Ibuki Player Guide Rev3

1. Index 2. Before We Get Started3. Introducing Ibuki4. Understanding Hit-Boxes5. Understanding Frame-Data6. Terminology7. Standing Attacks8. Crouching Attacks9. Unique Attacks10. Lets Take A Break #111. Special Attacks I12. Special Attacks II13. Anti-airs I14. Anti-airs II15. Ultra Combos16. Using Ibukis Ultra Combos17. Bread & Butter Combos18. Lets Take A Break #219. High Jump Cancelling20. Advanced Combos21. Tsumuji Loops22. Kasumi Suzaku Combos23. Lets Take A Break #324. Kunai Vortex25. Escaping The Kunai Vortex26. Understanding Option-Selects27. Safe Jumps28. Unblockables29. Practicing Meaties30. Launcher Combos31. Ambiguous Mix-Ups32. Lets Take A Break #433. Match-up vs. Ryu34. Match-up vs. Cammy35. Match-up vs. Zangief36. Match-up vs. M.Bison37. Izunas General Strategy38. Ibukis Frame-Data I39. Ibukis Frame-Data II40. Thank You For Reading

Index

Before We Get StartedHi my name is Izuna, the writer of this guide. First of all, before you start your ninja-training Id like to talk to you about how this book will teach you.

Whether you are a Beginner or Expert Street Fighter player, when it comes to picking up a new character, it is important to learn the fundamentals. Not every attack for Ibuki will be talked about in detail, only the most important ones. Ive tried my best to streamline the information for efficient learning. Between chapters, there will be Lets Take A Break pages, which will sum-merise what you have learnt so far. You are not expected to memorise everything that is in this guide in one go, it is built to be used as reference as well as introducing you to Ibuki. Finally, this book is built for SUPER Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Ver.2012. Any differences with previous versions will not be mentioned, it is up to you to discover what doesnt work should you be playing an earlier version.

-- CREDITS --Writer of Contents - Izuna Theophilou (@izuna_zuna)Researcher of Contents - MingoDynasty Cover Designer - MR_47 (SRK Community)Interior Graphics Designer - Andreas Theophilou (Osuoa)Proofreaders - Torbjrn Rnningsen (@2Rbear)

- Kendrick Nakamura (SoulSynapse)

Presented by CrossCounter TV

SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV, its Characters and Art are owned by CAPCOM U.S.A. -- this book is in no way affliated with CAPCOM U.S.A.

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Ibuki may be considered as an easy-to-use, hard-to-master character. Her typ-ical gameplay is based on knocking her opponents down, and attacking them while they get up. With high damaging combos and many ambiguous tools, she can quickly shift the momentum of the match in her favour.

Her drawbacks then, are that her entire gameplay revolves around her oppo-nents defensive abilities. That being said, she has a harder time fighting char-acters with options to escape when getting up off the ground. In this guide, we will look at ways to overcome this issue using what we call Option-Selects, and Safe Jumps.

Currently a character who is ranked Top 10 in the Japanese Arcades, Ibuki consistently places high in tournaments all over the world; rarely however, coming in first place.

Many people do call Ibuki a random character, winning matches due to chance rather than decisive ability. There are those out there who wish to disprove this theory, using creative and high damaging set-ups, which only another Ibuki player would know how to defend against. Read on to find out...

Introducing IbukiSTAMINA: 900STUN: 950WALK-SPEED RANK (fastest): 24thDASH-SPEED: 18-framesBACKDASH-SPEED: 28-frames

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Ibuki TRIVIA - Did you know...

Her first appearance was in Street Fighter III: New Generation. In 2nd Impact, she was S-tier alongside Gouki and Sean. Capcom addressed her imbalance by removing her Hashinsho Super Art for 3rd Strike.

Drawing by Omar-Dogan

Understanding Hit-BoxesYou may already be aware of this, but Street Fighter IVs fighting-engine uses an invisible mechanic called Hit-boxes. Its not important to memorise the Hit-boxes for every attack, but it is important to understand how they things work.

Solid Yellow BoxesThis is the physical space occupied by the character. Two of these box-es cannot pass eachother, but it is not a characters Hurt-box. Akumas Teleport, for example, will make his box disappear so that he may pass through his opponent.

Long Solid Yellow BoxesIf your opponent is inside this long box, as they hold back they go into a blocking animation, so they cannot walk away.

Solid Red BoxesThis is the Hit-box. If this box touches an opponents Green Lined Box (or Hurt-box), a hit will be registered. The numbers seen inside these boxes represent values of height, length etc. these Arbitrary units are for the developers of the game.

Green Lined BoxesThis is the Hurt-box. If any attacks Hit-box touches this a hit will be registered, including projectiles.

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Ibuki is a female ninja, which is called kunoichi in Japanese. Born an orphan in a ninja village, she spends her time living a double life. She keeps her Ninjustu a secret while attending High School with Makoto.

Understanding Frame-DataFrame-data is another hidden mechanic in Street Fighter IV. Learning Frame-data is very important as it teaches you what you can and cant combo, and what something can be punished with etc.

Frames Per Second = Street Fighter IV runs at 60fps. 1-frame is 1/60th of a second (16ms).

Action = name of the attack.

Start-Up = number of frames before attack begins.

Active = number of frames a move hits for. In otherwords its the number of frames the Hit-box is present.

Recovery = number of frames between after the Hit-box disappears and when moves animation has ended.

Frame Advantage = number of frames before the recovery of both characters after an attack. A positive number indicates how many frames the attacker recovers before his opponent after a move. A negative number indicates how many frames the opponent recovers before the attacker. For example (-5) on block means opponent can punish with an attack with a 5-frame Start-Up.

For a full list of Ibukis Frame-data go to page 38.

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Makoto attending the same school as Ibuki is an issue. All Makoto wants to do is fight strong opponents. Ibuki dodges Makotos challenges day in, day out, hoping that her classmates dont suspect shes a ninja.

Terminology

Street Fighter series has been around for over a decade, and because of

this, there are Jargon thats commonly used through-

out its community. The list on the right includes all of the Terminology you need to know to read this book.

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The highest ranked Ibuki player in the world is named Iyo. He went up to a player in the arcades and firmly said: Dont film anymore of my matches! Just like Ibuki, he keeps his Ninjustu a secret.

[Safe] -- an attack that cannot be punished after it is blocked.[Block-stun] -- stun caused by an attack that is blocked.[Hit-stun] -- stun caused by an attack that hits.[Meaty] -- attacking an opponent with a Meaty is to hit them during a moves last active-frames, thus increasing frame-advantage as block/hit-stun starts right before the recovery frames start.[Link] -- a link is when you combo a move into another by waiting until one move is over, and then starting the next, therefore a 1-frame link means you have 16ms after the end of one attack to start to next.[Tick-Throw] -- using a throw after your opponent has blocked or gotten hit a move giving you frame-advantage.[Frame-Trap] -- performing an attack during frame advantage to punish the start-up of an opponents attack.[Cross-Up] -- this refers to when you hit the back of an opponent, forcing them to block the otherway.[Zoning] -- this refers to using attacks to control space on the screen, either keep your opponent away from you, or for pushing your opponent into the corner.[Overhead] -- this is an attack that must be blocked standing.[Tech] -- Throw escape. [kara-Cancel] -- this is when the start-up of an attack is cancelled into another at-tack, for example [st.MK~Throw]; only some attacks can be kara-Cancelled.

[Motions]QCF = Quarter-circle ForwardQCB = Quarter-circle Backward HCB = Half-circle Backward SPD = 360 or Full-circle DP = Shoryuken Input (forward > down > down-forward)

[Buttons]LP = Light PunchLK = Light KickMK = Medium KickHK = Hard Kick etc.

[Shorthand]DP = Dragon Punch, or Shoryuken/Invincible AttackFADC = Focus Attack Dash Cancelcr. = crouchingst. = standingfar. = farcl. = close, = linkxx = cancel-> = do (next attack/movement) at next available frame -- means and then into

Standing Attacks(Far) Standing Light Punch [far.st.LP] With a 3-frame start-up, this is prob-ably Ibukis main Normal Attack. It can be linked into many of her differ-ent normals because it has a Hit-stun of +8! She can actually link it into it-self whilst walking in between the punches.

