------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Guilty Gear X2: Johnny Guide/FAQ By Grolin © 2003 Grolin (crimsondisaster@yahoo.com) __________ The Guilty Gear series and all characters in it are the property of Arc Systems. __________ This guide is intended to provide information for GGXX players to learn a bit about Johnny. I'm not going to claim that I'm the greatest Johnny player in the world. But I know a little, so I'm sharing it. Don't even think about taking this guide and claiming it as your own. There are serious legal consequences, and to be honest I don't want to put up with it. You are free to download this onto your computer, if so anything that goes wrong isn't my responsibility. If you want to use something from this Guide, ask permission. My email address: crimsondisaster@yahoo.com __________ This Guide should only be found at the following sites: GameFAQs.com __________ 12/29/03 - changed Combo section to Combo Concept section - adjusted Combo Concepts section accordingly - added Gatling Chart to CC section - added Counter Hit to CC section - minor revisions all around to make it easier to read (I hope) Version 1.1 - Changed a few words? - Removed s(standing) notation; using 5 instead of s. - Cleaned up the basic Bacchus Sigh setup list. - A few new combos. Version 1.0 First version... ---------- Table of Contents: 1) Notation 2) Intro to Johnny 3) Normals 4) Specials and Overdrives 5) Combo Concepts -Gatling Chart -No Tension -Tension -Counter Hit 6) Strategies -General -Character Specific 7) Closing & Thanks ---------- 1) Notation P- Punch K- Kick S- Slash H- Hard Slash D- Dust []- Hold button in between brackets. j.- Jumping dj.- Double Jumping hj.- High Jump ad.- Air Dashing iad.- Instant Air Dashing JC- Jump Cancel HJC- High Jump Cancel RC- Roman Cancel FRC- False/Force Roman Cancel FD- Faultless Defense (#)- Move connects for # hits before next action. For a Capcom game, I'd use standard Street Fighter notation(ie QCF, DP, etc.). But the GG series is pretty complicated sometimes, and that notation just doesn't make much sense sometimes. So I'm going to use the keypad notation for this. Basically, look at your keyboard's number pad, and think of everything as if you're facing right. 789 456 123 Simple. That much should be easy to figure out. Now, the button layout. 5 buttons, it's kinda weird at first, but you'll get used to it. KSH P-D I'm going to assume you know the basic commands like Burst, FD, RC, etc. If not, read the manual, it's there for a reason. ---------- 2) Intro to Johnny Johnny remains much the same as he was in GGX. Most of the changes to Johnny's game are due to system changes more than anything changing with Johnny. He can still perform a limited version of his infamous Mist Trap, but due to the game system it now relies on very specific setups, which will be explained later. Pros: -Damage- Simply put, he does a lot of it. -Reach- Johnny has pretty good reach, not quite Axl or Faust, but it's pretty decent. -Priority- Johnny has some good pokes, made better by... -Safe pokes- Johnny can cancel a lot of lag on his pokes with his Glitter is Gold and Mist Cancel. -Corner "trap"- Johnny is deadly in the corner. More on that later. -Anti-air- Almost everybody has a good 6P for AA. Johnny's just happens to be arguably the best normal AA in the game, or "tied" with Sol's 5K. Cons: -Slow walking speed- Johnny's walking speed isn't the greatest, and he can't run like everybody else. Instead he dashes in the Capcom style (fixed distance dashing), which can be good or bad, but it's mostly bad for a beginning Johnny player. -Predictable- Johnny can mix it up, but overall he's pretty straightforward. His mixups are effective, but limited. Also, though it's not really a pro or con, Johnny's combos can be a little more technical than, say, Chipp's. You're going to need some dexterity and practice to pull off Johnny's best combos, but don't worry, it's not too bad. More on combos later. ----------- 3) Normals Punches: -5P- Little slap looking thing... similar animation to his Glitter is Gold, but without the coin. Not terribly essential. -2P- Crouching punch, useful to extend certain combos, but not something to use too often. -jP- a downwards hilt strike. Decent if you're getting blocked to build up their Guard Meter, otherwise this is pretty much a combo filler. -6P- This is your standard anti-air. Crazy upper body invincibility. It will clash or beat out nearly anything coming at you from above, goes through fireballs like Ky's Stun Edge, beats out mid level pokes. JC-able, leads to some pretty decent damage. __________ Kicks: -5K- a 6 frame startup kick. Pretty fast. Decent combo starter. Priority isn't too bad, still don't poke with it too much. Bufferable, nothing worthwhile to combo off it, though. Also