123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ------ AMINGO ------ Character FAQ for Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Version: 0.51 Written by: Surreal (Nathan C. Lee) email: surreal@canada.com Copyright 2001 Nathan C. Lee This FAQ or any portion thereof may not be reproduced in any form without the expressed written permission and clearly labelled recognition of the author. Furthermore, the granted permission will be applicable only for the version of the FAQ that was available during the time of the request. If I have granted you permission in the past to display an older version of this FAQ on your website, but I did not personally submit any newer versions to your site, that means you do NOT have permission to copy an up to date version from another site. Revision History: (further details at bottom of FAQ) ver 0.1 - 30 June, 2001 - FAQ created, not nearly complete ver 0.2 - 4 July, 2001 - still working at it... ver 0.3 - 8 July, 2001 - tick tock, tick tock, only a few more sections to go ver 0.4 - 11 July, 2001 - nearly done, finishing touches ver 0.5 - 13 July, 2001 - basically finished all the main sections ver 0.51 - 20 September, 2001 - added snapback info in a few spots The most recently updated sections or additional notes will be marked with a header called , so you can do a search for that to find the most recent additions. The most up to date version of this FAQ can always be found at: http://www.gamefaqs.com Anything you see marked with *'s means I'm working on it. They are mostly just notes to myself that I was too lazy to write on paper. ====================================================================== Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Pros/Cons 3. Legend 4. Moves Overview 5. Normal Moves 6. Special Moves 7. Super Moves 8. Assists 9. General Usage/Strategies 10. Combos 11. Team Selection 12. Revision Notes 13. Credits ====================================================================== --------------- 1. Introduction --------------- Who is Amingo? I honestly don't know. I've heard that he was a character created for this game, I've heard he was an obscure boss character in some Buster Bros. or Snow Bros. game, I've heard that he has his own game entirely... something that sounds like "Samba" or something, I've heard that he isn't even an original Capcom character. Don't know. Don't care. If you've found concrete proof (and not just off "some website" please) of where he's from, then please email me the details and I'll update this faq. This is my second FAQ. I wrote a Hulk one a few months ago, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to really finishing it. Chances are I won't finish this one to my satisfaction either. Like my Hulk FAQ, this FAQ covers the elements of how to use Amingo effectively (in my view). I'm not going to tell you how to play the game, what all the abbreviations mean, how to perform alpha counters, etc. For one thing, I really don't want to clutter up my FAQ with all those details. Secondly, there are many very well written FAQs at which explain how to play the game and cover just about everything you need to know (ie: they do a better job explaining it that I can). This will be by no means a pretty FAQ. Much like my Hulk one, it's pretty much a hodgepodge of ideas that I will try to write down. I made a table of contents, but that's about it. I could probably break down the individual sections more with pretty tables and organized lists of attributes, but I don't think that's what you're after anyways. That and I'm not getting paid to do this. Just go read everything, maybe twice, go play for a while, then read some more. If something doesn't work or you just can't figure it out, send me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can (assuming that my lousy mail server doesn't die on me again). Why did I write this FAQ? Well... to be totally honest, I should be working on my thesis right now. I suppose this is a really good form of procrastination. I suppose writing this will only increase my typing skills which in the long run will make it easier for me to type of thesis... If I have made any mistakes or if you have anything to contribute, please email me and I'll add it in my next update and list you in the credits. If you do send something in though, please make sure that it works and isn't something that isn't already listed. Thanks. ====================================================================== ------------ 2. Pros/Cons ------------ Why play as Amingo? - he does above average damage (comparable, and actually exceeding Captain America in some cases), but maintains an average defence - always underrated and unexpected - easy to learn - not many people know how to deal with his little cactus helpers - good pressure and cross up abilities - very high priority jump in - excellent combos, very easy to perform (for most of them), very high damage - builds metre fairly quickly, doesn't need to use supers to deal high damage - has one very good all purpose super, and one "laughable" super - very much a team player who can provide an extremely frustrating offence when paired with the correct partners (and corresponding assists) - a very good character to use to learn how to call assists properly - he's big, green, and thorny Cons - no keep away game - also can't play against keep away very well - slow movement speed - kind of predictable once the initial intrigue wears off - wide body, which can make him a victim of cross ups - assists are not that useful - requires good partners to be truly useful - not very good air-to-air and anti-air abilities ====================================================================== --------- 3. Legend (and other miscellaneous abbreviations) --------- u/d/f/b up/down/forward/back uf/ub/df/db the corresponding diagonals s/c standing/crouching (I interchange 'c' and 'd' all the time) j/sj jump/super jump P/K punch/kick PP/KK both punch/kick buttons qcf quarter circle forward (roll the joystick from down to forward) qcb quarter circle back (roll from down to back) hcf half circle forward (roll from back to down to forward) hcb half circle back (roll from forward to down to back) (air) means the move can be performed in the air AC air combo OTG off the ground THC triple hyper combo DHC delayed hyper combo lp/mp/hp punches: jab/strong/fierce (aka light/medium/heavy punch) lk/mk/hk kicks: short/forward/roundhouse (aka light/medium/heavy kick) I've probably forgotten a whole bunch of other things to add, but who really reads this section anyways? ====================================================================== ----------------- 4. Moves Overview ----------------- Launchers: c.mp, c.mk Knockdown/Sweep: c.hk Snapback Animation: s.hp (one of the longest range snapbacks in the game) additional information in section 5 under "s.hp" Overheads: none Low Attacks: c.lk, c.hk Ground knockbacks: standing: hk crouching: none AC finishers: hp, hk, onion dash combo chains: ground - weak to strong (2 hits)* jump - weak to strong (2 hits)* s. jump - magic series (5 hits)* *can technically be more since Amingo's fierces/roundhouses can hit multiple times Special Moves ------------- (I don't know any of the "proper" names, and the Japanese ones take to long to type up, so I just made them up) Onion Dash qcf + P Onion Bounce qcb + P Punch/Kick Helper qcf + K Grab Helper qcb + K Assists Counter THC ------- ------- --- Heal: Life Up (fruit) hp Onion Bounce Vine super Enhance: Defence Up (fruit) hp Onion Dash Vine super Balance: hp Onion Dash hp Onion Bounce Vine super Super Moves (sometimes called hyper combos) ----------- (I don't know any of the "proper names" for these either) Vine Super qcf + KK Dancing Super qcb + PP Damage Table ------------ Note: Damage statistics were acquired on a Dreamcast with damage setting at 2 (out of 4) against a normal defence character (Cable). lp mp hp lk mk hk -- -- -- -- -- -- standing 5 8 5+5+5+4=19 5 8 14 crouching 5 8 14+14=28 5 8 14 jumping 5 8 14 5 8 5+5+5=15 throws (ground & air) 3+3+3+8 = 17 Onion Dash lp 4+4+10 = 18 hp 3+3+3+2+2+2+9 = 24 Onion Bounce lp 4+4+10 = 18 hp 5+5+12 = 22 Punch Helper 12 Kick Helper 12 Grab Helper 12+6 = 18 (damage is same regardless of the kick button used) Vine super ~ 45 (approx.) Dancing super = 43 Movement -------- Walking - slow speed, don't ever walk with Amingo Dashing - kind of glides across the ground, 1/2 screen - very slow Back Dash - a relatively quick hop back 1/3 of screen Wavedash - PP, d+PP, d+PP...repeat - since Amingo's entire dash is slow, wavedashing is pretty much useless Duck - squats down slightly, not much reduction in height Jump - jumps and somersaults in the air - a standard jump, not too useful Dash Jump - better than his normal jump, brings you in deep for combos - this is your movement mode of choice Super Jump - your basic super jump Colour ------ Well ok, this doesn't belong in the Moves Overview section, but I couldn't think of anywhere else to put it. As you can tell, my grasp of colours is rather poor. It doesn't help that my tv has shoddy colour too. body pants (there are other categories, I'm too lazy to put them up) ---- ----- lp: green yellow hp: greenish light blue A1: greenish yellow lk: brownish brown hk: dark green red A2: dark green dark yellow ====================================================================== --------------- 5. Normal Moves --------------- General ------- Most of Amingo's attacks come out quickly, have good range and decent priority. In general, his kicks are faster and open more combo possibilities, while his fierce punches are good for ending ground combos. Amingo's standing and