Standing Medium Punch [st.MP] A very important Normal Attack with a start-up of 5-frames. It is used as a combo starter and for Meaties. It can be used as an Anti-air against high Dive Kicks, but its mainly used to beat fast moving attacks like Fei-Longs Rekka as a Footsie.

Standing Medium Kick [st.MK] With a start-up of 5-frames, this is a [Special Cancellable] move that is mostly used at the end of combos. It can be chained from a st.LK, and High Jump cancelled out of. It can also be kara-Cancelled to increase Ibukis Throw-range.

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Crouching AttacksCrouching Medium Punch [cr.MP] Besides having a start-up of 8-frames, this is very similar to st.MK. Mostly used as a Footsie, it can be combined with Neckbreaker as an Option-se-lect to punish dashes. It has a longer start-up, and less range than st.MK, making it unsuitable for combos.

Crouching Medium Kick [cr.MK] Mainly used to lower Ibukis Hurt-box, this can be used to escape vari-ous moves such as C.Vipers Burn Kick. It cannot be Special Cancelled, and only linked out of as a meaty or on Counter-hit. With a start-up of 6-frames it is used as a Footsie tool.

Crouching Hard Kick [cr.HK] Ibukis cr.HK is one the best in the game; with a start-up of 6-frames, it can also be chained into a far.st.HK to launch her opponent or make her safe when the far.st.HK is High Jump cancelled. The cr.HK alone causes an untechable knockdown.

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Unique AttacksSPIN KICK [f+LK] Far-reaching attack with the same speed as st.MK. Can be cancelled into LK Tsumuji/Ka-zegiri, or EX Tsumuji/Kazegiri for a combo. It can combo into any other Tsumuji but only on Counter-hit.

HAMMER KICK [f+MK] This is Ibukis amazing combo-able overhead. It is very slow and easy to react to, but it hops over some projectiles and low-attacks. It can be chained into from b+MK. Shes also protected against Throws as shes airborne.

SAZAN [df+MK/slide] If Ibuki is too close, it is very unsafe even on hit. If done at the correct spacing, you can link st.LP after it for a combo. This move slides underneath almost every projectile in the game. It is used for Zoning.

BONSHO KICK [f+HK] This attack goes over low-attacks, but sometimes Ibuki jumps too high (she cant hit Ryus cr.MK). It is not an overhead like [f+MK] and is -3 on block. It is +5 on Counter-hit, so its a good combo starter.

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Lets Take A Break #1Youve done a lot of reading already, you probably feel that you havent really learnt anything. DONT WORRY. What youve just read is important, its just not obvious yet.

So the most important things we learnt is that st.MP is a com-bo starter, and st.MK is used at the end of combos. It was men-tioned that st.MK was [Special Cancellable]. What that means is that the attack can be cancelled into a Special Move (you will find out about them on the next page).

As for the other attacks, whatever you use will depend on the situation. Where the two characters are on the screen, at what frame-advantage they are at, as well as what options your op-ponent has. I can assure you that youll just learn gradually but surely as you continue playing.

Ibukis Throw didnt fit into the other sub-headings, so heres a bonus Hit-box.

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Also in Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact, she used to be able to punish a teched throw with her Super Art Hashinsho. Throws were option-selected too. She was very scary!

Special Moves I

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NECKBREAKER [hcf+P] -> The normal version is what is used to set up Ibukis Kunai Vortex, as it causes an [Untechable Knockdown]. The different strengths of punches only change its range of travel. It is very unsafe on block, so please refrain from using this move unless its part of a combo, or when reacting to a projectile. The EX ver-sion goes through projectiles (including Guiles Sonic Hurricane).

TSUMUJI [qcb+K] -> MK and HK versions cause an [Untechable Knock-down] if the third hit is made low by down pressing [d+K]. Less damag-ing than Neckbreaker, but not as unsafe on block. EX version is used for wall combos, and can be changed to hit low by holding down. Range on knockdown is variable depending on spacing, so be careful when using it as part of your Okizeme. The LK version is used for Tsumuji Loops. HK Tsumuji does more damage, but the spacing is not good on block. MK Tsumuji (2-Hits) is 0 on block, whereas HK Tsumuji (2-Hits) is -4 on block.

KAZEGIRI [dp+K] -> All versions have [Throw Invincibility] during the start-up frames, but are unsafe on block. HK version does the most damage. EX version is the only move Ibuki has that make her invincible on the first frame (it is her version of a Shoryuken). EX Kazegiri can be cancelled into LP Kunai (which makes it safe on block) but the Kunai can be focused or dodged. Finally, all version of Kazegiri may be Focus Attack Dash Can-celled (FADC) to make them safe. When FADCd on the first hit, they can be followed up with a juggle combo.

Special Moves IIHIEN [reverse dp+K] -> All version are overhead attacks. Normal Hien may be unsafe on hit unless EX, or cancelled into Kasumi Suzaku. Normal-ly you shouldnt use this attack without a full Super Combo gauge, but against some characters, HK Hien can be used to apply pressure from afar. EX Hien is [Throw Invincible], and if it connects it puts Ibuki in the opposite side of the screen. EX Hien may be cancelled into a reverse Ku-nai to make it safe on block. KASUMI GAKE [qcf+K] -> This is Ibukis command dash. HK version makes Ibuki go through characters to the other side. There is no invincibil-ity with any version, and they all put Ibuki at a frame-disadvantage. They are best used on an opponents wake-up to confuse them, or to get close after using a special cancelled normal to induce stun.

RAIDA [hcb+P] -> LP, MP, HP, and EX versions increase in range, but only EX deals more Damage and Stun. It can be used on juggled opponents. Raida also beats all throws in the game, but is largely unsafe on block. It can be used to break limbs (including Dhalsims from afar), but the tim-ing is very strict.

KASUMI SUZAKU [qcfx2+P] -> Ibukis Super Combo which is performed in the air. It may be cancelled into from Hien and Kazegiri. It is difficult to combo after a Kazegiri, so it is typically used after cl.st.HK or Hien in-stead. It can also be cancelled instantly from a Tsujigoe [dp+P] to catch low attacks. Generally this Super Combo is used for Chip Damage. Please turn to page 22 for more information of how to use this attack.

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[Ageman] is probably Ibukis go-to Anti-air. The first hit may be [Special Cancelled] for air combos and resets. If the first hit trades it still puts the opponent in a jug-gle-state. This means she can still juggle Raida, Kazegiri etc. So the trade should actually be in Ibukis favour, but many attacks with good Hit-boxes make it dif-ficult for Ibuki to Anti-air with this.

[cr.HP] is by far her best anti-air in terms of hitbox; but at 9-frame startup its not too easy to use. It would have to be used earlier than other anti-airs, but it rarely trades. It completely resets her opponent, but can High Jump cancel with a Kasumi Gake to get in afterwards.

The second hit of [cl.st.HK] is use-ful if you manage to get really close to your oponent, usually for when opponent want to jump over you. Like the first hit of Ageman it causes a Jug-gle-state, but it cannot be Special Can-celled. However, cr.HP or Kazegiri will connect after. It can be High Jump can-celled for combos and mix-ups.

Anti-airs I

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[nj.MK] is also very good, especially if the opponent does not suspect Ibuki to be off the ground. Not only can this be used as a anti-air, but it is a good combo starter too. Usually used in anticipation of Dive Kicks, it has similar uses as Ibukis air-Throw.

[Raida] is only worth using if the op-ponent lands in front of you, like a far Dive Kick. Unlike a Throw, it can actually grab limbs, so it can be used to catch Dhalsims Yoga Sniper (j.HP). Although grabbing limbs is nearly impossible to master, it can take an opponent by suprise.

[EX Kazegiri] is best when you want a desperate anti-air, but it costs me-ter. It can be done later than the others, and will almost never trade. It can be FADCd for Launcher Combos.

