Solid_Altair
Member
Do you guys think Akira is weaker, because he lacks those long and abundant strings the other characters haveª?
The Akira Thread
- Thread starter Goro Hazuki
- Start date
I don't think he's weak in general, but I definitely think there are advantages to having long strings in DOA.
Here's what I kind of think of him:
Cons:
1) Weak lows. His only notable low attack is
, that's pretty much it, compared to some other characters that have lots of low options/mixups.
2) Lack of mix up variety. He's very straight forward. His gameplan isn't really centered on confusing opponents (or rather, he plays a different type of mind game. Instead of making opponents guess high, low, or throws, against Akira it's more like should I guard, sidestep, or throw out something).
3) His crush attacks are just average at best. Many characters have far better crush attacks.
4) His speed is average. A lot of characters are faster than him overall.
5) His attacks are fairly linear. All of his circular attacks have glaring drawbacks.
Pros:
1) He does have an unique advantage. All of his main launchers launch on contact (doesn't require any stun build up or counterhit). Basically he can launch at any time and that makes him dangerous.
2) His jab is awesome. +1 on block. I think the only other character that shares this advantage is Sarah.
3) Many safe attacks. Spammin' elbows for free!
4) Great damage. You lose at least a third of your life everytime he touches you. But you really have to maximize his combo damage to get the most out of it.
5) Guard breaks with guaranteed damage. They are great practical and psychological tools.
His gameplan is offense, and his offense is basically spamming safe moves until something sticks and then hitting weak point for massive damage. The problem comes when an opponent can effectively stop your offense in some manner, such as constantly crushing your attacks, correctly guessed sidesteps, or just beating you to the punch. But in general, attempting to beat out Akira's attacks are risky, because if they miscalculated, then they could eat a lot of damage. The risk to Akira for throwing out attacks is considerably less in comparison.
He has tools to deal with just about every situation if you anticipate correctly.
Here's what I kind of think of him:
Cons:
1) Weak lows. His only notable low attack is
, that's pretty much it, compared to some other characters that have lots of low options/mixups.2) Lack of mix up variety. He's very straight forward. His gameplan isn't really centered on confusing opponents (or rather, he plays a different type of mind game. Instead of making opponents guess high, low, or throws, against Akira it's more like should I guard, sidestep, or throw out something).
3) His crush attacks are just average at best. Many characters have far better crush attacks.
4) His speed is average. A lot of characters are faster than him overall.
5) His attacks are fairly linear. All of his circular attacks have glaring drawbacks.
Pros:
1) He does have an unique advantage. All of his main launchers launch on contact (doesn't require any stun build up or counterhit). Basically he can launch at any time and that makes him dangerous.
2) His jab is awesome. +1 on block. I think the only other character that shares this advantage is Sarah.
3) Many safe attacks. Spammin' elbows for free!
4) Great damage. You lose at least a third of your life everytime he touches you. But you really have to maximize his combo damage to get the most out of it.
5) Guard breaks with guaranteed damage. They are great practical and psychological tools.
His gameplan is offense, and his offense is basically spamming safe moves until something sticks and then hitting weak point for massive damage. The problem comes when an opponent can effectively stop your offense in some manner, such as constantly crushing your attacks, correctly guessed sidesteps, or just beating you to the punch. But in general, attempting to beat out Akira's attacks are risky, because if they miscalculated, then they could eat a lot of damage. The risk to Akira for throwing out attacks is considerably less in comparison.
He has tools to deal with just about every situation if you anticipate correctly.
Goro Hazuki
Active Member
Cons:
1) Weak lows. His only notable low attack is
2) Lack of mix up variety. He's very straight forward. His gameplan isn't really centered on confusing opponents (or rather, he plays a different type of mind game. Instead of making opponents guess high, low, or throws, against Akira it's more like should I guard, sidestep, or throw out something).
3) His crush attacks are just average at best. Many characters have far better crush attacks.
4) His speed is average. A lot of characters are faster than him overall.
5) His attacks are fairly linear. All of his circular attacks have glaring drawbacks.
Nice post Extra, and a lot of good points. I understand what you're going for, but I feel cons 1, 2, and 3 are not really in his cons.
1) His lows are not necessarily sweeps but he has some good tracking ones. Also, you'd be surprised how good of a reach
has. His after connects to a guaranteed throw as well...etc2) This is where I think we really differ on opinions. I think his mixups are great, but that's a very long topic to go over. But just, for example, think about how many different launchers he has (high punch, mid punch, high kick, mid kick..), also include the throws into the mix, I think his mixups are as creative as one's imagination..
3) Crushes are good from what I gather. I haven't gotten as deep with other characters, but I feel some do have better crushes, but not a lot. I'll get back to you with my opinion on that one! lol...
I 100% agree with you about 4 & 5. I guess I'm just protective about Akira criticism, but I try to be realistic too...lol.
