Hokuto no Ken/Mr. Heart

Introduction

Mr. Heart is a 'grappler' type character, and he plays similarly to the grappler characters in other ARC games. Specifically, he moves very slowly and has no forward dash. Mr. Heart also has no Boost gauge, but his Banishing Strike still functions identically to other character's in that he is able to do a follow-up wallbounce combo. He is also able to use his Aura to perform a special Guard Cancel that can be followed up with a combo. As you would expect of a grappler character, he has a large amount of grab type moves, including both a grab super move and grab Fatal KO(which is the only FKO in the game that cannot be comboed into). While fairly decent on both the offensive and defensive, his poor maneuverability is what causes Mr. Heart to be considered a weak character. Because of his slow speed Mr. Heart is often unable to get out of disadvantageous situations without taking a risk. That said, he has extremely high potential, and is quite capable of overcoming his bad matchups.

Let's break it down:

Strengths:

• Is able to confirm into kill combos from his unique Guard Cancel (which functions like a Banishing Strike) on almost every character.
• Can gain super armor for free to setup favorable trades.
• Only has a guard bar in the mirror match.
• Doesn't have to manage boost, as he has non.
• Forces your opponent to play in a very different manner, as most conventional tactics will outright lose.

Weaknesses:

• No Boost and slow movement speed means Mr. Heart has trouble going anywhere without taking big risks or fishing for a stray hit.
• Bad matchups against a large amount of the cast, directly related to his inability to move around, some matchups are near unwinnable against a skilled opponent.
• Range is generally quite poor outside of Earthcrush.
• Overhead mostly useless leads to a weak mixup game.
• Because of the lack of Boost, Mr. Heart is overly dependent on Aura both for defense and offense.

Before diving right into the combos be sure to familiarize yourself with Mr. Heart's special/super moves and his unique normals.

Standing

A

One of Mr. Hearts most important anti-air normals, it serves both as combo filler, anti-air and combo starter.

B

Not nearly as good as crouch B, but still occasionally useful. Is used in some combo enders to stuff some extra damage before a Heart's A.
Can combo into Earthcrush.

C

This move should almost never be used. It has an incrediblity long startup time, which is only worth it if you can get the full charge damage wise. It is also neither special or normal cancelable.

D

A launcher that can be chained into from standing A. Is used heavily in combos and as a hit confirm. Not a very good button to press in neutral though.

Crouching

A

A quite fast and good reaching jab. Usually best used in conjuction with crouching B to hit confirm.

B

Mr. Heart's most trusted companion and main poke, this baby not only has alright range, it also combos into Banishing Strike or Earthcrush (depending on range) on hit. Use it often.

C

See Standing C. Also doesn't hit low but launches on charged hit for an Earthcrush style combo. Not worth the risk though.

D

A slow sweep that doesn't hit low and can't be cancelled into anything. Punishable on block and low reward on hit. Try to avoid using this normal.

Air

A

A good air-to-air poke that can be special cancelled into AB air grab.

B

Can occasionally be used as an instant air-dash pressure tool, but is otherwise primarily used to adjust the height in wall bounce combos.

C

Holding this button will make Mr. Heart float in the air, and if he lands without launching the attack, he will gain one hit of super armor that lasts until he gets hit or takes chip damage.
In general an alright air button as well just for its range. Hitstuns for a very long time as well.

D

Mr. Heart's crossup tool, also an alright jump-in button, combo extender (in wall bounce combos) and suprisingly often win air-trades.

Other

6A

A medium speed overhead that will knockdown on hit but is not cancelable at all, can be chained into Heart's A on deep corner hit.

Throw

A regular throw that allows for combos when the opponent is thrown into the corner.

BD Throw

A running bear grab that can make for a scary mixup option on non-attentive opponents. Unique to Mr. Heart, this BD throw can grab crouching opponents. Can combo into itself during combos for an infinite

Heavy Strike

A regular Heavy Strike with extremely good range. But like all other Heavy Strikes it's quite risky to go for.

Banishing Strike

One of Mr. Heart's most important moves. Anytime it's possible try to confirm into Banishing Strike as the follow up boost is free. It is also an essential combo starter (just like his Guard Cancel) that can often lead to 50% without meter, or 100% with it.

Special Moves

No Escape

63214A

Bring it on!

214A -> 6

Earthcrush

214B or D

Earthquake

(Air) 2B

Dunk Receive

623A or C

Kenpou Goroshi

214214A (Uses 1 Bar Aura)

Heart's A

236236A (Uses 1 Bar Aura)

It hurts!!

Activation

236236C (Uses 1 Bar Aura)

Big Hug

236A

Meat Cross

(Air) 236B

Big Typhoon

(Air) 236C

Body Throwing

(Air) 236D

Meat Dunk

(Air) 236E

It really hurts!!

236CD (Fatal KO)

Basic Combos

High Jump Combos

Since Mr.Heart does not have a Grave Shoot launcer he has to use 214+B (Earthcrush) to start high jump combos. Simply hold up and you'll super jump cancel it on hit. Note that Earthcrush will not launch airborne opponent. While you can cancel into Earthcrush from any lights, cr.B has the most range and is generally the best poke button, it is still worthwhile to simply throw out Earthcrush from mid-range as you will still get the full confirm.

Sidenote: It is not possible to combo from 214+D, but it is still a good poke that can be super jump cancelled and let you approach.

Earthcrush BnB

~214+B > jc > j.A > j.A+B > ((j.A+B) > 236236+A)

5 Hits, 38 damage and alright meter build, but most importantly it puts the opponent full screen and closer to the corner. If you are already at the corner you can hit another j.A+B as your opponent hits the ground against certain characters like Raoh or Shin and follow up with a super grab (236236+A "Heart's A"). Going for the extra air grab is a bit of a risc though, as whiffing it means you cannot hit the super.

If you have super meter and you're not near the corner, it is possible to do:

Midscreen Heart's A confirm

~214+B > jc > j.C > land > 236236+A ("Heart's A")

As the opponent cannot tech at all if they are hit by j.C.

If you can hit cr.B it is advisable to go for a Banishing Strike combo instead, as they overall deal more damage, though it might not combo at certain ranges.

In short, try and hit Earthcrush (214+B) as much as possible, but keep in mind that the big damage is in Banishing Strike combos.

Advanced Combos

Dribble Combos

Matchups

Kenshiro

X

Raoh

X

Toki

X

Shin

X

Rei

X

Juda

X

Thouther

X

Jagi

X

Mr. Heart

X

Mamiya

X