Anti-airs II

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This Ultra Combo begins as a Throw with a startup of 2-frames. This means that anything that puts an opponent close to Ibuki, and is 2 or more frames negative on block, she can punish with Yoroitoshi.

If the Throw doesnt connect, she throws out an Energy Blast instead which has a start-up of 13. This can be used in combos whether High Jump cancelled into, or as a Juggle such as after a cl.st.HK or EX Tsumuji in the corner.

The Throw and Energy Blast (as a Juggle) cause an [Untechable Knockdown].

Ultra Combos

With a start-up of 8-frames, Ultra II passes through projectile attacks such as a Hadouken or Guiles Sonic Hurricane. After connecting, it pushes the opponent into the corner, but Ibuki recovers far away from her opponent.

It is mostly used in combos when High Jump cancelled into, dealing more dam-age than the Energy Blast from Yoroitoshi. The downside to this Ultra Combo is that because it pushes the opponent far away from Ibuki, she cant do any mix-ups after.

It does a small number of damage as a Juggle. HK Kazegiri or Raida will deal more damage at the end of a wall combo.

Its start-up frames are longer than its hit-invincible frames, so it can Trade.

Ultra Combo I - Yoroitoshi

Ultra Combo II - Hashinsho

HCBx2+3P501 Damage

274 Damage (Energy Blast)

QCFx2+3K 469 Damage

180 Damage (Juggle)

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Using Ibukis Ultra CombosYou may have a preference to one Ultra Combo over another, but your choice should be strategic. Below are some of the attacks you can punish with an Ultra Combo on block.

Other Notable Punishes [U2] blocked cr.HK from various characters i.e. Ryu, Akuma and many others[U2] blocked cross-up Psycho Crusher from M.Bison (Dictator)[U1] HK Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku from Ken (on hit)[U1] blocked instant-air Burn Kick from C.Viper[U1] blocked DP FADC forward from various characters i.e. Ryu, Seth, Yang and many others [U1] blocked EX Zesshou Hohou from Yun

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Bread & Butter CombosThe term Bread & Butter refers to the most important com-bos. They are not the most damaging, but these are the easiest useful combos for Ibuki. If you cannot perform these combos, you should go into TRAINING and practise.

Target Combo 4 (TC4) = LP xx MP xx HP

Lets Take A Break #2When I first got into playing Ibuki, it was actually the first time I wanted to learn how to be good at a Fighting Game that wasnt Virtua Fighter. I would be late to class everytime, because from 10PM to 3AM, I would practise doing the same combo over and over again in Challenge Mode.

Eventually I started to understand a few things about how to do combos in Street Fighter IV. I found out from a friend the method of plinking. How I learnt to do it was from watching what I think is the best tutorial for plinking on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acuTIlxcjz0

High Jump Cancelling

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HIGH JUMP TRAINING Unless youre a master at this already, or you dont want to beat people up with the strongest Kunoichi in fighting games, skip this sub-heading. Otherwise, do your practice! Being able to execute this is required to complete Ibukis Trial #24. In the usual notation its [st.LK, st.MK xx High Jump xx Hashinsho]. Load up Training Mode, turn on INPUT DISPLAY, and give this combo a go. Do it as slow as you need to, dont rush this. Keep practicing until youve done this twice.

A LOT of people have issues with this. In shorthand: [cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx HK Kasumi Gake]. It is very important you do this combo as shown above; any other method isnt going to help you be consistent. If youre having troubles, just do the kicks with the High Jump, and watch when Ibuki jumps. If Ibuki isnt making a noise, youre Jump cancelling, not High Jump cancelling. Thats when you want to press the final kick. When youve done this twice, move on.

Shorthand: [TC4 xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]. After this, consider yourself well prepared to use [High Jump xx Kasumi Gake] more often in matches. Even though you probably wont use this combo, its very important to give this one a go before you give up on High Jumps.

Are you getting EX Raida instead of Yoroitoshi? Take a look at your INPUT DISPLAY on the left of the Train-ing Mode screen. Take a look at the very last input, you should see this:

If you see this as your last input, and youre still getting EX Raida, find this input:

If both of these exist, then youre just doing the movements too fast, or theyre not accurate. Practise Yoroitoshi on its own, and then practise doing TC4 xx High Jump on its own.

A High Jump cancel or HJC (otherwise known as a Super Jump cancel or SJC) is performed by inputting [Down] then [Up] during a move. Not every move can be cancelled into a High Jump, but if you want to combo into Ibukis Hashinsho (Ultra Combo II) there is no better way.

Advanced Combos

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Now that you have tried out High Jump cancels, its about time you familiarise yourself with more difficult combos. If youre new to playing Street Fighter IV, youre not expected to be able to master all of these combos. Everything here is practical, nothing is hard for the sake of it.

st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker -- doesnt work on Hakan/Dan unless

after a focus attack -- works best on standing opponents --

cr.LK, cr.LK, far.st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker -- cr.LK, far.st.LP hits more consistently than cr.LP, far.st.LP

-- when youre close, the far.st.LP becomes cl.st.LP cr.LK, TC4, far.st.LP, st.MK xx Kazegiri

-- TC4, far.st.LP is character specific

EX Tsumuji, Kazegiri FADC cr.HP -- on some of the cast Kazegiri FADC isnt needed

f+MK, st.MK xx MK Tsumuji -- st.MK is a 1-frame link but this is the most consistent followup

These combos arent necessary to learn, but they do make using Ibuki easier when you master them. Its not exactly the extra damage that they do, but [cr.LK, cr.LK] for example is the only way to hit-confirm after a low-hitting attack or [crouch-tech].

[EX Tsumuji, cr.HP] doesnt work on the following characters: Blanka, Evil Ryu, Guy, Ibuki, Ken, and Ryu -- you must use Kazegiri FADC before the cr.HP will hit.

[TC4, far.st.LP] doesnt work on the following characters:Adon, Akuma, Fei Long, Hakan, Ibuki, Ken (random), Rose, Ryu (random), Sakura, Vega (Claw)

Because cr.LK lowers Ibukis hurt-box, it can be used to cleanly punish Guys Elbow Drop. Using TC4 or far.st.LP (depending on spacing) to follow up with a knockdown.

Tsumuji Loops

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The Tsumuji Loop is a Character-Specific combo which is link-ing a far.st.LP after a LK Tsumuji. It is a 1-frame link that allows Ibuki to extend her combos for more Damage, Stun, and Me-ter gain. I recommend doing Tsumuji Loops after st.MP, st.MK. These arent necessary, but if you have good execution it can only make your Ibuki stronger.

For a full list of who what combos allow you to Tsumuji Loop characters, check out MingoDynastys Spreadsheet : http://tinyurl.com/tsumujiloop

st.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker 340 Damage / 483 Stun

THIS COMBO DOES NOT WORK ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Blanka, Cammy, C.Viper, Dan, Juri, Rose, T.Hawkst.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx Neckbreaker

385 Damage / 528 Stun

THIS COMBO ONLY WORKS ON THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Abel, Dee Jay, Sagat, Vega (Claw)The general rule is that you have characters you cannot Tsumuji Loop, and characters you can Tsumuji Loop twice. Abel is easier to beat if Ibuki does the Tsumuji Loop, because doing so will increase the damage and stun output greatly.

Kasumi Susaku Combos

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Ibukis Super Combo offers guaranteed chip damage on a grounded opponent, but it has better uses. It can be hit-confirmed from anywhere on the screen using Kazegiri.

HK Kazegiri xx Kasumi Suzaku

Performing this combo is not easy. This combo heavily depends on the space between Ibuki and her opponent, and how close they are to the corner. To learn this combo, you need to first practise cancelling as late as possible. Go into Training Mode and do [j.HP, st.MK, HK Kazegiri xx MP Kasumi Suzaku]. When you have the timing down, now you must memorise which strength of the Super Combo you should use depending on the spacing. If you get it wrong you may waste your Super Combo and your opponent falls out after just a couple of hits. If you are very close use LP. Only use HP when very far, or on El Fuerte and Dhalsim for slightly more hits than when using MP. When youre in the corner it becomes very character specific, so I discourage you to try this combo in the corner.