ducking fierces have great range, deal immense damage and make good combo enders (not counting cancelling into specials or supers). A fact that is often overlooked is that Amingo can call out assists during the long animations of his fierces (and jumping roundhouse). Coupled with his little helpers, this adds immensely to Amingo's pressure game and can rack up the damage very quickly without the use of supers. It also adds a little variety to the standard launcher-to-aircombo game. More on this will be mentioned in the section 10 (combos) and section 11 (team selection). While his air-to-ground game is very good (mostly due to j.hk), Amingo lacks a good air-to-air game. He is also somewhat poor in the anti-air department and so must rely on assists. Throws ------ ground: when close, b or f + hp - 3 + 3 + 3 + 8 = 17 damage - Amingo wraps a vine around your opponent and thwacks them several times in the head, then tosses them away at a slight arc - Amingo has poor throw range air: when close, f + hp - 3 + 3 + 3 + 8 = 17 damage - looks exactly the same as the ground version, except you fall to the ground while hitting your opponent Amingo does not have a kick throw on ground or in the air. You generally don't want to throw with Amingo. His throw range is poor and they don't do much more damage than his heavy attacks (and that's not even considering that cancelling into a special or super will do even more damage). It is also fairly easy to tech hit out of. The same applies for his air throw. His air throw also brings both of you back to the ground, which may or may not be what you want depending how you play. After a throw, Amingo throws your opponent back about 3/4 screen. During most of the knockback, your opponent is vulnerable; unfortunately, Amingo doesn't recover until they've almost landed. It is possible to follow up the throw with an attack. The simplest is to do a c.hp which will catch them for the second hit. If you are willing to dash a bit, you can get some decent damage from a s.hp or an hp Onion Dash (which you can do from the air after jumping forward if you like). The most difficult, though potentially rewarding is dashing (or perhaps wavedashing) to connect with a df.hp which will launch them up into the air for a combo. See section 10 for a semi-infinite combo. Standing -------- Jab - 5 damage - a spiky fist jab s.lp - a standard poking jab - decent range, but the spike extends slightly beyond the hit range - less range than the c.lk - comes out moderately fast - almost no stun, combos into any stronger normal move, but not specials - there is really no use for this move - c.lk is much better in every way Strong - 8 damage - a giant thorny hand slap (for some reason, Amingo grows an s.mp an extra finger in the animation (from 3 to 4)) - better range than the jab, fairly fast - good stun time, but pushes back - combos into the Onion Dash or Dancing super - except for comboing into the Dancing super, there is really no use for this move either Fierce - 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 = 19 damage - Amingo's arm becomes a long thrusting, s.hp spinning, spiky flower - over half screen range - the further you are from your opponent, the fewer the hits - the flower at the end is fairly large and has a good hit area - very fast startup (for a fierce) and good recovery time, but... - the animation lingers a long time, but the flower head will inflict damage if anybody walks into it during that time (this also means that if you stop blocking too early, you will take damage) - no chipping damage - can cancel any time into an Onion Dash - if very close, can cancel into the Dancing super after 1 or 2 hits - the hit detection is only for the flower head (I think) - Amingo's extended arm is still vulnerable to damage - only use this move in a ground combo or to counter mistakes - this is your snapback attack (it will only hit once for 10 damage) - the snapback effect lingers for the entire animation; as far as I know, this is the only snapback in the game which lingers Short - 5 damage - a quick kick to the shins s.lk - shorter range than the jab - essentially the same uses as s.lp (ie: none) - better stun than the s.lp - there is no need to ever use this move Forward - 8 damage - Amingo's foot turns into one of those pipe plants from s.mk Super Mario 1 (you'll know it when you see it) - basically the same uses as s.mp but with better range and slightly slower speed (which is moot since you can only combo into this) - can also combo into the Dancing super Roundhouse - 14 damage - Amingo plants both hands into the ground and thrusts s.hk his spiky round body upwards at ~75 - moderate speed startup and recovery - knocks back a half screen - the hit area is larger than the animation (about 1/3 screen wide, and 2/3 screen tall) - decent (not great) anti air with fair priority - no combo possibilities except those mentioned below - can only combo into an Onion Bounce if part of a ground combo - can only combo into a Vine super if you opponent is in the corner (only works on large opponents, and must cancel very quickly) Crouching --------- jab - 5 damage - exactly like the s.lp, except lower c.lp - just like the s.lp, there is no good reason to ever use this strong - 8 damage - a thorny uppercut c.mp - launcher - animation starts very quickly, but the actual hit doesn't register until a split second afterwards - almost no horizontal range, your arm will pass through opponents standing next to you - decent vertical range, similar to the shoto uppercut - only moderate priority - terrible as an anti-air move - avoid this launcher at all costs fierce - 14 + 14 = 28 damage - Amingo plants his arms and sends big vines c.hp along the ground that snake towards your opponent and bites him - ludicrous horizontal range, about 3/4 screen width - the hit detection is only for the head of the vine, so you must be close to get both hits; the first hit (1/4 screen range) registers when Amingo plants his hands down, the second hit (3/4 range, your first hit will push them here) is the bite at the end of the vine - the first hit can only hit opponents standing next to Amingo - the second hit can hit those who are 1/2 a screen up - combos from any weak attack - can combo into a fierce onion dash immediately after the second hit (and can then combo into a Vine super in certain circumstances) if you started the move very close to your opponent - the vine is vulnerable to damage, so be careful when using it short - 5 damage - a swift low kick c.lk - must be blocked low - very fast - the best range out of all his weak attacks (although the animation extends slightly past the hit area) - start all your ground combos with this - makes a good OTG (with c.mk) into an air combo when Amingo switches in - this work is copy right year two thousand and one by N.Le e - if you're wondering, if someone is trying to rip off my work, I'm trying to throw off the word processor's edit/find command forward - 8 damage - Amingo dips his legs into the ground and giant thorns c.mk shoot up in front of him - your launcher of choice - arguably one of the better launcher in the game - despite coming out of the ground, the thorns do not hit low - very fast startup and recovery - as far as I know, hitting the thorns does not damage Amingo (but they're so fast that it's hard to tell) - the hit range is smaller than the animation; about 1/4 screen wide and 1/4 screen tall - the large horizontal range nearly guarantees a launch if you connect with a c.lk first - the low vertical range makes this a lousy anti-air attack - combos into the Vine super, but you don't get the maximum damage from the super (see section 7 for more details) roundhouse - 14 damage - Amingo shrinks into a spinning cactus ball c.hk - Amingo's only knockdown/sweep attack - hits low (stating the obvious, Duh!) - pretty fast startup, but long recovery since you continue spinning even after you've hit your opponent - can OTG with a jab Onion Dash (the fierce does less damage) - can also OTG with a Vine super for very good damage Jumping ------- jab - 5 damage - a downward poke, very similar to his other jabs j.lp - use only as a starter for his air combos - hits only a small area in front of Amingo - terrible air-to-air priority - terribly jump in attack strong - 8 damage - looks exactly like his c.mp j.mp - behaves just like c.mp as well - hits fairly high - lifts your opponent some more in the air, usually putting them above you, out of range of the rest of your air combo - use this move only as combo filler (but there are better alternatives anyways) fierce - 14 damage - double spiked ball overhead swing j.hp - despite its looks, this only hits in the area diagonally below - slow startup and recovery - very lousy air-to-air move, decent air-to-ground - lots of stun if used as a jump-in - if jumping in with this, either follow up with standard ground combo or do a jab Onion Dash before hitting the ground (you will either knock them down or pass through their body(!)) - AC finisher, knocks back half a screen short - 5 damage - a spiky downward kick j.lk - quick startup and recovery - good range - decent priority - your typical j.lk - arguably Amingo's best jump in forward - 8 damage - looks just like his c.hk j.mk - slightly less range than j.lk - fast startup and recovery - good stun time (making it very easy to go into a ground combo) - hits on both sides of Amingo, making this your ideal cross up move - in an AC, combos into lk, hp, hk or Onion Dash roundhouse - 5 + 5 + 5 = 15 damage - the infamous drilling plant kick j.hk - quick startup, but slow recovery (sort of; it's actually a long multi-hitting animation) - immense