From: jstrachman@vax.clarku.edu
Subject: Balrog strat guide pt. 1 Ken/Ryu/Sagat/Guile
Organization: Clark University
Date: 15 SEP 92 06:14:00 GMT

Okay, here goes.

Balrog vs. Ken
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
VERY tough matchup.  Consider it lost if the Ken you're playing is any good.  
The easiest way for Kens to win is to sit about 3/4 of the way across the 
screen from you, throw fireballs at you, and sweep you with roundhouse as you 
land.  There is absolutely nothing a Balrog can do about this if the Ken is 
any good.  The only chance you have is to 1. creep in after jumping over each 
fireball then time a jump over one fireball so that you can nail him before he 
recovers, OR 2. time a fierce punch so that it nails him before he can get 
another fireball off.  This is basically the only hope you have against a good 
human Ken player.

Other strategies:  After knocking Ken down, jump in on him, but time it so 
that you land JUST as he's getting up.  If he tries to "instant uppercut" you 
as he's getting up, you'll have a chance to block it and nail him on the way 
down.  One more thing:  After you head butt him, do a wind-up punch.  Time it 
so it connects JUST before Ken lands after getting loose from you.  Ken is 
slightly vulnerable at this point because you can actually hit him a little 
bit before he touches ground if he isn't blocking, and he can't uppercut until 
he touches ground.  

Reminder:  Most people who play well using Ken don't tick.  As Balrog, you 
have little choice, because once a good Ken gets you into that twilight zone 
(fireball, fireball, sweep as you land), you have no chance.  Ken, because he 
has the uppercut which is invulnerable as it is taking off, always has a 
chance.

Other problems:  When Ken is in the air, his Roundhouse has a disgustingly 
high priority, so it is in your best interest to just block it unless you can 
nail him at the top or slightly under the top of his arc with a running 
uppercut or standing strong punch.  The problem here is that if Ken has his 
jump in/crouching forward kick/fireball combo down he can just keep hitting 
you with the fireball damage if you don't counter his air attack.  

What Balrog has to his advantage:  If the Ken you are playing does not know 
about the sweep as you land move, you have an advantage.  These players 
generally try to uppercut you as you jump over the fireballs.  The catch is 
that Balrog has a really short jump, and he usually hits the ground in time to 
block the uppercut.  This allows you to trash him as he hits ground.  
Remember, unless you're close enough to hit him, NEVER press a button while 
you're jumping.  This makes you that much more vulnerable to the uppercut.

This is a really tough battle, so good luck!

Balrog vs. Ryu
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This isn't quite as tough as Balrog vs. Ken, but it's tougher to jump over 
Ryu's fireballs.  The strategy is basically the same, but if you are far 
enough away, eg. more than 3/4 of the screen away, it's generally to your 
advantage to jump in over the fireball.  Ryu's uppercut has a much shorter 
range, so if the person you're playing doesn't know about the sweep as you 
land move, you have a good shot if you jump in over the fireball and wait for 
him to miss.  REMEMBER:  If you're not sure if you're going to hit him, don't 
press a button while you're jumping over the fireball!  

Balrog vs. Guile
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Personally, I find this just as tough as fighting against Ken.  Guile has 
several things to his advantage:  

1.  The range of his crouching kicks
2.  The sonic boom
3.  The flashkick

What most good Guiles will do is sit and throw crouching kicks at you until 
you jump in, and then you get nailed by a flashkick.  I call these people #1s.
Other Guiles will throw sonics at you and then roundhouse kick, fierce punch 
or crouching fierce (uppercut) you out of the air as you jump over.  These are 
the #2s.  Other Guiles will just jump in haphazardly and try to nail you with 
a combo, hoping that you'll make a mistake.  These are the #3s, and these are  
the ones that usually win, because if you miss once, they take off half your 
energy, whereas you can take them out of the air 4 times and they won't even 
start sweating.

#1:  The best way to deal with this is to do a turnaround punch and nail them 
in between kicks.  REALLY good Guiles can razor kick you as you punch, and 
even some mediocre Guiles can do this.  The only way to win against a really 
good Guile is to fake them out.  The best way to fake these guys out is with a 
jab or short rushing punch, or hold down all three buttons and then jump, or 
jab punch, or any other standing fakes.  This is tricky at best, but possible 
to win.  The reason this game is winnable is because once you hit them once, 
that makes up for five of Guile's hits.  

