Capcom vs SNK 2/Chun-Li

Introduction

In CvS2, Chun Li is a very solid neutral focused character with high damage and mixups stemming from landing her Houyoku Sen super (QCFx2+K). She holds her own against most of the top tier and really shines against big characters.

She is the most changed character returning from CvS1, as her sprite and moveset were changed from a copy/paste of the Alpha series games to a more 3rd Strike inspired incarnation, with some Alpha and Super Turbo inspired flair.

Changes from CvS1/Alpha 3: Almost everything, but highlights...

• Houyoku Sen >>> Senretsukyaku, changes the kick super to a motion, and the last kick allows for followup shenanigans...
• No Upkicks or Upkick super, Hurts her reversal game tremendously.
• Dissapating fireball, varying strengths (HP is basically a poke)
• Almost all normals, except j.lk, s.mp, c.hk

If you're familiar with her 3rd Strike incarnation, here's the main changes:

• No EX Spinning bird kick (No reversal)
• Low MP (cancelable now)
• Low MK (not cancelable)
• Jump LK can cross up (pretty well)
• Stand MP is the "handshake" from ST, super good.
• Crouch HK is her alpha/SF2 sweep, which is a great anti air.
• The palm strike (B+HP) can only be performed close to the opponent as HP.

Move List

Unique Attacks

Name

Command

Notes

Forward Kick

f + mk

Kakukyakuraku

df + hk

high

Yosokyaku

(in air) d + mk

Can perform another aerial attack afterward; high

Wall Jump

(in air, near wall) uf

Target Combo

(during angled jump) hp --- hp

high

Throws

Name

Command

Notes

Koshuto

f + hp

throw

Kick Throw

f + hk

throw

Ryuseiraku

(in air) f + hp

throw

Special Moves

Name

Command

Notes

Kikoken

hcf + p

different versions travel different distances HP is shortest

Kyakuretsukyaku

press k repeatedly

can be extended, forces stand

Spinning Bird Kick

d (charge) u + k

forces stand

Super Combos

Name

Command

Notes

Houyoko Sen

qcf qcf + k

can super jump cancel last hit

Kikosho

qcf qcf + p

Basic Stats

• Health at Ratio 2= 14000(Below Average, Median Health is 14400)

• Stun Bar= 70 (Average)

• Stun Duration Time= +/- 0f (Average)

• Guard Guage Recovery Rate: Normal

• Crouching height= 61 (Very Short)

• Dash: Length= 98 pixels, Duration= 16f, Height= 0 (Cannot corpse hop)

• Run Speed= 9.0 (Fast)

• Roll: 132 Distance, 27f invincible, 2f upper body invincible 4f Recovery. (Average)

• Wakeup-Speed compared to Ryu= +6f (Very slow)

Colors

Preferred Grooves

The constant threat of at least level 1 Houyoko Sen is critical to Chun Li's gameplan, so C and N grooves are ideal choices for Chun Li. Roll cancels are an added bonus.

C Groove-

Advantages-

• Touch of Death C-Groove cancel combo- Canceling her level 2 Houyoko Sen into Lightning Legs allows you to link a S.HP or c.jab, c.strong afterward and cancel that into a level 1 houyoko sen, which allows the Jump HK followup. That combo alone will do over 9000 damage (at ratio 2), and a successful mixup after will usually dizzy low/mid stun characters, which should kill anyone.

• Cheap Level 1s- Chun's level 1 Houyoko Sen with the followup is the most damaging level 1 in the game (not including the mixup potential). C-groove offers level 1 supers at about a 25% discount compared to N or A. It's simple math.

• Delayed Get-up- Unpunishable method to mess with setup/safejumps.

• Air Block- This is semi important with Chun's floaty jump, but jump LK usually is a better option. Chicken blocking into low jab is a decent strategy against high priority jump ins.

• Dash- allows for an easier buffer for RC Lightning Legs.

Disadvantages-

• No Run means more methodical approaches and no running jab pressure.
• No Low Jump means you have to be really careful about jumping, Chun's jump is super high and floaty.

