Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike/Ibuki/Matchups

Akuma

Akuma is similar to Ibuki in that he has a lot of offense and mobility at the cost of low health. The key difference being Akuma's air fireball which is much more central to his gameplan than Ibuki's kunais are to hers. Between air fireball and Demon Flip, Akuma will be jumping a lot. Look for opportunities to dash under him and punish him accordingly; HK is pretty reliable in this case as you'll either launch him or send him flying depending on the version you get, but both will work. You can also wait until he falls and punish with a ground combo instead.

Akuma's tatsus don't travel very far, and so they are the easiest to duck under then sweep once he lands. Make sure to punish any and all careless tatsus the Akuma player might do; you won't get opportunities to hurt him as free as ducked tatsus. Do take care of LK tatsus though because those won't hit Ibuki at all, and mentally it may fail to register fast enough for you if you're first expecting to block something. Akuma can immediately do shoryuken or throw after recovering and beat your buttons in that case.

Watch out for kara throw as Akuma's has quite the amount of range, and he can turn the game around off that knockdown.

You cannot slide under Akuma's SA1; you can however get around it with EX Hien (Ibuki's upkicks), or bait it out from the air by pretending to jump in, then using SA1 to stop your fall.

The cl.LP->MP->HP target combo hits Akuma in full even if he's crouching. This lets you punish with a faster, safer button that also allows you much more time to hit confirm into whatever you want. Additionally, in this situation you can link into st.MK for extra damage before a special, though the timing is strict. This link works on everyone else that this TC hits while crouching. Of course this applies to the standalone back MP->HP target combo as well.

Alex

Get him to jump whenever possible. Alex loses quite badly in the air against Ibuki, and the air resets also set him up for crossup j.MKs if he decides to stand in place, due to his large size and slow speed. Bully him whenever you get him in the corner; his only invincible reversals are EX Knee Smash and SA2. Just make sure you use kunais during your pressure so that he cannot EX Slash Elbow out of the corner.

Kasumi Gake (command dash) will get you past any EX stomps and SA3 as well if Alex doesn't set it up with a previous attack. Slide (3MK) will beat any Slash Elbows clean.

If you're confident, you can bait EX Knee with neutral jumps (outside of the range of his cr.HP or 6HP normals) every now and then as it's just a single parry and leaves Alex wide open when missed.

Be careful with mashing the MP or HP versions of SA1 if you're not far enough from Alex, as he can punish with EX Slash Elbow. A mashed, poorly spaced HP SA1 can be punished even on hit.

Chun-Li

Ibuki will have to play a technically impeccable game against a Chun-Li that knows what she's doing. The j.LK->j.6MK air target combo is essential because it's the only one capable of hitting a crouching Chun with both hits. What you want in this matchup most of all is certainty; any mistake or unexpected miss can be punished with a simple normal into SA2 for damage that you'll have a very tough time coming back from. Chun is simply tough to approach in general; her back HP beats a lot of the stuff Ibuki can try, including specials like Hien.

You can try to poke her or take a few risks while she doesn't have meter, but if she does have it, trying to forcefully break through her guard is liable to getting you KO'd fast. Instead keep your distance, out of her cr.MK range, and look to score parries on her far HP or crouching HK; forward parry will cover both of these buttons.

Also look to get parries on her Kikoken, and especially Hazanshu (flip kick); both of these moves are fairly reactable and Chun takes a while to recover from them.

Your main go-to in combos will likely be MK Tsumuji (spin kicks) because it's the best damage you can get without risking any hit whiffing. Other versions interact with her in odd ways depending on whether she's standing or crouching, and basically MK Tsumuji will hit her in all scenarios. HK Tsumuji is virtually useless because the last hit will always miss crouching Chun, and against standing Chun the EX version is simply better in every way. Still, make sure not to combo into EX Tsumuji unless you can fully confirm she is indeed standing; the first hit will always miss on crouching Chun unless you're at a very specific distance - one where you would never do this move from - and then it's just a free punish for her.

Chun can do SA2 to punish many of Ibuki's moves on block, including her sweep, Raida (her command grab - especially the HP version), and any versions of Tsumuji other than LK and MK (without the 3rd hit). One thing you can try is take advantage of her attempts to confirm into super by using specials that are airborne on frame 1, either on your wakeup or as anti-parry tech so that you get reset in the air and essentially waste her super. Hien and Kazekiri (her DP) are two such moves.

She has the slowest wakeup time of the whole cast, so crossup kunai setups are extremely easy to do on her.