priority - deceptively good range - the three hits comes out in fairly quick succession - not too much stun time per hit - can be pushblocked - once this drill comes out, you have to wait for all three hits to come out or touch the ground before you can do anything else; this can leave you extremely vulnerable if you throw out the kick at random or too early in the air - when jumping in with this, don't start too early or the third hit will occur too early before you touch the ground, giving your opponent time to block before you can begin your ground combo - if you do start too early (sometimes you'll do this simply for pressuring), then call in an assist during the kick - the great thing about this move is that it is much more difficult for your opponent to predict when to drop to a low guard since they must wait out all 3 high hits first - AC finisher, knocks back 3/4 of the screen ====================================================================== ---------------- 6. Special Moves ---------------- Onion Dash ---------- qcf + P jab: 3 hits - 4 + 4 + 10 = 18 damage (air) range - 1/2 screen fierce: 7 hits - 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 9 = 24 damage range - 3/4 screen Amingo turns his body into a big dashing onion with eyes and zips quickly across the screen. The further you are from your opponent, the fewer hits you will get, although the missed hits will be the beginning ones, so if you miss the first hit of the jab version, you will still do 4+10 = 14 damage. The Onion Dash comes out very quickly and travels quickly as well. The fierce version starts up marginally slower, but also travels faster. The initial movement of both versions is the quickest, and slows down considerably at the end of the dash. Recovery time is decent (the jab recovers more quickly), but a blocked Onion Dash usually means trouble. The hits from the fierce occur in a rapid succession, with just enough stun between each hit to ensure the next. The jab version hits rather slowly, thus there is a lot of stun between the 3 hits. More importantly, there is a longer stun at the end of the jab version. The jab version also knocks the opponent slightly upwards after the last hit. All of this means that the jab Onion Dash has some interesting comboing properties, which will be explained in greater detail in sections 9 and 10. I have not noticed any differences at all between the ground and air versions of the Onion Dash. Damage, speed, startup and lag are all the same. If need be, the Onion Dash can be used as a quick means of movement. Usually, it will be done from the air, passing over your opponent in an attempt to cross up. As a counter to mistakes, the Onion Dash is your quickest means to deal some damage to the other side of the screen (though if blocked, you're leaving yourself open to trouble). I believe the Onion Dash deals one pixel of block damage per hit. However, due to the moderately slow recovery on the Onion Dash, do not go for it unless you're sure it will finish your opponent off. Also, since this is a dashing type of attack with multiple hits, it is susceptible to pushblocks. If an Onion Dash (from the ground) connects on large opponents, you can cancel before the last hit into a Vine super for a lot of damage (because the vine hits will be starting from the ground; see section 7). If you connect in the corner, regardless of your opponent's size, cancel immediately into a Vine super. Out of the corner, this usually only works on the big guys like Juggernaut, but it sometimes works on a select few smaller guys too. It all depends on how quickly your opponent recovers from hits, how far they get pushed back, and most importantly their stun animation. For certain opponents such as Iceman, their stun frame extends a portion of their body out (in Iceman's case, his arm). When you cancel into the Vine, the growing vine must be able to snag that extended appendage. This works on the big guys since... well, they're big. However, on all of the small guys, this procedure is not guaranteed. Very often, your opponent will have just enough time to block before the growing vine reaches them, which instead drags them into the vine for a bunch of block damage. Perhaps I should mention that if you're going for block damage, this is probably the best way to do it. You only have to watch out for people who are very good at pushblocking. You can combo the Onion Dash off of any weak, medium or heavy attack on the ground (not counting his launchers), making it your basic combo finisher if you don't cancel into the Vine super. It is also a good air combo finisher (see section 10). For a change of pace, you can also jump in with a j.hp and a jab Onion Dash. Even if blocked, the jab Onion Dash will cross up (usually passing through your opponent's head). Against super armour opponents, if you use the Onion Dash by itself, the jab (lp) version stuns only on the third (the last) hit. The fierce (hp) stuns on the first hit. Obviously, this makes the fierce version the one to choose. In air-to-air encounters, the Onion Dash is probably your best move since Amingo does not have any good air-to-air normal moves. It comes out quickly and can move across the screen which may catch your opponent off guard. If nothing else, it puts your opponent in block long enough that your eventual elevation difference will make it difficult to attack (unless they fly or air dash). Actually, if your opponent can fly or air-dash effectively, just bring them down with assists instead. Onion Bounce ------------ qcb + P jab: 3 hits - 4 + 4 + 10 = 18 damage fierce: 3 hits - 5 + 5 + 12 = 22 damage Amingo shrinks back into the ground, becomes a large tulip-kissing shape, then bounces in a slight arc as a spiky ball. The jab version makes you bounce 1/4 screen across, the fierce makes you bounce a 1/3 screen. Both versions bounce up about half a screen. The "tulip kiss" is the first hit, the top of the bounce is the second, and the third hit registers near the end of the bounce. The first half of the bounce is nearly instantaneous, making it good for catching people off guard. The second half (after the second hit) is very slow as Amingo falls back down. This is where people will try to counter you, but if they're not careful, they will be hit by the third hit. It is important to note that the bounce is not semi-circular in shape, but rather like a sideways teardrop. The first half moves you very quickly along the "straight" part of the teardrop, while the second moves you very slowly along the "curved" part. As much as I can tell, the difference between the jab and fierce version is only the range and damage (so there really is no point to use the jab one). This move has only average priority and is only an average anti-air move. Its only real asset comes from its initial speed which can sometimes catch people off guard. It also lifts Amingo off the ground, protecting him from various ground and sweep moves. However, unless you're very close or your opponent is very large, your Bounce will tend go right over ducking/sweeping opponents. As mentioned, the startup time is almost nothing, but the recovery is bad. Actually, Amingo recovers very quickly when he reaches the ground, but that hang time in the second half of the bounce is terrible. The Onion Bounce can be comboed off any weak or medium attack, but not fierces (unlike the Onion Dash) since they will be pushed too far out of range. You also cannot combo into either super when you land. Against super armour opponents, the Onion Bounce stuns on the first hit (for both versions). For the most part, anything the Bounce does, the Dash does better. Better speed, better priority, better range, better recovery, more damage/block damage, etc. If anyone knows of a really good use for the Onion Bounce, I'd like to hear about it. Attack Helper ------------- qcf + K short: punch helper - 12 damage fierce: kick helper - 12 damage Amingo plucks a seed from his hat, plants it into the ground, and a moment later a little cactus helper (complete with hat) pops up and hops/bounces along the ground until it reaches your opponent and hits them. Functionally, think of it as a much slower but less visible version of Jill's dog helper. The helpers are about a quarter the size of Amingo and hop along the ground very slowly with an obvious "boing boing" sound. If you are hit before the helper emerges, the move is wasted. You can have up to two helpers on the screen at once. They do not have to be the same kind and can also be of the "grab" variety (see the next section). Note that all helpers look exactly alike. The punch helper does exactly that. It hops along until it reaches your opponent, then jumps up a tiny bit and swings an arm down. The kick helper behaves in exactly the same way, except it (duh!) kicks. However, the kick helper doesn't do that little jump before attacking, so it actually attacks faster. This makes the kick helper the preferred choice. The only time you want to use the punch helper is if your opponent uses a lot of normal jumps, since the punch helper has slightly better height and can occasionally catch opponents near the beginning or end of their jump. The startup time for this move is quite long, so you'll want to plant your helpers carefully. Amingo is actually free to move or attack as soon as the seed has finished planting and begins to sprout. This is good because opponents often think that he can't move until the helper has finished coming out of the ground and will usually try to attack during that time. This lets you react in any number of ways, including: jumping away (or in with an attack), calling an assist, performing