Solid_Altair
Member
Thanks, both of you. A very thorough explanation.
What do you guys mean by crushing? Guard Breaks?
What do you guys mean by crushing? Guard Breaks?
Goro: Yea, I totally understand, I was just trying to think of how Akira compares with other fighters.
I guess I feel that his lack of lows is one of the issues that detracts from his mix ups. He doesn't have any quick lows that could suddenly pop up in a string, nor does he have any other lows (outside of ) that could force the opponent into a guessing game. The lack of long strings also does detract somewhat from his mixups. But I would have to acknowledge that his mixup game is rather unconventional with all the safe moves and the guard breaks.
As for crushes...some of the characters can crush mids at certain distances, which is just bizarre. Off of the top of my head, I think Lisa, Brad Wong, Hayabusa can do this. All three of those characters have very good crush attacks, and I seem to recall some others like Hayate does as well. I just don't feel Akira is as evasive as some of the cast.
Solid_Altair: A crushing attack is an attack that can evade another attack at the same time, for example usually a jumping kick can evade a low attack at the same time, while a ducking attack can evade a high attack.
Guard break is a move can also break an opponent's guard. Akira's Guard break attacks are rather unique in the sense that they lead to guaranteed damage afterwards (ONLY if the opponent is guarding), while most characters' guard break attacks do not.
Edit: Must be tired, forgot people can counterhold out of his crush attacks
I guess I feel that his lack of lows is one of the issues that detracts from his mix ups. He doesn't have any quick lows that could suddenly pop up in a string, nor does he have any other lows (outside of
) that could force the opponent into a guessing game. The lack of long strings also does detract somewhat from his mixups. But I would have to acknowledge that his mixup game is rather unconventional with all the safe moves and the guard breaks.As for crushes...some of the characters can crush mids at certain distances, which is just bizarre. Off of the top of my head, I think Lisa, Brad Wong, Hayabusa can do this. All three of those characters have very good crush attacks, and I seem to recall some others like Hayate does as well. I just don't feel Akira is as evasive as some of the cast.
Solid_Altair: A crushing attack is an attack that can evade another attack at the same time, for example usually a jumping kick can evade a low attack at the same time, while a ducking attack can evade a high attack.
Guard break is a move can also break an opponent's guard. Akira's Guard break attacks are rather unique in the sense that they lead to guaranteed damage afterwards (ONLY if the opponent is guarding), while most characters' guard break attacks do not.
Edit: Must be tired, forgot people can counterhold out of his crush attacks
Crush attacks means an attack that can evade another attack at the same time. A jump kick for example, might jump over a low attack at the same time, while a ducking attack could potentially avoid highs simultaneously.
Because Akira's jab gives +1 frame advantage even if blocked, you have little worries of the opponent beating out your follow up attack, particularly if it's another jab, therefore it keeps you on the offense.
I haven't had a chance to practice this much yet, but my theory is that his best offense is to jab and utilize his and cancels a LOT. After seeing a , the natural inclination for people is to block, and you want people to keep blocking long enough with jabs and cancels for you to utilize slower moves, such as chains and other slower but safe moves (such as ). Those moves also lead to stance transitions, which could further keep the opponent in blocking state while you continue the offense.
Because Akira's jab gives +1 frame advantage even if blocked, you have little worries of the opponent beating out your follow up attack, particularly if it's another jab, therefore it keeps you on the offense.
I haven't had a chance to practice this much yet, but my theory is that his best offense is to jab and utilize his
and cancels a LOT. After seeing a , the natural inclination for people is to block, and you want people to keep blocking long enough with jabs and cancels for you to utilize slower moves, such as chains and other slower but safe moves (such as ). Those moves also lead to stance transitions, which could further keep the opponent in blocking state while you continue the offense.
dosito
New Member
Thanks for the speedy response! That makes a lot of sense now. I have been using crushes without even knowing what they are lol
I have become accustomed to using his jf knee. But there is just o much more to explore upon and integrate into his fighting style.
Playing ranked I happened to also notice that people tend to spam mid p holds. Kind of annoying just relying on his highs and lows. Come to think about it that was the main reason I became accustomed to the jf knee lol
I have become accustomed to using his jf knee. But there is just o much more to explore upon and integrate into his fighting style.
Playing ranked I happened to also notice that people tend to spam mid p holds. Kind of annoying just relying on his highs and lows. Come to think about it that was the main reason I became accustomed to the jf knee lol
Dat Nyucah
New Member
Coming from a VF background... I think forcing your opp. to block is of utmost importance. making them block creates opportunities to gain free damage via throws and MAINLY guard breaks.
