The Street Fighter Alpha 2 M.Bison FAQ v.1.0.0 (Feb. 24, 1999) (This FAQ is copyright protected. Publication without author's permission is not allowed.) M.Bison, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and its characters are registered trademarks of Capcom of Japan. _____________________ ____ M. BISON ____ ____^^^^^^^^____ -Table of Contents I. Abbreviations II. Normals & Throws III. Specials IV. Super Combos & Custom Combos V. Patented Bison Strategies VI. Versus Characters VII. Misc. Bison Information VIII. SFA3 Bison Info IX. Misc. Street Fighter Information X. Personal Information This FAQ automatically assumes you are familiar with the gameplay dynamics of Street Fighter Alpha 2. If your not, go read an SFA2 FAQ. I. Abbreviations ----Buttons---- Jab= LP Strong= MP Fierce= HP Short= LK Forward= MK Roundhouse= HK ----Joystick Directions---- B= Away from opponent D= Duck (down on the joystick) F= Towards your opponent U= Jump (up on the joystick) BD= Away and ducking ----Other terminology---- Charge= (hold joystick) in `X' direction for 2 seconds *= Stars indicate the effectiveness of the attack or strategy. (*= Use rarely; **= Descent Attack; ***= Excellent Weapon) II. Normals & Throws **LP: Used rarely. Only in close standing or ducking situations. Tricky to use, 50% of out prioritizing in most situations. ***MP: Best standing or ducking normal punch. Fast and good reach. Out prioritizes many attacks. *HP: Only use when opponent is recovering from missed attack and you don't have a super combo or special charged. Too slow, leaves Bison to vulnerable and its hitting time is too short. Unreliable as an anti-jump-in attack. **LK: Excellent Jump-in! Out prioritizes often, quick recovery time. Excellent crouching attack to badger opponents. Okay standing attack. ***MK: Excellent air stuffer. Kills a lot of your opponent's mid-air attacks. Good jump-in attack. Excellent jump up in the air and land with an MK attack. Excellent in ending a crouching LK combo string. Excellent walk up to opponent and hit standing MK attack. Good anti jump-in counter attack when you opponent lands a small distance away from you. **HK: Excellent anti jump-in counter attack; you must be wary of the kicks angle and speed, timing and position are essential to this move. Jump-in HK is okay, but its to slow and your opponent may recover by the time you land; can't follow up with another attack after the jump-in HK. Ducking HK produces a slide sweep. Excellent attack if you use it correctly. Ducking HK, to slow, leaves Bison very vulnerable if blocked. Good as a long distance attack, just watch out for fireballs or rushing type attacks which will stuff the HK slide. **Throws: Bison has a regular ground and air throw, both are done by with the MP or HP buttons. I do not advise using the air throw because your likely to get stuffed by an attack. This is only a viable tactic if you know your opponent frequently air blocks. III. Specials ***Psycho Shot: Charge B or DB, then F plus any punch button. Punch determines speed of Psycho Shot (LP= Slow, MP= Medium, HP= Fast.) Excellent pressure tactic, creates block damage. Slow recovery time, do not use from close ranges. Vary speeds, but usually stick to LP speed. Charge your next attack during Bison's frozen animation (after he throws a Psycho Shot.) Excellent and safe anti-air. *Scissor Kick: Charge B or DB, then F plus any kick button. Kick determines speed and distance of the Scissor Kick (LK= Short and Fast, MK= Medium and medium, HK=Long and Slow.) The Scissor Kick is a terrible attack. Rarely use it. Slow recovery time on all three speeds. Use HK Scissor Kick only (a) when the opponent is in recovery animation after a missed attack and your close (b) at the very beginning of a match (rarely works) (c) counter attack a rushing attack (50% of working). ***Head Stomp: Charge D or DB, then Up plus any kick button. Always use LK when your close to your opponent and when your far. Excellent pressure tactic, creates block damage. Pretty safe move unless you become predictable and they anti-air counter attack or just jump away. NEVER use on Evil