From: cyu@athena.mit.edu (Harry Truman)
Subject: Guile's Guide vs. Computer (1st ed.)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 20:26:41 GMT

Alright, you masters, just skip this article.

This is for all of you who still insist on fighting the computer, because you
fear humans.  But you should know that you can be great at beating the computer
and still suck against other players, or be great against other players and
suck against the computer.  Of course, most masters against other players are
also masters over the computer, since they started out just like you, learning
to beat the computer before "graduating" to fighting humans.  Unfortunately,
I'm only a member of the first group.

But fighting the computer is a whole different ball game.  Once you learn to do
the moves, all you need to know is it's patterns.  Against humans, you don't
even have to know all the moves to be semi-decent.  All you need is strategy.
For example, following up an arial attack with a footsweep is a good strategy
against players, but not against the computer, because the computer can block
ANYTHING!  (Well...almost anything.)  A good human killer can get screwed by the
computer because he doesn't know the computer's patterns.  The computer plays
at a level above other humans ("the computer cheats") to make up for its
predictability.

OK, on to the guide: (Some, but not all, of this also works in TCE.)

=================================Guile=v.=Computer=========================

The first thing you should know is that you can throw the computer at the
beginning of the round.  At the start of the round, walk straight toward your
opponent.  They will usually back up, but it doesn't matter.  Once your
shadows touch, hit fierce.  Then you can start ticking.  Fight over.

The computer usually lets you throw it on the first 3 to 5 characters, plus
Balrog also.  If you find that the computer is hitting you before you get into
throw range, just backfist them before you get in throw range.  You may or may
not hit, but nothing's lost.  (Except Blanka might ball into you)

People not to throw: Ken, because he doesn't walk backwards. (Although Zangief
doesn't go backwards either, you can still throw him.  Just hit the button
early.)  Chun Li, because she walks backward too fast and you can't catch her.
Dhalsim, because he might jump or kick at the start of the round.

========Ryu

Ryu throws fireballs in twos, so jump in after the first one.  If you start the
round with a backfist, Ryu will do a fireball right after he blocks, so be
ready.  Ryu is easier than Ken because he plays defensively.  All you have to do
is be patient and wait for him to attack.  If he walks toward you, forward sweep.
If he jumps, razor kick, and tick whenever you want.

==========Ken

Ken starts the round doing one of 4 things, so charge your Razor.  If he jumps
in or hurricane kicks, Razor kick him and tick.  If he walks in, you can usually
razor kick him too, but you can play it safe and forward sweep, but beware, he
may dragon punch your forward.  If he jumps back, he's going to start doing
fireballs, so get ready to jump towards him with a flying kick when he throws
one.  Ken is an offensive player, which means he throws an endless stream of 
fireballs, so you have to jump in and kick him.  He also does a lot of dragon
punches in a row.  Once he starts, don't attack him.  Start walking towards him
or wait til he gets near you; then throw him as he comes down from the dragon
punch.  Sometimes, he starts jumping forward, then back, forward, and back,
without doing anything.  Throw sonic booms to break the pattern.  Otherwise,
razor kick when he jumps in or hurricanes, and forward when he walks in.  Always
be careful not to forward kick too early, or he'll dragon punch your leg.

===========Honda

Honda is the easiest to beat of all the characters, with Chun Li and Balrog
coming in at a distant 2nd.  Honda is the biggest sucker for ticking and the
beginning-of-the-round-throw, even if he is one of the later characters you meet,
so always try it on him.  His slow jump is easy to razor.  Forward sweep when
he walks in.  Sonic boom when he's far away to prevent his lard-torpedo (which
he rarely uses).  He loves to do the thousand-hands, so just throw a fierce sonic
boom.

=============Chun Li

For those who like to play it safe, all you need is crouching forward and
crouching fierce.  When she walk in, forward.  When she jumps in, hit fierce
early (ie. when her legs are still over her head); this will knock her out of
the air; if you hit forward again right away, she'll block and jump in again;
so you crouch fierce again, repeat.  It's the most boring way to win and looks
really cheap and stupid (although beat Zangief is even worse, you'll see, if
you don't know already).  If you try to razor kick her when she jumps in, she
might kick you out of the razor, and you'll trade blows, so it's safer to stick
with the fierce.  You can't really tick Chun Li because she's too fast.  But
Chun Li is THE character to practice your walk-under-throw that you'll need
against humans.  Start the round by walking toward her.  But don't get within
her footsweep range.  Just follow in little by little, back up when she walks
forward (if she gets too close, backhand punch or jump backwards).  She will
eventually jump in.  You walk forward while she is in the air and she will
over-jump you.  Turn around and throw as soon as she lands (the throw might not
always connect, and you might just punch or miss, but don't worry, just try
again; you didn't take any damage).  Then repeat, and wait for her to jump 
again.  It's real easy to throw her if she jumps off the wall, because it gives
you plenty of time to position yourself, so that she winds up behind you.  If
you get faint at heart and hesistate before you walk under, she might head stomp
you.  After she bounces away, jump toward her and kick.  Beating her with throws
is one of the most fun battles of the game, and maybe even safer.