an Onion Dash or Bounce, or countering their jump in with the Vine super. Another benefit of the quick recovery is that you can plant two helpers in quick succession. The helpers have a fairly large hit area in front of them. Even better is that their hit area also extends to just slightly behind them. So if your opponent jumps and lands right behind them, they will still take a hit. Your helpers will even hit if your opponent jumps far behind them, but then backs up into them (or was pushed in by one of Amingo's long range attacks). The helpers can be defeated by any hit, after which they will make a little whining sound and shrink back into the ground. The true benefit of the attack helpers comes not from the damage that they do, but from the large stun which their attack induces. When pressuring, even a split second of stun is all you need to follow up into a large combo. The helpers have the same colour scheme and same colour hat as Amingo. An odd and pointless fact about the helpers is that if Amingo is hit with any attacks which changes his body's colour (such as being on fire or covered in electricity), the helpers will adopt the same colour change. See Section 9.1 for many more details on how to use your helpers. Grab Helper ----------- qcb + K 2 hits - 12 + 6 = 18 damage In terms of performing the move, this looks and behaves exactly like the attack helper. Also, the grab helpers themselves looks exactly the same as the attack helpers. The only clue to the difference is that they hop much more slowly (about 1/2 of the normal speed). Other than the speed and their type of attack, everything else is exactly the same. Oh, except for one teensy little thing... they're unblockable. While this is a great advantage, don't forget that just like all other unblockable attacks in the game, the attack will fail if your opponent is currently in blockstun from another attack. Just like the attack helpers, the grab helpers hop slowly along the ground until they reach your opponent and grabs their leg and holds on for a second (doing 12 damage). Then they release and your opponent is knocked back half a screen (for the other 6 damage) in the direction away from you (it doesn't matter if you jump over during the grab, the release will still be going away from you). During the grab and hold, your opponent is immune to damage and cannot be hit. They can be hit as soon as they are released, but it can be difficult to catch them because of the knockback. Also, your opponent will have recovered and be able to block after he's flown halfway in the knockback, so you have a very limited time window in which to attack. Due to the large knockback, a standard combo off the grab will not connect unless you hit immediately with a launcher (df+hk) into an air combo. If you are too far away, your best bet is to simply use a standing or crouching fierce, and/or a fierce Onion Dash, and/or a Vine super. The difference between the short and roundhouse versions is how the helper makes the grab. The lk version will make a larger and faster jump when it is a 1/4 screen away from your opponent. The hk version simply hops along until it's close enough to grab. Generally, you will want to use the lk version simply because it is faster. However (but I'm not 100% sure about this), I don't think that the lk version's hit area extends behind it like the other helpers'. Something to note for both versions is that they can't catch jumping opponents. Your opponent will merely be knocked back and for 12 damage (and don't forget that they can't block it). The grab helpers can sometimes be frustrating because they can actually interrupt you mid-combo. The grab takes precedence over any attack which you are making. See section 9.1 for more details on how to use the grab helpers. ====================================================================== -------------- 7. Super Moves -------------- Vine Super (THC - any assist) ---------- qcf + KK maximum 28 hits, 45 damage Amingo shrinks completely into the ground (except for his hat), then quickly grows into a giant spinning vine that reaches two screens high. The start up on this is almost instant and Amingo is nearly invulnerable since he's underground (I think you can still hit his hat). After the initial frame, the Vine then grows very quickly, reaching a full height of about 2 screens and is a bit wider than Amingo at the base (and reaching a point at the top) when fully grown. This is one of the few completely "vertical" supers in the game. It has a very narrow horizontal range (which can "grow", although by the time you grow and hit your opponent, they will be blocking), but it does hit on both sides of Amingo, hence allowing the possibility of crossup. If this connects, your opponent will be pushed upwards as the vine grows up to the full height. For full hits and maximum damage, you have to connect while your opponent is standing on the ground so that he can be lifted the greatest length, otherwise he will bounce around a bit at the top since the vine keeps pushing once your opponent reaches the top. This means that if you connect the Vine super off the launch, you will not get full damage. Actually, off the launch you get about half damage. You would get more damage from a simple air combo. If this super is blocked, it has a vacuum effect which pulls your opponent into the centre of the vine for some decent chipping damage (the lower to the ground, the more chipping is done), although their elevation is not changed. An odd property here is that the vine pushes your opponent back and forth inside, so that when the super is finished they might wind up on the opposite side that they were sucked in from. While not really useful, it might confuse novice players. However, bear in mind that it is very easy to pushblock out of this. The recovery time on this super is decent, but if you missed or it was blocked (in which case your opponent is standing right next to you), you're good as gone. Another huge problem is that the entire vine is vulnerable to damage, meaning that if you didn't connect, you are now the largest target in the game. When you get hit out of the vine, you instantly revert to your stunned cactus body. The priority of the vine is very good. It will beat out any physical (ie: your opponent's own body) attack. Due to it's very good speed and invulnerability at the beginning, this super also makes a good counter to enemy attacks. I have found this especially useful when being pressured in the corner, where a quick counter with a Vine and a good DHC can quickly turn the match around. The downside to this super is that it is not very easy to combo into if you want good damage. Any normal attack will knock your opponent out of range of the vine. As mentioned earlier, you can connect off a launch for less damage than a standard air combo. The only time you would want to do this is if you really want to DHC (such as if Amingo is low on health and you want a safe switch out). The other methods to connect the Vine super are: off an Onion Dash, a helper, an assist, or as a counter to your opponent's attack. As explained in section 6, the Onion Dash can cancel into the Vine super. However, this generally only works on in the corner, or on the larger opponents. Doing it this way gives you a lot of damage since it lifts your opponent right off the ground giving you the maximum amount of hits. Off of a helper or assist, the idea is simply to get an outside source to put your opponent in stun so you can pull off the super. This can be accomplished in many ways depending on your helper/assist. The most reliable method I have found is to jump and cross over just as your assist/helper is attacking, then performing the Vine super immediately. If your assist hits, you may also throw in a fierce and/or Onion Dash for extra damage before cancelling into the super (this particular combo can easily add up to 60% damage). Personally, my most common use for the Vine super is as a counter to jump ins. Because Amingo shrinks into the ground during startup, he is safe from almost any attack your opponent is jumping in with. The quick growth of the vine will then catch them before they recover from their attack. The timing can occasionally be difficult, but that's what practice is for. Alternatively, you can dash under and cross up with the Vine (though this requires even more practice). The Vine super works very well in DHC's if you have the correct partners, and is best used as the DHC starter (for the most part, Amingo will be on point anyways since he needs assists to be truly effective; see section 11) Essentially, anything that hits vertically works well. Some of my favourite examples are: Doom's Rising Flame, Hulk's Gamma Crush, Jin's Tornado, Captain Commando's Captain Sword, Blackheart's Armageddon, and Ken's Shinryuken. Coincidentally, most of these guys have excellent anti-air assists (well, maybe not Hulk) which help Amingo greatly in his game. Keep in mind however that after two vertical or rising supers, your opponent will be knocked clear out of the screen making very few supers capable of hitting them. An often overlooked fact is that the screen is still "blue" until the opponent hits the ground, which means you can cancel out at any time and at any elevation. This lets you cancel into virtually any other super, provided you practice the timing for it. Not only that, but when you DHC out, your next character will be right next to your opponent. This is why the Vine super makes such an excellent DHC starter. If the Vine is blocked, your best bet may be to DHC out either into a super which pushes away, or one which does good chipping