STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 CHARACTER PATTERNS AND BEGINNER’S STRATEGY GUIDE Version 1.0 - 10/31/1998 by: DARTH (09612904@mail4.dlsu.edu.ph)
INRTODUCTION -------------------------------
I’m not a very good player, I admit it. I’m the type of guy who just wants to get his token’s worth of gameplay, which translates to not losing in the first fight, by any means. Playing against human opponents is unpredictable because the human factor can offset the way a character is played, but the computer is a different story.
The computer in Street Fighter Zero 3 (Street Fighter Alpha 3) uses AI or artificial intelligence to try and beat you. The thing is, it uses certain “patterns” with the different characters. When you know the patterns that the computer does, you can plan your attack, no matter how cheap it may be, and still come out the winner.
This is for people who want to know the patterns the computer tries to use on human players. I will also try to mention the strengths and weaknesses for the different characters, which can be taken either when you’re the one using them or you’re the one being used against. I guess this is more help to beginners, it may not help veterans or experts very much, but hey… you don’t have to be too shy when playing cheaply against the computer, right? Even though this is more for beginners, it does not include move lists. That’s your job, don’t be too lazy. Besides, you’ll learn more when you get info from others (pro stuff).
I’m no genius, so there are a lot of patterns I must admit I don’t know. If you have any corrections, comments, tips, and additional data, please feel free to email me (given above). I’d really appreciate the help. Also, please excuse this piece of work, it’s the first time I tried making one of these. Help is appreciated.
ub u uf \ | / jab (LP) strong (MP) fierce (HP) |punches b -0 - f / | \ short (LK) forward (MK) roundhouse (HK) |kicks db d df
*NOTE - This is with respect to Player 1. To Player 2, just switch b and f.
LEGEND ------------------------------- P -any punch button PP -any 2 punch buttons PPP -all punch buttons K -any kick button KK -any 2 kick buttons KKK -all kick buttons QCF -d, df, f QCB -d, db, b HCF -b, db, d, df, f HCB -f, df, d, db, b Z -f, d, df rZ -b, d, db [?] -hold the direction in question for about 1.5 seconds or counts. [BF] -[b], f [DU] -[d], u 360 -full circle (ex. uf, f, df, d, db, b, ub, u, uf) 720 -two full circles
j.fierce -> s.jab -> c.short (c.short) -> Hadoken
This series is an example of a combo explanation. I don’t know who made this convention up but I’ll use it. Anyway, the symbols before the dot are what your character is doing at the moment (j is jumping or plain in the air, s is standing, and c is crouching). The symbol after the dot is what button you’re supposed to press when your character is in that given state. The arrow says that you’ll have to do the next one after doing the current one. The instruction in parenthesis means you can do this after the given instruction if you’re fast enough. The last symbol is a move name, which means you do the move.
This setup usually means you have to be fast enough to press the right buttons in the sequence. Using the example, here’s what happens…
1. You press uf to jump, then press fierce then you are within range and still in the air. 2. Press jab while landing, it will be executed while you’re standing. 3. Press down and short to do a crouching short. Follow up with another if you can. 4. Do the Hadoken move. In this example, you have already pressed down so you only have to continue the df, f + P to finish the move (Hadoken is QCF + P).
If you see a move listing (ex. Hadoken QCF + P), the first part is the move name and the second is the motion to do it. QCF is the abbreviated directions you have to do and the + P means you have to press punch at approximately the same time as the last direction pressed (d, df, f + P).