The throws I'd most often use are... 64_46 P+G, or 14 P+G to Stance, P follow up (for stun game)
Also, his Guard Breaks are gdlk. GBoD (Guard Break of Doom, 236 P+K...) is awesome because its a free and easy 80 pts of dmg (I don't like to, but you can spin the stick and input the buttons correctly to get it to work... it's brain-dead in DoA compared to VF, lol.) The downside of GBoD is the poor oki after. Because of that downside, his 6 P+K gb is sometimes the better choice. It may lead to less damage, but with the proper follow-up you can force tech and mix-up to lead to bigger total dmg.
E.G.: Against middle weights:, , (KNEE!), .
Against light weights:, , very small dash or delay (KNEE!), .
It's a BS 50 dmg combo, but it force techs. And not that BS force tech shit where it only works if they don't roll, the combo WON'T allow you to tech roll, lol. Also, as they rise you are at +14... so you can dash in to rinse and repeat if you smell a guard, go for sit-down stun a la 214P (or anything else safe that may stun or hurt on NH/CH: 3 P+K, SPoD? ), or throw if you fear counter.
BTW: This just happens to be how I like to play, running the force tech game because it allows me to keep the momentum to do nonsense, lol. And what I've noticed is, most of Akira's Force Tech combos end with hitting very low to the ground. so if you can concoct more combos that force tech w/o KNEE!... please share in the combo section. I need more of the sex that is force tech, lol. I have more combos from other starters that are consistent, but they ALL use KNEE! (except 1 on light weights and it's not very consistent... timing issues lol), and I know some ppl are not comfy with that fact. And honestly I don't blame you, the input is stupid, lol.
The throws I'd most often use are... 64_46 P+G, or 14 P+G to Stance, P follow up (for stun game)
Also, his Guard Breaks are gdlk. GBoD (Guard Break of Doom, 236 P+K...) is awesome because its a free and easy 80 pts of dmg (I don't like to, but you can spin the stick and input the buttons correctly to get it to work... it's brain-dead in DoA compared to VF, lol.) The downside of GBoD is the poor oki after. Because of that downside, his 6 P+K gb is sometimes the better choice. It may lead to less damage, but with the proper follow-up you can force tech and mix-up to lead to bigger total dmg.
E.G.: Against middle weights:
, , (KNEE!), .Against light weights:
, , very small dash or delay (KNEE!), .It's a BS 50 dmg combo, but it force techs. And not that BS force tech shit where it only works if they don't roll, the combo WON'T allow you to tech roll, lol. Also, as they rise you are at +14... so you can dash in to rinse and repeat if you smell a guard, go for sit-down stun a la 214P (or anything else safe that may stun or hurt on NH/CH: 3 P+K, SPoD? ), or throw if you fear counter.
BTW: This just happens to be how I like to play, running the force tech game because it allows me to keep the momentum to do nonsense, lol. And what I've noticed is, most of Akira's Force Tech combos end with
hitting very low to the ground. so if you can concoct more combos that force tech w/o KNEE!... please share in the combo section. I need more of the sex that is force tech, lol. I have more combos from other starters that are consistent, but they ALL use KNEE! (except 1 on light weights and it's not very consistent... timing issues lol), and I know some ppl are not comfy with that fact. And honestly I don't blame you, the input is stupid, lol.
Dat Nyucah
New Member
I believe Akira's biggest (and maybe only true) downfall is sometimes his inability to close the gap. He has no long range/ lunging attacks that help him get in besides ... and that shit is high, smh. DE and SDE suck sometimes because his vulnerable hitbox is very exposed, its easy to stuff the 2 moves.
At long range, you have no choice but to pray ppl run into random moves with good hit boxes like,, , , and to get the momentum going. Other long range whiff punish moves are good dmg but keep you in the same boat you're in; knocking the opp down but too far away to start your shit. If I'm wrong... please tell me how I can rectify my own weakness.
... and that shit is high, smh. DE and SDE suck sometimes because his vulnerable hitbox is very exposed, its easy to stuff the 2 moves.At long range, you have no choice but to pray ppl run into random moves with good hit boxes like,
, , , and to get the momentum going. Other long range whiff punish moves are good dmg but keep you in the same boat you're in; knocking the opp down but too far away to start your shit. If I'm wrong... please tell me how I can rectify my own weakness.
I personally find that the best way to close the gap is to charge the opponent and then side step into . People tend to get greedy and attempt their own whiff punisher against you before you can "get yours to land." 95% of the time, the person will tech roll out of that hit, allowing you to continue the pressure. Side steping will get you into your wheel house range.
. People tend to get greedy and attempt their own whiff punisher against you before you can "get yours to land." 95% of the time, the person will tech roll out of that hit, allowing you to continue the pressure. Side steping will get you into your wheel house range.Are you serious? This whole time i'm trying to do the proper inputs and all I have to do is wax off and hit the p/k buttons? I feel like I just found out Santa wasn't real again.