JC-able, but by the time you jump they probably teched. Best used as a combo starter for a Gatling chain, or to interrupt stuff. -2K- a low kick. Prorates, so damage is bad off this. Still useful as it hits low, plus you can combo to sweep and get a free coin or Bacchus Sigh. -jK- a downwards kick. Generic combo starter, can be used to jump-in also. JC-able, but you have better options off a connected jK. Can crossup, don't count on it doing much for you, though. -6K- Johnny dashes up and kicks upwards. Launches. Has decent priority when Johnny actually kicks; rather, it has a little upper body invincibility during the dash portion. Leaves Johnny with +3 frame advantage when blocked, it's a big part of his pressure game. FRCable, right before he the kick. __________ Slashes: -5S(c)- a hilt strike. Bufferable, JC-able. Combo filler, but I think it also leaves Johnny at a small frame advantage. -5S(f)- a standing slash. Goes over most crouchers at its tip, but in general, this is a quick, safe poke. Bufferable. Johnny's longest reaching quick poke. VERY useful. -2S- a low hilt strike. Doesn't hit low. Chains. Bufferable, Mist Cancel this for pressure. -jS- a horizontal slash. Decent for air to air. Combo filler, mostly. JC-able. You can probably use this to zone people out in mid-air, too. __________ Hard Slashes- -5H- A backhand slash. In any case, it's bufferable. Great move to Mist Cancel, it's fast, has long blockstun, good priority. -2H- a low slash. Staggers on counter hit. Good range and priority. Slides Johnny back, along with any pushback from connecting. -jH- a downward slash. Knocks airborne victims down. Staggers grounded opponents on counter hit. -6H- a big backhand slash. Bufferable, also JC-able. Great damage, the startup is pretty slow, though. A combo starter, more or less. Very long reach, I think it's Johnny's longest reaching normal. __________ Dusts: -5D- a backhand. Sets up Dust float screen. Overhead. Slow, but not terrible as Dusts go, except it's really telegraphed. -2D- sweep, 2 hits. Looks like Johnny's break dancing. Anyhow, it's bufferable. -jD- an upwards kicky thing. Wall bounces. Bufferable. __________ Throws: -Ground- Johnny tosses his opponent into the air. Sets up air combos. Throws in the direction you're holding. -Air- Johnny tosses his opponent through the air. Wall bounces. Throws in the opposite direction of where you're holding. Tech point is VERY late, but if you throw them from fullscreen (ie almost corner to corner), they can tech after the wall bounce. ---------- 4) Specials and Overdrives 236P/K/S : Mist Finer -while in Mist Finer stance, H : Mist Cancel An iai-jutsu slash. P is upwards, K is horizontal, S is downwards and hits low. Basic combo ender. You can hold it to delay the slash. The knockdown effect is different for each variation and level. Pressing H while in the stance cancels the move. This recovers quickly, combining this with long blockstun moves like 5H can lead to some nasty pressure. There are three levels of this move. To power up, hit with the coin (see next move). Effects: -P Mist Finer- fastest L1- 1 hit, hits airborne opponents far away and far upwards, doesn't knock grounded opponents down, can be teched before Johnny can reach with anything. L2- 1 hit, faster slash, similar knockback arc, untechable. L3- multiple hits, very fast, starts upwards and goes to mid. Opponent can't tech in between slashes. -K Mist Finer- farthest reaching L1- 1 hit, knocks down, can be teched, though the window is small. Recovers slowly, so followups are difficult even if they don't tech. L2- 1 hit, faster, opponent is hit upwards and slightly away, untechable. L3- multiple hits, faster, starts mid and goes up and down. Opponent can tech in between hits at some point. -S Mist Finer- slowest, hits low L1- 1 hit, on hit knocks down like a sweep. Can't be combo'd into except maybe with staggers. L2- 1 hit, fast enough to combo now, floats upward on hit, untechable. L3- multiple hits, faster, starts low and goes mid, opponent can tech in between hits at some point. 236H : Glitter is Gold Johnny throws a coin. You start with 8, and once they're gone you'll need to wait for the next round to refill. Coins travel along an arc, you won't hit most people at point blank. When a coin hits, you power up the Mist Finer. Land one coin, your next Mist Finer is L2. Land one more, the next one is L3. The level resets when you perform a Mist Finer (ie the slash actually comes out) 214P : Bacchus Sigh Johnny releases mist. If the mist touches the opponent, it starts hovering around them for 6 seconds, or until they get hit by a Mist Finer. While the mist is around them, a Mist Finer will be unblockable. Setups and uses for this move will be explained later. 