Click here to see the legend page if you aren't sure about what the commands mean.


How the hyper combo gauge works


The hyper combo gauge is located at the bottom left corner of the screen for player 1 and bottom right for player 2.


Filling the gauge up is as simple as ever -whilst it will increase slightly for your character taking damage, it fills up much faster by attacking the opponent.


Once the bar is filled once the gauge goes to level 1, meaning you could do a hyper combo move (moves marked "HYPER COMBO" on a character's move page). The bar will be at this level at the start of every fight.


Level 3 is the maximum level the gauge can go to.


Blocking

To block, hold back on the joystick. To block low attacks, hold down back on the joystick. You can block just about anything apart from throws and command throws. You will not take any damage whilst blocking standard punches or kicks, but you will take a small amount of damage when blocking special moves and hyper combos. You can also block whilst jumping.

Jumps

Holding up on the joystick will have you character jump straight up, holding up forward has them jump toward the opponent and holding up backward has them jump away from the opponent.

Super Jumps

To jump much higher than usual, press down then up to leap directly above you. Press down and then up forward to jump towards your opponent. Press down then up backward to leap away from your opponent. Alternatively, press all three kick buttons together.

Throws

As ever, throws are done by moving up to the opponent and holding forward or back before pressing either the strong punch, fierce punch, forward kick or roundhouse kick buttons. The buttons won't work for every character (for example, some characters don't have throws activated by the kick buttons). Most characters have air throws.

Tech hits

If you get thrown, you need to quickly hold forward or backward and press either strong punch, fierce punch, forward kick or roundhouse kick depending on which character you are using. You will land on your feet instead of your back, and take less damage.

Dashing

Double tap forward to make your character dash forward with a brief sprint. Double tap backwards and your character will dash/roll back which is useful for avoiding attacks. Dashing can also be done by pressing all three punch buttons together.

Safety rolls

If you get knocked down, quickly input a reverse QCF motion (back, down back, back) followed by any punch button. If done correctly your character will hit the ground, but then roll to their feet next to the opponent -good for avoiding taking hits whilst floored. Hold left or right to roll in that direction.

Taunts

Like in the last game, press start to taunt. Completely worthless unless you want to cheese your opponent off.

Push back

Whilst blocking an attack, press all three punches together to push the opponent back. It doesn't hurt them, but it does put you in a much better position to attack, especially if you push back someone who's using a move that lasts several seconds.

Launchers

By pressing the jab punch and short kick buttons together, your character will do an attack that will launch the opponent into the air. You can then follow it up with an air combo (see below).

Air combos

These work in just the same way as the previous game. Above you can see a basic Spider-Man air combo: hit the opponent with a crouching fierce punch to launch them into the air, then hold up to go up with them. Then press SK, FK and RK in that order. Alternatively you can use launchers to get the opponent up into the air (see above).

Hyper Combos

By filling up the hyper combo gauge to at least one level, your character can use a hyper combo. Hyper combos are flashy and powerful moves which can do a lot of damage if they connect. Some characters have hyper combos which require 3 levels of hyper combo gauge to do.

Tagging in and out

The main feature of the game is that you select two characters to form a team. Whilst the game is still strictly one on one, you can tag in and out with your partner by pressing the fierce punch and roundhouse kick buttons together. What will happen is your second character will leap in with a flying attack (usually a kick), and your first character will leap out. Be warned though as as soon as the "in" character does their attack they will taunt, leaving them wide open. You cannot tag out whilst taking damage, and obviously if one of your characters has been defeated.

Vitality recharging

When you take damage, the yellow vitality gauge will decrease, but part of it will also go red. You can restore this red chunk by swapping characters and letting the damaged fighter rest a bit. For example with the screen above, if Mega Man tagged out now he could recover the red part of his vitality gauge by staying out of the fight for a while.

Assists

After selecting your two main characters, you will then be given an assist character. You can either let one randomly be selected for you, or use a code to select the one you want (see the assist characters page for more info). There are 22 different assist characters, each one can be called on a certain amount of times in each fight. After a fight ends, you will be selected a different assist character before the next fight begins.

Assist characters are called on by pressing the strong punch and forward kick buttons together. When you do this, the assist character will come on and perform an attack. See the assist characters page for the full list of who can do what.

Cross-over counters

Known as variable counters in the Japanese version, these are done in exactly the same way they were in previous games: whilst blocking, input a reverse quarter circle motion (back, down back, down) and then press fierce punch and roundhouse kick together. What happens is your second character will jump in and do an attack ,whilst your first character leaps off the screen. Each cross-over counter requires 1 level of hyper combo gauge to do.

Cross-over combination

This is where both characters will perform a hyper combo at the same time. To do this you need your hyper combo to be at level 2 or 3 (requires 2 bars) and then input quarter circle forward followed by fierce punch and roundhouse kick together. It's worth noting that after the cross-over combo ends, you will switch characters -for example, in the screen above, after that combo has ended, you would be playing as War Machine instead of Strider Hiryu.

Duo team attack

When your hyper combo gauge is at level 2 or 3 (the higher it is, the more time you get for the duo team attack), input quarter circle back followed by fierce punch and roundhouse kick together. What will happen is your partner character will jump on and you get to control both characters at the same time! This effect will last for several seconds and you have an infinite hyper combo gauge during this mode!

Meet the Boss

"Know my name and fear it, I am Onslaught." The evil Onslaught is the game's only boss, but he's far more challenging than the likes of Apocalypse. After a brief talk, the battle against Onslaught will begin.

His first form has many powerful attacks, including a better version of Juggernaut's headcrush. He also has Magneto's magnetic shockwave and magnetic tempest.

His most powerful attack is an absolutely gigantic laser blast attack. In addition to this, he can also use Magneto's hyper grav, be extremely cautious when he uses this as it cannot be blocked! If you get hit with it Onslaught is almost guaranteed to follow is up with a laser blast or a magnetic shockwave. Try to use a super jump to avoid being hit by the hyper grav. He can also call on several mini or one full sized Sentinel, which will either drop bombs or just crash into you. Another power he has is the ability to mind control another fighter into attacking you!

"No-one is safe." If you manage to defeat Onslaught, it only gets tougher. His second form is much bigger, and he will fly around trying to batter you with his fist. Whenever he says "behold my mighty hand!" and dashes back, get ready to jump or block as he will fly across the screen whilst striking out with his fist.

He also has a new laser attack which consists of three blasts, each laser creating huge shockwaves. His only real weak points are his head and his arm. He can still use the hyper grav, if you get hit with it, he will most likely follow it up with a laser blast. He can also still send Sentinels at you.

Time your attacks so you get a few hits on his head before he makes another move. Characters with large projectile hyper combos, such as Ryu's shinkuu hadouken, work well against him. Onslaught is easily the toughest Vs. game boss, and the toughest boss in the series since Magneto in Children of the Atom. "The dream is dead!"