===============Blanka

Don't start the round with a throw in the later battles with Blanka, because he
might claw you first.  Otherwise you can easily tick.  You can always beat Blanka
with forward sweeps and razors, but it's not reliable.  His long arms might hit
you while you're doing the sweep.  If Blanka is jumping over you, back and forth,
(which he does once in a while), don't panic; either throw him when he lands
(a la Chun Li), or start jabbing while he's in the air.  The greatest way to win
is: start doing crouching jabs.  (You can either start the round doing this in the
later rounds, or after he gets away from you in the earlier rounds)  Just don't
start jabbing when he's close to you, or his punch can reach in.  Otherwise, he'll
walk in a bit and try to use his long reach to punch you, but your jabs will
hit his fist, and he'll try over and over, getting hit every time.  After about
3 or 4 of these, he might jump in, but you'll still have enough time to switch
from jabbing to a razor kick (as long as you're ready).  Then you can either
start ticking, or back off, and start jabbing again.  If he is far away, you can
either keep jabbing (which will hit his furball, if he does one) or throw a
couple of sonic booms.  When he starts moving in, just keep jabbing and ready your
razor kick.

==============Zangief

You can usually throw at the start of the round, but since he'll be walking 
toward you, hit the button early.  After you throw him, don't follow in (unless
you want to practise combos), because he can either throw you or sweep you.
If you try to use forward when he walks in, many times he'll sweep you, and
follow in while you're getting up.  Walk backwards as you get up, and if he is
too close, hit fierce, and you will throw him.  If he is out of throw range,
jump backwards.  You can usually fool around at the start of the round, but 
when your energy gets low, just start jumping up and down (keep the joystick in
up position), and hit fierce right after you reach the peak of the jump, and
keep doing that, no matter what Zangief does.  If he jumps toward you, he'll
get hit.  If he walks toward you, he might get hit, or might block.  If you
hit fierce before you reach your jump peak, he will throw or punch you after
he blocks, so time your punches.  The stupid computer won't block all the time
and will get creamed.  This is THE most stupid and crummy way to beat the
computer I've ever seen.

=============Dhalsim

Start the round charging your razor.  If he does a high kick, you can razor his
leg.  If he jumps, you can razor him if you're fast enough.  Once you knock him
down, you can either tick, or jump into him over and over with fierce punch.  He's
a sucker for it.  Sometimes you'll hit him, or throw him out of the air, or land
near him.  If you land near him, just fierce throw him right away, no matter what
he does.  If he is far away, keep your razor charged, and forward kick when he
walks in.  Don't throw sonic booms when he's close, because he might slide under.
If Dhalsim starts sliding toward you, you can either just block all of them, or
kick or jab him at the end of his slide.  Or you can start jumping at him with
fierce again, and throw if you land behind him (reverse of Chun Li).  Dhalsim
might throw or noogie you, but don't worry, you'll get him more than he gets you.
Dhalsim does fireballs in twos, so you can jump in after the 1st.  If he does a
yoga fire when you're close, throw him (it is possible to be standing between
Dhalsim and his yoga fire, and not get burned!).

===============Balrog

Is a sucker for the start-of-the-round-throw.  Just follow him all the way to
the back of the screen.  Although it is a little tough to make out the shadows
in that dark background, so you'll have to make a guess at your throw range.
He is also a sucker for ticking.  If he is far away from you, throw a few sonic
booms.  If he walks in, forward.  If he jumps forward, you have plenty of time
to razor.  If he is semi-close and jumps straight up, your razor can still reach
him.  The toughest part is if he starts doing his charge-and-punch over and
over, taking off a lot of energy.  You might be able to stop this pattern with
a forward sweep, but crouching jabs are better, since they force him to block and
end his pattern.  Then throw sonic booms to keep him from starting it again.
There is another, easy way to beat him.  Just keeping walking towards him and
hitting backhand punch when he is in range.  You can nail him a lot of times, and
he can only trade off a few blows with you.  He can get easily stunned this way.
But this strategy might also make him start his series of charging-punches, so
you'll just have to resort to your standard strategy.

==============Vega

Is the 2nd hardest fight (after Bison).  Ticking sometimes works, but he might
slide into you as he gets up, if you don't start your jabs fast enough.  If he
approaches on the ground, you can forward sweep.  If he is sliding, jab him at
the end of his slide.  If he jumps in, razor as soon as you see his feet leave
the ground.  If he is close and jumps straight up, don't razor, because he might
kick you out of it.  Just block.  Never try to razor him when he is on the
ground because he will block and throw you.  If this ever happens, try to counter
throw (you might just get lucky).  When he wall-climbs, you should be happy.
Back off about half to 3/4 of a screen from him.  When he jumps into the air,
you jump backwards, and hit fierce.  If you hit, mega-damage.

==============Sagat

Charge razor and sonic boom at the start of the round.  He will either walk in
(forward sweep), jump in (razor), or start throwing fireballs.  After he throws
the first, you can either walk forward a bit and duck (if the next one is a high
tiger, roundhouse sweep), or you can fierce sonic boom.  If he throws too many
tigers for you to match, jump in.  He isn't easily ticked because you push him
too far back with jabs.  So when you knock him down, you can start throwing
sonic booms.  His jumping knee is easily razored, but his jumping kick is not.
You might have to block that one.

==============Bison

The first time I ever beat him, the only thing I did was use forward razor 
whenever he got close, but this isn't too safe or consistant.  You have to be
ready to razor him whenever his feet leave the ground (unless he is jumping over
you with a kick, which you should just let him go over, no damage).  You can
jab him at the end of his slide, if you'll rather not throw.  Ticking is semi-
useful against Bison, so use it.  If he is just walking toward you, roundhouse
sweep and tick.

===========================well that's all folks===============================
Newsgroups: alt.games.sf2