Shermie Guide for Neogeo Battle Coliseum by Robo-Mike Latest update: (11-21-2005) v1.0 Added more notes. (10-16-2005) v0.5 Notes added to crouch B and crouch D and Shermie Spiral and Shermie Carnival. Far C is cancelable. It's confirmed. Far C is not an overhead. Sheesh, I am a moron. (10-10-2005) v0.1 Initial beta test (unreleased) ====================================================================== Section -1: Disclaimers (DISC) ============================== This document is (c) 2005 Robo-Mike. All rights reserved. You may download and print this file for your personal use but you may not profit in any way. Because I am lazy, only gamefaqs.com and pinoyfighters forums are allowed to "host" this guide... for now. No, I don't hate your gaming site, I'm just lazy. *** This document is best viewed with a monospace font (e.g. Courier). Your standard web browser will do, but just in case your browser's settings are weird, here's a line of 70 numbers followed by a line of 70 hyphens. 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- If they're not aligned, then you better change some settings. Now. ====================================================================== Section 0: TABLE OF CONTENTS ============================ s# code title -- ------ --------------------- -1 (DISC) Disclaimers 0 ( ) Table of Contents 1 (INTR) Introduction 2 (CONV) Conventions 3 (INFO) Bio 4 (MOVE) Moves List * Normal Moves * Command Moves * Desperation Moves 5 (COMB) Combos 6 (TECH) Shermie Strategy and Mixups * Bread and Butter Mixup Flowchart * Other Mixups 7 (TAPE) Matchups 8 (FAQ-) Question and Answer Portion (not available yet) 9 (ABOU) About the Author 10 (MAIL) Contact Info 11 (ENDC) Contributors / Special Thanks 12 (HIST) Revision History ( ) Final Words ====================================================================== Section 1: Introduction (INTR) ============================== Thank you for reading the Shermie Guide for NGBC. All of the information contained in this document is true to the best of my knowledge. If you see something wrong about it, don't flame, send a correction (preferably with proof if you have it). But the first reaction will always be "I'm not wrong", since I have tested everything I've typed. And of course, the mixups don't work the same way for or against different people, so don't go emailing me saying "That doesn't work!" But the techniques in general worked for me, so I've typed them as a guideline to help out the reader (you). You don't have to follow a strict plan; versus games can be unpredictable, so go figure out what to do to win a match as you go. ====================================================================== Section 2: Conventions (CONV) ============================= BUTTONS A - light punch B - light kick C - hard punch D - hard kick E - tag button Start - just what it says P - any punch button K - any kick button BASIC DIRECTIONS f - forward b - back d - down u - up N - neutral df - diagonal down-forward CONTROLLER MOVEMENT qcf - quarter-circle forward (d,df,f) qcb - quarter-circle back (d,db,b) hcf - half-circle forward (b,db,d,df,f) hcb - half-circle back (f,df,d,db,b) dp - dragon punch motion (f,d,df) rdp - reverse dragon punch motion (b,d,db) charge b,f - hold back for some time before pressing forward SYMBOLS AB - press both buttons at the same time f+BCD - press the direction and all listed buttons at the same time A,B - moves must be inputted in sequence (e.g. A then B) xx - supercancel *note: It is generally acceptable to use commas "," to show canceling either normal moves into command moves or normal/command moves into supers, OR for linking normal moves into each other ACRONYMS AND TERMS NGBC or NBC - Neogeo Battle Coliseum. jump - while standing on the ground press any of u, uf, or ub high jump / super jump - while standing on the ground press d then either u, uf, or ub level - 1/3 of the super meter. DM - Desperation Move. SNK terminology for Capcom's "super". SDM - Super Desperation Move. Usually reserved for level 2 or higher, but in this game, every super can be considered a DM. Emergency evasion - Press AB when standing still. Costs 1/2 level. Similar to Capcom vs SNK roll than the King of Fighters roll: totally invincible except against grabs. Recovery roll, Techroll - press AB when hitting the ground after you get knocked down. GCFS - Guard Cancel Front Step, press f,f when blocking to cancel your guard and move forward. Your character will glow during this time but is not invincible. Uses 1/2 level. GCD - Guard Cancel Dash. It's different in SNK vs Capcom but in this game