Dudley

EX Machine Gun Blow is particularly threatening against Ibuki due to her low health, and the amount of space and juggle options that it sets up for Dudley, especially in the corner. This being said, it will miss if Ibuki is crouching. In this case Dudley will have to go for other combo routes, such as MP/HP Jet Upper which can only be followed up by super. The opposite happens with his HK xx MK Ducking Upper confirm, which only hits her if she's crouching. It's generally preferable to avoid getting hit by EX MGB at all where possible, as it's his most damaging option due to followups - the other combos are overall weaker even with the extra damage against crouchers. Ibuki has the option to land from certain specials in a crouching state, so do keep this in mind if your DP, kunai or Hien gets blocked.

Staying in the mid-range poking him with 6HK and cr.MK is a good place to start, as it'll allow you to whiff punish while catching any attempts Dudley may make at ducking into close range.

Dealing with Dudley's jump-ins is vital. You can do it by anti-airing him with an attack, dashing/jumping away, etc. His jump height is pretty low; cr.HP will deal with him most of the time, and it'll let you jump cancel on parry. The one thing to watch out for there is his j.HK which is liable to beating your buttons clean. Bottom line is, try your best to prevent him from setting up 50/50 mixups, especially if he has meter. To do this you'll have to constantly check his attempts at closing in.

If Dudley doesn't have meter and you find yourself having trouble predicting him on your wakeup, it's better to just block low; even if he hits you with Dart Shot, he cannot combo off it without super. Do watch out for meaty UOH though as it will allow him to link other moves afterwards.

You may find yourself in quite a few air-to-air interactions against Dudley; if he gets an air reset on you he can duck then super while you're falling. At this point you can only parry, but with practice it's more than possible.

cl.LP->MP->HP target combo works on crouching Dudley.

Ibuki

Ibuki mirrors can be particularly fast games, due to Ibuki's low health combined with her long list of mixups. Meter is extremely important for EX Kazekiri (her DP) and for chipping out the opposing Ibuki with SA1. 6MK can only really be punished by jab on parry, or throw if they're in range. Anything else and Ibuki recovers fast enough to react.

The main task in this matchup will be shutting down her movement options; stuffing her dashes, hitting her out of her jumps, and getting knockdowns so that you can set up wakeup mindgames, or just a SA1 for chip damage. If you do get knocked down, be careful about what you do on your own wakeup, because of Raida (command grab). It'll stuff virtually anything you do other than reversal EX DP or reversal SA2, and it'll deal a lot of damage on its own. The opposing Ibuki can also use her normal dash to switch sides and mess up your guard that way. That being said, Raida is negative enough on block to let you return to neutral without much issue afterwards.

A common sequence that Ibuki does in a lot of matchups is a cancelable normal (like st.MK) into LK Hien, to catch people crouch blocking or attempting a jump; in the mirror match Ibuki can block the first attack, then slide to beat out Hien.

Two specific things to keep in mind: standing jab will check any command dashes the opponent Ibuki cancels into, no matter the button she cancelled from. Also, if you combo st.MK into EX Tsumuji the last hit will whiff on crouching Ibuki unless you go low.

Ken

Ken has a lot of things to watch out for. He has arguably the best versions of the shotos' moves. Though he lacks an air fireball like Akuma, he more than makes up for it with his double LP shoryuken links and a very dangerous EX air tatsu. Ken can read and punish an HP SA1 done from the opposite corner of the screen with a forward superjump EX tatsu; that's how good it is. Your best means to respond are either j.HK, air grabbing him during his startup, or whatever is convenient given the spacing.

Spacing will be extremely important due to Ken's SA3 being a constant threat. Any parry on a non-cancelable normal like cr.MK can easily lead to a SA3 punish, and then you have to deal with wakeup. As is the case against the shotos' crouching buttons, 6HK is again going to be one of your most reliable assets to go over his cr.MK and cr.HK. Do remember that Ken can make it miss with a slight walk back, and punish 6HK's relatively long recovery.

Take a great deal of care with his j.MK crossup because it's pretty effective and Ibuki doesn't have the health to be taking too many combos.

The cl.LP->MP->cr.HK->HK target combo is a good way to deal good stun damage to shotos in general and set up a jump-in; after they fall from the air reset they'll have to choose whether to anti-air, parry, or just block. Ibuki can bait shoryukens this way and simply buffer parry while she approaches Ken. If the Ken doesn't do anything (e.g. blocks or tries to parry) you can just land then throw. If he tries to move or use a normal to anti-air you, you can respond with your air TCs to beat his buttons out.

If you see an EX air tatsu coming, just duck. It'll never hit you, and you can punish Ken as he lands. Be wary of when he suddenly uses it to cross you up.

