Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike/Sean/Matchups

Match-ups

Note: Sean has a disadvantage in almost every match-up. That means its up to you, the player, to overcome this with your skill. Luckily, Sean is one of the few characters that all 3 supers are viable. What this means is, is that generally you can choose between 2 of the 3 supers against some characters and some characters all 3 of them can be used.

• Vs. Necro

The Bad: His corner pressure is just as deadly as Dudley's, so you need to not let him corner you. That means no backing up, just advance forward only until you can corner him. Problem is, he can zone you out just like Remy can with his pokes (ground and air) so that means you need to parry to get inside on him. Learn how to parry his vortex punch, electric charge, and the overhead. It'll help you out quite a bit. He can also build up quite a bit of stun especially with SA3. His grabs have good range so watch out for that.

The Good: He has a big hitbox, a really big one. Keep this in mind, things that normally wouldn't connect manage to actually hit him while he's still airborne. The Double DP works especially on his normal jump so keep that in mind if he tries to neutral jump in the corner. Say if you're just shy of 2 stocks of SA2, the best substitute would be to end the Shoryu Cannon with a EX Dragon Smash at the end (Corner) since it'll hit with both hits of the EX. Confirming into SA2 x2 in the corner vs. Necro is about 90-93 damage (more than half) if you can time it right.

Note: It's possible to hit him with Cl.HK x EX Dragon Smash, but this is due to the "doubling over" animation he has. If he does the "sway away" animation after getting hit w/Cl.HK then it'll whiff completely.

Recommended super: Either Hadou Burst to punish him consistently or Shoryu Cannon for the power and corner juggles.

• Vs. Remy

This match-up depends on how well you can read/parry your opponent and how quick you are to react/reversal. Its not easy for Sean to get in close to do damage when all Remy has to do is just zone you out. To get in close on a Remy player that knows what they're doing, you need to parry at least 1-4 times before trying anything (sometimes you might not have to) and this applies to jump-ins as well. From far range, you only have 4 options: EX Tackle/Wheel and SA1/3. EX tackle and Wheel have to be done psychically because they can be parried or met with retaliation by a Flash Kick, Dive Kick or LOV and SA1/3 have to be done on reaction which is not easy either. Be on the lookout for lows since alot of Remys like to test the waters with a few lows until they get the chance to cancel into the F.K. Sean Tackle will help you a bit here; It goes underneath the high LOV. Remy's will often throw them and then quickly dash up the screen to get to you to apply mix-up. So as soon as you see them start dashing, full Sean tackle underneath the L.O.V coming and grab them for approaching. You can do to some extent, the same with Zenten so get creative with this concept. Always keep one thing in mind, Remy's very susceptible to stun and Sean has the ability to stun him within 5 consecutive heavy hits so when you get the chance to pressure/trap him, do so and do it quickly.

Note: Remy can be hit with all 3 hits of the EX Wheel. When this happens its 0 on hit.

Recommended Super: All 3 can be used. H.B or H.T against Remy's who zone with LOVs/SA1 or S.C vs. "In your face" Remy's or if you're confident getting past the zone.

• Vs. Sean:

As a Sean player you should already know most of the "Sean-nanigans" and what he is capable of. There are some who use his taunt as a main source of mix-up and that's not always a good thing to do. There are only 2 moves that can get to the other side of the screen in an instant and those are EX Tackle and EX Wheel Kick. As such, bait these 2 moves out. Be quick to react to any sudden Sean Tackles (empty or full) lest you want to be thrown.

Recommended Super: All 3 can be used. Take your pick.

• Vs. Ryu:

Not a bad match-up overall. Be aware of the whiffed LK Tatsu since that's a common move to buffer parry into due to its deceptive recovery so just grab for free. The Fireball can be a big problem though if you aren't looking out for it. The Ryu player may throw it after a throw tech or crouch tech and might even throw multiple if they think you aren't paying attention. Watch out for the Kara-grab since Ryu has a good one. Resist jumping especially when you're trapped in the corner or you might get caught by the Donkey Kick as an AA. You have 6 ways of getting around his hadokens (Parry, Neutral jump, Zenten, Sean tackle, SA3 and Wheel Kicks). Once you let the opponent know this, they'll think twice before throwing them.

Recommended Super: All 3 supers are good. SA3 works nicely against Denjin Ryu/Zone Ryu, SA2 works against ShinSho, and SA1 can be used against him as the standard.