it's the same, so everyone uses the terms GCFS and GCD interchangeably. JDFS - Just Defend Front Step. Press f,f after blocking at the exact moment an oppoent's move will hit. Uses less meter, but otherwise only the same as GCFS. DA - Double Assault. qcf+E. This will drain the opponent's "red life". Special DA - Special Double Assault. Usually reserved for special pairings and require specific conditions to perform. Shermie's Special DA (and associated partner) has not been discovered yet. Green Life - Your character's actual health. If Green Life drops to zero, the character is knocked out. History. Kaput. (This isn't an official term, I just made it up but it's simpler this way.) Red Life - Recoverable life. If you've played Tekken Tag or any of the Marvel vs Games, you know what I mean. Inactive characters regenerate over time (as in convert red life to green life slowly). (This isn't an official term, I just made it up.) AB cancel - Press AB during a normal move (costs 1 level) to make an invincible dash forward, canceling your normal move. I forgot the official term for it, so I'll just call it "AB cancel". ====================================================================== Section 3: Bio (INFO) ===================== (coming soon) ====================================================================== Section 4: Move List (MOVE) =========================== Quick Summary of Command and Special Moves Front Suplex b or f + CD when close Shermie Stand f + B Baku New Suplex f + C Shermie Kick f + D Shermie Spiral hcf + P when close Axle Spin Kick qcb + K (hold K in midair to cancel the actual kick) Air Axle Spin Kick qcb + K while jumping Shermie Whip qcb + P Shermie Whip Followup qcb + P when Shermie Whip connects Shermie Clutch dp + K Diamond Bust hcf + K Shermie Catch dp + P --Shermie Catch Followup hcb + P, hold P when Shermie Catch connects F-Captured hcb,f + P Shermie Cute qcf + K after Shermie Spiral, Shermie Whip Followup, Shermie Clutch Lightning Leg Lariat (level 1) qcf,qcf + K Shermie Carnival (level 1) hcf,hcf + P when close --Shermie Clutch dp + K during second suplex (slam) of Shermie Carnival ----Shermie Cute qcf + K after above move ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Normal Moves --------------- stand A A slap to the face. Limited use, go with stand B instead. But since this hits faster, you can slap the opponent then mixup into grab. Cancels into weak normal moves, command moves, special moves, DMs stand B Two kicks. Shermie's combo starter and poke of choice. Abuse. Cancels into command moves, special moves, DMs far stand C A slow double palm chop. I guess you can poke your opponent with this if they get tired of stand B. Cancels into command moves, special moves, DM's. close stand C An upward chop with both hands extended in both directions. Unlike previous Shermie incarnations, you (usually) can't combo close stand C into Shermie Spiral anymore. But you can still use this as a combo starter. Cancels into command moves, special moves, DMs. stand D A roundhouse kick. I guess you can use this as anti-air or a poke, but why? Shermie has better anti-airs and pokes. Cancels into nothing. crouch A A low slap. Go with crouch B instead. Cancels into weak normal moves, command moves, special moves, DMs. crouch B A low kick. Shermie's low hit of choice and good combo starter. You can avoid a lot of things with this. Cancels into command moves, special moves, DMs. (from Jiyuu Falcon) It not as useful because doesn't combo as much to hcf+P anymore because of the throw's reduced range. (But crouch B,f+B works now.) crouch C A double upward palm strike. I guess you can use this as a combo starter. Cancels into command moves, special moves, DMs. crouch D Shermie's classic sweep. Very slow, so you really shouldn't be using this at all. I guess you can avoid stuff with it, but why? crouch B is better. Cancels into nothing (as far as I know). (from Jiyuu Falcon) Because Shermie is really low in this move and the kick is higher up over the ground, you can use it as anti-air for moves such as Terry's Burn Knuckle... jump A An air slap, looks like stand A but in the air. jump B A high knee. You can use this as a jump-in combo starter. Decent for air-to-air combat. jump C An elbow. Hits higher than Jump D so you should be use it as air-to-air. You can also use this for jump-in combos. jump D A flying kick. You can use this as a jump-in combo starter. Hits the area lower than Shermie. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B. Command Moves ---------------- f+B Shermie does a forward flip. Hits twice, and is an overhead which can't be canceled into anything. If canceled into, it is no longer an overhead, but it will execute faster and is cancelable to special moves and DMs. f+C Shermie leans forward. If she makes contact with the opponent, she will do a suplex. Not unblockable. Its slow execution and poor range says that you should not use this even in a combo. f+D Shermie's CD attack from King of Fighters 2002 and Neowave. Yes, I guess you can knock the opponent down with this, but there are better moves to combo with. It's a decent poke, though, but if you are blocked, this move is easy to counter with a GCFS. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Special Moves ---------------- Shermie Spiral - hcf + P when close Shermie's classic grab. It's range is lessened so C,hcf+P combo misses a lot in this game. But you can still use it by itself to grab anyone that Shermie can touch. It still grabs limbs. ...also see notes on Diamond Bust by Jiyuu Falcon. It *seems* that if you try to use Shermie Spiral on someone close enough who can't be grabbed (at the time you're trying to grab) due to blockstun, Shermie will try to grab them for a short duration before going into whiff animation. In short, extended window to grab. Axle Spin Kick - qcb + K (hold K to cancel) Except for the ability to cancel, this move remains hardly changed from her KOF incarnations. Shermie is invincible for around 3/5 of the time she is spinning. If you cancel the move you can go for a Shermie Spiral or Shermie Carnival. D version goes higher and farther than B version, which means more time for opponent to see what you're doing, so go with the B version. Air Axle Spin Kick - qcb + K while jumping This is like Orochi Shermie's move from 2002/Neowave. Shermie does a double jump and flips down onto the opponent with an overhead stomp (minus the electricity). This can crossup. D version jumps higher and lasts longer on the way down. Shermie Whip - qcb + P, then qcb + P when Shermie Whip connects In the KOF days I can use this as anti-air, not anymore since if the opponent is too far away they will fly off instead of get grabbed. Let's see. Maybe if you hit with qcb+P then don't followup you maybe able to go for a grab, but the opponent gets thrown so far all you can do is Diamond Bust... which uh, deals almost the same damage as the followup, so... just do the followup, ok? Still quite safe to throw out against ground opponents. Shermie Clutch - dp + K A jumping anti-air grab. Better priority than ever. Use it. It doesn't grab opponents on the ground, though. Diamond Bust - hcf + K A running grab. This moves faster and grabs faster now. It even recovers quickly if you miss. And it even grabs people out of GCFS. Difficult to see coming. Use this. As always, opponent can escape this move by jumping before Shermie grabs. (from Jiyuu Falcon) The best thing about [this NGBC version of] Diamond Bust is that when Shermie reaches the opponent and s/he is currently in a non-throwable state (say, coming out of blockstun), Shermie will pause for a bit, waiting [to grab]. Then again, it could just be the system change. Oh, it also happens with Shermie Spiral (if you're close enough). Shermie Catch - dp + P Shermie stole a page out of Orochi Yashiro's book. She jumps up in the air for a short jump (C goes higher) where she will try to grab standing opponents (but not jumping people... and Jiyuu Falcon confirms that it doesn't grab crouching characters either). I'm sure the only thing guaranteed after connecting with Shermie Catch is the followup... Shermie Catch Followup - hcb + P, hold P when Shermie Catch connects If you don't hold, she will just do the suplex (looks like f+C) without "squeezing" the opponent while counting to three. Do yourself a favor and hold the button for more damage, please. F-Captured - hcb,f + P Reverses high and mid normal, command and special moves. As far as I know I don't think it can counter supers. Shermie will show off her chest and if opponent touches her she will grab them. Shermie Cute - qcf + K after Shermie Spiral, Shermie Whip Followup, Shermie Clutch It does minimal damage, sure. But it's guaranteed, so why not? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Desperation Moves -------------------- Lightning Leg Lariat (level 1) - qcf,qcf + K This uses the animation of her Hidden SDM from 2002/Neowave. This is (non-Orochi) Shermie's first-ever non-grab super. This is great for combos. It's fast, but remember, this is an SNK game and most supers have no invincibility. I did try to stuff opponent's moves with this DM and right after the super flash, Shermie did get interrupted by a LOW KICK a couple of times. With that said, I guess you can use this to blow away the opponent if they try anything slow. But remember, Shermie gets massacred on block. Shermie Carnival (level 1) - hcf,hcf + P when close Nothing much to say except that this is her only grab super in this game. You can combo this from B,f+B in the corner. Always do the followups for that extra hurting. (from Jiyuu Falcon) Shermie Carnival has altered properties [compared to KOF series]. Previously, it was useful for catching people unawares, with it's slight delay and invul, but you couldn't combo into it. Now you can combo, but no more catching. It behaves now like [the old] Shermie Flash, plus followup. ====================================================================== Section 5: Combos (COMB) ======================== Additional notation: , - moves are done one after the other (e.g. st.A,st.B means you press stand A then stand B) [] - Optional moves (you can skip them) / - OR (e.g. cr.C/cr.A means you can do either crouch C or crouch A) xx - cancel/supercancel (usually supercancel as normal cancels are denoted by the comma) (corner) - can be done only in the corner " " (space) - separates followups of the same special move (You can add a jump attack such as j.D for the following combos) (You can also replace st.B 2hits with cr.B in all situations, or st.close C or cr.C in some situations.) st.B (2 hits), qcf+E st.B (2 hits), hcf+P qcf+K st.B (2 hits), qcb+P qcb+P qcf+K st.B (2 hits), f+B (2 hits), qcfqcf+K st.B (2 hits), f+B (2 hits), hcfhcf+P dp+K qcf+K (corner) ...and that's it, what do you expect from a grappler? :) ====================================================================== Section 6: Shermie Strategy and Mixups (TECH) ============================================= This is based on what works for me, but you don't really need to follow this drift by the letter, go find your own waves. Remember, the key to winning is for Shermie to stay on top of the opponent and make it difficult for them to predict her actions. Erm, okay, that... didn't sound right. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Bread and Butter Mixup Flowchart -------------------------------- Shermie's standard combo is: [st.A], st.B (2 hits), f+B (2 hits), qcfqcf+K So where does the mixup come in? If opponent blocks it, you can do a Diamond Bust (hcf+K) to try to grab them. (Actually if the kicks hit you can also "combo" into hcf+K. But I think it can be escaped.) In addition, you can also do qcb+K which also has a mixup of its own. You can stop at st.B then pause, then grab (dash and grab?) them. I know what you're thinking, hcf+K is a good tick throw, right? Well your opponent can jump to avoid it, but instead of doing hcf+K, if you wait a while before trying to throw, you can see if they try to jump after your st.A or st.B. If they do, then punish them with dp+K. And to top it off you can also do press AB during normal moves such as st.B to cancel it and move forward. This costs 1 level (similar system from KOF2k2). This is great as a surprise especially against newer players, you can grab them afterward with Shermie Spiral (or Shermie Carnival if you have all the meter) for decent damage. So here's the flowchart: +-------------+-----------------------------------+ | | | | | V st. A -> st. B (1st hit) -> st. B (2nd hit) -> f+B (2 hits) -> super | | | | | | | | V V V V qcb+K hcf+K hcf+K hcf+K tick throw qcb+K qcb+K qcb+K | AB into grab AB into grab | tick throw | | +---> If they jump, dp+K. <-----+ *I don't see why you'd waste one level to AB cancel the st.A since you're probably still in range for a grab why not use hcf+P or super grab for more damage instead. hcf+K after blocked st.A is also pointless since hcf+P does more damage, and you're likely to be still in range. To get a low attack, you can of course substitute crouch B instead of stand B. Treat crouch B as if it was the second hit of stand B. You can also try crouch C or close/far stand C for a more damaging poke. One more thing, if your opponent decides to perform GCFS anytime in the combo (I'm sure they'll be tempted to do it especially during the end of f+B) you can always do qcb+P or hcf+K to reel them in. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Mixups ------------ 1. qcb+K: To kick or not to kick? Basically, you just throw you qcb+B in the middle of a pressure string. Better train the opponent a bit to expect your kick. When they start blocking when you try qcb+B, just hold B then grab them as you land. This is very funny against GCFS-happy players. They will sometimes input f,f on reaction after seeing Shermie land from qcb+B. Watch as Shermie doesn't do her kick, and the boys dash right up to Shermie. Don't try this when you're sitting next to your opponent in the arcade though. Some people just love to watch hands. Needless to say, this works better on a Versus (dual cabinets) setup. 2. dp+P: Why? Well during the "bread and butter" string, instead of hcf+K or qcb+K, you can bust this out (including the followup) for a bit more damage. This can surprise people who live to expect the qcb+K. 3. Wakeup games What are the happy fun things you can do when opponent is down? a. qcb+B to make their anti-air whiff, hopefully combo them as Shermie lands b. start the "bread and butter" pressure string as they get up c. grab them immediately... works sometimes d. overhead with f+B (surprise!) e. counter them with hcb,f+P (especially if they love to throw out anti-air on wakeup) f. crossup with air qcb+K (see below) 4. air qcb+D: crossup mixup If you knock down the opponent near you (or you pressure them to block) you can try to do the j.qcb+D. It will sometimes crossup, sometimes it won't. It just takes some practice to know the perfect distance. But once you get the hang of it... you have a 50/50 crossup guessing game on your hands. Since j.qcb+K knocks down, you can always repeat. What I do is jump backward and do qcb+D after a split second for the crossup. I can also wait slightly longer, so I won't get a crossup and hopefully make them block the wrong way. ====================================================================== Section 7: Matchups (TAPE) ========================== Tale of the Tape. Shermie: PROS * Fastest incarnation of Shermie in any SNK game * hcf+K is really beefed up * Can mixup when close * Grabs do good damage * Anti-air that works * Easy bread-and-butter combo into super * Many normals and command moves are GCFS bait, some of them are cancelable into special moves like hcf+K (hint hint) CONS * As a grappler, suffers from mid to long range * Has difficulty getting in close against characters with zoning options (like Marco, Mudman, Athena, Big, Robert, and... Marco) * Normals, command moves and special moves are very telegraphed * DMs are punishable when missed (or blocked, in the case of qcfqcf+K) * Many normals and command moves are GCFS bait To win, Shermie has to be on top of the opponents the entire round. Don't give them any breathing room. Again, you don't have to follow what I say, but this advice works for me... sometimes. Here are some of the more unpopular matchups. *** Marco *** (hard) First up, the Marco player would know better than to start using the knife on Shermie because GCFS + special grab beats knife. If Marco tries a 1-hit pistol shot canceled into forward roll, Shermie should immediately grab them. From afar, Marco players usually follow the grenade-then-iron-lizard routine. If you try to jump after iron lizard (most characters can't jump the grenade at the top of its flight) they will counter with jump kick or jetpack or sometimes even the zombie blood super. Here's the plan. If you're in mid range, once you see the lizard, do a dash jump and do a jump D. The worst thing that can happen is you trade hits with Marco's knife uppercut, jump kick or jetpack. You can also do jump qcb+D to beat the uppercut if you're expecting it. Just watch out for the variation of grenade into machine gun. Do air qcb+K to hop over it. Also watch out for grenade then air jetpack. If Marco starts doing that, just block the grenade and play defensive for a while, he might jump up by reflex making him a vulnerable target in the air. You can then block his jetpack and punish, or just use dp+K on Marco if he doesn't use jetpack. *** Mr. Big *** (really hard) Another tough matchup. Mr. Big will use crouch A, crouch D all day to zone Shermie. You also have to deal with Mr. Big's godly anti-air lariat (his AC or BD), making an aerial assault difficult. I really advise tagging out to a projectile character here (use E on block to blow Mr. Big far away for better results). With that aside, here's how you can try to get close. Do a jump-in on Big, hopefully he will do the lariat... but before you touch him, you can do air qcb+K to stomp him flat. Once you teach him not to use the lariat, you can freely air qcb+D during a jump-in to cross him up... maybe start doing Jump D's, etc. You can also try ground qcb+B once he's trained to go on the defensive and not use the lariat. Also if they throw out a cr.D and you block it, they usually try to dash