Remy

Meter management is important here due to Remy's reliance on his projectiles. EX Hien can punish booms on reaction, just be careful as doing it late may give Remy enough time to recover and do EX flash kick to keep you out. EX Kubiori (neckbreaker) can also punish high booms but Remy often recovers too fast for it.

Try and parry poorly spaced CBKs if Remy gets too predictable with them; he'll land in a crouching state. You can then punish however you like; standing MK into MK Tsumuji with low ender will specifically let you score a knockdown while taking advantage of the extra damage on crouchers.

It's not uncommon for Remy to jump and miss j.HP on purpose to trick you into blocking, then throw you after landing. If you can read him, you can do HP Raida to catch him as he lands.

Ryu

In general this matchup is more about being patient and keeping good fundamentals. Ryu's moves aren't as threatening as Ken's or Akuma's versions. His shoryukens are single-hit except for the EX version, and their arc covers much less horizontal space. His tatsus completely miss you if you're crouching due to lacking the first hit that Ken's and Akuma's tatsus have. However, he can still hurt Ibuki pretty bad when he does get momentum, especially if he gets to combo into EX donkey kick.

Watch out for throws as it lets him set up high/low mixups, or Denjin if he has it. Ibuki can deal with Denjin by doing a parry into slide, as it pushes her hurtboxes down to the ground on frame 1, and so it goes under Denjin at the same time it hits Ryu if he's close.

You can deal with shoto fireballs in general with slide, EX Kubiori (though this requires faster reactions), or EX Hien too, though it can sometimes miss and leave you standing behind them instead.

Twelve

Look to annoy Twelve by calling out his jumps. Ibuki's quick dashes and air normals (especially j.HK) make her easily capable of crossing under Twelve's glides, at which point she can hit him from behind with close HK, Kazekiri, or even an air-to-air button. Be patient and try to react to his glides as often as possible; so long as you deny him the opportunity to do mixups off glides, he does not have much to threaten you with. He'll most likely try to fake you out with empty jumps, or very low glides to bait you instead. Pay attention to the Twelve's playstyle so that you can tell when to go on the offensive, and when to keep your distance to bait his EX needles, SA1, or glide.

Ibuki's cl.LP->MP->cr.HK->HK target combo whiffs on Twelve on the final hit, so you won't be able to launch him away. For a similar effect you can instead do cl.LP->MP->HP and cancel into Raida.

EX Hien punishes needles clean if you get the read on him. Kasumi Suzaku (SA1) can evade then punish any SA1's that Twelve might do as an anti-air.

It's worth noting that Ibuki's command dash shrinks her upper hurtboxes on frame 1, just like her slide. This can make it more useful than the normal dash in certain scenarios, such as glides followed by a quick air button like j.LP.

Urien

Urien has a large health pool, good damage, and one of the best supers in the game. That being said, Ibuki has a fair amount of things she can use to gain an advantage.

Ibuki can discourage careless tackles by punishing with cr.MK on block; and if Urien's launcher (cr.HP) is blocked at point blank, you can do a slight walk forward then st.MK to punish with a combo. If Ibuki is crouch blocking, the second hit of his cr.HP misses altogether.

You can dash through non-EX Aegis Reflectors before they go active. Such as when Urien cancels a blocked tackle into Aegis, or does one in the corner without a normal fireball to cover its startup first.

Since Ibuki jumps around a lot, Urien may want to make a hard read and try to anti-air you with MP or HP fireball; don't let this happen or he can follow up with multiple tackles for huge damage, and meter gain. Instead try to switch between jumping onto him and simply keeping your distance to make him guess. If he preemptively does an anti-air fireball while you're on the ground, you can punish with EX Kubiori provided he's within range.

Urien can use headbutts to close the distance and throw you after landing; you can hit him out of the air on reaction with any fast button, like jab. Back MP -> HP target combo works as well and leads to a soft knockdown, but for this one you have to really see it coming. MP and HP headbutts will always miss Ibuki on the ground; only the LP and EX versions can hit you, and that's only while standing.

Don't get too predictable with your jump-ins or you might get parried into launcher. Remember that Urien is always looking to land cr.HP to get a combo started. Speaking of which, 6MK will go over his lows and if parried, Urien cannot punish it with launcher, so feel free to poke with it every now and then too.

Ibuki can juggle herself out of unblockable setups with any of her instantly airborne moves, which are her taunt, Hien, Kazekiri and Tsuiji Goe (command jump). This requires reversal timing.

cl.LP->MP->HP target combo works on crouching Urien.