623S : Divine Transport (FRC-able) -S : Divine Flame (FRC-able) Johnny leaps through the air quickly. Hit S and he'll shoot a vertical downwards flame. Can be used to extend combos, though it's difficult and relatively impractical to do so. It has better uses, namely getting close, surprise attacks, and on occasion anti-air (more on that later) air 623S : Divine Flame (FRC-able) Basically the same as the S followup to Divine Transport, except you don't have the momentum from the DT. This variation is more useful for combos, especially in the corner. air 41236H : Ensenga Johnny does a 2 hit flaming slash. Good damage, this is your air combo ender of choice. An interesting effect of Ensenga is that if you only connect with the first hit, it's untechable. Ways to set that up and followups will be explained later. __________ 632146H : Sore ga Ore no Na Da (This is My Name) Requires 50% Tension Johnny slashes out with an upwards iai-jutsu slash (can be ducked). If it connects, Johnny will slash his opponent three times, making a J, which then explodes. The damage is pretty crappy, considering it’s an Overdrive and that it’s Johnny. It’s got some invincibility, it comes out really fast. The most important thing is that, once Johnny connects, he can’t be hit out. So you can use this to catch careless Venoms running after their Dark Angels, or Ky running after a Charge Stun Edge, etc. But really, save your meter for RC. This is just kind of a flashy super at best. It's a decent wakeup for when you have no other option. Relatively safe when blocked. Really long reach, will combo off a L2 Mist Finer, even at about the Mist Finer's max range. __________ (Instant Kill) PKSH, 236236H : Joker Trick. Johnny throws a card, which goes over some shorter characters even if they’re not ducking. If it hits, it makes a big card with the opponent in it, and Johnny cuts the card in half. This is a crappy IK, and IKs are pretty bad to begin with. Don’t use it, unless you’re really confident, or like losing. Well, it's not as bad as several other IKs when blocked. Johnny is at frame advantage when blocked, as he recovers as soon as the card is gone. The problem is, if it whiffs, Johnny is stuck till the card leaves the screen. ---------- 5) Combo Concepts Johnny can dish out some pain. There are MANY combo possibilities thanks to GGXX's combo system. So these are just concepts to work off of. Johnny's Gatling chart- 5P- 5P, 2P, 6P, 5K, 2K, 5S(c), 2S, 5H, 2H, 6H, 5D, 2D 2P- 5P, 2P, 6P, 5K, 2K, 5S(c), 5S(f), 2S, 5H, 2H, 5D, 2D jP- jP, jK, jS, jH, jD 6P- none 5K- 6P, 5S(c), 5S(f), 2S, 5H, 2H, 6H, 5D, 2D 2K- 6P, 5S(c), 5S(f), 2S, 5H, 2H, 5D, 2D jK- jP, jS, jD 6K- none 5S(c)- 2K, 5S(f), 5H, 2H, 5D, 2D 5S(f)- 2S, 2H, 6H, 5D 2S- 5H, 2H, 5D jS- jH, jD 5H- 5D 2H- 5D jH- jD 6H- none No Tension: 2K > 5S(c) > 2D XX 236H Easy way to get a coin from a 2K. Also, you can do 214P instead if you already have L2. 5K > 5H XX 236K Basic. Decent damage. You can insert a 5S(c) or 2S in between, but it's not much more damage, and the pushback is greater, which means it's harder to maintain pressure. Launcher, jK > S JC, djK > S > D XX 41236H Standard air combo. Launcher, jK > P > S JC, djK > S > D XX 41236H Standard combo for heavier opponents. Launcher, jK > P > S JC, djS > H > D XX 41236H Works well when your opponent hasn't been launched very high off the ground. Character specific. 6H XX 412369H Technically it's a jump-cancel, but it would be too complicated to explain. By going to 9 from the Ensenga motion on the ground, you JC the 6H into an instant Ensenga. Great damage. 5D Homing Jump, [8]D D D D XX 41236H You can leave out one air Dust to make it easier. Not the greatest combo ever, but it's a simple, damaging option off a Dust. (corner, with L2 MF) launcher, [236P, 236H]x2-4 Mist loop concept. Extends combos in the corner, can be useful, but it burns a lot of coins. On most characters, you can link a 6K after a L2 K/S Mist Finer, then go into the standard air combo. throw, 236H. Generic way to get a free L2 Mist Finer on most characters. 5H XX 236P/K/S > H, 5S(f) Good link to keep in mind. __________ Tension: L2 K/S Mist Finer RC, dash 6H JC into air combo. You'll usually have to modify the air combo slightly due to the hits before. 