In General you will be using MP Kasumi Suzaku to connect this combo. This combo does the most damage the less hits you do before the HK Kazegiri. When using it as a punish, go for a simple TC4 into the HK Kazegiri xx Kasumi Suzaku. Ibuki will always do more damage if she does a HK Kazegiri before the Kasumi Su-zaku, and it gives an [Untechable Knockdown], making it a better idea than simply doing a High Jump cancel straight into it.

*phew* The last few pages have been full of Character Specific combos, 1-frame links, and High Jump cancels. If youre not very familiar with fighting games, whats in the pages above may appear to be way too advanced. Dont worry. None of it is required.

In the next page we will finally look at what makes Ibuki an effective character. The Kunai Vortex is a form of Okizeme (the technique of hitting a grounded opponent. You will understand why [Untechable Knockdowns] have been bolded thus far. Its pretty much what seperates Ibuki from other characters.

But Ibukis Okizeme isnt limited to just the Kunai Vortex. We will also be looking at how it is escaped, even easily by some characters. To keep Ibuki scary for those particular characters, we will be looking into what we call Safe Jumps, and even Unblockables.

For those of you who had a go at the above combos and are really good with execution, later on we will be going into Launcher Combos and Ambiguous Mix-ups which will really test your ability of High

Jump cancelling.

Those combos were easy! Give me a challenge!

Lets Take A Break #3

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(Abel/Corner) [Focus Attack, st.MP, st.LP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LK, st.MK xx EX Tsumuji, kara(Kasumi Gake)-HP Raida]

[cr.LP, st.LP, cr.LK xx High Jump xx Hashinsho]

(Abel) [st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx LK Tsumuji, st.LP, st.MK xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]

(Rufus) [cr.LK, cr.LK, cr.LK xx HK Kazegiri FADC st.Roundhouse xx High Jump xx Yoroitoshi]

(Makoto/Corner) [j.MK, cr.HP xx High Jump, MP Kunai, TC4 xx MK Tsumuji, f+LK xx High Jump xx HK Kazegiri xx LP Kasumi Suzaku]

(Seth/Corner) [j.HP, cr.HP xx (backwards) High Jump, MP Kasumi Suzaku, Hashinsho]

(Akuma/Corner) f.MK, st.MK xx High Jump xx LP Kasumi Suzaku, (walk forwards) st.MK xx High Jump xx Hashinsho

Freaks of nature out there, I have exercises for your fingers. Here are a list of impractical combos for Ibuki that will really test your skills.

These combos would make for a pretty good Combo Video wouldnt you say? See if you can be the first to do all of them and record yourself doing it!


Ibuki is able to kara-cancel Kasumi Gake with a Raida, showing her after-image before grabbing her oppo-nent. This has little practical use, only allowing Raida to hit after EX Tsumuji when further from the corner.

The Kunai Vortex

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Ibukis Kunai Vortex is the very foundation of the character. However you must know how to practise it properly. The key is to always use LP Kunai, and to make sure you have the timing down correctly follow these steps (or watch [TrueHD] How to Play Ibuki video on YouTube):

Go to TRAINING Select Ibuki as your character. Select Yang as your opponent.

Press Start, and select TRAINING OPTIONS Choose ACTION -> RECORD

Repeatedly Perform LK Senkyuutai (dp+LK) Choose ACTION -> PLAYBACK

Hit Yang with TC4 xx Neckbreaker, or MK Tsumuji (3rd hit = low attack) (High) Jump and aim the LP Kunai to land on the back of Yangs feet

What you are aiming to do is perform a Meaty Kunai. The importance of this is so that characters like Ryu dont hit Ibuki with a Reversal, and also so that if they block the Kunai, Ibuki is able to continue a block-string. The Kunai has more frame-advantage if it hits the bottom of a character. You can do a Meaty Kunai after a Throw, cr.HK, MK/HK/EX Tsumuji or any other [Untechable Knockdown] where Ibuki isnt too far.

This is what defines Ibuki as a character in this game. The Kunai Vortex is a concept of knocking the opponent over, then jump-ing over them, throwing a Kunai which either hits in front or behind. If it hits, Ibuki does a combo into another knockdown.

If you have done the Meaty Kunai, Yang will Juggle. This is because Yang is airborne on the ear-ly frames of his Reversal. You cannot combo him normally if this happens, but realise that this Jug-gle state means you have timed the Kunai perfectly. When Yang is Juggled like this, you can combo a Raida, Kazegiri, or st.HK. However against the following characters you must practise the Kunai Vortex differently: Cammy and Sagat rise 1-frame slower. Blanka rises 2-frames slower, and Ibuki rises 1-frame faster. Everyone else is the same as Yang.

Escaping The Kunai Vortex

EX Soul Spiral

& Shout of Earth (Anti-Air)

25

Every character may dodge the Kunai with a backdash, but characters with slow backdashes may get punished on reaction. Every character can FADC out of the vortex, but they must guess the correction direction to dash otherwise they may run into Ibuki. Its not a real solution, since if they dash the wrong way theyre susceptible to even more damage. Ibukis Kunai Vortex (when timed perfectly) will not allow moves to auto-correct.

There are various other ways to escape the Kunai Vortex. Yang, Sagat, C.Viper (Burn Kick), and Rufus (LP Snake Strike) can force themselves to Juggle, and Gens Zetsuei [Ultra I] may also punish Ibuki. The Kunai Vortex has various timings whether you Jump early, High Jump, or throw the Kunai late. Not every counter will always work, but spreadsheet above lists the common ways to escape the Kunai Vortex. For example: Makotos Ab-are Tosunami does not punish (hit) Ibuki if the Kunai Vortex is done close to the corner.

Understanding Option-Selects

26

Option-Select is a term used for covering multiple options at the same time, letting the game decide on the best option. Its essentially like choosing Paper and Scissors at the time, and if your opponent chooses Rock, you automatically counter with Paper. Its an important part of Street Fighter IV.

In the next page we will be trying out Safe Jumps, and next to them I write something like [OS Neckbreaker]. Ive also already mentioned [Crouch Tech] in an earlier page. Its about time to clear up what I mean.

Firstly lets start with the simplest Option-Select in Street Fighter IV. Go into TRAINING and press the throw command (LP+LK) whilst crouching. You should see a cr.LK. If your opponent were to try and throw you as you did a [Crouch Tech], you would Tech the throw, otherwise a cr.LK will come out.

Now lets try something a bit more interesting. Away from your opponent, try inputting cr.MP xx Neckbreaker so fast that the Neckbreaker doesnt come out. The reason why it doesnt come out is because you cant cancel the Recovery Frames of the cr.MP. Now with the same timing, do this close to your opponent. What should happen is that the cr.MP is now Special Cancelled into a Neckbreaker.

cr.MP xx Neckbreaker is what we call an Option-Select too. You already know that if a Neck-breaker is blocked, its very unsafe, but if we were to do a cr.MP xx Neckbreaker far away from your opponent, the Neckbreaker will only come out if your opponent were to dash into the cr.MP.

Finally, lets talk about Option-Selecting from the air. This will be more evident if you were to watch a video such as [Option select Raida + option select U2 vs Rose] on YouTube. You can watch this by going to http://tinyurl.com/ibukios

Option-Selects from the air may look difficult to understand, but whats happening is that the Option-Selected attack (which is Raida in the video) will only come out if the j.HP whiffs. To perform an Option-Select like this, you must press the j.HP, then quickly input the Raida BEFORE the j.HP connects the opponent.

There are many more videos on how Option-Selects work out there to help you.

Safe Jumps

27

A Safe Jump is a set-up used to force an opponent to block after a knock-down. Its a set-up so if they did a Reversal DP, you already be on the ground to block it, but if they didnt, your attack would connect. To understand these set-ups [->] means [on the first available frame perform]. So b+MP [->] j.HP means to jump immediately after the Ageman (by holding up), and pressing HP on your way down. Ryu (SRK) means he can hit Ibuki with a Shoryuken.

