Jam Kuradoberi FAQ Guilty Gear X2 By: Alex Cofinco AKA Gasaraki Contact: super_sonic_5010@yahoo.com Table of Contents 1...Introduction 2...The Good and the Bad 3...Direction Notation 4...Normal Attack List and throws 5...Special Attack List 6...Overdrives and Instant Kill 7...Strategies 8...Combo List 9...Credits Version History: 1.0 - New FAQ 1.1 - Took out one combo that I accidentally left in while I was editting this _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION Welcome to my FAQ for JAM! This is my first attempt so bear with me, alright? ^_^; Jam is a pressure and combo oriented character, but unfortunately it can be hard to get inside the opponent's line of defense with her, however, once you get in the fun starts, hehe. Anyway, I only play the console version and I don't have an arcade stick either so a few combos and techniques might not work, but most will. If you have any corrections, comments, questions, etc. please email me with "Jam FAQ" in your subject, or I won't bother reading it. In this FAQ I'm going to use terms such as okizeme, OTG, etc., also I won't bother with gameplay basics. For a list of these types of terms and the basics refer to EChang's FAQ. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GOOD AND THE BAD The Good: -Jam is a great rusher, not as great as Venom or Sol but damn good anyway -Great high/low game. A fast, barely telegraphed dust helps alot -Highly comboable -Weakest combos do about 140 damage average -FRC'able THROW FOR EASY DAMAGE! It's quite easy to time as well -With the right pressure string you can wreak havoc on your opponent's guard gauge -Lowest IAD in the game! -Good rush escapes with her parry and 623K attack, though not as great as a Volcanic Viper The Bad: -EXTREMELY SHORT RANGE, many characters have a great advantage over her if she can't get in -Few high priority attacks -Bad lag on alot of her specials and overdrives -Mostly useless overdrives -Below average damage over-all It may seem like having more positives mean she's high-mid tier or something, but actually the negatives she does have, are really big ones, unfortunately. But that's what this guide is for, to help you deal with that. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- DIRECTION NOTATION I'm going to use the number direction system as it's alot easier to type, here's how it works. Look at your numpad, imagine that as your d-pad and you'll see it, for example: 236 K is QCF+K 623K is DP+K 632146 S is HCBf+S _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- NORMAL ATTACK LIST AND THROWS Note: All attack damages are on Sol with normal guard gauge, also because of how combo friendly her normal moves are, I won't list what combos to what else. ______ ------PUNCH 5P Damage: 9 JC'able Info: Slap to the face. Useless, there is no reason whatsoever to use this ------ 2P Damage: 6 Info: Same as 5P ------ 6P (2 hits) Damage: 18, 16 Effect: Both hits can stagger on counter Info: Double gut punch. Some upper body invincibility, good for passing through high pokes such as bridget's far 5S, and Axl's 5P, not too sure if it can really be used as anti-air. Causes the guard gauge to rise quite a bit, good in pressure strings. One of your main pokes as well ------ j.P Damage: 9 Info: 45 degree down-angled punch. Only has one use but it's a very important one, I'll give the details later ______ ------KICK 5K Damage: 12 Info: A snap kick to the shin. One of her best combo starters because it's low hit, you'll use this quite a bit. ------ 2K Damage: 8 Info: Kick's at opponent's feet. Do not use at all. ------ 6K (2 hits) Damage: 16, 23 JC'able on both hits Info: Snap kick to the midsection, then to the head. If you can catch with this instead of 5k, then great, as you can increase the damage a bit. Other than that, I have been able to use this as anti-air for low jump-ins occasionally ------ j.K Damage: 12 Info: Flying kick. Good in combos, maybe for air-to-air, but in that case stick with j.HS ------ 2K in mid-air (up to 4 hits) Damage: 16, 9, 8, 7 Info: Downward bicycle kick. Not very useful because even if you hit them they recover from the hits before you do leaving you open for a throw or something worse. Only use full in Cross-ups or high low games. ______ ------SLASH close(c)S Damage: 26 JC'able Info: Jam spins around and elbows them in the chest. Here's where we finally get some good attacks. This has good priority and damage, I use it to poke my way in as well as in combos. Both this and the far slash build up guard gauge fairly well. ------ far(f)S Damage: 30 JC'able Info: A back-hand to the chest. Ah, yes, the