damage. Due to the vacuum effect, the chipping potential of the next super may be greatly increased. Good examples of this are Doom's Photon Array, Omega Destroyer (if they were in slightly above Amingo when caught them) and Thanos' Space super. Some other interesting choices are the Zangief's Final Atomic Buster and Akuma's Raging Demon. The Vine super is not nearly as good in THC's as it is in DHC's. As noted before, it has very limited horizontal range and will usually lift the opponent out of range of the other supers, thereby wasting the other two meters. However, if one of your partner's supers tends to hold your opponent in place, then your opponent will not be pulled up by the vine (don't worry, he'll still take damage from the vine). For the most damage, Amingo's partner's supers must be vertical or have large area coverage. If Amingo does not start the THC, then his partner's supers must also be activated very close to the opponent or the vine will miss completely. Dancing Super (THC - not available from a THC) ------------- qcb + PP 8 hits (auto-combo) - 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 15 = 43 damage Amingo plants his arm into the ground and a little tulip (about the size of a helper) comes out that travels slowly across the screen. It can be blocked and can be seen coming from a mile away, but if it connects it tosses your opponent into Amingo's hollow body. Amingo then dances and shakes his maracas to an odd bouncing sound then spits your opponent out (upwards) and taunts. This super behaves somewhat like an auto-combo since the first hit (from the tulip) must occur for the rest of the super to follow. This super is very slow. It starts up fairly slowly, and the tulip travels slowly which makes it's full screen range nearly worthless. Even worse is that if you miss, Amingo is stuck in the animation until the tulip completes travelling across the screen. This leaves you completely open unless you DHC out (this can sometimes work as a bait against your opponent if you're looking for an opportune time to switch out). The hit area of the tulip is actually larger than the animation. However, this doesn't make much of a difference since you will only ever connect this in a combo. Contrary to popular belief, the damage on this is quite nice and is comparable to the Vine super. There is no block damage though. The only normal attacks the Dancing super can readily be comboed from are s.mp or a s.mk, and you must be quite close to begin with. It is also possible to cancel from the first hits of s.hp and c.hp, but you must be very close. The only other ways to connect it (other than by hitting your opponent's start button) is off of an assist. If you use an assist, the assist must either be of the capture type or one which puts your opponent in a lot of stun or juggles them for a while. Once they are hit by the assist, you should be able to connect with the Dancing super. If they are juggled above the range of the tulip, try to time the start of the super so they land on it. However, this doesn't work for every assist since some of them let your opponent recover too quickly. Much like other auto-combo supers, the Dancing super will never appear in a THC regardless of the assist chosen. Utilizing the Dancing super is difficult and generally not worth it. It is very difficult to DHC into since the opponent must be on the ground, very close, and be stunned for a long time. It is not worth it to DHC out of since you have to cancel out before the last hit (the blue screen ends just before the last hit), which means you lose out on a third of the damage. Furthermore when you cancel out, Amingo spits them upwards at a steep angle very quickly. This means that only vertical supers or those which cover a very large area will be able to inflict good damage. ====================================================================== ---------- 8. Assists ---------- While Amingo does really well on point where he can utilize his partner's assists, I find his own assists somewhat lacking. Thus, I hardly every use Amingo for his assist capacity, which will make this section somewhat brief. Note that all assists use the Vine super in a THC Heal: Life Up (green fruit) - THC: Vine Super --------------------------- Amingo jumps out, plucks a seed from his hat a plants it. A moment later a small vine with a fruit on top pops up. If you get close to the vine, the fruit jumps towards you. Getting the fruit restores some of your red life (I would estimate around 1/8 of the bar). If you have no red, nothing is restored. This assist is slow to come out since you have to wait for the plant to grow. However, the plant does linger for about 2 seconds after Amingo leaves the screen. An annoying fact is that you must "catch" the fruit. If the fruit jumps at you and you move away, it will fall into the ground and disappear. Given the long startup time and the requirement of actually catching the fruit for a meagre life restoration, I do not recommend this assist. Enhance: Defence Up (yellow fruit) - THC: Vine Super ---------------------------------- This assist behaves and looks exactly like the Heal assist, except that it has a yellow fruit. The fruit basically doubles your defence (ie: it halves all damage you take) for 5 seconds. This isn't too bad, but the problems mentioned above still apply. I consider this a better choice than the healing fruit, but I still don't find much use for it. Balance: hp Onion Dash - THC: Vine Super ---------------------- Amingo jumps into the screen and performs the fierce version of his Onion Dash. It travels quickly, which is good, but the slight lag at the beginning and end of the assist can hurt you. Amingo is really in trouble if he's blocked, because then he'll be right next to your opponent. Don't forget that Amingo always starts the Onion Dash about 1/3 a screen behind your caller, so there is that brief time delay that it takes to cover that distance. It also means that if you call the assist too far back, Amingo will not reach your opponent. I would say this is Amingo's best assist (kind of like the lesser of evils though). It does good damage and chips decently. If nothing else, it does force a moderately long block. If you use this assist, try to have a character out who can cover for Amingo's lag at the end. ====================================================================== --------------------------- 9. General Usage/Strategies ***incomplete*** --------------------------- For Amingo to be effective, he must be constantly pressuring your opponent. With the use of his helpers and any space controlling assist, it is very easy to keep an opponent cornered. In many regards, treat Amingo like a slower (and much stronger) pixie. Never ease up. If Amingo isn't attacking, he's no better than a big green target. You should spend most of your time attacking from above, keeping your opponent pinned with your j.hk while one or two cactus helpers are jumping along the ground. This is also a good time to call an expansion or dash type assist to prevent any quick retaliation. The assist also appears in front of Amingo, making it difficult for your opponent to know when to block high or low. When possible, launch them up into the standard air combo. After that, immediately pin them down with another assist and/or try to cross up and repeat the process all over again. If you eventually get your opponent into a corner, then one long ground combo should be enough to end it. Dash jumps are your primary mode of movement. They are Amingo's quickest way to travel (aside from Onion Dashes) and bring him in deep for his comboes which is essential. If you normal jump, stick out the j.hk because it is very threatening at that altitude (just be wary of good anti-air assists). Amingo does not play very well defensively. He lacks any strong anti-air attack and cannot capitalize on mistakes as well as others (aside from the standard air combo, but everyone has that). He also does not have any quick counters when he's being rushed. I don't like to say that he is reliant on assists, but Amingo does need good partners to cover his defences in order to be concentrate on his offence (see Section 11: Team Selection). An alternative to countering mistakes is to simply do a snapback (Amingo does has one of the longest range snapbacks in the game after all). In the course of your pressuring, you will have invariably knocked up their assists for a combo or two. Use that opportunity to bring them in and chop away all their red life. Other notes can be found in Section 10.1 Combo Basics. 