Balrog (Bison)FAQ For Capcom vs SNK 2 on Arcade, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2. Written by Kenny "Kenshi" Tam Contact: kennytam@foxhound.zzn.com =============== Version History =============== Version 1.0 January 25, 2002 Everything. Version 1.1 January 27, 2002 Added Groove Info etc. ================= Table of Contents ================= I. Introduction II. Profile III. Annotations and Abbreviations IV. General Moves V. Special Moves VI. Desperation Moves VII. General Notes VIII. Strategies IX. Combos X. Miscellany XI. Notes and Credits =============== I. Introduction =============== This is an FAQ for Balrog, the boxer. His uncanny resemblance to a certain ear cannibal forced his name change in the US version. This is for the North American release, where he is named "Balrog." The move lists and descriptions I got from sitting next to my machine and watching the move several twenty times on training mode. =========== II. Profile =========== Name: Balrog (M.Bison in Japanese Version) Age: 33 Birthday: Sept. 4, 1968 Nationality: American Height: 198 cm Weight: 250 lb Style: Boxing From: Street Fighter 2 ================================== III. Annotations and Abbreviations ================================== UB U UF UB= Up-Back U= Up UF= Up-Forward \ | / B= Back N= Neutral F= Forward B--N--F DB= Down-Back D= Down DF= Down-Forward / | \ DB D DF LP= Light Punch MP= Medium Punch HP= Hard Punch LK= Light Kick MK= Medium Kick HK= Hard Kick P= Any Punch K= Any Kick PP= Two Punches Simultaneously KK= Two Kicks Simultaneously PPP= All Three Punches KKK= All Three Kicks QCF= Quarter Circle Forward (D, DF, F) QCB= Quarter Circle Back (D, DB, B) DPM= Dragon Punch Motion (F, D, DF) RDP= Reverse Dragon Punch (B, D, BD) HCF= Half Circle Forward (B, DB, D, DF, F) HCB= Half Circle Back (F, DF, D, DB, B) Super Jump= Tap Down, then Up or any Up direction quickly to do a further, large jump. A trail will appear behind the opponent if done correctly. Dash= Tap Forward or Back twice quickly to move quickly in that direction. Throw= When near an opponent, press either Forward or Back and Hard Punch or Hard Kick to execute a throw attack. Throw Escape= When being grabbed for a throw, Press either Forward or Back and Hard Punch or Hard Kick to escape. Evasion= Press Light Punch and Light Kick simultaneously. Depending on the groove, the character will perform an action that will evade most moves for the duration of the action. Taunt= Press Select to do a special taunt. Grooves ******* C-Groove: --------- This mode is similar to the Alpha Series as well as Capcom Groove in the original game. The character has a gauge at the bottom of the screen, which is divided into three sections, shown by a larger area as the level increases. Attacking and performing moves will increase this gauge. Depending on the Level, Different levels of Super Combos can be performed: Level 1- Super Combo Command + LP or LK Level 2- Super Combo Command + MP or MK Level 3- Super Combo Command + HP or HK The higher the level, the more powerful it usually will be. The levels are cumulative, so doing a level 2 super on with a Level 3 gauge will leave the bar with 1 level left. Dash- Tap either Forward or Back Twice quickly to do a small dash in that directly. Rolling- Press LP and LK simultaneously to perform a moving dodge, which can pass through most Special and Super moves, as well as the opponent. Counter Attack- While blocking, immediately tap Forward + MP+MK to perform a counterattack. Note that it requires 1 level of the Super Gauge to perform this move. Air Block- Press Back whilst in the air to block. Super moves cannot be air blocked. Tactical Recovery- When Knocked down, press all 3 Punch Buttons to delay your character getting up. A-Groove: --------- This mode is similar to the Custom Combo Groove, the V-ism from Street Fighter Zero 3. At the bottom of the Screen is a Custom Combo Gauge, which can be filled up by attacking. At 50% full, a Level 1 Super combo can be performed. When full, a Custom Combo can be performed. Level 1- Super Combo Command + Button Level 2- Custom Combo - HP and HK Simultaneously Dash- Tap Forward or Back Twice to do a quick small dash towards the enemy. Safe Fall- Press All Three Punch Buttons whilst Landing to recover on the ground. Rolling- Press LP and LK simultaneously to perform a rolling dodge which can pass through most Special and Super Attacks, as well as the opponent. Counter Attack- While blocking, immediately tap Forward + MP+MK to perform a counterattack. Note that it requires 1 level of the Super Gauge to perform this move. P-Groove: --------- This Groove is the most similar to the Street Fighter 3 system. It includes the Parry Command as well as a single level Super gauge which fills up when attacking. Super Combo- Super Command +Button