Capcom vs SNK 2/E. Honda

Introduction

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Matchups

Story

E. Honda, full name Edmond Honda, is a dedicated sumo wrestler from Japan. From a young age, Honda trained hard to become a sumo wrestler. He would eventually become incredibly well respected, reaching the high rank of Ozeki, the second highest rank. It's stated that he's skilled enough to be considered a Yokozuna, the highest rank possible, but his strange and outlandish techniques hold him back from qualifying. He began his journey in Street Fighter II: World Warrior, where he traveled the world spreading the art of sumo wrestling. He felt the rest of the world didn't appreciate it, and he would show them what it truly meant. Honda helps with destroying Shadaloo, mostly because of other sumo wrestlers getting biochemical drugs from Shadaloo's dealers. Together with the others, he assists in defeating M. Bison and destroying the Shadaloo base.

Gameplay

E. Honda is the epitome of a turtle character. He has the most immaculate defense, with a stellar anti-air and punish tool in his Headbutts, lots of great normals to stuff the opponent walking forward, and powerful roll cancels to reversal through gaps with. His high health lets him tank plenty of hits and keep going, and his command grab lets him punish opponents with a fast and damaging move. His Hand specials are annoying and powerful neutral tools that make Honda soar forward. They're very safe on block, hard to contest, and if roll cancelled, invincible. His Butt Slam specials are invincible rising specials that are great for punishing errant fireballs or movement, and can set up annoying ambiguous crossups on the opponents wakeup.

Honda doesn't come without weaknesses however. His slow movement makes it hard for him to approach vs characters that zone him out. While roll cancels aid in his normal weakness against projectiles, they aren't a guaranteed answer at all ranges. Being a charge character as well, approaching means sacrificing access to his Headbutts, which weakens his anti-air game significantly. Honda also lacks strong meterless damage, relying on supers to get meaningful damage overall. Honda is great if you want to sit back and annoy opponents into approaching you with his Hands, and then beat any approach option they pick.

Groove Selection

Best - C: C-Honda is a step above all the other Grooves. This gives him everything he needs, from rolls to solid damage output with meter. Honda almost always needs rolls, as they make many of his specials a lot scarier. His level 2 combo is also fairly damaging, allowing him to punish things more meaningfully. Airblock lets him approach from the air more safely, and Alpha Counters give him another powerful defensive tool to add to his arsenal. C-Honda is a great C-Groove pick, he fits the mechanics quite nicely.

Useful - A/N: Both of these Grooves are notably worse than C-Groove for Honda. A-Honda has a majority of the same things C-Honda does, but sacrifices airblock and level 2 supers for Custom Combos. While his CC isn't the worst, it's also not the best, and it is fairly difficult to perform. It does more than decent damage however, but you may find C-Grooves level 2 combos to be more frequent and give him better overall punishes rather than the rare high damage punish. N-Honda gets access to hop and run, which make him a bit more offensive, though he still has very little offensive pressure overall to work with. Namely, he can end a lot more combos in super, which is fairly worthwhile. He still gets access to rolls for RC specials as well.

Worst - S/K/P: These Grooves all have one thing in common: no rolls. Lack of roll means Honda can't do RC Hands, Headbutt, or Command Grab, all of which are powerful reversal and neutral options for him. S-Honda has very little access to meter, and while he doesn't mind charging, he would rather build meter normally through whiffing buttons or Hands pressure. Infinite level 1's doesn't aid him much either. K-Honda is a worse N-Honda. K-Groove is widely known to be offense oriented, and Honda just doesn't do well enough offensively to warrant that. A Raged punish into a level 3 super is scary, and K-Honda does get the benefit of a command grab super threat, but it isn't enough to justify the loss of rolls. P-Honda is essentially useless, as you have to give up charge to parry, which immediately makes you unable to punish whatever you parried in any meaningful way.

E. Honda is a powerful tank character, with some of the best defense in the game. His annoying roll cancelled Hands special forces the opponent to approach or eat a guard crush into a super. Honda's Headbutts can knock out almost any approach option they do in response to this. He just can't approach well at all in exchange. Honda is best in C-Groove. Difficulty: Medium Tier: B+
Pros	Cons
Defense: Between his powerful pokes, multiple useful sweeps, and great anti-airs with his Headbutts, getting in on a good Honda player is a tough task Neutral: With lots of good pokes, and his annoying Hands and Headbutt specials, Honda is a very powerful character in neutral Hundred Hand Slap: Hundred Hand Slap, often just called Hands, is a multi-hitting move with massive forward distance travelled and is plus on block. Honda can change how many slaps he does, making it hard to parry/JD, and if he roll cancels them he's fully invulnerable. These are very annoying to deal with for even seasoned players Health: Honda is one of the tankier characters in CvS2, and has high stun as well, allowing him to take a lot of hits and keep going Oicho: Oicho is a powerful and fast command grab that can snatch opponents doing something negative on block. Though difficult, you can roll cancel it as well to go through the opponent as a reversal	Offense: Though he does have a command grab, it's his only real mixup, and all together Honda has little in the way of mixups or damaging combos Charge: Honda's best punishes require him to have charge built, limiting his ability to threaten a combo as he approaches a lot Damage: Without meter, Honda's damage isn't very high, and even with meter it's often a little below average