N Groove-

Advantages-

• Low jump- Low jump HP (both hits) can cover the up and down of the low jump arc. Low jump MK & LK are all good, and very useful get in tool. Low jump crossups are nice. Low jump headstomp is also easier to instant overhead people with. Lastly, since chun can link of her lightning legs, Low Jump combos are much easier with Chun Li than most characters. (Special moves cancel the extra landing lag of low jumps)

• Run- Chun's run is very fast and her low jab is extremely positive on block. This is abuseable.

• Counter Roll- A great defense against A groove guard crush customs.

• Counter Attack-> Level 3 Kikosho (corner only, power up activated) Not many characters can do this.

• Level 3 Houyoko Sen-> Level 1 Kikosho. (Very difficult to time, good damage)

• Safe fall Because Chun-Li's wakeup options are fairly poor, this helps her avoid knockdown mixups. Use caution, the safe fall is punishable.

Disadvantages-

• The extreme one shot damage of C-grooves Level 2 cancel combo

Other Grooves

• A-Groove: Her custom combos aren't anything special so A groove isn't an optimal pick (her level 1's end up offering better utility).
• P-groove: Has the stored level 3, and parry into stand MP->level 3 is a big threat, but she doesn't get much off of parries without super. Plays like a budget C-groove Chun
• K-groove: Has some juice if your JD's can take you into the 3 supers/round area. She can set JD's up well after blocked SBK's or Lightning Legs. Low jump is great for her. Overall not a hard character to keep out when she's raged, so relying on counter hit confirms is key.
• S-groove: Non flashing life S-Groove Chun is an abysmal character. Having to charge just to get level 1's (which you need for any decent damage) is obviously really bad. In desperation mode, however, she's death incarnate, capable of chaining level 1-> mixup-> level 1 into death.

Preferred Team Position & Ratio

Due to her need for meter, controlling style, and effectiveness against common anchors, Chun-Li is often the middle character as a Ratio 1. She struggles against many common leadoff characters like Cammy, Vega, and Iori, so make sure your opponent doesn't take big leads into the 2nd round.

Chun is also a fairly decent anchor, and especially shines against Sagat, Blanka, Bison, and Geese.