*Note - Move names mentioned mostly start with caps. Some of the names I use in this guide are probably not the official names in the game, I used them anyway because to me they are easier to understand. Even though I used the Japanese title of the game (Street Fighter Zero 3 instead of Street Fighter Alpha 3), the names of the characters use the English names (or the Alpha names). If you don’t know who some people are or are confused by the names, here is the equivalent:
Japanese - English Balrog - Vega Gouki - Akuma M. Bison - Balrog Nash - Charlie Vega - M. Bison
MODES (isms) -------------------------------
X Mode -
This is like Super Street Fighter II X (Super Street Fighter II Turbo). What does this mean? Well… it means you have only one super, one big super meter, and you can’t air-block. The up thing is you’re stronger (your attacks do slightly more damage) and you may get a different move. As an example of the different move, Chun-Li loses her Kikkoken and Rising Bird Kick but gains the old Helicopter Kick.
Z Mode -
This is the default mode. It plays very much like the rest of the Zero (Alpha) series where you have quite a few supers, up to three levels of the super meter, zero counters (alpha counters), and can air block. You have most of not all the moves of your character available, but you’re weaker than X mode and you can’t do variable combos (custom combos).
V Mode -
This is the variable combo mode. This is very similar to Z mode except that instead of the super meter, you have one big combo meter. You lose your supers, but gain the ability to do variable combos. Which is very similar to the old custom combos in Zero 2, with the variation that one of the shadows that follow you also attacks and does damage. I’m not very sure, but I think you can only activate the custom combo when you’re at least halfway full in the meter.
Secret Modes -
There are three hidden modes I have heard of, only one I can say I’ve seen. You can use these hidden modes by holding P + K of same strength before inserting the token and pressing start before letting go. You then pick the character you want as usual. The one I’ve seen is done by holding fierce + roundhouse and is similar to Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (to me at least). It is the same as X Mode except that your Guard Meter is disabled, which means that you can block indefinitely, and you’re supposedly slightly stronger than X Mode. The catch is you don’t have any super at all. Still have to verify the other secret modes.
GAMEPLAY FEATURES -------------------------------
MODES - Well, I mentioned this above.
GUARD METER -
It can also be called a block meter. As much as I remember, all modes have depleting guard meters. What is this? Well, every time you block, a little of the meter gets used up. When you use up all the blocks you can, you get stunned and your meter goes down a notch. You can’t lose the whole meter, you’re sure to have at least one notch left, with what little good that’ll do you. You also lose a notch whenever you do zero counters, which will be mentioned below.
They finally put this thing in, I’ve been waiting for this since Zero 1. It may be a disadvantage to beginners, but it prevents you from being just too cheap that you just block all day.
ZERO COUNTER -
You do this by pressing f + same strength PK right after blocking a hit. It uses up some of your meter, depending on what meter it is (you don’t have zero counters in X mode). Doing this lowers your guard meter a notch. It’s supposed to be your defense against those super aggressive types to teach them a lesson in being too offensive, but it does too little damage and you lose a notch in the guard meter. Too bad, the old Zero counters were in the right track.
JUGGLES -
Some moves will throw the opponent to the air, giving you the opportunity to jump and hit them again. You can try to juggle them again and hit them again, but it seems you can only do the juggle twice, so no infinite things (it seems).
RECOVERY -
When you get hit and/or get tossed, like when you get juggled, you can recover and get upright by pressing PP. You can attack or block or whatever, you’re recovered. Sometimes this makes you open to attack though so it’s up to you if you want to recover or not.
TAUNT -
This is the fun part. Press start and your character does a pose leaving you vulnerable. What does it do? Nothing! It’s the ultimate insult! Unfortunately, you can only taunt once per battle, except for Dan who can taunt as much as he likes. I think he still has his Super Taunt, which is not only super useless, it makes you vulnerable longer and even uses up the super meter, not to mention that it’s the most insulting thing you can do to your opponent.
