From: lhuynh@reed.edu (Falcon)
Subject: Re: What's the story on those pauses?
Organization: Reed College, Portland, Oregon
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 06:04:39 GMT

            The Unofficial Guide to Ticks and Combos in SFII
                      Copyright 1992. [trick :) ]

This is my contribution to the SFII netters.   I have spent the past 
couple of weeks trying to compose this list of ticks and combinations.  
I hope this will help improve your games. Since this is a first release, 
I'm sure that there will be mistakes in it. Please email any corrections 
or additions to me, lhuynh@reed.edu.

Thanks to these people for their help: rhett@u.washington.edu,
tpordon@isis.es.du.edu

A few abbreviations before we start. T will denote tick, AT will denote 
anti-tick, and C will denote combination. Since I do not consider any 
ticks or combos cheap or unfair, my opinion of what is a tick and what 
is a combo may differ from yours. Note also that I did not include a 
counter for the combos, but if you want, I'm sure I can write something 
up.

Guile:

    T: Guile crouches, does a series of jabs, then goes in for the throw.  
       Guile stands, does a series of shorts, then goes in for the throw. 
       When you have knocked your opponent down, go toward your opponent, 
       then pull the joystick to defensive crouch and start jabbing. After 
       a few jabs, go in for the throw. Remember not to be predictable 
       with the number of jabs you use.  The dangerous thing about this 
       is that your opponent  can throw you if you start your jabs to 
       close to them.
   AT: The easiest way to get out of this tick is to reverse the sucker 
       when he goes in for the throw.  After the first jab, move the 
       joystick to offensive crouch (your character should still be 
       blocking). When Guile stops jabbing, and if he is still in your 
       throwing range, move the joystick to the forward position and 
       press strong or fierce to throw. The dangerous thing about this 
       is Guile can decide not to throw you, and do a flash kick instead.  
       Similarly, if Guile does the short/throw tick, move the joysticks 
       to the center after the first short, then go for the throw when
       guile stops his shorts.  If you are Zangief, do the spinning power 
       driver after the jabs/shorts. 

    T: Guile throws a slow sonic boom, and follows it in for the throw.  
   AT: There are several ways to counter this, but it can get hard if 
       Guile is close behind his sonic boom. If you are:
          1) Ken/Ryu, after you block the sonic boom, do a jab dragon punch.
             This should hit Guile if timed right.  You can also block high, 
             then when Guile is close enough, sweep him with roundhouse. 
             You can also move back then do a hurricane kick.
          2) Zangief, do the spinning power driver. If Guile is anywhere 
             near you, he'll get a headache.
          3) Honda, after blocking the sonic boom, do the thousand hand 
             slaps. This will hit Guile several times if he goes in to 
             throw you.  Be careful not to jump over Guile's sonic boom 
             when he's following in. He can always jump up to meet you in 
             the air, and throw you into the corner.
          4) Anyone else, just go for the throw. Remember to move the 
             joystick to the center after you block the sonic boom.  Then 
             go the throw immediately afterward.

    C: Jump into your opponent with the forward kick, do a crouch strong 
       or jab, then a forward Razor Kick.  Immediately after executing 
       the jump, pull the joystick to defensive crouch to charge the Razor 
       Kick. Don't wait to execute the Razor Kick after the crouch strong.
       If this is done successfully, your opponent will not be able to 
       block or sac, and he/she will come up stunned.

    C: Jump into your opponent with fierce, pull the joystick back to back
       defense. When you land (about 1/2 sec. later), do the fierce upper 
       cut, then immediately pull the joystick forward and do the sonic 
       boom. If your opponent has a little bit on energy left, do the 
       backhand immediately to finish your opponent off.  After the first 
       three hits, your opponent should be stunned again. Again, if this 
       is done fast enough, your opponent cannot do the sac throw.