9.1 Using your Helpers ---------------------- This section kind of expanded a little beyond what it was intended for. While primarily explaining how to use helpers, it has bits and pieces of "normal" strategy strewn throughout. Oh well, no harm done. Proper use of the helpers is very important to Amingo. They serve the dual purpose of adding offence and defence. Offensively, they can generally pester your opponent, keep him pinned, extend your combos, or even set them up for supers. They work in the exact same manner defensively by preventing your opponent from getting close to you. Think of them as a third assist who's lifebar you don't have to worry about. Since Amingo is not fast enough for true rushdown tactics, the helpers (along with his assists) are what allows him to behave as such. Deciding when to plant them is essentially the only point you have to worry about since that's the only time Amingo is vulnerable. The most opportune times are when your opponent is too far away to hurt you (unless they're a beamer) or just after you've knocked them back from your own combo. Don't worry about your helpers being out of range; the battle will invariable move towards the middle of the screen. Another good time to plant a helper is after your opponent has missed/blocked a laggy move. However, that time may be better spent countering and doing damage rather than planting a helper. If for some reason your opponent is caught by a helper but you are too far away to capitalize on it, then take that brief second to plant another one if you can. Another good time to plant a helper (preferably a grab one in this case) is after your launcher is blocked. Just be sure to call in a long lasting assist for cover. The only time you never want to plant a helper is when your opponent is a beamer and/or is playing keep away. If that occurs, then switch Amingo out. When you do get a chance to plant helpers, try to plant two at a time; one attack helper and one grab helper. They will thus move across the screen at different rates, increasing the "danger zone" on the ground for your opponent. If you now stay on the ground between your helpers, they now serve as little shields for Amingo. With a helper on either side, it can be difficult for your opponent to find an opportunity to dash in with a combo. They will even have trouble jumping in since upon landing they might get caught by a helper. This gives you some more leeway and breathing room. They can also sometimes cover for mistakes. I have had several occasions where a mistake was going to cost me dearly, only to have a little helper save my butt before my opponent's super connected. A nice thing about the helpers is that of all the "helper" type things in the game, these little cactus guys are probably the least visible. If you chose a dark colour for Amingo, then they will be even harder to see since the dark colours tend to fade into the background of most stages. The Helpers are also quite small. In a heated battle where assists are being called all the time and various other things are bouncing across the screen, the little cactus helpers are very easy to miss. As mentioned earlier, the helpers serve very well in controlling ground space. This is particularly effective against pixies who dash in low for combos since it essentially takes away their half their offence (the other half being from the air). If Amingo is jumping in with his j.hk, this effectively controls air space. Throw in a proper assist and you will effectively pin your opponent down. It is in manners similar to this that Amingo can control where the fight takes place. It is important that you keep your opponent where you want him if you want to pressure properly. Through your helpers and assists, you want to push your opponent back into a corner where you can use Amingo's ground combos. In terms of general harassment, the cactus helpers fit that bill quite nicely as well. It's like having landmines which only target the enemy. While on the ground, your opponent is forced to either jump over them or waste a moment to hit them. While in the air, coming down is essentially a big mystery. If you want to be a real pest, you can always push your opponents into your helpers with your s.hp or Onion Dash. Using your helpers to extend combos is generally very difficult to do. It involves doing a simple ground chain which pushes your opponent into a helper. You then proceed into an air combo or go immediately into a super. The timing alone is very difficult, and getting the helpers into the right spots is almost impossible to do on purpose. Every once in a while, your helpers will wind up spoiling a combo by knocking your opponent away at inopportune times. With practice, you can eventually minimize these occurrences, but they will happen regardless so live with it. It's a minor price to pay for all the benefits which your helpers provide. Statistically (for me anyways), the helpers have saved me more often than ruining a combo. You will find that the helpers will be around at just the right time because they tend to say that this document is copyright 2001 by Nathan Lee and may not be reproduced in any shape or form without asking my permission first. If you are currently deleting this paragraph, may you be plagued by visions of Richard Simmons doing nude aerobics. Capitalizing on the grab is not always an easy thing to do. In any case, you must be relatively close to do anything. If very close (a dash is usually required), hit them with a launcher (c.lk, c.mk) and proceed into an air combo, or just go straight into the Vine super. Otherwise if you're too far away, hit them with a s.hp and/or Onion Dash (a c.hp would miss on the first hit, so the s.hp does marginally more damage). If you're fast, it can also be possible to call an assist before the hold lets up. How you follow up on that depends on the assist (see Section 11: Team Selection). The position of your helpers will determine which type of combo or air combo finisher you should use. If your opponent is just behind a helper, then do a short ground combo which pushes them into the helper (allowing you to then extend hopefully into an air combo). If doing an air combo, you will want to drop your opponent near your helpers. If you end with a j.hp, your opponent lands about 1 screen away. If you end with an Onion Dash, your opponent lands about 1.5 screens away. I do not recommend that you actively pursue combo extensions through your helpers unless you just practice at it all day. Just take the opportunity if it shows itself; otherwise it is very difficult to set it up. As you can see, the proper use of Amingo's helpers can almost be a science unto themselves, much like the proper use of assists. Sometimes though, it needn't be so complicated. Sometimes it is best just to set them loose and forget about them. ***the remaining parts of Section 9 are terribly incomplete ***the few notes I have will be given in point form 9.2 Against Pixies ------------------ - remember that Amingo is rather poor defensively - inhibit their ground movement with your grab helpers - after they are grabbed, they make very nice snapback targets - control the battle space, don't let them get all over you - try to keep pushing them back, don't give them a chance to attack - if you must, jump back with a roundhouse and call an assist to get some breathing room - try not to use the Onion Dash (ground version) or Onion Bounce at all since your opponent will recover very quickly and be right back on top of you - keep your combos short and sweet, because Amingo's combos are fairly slow and the last thing you want it your opponent to recover mid-combo and counter with a super 9.3 Against Super Armour Opponents ---------------------------------- - j.hk stuns on the first hit (out of 3) - s.hp stuns on the third hit (out of 4) - c.hp stuns on the first hit (out of 2) - it is generally better to counter their mistakes rather than go totally offensive - the s.hp cancelled an into Onion Dash (then maybe a into Vine super) will be your primary weapon (just don't throw it out at random) - the grab helpers will not go through super armour unless you hit them first; they will instead behave like a slower attack helpers (and do the same damage) - Amingo's launchers are usually on the second hit anyways, so no worries Juggernaut - never jump in directly in front of him or you'll eat a Headcrush - very easy to cross up with j.mk - very susceptible to the (Onion Dash, Vine super) combo Hulk - as with Juggernaut, only jump in with a cross up j.mk - just wait until a laggy move before attacking with (j.lk, j.mk) - jump in while blocking a lot Sentinel - just switch out, you don't have a chance against a properly played Sentinel Collossus - his shoulder dash will beat your jump ins ---if he turns on hyper armour - you can't stun or launch him - stay in the air, wait out the timer - don't waste your supers - just keep away or switch out Zangief (hyper armour turned on) - multiple hits do slow him down, which makes j.hk and s.hp perfect for the job since they also push him away out of throw range - just don't forget that Amingo's extended appendages can still be hurt - don't use Onion Dash or Onion Bounce at all - there's an odd glitch on the Dreamcast in training mode where if you hit him with a s.hp several times during his running suplex, you do negative damage (but I don't think it heals him) - using the Vine super - due to the many hits, Zangief's attacks are greatly slowed down - additionally, if he is sucked in, his attacks will be directed outwards where they don't actually hit the vine, except for his spinning clothesline - Zangief can't throw you out of the Vine super (hah!) - since you can't combo him, the hits from the vine don't count as a combo, meaning there is no damage reduction, meaning the Vine super does 30% damage conclusion - it's a risky move, but it can be well worth it - the standard ground corner combo (shown in section 10) can do 65% damage on him 9.4 Against Keep Away --------------------- - Amingo simply dies to any good game of keep away - if anyone knows a way to play against keep away with Amingo, I'd like to hear it - your best bet is to try to jump in or even Onion Dash in close, then use an alpha counter to switch out 9.5 Against Grapplers --------------------- - jump in with (j.lk, j.mk) since good grapplers can throw you out of the j.hk - avoid the Onion Dash and Onion Bounce at all costs - throw out a lot of grab helpers and give them a taste of their own medicine Zangief - just poke at him outside his reach with your kick launcher Shuma - no special strategies, just be careful of Mystic Smash when jumping in Omega Red - when he jumps above and tries to coil downwards, nail him with a Vine super ====================================================================== ---------- 10. Combos ---------- Amingo is mostly known for launching into his painful air combos, but he also has a very underestimated ground game (which is actually more painful than his air game, but a lot harder to pull off correctly). 