From: bodom@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (Brian Odom)
Subject: Dhalsim Strategy Guide (3/3)
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 07:55:29 GMT

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* Strategies for fighting HUMANS *
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in alphabetic order:

BALROG

I'm sorry that I can't provide much here.  The basic strategy is to stay in a
crouched position and play reactionary.  If you see Balrog charging towards
you (turnaround, uppercut), give him a good fierce slide, and possibly head
butt him.  I have yet to play against a good Balrog player, so I don't know
what to expect.  Seems like I would stay out of the air and keep him at bay 
with a barrage of fireballs.  Basically, stay low, and throw fireballs and 
hit him after he jumps your fireballs.

BISON

Cheese, dripping all over the place!!  The most important concept when fighting
Bison is your opening move.  Many Bisons cheese to begin the round.  If you
fireball at the beginning, you will burn Bison, but with his penetration, he
will hit you afterwards, and you will take more damage.  

You want to jump back for defensive purposes, then drill him when he pours
on the cheese.  Afterwards, keep him at bay with fireballs (preferably slow 
ones) that way it'll make it difficult for him to cheese.  Beware of the
head stomp!!  Haphazardly throwing fireballs can be dangerous!!!

When at far distance, sling fireballs and play reactionary (i.e. if you see
a head stomp coming, jump back and roundhouse)

When at medium distance, stay in crouched position.  Bison's slide is vicious!
Block this and throw him.  If you see cheese coming, just crouch punch.
Yes, crouch fierce punch!!!  Works MUCH better than trying to slide under it.

A head/foot drill, then head butt is a good combo to use against Bison, but
only use head drill as a defensive move (foot drill can be used as both), 
because of cheesepedo.

Avoiding the cheesepedo:
1) jump over it (obvious)
2) block (well, that takes damage)
3) slide (preferably roundhouse)  (I don't do this that often)
4) crouching fierce (yes, this works, and I would use this if you can't get in
the air fast enough)
5) jump over and then head dive

Hitting the cheesepedo:
1) fireball (obvious)
2) flame (I don't know.  I haven't tried this.  Knowing the priority of Bison's
cheese and the low priority of Dhalsim's flame, I wouldn't be surprised if this
didn't work)
3) foot drill (head drill don't work)

The scisssor kicking Bisons are the ones that give you trouble.  Slides won't
work, and because it's so fast, it's tough to get a fireball out in time.  The
best way to stop this is to jump back and either fierce punch or medium leg
kick.  If he cheeses, then foot drill him.  Staying in the air a lot isn't
a bad idea.  Most of Bison's damaging moves occur when you're on the ground.

BLANKA

A real trouble maker.  A good Blanka player can really challenge a good Dhalsim
player.  Blanka's number one move is the jump forward kick, or jump claw.
This will hit Dhalsim's limbs just about every time.  I wouldn't try the old
yoga fire, kick combo against Blanka.  What I use to stop Blanka is to "read"
their minds.  I'll try and hit them with a (delayed) fierce punch upon landing
from a jump.  I say delayed because Blanka can kick your arms VERY easily.
Usually, Blanka will block, then jump again.  This time, I'll use a jump back
roundhouse.  It's a real pain fighting Blanka, since you have to play SO
defensively.  The best thing to do is to try to attack Blanka many times, thus
forcing him to block and preventing him from jumping a lot.  What I mean is try
to sneak in a lot of middle kicks and punches.  Drills don't work to well.  
If Blanka balls at you, simply block, and hit him with either fierce or 
roundhouse when he recoils.  Blanka is probably the toughest opponent for 
Dhalsim (IMHO), since staying back doesn't work especially well, and fighting
at close range doesn't work too good either.  What really pisses me off is that
Dhalsim doesn't take as much energy as before when he counter attacks Blanka's
ball.  But don't despair, because you will in the long run, take off more 
energy than Blanka.  Seems like it's a little tougher to hit Blanka when 
recoiling than in classic.  One neat trick I know for reading minds is if you
throw a fierce punch and when Blanka blocks.  If you hit him with the tips of
your fists, try to yoga flame.  really.  Usually Blanka will kick right through
the flame, but if you hit him with the tips of your fists, that leaves you 
enough distance where Blanka will land helpless into the wall of fire.