Frame Data

	Block							Frames
Move Name	HL	Damage	Stun	Cancel Ability	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Guard	On Hit	Notes
Close	HL	200	2	ch/sp/su	3	4	9	+4	+4	- Crouchable by under Height 64 characters (16)
Close	HL	500*500	5*5	sp/su	5	2(16)2	22	-2	-2	-Crouchable by under Height 66 characters (24)
Close	HL	1000	10	sp/su	4	8	20	-2	-2	-
Close	HL	400	4	sp/su	4	5	9	+3	+3	-
Close	HL	900	9	sp/su	10	7	14	+2	+2	-
Close	HL	1200	12	sp/su	5	9	22	-5	-5	-
Far	HL	200	2	ch/sp/su	3	4	9	+4	+4	- Crouchable by under Height 64 characters (16)
Far	HL	800	8	sp/su	6	8	13	+1	+1	-
Far	HL	1100	11	-	12	8	21	-3	-3	-
Far	HL	300	3	sp/su	6	4	13	-2	-2	-
Far	HL	800	8	-	7	6	19	-3	-3	-
Far	HL	1100	11	-	12	3	25	-4	-4	-
crouch	HL	400	4	ch/sp/su	3	4	7	+6	+6	-
crouch	L	800	8	sp/su	5	9	17	+4	+4	-
crouch	HL	1200	12	sp/su	8	11	20	-7	-7	-
crouch	L	300	3	ch/sp/su	5	4	11	+2	+2	-
crouch	L	700	7	-	9	4	14	+2	+2	-
crouch	L	1000	10	su	8	8	27	-11	-	Knockdown
Jump up	H	500	5	sp	4	22	-	-	-	-
Jump up	H	800	8	-	5	10	-	-	-	-
Jump up	H	1200	12	-	6	8	-	-	-	-
Jump up	H	600	6	-	6	22	-	-	-	-
Jump up	H	1100	11	-	6	10	-	-	-	-
Jump up	H	1100	11	-	10	8	-	-	-	-
Jump forward	H	500	5	sp	4	22	-	-	-	-
Jump forward	H	800	80	sp	5	10	-	-	-	-
Jump forward	H	700	7	-	6	8	-	-	-	Can juggle into target combo
Jump forward	H	400	4	-	4	26	-	-	-	-
Jump forward	H	700	7	-	5	12	-	-	-	-
Jump forward	H	700*600	7*6	-	6	6(9)10	-	-	-	Can juggle both hits on airborne
+	H	800	8	-	15	4	15	+5	+5	-Not crouchable by over height 70 (10 characters)
+	HL	1100	11	-	12	4	25	-4	-4	-
+	H	1000	10	-	37	6	8	+6	-	Airborne 1-?F (Translation Needed)
Far >	HL	300	3	sp/su	3	4	13	-2	-2	-
Air +	H	900	9	-	5	10	-	-	-	Can be canceled into itself on hit or block
Air >	H	500	5	-	6	10	-	-	-	-
Throw or +	52px	1600	-	-	4	1	13	-	-	-
Throw or +	52px	1800	-	-	6	1	13	-	-	-
Air Throw Any Direction EXCEPT +	24px	1800	-	-	1	1	0	-	-	Vertical Low Requirement: 70px, Vertical High Requirement: 78px
Kikoken	HL	700	7	-	20	?	40 (Total 59)	-11	-11	Knockdown on air hit, Forces Stand, Fizzles after aprox 3/4ths of screen
Kikoken	HL	800	8	-	16	?	38 (Total 54)	-9	-9	Knockdown on air hit, Forces Stand, Fizzles after aprox 1/2 of screen
Kikoken	HL	1000	10	-	12	?	36 (Total 47)	-7	-7	Knockdown on air hit, Forces Stand, Fizzles after aprox 1/4th of the screen
Kyakuretsukyaku	HL	300xN	3xN	-	6	4(5)4(5)4(5)4(3)	17	0	0	Can be extended with any version of Kyakuretsukyaku, the extention will start on 5F, Forces Stand
Kyakuretsukyaku	HL	300xN	3xN	-	6	3(5)3(5)3(5)3(3)	17	+3	-6	Can be extended with any version of Kyakuretsukyaku, the extention will start on 5F, Forces Stand
Kyakuretsukyaku	HL	300xN	3xN	-	6	3(4)3(4)3(4)3(2)	17	+6	-3	Can be extended with any version of Kyakuretsukyaku, the extention will start on 5F, Forces Stand
Spinning Bird Kick	HL	500x2	5x2	-	21	2(6)2	24	-2	-	21-35F Airborne, Forces Stand
Spinning Bird Kick	HL	300x4	3x4	-	21	2(6)2(6)2(6)2	24	-2	-	21-53F Airborne, Forces Stand
Spinning Bird Kick	HL	300x3*200x3	3x3*200x3	-	21	2(6)2(6)2(6)2(6)2(6)2	24	-2	-	21-67F Airborne, Forces Stand
Kikoshou - Level 1	HL	2700	-	-	4+7	2*2*2*2*3	38	-18	-	1-8F Invincible
Kikoshou - Level 2	HL	3700	-	-	4+7	2*2*2*2*2*2*3	38	-18	-	1-14F Invincible
Kikoshou - Level 3	HL	4400	-	-	4+7	2*2*2*2*2*2*3*4	38	-18	-	1-22F Invincible
Houyoku-Sen - Level 1	HL	3000	-	-	4+14	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)14	27	-17	-	1-8F Invincible, Final hit can be super jump canceled
Houyoku-Sen - Level 2	HL	4200	-	-	4+15	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)14	27	-17	-	1-14F Invincible, Final hit can be super jump canceled
Shoryu Reppa - Level 3	HL	5400	-	-	4+16	2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(4)2(10)14	27	-17	-	1-22F invincible, Final hit can be super jump canceled
	Block							Frames
Move Name	HL	Damage	Stun	Cancel Ability	Startup	Active	Recovery	On Guard	On Hit	Notes

Special Move Analysis

(data compliments of FSgamer)

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Specials

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Lightning Legs

Press K repeatedly

LK      [5/4][5/4][5/4][5/4]/3/**/17   300***   +-0/+-0
MK      [5/3][5/3][5/3][5/3]/3/**/17   300***   +3/-6
HK      [5/3][4/3][4/3][4/3]/2/**/17   300***   +6/-3

* It takes 5 K inputs in order to activate this move. However, you don’t have to use the same button. You can drum your fingers over the K buttons and the fifth button you press will correspond to the strength of the Lightning Legs. For instance, doing LK~MK~HK~LK~HK will result in HK Lightning Legs.
** Can be mashed, so the hitting part loops until you stop mashing, then the move recovers. Takes 17 frames from the end of the last legs.
*** Each hit does 300 damage.