10.1 Combo Basics ***terminally incomplete*** ----------------- This section is kind of like the guideline for Amingo's combos. Quite straight forward, mostly point form, sort of like a summary of everything above with a few more notes thrown in, yadda yadda yada. Actually, this kind of evolved beyond combo basics... oh well, I can't think of anywhere else to put the info. air combos - fast launcher, high damage, very easy to perform, not very punishable if you make a mistake ground combos - very high damage, trickier timing, works best in corners, severely punishable if you make a mistake combos involving helpers - difficult to pull off, usually not very good damage (but potentially very high), but extremely irritating for your opponent combos involving assists - easier to pull off due to long animations for j.hk, s.hp and c.hp, usually very good damage jump ins: hk - very high priority, good damage, difficult to combo sometimes -------- due to odd timing, can't always get 3 hits (lk, mk) - much lower priority, comparable damage, much longer stun time making easier to connect with a launcher after you land (lp, mp) - are you insane? hp - good damage, good priority, good hit area, good stun time, slow as hell for a jump in attack note - if your opponent is very tall, jumping in with the hk or hp might not stun them long enough before you can launch; you must either wait before using the jump in attack, or combo into a jab onion dash before you hit the ground (fierce version does less damage and sometimes doesn't stun or knockback) conclusion - use the appropriate kick jump in, depending on the opponent Launchers: c.mp - terrible horizontal range, good vertical range, not fast, --------- only a few good uses, difficult to combo unless very close c.mk - very fast, good horizontal range, lousy vertical range, very easily comboed into, very high priority, easy to combo from crouching short (c.lk) conclusion - if you can't figure this one out, do everyone a favour and put down the controller OTG: after switch in - on a successful switch in, try to catch with c.lk, c.mk --- - c.mk by itself (by doing df.hk) does not work very well after sweep - do a jab Onion Dash (fierce version does less damage, juggles oddly, and opponent might recover too quickly) - or go straight into Vine super if close enough Starting Combos: - use c.lk for starting everything --------------- - usually follow up with c.mk into an air combo - if opponent is large or in the corner, use c.hp or s.hp, followed by a fierce Onion Dash - if too far for c.lk, use s.lp or even s.hp - if extremely close, can hp throw, which possibly leads into the semi-infinite (see section 10.2) basic air combo: - magic series: lp, lk, mp, mk --------------- - I find that the mp tends to knock my opponent too high, ruining the rest of the combo - pausing a brief moment before jumping up fixes this somewhat, but I find it easier to simply skip the mp - finishes most easily with an Onion Dash - extended magic series: lp, lk, mp, mk, lk, mk - this series has the same difficulties as above - pausing briefly at the beginning makes this much easier - a simpler version is to skip the mp, which makes the entire chain very easy with very forgiving timing - finish with an Onion Dash (opponent is too high for hp) - occasionally, you will cross up after the second mk; but do the motion for the Onion Dash anyways as if you hadn't and you'll dash the other way air combo finishers: hp - the fierce has a hit area below Amingo, but Amingo's ------------------- air combo puts the opponent at the same elevation - omit one move in the chain if you want to hit with the hp - the hp knocks the opponent down one screen away Onion Dash - hits the area right next to Amingo - knockes the opponent one and a half screens away hk - hits the area diagonally down from Amingo - difficult to connect due to lower hit area - knocks down 3/4 screen away - I have never gotten more than 2 hits on average size opponents outside of the corner hp air throw - good damage - requires practice to do consistently - very difficult on smaller opponents - potentially leads to semi-infinite (see 10.2) - resets combo counter (and likewise damage reduction) note - it is possible to link (jab Onion Dash, hp, hk) at the end of an air combo if your opponent is in the corner - must press the button very quickly immediately after the previous attack finished - there is severe damage reduction for these last few hits, so it really isn't worth it, but it looks nice conclusion - primarily, choose the finisher based on which one will connect for the most damage - if you have the luxury of choice, pick the one which knocks back down to a favourable location (ie: near your helpers if you've planted some) post air combo: if near corner - come down with a j.hk, keep pressuring -------------- no flying screen after hp/hk - cross over with an Onion Dash in the air - come down with j.hk opponent has strong anti-air - just come down blocking after a flying screen - back to square one, begin approach if air combo blocked - just come down blocking basic ground combo: - after the c.lk, either a s.hp or c.hp ------------------ - if you swept with c.hk, then follow up with jab Onion Dash (and then a Vine super if in the corner) ground combo finishers: hp Onion Dash - connects anytime during the s.hp or ---------------------- immediately after the last hit - only connects after c.hp second hit if you were very close lp Onion Dash - only use this one if you swept Onion Dash, Vine Super - only do this if your opponent is very large (ie:Juggernaut) or in the corner assist - expansion or dash assists will catch your opponent at the end of the hp snapback - great range, great speed, guaranteed hit if used in a combo; possibly the best snapback in the entire game post ground combo: if opponent knocked back - plant helpers ----------------- if standing next to - jump and block anti-air - try to cross up with j.lk, j.mk if combo blocked - press opponent's start button countering mistakes: ------------------- - if opponent in/near corner - c.lk, c.hp, hp Onion Dash, Vine Super - but not too close - replace (c.lk, c.hp) with s.hp - if very close - c.lk, c.hp, hp Onion Dash or - c.hk, Vine Super - sort of close - c.lk, c.mk, air combo - far away - s.hp, hp Onion Dash - very far - plant helpers anti-airs: s.hk - moderately good speed, fair priority --------- - no combo possibilities Onion Bounce - moderately good speed, fair priority, longer "threat" time, less damage, comparable recovery time - no combo possibilities dash and cross up with Vine super - risky, but good damage - you're a goner if it's blocked conclusion - go with an assist air-to-air: lp - this will get you killed ---------- - but you have good combo follow ups hp - good damage, decent range, but too slow to be useful - no combo follow ups hk - great priority, good range, comes out fairly quickly - only hits below you - no combo followups Onion Dash - good priority, fast, covers long distance, good recovery, difficult to punish if blocked, moderate damage - no combo follow ups conclusion - Onion Dash is your best bet, but try not to get lured into an air battle 10.2 Sample Combos ------------------ These are only sample combos (hence the name of the section) and represent what I feel are Amingo's standards. If you want more, go read one of the other faqs at . I'm not going to list every possibility since realistically you shouldn't be memorizing these things anyways. Any portions of combos given in parentheses "(xx)" mean that they can be excluded without harming the remainder of the combo. Generally, if you did not start the combo very close to your opponent or are having timing difficulties, exclude the moves in the parentheses. Further notes will be given for each combo. Note that all combos can be preceded by a jump-in attack, but the hits and damage from the jump in are not included in the statistics given. The statistics also do not account for the moves within parentheses. For the infinites, the statistics only apply for the infinite part. For the sake of readability, any air combo chains (not including specials) will be placed within square brackets: sj.[xx, xx, xx, xx, xx, xx] and infinite chains will be placed within curly brackets: inf.{xx, xx, xx} standard air combo 14 hits - 46 damage - c.lk, c.mk, sj.[lp, lk, (mp), mk, lk, mk], hp Onion Dash - this is Amingo's most basic air combo, use often - pause very briefly before jumping up - skipping the (mp) makes this one of the easiest combos in the game in terms of button presses and timing standard air combo in corner 14 hits - 52 damage - same as above, but end with lp Onion Dash, sj.hp, sj.hk - the sj.hp, sj.hk must be done very quickly - the hk will not connect on normal or small opponents - it is a negligible damage increase from the combo above (it does look more impressive though, and the screen shakes during the kick) standard ground combo 6 hits - 46 damage - c.lk, c.hp, hp Onion Dash - Amingo's most damaging ground combo - does just as much damage as his standard air combo - must start the combo very close, otherwise substitute c.hp for s.hp (though it does less damage) standard ground combo in corner ~ 33 hits ~ 74 damage - same as above, but add a Vine super at the end - this is 50% on most opponents - this is why you want to pressure your opponent into the corner sweep combos 3 hits - 28 damage - c.hk, lp Onion Dash - alternatively you can go straight into a Vine super for approximately 25 hits, 50 damage - if in corner, do an hp Onion Dash, then Vine super - or if in corner, can attempt to do infinite (shown below) grab helper combo ~ 20 hits ~ 75 damage - c.lk, s.hp, grabbed, dash, df.hk, sj.