BEGINNER TIPS -------------------------------
- Chose a character that is easy to learn and has a good mix of priority and moves that will help you know the game better. Examples of these characters are Charlie and Ryu (oh no, not another Ryu player, but that’s one of the best characters to learn with). Charlie will introduce you to charge characters while Ryu will introduce you to… um… non-charge characters. Ryu is also the prime example of a Shoto, everyone who has moves similar to him (like Akuma and Ken) is considered a Shoto. There are too many Shoto players around already so you can ask just about anybody about Ryu and get good answers. - Get to know what you can do and use them, the moves are there for a purpose. Characters, such as Karin, who don’t have anti-air special moves (she does have an anti-air super) do have the crouching fierce which is also an anti-air and is quite effective. All characters have some form of anti air attack. - See what the computer does and duplicate them when you can, assuming what the computer does works. Don’t duplicate stupidity (like getting hit). - Tip on charge characters like Charlie, if you hold db, you charge both b and d, so you have the option of doing a Somersault or a Sonic Boom. - When you execute a Shoryuken type move (Shoryuken, Somersault, Tiger Blow, etc.), try to time it in such a way that you make the hit when the enemy is within close proximity. Executing a Shoryuken and while the enemy is still high up is easily blockable.
GENERAL TIPS -------------------------------
- Recovery after a teleport is long, attack right after a character teleports. - Some characters fall for trips right after getting up, so long as you’re not crouching while they’re getting up. - Some characters are susceptible to attack after getting up, provided the move is not started during the getup itself. - The fireball walk. Fire a projectile then walk towards enemy. Enemy forgets the fireball because it focuses on your last action (the walking). - Some characters are aggressive when near, use this to your advantage by executing a high priority move when the enemy is sure to attack. - If your character has a projectile throw it while the enemy is getting up if you’re not planning to do anything. It may not hit, but at least it does block damage and it pushes them farther a bit. With the addition of the guard meter, it does two things, block damage and decrease in the enemy’s guard meter, not to mention putting a little in your super meter. - When you jump, specially at the enemy, block! You’ll be surprised how many people forget they can air block and just take the hits. If your using X mode or its variants, forget it, you can’t air block anyway.
ADON -------------------------------
Playing against - His first move most of the time is the Jaguar Kick. He blocks while he gets up so be careful when you’re planing a long recovery attack. He’s aggressive when he’s near and throws all sorts of attacks, the problem is he has a long reach so short distance priority attacks miss. The trick that works best for me is to fire projectiles when he’s far and block high when he’s half screen distance, block low when he’s within sweeping range, and block high then low if he jumps you. Once you start blocking low, wait until he does something with slow recovery then trip him, this strategy sucks, but it’s the best I could do. I hate this guy.
AKUMA -------------------------------
Playing with - Use your air fireball, specially when you want to keep the enemy away and he’s/she’s a bit near. You also have a teleport, use that too. The Shoryuken has good priority. Your red fireball hits three times and is a nice getup chipper. The Raging Demon (jab, jab, f, short, fierce at maximum level) is your best move, unfortunately you’re very vulnerable when you execute it so time it right.
Playing against - Jumping him as the first move doesn’t work that well for me, I end up taking a Shoryuken. Use air Hurricanes on him, he doesn’t use it (while in the air at least), and it beats his air kicks. His Shoryuken has insane priority so block when he’s near then counter attack (he might throw though). He’s very aggressive when near so I try high priority moves once in a while but he always seems to come out on top. Trip when able and get away to try the air Hurricane again. If you don’t have a Hurricane, tough luck. Hit and run will be the best way to survive, he’s too dangerous close up. On the ground, he sometimes does this Hurricane, which will land behind you, then Shoryuken… I hate that. At least he doesn’t do the air fireball often. Since he’s very aggressive, time your jumps to his fireballs, which he’ll do often, so you won’t be countered too easily. Block when you jump, he will try to hit you out of it. If you have a projectile, keep throwing it to keep him away, but stop when he starts jumping over them. I hate fighting this guy.
Playing against - Keep him away. Trip when near then run. He can, at times, pass through medium to fast projectiles so just trip him when he does. On slow projectiles, he tries to pass through but just takes it. Don’t get too close, his grabs and throws take a ton of damage and he reach you in quite a distance.