CHUN LI

To beat Chun Lis, you have to keep them back.  A lot of sneaky medium kicks
and a lot of jumping back kicks (forward or roundhouse) should suffice.  I
wouldn't throw to many fireballs though, since she can easily jump over them
and come down with the lightning kick.  Most Chun Lis jump a lot.  Frustrate
them with timely defensive jumping kicks.  To play Dhalsim effectively against
her, right after you see her jump, you jump back too, but if the distance is
right, you will nail her, without trading blows.  Jumping roundhouse works 
much better than jumping forward.  To hit Chun Li out of her lightning kick,
head drills are recommended.  There is a bug in the game and it's against you.
If Chun Li does her cheap-kick-in-the-back-and-you-have-to-guess-which-way-to
block kick and you're in the corner, you will be unable to block.  real cheap.
A good Chun Li may use her spinning bird kick against you.  It's works better
than you may think.  Yoga fire isn't recommended too strongly, because her
legs are so far spread out that if you do manage to get a fireball off, more
often that not, you'll trade blows which will result in you losing more energy.
Someone told me that you can do a crouch strong and it will knock her out
of her spinning bird kick.  As to countering the neck kick, it's a crap shoot.
She can after you block it:
1) throw 
2) lightning kick
3) do another one
4) crouching roundhouse (irritating)  more on this later...
5) jump straight up and roundhouse or fierce

really powerful (cheap) attack.  After blocking that kick, basically you have
3 options:
1) throw
2) noogie
3) head butt/knee blow

I strongly suggest to not go for the throw.  Many times you will miss.  Seems
like she will win this throw the majority of the time.  Also, if she does a
jumping roundhouse or fierce and you go for the throw, you will do a head butt
and she will smack your head.  The crouching roundhouse can be irritating 
because you have to block that neck kick high, and by naturally tendency you
want to counter throw, but she'll hit you.  After blocking the best move to
do is to crouch immediately.  If she jumps straight up, you must be patient
and block her attack.  The best way out of this is the noogie.  Go for the
noogie if you see her going for the throw.  After noogying, jump back to gain
some distance on her.

DHALSIM

Dhalsim has finally met his match!!  To provide a strategy guide to fight 
Dhalsim would be useless since the other guy can do the same thing, so it
would be best to provide do's, dont's, and reminders.

1) Remember, Dhalsim can slide under fireballs.
2) Avoid using standing kicks when close to opponent, because other guy will
   roundhouse slide and knock you down.
3) Remember, you can hit Dhalsim's limbs.  Foot slides work good.
4) If involved in a fireball war (happens a lot), try sneaking up after 
   throwing a fireball, and slide under opponent's next fireball.
5) Jumping back and head drilling works well, provided that when you land,
according to the distance you are from your opponent, you know what to do.
6) Also, you can crouch punch under Dhalsim's fireballs (but, not a sonic boom;
weird, very weird).  This can be a very good surprise attack.

One really good tactic for fighting against Dhalsim is what we call the "pull
up noogie"  While you are noogying Dhalsim, keep the joystick held in the up
position.  When Dhalsim breaks free from the noogie, both of you are in the
air (he broke free and is flying away, you are executing a jump).  Immediately,
do a head dive.  You will hit Dhalsim, and it is impossible for Dhalsim to 
block this, since he is airborne.  This is useful against other characters, but
not guaranteed to hit.  Another good tactic is jumping around and kicking with
the forward kick.  Works wonders.

