piccolo you need to get inside, not attack his limbs. And to top it all off, the following two "S" after his initial "S" starter, track his opponent. So if your opponent decides to side step, side-dash, or Aura Burst side-dash away from the initial "S" starter, Piccolo doesn't have to stop and defend himself since the next the next hit will be telegraphed at his opponent as soon as it comes out. I've even managed to hit opponents who have tried to Aura Burst side-dash to avoid it. Sometimes they will manage to avoid it, depending on the timing of "S" thrown out and when they used them move. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now, all that may make Piccolo seem invincible, but there are some ways crafty opponents can find a way around it. While there will undoubtedly be more to come, I'll list the ones I've encountered. #1. Opponent uses perfectly timed Aura Burst side-dashes to avoid all 3 hit's in the "SSS" combo chain and rushes into your face before you could cancel and start it again. Counter: Well if your opponent actually manages to do this then they deserve a pat on the back, since they not only have to time their moves properly, but anticipate your timing of when you'll let go of "S" as well. But if this does happen don't attempt another "S" chain, since the "S" chain isn't very fast and they will get priority with a fast move if they are smart. Instead, go for the nice, quick "PPPP" chain. If you land it as they are trying to attack you, you can combo off it since "PPPPS-" is a combo chain. If they anticipated it and blocked it, the fourth "P" in the "PPPP "chain will blast them back into "S" range, back to square one. Now if your opponent anticipated it and dodged the fourth hit as to not get blasted back out of range, take a quick look at their ki. They just used a bunch of ki using Aura Burst side-dashes to avoid all of your "S" hit's and used even more ki dodging the "PPPP" chain as to avoid getting knocked by while blocking. If they still have enough ki to TC, they will attack, so defend yourself accordingly. If they don't, which they probably won't, they are in no position to attack you since if you TC their move they are at your mercy since they can't counter TC it back. #2. Opponent fires a ki blast at you and catches you as you are charging an "S" chain, which counts as a counter hit and sends you into the air. Opponent then rushes at you to close the gap before you can get to your feet and is ready to attack once you stand. Counter: This is the best method of countering Piccolo's range games that I've gone up against. The first and best thing I could say to avoid this situation is to not be predictable and always charge your "S" chains. Try just letting some fly out uncharged once in a while to avoid being predicted. You might even catch an over zealous opponent trying to blast you even if you didn't charge it full, which in that case you'll auto deflect the blast and nail him with the combo starter. But if you do get caught by the blast, the best thing you could do is pick a wake up maneuver. You have Back+Guard which will cause you to do a back flip and send you half way across the screen and safely out of range of their combo starters. Or you could use Up or Down+Guard which will make Piccolo sprawl off to one side or another as he's getting up, making your opponent whiff potential combo starting attempts. But at this point it's guess work. If your opponent guesses right as you perform a back flip, they will dash at you as you are doing it, killing any distance you might have gained if they didn't. At this point there isn't much you can do besides defend yourself. If they guess right as you perform a side sprawl, they will hold guard and follow your sprawl until it stops then attack you. There isn't much you can do in this instance either besides defend. So the best advice I could offer is to vary your charged and non charged "S" and vary your defensive wake up games. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Piccolo Combos In terms of his combo platform, Piccolo has lost a lot and gained a lot. He can no longer juggle (Well nobody really can anymore anyway), and can no longer sidestep behind his opponent after a >PPP>P or a <P.>KP- since he no longer has those moves. However, his ground damage has gone up considerably thanks to his new combo chain "SSS*" in which you can charge the last 2 hit's and it will still combo, only add more damage. Anyway this section is only for players who are familiar with canceling and stuns and how they work from the other Budokai games. Legend: R = Rush attack S = Slam attack > = Towards opponent < = Away from opponent /\ = Up on the D-pad E = Energy Button - = Cancel * = Stun ' = Fully charge upcoming move [AB] = Aura Burst - [AB] = Aura Burst Cancel (ALL COMBOS ARE DONE ON GOGETA AT MAX KI SINCE HE HAS A BASELINE KI OF 7 WHICH WILL NEVER RISE OR FALL DURING COMBOS) ***Combos discovered on 3/22/2006 by Nnamz*** S'S'S*, <S>R*, >RRRS-, <RRRR>E [Destructive Wave] 17 hit's 1194 damage or >E [Light Grenade] 17 hit's 1286 damage S'S'S*, <S>R*, >RRRS-, RRRR<E [Maou Shot] 24 hit's 1297 damage S'S'S*, <S>R*, >RRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade] >E [Light Grenade] 23 hit's, 2582 damage ***Combo discovered on 3/24/2006 by Nnamz and Goryus*** S'S'S*, <S>R*, >RRRS-, RRRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade] >E [Light Grenade] 27 hit's, 2710 damage ***Combo discovered on 5/7/2006 by Nnamz*** S'S'S, >RRRS-, <R>SR^, <R>SR^, /\E [Hellzone Grenade] [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 27 hit's, 2997 damage ***Combo discovered on 5/15/2006 by A Purple Cow*** S'S'S*, >RRRS-, <S.>RR^, <S.>RR^, >>R^, /\E [Hellzone Grenade] [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 28 hit's, 3046 damage ***Combo discovered on 5/16/2006 by Nnamz*** S'S'S*, >RRRS-, <S>RR^, <S>RR^, >>R^, \/E [Fuse with Kami], <S>RR^, /\E [Hellzone Grenade], [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 31 hit's, 3109 damage ***Combos discovered on 8/31/2006 by Nnamz*** S'S'S*, <S>RE-, [AB]S*, [AB]R*, >RRRS-, RRRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade], [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 29 hit's, 3061 damage. S'S'S*, <S>RE-, [AB]S*, [AB]R*, >>R*, >RRRS-, RRRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade], [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 30 hit's, 3104 damage. (Opponent must be airborne) S'S'S*, <S>RE-, [AB]S*, [AB]R*, >RRRS-, <R<RE-, RRRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade], [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 31 hit's, 3123 damage. S'S'S*, <S>RE-, [AB]S*, [AB]R*, >>R*, >RRRS-, <R<RE-, RRRRS-, /\E [Hellzone Grenade], [AB]>E [Light Grenade] 32 hit's, 3161 damage. Special Thanks CJAYC - For creating the n00b infested boards in which the depth of this series was created. Purple Cow - For the Piccolo combo Drunken Pilot, Zejitox, philff138, cml64, Brogeta, Goryus, Sjsman, vegeta1 and the rest of the users on the Shin Budokai board who give a damn about the games depth. Copyright 2006 Nnamdi Wosu