BLANKA -------------------------------
Playing with - I’ve seen people use his rolling forward attack as an anti-air and it works, but only if the enemy is close to the ground does it seem unblockable.
Playing against - Use the fireball walk, he jumps over it at times though. He does the electricity thing when you jump on him blindly so be careful. He combos to the rolling thing often so make sure to block up to that point. He’s a sucker for a Shouoken right after getting up, I got him with five straight Shouokens using Sakura. If you use a Ryu type character, do a Hurricane then follow up with a Shoryuken right after, he always falls for the Shoryuken. His trip reaches far and he has this slide that goes under projectiles and trips. If he keeps jumping side to side of you, trip him out of it. Don’t take too long though ‘coz he’ll bite, and he bites bad.
CAMMY -------------------------------
Playing against - Trip her. She’ll do the Cannon Spike if you try to jump on her, specially while she’s getting up so it’s not a very good idea to jump her while getting up. When you see her roll into a ball, either get out of the way or hit her out of it, she will throw you and it’s unblockable.
CHARLIE -------------------------------
Playing with - Your best asset is the Somersault so learn to pull that off at will. Use it when the enemy is about to hit you, not when they’re still high in the air, they can block it at that height.
Playing against - Continuous crouching shorts will force him to jump. Yep, he always falls for it, he may hit you some, but he’ll fall for it again. When he jumps (whether you forced him to or not), he either does a j.punch -> c.kick - > Somersault (if you did the low kick trick) or a j.punch -> c.kick -> Sonic Boom. Block the combo or jump back before the jump hit lands then counter attack after the Somersault. If you jumped back, you’ll need to get near to do damage unless you have a long range move, if you blocked, you can just trip. You can also anti-air when he jumps, forced or not. Watch your guard meter, blocking his set depletes it quite a bit. He blocks when getting up so high risk attacks while he’s getting up is not a good idea.
CHUN-LI -------------------------------
Playing against - Trip her when you can, specially right after she lands from jumping. She uses overheads often so be careful with your blocks. Jumping her should be done with care, she uses her Rising Bird Kick and Lightning Kick as anti-airs and they work (against you). This girl’s tough and fast, she likes to low poke you (which is quite fast) and her trip has a high priority.
CODY -------------------------------
Playing against - Keep him away. He can dodge projectiles and throws often. He’s a sucker for Shoryukens after getting up. He’ll throw a rock at you often so you can anticipate that and jump him. Don’t let him get too close or he’ll throw you, he often does. The tornado thingy normally comes out in combos, either you got hit all the way or you blocked them all. If he does the variable combo, he’ll get near and barrage you, just block for a while then stick out some crouching shorts.
DHALSIM -------------------------------
Playing against - Do anti-airs when he’s in the air, he jumps high and slow giving you enough time to figure it out. Attack when recovering from teleport. He can slide to trip you and it passes through projectiles but he doesn’t use it often, just be careful. Don’t let him corner you or he’ll drill you with drills, else you can do a high priority move to stop him since he just keeps drilling you anyway.
DAN -------------------------------
Playing with - Not a good idea for beginners. Experts know enough to make use of him.
Playing against - You don’t need tips to fight this character. If you can’t beat him, either play another time or find a new hobby. No really, maybe this game is not for you. Actually, he can out TRIP you at times.
E. HONDA -------------------------------
Playing against - He’s a sucker for fireballs, I just kept throwing ‘em at him using Sakura and he just kept taking ‘em. Tripping him once in a while works. He likes to throw jumping opponents in the air and his Hundred Hands work like anti-airs so take care when you jump him. When he does that quick vertical jump, block high because it overheads.
GEN -------------------------------
Playing against - Without projectiles to force him to jump, he’s pretty tough to beat. If he does jump, anti air him. Jumping him is another issue though, his rising kick thing and his hundred hands thing works well against you. He even pops his hundred hands thing out of nowhere, and you end up in the receiving end. He has a lot of overheads and a long trip range, he’ll be using those all sorts of stuff to poke you so be careful in blocking. Some of those moves move forward and so have a long delay, you can get him then. He pops his supers out of the blue, like his hundred hands thingy, so just take care.