6H XX 412369H RC, adK > S > D... ...on some characters you can land, then rejump into an air combo ...41236H(1) will connect if you did a good TK and time it right, character- specific again (on Axl, Chipp, Ky, Venom) 6K, jS > H XX 236S FRC, adK > S > D XX 41236H(1) Midscreen 1-hit Ensenga setup. (on Baiken) throw, jS > H XX 236S FRC, adK > S > D XX 41236H(1) Midscreen 1-hit Ensenga setup. (on Faust) 6P JC, jS > H XX 236S FRC, adK > S > D XX 41236H __________ Counter Hit: -CH 5S(f) will allow the 5S(f) > 6H Gatling to combo. -CH 5S will combo to a L1 K Mist Finer. -CH 6K is untechable, 5H or 6H are easy to hit afterwards. -CH air 236S will float opponent slightly, allowing Johnny to combo depending on height. -CH 5H leads to all manner of craziness. You can connect just about anything if you Mist Cancel. More if your opponent was crouching. At the very least, CH 5H XX Mist Cancel, 6K. -CH 2H should allow for a combo to 6K or at least 236H if you're close enough. Opponent can mash out of stagger, though. -CH jH on a grounded opponent is pretty much the same as CH 2H, except you're always close enough to combo. ---------- 6) Strategy General overview: far poke- 5S(f), 5H, 2S, 2H close pokes- 5K AA- 6P, (L2) 236P air to air- jS, 41236H, jD, airthrow air to ground- jP, jK, jH Johnny's pressure game revolves around two primary moves, and a less essential, but still important move: Mist Cancel: This is THE technique you will need to know with Johnny. Basically, you cancel a normal move into Mist Finer stance, then cancel the stance with H. Example: 2S XX 236[K] > H. What this does is give your move the recovery time of the Mist Finer stance cancel. Which is short. This effectively kills the lag on your laggier pokes like 5H and 6H. Mist Cancel gives you frame advantage where you'd normally have frame disadvantage. In other words, it's good. Learn it well. Coin: Coins power up the Mist Finer, which is obviously important. More importantly, they act similarly to Mist Cancel, in that they kill a lot of lag. Plus, since the coin is a projectile, it adds another object to block, allowing more options. It also serves as a decent anti-air. Remember, you only have 8, so Mist Cancel helps to conserve them. 6K: The 6K acts much like a dash. It leads to some painful combos if it connects, especially on Counter Hit. More importantly for a pressure game, if blocked Johhny is at frame advantage. If you use his sK afterwards, nothing without startup invincibility comes out fast enough to beat it (though Sol's sK can clash if timed perfectly). People who know this will do different things to get out. Some will Instant Block it, nothing you can do about that. Some will try to go through with an invincible move (this can be seen from a lot of Sol players). Many will simply block, allowing you to start all over again. Combining 6K, Coins, and Mist Cancel: After you do a blocked string into Coin, a generic move is to 6K afterwards to get back in their face. You can do this off Mist Cancels, but it's not as safe without Coin cover. Mist Cancelled moves can lead to more Mist Cancelled pokes, from which you can start a Coin, 6K string if you want. Flowchart for Coin + 6K based offense: Gatling chain XX 236H I.Dash -A.Pressure string --1.Repeat -B.Throw --1.Air combo ---a.Bait the tech or Burst, air throw ----1.Mist trap --2.dash, JC under/behind them, attempt to airthrow their tech II.6K -A.Pressure string --1.Repeat -B.FRC, throw --1.see above under "throw" -C.IAD forward --1.jH ---a.If it CHs, land and do what you want. --2.FD their retaliation ---a.Punish laggier moves with an air combo -D.Instant Ensenga (412369H) --1.start okizeme --2.RC, airdash. ---a.if it hit, combo ---b.if it was blocked, start up pressure -E.Divine Transport(623S) --1.FRC ---a.jK ---b.Land, throw ----1.See above under "throw" --2.Divine Flame (S followup) ---a.FRC. If it hits: ----1.OTG Coin ----2.Mist trap ----3.If blocked, FD Bacchus Sigh: Unblockable L2 Mist Finers can lead to some big damage easily. The hard part is setting the mist on your opponent. Untechable knockdowns are the safest way to set the mist. Basic setup concepts- 2D XX 214P. 41236H(1), land, 214P. Airthrow, land, 214P. Burst, land, 214P. Airthrow setups: Johnny's airthrow sets up a lot of mixups, along with the Bacchus Sigh. You can almost guarantee airthrow someone if you jump under them and throw them, unless they have a move out already. The other way to get airthrows is to bait techs or Bursts. A simple variation would be to throw in the corner, jump up with a combo, then stop the combo and grab them as they tech. Example: throw, jK > S JC, wait for tech, airthrow. You can combo off the airthrow on some characters, which can be an easy way to get a L2 Mist Finer(combo to Coin). You can also jump up and re-airthrow your opponent if they tech the followup combo. If you have L2 Mist Finer, you'll want to set the mist. __________ Character specific strategy section to start up in next update. ---------- 7) Closing and Thanks Thanks to Sammy and Arc Systems for making and producing this game. Thanks to the Sugar Land GGXX crew for the easily accessible competition. Thanks especially to DK for showing me Johnny basics... in GGX. =P Thanks to the Stargate crew for being great competition. Thanks especially to Water for the "lessons" on GGXX, they are very much appreciated. I will update this guide one day... still haven't updated my Sol guide. Oh well.