Author: Lance "Tarnot" Hood

The importance of knowing the various minutiae associated with the buttons and special moves of your favorite characters can’t be stressed enough. In order to make your way to higher level play, a deep understanding of these concepts will take you far; knowledge is indeed power.

But what about knowing this information when it comes to general game mechanics? E mc has set out to enlighten the masses on the hidden details of X-Factor activation, TACs, and character incoming animations in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Obviously, many of the shapes of the hitboxes and hurtboxes shown are tied to the characters used in the demonstrations, but the fact that it takes an incoming character’s hurtbox roughly ten frames to appear, for example, applies across the board.

If you watch closely, you’ll also notice that performing a Team Aerial Counter results in a screen-wide hitbox. Pretty interesting stuff.

Source: e mc

The importance of knowing the various minutiae associated with the buttons and special moves of your favorite characters can’t be stressed enough. In order to make your way to higher level play, a deep understanding of these concepts will take you far; knowledge is indeed power.

But what about knowing this information when it comes to general game mechanics? E mc has set out to enlighten the masses on the hidden details of X-Factor activation, TACs, and character incoming animations in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Obviously, many of the shapes of the hitboxes and hurtboxes shown are tied to the characters used in the demonstrations, but the fact that it takes an incoming character’s hurtbox roughly ten frames to appear, for example, applies across the board.

If you watch closely, you’ll also notice that performing a Team Aerial Counter results in a screen-wide hitbox. Pretty interesting stuff.

Source: e mc

If you recently found yourself in possession of a copy of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- and are looking for the perfect tutorial to help you get started, this Elphelt Valenine breakdown from Smash and Grab has everything you’ll need to know to pick up one of the series newcomers.

While this video does offer some basic combo options, its focus is to explore Elphelt’s entire moveset. You’ll find frame data, damage output, and various uses for every attack that she brings to the fight. If you’d like a nice collection of combos to go with this information, you can start by checking out our previous roundup dedicated to the shotgun-wielding fighter.

Fans of Smash and Grab’s Super Smash Bros. 4 tutorials need not fear; the duo is merely expanding their horizons when it comes to tutorials and they intend to continue their previous series of Smash character tutorials.

Source: Smash and Grab

Link and Toon Link in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS are known for their projectile-heavy play styles. While this infatuation with item tossing may not be the best for combos in other engines, LordWilliam1234 demonstrates in this quick bit of footage that the two green garbed fighters can thrive in the Smash environment.

Many of the combos shown aren’t the most practical options available for the characters, as they typically involve well-timed bombs and boomerangs, but when the stars align, these two Hylians are able to drop jaws with the best of them. There’s something truly magical about bombs leading into down-air spikes.

Source: LordWilliam1234

We recently shared a video from My Smash Corner that demonstrated how to effectively perform and make use of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS’ perfect pivot. While it’s not quite as powerful as wavedashing in Melee, few can argue that the tactic stands to change how many characters achieve ideal spacing and even how effective some moves can be.

Since then, Izaw has put together a video that demonstrates how the technique affects every move in the game–those that it does affect, anyway. It seems that the maneuver doesn’t add momentum to every button on every character, but the applications are still vast, as is indicated by the sheer length of the nearly twenty minutes of footage you’re about to consume.

Since the name for the technique is still up in the air, I’d like to suggest that it be dubbed “Tarnot Presents: Tactical Momentum Canceling.” Has a nice ring to it. But in all seriousness, “Perfect Pivoting” seems like one of the best names that the technique is going to get; it may be a little bit boring, but it’s descriptive without being deceptive.

Do you have any better ideas for what to call it? Hit up the comment section and share your thoughts.

Source: Izaw via Smash Boards

Momochi of Evil Geniuses didn’t let the holidays slow him down; while many of us were enjoying time with family (and stuffing ourselves with cookies), he continued to release more entries in his new series of videos dedicated to helping Ultra Street Fighter IV players up their skills enough to pass beyond the realm of the beginner. As anyone who has plateaued at the intermediate level will tell you, getting out of the rut can prove quite difficult.

Below, you’ll find the Capcom Cup champion’s two newest videos, which focus on different ways to add throw techs to new parts of your game. While throw teching itself is far from an advanced tactic, these option selects demonstrate how the defensive measure can permeate many more parts of game play than some may realize.

Source: Momochi & ChocoBlanka TV

Michael Galardi is back with another episode of All Things, this time dedicated to besting Zangief as Cammy in Ultra Street Fighter IV. As with any rushdown character, Cammy may find herself fighting an uphill battle when facing off against a grappler, but this inherent matchup difficulty can be mitigated with the right tools.

To get things going, Galardi starts off with some frame traps that Zangief players are likely to use in a match so that you’ll know what to look for and can properly counter them. He then moves on to explore common meaty and safe jump options at Gief’s disposal before moving on to show Cammy’s offensive options.

As always, Galardi crams a wealth of information into an incredibly small amount of real estate. If you like your information to be as quick as it is useful, then you’ll love the All Things series.

Source: Michael Galardi

As with any fighter, knowing how to approach the neutral game is of utmost importance when it comes to taking home a victory in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS. Understanding when to go for offensive options, when to play it a little more defensive, and how to go about baiting and punishing whiffs all add up to make this beautifully complex concept that we call the neutral game.

Since the Super Smash Bros. series also adds in the need to maintain stage dominance and control areas that are often well off the stage itself, knowing how to approach the neutral game can prove even more daunting than in some titles; this, of course, depends largely on any given player’s background.

In order to help new players understand how this key aspect of the genre unfolds in the Smash series, Rush Hour Smash has put together a quick guide including some high-level examples of helpful concepts in action.

Source: Rush Hour Smash via Smash Boards

Combo video maker extraordinaire Snoooootch has been hard at work since Omega Mode hit Ultra Street Fighter IV on home consoles. That work is evidenced by the fact that we were able to dedicate an entire roundup to his recent discoveries. Below, you’ll find three short combo videos for Abel, Seth, and Makoto, each showcasing a collection of new options available to the characters once Omega Mode has been selected.

The Abel video is particularly entertaining, as Snoooootch takes full advantage of his new shoulder charge special, not only to add damage to combos but also to allow proper positioning for follow-up hits. Add that with a hefty helping of Falling Sky specials and you’ve got some combos that look as brutal as the damage numbers they put up.

And as an added bonus, here’s a single combo for Cody that involves more rocks than ought to be possible in a single combo. It’s against Honda, sure, but man that’s a serious amount of gravel.

Source: Snoooootch

Knowing your way around a character’s normal and special moves is an integral part of mastery, but it can be a bit overwhelming to learn all of the specifics behind each kick, punch and Psionic Blaster without the proper tools. With that in mind, e mc has been breaking down the hitboxes and hurtboxes associated with the moves of various Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 characters for some time, and their most recent addition focuses on the big-headed zoner, M.O.D.O.K.

As with previous videos in this series, the guide shows a frame-by-frame animation breakdown of M.O.D.O.K.’s entire moveset to give players a better idea of what sorts of options he has at any given point in time. Not only is this information useful for M.O.D.O.K. players, but it should also help those who fight against him as well.

If you’ve had trouble finding openings in the character’s zoning game, this guide may be just what you’ve been waiting for.

Source: e mc