#2:  This guy can be tough, but winnable.  If he is able to consistently sweep 
you as you land, you're dead.  Throw in the gloves.  The catch is, if Guile 
misses with the roundhouse sweep, he's dead.  The trick here is to anticipate 
the boom and jump over it as close as you can.  If Guile roundhouses or fierce 
punches, your jumping fierce and roundhouse often go through it.  If he tries 
to sweep you, you have to either: wait until the last second to hit the 
button becuase Guile suddenly loses 3 feet in height, or pray that you'll land 
in between kicks and get to headbutt him.  This is easier to win than jumping 
over Ken/Ryu's fireball because Guile doesn't have the uppercut at his 
disposal.

#3:  REMEMBER your anti-air moves!

1.  Running uppercut
2.  Standing strong
3.  Standing fierce (if he's far enough away)
4.  Crouching fierce

DON'T let him get through even once!  If you're close enough, you can 
sometimes get the sacrifice headbutt, but not usually because Guile's combos 
come out so quick.  Blocking is wonderful, but if the combo includes a sonic 
boom, and most do, he'll just keep whittling away.  So nail the sucker!

Alot of Guiles just sit and wait.  Some have the reflexes to win this games, 
some are too nervous and release razor kicks without thinking, and some just 
saw other people doing it.  If the Guile has really good reflexes, you'll 
lose.  Your only chance is to fake him out, or hope that he messes up the 
razor kick as you rush in, turnaround punch, or jump in.  Alot of Guile who 
play like this are timid and get nervous when faced with an angry, charging 
Balrog, so use this to your advantage and fake him out with rushing jabs.

Well, that's all for Guile.  All I can say is good luck, but this as well is a 
losing battle.

Balrog vs. Sagat
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
HAHAHAHAHA!

Just turn around and walk away from the machine.

Sagat is tailor built to beat Balrog.  He can sweep Balrog as he lands like 
Ken and Ryu, he can standing roundhouse, he can uppercut, and he has even 
faster fireballs than Ryu.  Here are his vulnerable spots:

1.  After a fireball, he is really vulnerable, so if you are close enough, you 
might be able jump over his tigerball.  The catch is, if he throws a high one 
instead of a low one and you try to jump over it, you get a flame in the face. 
If you're close enough, 1/3 to 1/2 of the screen away, (you won't get any 
closer than that) you can stand up and fierce punch him after ducking under a 
tigerball before he has time to recover.  You can also do a rushing jab, but 
this is slower, and thus you have to be closer.  The problem here is that he 
has two types of balls at his disposal.

2.  His uppercut is vulnerable, so alot of ex-Ken and Ryu players make the 
mistake of trying to uppercut you as you jump over and get a glove in the 
face for their efforts.  A good Sagat player knows when to block and when to 
counter an aerial move.  The problem is, if you're not playing cheap and thus 
don't go for the throw after he blocks, you're back to status quo.  You have 
to take anything you can get against Sagat.

3.  As he is getting up, his uppercut becomes even more deadly if you're in 
the air, so stick with the ground attacks.  Even then, his uppercut will nail 
you if you try to do short punches or a turn around punch.  The best bet is to 
do two jabs, then stop, wait for his uppercut, then headbutt him when he 
touches down.  His uppercut is really slow on the way down, so even if he jab 
uppercuts, you should have a chance to do some damage.  The problem with this 
method is some players catch on quick and start going for the throw as soon as 
they get up instead of the uppercut.  

Anyhow, this is probably the toughest matchup for Balrog.  If you can beat a 
good Sagat, EVER, consider yourself a Master.  I've only managed to beat a 
good Sagat, actually a virtually UNBEATABLE Sagat, one round.  Ever.  I've 
beaten dozens of good Kens, many good Ryus, a slew of good Guiles, but NEVER, 
NEVER a good Sagat.  Let this be a warning.

Balrog strategy guide pt. 1, ended.