Note: When doing the Razor Kick, you can go from defensive crouch to 
backward flip. In this way, you still have you sonic boom charged when 
you are doing the Razor Kick. This is very helpful if you do a lot of 
short Razor Kicks.

Ken/Ryu:

    T: Ken walks to his fallen opponent, and then does a series of crouch 
       or standing shorts, then goes for the throw.  It is harder to 
       reverse the crouch shorts, so I recommend doing that instead. Walk 
       up to your opponent after knocking him/her down, pull the joystick 
       back, and start the shorts. Then go for the throw.  Again, remember 
       to vary the number of shorts you use.
   AT: This can be hard to reverse sometime. The trick is to pull the 
       joystick to the crouch, then go for the throw when Ken stops 
       shorting. Remember to watch for the throw. Ken might decide to 
       sweep you instead (This usually happens when he is out of range to 
       do the throw). Again if you are Zangief, do the spinning power 
       driver. If you are Guile, you can do a short Razor Kick immediately
       after the shorts. This should get any Ken who goes in for the throw.

    T: Ken traps you in the corner, and starts his fireball. If you jump, 
       he does the short or strong Dragon Punch and knocks you out of the 
       air.  After throwing  the fireball, keep the joystick in the forward 
       position so a that Dragon Punch can be executed quickly if the 
       opponent jumps over.  The trick to doing this tick successfully is 
       not to be predictable. This mean varying the speed of your fireballs, 
       and sometime just hitting the jab button instead of doing a fireball.  This is very hard to get out of, and very annoying for rookies.
   AT: If you are:
           1) Ryu, block the fireball, then do a jab dragon punch through 
              the next fireball.  You can now sweep Ken with roundhouse 
              if he does another fireball.  You can also just jump straight 
              up, then come down and do a fireball.
              2) Guile, block the fireball, then do a Razor Kick. Or you 
                 can time your forward flip right and do the auto-stun 
                 combo on Ken when he does his fireball. Or you can do a 
                 sonic boom to meet Ken's fireball, then do a backhand slap.
              3) Honda, sweep Ken with the standing roundhouse before he 
                 does his fireball. Or you can time the fireball right to 
                 flip forward into Ken with the fierce or the roundhouse.
              4) Chun Li, block the fireball, then do a crouch roundhouse 
                 to knock Ken down. Be careful because Ken can dragon punch 
                 your crouch roundhouse.
              5) Zangief, time your forward flip so that you hit Ken with 
                 the roundhouse, then immediately do the spinning power 
                 driver. The range for this is incredible.
              6) Any Ken trying this tick on Dhalsim is either stupid or 
                 desperate. Just time your slide to go under the fireball.

    C: Ken jumps behind his opponent with a roundhouse, then crouches and 
       does a series of shorts.  If the roundhouse hits, three more shorts 
       should get his opponent stunned. Remember not to jump too far behind 
       your opponent's head.

    C: Ken jumps behind his opponent with a roundhouse, then does a standing 
       fierce, then a fierce dragon punch. When executed properly, you 
       will stun your opponent. The trick to doing this combo is to leave 
       the joystick in the center when doing to standing fierce punch, then 
       immediately move the joystick to forward and execute the dragon punch. With practice, your opponent will not be able to defend the dragon punch if you get the fierce punch in.

    C: Ken jumps into his opponent with short, then crouches and does a 
       series of shorts.  The trick to successfully executing his combo is 
       pressing all three kick buttons as fast as possible.  This will 
       keep your opponent from moving back after the first short.  It is 
       VERY hard to press all three kick buttons quickly, but it is 
       possible. It just takes practice. Be careful when using this combo. 
       It can be reversed with the sac throw.

    C: A VERY good combo for Ken is the sweep/fireball. This is very hard 
       to do, but once mastered, Ken will be a very hard opponent to beat, 
       even with Guile.  Pull the joystick to defensive crouch and hit 
       the forward or roundhouse button, then immediately move the joystick 
       in a circular path to forward and hit a punch button.  The idea is 
       to press the kick and the punch button in one motion for a fireball.  
       After mastering this technique, you can make up your own combo. For 
       instance, jump with roundhouse, crouch with forward kick, then 
       fireball with fierce.   Note that  instead of sweeping your opponent, 
       you can also do a crouch punch.