GUILE

Those pussy fighting Guiles!!  Hate 'em, always have.
I like to start the round with a forward kick, that way I can hit them before
the sonic boom comes out.  Sorry to be obnoxious, but Guile is a weenie.
Against "pussy" Guiles (slow booms, jumping kicks, fierce fierce sonic boom
combos, etc.) try to throw fireballs a lot but vary the speeds.  Throw a slow
one, if they block it with a sonic boom, make the next one be fast, e.g.
What you basically want to avoid is making a mistake.  One badly timed fireball
is it's Guile combo time.  I have learned when and what distance to fireball
from.  Takes time and patience.  A REALLY good strategy is to FAKE a fireball,
that way they'll jump in at the wrong time, and you kick them back.  Also,
some Guiles will fall for the roundhouse slide under sonic boom.  Many of them
just throw slow sonic booms and walk in.  Another good thing to try, is don't
always block the slow boom.  Try jumping straight up.  Get Guile to follow his
sonic boom, then give him a forward kick to the head while you're still in the 
air.  With the right timing of fireballs, you actually can control the destiny
of the fight instead of Guile.

Against other Guiles, fight them like Chun Li; jump back and kick when they 
jump at you, sneak a lot of fast forward kicks, and keep pressing them with
fireballs.  The key is don't let him get close.  You DON'T want a combo in
your face.

HONDA

Can't say much here, since there aren't many good Hondas.  A good strategy is
to play defensive.  Let Honda come to you, and you counter.  Avoid jumping
unnecessarily because a fierce slap hurts.  Honda's disadvantage is his
slow jumps.  Take advantage and pour on the slow fireballs.  Here's something
that I use on computer Honda which should work.
Get a good distance between Honda.  Throw a slow fireball.  If he jumps towards
you, just do a standing roundhouse where your heel hits his head.  Honda
can't effectively get "in" on Dhalsim at all.  The only way a Honda can get in
is to use the high priority moves.  A good Honda will belly dive or do the
squat move because he can hit Dhalsim's limbs very easily this way.  Beware 
this move and keep the onslaught of fireballs coming.

KEN

Many prefer Ken over Ryu, but I rather fight against Ken instead of Ryu since
Ken does less damage, and his hurricane kick is weaker.  One situation you
want to avoid is when in a fireball war, and your fireball doesn't come out
as planned, beware when you jump back, because if he threw a slow one, you
will get hit unless you dive which takes incredible timing, because it's easy
for Ken to throw you after you foot drill him, unless you hit him in the knee.
I like to get in fireball wars, and inch up and sneak in a roundhouse slide.
Against "triplers" (those who know the triple and even quadruple dragon punch)
you must be careful when you fireball, since Ken may sneak a hurricane kick
in which can spell trouble.  Flame can burn him, but he just floats over yoga
fire.  Against these people you have to have good reactions.  I like to fake a
couple fireballs and when they jump, I just jump back and kick him (either 
roundhouse or forward).  Also, against these characters, when I stun them, I
would throw them AWAY from me (not in the corner) that way you have your 
distance.  Sometimes when in a fireball war, I play offensive.  If I suspect
a fireball (ha-dou-ken), I'll give them a head-drill (to hit them a float over
the fireball) and depending on which part of the body I hit them with, I'll
go for a double head butt or immediately jump back and kick.  
Also, a really good tactic is if Ken does a fierce dragon, misses, and is close
to you, walk up and give him a double head butt on the way down, then do a
middle (not roundhouse) foot slide.  (You'll be surprised how often that
middle foot slide will connect).  This results in a stun.

RYU

Play him like you would play against Ken, but don't try to sneak in too many
standing middle kicks (because Ryu can knock you down with his hurricane kick).
Even if you trade blows, Dhalsim falls down, and Ryu approaches Dhalsim 
preparing for a trap.  Use more jumping back kicks against Ryu.  If Ryu does
a dragon punch and you jumped back and he missed, hit him a foot drill (if
you hit him with a head drill, it'll be easier for him to throw you when you
land).  Also, beware of the "sucker" punch (where Ryu does 2 consecutive jab
dragons).  If you see Ryu/Ken purposely do a jab dragon from a distance away,
don't try to hit him on the way down, because he'll do nothing but punch your
arms.  Don't fall for it.).  If Ryu traps you in the corner, it's pretty 
obvious to use your slide to get out of there.