Note that there is only one level in P-Groove, and that it will be a Level 3 combo. Parry- The Instant the opponent makes contact with a hit, Tap forward for High Attacks, and Down for low attacks. The opponent will Parry the away the opponent, leaving them open for a counterattack. The timing window has been decreased significantly though, making it harder to perform. Dash- Tap Forward or Back Twice to do a quick small dash towards the enemy. Safe Fall- Press All Three Punch Buttons whilst Landing to recover on the ground. Small Jump- Tap Up, or any Up Directional to do a small jump. S-Groove: --------- This groove is similar to the Extra mode from the King of Fighters series, as well as the original SNK-Groove from the Original Capcom vs. SNK. The Super Gauge is filled by Charging, Pressing the HP and HK simultaneously. The Character will begin charging up their powers and their gauge will start increasing. Note that the character cannot move or perform any attacks whilst doing this. When the Bar is full, the character is slightly stronger as well as being able to do a Level 1 Super Combo. Note that the bar will start decreasing once it reaches the maximum and the opportunity to perform Super combos will end when the bar is empty. When the Character takes enough damage, the Vitality Gauge will begin flashing. At this point the Character can do unlimited Level 1 Super moves, and if the Super Gauge is also full, a Level 3, MAX Super Combo. Run- Tap Forward or Back Twice to run towards the enemy. Tactical Recovery- When Knocked down, press all 3 Punch Buttons to delay your character getting up. Counter Attack- While blocking, immediately tap Forward + MP+MK to perform a counterattack. Note that it requires 1 level of the Super Gauge to perform this move. Dodge- Press LP and LK simultaneously to do a quick dodge animation. The character does not move, but has the same properties as the roll. Small Jump- Tap Up, or any Up Directional to do a small jump. N-Groove: --------- This Groove is similar to the Advance Mode from the King of Fighters. The character can perform Super combos when they have 'stock.' The super Gauge is filled by attacking. When full, the Super gauge will reset but a Counter will appear in the box next to it, indicating the character now as 'stock.' The Character can perform as many Level 1 super Combos as there are number of stock. The character can 'Power MAX' by pressing HP and HK together. It will cost a single stock unit, but the character will become more powerful. In addition, MAX level moves can be performed. Run- Tap Forward or Back Twice to run towards the enemy. Safe Fall- Press All Three Punch Buttons whilst landing to recover on the ground. Rolling- Press LP and LK simultaneously to perform a moving dodge, which can pass through most Special and Super moves, as well as the opponent. Counter Attack- While blocking, immediately tap Forward + MP+MK to perform a counterattack. Note that it requires 1 level of the Super Gauge to perform this move. Small Jump- Tap Up, or any Up Directional to do a small jump. K-Groove: --------- This groove is he most similar to that of Samurai Spirits (Showdown.) the gauge fills up as the character gets hit and receives damage or performing Just Defense. When the gauge fills up, the character will be in Rage MAX mode, which allows the character to perform MAX Super combos as well as dealing more damage. Note that the bar will start decreasing once it reaches the maximum and MAX mode will end when the bar is empty. Just Defense- Tap Back right before the enemy makes contact with their hit. If done successfully, the character will take no Guard damage as well as gain some vitality. The character will also recovery sooner and be able to counterattack. Run- Tap Forward or Back Twice to run towards the enemy. Tactical Recovery- When Knocked down, press all 3 Punch Buttons to delay your character getting up. Small Jump- Tap Up, or any Up Directional to do a small jump. ================= IV. General Moves ================= Standing- ********* Light Punch- A left hand, quick jab. Comes out as quick as you can mash the button. Combos into other moves. Useful as a good poke. Medium Punch- A right uppercut. Pretty slow in coming out but is useful as an emergency anti-air. Changes hands up close and can combo. Hard Punch- A long reaching, hard looking punch. Has very good range and comes out in an okay speed. Good poke though since it has quite good priority. Similar to Bison's or Iori's standing HK in terms of use. Light Kick- Quick short ranged elbow. You have to be very close to the opponent for this to hit. Medium Kick- A short ranged punch to the gut. Has short range as well since he does not extend his arm. Hard Kick- A Hook punch at head level. Slightly more than half range of HP, but slightly faster. Good