    C: Jump in with roundhouse kick, then couch and do another roundhouse. 
       This combo is old, but it works good against opponent who sac throw 
       a lot.

Dhalsim:

    T: Dhalsim crouches, does a jab or a short, then noogies or throws his 
       opponent.  Move close to a fallen opponent, but just out of his/her 
       throwing range, then pull the joystick to defensive crouch and hit 
       jab, then immediately hit strong while moving the joystick to forward. 
       I found that it helps to get the joystick in the forward position 
       until I have them in my grip. If you see that your opponent is going 
       for the reverse throw, then just pull the joystick to back defense 
       after the jab/short and do the head butt. 
   AT: This is VERY hard to get out of sometime, but not impossible. If you 
       are:
           1) Ryu, Chun Li, Honda, or Zangief, just go for the throw 
              immediately after the jab. Remember to keep the joystick in 
              the center after Dhalsim jabs you. If Dhalsim makes a mistake, 
              and starts his jab too close, then just throw him when you 
              are getting up. Here, the Spinning Power Driver works , but 
              not as well as a regular throw.
           2) Guile. It is very hard for Guile to get out of this tick. 
              There are several ways for Guile to reverse this. There is 
              first the reverse throw (see 1) where Guile blocks that jab, 
              then goes for the throw. Second, Guile can crouch and jab. 
              Third, and probably the most effective way to get out of this 
              tick is for Guile to do a short Razor Kick immediately after 
              Dhalsim jabs.

    T: When Dhalsim traps his opponent in the corner, he does a fireball, 
       then goes in for the throw.  Do the fireball when your opponent is 
       getting up, keeping the joystick in the forward position afterward. 
       Then go in and tap fierce quickly. If your opponent tries to reverse 
       throw you, they will usually get thrown back into the corner 90% of 
       the time.  Do NOT try this tick on Zangief, he will do the Spining 
       Power Driver on you.
   AT: It is nearly impossible to reverse throw Dhalsim if he does this 
       tick on you, unless you are Zangief.  So the most obvious thing is 
       not to try the reverse throw, just keep blocking after the fireball 
       hits you.  If Dhalsim is tapping the fierce button after the fireball,
       it is most likely that he will do the head butt instead of throwing 
       you. If you are against a Dhalsim who has not perfected the distance 
       for this tick, then you can try to reverse throw him.  Remember to 
       pull the joystick back to the center after the fireball hits, then 
       go for the throw immediately.  I have found that it is easier to 
       reverse throw Dhalsim if you are blocking with back defense instead 
       of defensive crouch. If you are:
          1) Guile, you can do a short Razor Kick immediately after the 
             fireball. This will hit Dhalsim if he tries to throw you.  
             The short Razor Kick is fast enough that if Dhalsim blocks, 
             he will not be able to hit you afterward. Dhalsim might go in 
             to throw you after you miss with the Razor Kick. In he does, 
             just go for the back breaker.
          2) Zangief, do the Spinning  Power Driver.

    T: Dhalsim spins into his opponent, with head first or feet first, 
       then does the throw. I found that this works best if you do the 
       feet first spin, and aim your spin so that the feet hits your 
       opponent's leg.  The reason for this is to distance yourself from 
       your opponent so that he/she cannot throw you. This is not a very 
       good tick to use because it can be reversed very easily.
   AT: Just go for the throw just before Dhalsim is finished with the spin.

    C: Dhalsim fireballs, then kicks this opponent out of the air if they 
       jumps in.  Do not be predictable with the fireballs.  This means 
       varying the speed, and sometimes just hitting jab, or short.  After 
       the fireball, move forward a little, and use either the forward or 
       the short button to kick your opponent out of the air.  To keep 
       your opponent at a safe distance, use the fierce or the strong 
       punch.