in and start another set of cr.A, so an F-Captured might work in this situation. *** Kaede *** (moderate) stand A - Since Kaede's stand A is not cancelable, GCFS-grab works. If they really love to abuse stand A, you can also try the F-Captured. crouch B, cr.B cr.A - Watch Kaede. If he tries to dash and start another round of crouch B's, you grab 'em before he gets a chance. Watch out, Kaede can also qcb+A instead of dashing if he reacts to your attempts to GCFS or grab. Also try mixing in Shermie's qcb+K or dp+P. dp+P (uppercut) - Because this goes quite high, you can't possibly jump and qcb+K even if you predict it. Just keep the match on the ground. qcb+A (three slash rush) - On first or third hit, you can always GCFS, grab. But be wary of this move, getting hit will result in eating a gigantic electric sword. Kaede can still try a super when he expects a GCFS so be careful. hcf+K (special grab) - This special grab results in a free uppercut or super, so Kaede players will try to get close even though it's Shermie's territory. So don't let them get too close, or try to grab or poke them first during their dash. qcb,db,f+P (lightning strikes) - DON'T attack Kaede while he is charging the move, he is hard to hit. After you block a lightning bolt, however, just GCFS and combo his sorry ass. If you can jump over Kaede, better, but it's risky. qcfqcf+P (electric sword) - Most likely only seen in combos so you don't have to fear it. If you fight someone who likes to throw this out randomly, just watch for them to get level 2 and run around midscreen to bait the super, block it, GCFS, and punish. *** Iori *** (hard) Crossup is easy to see and block, so you shouldn't worry about it. Iori jumping over you is a dead giveaway. Just watch out when he jumps over, does nothing, and tries to grab. His special grab, while slow, results in moderate damage so watch out for it. Iori's uppercut is good so don't get too close--just bait it then punish him. His pokes of choice are C,projectile or C,qcb+C so don't GCFS the far C. In fact, don't GCFS the qcb+P strings because Iori will only do one or two of it, and if he sees you GCFS he can easily add on another hit to counter. (more matchups to come if I feel like it) - ====================================================================== Section 8: Question and Answer Portion (FAQ-) ============================================= Here are some of the "questions" which are interesting to answer. As a courtesy I will not name names. I'll add more Q&A's if there's any more issues that need to be answered. (coming soon) ====================================================================== Section 9: About the Author (ABOU) ================================== Location: Project 8, Quezon City, Philippines Where I play: Quantum SM North Edsa (Quezon City) - I go here very often About me: I prefer the online alias Robo-Mike. Robo comes from Robo-Ky, a character in the fighting game Guilty Gear XX. You can tell now that I'm better at 2D fighting games than 3D. Thank you for reading this guide. Links: pencil-sketch-badger.deviantart.com ====================================================================== Section 10: Contact Info (MAIL) =============================== e-mail: hidden for now Post at the NGBC board at GameFAQs, if you have any questions. We need more board activity, really. ====================================================================== Section 11: Contributors/Special Thanks (ENDC) ============================================== Special Thanks to: Jiyuu Falcon - Many bugfixes and additional tips. Without him, the guide would not have been possible. CONTRIBUTORS!!! Thanks for adding a few more tips and making my guide even bigger! (coming soon) GameFAQs For FAQ hosting, a great interface and a big collection of cool guides. my job For taking up most of my time and giving me money for my gaming hobby. s4.invisionfree.com/pinoyfighters - Pinoy Fighters Forum A great community of Filipino fighting game players. Local NGBC arcade players Including Jiyuu Falcon, Keso Circle, random KOF players ====================================================================== Section 12: Revision History (HIST) =================================== (11-21-2005) v1.0 Added more notes. (10-16-2005) v0.5 Notes added to crouch B and crouch D and Shermie Spiral and Shermie Carnival. Far C is cancelable. It's confirmed. Far C is not an overhead. Sheesh, I am a moron. (10-10-2005) v0.1 Initial beta test (unreleased) ====================================================================== Final Words =========== Smile.