Kikoken

hcf+P

LP      19/*/40      700      -11/-11
MP      15/*/38      800      -9/-9
HP      11/*/36      900      -7/-7

* Projectile moves are active for as long as they are on the screen. HP Kikouken travels about 1/4 of the screen, MP Kikouken travels about half the screen, LP Kikouken travels about 3/4 of the screen.

Spinning Bird Kick

Charge d,u+K

LK      [20/2][6/2]/24                      500x2         -2/?
 Airborne from frames 21~35
MK      [20/2][6/2][6/2][6/2]/24            300x4         -2/?
 Airborne from frames 21~53
HK      [20/2][6/2][6/2][6/2][6/2][6/2]/24  300x3,200x3   -2/?
 Airborne from frames 21~67

Super Moves

Kikosho

qcf2x+P

Level 1      4:6/2+2+2+2+3/38         2700      DN/-18
 INV [full:8]
Level 2      4:6/2+2+2+2+2+2+3/38     3700      DN/-18
 INV [full:14]
Level 3      4:6/2+2+2+2+2+2+3+4/38   4400      DN/-18
 INV [full:22]

* Damage is reduced the farther Chun Li is from the opponent. Damage is also reduced if it hits an airborne opponent.

Houyoko Sen

qcf2x+K

Level 1      4:[13/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/14]/27
 3000        DN/-17    INV [full:8]
Level 2      4:[14/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/14]/27
 4200        DN/-17    INV [full:14]
Level 3      4:[15/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2][4/2] [10/14]/27
 5400        DN/-17    INV [full:22]
* Last hit is superjump cancelable.

Super follow ups

The last hit of Chun's kick super is superjump cancelable. That means exactly what it sounds like. She can cancel the last hit of her kick super with a superjump, and continue to combo her enemy. Here are the most common and useful follow ups.

1. Kick super xx sj.hk Her most useful move after the super mixup wise. This hits twice, and hits your opponent higher into the air. This allows you to land much earlier than your opponent. Enough to walk behind where he/she will land. With all the time you have, you can set up for a nice high / low / cross up mixup. Here are some options...
   1. Walk behind where your opponent will land, combo xx super xx follow up. This is a very nice cross up. Many people get confused as to which way to block. I recommend crossing up, cr.jab, close st.fierce, and depending on if you hit or not, super. Or, if you don't have meter, fireball.
   2. Walk to seem like you will cross up your opponent, but stop, don't cross, combo xx super xx follow up. If your opponent gets used to you crossing up after the super, or has prior knowledge against Chun, this is good. This, combined with the above option sets up a good 50/50 mixup on it's own. Again, if you hit, super xx follow up
   3. Upon landing, j.lk cross up Yup. You can use this for almost guaranteed way to make sure you continue pressure, but it's fairly obvious as to what you're trying to do. You can continue pressure to try and throw / counter hit. Again, it's still fairly obvious as to what you're gonna do, but if you have LOW JUMP, it's a little more tricky. One, because if you low jump, it's more ambiguous as to what side you're gonna hit on. Two, because your opponent has less time to react to short jumps, you can play an okay high / low game. Now, if Chun could have a better quick, low hitting move that was bufferable into super that WASN'T cr.strong, I'd change the word "okay" to "badass". If you cross up with lj.lk, cancel into HK legs, and combo super xx follow up. See a pattern yet?
   4. (contributed by FSgamer) Walk, oc.HK "I know this sounds dumb, but df+HK is a pretty decent move to use after the walk under cross-up. Although the move is slow it can be hard to react to it properly. It can hit from the front, it can hit from behind, and there's a certain distance where it hits from the front but she lands behind the opponent, which can confuse the hell out of the opponent. Plus, it has frame advantage so you can always pressure the opponent with c.LP afterwards if they block."
   5. (contributed by FSgamer) RC Lightining Legs when they land "Why not? it's invincible, can lead to a combo into super, does good chip damage, etc. Just one more mix-up to Chun's arsenal."
2. Kick super xx sj.fierce, fierce Easier timing then sj.hk. But...No terribly great mixups. Leaves you fairly close to your opponent upon landing however, so you could continue to try and pressure fairly easily. Mainly done for if you need it to kill someone and don't wanna mess up the timing.
3. Kick super xx sj. d+mk (her famous headstomp), fierce (whiffs) fierce (hits) This is going to be odd to explain. Okay, the second hit of her fierce has 1 point of juggleablity. This means, it can hit someone in hitstun who is in the air. Her sj. d+mk allows her to stick out another move in the air after you do it. So if you sj. d+mk, and mash on fierce fast enough, you should be able to get the second hit of her j.fierce out fast enough to the point where it will juggle. As for useage...I don't even know if it does more damage than her double fierce follow up. It gets pretty much the same mixups too. So *shrug*. Use it if you want to be fancy, I suppose.
4. Kick super xx (slight pause) headstomp This follow up allows you to still be in the air when your opponent lands. Meaning you can treat it as a jump in attempt of sorts. Your opponent doesn't really have time to try a normal anti air, but they can still uppercut you if they have one. A tricky follow up to the headstomp...Is to headstomp when your opponent lands. This pops you up yet again, and lets you stick out ANOTHER move. From here you will be headed behind your opponent. Which means you go for a cross up short, combo xx super xx follow up. *FSgamer - "You can change the timing of the j.lk so that it can hit from the front as well." If you don't see the pattern by now...Drop Chun.