Dat Nyucah
New Member
I personally find that the best way to close the gap is to charge the opponent and then side step into
I'll have to try that my good sir, it worked on me when you did it, lol... but btw, ggs the other day.
On this topic... you only have to time the second P+K. Otherwise, churn butter, and hit
, , . Spin in the same direction as your first .
HiguraShiki
Active Member
Believe it or not, it's true. You can just do three 360 motions and manage to do his guard break combo grab. The trick to doing the actual inputs though is that you have to do them all ahead of time in one consecutive motion.I personally find that the best way to close the gap is to charge the opponent and then side step into
Are you serious? This whole time i'm trying to do the proper inputs and all I have to do is wax off and hit the p/k buttons? I feel like I just found out Santa wasn't real again.
Honestly though, I find Akira's just frame knee much easier to perform than his guard break combo grab.
Fred Campbell
Member
you guys do realize that team ninja is sitting in their offices right now with their feet on the desk throwing popcorn in their mouths and laughing because they know that at this very moment in time , over 1,000,000 DOA players are spending long hours pressing the same 2 buttons on their controller over and over and over. I think they did it because this way they can wait 6 more years to have to make DOA6 . . . . We all know I am right.
HiguraShiki
Active Member
Uhh, this is relevant to the topic....how?you guys do realize that team ninja is sitting in their offices right now with their feet on the desk throwing popcorn in their mouths and laughing because they know that at this very moment in time , over 1,000,000 DOA players are spending long hours pressing the same 2 buttons on their controller over and over and over. I think they did it because this way they can wait 6 more years to have to make DOA6 . . . . We all know I am right.
Fred Campbell
Member
JF Knee . .
HiguraShiki
Active Member
JF knee is easy as hell to do in DOA5.
If you want, I can give you a pretty easy trick. It probably hasn't been posted yet actually.
Chaos
Well-Known Member
please do that because Im having a bit of trouble pulling it off but sometimes I can execute it easily.
HiguraShiki
Active Member
I'm gonna copy it from my post in DOAWorld. Just remember, you are supposed to lightly press H, so this method usually works.
Place your thumb (right hand) on K
Place your thumb (left hand) on the top left edge of H.
At the same time, slide the thumb (Left hand) in an upward motion while also sliding your other thumb (right hand) in a downward motion.
If done correctly, the knee should come out.
I find using both thumbs easier than other ways because it is much more comfortable for me. I don't have to change the positions of my other fingers, simply just move my hand over.
Goro Hazuki
Active Member
Hello everyone. Sorry for the lack of activity from my end as of late. I have been away from the game (life gets in the way sometimes). I plan on updating more often now and I hope to continue contributing.
After a long hiatus, I decided to go to SVB 2012 yesterday. While my Akira was still good, and got me all the way through for the most part, when I was going for top three, the nerves got the best of me. So it gave me a thought to share with you guys.
I never mess up a jf knee (very rare), and my DLC and SPoD almost always connect in my sleep. But at that level, I ended up messing up the links and I couldn't DLC or SPoD for the life of me. Jf knees were coming out alright, but the other two weren't basically. I switched to Tina for the last match and eventually made it through to the finals.
So what's your point goro? (you might be asking).
My point is: get out of training mode after you get the basics. I don't have access to a lot of offline matches here in the UK (and Online is terrible), so I only have training mode, AI, and the occasional offline matches. Try to go to as many local events (even small ones). And even if you think you won't do so well; anything can be a learning experience.
I switched to Tina because of her simple execution, as I realised my nerves and frustration were getting the best of me.
Anyways, just thought I'd share my 2 cents, and it is a nice feeling when people tell you that you have a strong Akira or you're the most decent Akira they've seen!
So let us get our character represented out there and maybe we can meet at a bigger event someday in the future
After a long hiatus, I decided to go to SVB 2012 yesterday. While my Akira was still good, and got me all the way through for the most part, when I was going for top three, the nerves got the best of me. So it gave me a thought to share with you guys.
I never mess up a jf knee (very rare), and my DLC and SPoD almost always connect in my sleep. But at that level, I ended up messing up the links and I couldn't DLC or SPoD for the life of me. Jf knees were coming out alright, but the other two weren't basically. I switched to Tina for the last match and eventually made it through to the finals.
So what's your point goro? (you might be asking).
My point is: get out of training mode after you get the basics. I don't have access to a lot of offline matches here in the UK (and Online is terrible), so I only have training mode, AI, and the occasional offline matches. Try to go to as many local events (even small ones). And even if you think you won't do so well; anything can be a learning experience.
I switched to Tina because of her simple execution, as I realised my nerves and frustration were getting the best of me.
Anyways, just thought I'd share my 2 cents, and it is a nice feeling when people tell you that you have a strong Akira or you're the most decent Akira they've seen!
So let us get our character represented out there and maybe we can meet at a bigger event someday in the future