Ryu, use rarely on Chun Li. You can follow up with a Demon Dive afterwards. **Demon Dive: Charge D or DB, then Up plus any punch button and any punch button (or after a Head Stomp.) Punch determines trajectory of Bison's flight (LP= Low Flight, MP= Medium Flight, HP= High Flight.) Excellent when you fly past your opponent and dive at the last minute. HK Demon Dive is good when you opponent is near and you want to escape. Don't become predictable. Don't always use the Demon Dive after a Head Stomp. Occasionally use the Demon Dive by itself, but if they block, you'll land close and be open for counter attacks. *Teleport: Teleport towards your opponent F, D, DF + Three Punches (long) or 3 Kicks (short). Teleport away from opponent B, D, DB + 3 Punches (long) or 3 Kicks (short). Little experience using Bison's teleport. But if you teleport near your opponent, they'll usualy counter attack you. Bad recovery time. Possibly good when escaping corners, make sure all the punch or kick buttons function on the machine. IV. Super Combos & Custom Combos *Super Psycho Crusher: Charge B, F, B, F plus any punch button. Terrible super combo. Uncomboable. Very low priority, gets stuffed by almost everything. Terrible counter attack move, you will usually only get one hit. The Psycho Crusher will hit and then cause your opponent to fly away, no juggling for extra hits. Great at creating block damage, pretty good recoverability, but on occasion you may get counter attacked. Use only as a desperation move, as the move is pretty quick, but your opponent will usually block in time though. Scary attack though. ***Kneepress Nightmare: Charge B, F, B, F plus any kick button. Level 1: 3 hits; Level 2: 4 hits; Level 3: 5 hits. Great super combo, uncomboable though. Initial frames are invincible. Only usable as an anti-air or a counter attack. Usually just use level 1, unless your really close to an enemy who has missed an attack and is in a recovery animation. Great anti-air but you will never get all the hits. Good at creating block damage. Scary attack. *Bison Custom Combo: 2 Punch + 1 Kick or 2 Kick + 1 Punch. Due to the fact that Bison's ducking HK is a slide with a long recovery time and that he's slow and his specials require charging, Bison stinks at custom combos. Only good one I can think of is ducking MK, into standing HP's, as many HP's as you can fit into the combo. Anyone have any good custom combos for Bison? V. Patented Bison Strategies ---Offensive Maneuvers--- *Blink Scissor Kick or Kneepress Nightmare: Immediately after the round starts, pull off a HK Scissor Kick or Kneepress Nightmare. Any overly aggressive players or thoughtless amateurs will get hit by the attack. Good players will not fall for it. Good at aggressive Akumas. Strong risk, if they block, you usually will get counter attacked. ***Throw'em Afterwards: If they block your Kneepress Nightmare, you'll have a good chance at throwing them once you recover from the KN. **Sweep: Your opponent begins to retreat, or stand his ground and your 4 to 5 character spaces away, do a HK slide. Good chances of tripping them. If they block in time they won't be able to retaliate because you'll have enough time to block and you'll fall out of their sweeping range. Never sweep at close ranges, unless they come at you. **Crouching/Standing MP: Stuffs a lot of moves at semi-close range. ***Walk up MK: Opponent is standing his ground or retreating, walk up and do a standing MK. If he blocks, he can't retaliate, if he doesn't, that's good. MK has great range. ***Psycho Shots, Head Stomps and Demon Dives: From a far distance throw LP Psycho Shots. While Bison is in his frozen animation after throwing the PS, charge another PS or a Head Stomp. Mix it up. Throw 3 PS's in a row, then do a Head Stomp. Do not become predictable. Occasionally do a Demon Dive, especially if they start to come charging at you. Do a Demon Dive late in its descent, good at tricking people; easy to anti-air though. ***LK Jump-In Agonizer: Jump-in LK, crouch LK x 2, crouch MK... repeat x2 or x3. ***Head Stomp Demon Dive Aggravate: LK Head Stomp, Demon Dive, Jump