-casey_MDK

The Basics

Chun's gameplay revolves around comboing into her crazy level 1s or her deadly level 2 cancels, and pressuring with her quick, high priority pokes. The reason is her supers do some serious damage, even at level one, and lead into some very confusing mix ups. There are several ways she can land her super. Here are the basic ways...

Bait something, counter hit cr.jab, cr.strong/close st.fierce xx kick super

Chun can mix up between cr.jab and walk up throw pretty easy, thanks to her fast walking speed. One of the most common ways to nail a counter hit with Chun is mix up between walk up throw and walk up cr.jab again. If they do anything to avoid getting thrown, you hit them with cr.jab, cr.strong/close st.fierce xx kick super xx sj. follow ups. Her cr.jab is as fast as normals get in CvS2 (2 frames). On counter hit, the cr.jab, cr. strong is very easy. Attempting to close st.fierce is a little risky in this scenario, because of range. You might get a far st.fierce, which does not link. But, it does more damage if you pull it off.

whiff punish something with far st.strong xx kick super

If you see someone whiff something laggy, punish with far st.strong xx super. Far st.strong is her farthest reaching move, and is also bufferable into kick supper. It's a high priority poke as well.

cross up j.short, cr.jab cr.strong/close st.fierce xx kick super

Her j.short is pretty decently prioritized, and stuff a lot of anti-airs. The fact that it's a cross up also helps her keep pressure, as cross ups leave you very close to your opponent. If you land the cross up, combo into super. Close st.fierce is much safer to try this time. Not only is it an easier link, you're closer to your opponent thanks to the cross up, and the chances of you getting a far st.fierce almost non-existent.

cross up lj.short xx hk lightning legs, cr.strong xx kick super

lj.shorts are really hard to react to, especially if you cross up with them. Cancel the recovery of the lj.short with HK lightning legs (the reason for this is that low jumps have 8 frames of recovery on landing that is cancelable only into special moves), from there, you can link off of HK legs. It's a little tight, and the timing is a little different, but once you get it down it's a great tool. Of course, you can only do this in grooves with low jump. You can link a cr. jab after the hk lightning legs too, if you want an extra move to hit confirm, but it's not necessary.

RC HK legs, cr.strong xx kick super

If you can RC her legs, this is a killer. A good setup would be to wake up with RC legs to counter your opponents wake up pressure. From there if you hit, you can link off it into super. RC legs is a very good momentum shifter. I'll get into more detail about RC legs later though. Honestly, I think it should go into the Advanced Strategy section because it's a little complicated.

j.short

Her cross up. Looks like a generic flying kick you see in a martial arts movie. Her front leg is extended horizontally, and her back leg is headed behind her, but folded in. Her back leg still has hit boxes, which is why you can jump behind your opponent and still hit. It's got some good priority too.

to be continued...casey_MDK

Credits / Thank yous

Buktooth James Chen FS Gamer Casey 3K