[lp,lk,(mp),mk,lk,mk], hp Onion Dash - only possible if there is a grab helper behind your opponent - the s.hp pushes them into the helper - you must connect with the launcher immediately after the grab release - the hits and damage are approximate since the grab helper resets the combo counter corner infinite 3 hits - 18 damage - c.hk, inf.{lp Onion Dash, s.lk} - must start within 1/3 screen away from the corner - the timing is very tricky - there is a moment after the Onion Dash where your opponent bounces on the ground before getting up; during that bounce, your kick will not hit; that is when you must perform the kick - the s.lk doesn't actually hit, but it allows you to cancel into the jab Onion Dash - if you connect with the s.lk, you are pushed back to far - you can use c.lk if you prefer, but I find that I usually wind up planting a helper by accident semi infinite 6 + 4 = 10 hits, 35 + 17 = 52 damage - c.lk, c.mk, inf.{sj.[lp, lk, mk, lk, mk, hp air throw], dash, df.hp} - the hits and damage are split up since the throw resets the combo counter (which means no damage reduction for the long combo) - it's only a semi infinite since you can tech hit out of the throw - the air chain may have to be modified depending on the size of your opponent since different opponents fall at different rates - the most difficult part of the combo is dashing as soon after the throw as possible and getting the punch launcher to connect - does not have to be done in corner (although it is easiest in the corner since you can omit the dash) - good for catching people off guard for at least two cycles since nobody expects Amingo to use his throws and thus miss the chance to tech hit out of it ====================================================================== ------------------ 11. Team Selection ------------------ This section is terrible incomplete. The machines I have been playing on have not had any new unlocked characters for long time. As a result, I have not had much experience playing with or against any of the later unlocked characters. note: Maniac5625 tells me it's because it's a Japanese machine that doesn't have the VM card in it. Without it, the machine doesn't gain any more experience, thus no extra characters. Amingo is a character who is best played at point using the assists from his partners. One assist should be used to extend his pressuring and offensive abilities. The other should be a strong defensive move since Amingo does not have a strong means of protecting himself. The other thing to keep in mind is how their supers will link up in a DHC. Amingo has very long animations for his multi-hitting moves, and those are ideal times for calling assists. This is the primary reason why I think Amingo is an excellent learning character for calling assists. Nearly any assist helps Amingo in some way (of course, the same could be said for any character). His long animations cover the time that it takes for the assist to come out, and by the time the assist has finished, Amingo has recovered. As always, don't forget to have your little cactus helpers hopping along the ground. They do a very good job of protecting your assists from counterattacks too. 11.1 Assist Types ----------------- This section will list some of the types of assists and how Amingo can use them. It's really kind of basic info that you should know already, but hey, a little more never hurts right? If I ever make a large update in the future, I'll expand this section first. anti-air - since Amingo has poor anti-air capabilities, one of these assist is almost a must in the team - they usually don't offer much in the way of combo followups, but that's not really their main purpose - this assist is used primarily for defense - you can simply pressure with long range fierces while calling the assist to cover any potential attacks expansion - keeps the pressure on during a blocked combo, allowing Amingo to recover and start up again - certain ones can also be used to extend a ground combo into an air combo or into another corner ground combo (can sometimes also chain into a helper, which can lead to another combo) - good for crossing up and cancelling into the Vine super - good for chipping damage which Amingo does not do well - also good for blind pressuring in conjunction with his fierces dash - mostly the same as expansion, just different timing capture - obviously used to extend combos - usually called out at the beginning of a ground combo (usually during the jump in) - the timing for these is generally quite difficult - any successful capture obviously means a free combo for Amingo - unless you practice a lot, these assists are usually not worth the effort when paired with Amingo throw - since Amingo is usually up close and personal anyways, an unblockable attack is usually a good thing, especially if it links into an air combo or Vine super projectile - makes up for Amingo's lack of long range - this is not a substitute for long range attacks; you will still lose to a good keep-away game 11.2 Some Partners ------------------ Like I said above, if I ever get around to making a major update, I'll work on this section too. For now, I'm just going to list a few partners that have worked well for me and give some very basic info with each. Rogue - throw/kiss - excellent for when Amingo is jumping around crossing up - you can hit with a df.hk into an air launcher immediately after the kiss - this throw can set up the corner infinite - When Rogue is in, she can use the Defence Up fruit from Amingo before charging in for a kiss Doom - anti-air - this assist works for everybody, and Amingo is no exception - provides an effective barrier, letting Amingo pressure almost without fear (and nice chip damage too) - Doom's Rising Flame DHC's very nicely with the Vine - Doom provides the long range game which Amingo lacks Venom - expansion - one of the best expansion assists in the game - very good for locking opponents in the corner and/or letting Amingo get close - while his Venom Fang is out, take that moment to plant a helper; you will recover in time to cover for Venom - Venom Web DHC's very nicely as well Shuma Gorath - expansion - also a good expansion assist that chips nicely - someone's got to use up all the super meter Jin - anti-air - terrific anti-air, what else need to be said? - Saotome Tornado DHC's beautifully from the Vine Captain Commando - anti-air - same as Jin; Captain Sword also DHC's nicely Tron Bonne - projectile - a cross up + assist + ground combo into Vine... - Tron's body acts like a wall, allowing you to cancel into the Vine super for easily 70% damage - she can also make very good use of that super meter Hulk - dash - I wrote a faq for him, so of course I'm going to find a way to make them work together - I actually use Hulk quite a lot as bait; he dashes in with his big green body and makes Amingo very difficult to see; I then freely jump in with j.hk into c.lk which is very hard to block since my opponent can't see me - the dash is also good for crossup games - Gamma Crush off the Vine (after a ground combo) will take out most low defence characters - Hulk needs lots of super meter to be effective, which Amingo provides Juggernaut - dash/ground - same basic idea as Hulk - practice DHC'ing into the Headcrush after the Vine ====================================================================== ------------------ 12. Revision Notes ------------------ If you're wondering why I started at ver 0.1, it's because I think a ver 1.0 signifies a complete (if shoddy) work, and that anything done after the "completion" will become ver 2, 3, and so forth. Since I will probably never "finish", I doubt I will every reach ver 1.0, but at least my work isn't shoddy right?... right? ver 0.1 - 30 June, 2001 - started the FAQ - sections 1-5 ver 0.2 - 4 July, 2001 - sections 6-7 ver 0.3 - 8 July, 2001 - sections 8 and part of 9 ver 0.4 - 11 July, 2001 - sections 10-11 ver 0.5 - 13 July, 2001 - expanded section 9, 10 and 11 - done for now ver 0.51 - 20 September, 2001 - added snapback info in section 10: combos - fixed a few typos work left to do: - Finish this FAQ... - I no longer have access to a Dreamcast (short of buying one), so short of contributions, updates are going to be few and far between stuff I need help with: - team selection and vs strategies for any characters that are the last to be unlocked - actually, I wouldn't mind comments on anything, after all, I'm only one person; the more viewpoints, the better ====================================================================== ----------- 13. Credits ----------- If you give me input, your name goes here. CJayC - without the inspiration from this man's site (www.gamefaqs.com), I never would have written this FAQ Eugene - for lending me his Dreamcast Justin - against whom I honed must of my Amingo pressuring abilities Ariel & Scott - for not thrashing me so badly that I actually had a chance to learn how to play Linus & co.- for falling victim to my Gamma Crush again and again and again... The guys from the GameFAQs message boards: Sir 0rion - for a few combos Jack of Clubs - some more extended air combo and assist stuff Maniac5625 - for telling me what was wrong with the machine at my arcade ======================================================================