Up, land an MK on top of the opponents head, Jump Away (retreat), HK Slide, Jump Away (retreat). ***Sweep 2: Long distance HK sweep. Charge down as they get up, Head Stomp, Demon Dive, Jump Up, land a MK on top of the opponents head, Jump Away (retreat). *****The Supreme LK Jump-In Head Stomper X Maneuver... Jump-in LK, crouch LK x 2, crouch MK, LK Head Stomp, Demon Dive, Jump Up, land a MK on top of the opponents head, Jump Away (retreat), HK Slide, Jump Away (retreat), charge back, HP Psycho Shot then use the OPsycho Shot ManeuverO (see below). ***Psycho Shot Maneuver... LP Psycho Shot x1 or x2, LP Head Stomp, Demon Dive, Jump Up, land a MK on top of the opponents head, Jump Away (retreat), HK slide, Jump Away (retreat). ---Defensive Maneuvers--- **Demon Dive Escape: Your opponent is closing in on you, and you need some breathing room, HP Demon Dive, but don't Dive, you'll safely land on the opposite side of the screen. The Demon Dive is somewhat unpredictable, so be careful, try to tame this crazy move. **Recovery Throw: Your opponent tried a jump-in combo, you blocked it all. If he or she is close, must be close, throw them. Also good when your opponent blocks your Kneepress Nightmare, you got a good chance of throwing them. ***Anti-Air Counter Attacks: Standing HK. Level 1 Kneepress Nightmare. If your at a distance, do a LP Psycho Shot. HK Head Stomp. ***Alpha Counter: Works 99% of the time. ***Air Attack Stuffer: You and your opponent are both in the air, stuff their attack with an air MK (doesn't work often with Chun Li, Rolento, high arcing Hurricane Kicks, sometimes not Gen or Guy either). Tricky but usually good. VI. Versus Characters Adon: Be extra careful with your Psycho Shots, Adon can punish you easily. Mostly Head Stomp. HK Scissor Kick right after Adon lands from a long distance Jaguar Tooth or Jaguar Kick. Adon is tricky. Trick him with Demon Dives, but be careful. Akuma: You might be able to Blink Scissor Kick/Kneepress any aggressive Akuma players. Head Stomp those that air fireball to much, mini risk of flying past Akuma though. Beware Demon Diving in a corner, Akuma may counter attack with a Messatsu Shouryu. Akuma is fireballer, so be careful with your long range sweeps. Psycho Shot any jump-in Hurricane Kick. Birdie: Don't get predictable with the Head Stomp or Demon Dive, Birdie has a good anti-air counter attack against these. Just don't stay to close to him, cause he'll grab you. Predictable Psycho Shots might get you killed by Birdie's Super Combo grab. Chun Li: Your dead. Chun Li kills most everything that Bison throws at her. Chun Li can easily evade your Head Stomp and then punish you for it. Mind games will only work on Chun Li. Predictability will kill you quickly. Dan: Just don't do anything incredibly stupid against him. Dan's Hurricane kick will kill Bison's Scissor Kick all the time. Dan can anti-air Bison, but he has a hard time at it, except when he dragon punches. Dhalsim: Yoga Draft kills predictable Demon Dives. Long limbs kill long distance HK sweeps. Don't throw Psycho Shots from near distances, Dhalsim will jump-in with a long limbed kick. Evil Ryu: Evil Ryu has patented Anti-Head Stomp Technology (tm). DO NOT Head stomp Evil Ryu, Bison will always miss and get punished. Play very carefully. Evil Ryu scrambles Bison's Head Stomp targeting system!? Believe on this. Gen: Just play smart and do let him take advantage of Bison's weaknesses. Guy: Throw a Psycho Shot from across the screen and Guy can get you. Don't be predictable with your Psycho Shots, use them sparingly and at opportune times. He's also a toughie for Bison. Ken: Psycho Shot any jump-in Hurricane Kicks. A missed Shouryu Reppa is easily punishable; use a well timed Kneepress Nightmare. Sometimes its dangerous to try and throw Ken after you've blocked an attempted combo. You'll try to throw him, but Ken is fast, and he'll continue the combo. Rolento: Play carefully, Rolento can usually out jump Bison. Predictable PS's will get you killed. I believe Bison's HK Scissor Kick can stuff a lot of Rolento's jump in, be careful. Rose: Bison Killer. Don't be to predictable