    C: Dhalsim slides into his opponent with forward or short, then jumps 
       back and does a roundhouse or a fierce punch.  Most opponents will 
       jump into you after they your slide. If you use the forward or the
        short button, you will recover quickly enough so that you can jump 
        back and hit roundhouse. The roundhouse will knock you opponent out 
        of the air if timed correctly.  Replace the roundhouse with the 
        fierce punch if you opponent is just walking into you.

Chun Li:

    T: Chun Li walks into a fallen opponent, then jabs and throws.  This 
       is similar to all the other jab/throw tick. Pull the joystick to 
       back defense, hit jab or strong,  then to foward and throw. This 
       tick is easily contered, so don't go for the throw a lot.  Move 
       forward as though you are going to throw, then sweep with the 
       orward instead.  The trick to doing any tick is not to be 
       predictable.
   AT: Just go for the reverse throw. If you are:
       1) Guile, you can reverse throw Chun Li, or you can do a short 
          Razor Kick after the jab, which will also work.
       2) Zangief, do the reverse throw or the Spinning Power Driver if 
          you are fast enough. The reverse throw usually works better.  
          Remember that you want to keep her close to you, so use the 
          strong button to throw.

    T: Chun Li jumps into her opponent with the forward or short, NOT the 
       head-hop, then throw. When doing this, don't hit your opponent too 
       high, or else you will be thrown even before you land.  Do NOT try 
       this tick on Zangief; it would be hazardous to you health! 
   AT: The sac throw should work well here.  You can also block, then go 
       for the throw.  If Chun Li is too close when she starts her jump, 
       then walk under her, and turn around for the throw. If Chun Li has 
       her timing down such that she throws you even when you walk under 
       her, then just walk under her, turn around and crouch jab, then 
       throw her.

    T: Chun Li jumps over her opponent with the forward kick, turns around 
       and throws. The timing for this tick is very hard to get down.  
       The idea is to time the forward kick so that Chun Li pulls her leg 
       in right before she lands. In this way, she can immediately throw 
       her opponent.  This is a very hard tick to counter if your opponent
       doesn't know how to reverse throw you.
   AT: This is easy to counter if you get your timing down. The easiest 
       thing to do is wait for her to land, then hit her with fierce. You 
       can also try to throw her, but if you hit the button too early or 
       too late, you will get thrown.  This problem most people have with 
       countering this tick is that they hit the fierce too early.

    C: Once Chun Li has cornered an opponent, she can safely do the head 
       hop.  Jump into your opponent. While in the air, pull the joystick 
       down to crouch, and hit the forward kick. Chun Li will bounce on 
       her opponent's head, then bounce back out. While she is bouncing 
       out, hit the forward kick again, but this time, leave the joystick 
       in the center.  She will do her other forward kick. This will hit 
       her opponent if he tries to jump after her.  If the first head hop 
       doesn't bounce her out, then keep the joystick in the crouch 
       position and hit forward again.

    C: Chun Li jumps into her opponent with the forward kick, lands and 
       does a strong punch, then crouches and does a forward sweep.  This 
       is a good combo to use.  If you do this fast enough, your opponent 
       will get stunned.  Vary this combo with the ticks listed above for 
       an almost unstoppable game.  There are several variations of this 
       combo. For instance, using the roundhouse as the sweep instead of 
       forward, jumping into your opponent with the fierce punch instead 
       of the foward kick, etc.,.

    C: Jump into your opponent with the fierce punch, then land and hit 
       fierce again. The second fierce should hit your opponent if the 
       first one hits, and if you do this combo fast enough.

E. Honda:

    T: Honda jumps into his opponent with the belly flop and then throw.  
       The belly flop is done with the forward kick button. While in the 
       air, pull the joystick to defensive crouch, then go for the throw 
       after your opponent blocks.
   AT: The sac throw works good here.  You can also block, and then go 
       for the throw. Remember to move the joystick to the center after you 
       block.

