EPTStrong execution isn't necessarily required for you to be good at this game (the game isn't very execution intensive, although if you're an execution freak, there are characters who are very difficult to use). SS5sp is probably the least flashy out of all the SS's but it is probably the most balanced fighting game you'll ever find and it has a large pool of unique characters to choose from.
It's actually kinda tough to find an entertaining matchvideo for SS for people who have never played the game before, but there are some characters that are pretty entertaining to watch. I'm not gonna showcase all of the characters but I hope I can pique some interest.
+ Show Spoiler [match videos, kinda long descriptions] +
Suija is one of those "extremely difficult to use but top tier when handled right" characters. Suija is the only character who can "air block" with his bubble move (this is HUGE, also because of the air bubble, he gets very strong high-low options). So he can literally block someone's slash in the air and then counter with his own hard slash (you can actually see it in action in this match). FYI ALL of Suija's special moves are air only, meaning to do them on the ground, you have to either backdash or tigerknee the motion (which makes him one of the more difficult characters to use).
Haohmaru is almost like the Ryu of this game. Balanced and a bit above average in everything. He has HUGE damage and range (watch how much those hard slashes hit for).
Enja is a beast. He's slow and doesn't have great range, but he has huge huge damage potential (even for a game like SS!).
Ukyo is my character of choice in this game, so I know the most about him. He's one of the fastest and most mobile characters in the game (except for his lonng and floaty jump), however he doesn't really have much in terms of damage and has really low vitality (he has tuberculosis for cryin out loud!), so he'll mostly be wearing his opponents down with hit and run tactics. His special move where he slashes in a circle in the air is called the Tsubame Gaeshi and is one of his main sources of damage. It's fast, has great coverage, and can be comboed from the ground (it's an air only special but can be tigerkneed), however if he misses, he's eating probably at least 1/3rd of his life.
This match kinda showcases more of the footsie game. Ukyo is constantly doing fakes (throwing the apple, which is actually a feint of one of his special moves) and repositioning himself while Haohmaru is trying to close distance and seeing if Ukyo is stupid enough to dash into his hard slash lol.
Myrmidon, I'm ArC_man on ggpo but I actually haven't played on it before (no games that I really want to play on there right now, I don't really want to practice KoF98). I'll dick around with KoF98 if you want. I'm mostly waiting for Garou (it's only a matter of time) and Samurai Showdown (also only a matter of time imho).
Edit: Oh I just remembered, perhaps I should talk about the super system and stuff like that. In SS, your super meter is built when you get hit, some people build meter way faster (hot headed ones) some people build meter slower. When you hit your "rage" mode, your damage is increased (kenki or sword gauge that is, I'll talk about that later) and you can do your super. Another "super" of sorts is the Mu no Kyouchi ("state of nothingness") where the screen freezes up and your opponent becomes slow for a period of time and you can do combos that weren't possible otherwise. For characters who charge their rage meter slowly, they can charge their Mu no Kyouchi meter instead, since it can only be used after you've lost a round and after your life becomes low enough (blue) to activate. You can artificially put yourself into rage mode by doing the rage explosion, which also acts like a "burst" for those GGXX people. However, you can only use Rage explosion/Mu no Kyouchi once per set (after your meter is gone, it's gone for good)
The sword meter or Kenki is another balancing feature. At max meter, your attacks do max damage, every sword attack lowers the meter by some amount so you can't spam some move over and over and have it keep doing max damage (the meter builds back on its own if you just stand still).
. You were right, though: I didn't really understand the players' mindsets in that game T_T. Are there any common setups, mix-ups, or mind games in that game?
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. Most of the clips have been posted in the 3s topic already, but I believe this one hasn't.
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