Neckbreaker -> b+MP -> j.HP This basic Safe Jump works on every character except Akuma (SRK), Evil Ryu (SRK), Gouken (Parry), Ken (SRK), Oni (SRK), Ryu (SRK). Sagat, Cammy, and Blanka also can hit Ibuki out of this because they wake-up later.

OS Neckbreaker to beat backdashes, but characters such as Rose will pun-ish the Option-Select (with EX Soul Spiral). Raida will cover Roses EX Soul Spiral too. Do not always Option-Select, on characters with DP moves like Yun, it stops being a Safe Jump as their Reversal will hit the Start-up of the Neckbreaker/Raida. Against characters like Yang or Abel who have invincible dashes/rolls, Option-Select with a Throw or Yoroitoshi. For more information about this Safe Jump go to http://tinyurl.com/agemansj

Raida -> HK Kasumi Gake -> j.HP This Safe Jump only works on Blanka, Dan, Guy, Ibuki, Juri, M.Bison (Dictator), Makoto, and Rufus.

The importance of Safe Jumps is that it forces your opponent to block, or try to escape via backdashing or FADC. The vast majority of players, when they know they have to block a Safe Jump, will perform a Throw as their opponent lands. You can take advantage of this and counter by doing the Safe Jump without the j.HP, and instead Empty Jumping with a Hammer Kick (f+MK) to punish their Throw attempt (or stand-tech as its more commonly known).

Youll actually have a lot of extra recovery frames after a High Jump if you dont do an air attack. However j.HP and hj.HP have the same recovery. If you want to do an empty High Jump into Hammer Kick, then do an air-Throw.

Technically the Kunai Vortex is a Safe Jump.

Unblockables

28

These are set-ups where your opponent is unable to block. Ibu-ki has the easiest Unblockables in the game due her being able to set them up after almost any attack. These arent nescessary, but they greatly improve Ibukis offense. It will be worth your while to practise these Unblockables.

The Shoto UnblockableEX Neckbreaker -> MK Kasumi Gake

-> (wait a few frames) -> j.LK Works on the Following CharactersAkuma, C.Viper, El Fuerte, Evil Ryu, Fei Long, Guy, Hakan, Ken, M.Bison (Dictator), Oni, Ryu, Ibuki (with j.MK)

Seth/Vega Unblockable EX Neckbreaker -> LK Kasumi Gake

-> (wait a few frames) -> hj.LK

Sakos Makoto Unblockable (Corner) Raida -> HK Kasumi Gake

-> (wait a few frames) -> hj.MK

Unblockables work because characters go into a blocking animation before getting hit which slightly changes their hit-box. The idea is that as they block one direction, their hit-box changes so it hits on the other side.

Go to [http://tinyurl.com/sakomako] for a Spreadsheet on more Unblockables and how they affect other Characters

Practicing Meaties

29

Hitting an opponent with a Meaty attack gives you more frame-advantage on block or hit, and also stuffs anything that isnt invincible on the first frame. But instead of guessing when to press the button to make it hit on the last active frame, there is a good way to practise the timing.

One of Ibukis best attacks is st.MP, due to its vast follow-up potential with kara-Throw, Tsumuji Loop, Frame-Trap with st.LP etc. We will be looking into how to perform a Meaty st.MP after EX Kazegiri, and also testing an Option-Select after it:

Go to TRAINING Select Ibuki as your character.

Select Zangief as your opponent. Press Start, and select TRAINING OPTIONS

Choose ACTION -> RECORD Choose QUICK STAND -> ON Repeatedly Perform LP SPD

If you have turbo, repeated perform a 360 in the pause menu, hold the LP button, then unpause

Choose ACTION -> PLAYBACK Choose S.C. GAUGE -> MAX START

Hit Zangief with EX Kazegiri Immediately dash towards Zangief and perform st.MP

What you are aiming to do is perform a Meaty st.MP. If done correctly, you will hit Zangief, and you will see the Reversal sign show up.

If you want to practise Option-Se-lecting after the st.MP, you should pick Vega (Claw) as your opponent and have him repeatedly perform the short backflip (3K).

You may Option-Select with Neck-breaker, and even Hashinsho. You may even wish to use different nor-mals as meaty attacks.

Launcher Combos

30

If youre good at High Jump cancels, you may want to incorper-ate these combos into your game. Especially the Anti-airs, as they will make your Ibuki a scary character to jump in on.

Focus Attack Dash Cancel Combos EX Kazegiri FADC Raida

TC4 xx HK Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri-- Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK doesnt work on Sagat

st.MP, st.MP, st.MK xx EX Tsumuji, HK Kazegiri FADC cr.HP -- Corner Only

High Jump Cancel Combos cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP

cr.LP, cr.LP, st.LP, st.MK xx HK Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP

Focus Attack Level 3 -> HK Kasumi Gake, b+MP xx LK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP

-- This is known as the MoTempest Combo

Anti-air Combos cl.st.HK, cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri

b.MP xx HK Kasumi Gake, Raida b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK, HK Kazegiri

b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP

b.MP xx LK/MK Kasumi Gake, cl.st.HK (jump) Kasumi Suzaku -- [Untechable Knockdown]

b.MP xx LK Kasumi Gake, Yoroitoshi -- [Untechable Knockdown]

Every combo listed above has its uses. Regardless of your execution, make sure you can perform atleast one b+MP Anti-air combo, and learn the follow-up options on EX Kazegiri FADC. Without being able to follow-up EX Kazegiri FADC, you wont have a safe Reversal with good risk/reward. Kazegiri FADC st.HK is a 1-frame link on some characters. When against Gen, punish his DP [Gekiro] with st.HK so you dont have to guess if he presses another button or time exactly when he falls down.

The combo in the picture above is st.HK (jump) j.HK

Ambiguous Mix-Ups

31

Ibuki isnt just about The Kunai Vortex or Safe Jumps, there are many ways she confuse her opponent in more creative ways. Most of these Mix-ups sacrifice damage, but youll see that theyre very worthwhile. Corner Mix-Ups

Raida -> far.st.HP -> LP Kunai Raida -> far.st.HP -> HK Kasumi Gake -> f+MK

Raida -> far.st.HP -> j.MK cr.LK, st.LP, cr.HK xx st.HK (jump) LP Kunai

cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx Kasumi Gake -- Ibuki always stays on the Same Side

cr.HK xx st.HK -> Forward Dash -- Ibuki Crosses-Up on Some Characters

cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx Focus Attack Level 2 -- Hits Meaty

Launcher Mix-Ups TC6 xx High Jump xx MK/HK Kasumi Gake

st.MP, cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP xx High Jump xx MK/HK Kasumi Gake

cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx MK Hien xx Kasumi Suzaku cr.HK xx st.HK xx High Jump xx MP Neckbreaker

-- Crosses-Up EX Kazegiri FADC cl.st.HK (jump) j.HK

Meaty Set-Ups TC4 xx HK Kazegiri -> HK Kasumi Gake

-- Crosses-Up (only works if opponent Quick Rises) Neckbreaker -> far.st.HK -> MK/HK Kasumi Gake

-- (far.st.HK moves Ibuki forwards) Neckbreaker -> HK Kasumi Gake -> MK/HK Kasumi Gake

Jump-Ins Neckbreaker -> (walk back) -> hj.LK/MK

-- Crosses-Up Neckbreaker -> (walk forwards) -> j.LK

-- Unblockable vs. Ibuki [http://tinyurl.com/unblockibuki] Neckbreaker -> (wait) -> hj.LK

-- side it hits depends on waiting duration

The Shoto Unblockable Seth/Vega Unblockable

There are many more Mix-ups you can do as Ibuki, but these are the safest and most consistent ones.

The general idea for the Resets is that you can go for tick-Throws, overheads, or block to bait a Reversal.

