CAPRON'S STREET FIGHTER EX +ALPHA M. BISON FAQ You can do anything you want with this FAQ AS LONG AS YOU DON'T ALTER IT OR PUBLISH IT WITHOUT GIVING ME CREDIT! Special Thanks: My younger brother Ferdy for beating the crap out of me so many times I had to get good at it to keep up, my parents who force me to play only on weekends(being time restrained forces you to make the best of it!), Arika(for creating Kairi, which will be covered by my brother in another FAQ, keep posted!), and Capcom(duh). Oh yeah, and also God(the MAN!). Version History: 0.1: FAQ created 0.2: Added lots of strategy and improved info on normal moves Contents: 1. Glossary 1. Who's M. Bison anyway? 1. Basic Moves and Strategies 1. Special Moves and Strategies 1. Super Combos and Strategies 1. Guard Breaker and Strategies 1. Cool Strategies 1. Overall Tips 1. GLOSSARY p: Any punch button k: Any kick button f: Forward(the direction, not the kick) d/f: Down/Forward(offensive crouch) d: Down d/b: Down/Back(defensive crouch) b: Back u/b: Up/Back(jump back) u: Up(jump up) u/f: Up/forward(jump forward) ch: Charge(hold a direction for 1 second) 360: A full rotation of the controller(not used, just so you know) 3p: All punch buttons 3k: All kick buttons DP: Dragon Punch motion(f, d, d/f+x) HK: Hadoken(d, d/f, f+x) R: Reverse(as in R DP= Make a Dragon punch backward(b, d, d/b+x)) 2. WHO'S M. BISON ANYWAY? If you don't know the answer to this question already, you should be dragged to your backyard and shot in the head. Anyway, M. Bison is the all powerful leader of the criminal organization Shadoloo(or Shadowlaw, but I prefer the other spelling). His organization does everything, from drug dealing, to bribing military officials into its service, to kidnapping warriors to turn them into soldiers. Members of Shadoloo include Vega, Balrog, Cracker Jack(which is introduced in SFEX+A, by the way), and Birdie(at least for a while, anyway). Nobody knows Bison's origin, where he was born, how he became the leader of Shadoloo, or where he got his powers(although its hinted in Street Fighter Alpha 2 that Rose and Bison have a common past, maybe they studied under the same master or something). Bison uses in battle what is called Psycho Power. This is evident in his glowing hands and his patented Psycho Crusher. Apparently at present time(Street Fighter 3), Bison is dead. Many people could have done it(Chun-Li, Guile, And Akuma being the main suspects), but then again, maybe he's just hiding and waiting for the best moment to resurface. Bison has fought many powerful opponents, the most prominent which are Ryu(another character which if you don't know you deserve to die), Guile(the Machine!), Akuma(evil incarnate), Rose(Supah Dupah Babe), Chun-Li(the strongest woman in the world), Dorai(Chun-Li's father, whom we sadly never see in a game), Charlie(Guile's best friend, and the reason Guile hates Bison so much), and many more. I'm still not sure of Bison's reasons for fighting in the EX tournament(i.e. I haven't beaten the game with him yet) but I'll update the FAQ as soon as I do. 3. BASIC MOVES I won't go into detail on blocking and doing punches and kicks because you should know this by now, and if you don't, there are more FAQs on this game which can tell you. I'll just give a summary of the basic punches and kicks and strategies for their use. Please note that most of Bison's normal moves two-in-one(that is, all can be joined to a special) and all of them Super Cancel(can be joined to a Super). That's good news! Jab: Bison actually has a pretty fast jab in this version of the game. It isn't very good to tick(pressure enemies with a constant barrage of them) unless you do the crouching version. The jumping version is a great jump-in, with very good priority. Against Ryu, it hits his standing strong about half the time, and the other half it trades. Strong: The standing version is your average straight punch. It isn't worth squat as an anti-air move, but the crouching version is the best move to join to a special or Super. As a jump-in, it has great priority. Fierce: This is probably the punch you'll be using the most. It's very fast for a fierce punch, it's his best anti-air(next to the Psycho Cannon, but we'll get to that later), his best jump-in(looks just like the strong, but has amazing priority), and can be joined to a special or Super(cancel the standing fierce into a Knee Press Nightmare for a nasty looking combo which will make your opponent cry!). Short: A pretty decent kick which is primarily used to hit your opponents' limbs. The crouching version is a good two-in-one/cancel, but you'll probably only two-in-one with it, since you want the move to cancel with a little slower than a short(so you have a little more to do the combination for the super). It's a very poor jump-in, so don't use it as such. Forward: A straight kick with very good range. It's great to tick with because of its long range, and the crouching version is almost as good as the crouching strong to two-in-one/cancel. It's a very poor jump in too(in fact, all of Bison's kicks are poor jump-ins). Roundhouse: A good ranged, pretty