Players to Watch

Name	Country	Groove	Accounts	Notes
Min	USA	A-Groove	Twitter: @2Old2Furious Discord: mncmt#7939	One of the very few to give A-Honda a chance. Min primarily uses A-Honda's great defense and charge moves to build meter for his next character. Sample Match
Chari	Japan	C-Groove	Twitter: @TowelManX	Used a very weird team with Honda as his point character. Really strong defense. Sample Match
Tsuji	Japan	N-Groove	N/A	Known for his Joe, Tsuji plays N-Honda with aggression, using RC Hands to close in space safely and getting in their face. Sample Match

Normal Moves

Standing Normals

5LP

Standing Jab
Standing Light Punch
5LP / Standing LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	600	6	SP/SU	Mid	Mid	4	6	6	16	+3	+3	-
A basic 5LP, except for the fact that it is really slow. It's one of the only normals that can combo into his special moves, and aside from that or basic pressure it has limited use.

5MP

Standing Strong
Standing Medium Punch
5MP / Standing MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	1100	11	SU	Mid	High	6	7	10	23	+3	+3	-
A decent poke. Hits all crouchers, but is a bit slow. You are left at +3 afterwards so it is still a nice button to land since you have some wiggle room to push more pressure.

5HP

Standing Fierce
Standing Heavy Punch
5HP / Standing HP

First Hit

Second Hit

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	1600 / 1500	16 / 15	SU	Mid	High	6	7	19	32	-2	-2	-
Massive damage for a single button. This is mainly one of Honda's anti airs, specifically when an opponent attempts to jump on top of or over him. The first hitbox has a lot of verticality. If whiffed, the recovery is big, but if blocked, you're safe since it's only -2.

5LK

Standing Short
Standing Light Kick
5LK / Standing LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	400	4	SP/SU	Mid	Low	4	9	6	19	+1	+1	-
A light toe tap. It's not particularly useful in any way. Like his other lights it combos into his specials but he has better options.

5MK

Standing Forward
Standing Medium Kick
5MK / Standing MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	500+700	5+7	SP/SU 1st Hit	Mid	High	6	2,2	18	28	0	0	-
Not too much use for this button. It can anti air jumps that come short of Honda but it is inconsistent at best.

5HK

Standing Roundhouse
Standing Heavy Kick
5HK / Standing HK

First Hit

Second Hit

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Standing	400+1200	4+12	SU 1st Hit	Mid	High	6	2,8	20	36	-4	-4	-
Another Honda anti air. This one is meant for jumps at a 45° angle, and it had very high priority. Aside from that, it does not have any other good uses.

clMK

Close Forward
Close Medium Kick
cl.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close	400+700	4+7	SU	Mid	High	4	2,6	9	21	+5	+5	-
Placeholder

2LP

Crouch Jab
Crouching Light Punch
2LP / cr.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	500	5	SP/SU	Mid	Low	4	8	6	18	+1	+1	-
Another one of Honda's only combo-able normals. It has a low startup, but a boatload of active frames for a light normal. It is only +1, but it can be staggered. Mostly used as an up close but not point blank move.

2MP

Crouch Strong
Crouching Medium Punch
2MP / cr.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1000	10	SU	Mid	Low	5	8	13	26	-1	-1	-
Very similar to 5MP, however it does have more range, but also deals less damage and has inferior frame data to compensate. Overall, another decent poke for Honda to use.

2HP

Crouch Fierce
Crouching Heavy Punch
2HP / cr.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1500	15	SU	Low	Low	6	4	33	43	KND	-13	-
A high damage sweep, but it is ironically outclassed by his actual sweep and 6HK.

2LK

Crouch Short
Crouching Light Kick
2LK / cr.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	300	3	SP/SU	Low	Low	4	6	6	16	+3	+3	-
A good stagger pressure button, and one of your better confirms into specials/supers. It can work as a melee poke as well, but the damage is not good by itself.