poke as well though, so use this when the opponent is closer. Jumping- ******** Light Punch- A flying punch downwards. Good for light punch jamming combos. Pretty short range though. Jumping towards it changes to a hook punch with slightly less range. Medium Punch- A flying palm strike downwards. Not very high priority. Turns into a hooking punch when jumping towards that last for a short duration of the flight. Hard Punch- Same as Medium punch, but does more damage and slightly higher priority. Turns into a flying body blow when jumping towards enemy, and has quite good range. Light Kick- Looks the same as jumping straight up LP. Not many uses really. Sticks his fist out longer than MK version. Medium Kick- Looks the same as LK, but he retracts his arm much earlier too. Hard Kick- Looks like the flying HP. Exactly the same. Crouching- ********** Light Punch- A very fast punch the crotch region. Moves as fast as you can jam the button. Cancelable into many moves. Standard crouch punch similar to many characters. Medium Punch- A slow right punch. Same as everyone else really. Hard Punch-A hard looking uppercut. Good as anti air counter with quite high priority. Light Kick- Same as LP. Medium Kick- Same as crouching MP but aimed slightly downwards. Hard Kick- A hooking punch aimed towards the legs. Works as a Sweep and has the longest range of all crouching attacks. Somewhat slow though. ================ V. Special Moves ================ Balrog's moves are typically dashing type punches. Anyone who has played Street Fighter 2 should remember his perpetual charging above their ducking characters in the corner. Command Moves: -------------- -nil Throws: ------- Body Blow - (B or F+HP) Balrog grabs opponent and punches them in the gut. Throw..thing - (B or F+HK) Balrog grabs opponent and slams them over his shoulder. Special Moves: -------------- Dashing Straight - (Charge B, F+P) Balrog dashes forward and unleashes a punch onto the enemy. Strength of button used determines how far he will dash before doing his punch. Has average speed and priority really,, but good range in the punch. Balrog is vulnerable when doing this move, to projectiles, supers, and crouching attacks. It can be avoided by crouching or tell timed jumps. Do it as a counter to close range surprise. Has long recovery time as well so be prudent. Dashing Uppercut - (Charge B, F+P) Looks similar to the Dashing Straight, but ends with an uppercut instead of straight punch. It isn't a special uppercut like the Dragon punch, but instead, hi crouching HP. Nothing special really, perhaps just a variation to the Dashing punches. Dashing Ground Straight - (Charge, B, DF+P) Does a similar dash, and does a Crouching HK sweep at the end. Useful for crouching or ducking opponents, or surprising and beating people waiting to sweep you out of it. Dashing Ground Uppercut - (Charge B, DF+K) Similar to the Dashing Uppercut, but this time the move knocks down. Useful against faster characters who may recover in time. Turn Punch - (Hold PPP or KKK, then Release) Balrog turns for a moment and unleashes a dashing punch. Unlike the other versions, he is already in a punch stance so it does not have the dashing vulnerability. The longer the buttons are held down, the further he goes and the more damage he does. He will say a number according to how long the move has been charged. Holding it for 60 seconds, similar to the old street fighter, can almost kill the enemy in one hit, assuming you connect. As far as I know, using punch or kick has no difference other than freeing the other set of buttons. Buffalo Head Butt - (Charge D, U+P) Balrog does a small leap upwards, similar to a shoulder charge. Designed to be an anti-air, the button used determines his horizontal distance as opposed to height. Vulnerable when landing though. Better to use crouching HP. =================================== VI. Super Moves/Desperation Attacks =================================== Crazy Buffalo - "No Escape!" -(Charge B, then F, B,F+P) Balrog dashes forward and does a series of dashing punches. You can change what he does midway by pressing P or K, in which K changes the attack to an uppercut and P does s punch. The higher the level, the more hits it does. Comes out fast and good for countering or comboing, as well as doing high damage. Gigaton Blow - "Gigaton blow!" - (Charge B, then F, B, F+K) Lv. 3 or Max Balrog doe a turn punch from hell. Has invincibility frame at start up and useful for slamming through projectiles. It can hit full screen too, so it's a nasty surprise. It is similar to Ralf's "Galatica Phantom" from KoF but without the charge up. Doing counter damage with it may even kill the opponent, where I once beat my friend's Terry in a single hit. Loads of fun here, but what you'd expect from a Max move. The closer the