    C: Honda crouches, hits jab fast, but not fast enough to do the 
       thousand hand, then does a jab topedo when his opponent jumps in. 
       This is a great move to use because your opponent will get hit 
       everytime if they jump in too close.  Use the topedo when you have 
       fallen and your opponent is jumping into you.  Even though this is 
       not a tick, I will show how to counter this move. For Chun Li and 
       Blanka, jump in with the forward kick.  Do not aim for Honda's head. 
       Instead aim for where his head will be if he does the topedo. If 
       Honda doesn't do the topedo, then throw him. For Zangief, the 
       roundhouse would work better.

    C: Honda jumps into his opponent with fierce, crouches and does a 
       roundhouse, then a topedo.  After jumping into your opponent, 
       pull the joystick to defensive crouch.  If your opponent is far 
       away, do the fierce topedo.  If your opponent jumps over the fierce 
       topedo, immediately do the thousand hand slaps.  If you opponent 
       jumps into you when you are doing the roundhouse, then do a jab 
       topedo. 

Blanka:

    T: Blanka jumps into his opponent with a kick, then goes for the bite. 
   AT: This is a regular tick. Do sac throw or block, then throw. Both 
       should work equally well.

    C: Blanka jumps into his opponent with fierce, lands and does a strong 
       punch, then crouches and does a forward kick.  Jump into your 
       opponent with the fierce punch, when you land hit strong quickly 
       while keeping the joystick in the center, then pull the joystick 
       to defensive crouch and hit forward immediately.

    C: Jump into your opponent with either the roundhouse or the fierce 
       punch. While in the air, pull the joystick to back defensive and 
       hit either roundhouse or fierce punch, then do the furball.  You 
       can trick your opponent pulling the joystick to back defense, then 
       hitting either strong or foward, then doing a fierce furball.

    C: Jump into your opponent with the fierce claw. While in the air, 
       pull the joystick to back defense. When you land, hit jab, then 
       do the furball with any punch button.  This is like Guile's fierce-
       fierce-sonic boom combo, but slower.

Zangief: (I love this guy!)

    T: Zangief jumps into his opponent, then does the Spinning Power Driver.  The trick to doing this successfully, is to keep your distance when you jump in.  Time you jump so that Zangief just bearly touches his opponent, then immediately do the SPD. Use the strong button for the SPD.
   AT: This is very hard to get out of. In fact any combos or ticks of 
       Zangief are hard to get out of. You can sac throw, which will work 
       sometimes. If you are:
       1) Ken, do the jab or strong Dragon Punch if Zangief jumps in too 
          late, otherwise try the sac throw.
       2) Guile, do the short Razor Kick if Zangief jumps in too late, 
          otherwise try the sac throw.
       3) Honda, try the jab topedo, or the sac throw.

    T: After his opponent has fallen down, Zangief goes toward his opponent, 
       crouches and does a short or a series of jabs, then the SPD. This 
       is EXTREMEMLY hard to counter.
   AT: Do not try to reverse throw Zangief is he does this tick on you.  
       You can escape if you just flip backup, unless you're in the corner, 
       in which case jump back with a kick.  If you are Guile, do the short 
       Razor Kick.

    C: Jump into a fallen opponent with the fierce punch. Don't pull the 
       joystick back when you are hitting the fierce punch. You want Zangief 
       to do the punch, not the body flop. After the punch, pull the 
       joystick to defensive crouch and hit short, then do the SPD. This 
       is EXTREMELY hard to counter, even for a master-blank player.

    C: Jump into your opponent with the roundhouse kick. If the kick hits, 
       do the SPD. This is very useful against opponents with missiles.
-- 
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Internet: lhuynh@reed.edu              
(503) 771-3747                             Hey man.....
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