fast kick. The crouching version is Bison's slide, which in this game has great speed and short recovery time. Still don't abuse it. The standing version is a great two-in- one/cancel, as well as a great anti-air move from far away. In my first version of this FAQ, I said that the canceling ability of the roundhouse slide was worthless, but it isn't so. Do a roundhouse slide at maximum slide range from the opponent. As soon as you touch your opponent, and if you expect them to sweep your "mistimed" slide, quickly cancel into a Knee Press Nightmare. If they tried to hit you out of your slide, they will eat Super! Punch Grab(f+Strong/Fierce): Bison flips the opponent over his shoulder. It's a good move to do to a blocking opponent, but I personally like the kick grab better. Kick Grab(f+Forward/Roundhouse): Bison kicks his opponent, raises him with one leg, and slams him against the ground. This grab does good damage, looks nasty, and if timed correctly can be joined to a roundhouse for a two-hit combo! Even better, if you are insanely good, you can cancel the roundhouse to a Psycho Cannon for huge damage! 4. SPECIAL MOVES AND STRATEGIES This will focus on Bison's special moves. Bison's moves are all done by charging(except his warp), so he's a very defensive character. Yet his defense is what makes him so formidable! Also, you can use him offensively, and his powerful moves are great for combos and always leave you back on defense. Sadly, Bison's specials are extremely hard to Super Cancel, but you don't need to. His overall game is enough. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look at the specials, shall we? Psycho Crusher Ch b, f+p. Bison propels himself forward engulfed in flames, with his hands pointing ahead. This is mostly used in combos or to hit ground moves which miss. Another use is when the opponent tries to jump in. As soon as you see your opponent start his jump, and if he is between close and half-screen range, do the Psycho Crusher and Bison will fly underneath the opponent, changing sides. This is great when you are cornered or when the opponent is getting very aggressive. This will also make the opponent confused for a moment, and possibly make him feel stupid. Double Knee-Press Ch b, f+k. Bison does a forward flip ending with a kick which hits the opponent two times. This is a move which should only be used in combos, since missing with it leaves you wide open for retaliation. Not Bison's best move. Besides, every time you can use a Double Knee Press, you can do a Psycho Crusher instead. Head-Press Ch d, u+k. Bison flies toward the opponent and smacks him/her on the head with a stomp. If your opponent is not an Uppercut Brother(i.e. not a Ryu/Ken clone) you can do this move almost with impunity. After doing a Head- Press you can press p to do the Somersault Skull Diver, in which Bison flips backward and hits his opponent with a punch before landing. I don't recommend doing it a lot, because you can easily get hit out of the Skull Diver. A better alternative to the Skull Diver is, after doing the Head-Press, redirecting your flight. Doing a Head-Press and holding back will make Bison fly back, placing you far away from the opponent and in a charging position. If the opponent tries to jump in afterward, you're charged, so you can easily punish his jump in with a Psycho Cannon! Another strategy is directing your flight back, but at the last minute flying forward with the Skull Diver. This catches a lot of people by surprise. Bison Warp DP or R DP+3p/3k. Bison teleports away from danger. The direction you do the combination in controls(duh!) the direction Bison warps to. Pressing punch or kick controls the distance. This is Bison's best and most annoying defensive move. It really ticks of people when they go for a jump in and as soon as they are gonna hit you vanish into thin air! Doing many warps in a row and in different directions is a great confusion tactic, and makes the opponent anxious to jump in, which gives you a chance to(you guessed it!) punish him with the Psycho Cannon. 5. SUPER COMBOS AND STRATEGIES Finally, the part of the FAQ you've been waiting for! This is where I describe the wondrous properties of the Psycho Cannon and the usefulness of the Knee-Press Nightmare. Welcome to the jungle, baby, you're going to DIIIIIEEEE! Psycho Cannon Ch b, f, b, f+. Hold p to increase the size and number of hits. As you can already tell, this is Bison's best move. Bison shouts "PSYCHO CANNON!", charges an energy ball, and all hell breaks loose. Use this to counter fireballs from close range and Super Fireballs from mid range. The best use for this Super is as an air counter. Wait till your opponent jumps in, and as soon as his/her jump-in its about to hit start the move and hold the punch button. If done correctly, the opponent will be bounced back by the first hit/s of the Psycho Cannon. Now just wait for him/her to start falling an let go the punch button. Bison will let the Cannon go and it will hit the opponent as he/she's coming down for HUGE AND NASTY DAMAGE! I've gotten up to SIXTEEN HITS with this tactic! Be aware