with Psycho Shots because she'll deflect them or absorb them. Play carefully, Rose is a tough character for Bison. Her anti-air super combo can easily grab Bison. Ryu: Psycho Shot any jump-in Hurricane kicks. Play carefully, predictability will kill you. Head Stomp, Psycho Shot, cause him to create a mistake. HK Slide may get you killed by a fireball or super fireball. Sagat: When Sagat gets predictable with his fireballs, Head Stomp him. Be careful though, Sagat recovers quickly, and he might Tiger Uppercut you if you try a Demon Dive, or he might throw a fireball (or Super Fireball) that will hit you as you recover from the Head Stomp. Sakura: Just play carefully, because you could still lose. Sodom: Don't stay close because he'll grab you. Sodom is a decent fighter against Bison. Who ever is smarter will win this fight. Zangief: Zangief can put you into a Spinning Pile Driver (or Final Atomic Buster) even while your hitting him with crouching LKs. VII. Misc. Bison Information Taunt: Bison taunts his opponent by standing up straight, crossing his arms and saying ONuiri WaO, which means lukewarm in Japanese, which means that Bison is telling his opponent that he's slow. Win Pose #1: Bison looks at his fallen opponent and laughs or says ONuiri Wa.O Win Pose #2: Bison materializes floating in the air and laughs ONuiri Wa.O Win Pose #3: Bison looks at you and tears off a button from his collar. He might grunt something. Character Color, while at the character select screen. Red Bison: Press any punch button. Blue Bison: Press any two punch buttons. Black Bison: Press any kick button. Dark Green Bison: Press any two kick buttons. Bison background story: Bison searches the world for the best fighters. Bison's A2 Mid Boss: Charlie. Charlie wants to arrest Bison for drug and arms dealing. Bison's A2 Final Boss: Ryu. Bison's A2 Ending: Bison tries to convert Ryu to use psycho power. Will he be successful? VIII. SFA3 Bison Haven't played much SFA3 Bison, mainly because he stinks in this game. A3 was strongly designed for aggressive characters and Bison is not an aggressive character. Changes from A2 to A3. 1. Jump-in MK is a straight kick in A2, in A3 ii is a bent knee kick. Diminishes its ranges and usefulness. 2. Standing MP got new animation, slightly longer range than A2, but slightly longer delay. 3. Z-Ism Bison has new animation for the Demon Dive, same as his animation from SF2. 4. More exaggerated differences in length and speed of scissor kick attack. 5. Z-Ism Bison has no Psycho Shot, instead he has a Psycho Crusher. Psycho Shot is better then Psycho Crusher. 6. Z-Ism Bison no longer can teleport. Z-Ism Bison stinks. A-Ism Bison is weaker then A2 Bison. Haven't been able to use V-Ism Bison a lot. Basically, A3 Bison stinks. If I ever get SFA3 for home play, I'll try to build a good A3 Bison FAQ. Untill then, just don't choose him. Choose V-Ism Ken (forget about V-Ism Ryu or Akuma, Ken is the man!) IX. Misc. Street Fighter Information Usenet: alt.games.sf2 Good place for SF info, although sometimes a lot of irrelevant and thoughtless posts get posted. Flame wars sometimes bury down the group. Websites: GPOW Gouki's Page of Whatever has a lot of information on SF. Although it has a lot of graphics and complicated HTML. Must have newest browser for this. Don't have the url for the site, go to a search engine and search GPOW. X. Personal Information My name is Luis Ramirez. I frequently play A2 in the UC Berkeley arcades (OThe UndergroundO). I'm usually the only Bison player there. I love human challangers! I thoroughly appreciate anyone offering new strategies or ideas in using Bison. Or just to talk about Bison and SF in general. Questions, comments or complaints. Send'em to ramberk@uclink4.berkeley.edu Any new things I find out will get updated into a new FAQ. This is my first FAQ and its concluded! Enjoy using Bison! He's boring in that he can't combo at all, but he's good at strategy gameplay. In reality Bison is weak character in A2. Probably middle tier, or below, but if you play really well, work really hard, Bison will reward you. SFA2 Bison FAQ, c Luis Ramirez 19