SAGAT

A really tough guy to fight against, since he takes off big damage while 
being able to fight like Ryu/Ken.  His uppercut is particularly devastating
and his fireball speed is only matched by Ryu.  Don't try sneaking in a lot
of long distance moves while both of you are on the ground because that can
spell trouble for Dhalsim.  Jumping kick don't work too well, since Sagat 
doesn't jump too far when he jumps.  When I play against Sagat, I play
OFFENSIVELY.  When a fireball war begins, I match a couple of them, then
I like to jump and head drill him.  Hits him real good if you hit him as he
was doing a low tiger.  Just a little tougher if he was doing a high tiger.
If you matched a couple of his fireballs, you can bet he'll throw another, 
since his fireballs are faster.  When I say head drill him, I mean jump
an inch and dive at him.  Don't hang in the air too long because you'll
give him ample time to get an uppercut off.  That's the whole purpose of
fighting offensively.  Hit him during his delay after throwing his fireball,
and depending on where you hit him, react accordingly.  If you hit him in
the "knee" area, go for a head butt.  If you hit him in the "middle" area
(just out of his throwing range), block because he may go for an uppercut.
If you hit him in the "head" area (after you head drill him, you land in
his throwing range), try to beat him to the throw.  If you're up against
a Sagat who doesn't throw many fireballs, then play defensively.  Let him
come to you.  If he jumps at you, you roundhouse slide him when he lands, e.g.)
I admit Sagat is a tough character to fight against, so it will take some 
time.  I wouldn't recommend sliding under fireballs because 1) he can crank
out another one, before you even recover from a (roundhouse) slide and
2) you can't slide under a low tiger.

VEGA

Boy, this prissy punk is made to kick Dhalsim's ass!  I fight Vegas very
similarly to Sagats, try to fight offensively.  If you fight primarily 
defensively, you'll give Vega time to charge for the screaming eagle, and we
all know how SLOOOOOW Dhalsim is.  If you see a screaming eagle coming, about
all you can do is jump back and execute a perfectly timed roundhouse.  
Do not roundhouse slide, for you will get hit.  Vega can pick you up and slam
you in the middle of a drill, which (IMHO) is very unfair.  The only thing I
do differently against Vegas and Sagats is that I throw fewer fireballs 
at Vega.  If you must throw a fireball, I would throw a slow one.  If Vega
is crouching ready to defend this slow fireball, I usually follow that slow
fireball with a head drill, that way I keep the press on Vega and he doesn't
get to charge up so easily.  Actually, staying back from Vega can be hazardous
because of the "take-1/4-of-my-energy-screaming-eagle".  If you're up against
a master screaming eagler, (the kind who can do screaming eagles consecutively
because they know how to charge up for another while backdropping you), it's
pretty tough to escape.  If he's backdropping you while you're in the corner,
a jumping kick will go right through Vega sometimes, so a well-timed drill will
be needed to hit him.  Also, against Vega, try to sneak a few standing kicks
and punches to catch him off-guard.  Also, a standing jab can knock Vega out
of his screaming eagle.  Does piddly damage, but if done correctly, it'll keep
Vega off of you.

ZANGIEF

Thank god, I haven't seen a human Zangief as good as the computer (well, he
cheats!).  But, basically the same rules apply here as in classic SFII.
Sling many fireballs (I recommend varying the speeds) and keep him back.
Remember when Zangief jumps over your fireballs, time your punches where he
wont kick them.  You can hit him with delayed punches (hit him right after
he lands) and you can sneak a lot of standing kicks and punches.  Dhalsim
is made to eat up Zangief.  Be careful, though, not to throw a fireball when
you and Zangief are at about medium distance.  (e.g., you throw fireball, 
Zangief jumps over at SPD's you.)  Only throw fireballs when at a great
distance away, so when he jumps over them, you'll be out of range of the
SPD.  If you want to sneak in a kick, don't middle kick 4-5 times in a row,
because he'll just crouch punch your leg.  Lots of fireballs, and vary your
attacks.  Drills are NOT recommended, because you DON'T want to approach 
Zangief at all!!
-- 
Brian T Odom

"We are all manufacturers -- some make good, others make trouble, and still
others make excuses."