GUY -------------------------------
Playing against - He will always run to you and will either slide or do a flying kick after the run. Keep him away with fireballs. He’s vulnerable while running, that’s why the projectiles work. He’s very aggressive when near. Has a lot of overheads. He’s a sucker for Shoryukens after… hell you know what I mean by now. If you have a projectile, just stay away and watch him take ‘em. If he gets close, trip or do a high priority move then get away.
JUNI & JULI -------------------------------
They will fight you at the same time, and they don’t share one life bar, they have their own so you technically have to beat them both. Just hit them with anything you have, it gets confusing when they’re both alive. After some time, one or both are going to do some charge thing, you can get them then, but don’t wait for that before you attack, they don’t do it all the time.
KARIN -------------------------------
Playing against - She has no anti-air move (aside from that super), but she does a simple uppercut that’s pretty effective so don’t jump her blindly or as she gets up… she uses that uppercut often. She always attacks anyway and her attacks are in sets (mostly because her main moves work in sets) and/or have long delays. Tripping her after blocking the sets is the easy way to go, she hardly throws you. Attack her after her getup. She’s aggressive when near, and open to a lot of mistakes.
KEN -------------------------------
Playing against - Keep him away. Does three Shoryukens in a row at times, so when he does two in a row, he’ll probably do a third. Counter attack after blocking when near, his Shoryuken has a very high priority and he’ll use it as often as he can.
M. BISON -------------------------------
Playing against - Attack him after teleports. Trip when able, specially after he slides, which you should watch out for. No easy way to beat him.
R. MIKA -------------------------------
Playing against - Trip her. She’s aggressive when she’s near and tries to slide you often, good thing her slides don’t trip. Yep, she likes low attacks. She has this head butt thing that’s a good anti-air and she uses that often. She’s pretty easy to out hit.
ROLENTO -------------------------------
Playing against - He will jump attack at you all the time, just wait for it then anti-air or trip him, just don’t block low when he jumps… those air batons are overheads. He does the ground baton thing three times in a row, so block them all first before counter attacking.
ROSE -------------------------------
Playing against - Trip when able, specially right after she lands from jumping. She can do her anti-air throw so time your jumps. Attacks right after she gets up will be blocked so be careful. She slides quite a bit, but it doesn’t trip so you trip her afterwards. She normally hits more than once so don’t be too eager to trip her after getting hit, wait for a good delay. Even if she blocks after getting up, it seems she’s not to bright with near f + fierce. I used Sakura and just did that f + fierce over and over whenever she got up, and it hit her pretty consistently.
RYU -------------------------------
Playing against - Treat him like Akuma, really aggressive and knows when to use that darn Shoryuken with insane priority. He will do fireballs often, but not as often as Sagat does.
SAKURA -------------------------------
Playing with - If you haven’t noticed it yet, most of my examples deal with using Sakura (aside from Ken/Akuma/Ryu). Using her needs a little getting used to since her moves may be “similar” to the Shotos but the priority and usage is very different. Her best move, and weakness, is her Shouoken. It’s priority is different from the normal Shoryuken in that you are very vulnerable at its start. It moves forward, which is good for catching up with far enemies, but it also produces lag time. The good thing about it is it does good damage and, if you use the jab or strong version, the enemy gets juggled you can hit them with it again. I normally hit them with the strong version, then I hit them twice more with it because they get juggled. This method does more damage than using the fierce version which can only be done once.