all-important back-hand, long range(as far as Jam is concerned), Great priority, good damage, used in her IAD infinite, and can be comboed into 236K if you Tiger Knee(TK) it. This is one of your main pokes, don't forget it! ------ 2S Damage: 26 Effect: Stagger on counter hit Info: An awkward looking downward slap. Your last main poke, good in combos, excellent combo and dust combo starter on CH, great priority over other low attacks. ------ j.S Damage: 28 Effect: launches JC'able Info: An almost straight-up palm thrust. Outside of combos don't use it, you'll barely get a chance to land it. In an air combo however, it's alot more useful as it's her only JC'able normal air attack. ______ ------HARD SLASH 5H (3 hits) Damage: 20, 18, 16 Info: A set of 3 crane punches. Not very useful by itself or in combos, but fantastic in pressure strings. Great build up in the guard gauge. ------ 2H (2 hits) Damage: 20, 18 Info: A backwards cartwheel. Again, should really only be used in combos, since the stun from either hit gives you plenty of time to do 236K. ------ 6H (2 hits) Damage: 30, 27 Info: A windmill kick. CRAZY priority, beats tons of crap but you WILL get grabbed even if it connects. Don't risk it unless you have tension, or the second hit is a counter. If you have tension, then use it first chance you get, RC it, and combo. ------ j.H Damage: Info: Jam spins in the air, arms extended. Great air-to-air, combos into the three kicks nicely. ______ ------DUST 5D Damage: 16 Info: Jam steps foward and flicks her hand up quickly. One of the better dusts in the game. Not as fast as Sol or Ky's but it is quick also, she makes so little movement for it that it's very hard to see coming and it is bufferable. ------ 2D Damage: 28 JC'able Info: A good quick sweep, but not so good range. Mostly you are going to use one of your charges after doing this, but if you can also use 623K or a TK'd 236K. Also, if you can IAD low and fast enough, you can actually combo off of this with j.D or j.P! ------ j.D (2hits) Damage: 16, 25 Effect: 2nd hit can wallbounce on counter Info: Really wierd looking double kick. An intresting air dust, to say in the least, you can use this as an air combo ender into the three special kicks, but I don't think it really has another use. ______ ------THROWS Ground Throw Damage: 55 FRC'able! Info: An absolutely awesome throw, leads into free 147 damage combo on Sol! The timing for the FRC is on the second "ha" as she laughs, or just before her hands touch the ground. You'll have to react quick because they fall fast after the FRC. Also note that there is a small amount of scaling from this throw when it's FRC'd but it's minimal. For example: (c)s does 24 damage at the start of the combo versus the normal 26 damage. If you don't have the tension to FRC it, then use this oppourtunity to charge a kick. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL ATTACK LIST Note: All attack damages are on Sol with normal guard gauge. Multiple-hit special attacks will only have total damage counts listed. ______ ------Hochifu (AKA the parry) 46->catch Info: Jam catches any mid-high attack for instant recovery and no chip damage. You must press back, forward right before hit contacts Jam. Can be canceled into anything at any time. You cannot block or instant block then parry, unless you recover from guard stun before your opponent's next attack. You can parry then block, but it's best to follow up with 623K, 2S, or some other high priority attack. ______ ------Breath of Asanagi (AKA the charge) 22K/S/H Info: Jam summons her Ki power to charge one of her special kicks. you can store up to three charges for each kick. Increases power, speed, hits(for 623K and 214K only), priority, and makes them unrecoverable. Damage modifications and other effects will be listed with the three kicks. One more thing, to get the full effect of the 236K charge, it's best to use it in short combos becuase in a long combo the scaling would be so bad by the time you got to the kicks, that the damage increase would be minimal. ______ ------THE THREE KICKS Note: All can be used in the air. All three of these moves can be automatically comboed into each other up to three times so long as the same move isn't used twice in a row. For example, you can't do: 236K, 236K, 623K, but you can do this: 236K, 623K, 236K. Also, all three are JI'able when RC'ed. All three also have a special affect if done in the middle of her air dash, which I will explain in each kick's section. ------Ryujin 236K Damage: 64(ground version), 66(air version) Effect: Wallbounce on counter Air Dash Effect: Flies slowly at a slight downward angle. I can't think of a use for this Info: Powerful horizontal flying dragon kick, literally. Flies up slightly. Great in combos, EVIL when charged. Don't use by itself. Air version has less start-up also. ---Charged Damage: 100 Other Changes: Travels straight forward instead of forward and up, which changes some combos ------Kenroukaku 623K (4 hits on ground, 3 if in the air) Damage: 52(ground), 34(air) Air Dash Effect: Falls instead of going up, you can probably air combo after? Info: Upwards flying kick flurry. Great anti-air, great priority so use it for wake-up as well. ---Charged Damage: 90 Other Changes: Now hits 7 times ------Gekirin 214K Damage: 40(ground), 30(air) Effect: Opponent can't recover if hit while they are on the ground Air Dash Effect: Falls down instead of hopping, therefore eliminates startup frames, shortens recovery enough to combo after you land from an IAD'd 214K. Info: Jam hops up and flings her heel around for an overhead fire kick. AWESOME if used correctly. If you land this while the opponent is standing on the ground, RC it for a combo. Always overhead ---Charged Damage: 61(opponent on ground), 87(opponent in air) Other Changes: Hits up to 3 times. On the ground, the first hit of the three is to high to hit anyone, so you'll only get 2 hits if they are on the ground, in the air all 3 should hit. ______ ------Bakushu (AKA Burst Dash) 236S Info: A low, quick dash. Great in-and-of-itself, it's low enough to duck under projectiles and some pokes from characters like Axl and Bridget. Has four different follow-ups listed below. Tap indicated button to use. ------Mawarikomi Burst Dash->P Info: A short dash/dodge with upper-body(?) invincibility. GREAT for getting behind the opponent for a free grab. Just be sure to use it sparingly, as if your opponent sees it coming they can grab you at the end of your dash. ------Ashibarai Burst Dash->K Damage: 30 Info: Jam does the splits away from opponent and sweeps them with her hind foot. Staggers on contact, cancelable to two of any of the three kicks at anytime, meaning you can cancel it before the kick comes out or after. Good for a high-low game, since you can cancel it into 214K. ------Hyappo Shinshou Burst Dash->S (3 hits) Damage: 48 Info: Stops her dash and charges up for a powerful-looking backhand with a Ki energy ball enveloping her fist. Basically useless, has alot of start-up and punishable recovery. You can use it to jack up the guard gauge a bit, but with such low recovery, that's a bad thing to do. You can use it as an anti-air however, but you'd have to know right where they're going to be in order to land it. ------Senri Shinshou Burst Dash->H (4 hits) Damage: 68(from front), 69(from back) FRC'able from the front just before the ki ball comes out Info: Looks the same as above but doesn't stop when you press H, instead she dashes one more time then does the attack. Crosses over behind opponent if she's within half screen-length of the opponent. Do not think that the cross-up factor helps at all, anyone with a brain will block it easily then grab you. This move has ok recovery from behind, but from the front it takes a long time to get neutral again, almost a full second, WAY too much time for Jam to be vulnerable. Again can be anti-air, and sometimes it is good in that capacity, since it will cross-up even if they are in the air. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- OVERDRIVES AND INSTANT KILL ______ ------Choukyaku Hououshou 632146S (13 hits) Damage: 145 Info: Jam dashes forward tackling the enemy to initiate a 13 hit combo ending in some wierd, yet cool, air tackle with an image of a Phoenix in the background. Awesome to see, but worthless, you can do the same damage with little or no tension. ______ ------Renhoukyaku (AKA the puffball) 632146H (13 hits) Damage: 162 Info: Jam poses and unleashes a Ki energy orb, pushing the opponent pretty far back. A good OD for getting the pressure off you and ok damage. In my opinion it's better to save the tension for RC's and FRC's, but sometimes you just get desperate, that's when you use this. ______ ------Geki Saishinshou 236236H (2 hits) Damage: 120 Effect: First hit staggers, and has a damage modifier of 200%(!) Info: Jam charges up for a palm uppercut. This is an absolute desparation move, if you have full tension and you aren't in the corner, RC it then combo, it'll give you a major comeback. Great wake-up as well, but so is your 623K and that doesn't cost tension. Other than that don't waste the tension on this. ______ ------Gasenkotsu (IK) PKSH->236236H Info: Dashes toward opponent back first and does an eight hit kung-fu movie style combo ending in a Bruce Lee style sunset-in-background flying dragon kick. For all you newb's, don't waste time using this, EVER, unless you're fighting the computer. My fav IK in the game right after Zappa's =D _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- STRATEGY ______ ------Basic Strategy Jam is one of the rushers in this game, and she's really good at it. The problem is, she has a very hard time getting in on most people, as she doens't have great priority which I've been yakking about throughout this FAQ. Now to get in, what I use is 5K, 6P, (f)S, and 2S. Remember that the idea is to get them on the defense, not to necessarily combo, though you can off all four of these. 5K is a great dash-in because it's a standing low hit, not too great priority or anything but tricky and starts your opponent blocking low to set-up for a possible Dust combo. 6P beats alot of upper-body pokes such as Axl's P, Bridgets (f)S, etc., and for some reason seems to beat alot of other 6P's in general, with the obvious exception of Johnny's and a few others. Unfortunatly it doesn't have enough range or priority in general for an effective anti-air like most 6P's, so I tend to use it as sort of an anti-poke. 5S is her fastest longest range poke, beats out some stuff, and is linkable right to the IAD infinite, which is enough to be useable. There isn't alot to say about it, so you'll have to just see what it beats out. 2S beats a good amount high or alot of low attacks including Chipp's really fast, awesome sweep, which is good since 5K doesn't win that often against a sweep in general. It's somewhat easy to get a counter with the 2S for a free combo. Just remember that these four attacks are just what I use to get in, if you have some better ways to get in please email me, I'll be sure to give you credit. Now that you know the main entrances to get in, you have to know how to apply pressure and a high-low game, at which point your game will get finally be coming together. First off, her high-low game. Because of her fast, hard to see dust, you can create a great high-low string that would be very hard to see. For example, dash in, 5K, (c)S, 5H (2 hits), then either 2D or 5D, alternate it randomly. When you choose to do 2D, remember that you can continue the pressure string afterwards by IAD'ing the 2D into P x3 or 4 times (depending on how low you did it), land, (c)S, (f)S/5H into whatever. Basically, by ending a pressure string in a JC'able move you can theoretically continue pressure infinitely. But in order to do that, you have to be able to IAD very low consistently, and this will take plenty of practice before you can get it right. Even though I've been playing for 6 months or so now, I still miss it more than I care to admit. And missing it will leave you back at square one 99.9% of the time. When you do IAD, and you aren't in to corner, make sure to occasionally do 214K of the IAD instead of P, since you can cross it up giving you more of a mind game, basically, a high-low-cross-up. Though it's not gauranteed, it's very effective, and if done properly, hard to punish. The largest window for punishment is on a blocked, crossed-up 214K, though it might take two or three times for them to finally do it. So now you've gotten in and comboed them resulting in either, them on the ground, or recovering in the air. If you knocked them down, you unfortunatly don't have much of an anti-wake-up option other than baiting your opponent's wake-up by dash braking, parrying it or just not being there, and then rushing in during their recovery for more pressure. Most likely when they recover from a combo you'll be in the corner, if you weren't already, and they'll recover away from it. When you recover from your combo, run over to where they're going to land, since the closer you are to them when they land the less distance you have to worry about closing. This is where you struggle to get back in again, but hopefully if you pressured them right they should already have a large chunk of their life gone. That's basically how she works. ______ ------The Throw Her throw is great for alot of reasons, first, it gives you a very safe charge since most people will try to dash away. Second, since it's a hitting grab, a counter hit with a jacked up guard gauge make it take longer for them to recover, giving you a free, easy air combo. Finally, it's FRC'able, before it hits making it basically an unblockable combo. ______ ------Burst Canceling This is basically a technique that gives you free invincibility frames, and mastering it helps you stay out of and get out of pressure. You can even go through Dark Angel! Here's how you do it: Parry, Burst XX FD or 46, D+K(hold K), 4P So you parry, burst that, then you basically FDC the burst before it comes out. So you should still have your burst. The whole thing needs to be done as one fast, smooth motion. It's hard to do and I haven't been able to do it yet, so don't worry if it takes you a while to get a hang of it. Btw, I'm just using D+K as an example, since that's what I burst with, if you use another set of buttons for burst or FD it's ok. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- COMBOS Heh heh, now comes the fun part. BTW even though most of the combos listed start out with 5S, you should start the combo with 5K, 6P, or a counterhit 2S. The damage listed is without any of those starters Dash in, 6P(2 hits), 5S, 5S, 2H(1 hit) XX 236K, 623K(2 hits), 236K Damage: 149 Hits: 9 Note: Her B&B combo. For some reason the third hit of 623K won't combo unless you're in the corner, so just leave it at 2 hits. 5D, jump, j.H, j.H, j.H, j.P, j.K, j.S, JC, dj.H, 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 139 Hits: 11 Note: try to set-up her Dust with a short string like: 5K, 5S, 5S, 5D and then alternate it with 2D, But you can use any string that buffers into 5D, and most of her moves do. If you ever get a counter 2S, you can rush in with a guarunteed Dust combo. 5D, jump, j.H, j.H, j.H, j.H, 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 149 Hits: 10 Note: Less flashy, slightly more powerful, a bit easier, can get four j.h's only on some characters. Otherwise use above dust combo. Throw FRC, 5S, 5S, JC, j.K, j.S, JC, dj.H XX 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 147 Hits: 10 Note: Awesome since it's basically an unblockable. Plus, you can set it up easily with Burst dash -> dodge. Use when ever you get the chance. 5S, 5S, IAD, 214K(cross-up), dash, 5K, 5S, JC, j.K XX 236K 623K 236K Damage: 147 Hits: 9 Note: The awesome thing about this is if you're fast enough, you can actually do the 214K before it crosses-up, therefore letting you control whether or not to let it cross-up. Also, since it's the IAD 214K you should recover before they do. You can just omit the two slashes as you see fit, they are just there to get them blocking for the cross-up, it won't combo. Also, you the cross-up sparingly and alternate with the IAD infinite to make them unsure of whether or not they should jump away. Dash in, 5S, 5S, 6H(2 hits), RC, j.S, land, j.K, j.S, JC, dj.S, dj.H, 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 196 Hits: 14 Note: The basic RC combo, great damage for Jam (c)S, (f)S, IAD, j.P x3/4, j.H, land, (c)S, (f)S, IAD, j.P x3/4, j.H, (c)S, (f)S, IAD, j.P x3/4, j.H, etc... Damage: Variable, low damage over-all Hits: Variable Note: THIS IS YOUR MOST IMPORTANT COMBO/PRESSURE STRING! This can be done as much as you want until you get tired, or start doing 1 damage a hit. The real uses for this are to pressure and raise guard gauge like crazy when they block it, at which it's really good at. Also it's very easy to vary up this combo up with sweeps, other low hits, your 5D, 214K, or a quick grab. The x3/4 is dependant on character and height of you IAD, lower requires less hits, and you want to do the j.H right before you land to make sure the (c)S combos or continues with block stun. I think this can miss Faust and Millia entirely if they crouch because of how low they both are when doing so. If anyone can confirm email me. Dash in, 5S(JI), 5S, 2H(1 hit) XX 236K, RC, j.S, JC, dj.K, dj.S, dj.H XX 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 201 Hits: 14 Note: I love this combo, just because it's fun as heck, and for Jam it's powerful as well. ------Charge combos These have a separate section since these combos can are not possible without the charges, The main reason being unrecoverability. 236K(charged), RC, land, 5S, 5S, JC, j.K, j.S, JC, dj.H, 236K, 623K, 236K Damage: 247 Hits: 11 Note: When you hit with the 236K charge, you have to wait to RC it at a certain point depending on Jam's position relative to the enemy, you'll have to experiment with the right time to RC. If you're in the corner then just RC it normally, wait for a moment for the enemy to fall to Jam's height, and then continue. _____________________________________________________________________ --------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS Thanks to GameFAQs for posting this Copyright March, 2004, Alejandro R. Cofinco This FAQ is only to be posted at GameFAQs.com