Where it says MK/HK, that means you can choose between which Kasumi Gake you want to use. Most of the time MK Kasumi Gake wont Cross-Up.

TC10/TC6 xx High Jump xx MK Tsumuji is safe on block, but it isnt a true block-string. It can be a Frame-trap.

Lets Take A Break #4

32


In Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix, Ibuki can transform into many different forms: Rolento to throw a kunai; a penguin to perform Hien; and a geisha to sing. She can also summon giant frogs with her Ninjustsu.

Youre now at the final point of your Ninjutsu Training! Street Fighter IV isnt just about performing combos and set-ups in the Training Stage, its more about fighting your opponent. To do this, you must also learn their character. In the final pages of this book, we will be looking at how to apply what we have learnt to specific Match-Ups.

I have taken four Match-Ups which I think all together will give you the most general knowledge of how to use Ibuki, applying most of what she has across all of them. Experience is key, and this guide is to help you be aware of your mistakes so you can learn from them faster. The Match-Up pages will touch only on the most signifi-cant bits of information.

Finally, before the book is over, I will share my general strategy for Ibuki. I do not think I am the best Ibuki in the world, and even if I was, you shouldnt always follow some-one elses strategy. Your goal is to learn Ibuki inside out, and decide on your own strategies. Being able to adapt is important because sometimes your opponent wont know as much as you do, and if you overthink a Match-Up youll only make things harder for yourself.

Match-up vs. Ryu

33

Fighting against a good strong Ryu player will require you to understand a few things about the character. Ryu is going to be using cr.MK as his main footsie tool, cr.HK to whiff punish your attacks, and his main Zoning tool is the Hadouken (or fireball). You should bring Hashinsho as your Ultra Combo of choice because it punishes cr.HK (on block) from any range.

When you have one bar of meter, you effectively shut down his fireball zoning because (if you practise enough) you can punish them on reaction with EX Neckbreaker, and subsequently go into The Shoto Unblock-able. NEVER try to guess-punish a fireball with EX Neckbreaker, you have more than enough time to react to one. You can punish fireballs on reaction (if youre close enough) with Hashinsho. f+LK is good against almost all low normals, including Ryus cr.MK. f+LK can combo into any Tsumuji on Counter-hit, but to be safe either use LK or EX Tsumuji.

Before you have meter you can zone past his fireballs with f+MK, slide (df+MK), or you can Focus Attack Dash Cancel. Watch out for his cr.MK and when youre close enough you can try to whiff punish with your own cr.HK. Be careful not to use the slide too much as it is fairly easy for Ryu to punish on reaction, and do not do a slide too close otherwise its unsafe (even on hit).

Jumping in on a strong Ryu player isnt a great idea because he has his trademark invincible Anti-air, the Shoryuken. A clean Anti-air will deal 160 damage to Ibuki. It is safer to try and build Super or Revenge me-ter to shut down fireballs instead of guessing with a jump. Of course Ibukis EX Kunai can be used to bait a Shoryuken as it drops her straight down, but if youve got meter you have already shut down his zoning. If you do jump in with j.LK, make sure to cancel it into the air Target Combo [LK xx MK] so you can continue a blockstring on the way down.

If you get a knockdown from Neckbreaker, its either best to go for the Kunai Vortex, or try use the [Neck-breaker -> (walk back) -> hj.MK]. That set-up isnt a Safe Jump but it will beat a Reversal SRK, though a good Ryu player can delay the SRK by one frame and hit Ibuki out of it (though this is very hard for to do).

When Anti-airing Ryu, you have to be careful because if you time the b+MP wrong his j.HP will beat it clean. Though you shouldnt have too much trouble Anti-airing Ryu, but if you find it hard to time the b+MP, cr.HP will beat every jumping attack Ryu has.

Watch out for when Ryu has two bars of Super meter, because he can FADC his invincible SRK. If you expect a Shoryuken FADC you can backdash so that it doesnt connect and he cant FADC to safety. Once Ryu has a full bar of meter, DO NOT do a LK Tsumuji as part of a block-string. It is (-4) on block and Ryu can just do a Reversal Shinkuu Hadouken to punish. Also bare in mind that Ibukis st.MK xx MK Tsumuji is not a true block-string, so it can be punished by a SRK, as well as the third (low-hit). Similarly Ryus cr.MK xx Hadouken isnt a true block-string either, so you actually do a Hashinsho in the middle to punish it.

A general strategy for this match-up is to build meter to shut down his fireball zoning, score a knockdown with EX Neckbreaker, then rinse and repeat The Shoto Unblockable There is another Unblockable vs. Ryu after a Neckbreaker which is [Neckbreaker, (walk forward), f+LK, j.LK] Demonstration availble at [http://tinyurl.com/unblockryu] -- though its a lot harder to perform.

Match-up vs. Cammy

34

A strong Cammy will take quite a bit of adjusting to. She is going to be using cr.MK OS Spiral Arrow as a footsie, far.st.MK (sometimes), and far.st.HK to control space. Of course, youll have to watch out for her Cannon Strike, which shell be using to zone in.

In this matchup, I wouldnt recommend being frugal with meter. Using EX Kazegiri just be-cause you cant Anti-air Cammy with a normal attack is not good. If Cammy likes to use Can-non Strike, especially EX Cannon Strike, Ibukis st.MP and Raida are your best tools here for Anti-airing. However you must get the timing right because if Cammy gets a Counter-hit its a big deal.

The problem with using b+MP and cr.HP as Anti-airs is that you might time it too early, and Cannon Strike will hit your recovery, and if you do it too late you get Counter-hit. b.MP only has 3 Active-frames. However you can opt for using nj.MK or air-Throw. nj.MK is generally the safest option but against very good Cammy players, youll want to be careful how much you jump because her DP travels a far horizontal distance. You also shouldnt use EX Kunai in this match-up much because Cammy can punish it with either her EX DP or clean Gyro Drive Smasher (Ultra Combo I).

Ibukis far.st.LP can be good against Cammys far.st.MK and far.st.HK, but you need to make sure you capitalize each time it hits (into a st.MK) since when it trades Ibuki takes more dam-age. Ibukis cr.MK is obviously good for lowering Ibukis Hit-box, but since it doesnt combo into anything as a footsie, use it sparingly. In this match-up Ibukis slide doesnt really do much for her, only use it to move around.

Cammy (and Sagat) wake-up 1-frame later from an Untechable Knockdown. This means youll have to re-practise your Kunai Vortex. Cammys dash is really fast so she can actually escape the Kunai Vortex fairly easily with a Focus Attack Dash Cancel. In terms of Mix-Ups youll want to mix in more Meaties and Launcher Combos, though be aware that like Ryu, she can FADC her invincible SRK.

Cammys Spiral Arrow can be made safe if done at the proper spacing, otherwise punish start-ing with cr.LP as TC4 will sometimes whiff. However against a good Cammy player they will likely be safe, and pressing a button will be to your detriment. You should practise the spacing to do a safe Spiral Arrow, so that youre familiar with the spacing Cammy players want to do it. You may use f+MK to punish them on anticipation, though if you do it too early youll get hit.

Match-up vs. Zangief

35

Zangief is a different sort of character from the rest. Like T.Hawk and Hakan, he is considered a Grappler (i.e. his gameplan is to use Throws). He has a 2-frame SPD and some of the scariest Okizeme in the game. It is much more damage (and riskier) than Ibukis Okizeme, but as a character with low health, Ibuki must play this Match-Up very cautiously. Zangief will be looking to get close enough perform a LP SPD which is a very far-reaching Command Grab, and otherwise score a knockdown.

First of all, jump-back Kunai is basically saying: Hey, wanna win? - you should be trying to push Zangief into the corner, not let him put your there. You do NOT want Zangief to put you in the corner. Use cr.HK (xx st.HK) to whiff punish him should be whiff a normal attack too close. This is the only Match-Up where I suggest us-ing HK Hien as Zangief cannot punish it on hit or on block. However he can Anti-air with Lariat on reaction. far.st.HK and st.MP are also goot footsie tools against Zangief, but the best is definitely far.st.LP. The reason why is because far.st.LP puts you at the least risk of being whiff punished by a LP SPD, and you can hit-confirm off of it.