that it is NOT a good idea to do a Psycho Cannon offensively(unless it is in a Super Cancel combo, which is HARD to do), because just doing it with no charge does puny damage, and if you're charging, anyone can just sweep you and make you feel like a dork for wasting a whole super energy block(and trust me, in this Street Fighter more than any other Street Fighter, this is something you just can't risk). Knee-Press Nightmare Ch b, f, b, f+k. Bison laughs as he flips forward two times, kicks the opponent into the air, and starts hitting the poor bastard in mid-air. Although the weaker of Bison's Supers, this move is still quite powerful and is great to hit an opponent while he/she is stuck in a ground move. Nasty combo: Do a jump-in fierce, followed by a standing fierce, canceled into a Knee- Press Nightmare. I've had people let go of the controller in frustration after this combo! If you want a Super to use offensively, this is the Super of choice. If you hit it, good for you! If you don't, you won't be left open, so it's pretty safe either way. You may be asking yourself "This guy says not to waste an Energy Block if you're gonna miss the Psycho Cannon, but that it's OK to do it with the Knee Press Nightmare. What's with that?", right? Well, the Psycho Cannon, if missed, can endanger you with a COMBO. A missed Knee Press Nightmare does not. Got it? 6. GUARD BREAKER AND STRATEGIES Bison's Guard Breaker(press any punch and kick of the same strength and at the same time) is a pretty useless technique, and a waste of one Super Energy block. Still, it has its use: making people look bad! Try this NASTY looking combo as an example: do a Guard Breaker as the opponent is in the air. If you are able to land it, the opponent will be bounced high into the air. As he/she's coming down, jump toward him/her with a jump-in fierce. Quickly after landing, and before he/she has landed, do a crouching fierce two-in-oned into a Head-Press. It may not do a lot of damage, but it's a crowd pleaser! If by some miracle you do land the Guard Breaker on the ground, do a Guard Breaker if the opponent is a Turtle or if you are absolutely sure you're gonna hit. 7. COOL STRATEGIES These are tried-and-true strategies I have developed to make Bison the best he can be. Use them well and don't teach them(keep all the good ass- kicking moves for yourself! Bwahahahaha!). -Warp a lot. I mean A LOT. This will piss off your opponent like no other strategy can. Pissed off players can not concentrate, and they go way offensive. Since Bison's moves are all defensive, Bison is luring the enemy into a trap. -Bison has a good throw range, so throw often. Don't try this against certain characters, though. This is a stupid strategy to follow if your opponent is Zangief or Darun, since they rely on close range. You'll be eating the Final Atomic Buster in no time if you play ` Gief. Also, don't try it against Dhalsim. He has a huge throw range, and in a battle he will always beat you to the throw. -If you're out of the opponent's range, and he's not charged up, do a few Double Knee Presses to charge your Super Meter. -Any missed ground move should be punished with the Psycho Crusher. If you know how to, however, do the Double Knee Press canceled into a Knee Press Nightmare instead. No THAT'S a counter! -Laugh when Bison laughs. No, really. This will freak out your opponent sometimes, since you show extreme confidence this way. -Stick out a standing Short from time to time at close range. This snuffs a lot of ground attacks with its high priority. Also try it with the low jab(this is great on opponents who like to sweep). -I bet you have heard this one a million times, but here it goes again. If you knock down the opponent down, walk near him and suddenly walk back. If the opponent was going for a wake-up Special or Super, you'll block it. Retaliate appropriately. -Try not to jump a lot, one of Bison's only weaknesses is his jump is very short. -If you know you're out of it's range, jump forward so that Ryu/Ken/Akuma/Allen/Kairi's Shoryuken misses. Punish them hard when they come back down! Watch out for Akuma and Kairi, though, they have mid-air Supers! -Final and most important: Have fun! It's only a game! If you let a defeat get to you, you'll never become better. Just sigh, walk away, train a little, come back, and KICK ASS! 8. OVERALL TIPS Bison is one of(if not THE) most powerful characters in SFEX+A. His basic moves are well balanced and excel on defense, he has great specials for offensive and defensive purposes, and his Supers are brutally effective and can utterly destroy his opponent. Bison is best played on defense, countering any missed attacks and punishing jump-ins with his normal moves and Psycho Cannon. He can easily escape pressure with his Head-Press an Bison Warp. He can confidently jump in with his great punches, and two-in-one and cancel his way into brutal combos. Bottom line, defense until you have at least one Super Bar filled, then it's your call. Well, that's it for my FAQ. I don't have an e-mail address anymore, so you'll have to be patient until I get a new one. See ya soon!