From: lhuynh@sloth.Reed.Edu (Falcon Feather)
Subject: zangief v ken
Organization: Reed College, Portland, OR
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1992 08:54:20 GMT
Reply-To: lhuynh@reed.edu

            The Usenet's Guide to Advance Strategy - SFII:TCE

                        Zangief vs. Ken

(offensive)

The beginning of a round  is very crucial.  If you think Ken is 
going to do a fireball, jump in and do the roundhouse/SPD combo.  
Although it is dangerous to jump into Ken, it is worth the risk since
Ken's dp doesn't do that much damage. If you don't like jumping in at
the beginning, then just walk forward a little and do a crouch roundhouse.
This will knock Ken down if he tries to fireball. Once he's knocked down,
walk in and do the crouch short/SPD combo. Many good Ken play however will 
not do a fireball at the beginning. They will back off to a safe 
distance first, then they will fireball.  If Ken is just backing off,
walk forward slowly. Watch Ken carefully. 


Once the beginning of the round have ended, you must find a way to get close
to Ken.  Simply moving forward without hitting any buttons is sometime
enough to scare your opponent back into a corner.  If you see Ken moving
toward you, then stop and assume a defensive crouch position. Once in
defensive crouch, use the roundhouse to try to sweep him. Be careful when
you use the roundhouse. It is very easy for a good Ken player to dp it. You 
can vary kick buttons use to sweep if your roundhouse is being dp. Zangief's 
roundhouse sweep is very slow, so it's very easy for a good Ken to sweep 
you when you miss. If this is happening, then change your strategy. Do a
short sweep, then a roundhouse sweep right away. Sometime, Ken you try to 
sweep you when you do the short, but they'll miss and you can hit them with
roundhouse. If you knocked your opponent down, jump in and do the fierce-
short-SPD combo. If you are getting dp very time you jump in, then just
walk in and do the couch short-SPD combo.

When using Zangief, you must be patient will an patient opponent, and you
must block A LOT, even if you take damage when you block.  If you are 
playing against a fireball-happy Ken, then wait until he does a fireball,
then jump over and do the roundhouse/SPD combo. If you are getting dp
very time you jump, then don't jump anymore. Instead on jumping over the
fireball, do the double lariat, and moving into Ken. Ken you will be able
to recover it time to sweep or dp you. Once, you've knocked Ken down, walk
in and to a combo.

Whenever you get the chance, grab Ken with the strong button. You do not 
want to do the SPD if you have a chance to do a regular throw since the
SPD will bounce you away from you opponent. After you've grab Ken with the
strong button, do the fierce-short-SPD combo. Jump into Ken with fierce while 
he's trying to get up. Make sure you jump early enough so that Ken cannot 
execute the Dragon Punch, but not so early that you get reversed. While 
executing this combo, glance at your opponent's joystick. If he is going 
for the sac throw, sweep him with the roundhouse or the forward instead of 
completing the combo. If he continues to block, then finish the combo with 
short-SPD.  After you've done a SPD, walk in quickly and sweep with round-
house. If your opponent tries to do something other then jump backward, or
dp, he'll be knocked done, and you have another opportunity to do a combo.

If somehow Ken is able to reverse the fierce-short-SPD combo, then just do
the ground short-SPD combo. This combo have pretty good range so don't start
the short too close or too early. If your timing is off, Ken can simply
walk forward and throw you. You should be far enough from Ken so that your
short barely hits him, then do the SPD immediately.  If you execute the SPD
too slow, Ken and can flip backward and get away from you.

Senario: You have trapped Ken in the corner, but he refuses to do a fire-
ball and you cannot get close enough to do the SPD. If you just walk in
Ken sweeps you and then does a fireball; If you jump into him, he flips 
backward you kicks you with the roundhouse. There are several ways to get
pass this. If you have good timing, you can trade energy with Ken by going
for the sweep at the same time he does. You can also get close by jumping
in with fierce from far away. This will hit Ken's roundhouse most of the
time. After the fierce, do the SPD.

Scenario: Ken jumps straight up (or backward if in the corner) and hits 
roundhouse. This works against the computer Zangief, but you can easily
get pass this. Move in close after Ken jumps, and sweep him with the 
roundhouse when he is coming down.  You can also jump into him with the
strong punch, which is a little tricky but will set you up for the short-
SPD combo when you land.  You can also get close to Ken and do the double
lariat when he is in the air. This should knock him out of the air. Now
do the fierce-short-SPD combo.

Scenario: Ken crouches and does the shorts. If try to sweep him, you'll 
get hit by the shorts. If you jump into him, he'll roundhouse you or 
fierce punch you out of the air.  One thing you have do, if you'll fast
enough is to get close to him, and do the SPD. When you're walking in to
do the SPD, watch for the roundhouse sweep. Another thing you can do is
get away from Ken, then jump in (just outside of his kicking range), then 
do the SPD when you land. Somehow, this seem to grab from a greater 
distance.

(Defensive)

Once you are ahead in energy, it's time to be careful and play defensively. 
You still want to keep attacking when you play defensively against Ken
though, since you can take damage if you are across the screen blocking.
Get close enough to Ken so that he won't try the fireball. If he does,
then jump in and roundhouse/SPD, or do the double lariat and walk in. If 
Ken recovers from the fireball, then move Zangief back just outside of
Ken's roundhouse sweep. Once Zangief have finished doing the double lariat, 
do a roundhouse sweep. You will knock Ken down if you get the timing
and distance right. The idea is to trick Ken into doing a roundhouse sweep
with the double lariat, and sweeping him just as he is pulling his leg
back. 

If Ken jumps into you, a crouch strong or fierce will usually knock him
out of the air. You can also do the double lariat, which is less reliable,
but it looks cool. If you get hit while doing the double lariat, then
just sac throw with he strong button, then do a combo. If your opponent have
a little bit of energy left, then just do the SPD.

If somehow you find yourself across the screen from Ken, do the double
lariat to avoid the firebal and to move closer.  If you don't have too,  
then don't jump. If you jump over the fireball, even from far away, then
Ken and just jump after you and hit roundhouse early.  This will almost 
always knock you out of the air. 

If you have enough energy, do the sac throw when Ken jumps into you. 
Remember you have to be close. Do NOT try the sac throw if yo have been
hit many times already, otherwise you will get stunned. Some Ken player will
try to jump into you with short, and throw. This is good news for you.
Block the short, then immediately do the SPD.

If Ken jumps into you, and do not want to try the sac throw, then just
block then do the SPD. You can also do the double lariat is he jumps
into you from far away. If he is far enough away, move back and sweep
him with roundhouse. You can time this so that he will not be able to
block your sweep.
 



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