If Zangief tries to build meter with Lariat, either punish with a Neckbreaker, or go for free block-stun, just make sure you recognise which Lariat he is using (Single or Double) as they end at different times. You can listen to the sound if that works for you. It is important that you Anti-air him EVERYTIME. cr.HP is your easi-est and safest Anti-air, but also be aware that Zangief is capable of doing short jumps. If he presses up then up-fowards instead of just holding up-fowards, he can shorten the distance of his jumps. Only Zangief can do something like this. When jumping in as Ibuki, make sure you dont do only a j.LK, as you cannot do a block-string afterwards, do the air Target Combo.

If Zangief brings Siberian Blizzard [Ultra Combo II] to this match-up, he can actually punish Ibukis backdash and EX Kazegiri during their start-ups. This means that Anti-airing with EX Kazegiri or even going for EX Kaze-giri FADC are huge risks. As for Ibukis backdash, its incredibly difficult for Zangief to Option-Select his Sibe-rian Blizzard to punish one when close, but he anticipates a backdash from his Okizeme then its not hard. However if you do backdash to escape from an SPD you can punish it on reaction with Hashinsho.

Its important to work on your Okizeme against him, as well as familiarise yourself with his Okizeme. If he is punishing the Kunai Vortex with Lariat, youre simply timing it wrong. He can punish any Safe Jump with his EX Atomic Suplex, or even armour cancel it into Ultimate Atomic Buster [Ultra Combo I].

Zangiefs Super and Ultra Combo SPDs are what we call 0-frame Command Grabs. This means that if youre not Throw-invincible (or airborne) before the the Super/Ultra freeze, you cannot escape the grab. Ibuki get-ting hit by an Ultra Combo from Zangief is very bad (due to her low Stamina), and he even gets to set up his Okizeme after it.

When youve got a significant life-lead, back off from your Okizeme should you score a knockdown. Do a High Jump Cancelled Hashinsho whenever you have a chance, dont neglect it for Okizeme as spacing and damage is more important (it pushes him into the corner). Play as if you expect a timeout.

Match-up vs. M.Bison

36

M.Bison (Dictator) is considered Ibukis hardest-to-beat opponent in Street Fighter IV. M.Bison has dominant normal attacks such as far.st.MK and far.st.HK. M.Bison also has LK Double Knee Press (or Scissor Kicks) which are safe on block, dealing a lot of chip damage. After blocking LK Scissor Kicks, he has the ability to frame-trap you with another one or with cr.LK xx Scissor Kicks. His general gameplan will be to put you in the corner and start his dominant pressure. As Ibuki youll have a hard time escaping the corner, and you may have to guess with an EX Kazegiri FADC.

What makes him such a hard opponent for Ibuki is that not only is his footsie game dominant, but he can completely escape the Kunai Vortex. It simply does not work against him because he can just teleport out of it, and unlike Akuma, he recovers so fast. Still, Ibuki has ways to apply Okizeme on him. Despite the fact that M.Bison actually has five invincible Reversal wake-up options, she can eliminate two of his options by using HK Kasumi Gake to make him lose his charge. There is a special option-select against M.Bison which will help you a lot in this match-up.

Option Select vs. M.BisonKnockdown with Neckbreaker ->HK Kasumi Gake ->Meaty cr. MP xx MK Tsumuji ->Option Select with HP Neckbreaker. Demonstration: [http://tinyurl.com/dictatoros]

- He is crossed up removing EX Psycho Crusher and EX Knee Press options (and Ultra II in AE).- If he uses EX Headstomp, Ibuki Neckbreakers to safety.- If he teleports he gets caught by Neckbreaker.- If he jumps he gets hit with the meaty cr.MP xx MK Tsumuji.- If he blocks he blocks the meaty cr.MP xx MK Tsumuji.- If he uses Ultra II, Ibuki can block in time.- If he uses EX Devils Reverse toward from Neckbreaker, he will be crossed up by a whiffed Neckbreaker, and will land vulnerable next to Ibuki (who recovers first).- If he uses EX Devils Reverse away from the Neckbreaker he ends up full screen away.

Personally I like to use Safe Jumps and mix them up with empty jumps into f+MK. Ibukis f+MK makes her air-bone, high enough to go over a Reversal EX Psycho Crusher, and if M.Bison uses EX Headstomp, because Ibuki moves forward, he will get fully punished. This means his choices for escaping the Safe Jump are limited, and EX Scissor Kicks is unsafe on block at that range so he most probably wont use it. Use Ibukis f+MK to punish M.Bisons LK Scissor Kick on anticipation as well as his cr.HK (slide). Because Ibuki will hit from above he is unable to FADC to safety. Opt for Launcher Combos if you have the execution. The Shoto Unblockable works on him, but you have to guess what Option-Select to use or do none at all incase he does EX Psycho Crusher.

Izunas General Stategy

37


Ibuki hates Guys stuck-up attitude towards being a ninja, but thats not the only reason, hes just plain weird! Once Ibuki wanted to fight Guy, but he dodged the challenge by distracting her with a potato.

In the character select screen, most of my strategic decisions are made. Which Ultra Combo should I pick? I consider the Match-Up and usually pick whichever Ultra Combo shuts down the most of my opponents options. For example, choosing Yoroitoshi against Adon shuts down his Jaguar Tooth. However sometimes theres a dilemma... choosing Hashinsho vs. E.Honda shuts down his normal Headbutts, but Yoroitoshi also shuts down his Butt Stomps. Then it depends on my opponent, whether they like to use one more than an-other.

If Im playing against a new opponent for the first time, I always test to see if they can Anti-air effectively or not. If I get Anti-aired clean, it tells me a lot about my opponent. It means that I must use jumps sparingly, and its better to make that my first mistake then to have it be what ends the round.

As for Okizeme, it heavily depends on my opponents character. I play from the point-of-view that they will always block the Kunai Vortex, and instead prepare for block-strings, I use it as if it were an ambiguous Safe Jump, and not expect it to hit. My most favourable follow-ups after the Kunai Vortex are st.MP and cl.st.HK. If you do the whole [cl.st.HK xx High Jump xx LK Kasumi Gake, cr.HP] combo earlier in the round, because of how much stun it does, it puts my opponent on edge. When Im not so confident that the Kunai Vortex will hit, thats when I use st.MP instead. After a st.MP (blocked) you can do a st.MK or st.LP for a frame-trap, or kara-Throw (kara with st.MK). I only really go for Tsumuji Loops on either characters I can loop twice (like Abel/Dee Jay), or as my first combo. This is because I dont want my Tsumuji Loop combo to cause a Stun. If it does, theres too much damage scaling.

I prefer using cr.MK as opposed to cr.MP xx Neckbreaker as a footsie because it gives me enough time to Anti-air with Ageman if my opponent were to jump. Dashing forward with Ibuki is just as unsafe as jumping in, so I try my best not to be predictable. When Im jumping in I prefer j.HP xx MK because I always expect for it to be blocked, and this air Target Combo beats people who like Anti-airing with Focus Attacks. If my opponent is Anti-airing with normals, thats the only time I will go for a jump-forward Kunai. The idea is to hit the limb my opponent sticks out to Anti-air, otherwise jump forward Kunai is way too unsafe as my opponent can just do a Focus Attack or Neutral Jump to punish.

In terms of using Reversals, it would be best to continue blocking with Ibuki until I have three bars of Meter for a safer EX Kazegiri FADC, but if I do an EX Kazegiri without FADC, depending on how good I think my oppo-nent is, I wont throw a Kunai. From experience, Ive noticed that decent players will try to Focus Attack Ibuki as theyre expecting a Kunai. People who really know how to fight Ibuki however know that you can punish Ibuki with a dash whether she throws a Kunai or not.