2MK

Crouch Forward
Crouching Medium Kick
2MK / cr.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	400+700	4+7	SU	Mid	Low	4	2,1	19	26	0	0	-
Useful for hit confirming into Lv2 Headbutt, but aside from that it's use as a poke is serviceable.

2HK

Crouch Roundhouse
Crouching Heavy Kick
2HK / cr.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1400	14	SU	Low	Low	6	5	26	37	KND	-7	-
A decent sweep. It is -7 and can be spaced to be unpunishable (most of the time, Gigaton Blow exists). It is also very fast at 6 frames, so it can be used as a punish tool when Honda has no charge. Overall a nice button.

j.LP

Jump Jab
Jumping Light Punch
j.LP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	700	7	-	High	-	5	22	-	27	-	-	-
A somewhat decent air-to-air, but due to the low priority and low reward, it is not the most optimal one to use.

j.MP

Jump Strong
Jumping Medium Punch
j.MP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	1100	-	-	High	-	6	6	-	12	-	-	-
Another air-to-air type attack. Since it has some damage to it, you can more safely use it and expect a decent return.

j.HP

Jump Fierce
Jumping Heavy Punch
j.HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	1600	-	-	High	-	7	6	-	13	-	-	-
Can be steered left or right by holding the direction. It is a pretty good jump-in tool especially considering the damn good 1600 damage.

j.LK

Jump Short
Jumping Light Kick
j.LK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	600	-	-	High	-	4	22	-	26	-	-	-
Not really used much. It doesn't cross-up as well as j.MK can and as an air-to-air it's pretty useless.

j.MK

Jump Forward
Jumping Medium Kick
j.MK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	1000	-	-	High	-	9	18	-	27	-	-	-
The cross-up button. It can cross-up pretty deep and has good active frames to boot. Good normal to use overall.

j.HK

Jump Roundhouse
Jumping Heavy Kick
j.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
//+	1400	-	-	High	-	8 / 10 (forward / neutral jump)	10	-	20	-	-	-
The most versatile air normal. It can work as a longer ranged jump-in and as a damaging air-to-air. It's also a great short hop normal.

Command Normals

6HK

Harai-Geri
6HK / f.HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
+	1300	-	-	Low	-	12	8	26	46	KND	-10	-
Pretty long ranged low that knocks down, essentially a standing sweep. It is nice to use when his 2HK is out of range. Though it is -10 it is very easy to space.

Throws

Tawara Nage

Tawara Nage
Punch Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HP

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	2000	-	-	-	-	3	1	13	-	-	-	-
A nice throw with great damage. Usually this is the throw that Honda prefers.

Saba Ori

Saba Ori
Kick Throw
Near Opponent, 4/6HK

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
Close /+	900+200 x (2~15)	-	-	-	-	5	1	13	-	-	-	-
Mash throw, mash for more hits. Punch throw is usually preferred.

Special Moves

Hundred Hand Slap

Hundred Hand Slap
5x

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP 4x +	500 per hit	5 per hit	None	Mid	Mid	5	4(4)4(4)4(4)4(4)	14	-	+3	+3	-
Fastest hands in the east. Can be used to abare staggered pressure but at 5f startup it isn't a foolproof option. No forward movement makes this a situational move.
MP 4x +	400 per hit	4 per hit	None	Mid	Mid	8	2(2)2(2)2(2)2(2)2(2)	14	-	+7	+7	-
Hands into a knockdown. Best choice of the 3 to enforce your opponent to sit down and block after a plus normal like st. or cr.. Can link cr. after this move if the stars align for a knockdown.
HP 4x +	400 per hit	4 per hit	None	Mid	Mid	11	2(2)2(2)2(2)2(2)2	20	-	+1	+1	-
The Hundred Hands Express. While it has the slowest startup of the three, the forward movement provided by it makes it well worth the wait. Combined this with roll canceling to pass through projectiles and get in your opponents face. Roll Cancelling To execute RC Hands, input 3x, then , followed by the final input. If you can hide the first 3 in a dash or fast normal, pianoing can be an easy way to achieve the first three. Roll Cancel MP and HP Hands are incredibly strong specials. Bully your opponent into submission with them and punish when they try to avoid it.