Playing against - Her set is normally a j.fierce -> c.strong -> Senkiyaku. Sometimes she just goes for the Senkiyaku, no combo. If she does a c.forward she’ll always follow up with a Shouoken (c.forward -> Shouoken). If she does a c.strong, she follows up with a Senkiyaku (c.strong -> Senkiyaku, like her normal set). If she keeps firing Hadokens at you just block them, she will do her set again eventually. The best time to get her is after a Senkiyaku or after a Shouoken, she has a long recovery time after these (the recovery after a Senkiyaku is slightly faster though). You can anti-air her j.fierce or the Senkiyaku (which needs a higher priority anti air) if you feel like it, but sticking to blocking until a Shouoken or a Senkiyaku before attacking is the easier way to go. She will stick to her set, don’t worry.
SAGAT -------------------------------
Playing against - When he is cornered and getting up, be about one to one and a half character distance and do a Jab Hadoken -> (Jab or Strong) Shoryuken. Trip if the Shoryuken misses until he takes it and repeat. His first move every round is High Tiger Shot so duck. Trip when able. Anticipate the Tiger Shots, that’s what he does all of the time anyway, then jump attack. He will Tiger Blow jumpers so block when you jump then trip him as he lands. He normally blocks after getup moves then retaliates, that’s why the Hadoken (which is blocked) - > Shoryuken (whose high priority ideally counters his attack) works.
SODOM -------------------------------
Playing against - His set is jump -> throw or jump -> Jitte Slice. Anti-air him when he jumps or wait after he attempts to throw then attack (you have to be a bit away or else you will be thrown, otherwise you should have attacked him while he was trying the throw). Trip, specially right after he lands (he will try to do the throw, so trip him before he does). If he kicks you, he’ll follow it up with something so block or get out of the way.
VEGA -------------------------------
Playing against - Trip after he slides, wait for him to slide because you probably won’t be able to beat his poking. Try to anti-air, but if your anti-air has low priority don’t try it when he springs from the wall. He’s the fastest character in the game and he likes to poke you, you can’t out hit him with slow moves, you probably won’t reach him either, so either do high priority stuff when he’s near or block and wait for the slide, he’ll do it after a few pokes. Awfully aggressive and because of his long reach, you’re the one out of range all the time. Try to trip him when he jumps from side to side of you, but it’s tough to time ‘coz he’s too fast.
ZANGIEF -------------------------------
Playing against - Wait for him to come within his jump attack distance then do a c.kick. He’ll do a jump hit where you can anti air him. I usually do the simple anti airs, like a standing fierce.
His Spinning Clothesline has a very high priority, and it also works as an anti-air move. He can get close even with your projectiles trying to get him because of that glowing hand thingy and the Spinning Clothesline (which passes through projectiles) He blocks after getting up and you can’t stay near because he will throw (or grab) you. He’s a real toughie if you don’t use his pattern against him.
CHARACTERS WHICH I FIND DIFFICULT TO BEAT -
Adon - I really don’t understand this character, his patters are all screwed up. He does that rising knee thing which is a good anti-air, and he has good reach, which you can’t counter unless you time it well. I wonder if he’s really dumb enough to do those high attacks that miss when the player is crouching at point blank range…
Akuma - Fighting this guy sucks. His Shoryuken has an insane priority and he will throw you whenever he can. He’s ultra aggressive and knows when to do the hits.
M. Bison - It’s a given, he’s a boss. Sometimes you think you’re getting the upper hand then he does that insane super Psycho Crusher and turns the tides instantly. He doesn’t seem to have that super, even if you choose his X mode. I think the boss version is Shin M. Bison (True M. Bison).
Ryu - He fights like Akuma, what more is there to know. The only redeeming factor that makes fighting this guy “slightly” easier is that he doesn’t have that Raging Demon.
Zangief - He has his ways of getting near, the Spinning Clothesline has high priority, and he does a ton of damage. He’s pretty smart in blocking too. If you don’t use the technique I mentioned above, he’s pretty tough. Even if you do, if you mess up he’ll throw you and the tides change.
Thank you for reading!
*You can mail comments, corrections, suggestions to Darth (09612904@mail4.dlsu.edu.ph).