The Frame-Traps I use the most are [cr.LK, cr.LK]; [cr.LK, st.LP]; [cr.LK, st.MK]

Action Startup Active Recovery Adv.Block Adv.HitLP(Far) 3 2 5 +4 +8MP(Far) 5 4 6 +2 +6HP(Far) 12 4 16 2 +2LK(Far) 5 4 9 2 +1MK(Far) 6 4 14 4 +1HK(Far) 10 3 17 2 +2LP(Close) 3 2 10 0 +3MP(Close) 7 4 18 6 2HP(Close) 6 4 23 5 LK(Close) MK(Close) HK(Close) LP(Crouching) 4 3 6 +3 +6MP(Crouching) 8 7 7 0 +3HP(Crouching) 9 3 18 3 +2LK(Crouching) 4 2 8 +1 +4MK(Crouching) 6 5 9 0 +3HK(Crouching) 6 2 25 9LP(NeutralJump) 6 7 MP(NeutralJump) 6 7 HP(NeutralJump) 9 5 LK(NeutralJump) 6 12 MK(NeutralJump) 6 7 HK(NeutralJump) 7 3 LP(Jump) 6 6 MP(Jump) 7 8 HP(Jump) 11 5

SUPERSTREETFIGHTER4IBUKIFRAMEDATAfromPrimaStrategyGuide

preparedbyCicada

LK(Jump) 4 8 MK(Jump) 8 7 HK(Jump) 8 5 Agemen(B+MP) 6 3 10 0 +4Backhand 15 2 20 4 0SpinKick(F+LK) 4 4 9 1 +2ReverseSpinKick(B+MK) 10 2 17 0 +4HammeKick(F+MK) 26 2 10 +3 +5Sazan(DF+MK) 7 11 11 11 5BanshoKick(F+HK) 13 2 21 5 1LP>MP 11 1 +3LP>MP>HP 10 +1 +4LP>farMP 9 +2 +5LP>farMP>F+LK 9 1 +2LP>MP>D+HK 25 9 LP>MP>D+HK>HK 18 7 HP.D+HK 25 9 HP>D+HK>HK 18 7 LK>MK 16 4 +1LK>MK>HK 18 3 +1Kunai 7 EXKunai 8 LPNeckBreaker 15 10 16 13 MPNeckBreaker 15 12 17 13 HPNeckBreaker 15 21 19 13 EXNeckBreaker 15 14 19 13

LPRaida 6 5 25 14 MPRaida 6 5 27 16 HPRaida 6 5 29 18 EXRaida 6 5 20 9 LKKasumiGake 20 MKKasumiGake 22 HKKasumiGake 24 LPTsujigoe 54 MPTsujigoe 57 HPTsujigoe 61 LKKazegiri 5 13 25 27 MKKazegiri 7 13 28 30 HKKazegiri 9 13 25 27 EXKazegiri 5 7(2)8 39 26 LKTsumuji 12 2(10)2 16 4 +3MKTsumuji 15 2(12)2 14 0 +4HKTsumuji 15 2(13)2 20 4 0EXTsumujiHighFinish 12 2(10)2(10)2(10)2 9 2 EXTsumujiLowFinish 12 2(10)2(10)2(10)3 12 1 TsumijiFollowuphigh 5 1 17 3 +1TsumujiFollowupLow 8 1 16 2 LKHien 25 7 17 28 23MKHien 27 7 17 29 31HKHien 27 7 17 28 25EXHien 3642 10 YamiKazura 3 2 20 UkiYami 3 2 20 Tobizaru 3 2 FocusAttack(Level1) 21 2 34 20 20FocusAttack(Level2) 18+11 2 34 14FocusAttack(Level3) 65 2 34 KasumiSuzaku 1+7 KasumiSuzaku 1+7Yoroitoshi 1+1 2(10)17 77 5 1Hashinsho 1+9 2(2)2(15)2(26)3(8)2 71 63

MK (Far) has a Startup of 5-frames in Arcade Edition.LK (Far) has a Startup of 4-frames in Arcade Edition.

Frame-Data I

38

45

Hammer Kick (F+MK) 25

+1-3Bonsho Kick (F+HK)

6 2*2 23 -5

2*2

Action Startup Active Recovery Adv.Block Adv.HitLP(Far) 3 2 5 +4 +8MP(Far) 5 4 6 +2 +6HP(Far) 12 4 16 2 +2LK(Far) 5 4 9 2 +1MK(Far) 6 4 14 4 +1HK(Far) 10 3 17 2 +2LP(Close) 3 2 10 0 +3MP(Close) 7 4 18 6 2HP(Close) 6 4 23 5 LK(Close) MK(Close) HK(Close) LP(Crouching) 4 3 6 +3 +6MP(Crouching) 8 7 7 0 +3HP(Crouching) 9 3 18 3 +2LK(Crouching) 4 2 8 +1 +4MK(Crouching) 6 5 9 0 +3HK(Crouching) 6 2 25 9LP(NeutralJump) 6 7 MP(NeutralJump) 6 7 HP(NeutralJump) 9 5 LK(NeutralJump) 6 12 MK(NeutralJump) 6 7 HK(NeutralJump) 7 3 LP(Jump) 6 6 MP(Jump) 7 8 HP(Jump) 11 5

SUPERSTREETFIGHTER4IBUKIFRAMEDATAfromPrimaStrategyGuide

preparedbyCicada

LK(Jump) 4 8 MK(Jump) 8 7 HK(Jump) 8 5 Agemen(B+MP) 6 3 10 0 +4Backhand 15 2 20 4 0SpinKick(F+LK) 4 4 9 1 +2ReverseSpinKick(B+MK) 10 2 17 0 +4HammeKick(F+MK) 26 2 10 +3 +5Sazan(DF+MK) 7 11 11 11 5BanshoKick(F+HK) 13 2 21 5 1LP>MP 11 1 +3LP>MP>HP 10 +1 +4LP>farMP 9 +2 +5LP>farMP>F+LK 9 1 +2LP>MP>D+HK 25 9 LP>MP>D+HK>HK 18 7 HP.D+HK 25 9 HP>D+HK>HK 18 7 LK>MK 16 4 +1LK>MK>HK 18 3 +1Kunai 7 EXKunai 8 LPNeckBreaker 15 10 16 13 MPNeckBreaker 15 12 17 13 HPNeckBreaker 15 21 19 13 EXNeckBreaker 15 14 19 13

LPRaida 6 5 25 14 MPRaida 6 5 27 16 HPRaida 6 5 29 18 EXRaida 6 5 20 9 LKKasumiGake 20 MKKasumiGake 22 HKKasumiGake 24 LPTsujigoe 54 MPTsujigoe 57 HPTsujigoe 61 LKKazegiri 5 13 25 27 MKKazegiri 7 13 28 30 HKKazegiri 9 13 25 27 EXKazegiri 5 7(2)8 39 26 LKTsumuji 12 2(10)2 16 4 +3MKTsumuji 15 2(12)2 14 0 +4HKTsumuji 15 2(13)2 20 4 0EXTsumujiHighFinish 12 2(10)2(10)2(10)2 9 2 EXTsumujiLowFinish 12 2(10)2(10)2(10)3 12 1 TsumijiFollowuphigh 5 1 17 3 +1TsumujiFollowupLow 8 1 16 2 LKHien 25 7 17 28 23MKHien 27 7 17 29 31HKHien 27 7 17 28 25EXHien 3642 10 YamiKazura 3 2 20 UkiYami 3 2 20 Tobizaru 3 2 FocusAttack(Level1) 21 2 34 20 20FocusAttack(Level2) 18+11 2 34 14FocusAttack(Level3) 65 2 34 KasumiSuzaku 1+7 KasumiSuzaku 1+7Yoroitoshi 1+1 2(10)17 77 5 1Hashinsho 1+9 2(2)2(15)2(26)3(8)2 71 63

MK (Far) has a Startup of 5-frames in Arcade Edition.LK (Far) has a Startup of 4-frames in Arcade Edition.

Frame-Data II

39

0+9

Thank You For Reading

40

Documents

Ibuki Player Guide Rev3