Sumo Headbutt

Sumo Headbutt
[4]6

Start up

First Hit

Flying

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP [4]6	1600/1400/1100	16/14/11	None	Mid	Mid	10	19	28	-	KND	-9	1-5
Anti-air headbutt. Has the most invulnerable frames of the three strengths. Can also counter predictable approaching moves on the ground.
MP [4]6	1600/1400	16/14	None	Mid	Mid	12	19	26	-	KND	-10	1-4
Rarely used
HP [4]6	1700/1600	17/16	None	Mid	Mid	7	37	29	-	-9/KND	-9	1-2
Fastest headbutt, most damage, longest range, but has the least invulnerable frames. This is the headbutt you'll be using in combos. cr. > headbutt is a simple, efficient combo that can be used after a roll, or to punish moves that are close enough to not surrender charge. An important note about this move is that at point blank range, it will not knockdown and you will be -9 on HIT. Typically, using a normal before this move will move you out of range and score a knockdown on hit. Roll Cancelling To execute RC Sumo Headbutt, input BEFORE moving to 6, followed by the final input. Roll Cancel headbutt is a projectiles worst nightmare. Honda isn't invulnerable for the full travel duration, but he is for most of it. Keep in mind you are still -9 on block and opponents can punish you even if you successfully RC.

Butt Slam

Butt Slam
[2]8

Start up

Flying Up

Falling Down

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP [2]8	1200,1300	12,13	None	High	High	21	7 [14] 8	14	-	KND	-2	21f (Full)
Nice move for pressure and anti-airs. It can also be an okay mix-up tool, but due to the large amount of i-frames and because it hits on the way up, it works best as an anti-air.
MP [2]8	1300,1400	13,14	None	High	High	19	7 [14] 10	14	-	KND	-4	19f (Full)
Rarely used, but can go over some fireballs and can be a decent anti-air.
HP [2]8	1500	15	None	High	High	42	13	14	-	KND	-7	19f (Full)
Least used of the three, since it takes the longest and does not hit on the way up, and it more punishable at -7 compared to the other strengths.

Oichio Nage

Oichio Nage
360+

Whiff

Hit

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP 360	2000	0	None	-	-	3	1	13	-	KND	-	-
MP 360	2100	0	None	-	-	3	1	13	-	KND	-	-
HP 360	2200	0	None	-	-	3	1	13	-	KND	-	-
Honda's command grab. It has the same frame data as a normal throw, and does pretty good damage. It can work as a way to stop opponents from blocking during pressure. It is not the best command grab, since it has pretty short range compared to other command grabs, but it is still nice to use. LP has a 58 pixel throw range, MP has 57, and HP has 56 respectively. You can get extra range on the grab by using Roll Cancels, but roll cancel 360s are very hard, so practice is needed to land them consistently. You will be invulnerable during the entire throw whiff animation however, so getting punished shouldn't be a thing unless it is a throw.

Super Moves

Onimusou

Onimusou
[4]646

Version	Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
LP [4]646	3000	0	None	Mid	High	9	29 [13] 15	35	-	KND	+4	9f (Full)
Decent super. It can be used as a safe reversal, an anti-air, and a combo ender (sometimes). Overall a good move to spend a bar on.
MP [4]646	4300	0	None	Mid	High	9	47 [14] 15 [20] 15	33	-	KND	+6	15f (Full)
A good super confirm for C-Groove. The optimal cancel is an HP Headbutt right after the last hit. It deals nice damage in that department. However, using it as an anti-air is a little less effective compared to Lvl.1 since it deals roughly the same damage, it is more wise to use Lvl.1 for metered anti-airs and Lvl.2 for combos.
HP [4]646	5800	0	None	Mid	High	9	47 [14] 15 [23] 1 [1] 1 [1] 1 [1] 1 [1] 1 [1] 1	20	-	KND	+2	23f (Full)
High damage super. Using this attack as an anti-air is now heavily discouraged instead of simply advised against, due to the fact that this super leaves Honda potentially unsafe as he performs an extra 100-Hand Slap at the end. On block it does pretty nice chip damage, and is safe on block. For what it's worth, it is your most reliable "big damage" move, whether it is a combo or a reversal. As you can see by the hitbox, this move can destroy fireballs, even super fireballs of any level. However, this is only applied to the flying hitbox, and not the startup. Because of this, you will usually never see this move used as a fireball punish, but it something to note.

Orochi Kudaki

Orochi Kudaki
720+

Whiff

Hit

Damage	Stun	Cancel	Guard	Parry	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Adv Hit	Adv Block	Invul
6600	0	None	-	-	6	1	13	-	KND	-	19f (Full)
Honda's most damaging attack, a 720 command grab. It has the same range as his LP Oichio, which unfortunately isn't the best. However, if the opponent was not already jumping before the freeze, they will get hit when in range. It is a great tool to use when you have a level 3 to use, especially in grooves like K. However, due to the difficult input and the lower range, it is more difficult to land compared to other 720 command grabs.

Colors