opponent, the more hits it does and more damage. From full screen it does about 20% damage. ================== VII. General Notes ================== Balrog is based around his punches and dashing punches. He doesn't have much else, but since he is so powerful and surprisingly fast, Balrog can be pretty powerful. ================ VIII. Strategies ================ Balrog is a very powerful character, but has long recovery time after his moves. He is also vulnerable while doing them, and need to be close range. But since the are charge moves, you cannot walk up to an opponent, hold Back for a second, then expect to surprise them. Try to stay close to the opponent. Versus; Shotokans (Gouki,Ken,Ryu) ------------------------- Most of them still rely on the fireball/dragon punch trap. With the onset of rolling however, their game now includes some offense to counter rolling. Their fireball is harder to avoid than others, so either roll through it or try to snuff it with a standing HP. It may take a while to charge up the Gigaton blow, so try to save it up and use if it is your second opponent or whatever. Their sweep can beat the dashing straights, so keep to Dashing Ground straights. Of course try to vary it a bit. Geese Howard ------------ Hard to win. He can beat all of Balrog's special moves with a single Gedan Nage (high counter blow) keep you away with the Reppuuken. Just hope the other player sucks with Geese or has a set of broken controls. If you want, jam his taunt button right before the Gigaton blow connects, but prepare to run like hell. Rock Howard ----------- A powerful character, pupil of Terry. He has Terry's Rising Tackle and modified versions of the Burn Knuckle. Couple that with Geese's Repukken's, counters and command grabs and you get a hard fight. His shine knuckle is EXTREMELY fast, and can meet the Dashing punches without a hitch. I've never actually tried going up against it with a Gigaton blow, and it is hard to tell which will win actually. Terry Bogard ------------ Surprisingly Terry is actually slower than Balrog. Nonetheless Terry is still hellishly powerful. His defensive moves double for offensive moves, so the tide of battle can shift quickly. The Dashing punches can beat the Burn knuckle, so you may beat them if they follow it up after the Power Wave. Since you are already holding Back to block, you can easily do the Dashing punches. Kusanagi Kyo ------------ Not as hard as the others. Kyo's Gami chains maybe fast enough to beat Balrog to the "punch," but they are actually almost evenly matched in speed. The Gigaton blow may overpower the Orochi Nagi, but expect to trade hits. You could be cheap and bash the HP to keep him away, but it won't last long Yagami Iori ----------- I don't think you are supposed to win this. He can Ya Otome your Dashing Punches, which is bad. He is powerful up close and can outstrip Balrog regardless. Switch another character to fight him. ========== IX. Combos ========== Coming soon . . . ============= X. Miscellany ============= Win Quote: ---------- "That wasn't even close to the quality of a good title fight, you bum!" "I hate your eyes. I feel they are looking down on me! I will shut them!!" "Hey. You can't go down so easily! Come on! You're upsetting the audience!" "Your mamma said to knock you out!!" "It doesn't feel good stepping on tiny bugs..." "I am so tired of having to pull my punches!" Special Intros: --------------- -Vs Vega: Vega turns away and shakes head in disgust. Comments: --------- Balrog actually has several hidden moves! When close to the opponent, do Two 360 motions+3 punches. Balrog will grab the opponent and the their ears off! Be warned that it will immediately KO your opponent. Don't do this more than twice though or you will get banned! When choosing character order, Two 360 + 3 kicks. Balrog will get into a scuffle with the other characters and force you to pay a fine of 20 bucks! ===================== XI. Notes and Credits ===================== -Capcom Vs SNK 2 is Trademark and Copyright of Capcom. All Characters mentioned relating to the game are as such property of Capcom. -Mr. Jeff Veasey at Http://www.Gamefaqs.com for hopefully hosting this FAQ. -W.W for getting whipped by my Bison. -N.H; For being a "knock out." -If, for any part, I may have borrowed or referenced information that originally stemmed from your work, PLEASE do notify me and I will immediately remove or a credit the work from this FAQ. This document Copyright 2002 by Kenny "kenshi" Tam, and may not be duplicated or reproduced (in part or in full) for profit without the explicit permission of the author. Chances are it will be rare if anyone would want to use this crappy FAQ. This document is supposed to appear on http://www.gamefaqs.com. http://www.psxcodez.com http://www.DLH.net http://www.gamespot.com