• Vs. Ken:

From experience, I find this match-up to be the worst of the 3 top tiers for Sean. Ken far outclasses Sean in nearly everything shoto-esque. At least against Yun and Chun some moves/options get safer but against Ken, Sean is at his weakest. Shippu can punish about 85-90% of what Sean can do which means mistakes are not to be made. Ken, on wake-up can do either: low, high, overhead or grab. 3 of these options lead back to SA3. Guessing on wake-up against Ken (especially in the corner) can lead to a big amount of damage which means please be careful. Learn to red parry his MP-HP chain, his B-MK overhead, Cr.LK x2, and Shippu. In this match-up, you're going to have to 'out-Ken' Ken. At far range, the only 3 buttons you have to worry about is Standing and Crouching Roundhouse and Crouching Forward. Crouching Forward gets beat out by Sean's Standing Forward; You can punish Crouching Roundhouse with Cr.MK x Hadou Burst if you have the meter and Standing Roundhouse can be punished by raw Hadou Burst. I've seen alot of kens use EX Tatsu as a means to escape the corner. Sean can actually punish this 1 of 3 ways: EX Tackle, Hadou Burst or HP/EX Dragon Smash. HP/EX Dragon Smash goes up very high in the air and if it hits him, it will put him right back in the corner. If he manages to get over your head, EX Tackle or Hadou Burst and he'll land smack dab right on it. Parrying is important in this match-up, especially since you need to punish him whenever you can.

Recommended Super: All 3 are good against Ken.

• Vs. Oro

This match-up is a footsie orientated MU more than anything else. Oro has stubby lows which means you can hunker down outside of his sweep range and place high parries to catch his longer reaching normals (St.MK/HK/etc). At this same range, you have Far MP, Crouch HP (against extended limbs), Crouch MK (whiff punish usually), etc. to choose from. Oro can be hard to pin down at times but this isn't that much of a problem for Sean considering how much distance he can cover in such a short period of time. Its ideal to not press your luck on oki as one guess parry can end up losing you the round so just proceed with caution for the most part. As far as supers go: all 3 are good in their own right. SA1 is great all-around especially since it means he cant throw projectiles or risk 45% (if you have 2 bars) and the fact you can confirm Close HK x SA1 on him. SA2 is good because it gets you out of his unblockable setups and the damage. SA3 for the same reasons as SA1.

• Vs. Ibuki

She is a hit and run match up, its a decent matchup because she lacks stamina and you have better footsies, if she is throwing Kunais do a Overhead Turn Kick for recovery punishment at far distance , and Dragon Smash for near and corner one specially, standing Forward can be a good punishment tool for her Neck Breaker fail, Jab Sean Tackle approach can be a good answer for her Tsuji Goe and Kasumi Gake, frustrate her offensive strategy with good poking its your objective, Overhead Turn Kick can be useful against Kazekiri first frames,or you can wait and punish it with a Tackle.

Basketball can be an offensive tool agasint Kunais but you'll be too vulnerable if fails.

Recommended: Hyper Tornado (for low stamina characters)

• Vs. Twelve:

In my opinion, this is probably the only match-up where Sean is at an advantage. Twelve's health is just as bad as Akuma's and like Sean, a good amount of his special moves leave him crouching on block/parry. Twelve rules the air with his IAD's and wall bounces but Sean has many Anti-airs which means that you have half the match won if you can keep him out of the sky. Learn to parry his Cr.HP and Cr.HK as those moves are among the most risky in his arsenal to use. Towards Roundhouse is the perfect counter-poke to Twelve's Standing Roundhouse. Parrying is still important in this match-up, don't jump in the air without buffering first. Twelve is one of the very few who can be hit by Cl.HK x Dragon Smash (though its not as consistent).

Recommended Super: All are damaging but, the benefits of SA2 by far out-weigh the other 2. Its the only super that can punish his EX Dive on block (that leaves him crouching), and it's one of Sean's Anti-airs. All it takes to win is just 2 parries with Cl.HK x Shoryu Cannon to punish him.

• Vs. Yang:

He is a rushdown character but with low stamina, also had decent footsies like you, try to punish his fails with SA2 and throw him if he activates SA3

• Vs. Alex:

• Vs. Hugo:

This is a difficult match up to over come. While its already difficult getting in close on some characters, getting in close proximity of Hugo can be very dangerous. You have a weapon in your arsenal that will help you out and that is Zenten. Since it's throw invincible you'll avoid the imminent danger of a SPD especially if you can telegraph it. Don't let him trap you in the corner either. Remember when I said the EX Tornado is 99% safe? Well, against SA1 Hugo it isn't. In fact, he can flat out punish you for doing it even though you normally can escape 1 frame supers. Gigas is the 1% exception so be very aware of this when playing. Also another thing, take heed to how many ways Gigas Breaker can be buffered (cross-up jump, clap, cr.LK, whiffed back-breaker, super jump, etc.). Don't jump too much or better yet, jump unpredictably as to bait out an occasional back-breaker whiff and punish as you see fit. As long as you play the full screen, getting your damage in and getting back out safely, you won't have too much trouble with this match-up.

As for the recommended super: SA1 or SA2. Shoryu Cannon is good for damage and if you're confident in getting in and getting out. It will also save you in case Gigas comes out slower than it should. Hadou Burst is good to consistently punish Hugo whenever he makes a mistake.

• Vs. Akuma:

I find from experience that Sean Vs. Akuma matches go by very quickly and can go really either way. Sean can end Akuma just as quick (maybe even quicker) as he can end Sean. This is a match-up that, again, relies on how well you can parry AND deal with the resets. Red parrying Akuma's tatsu is a MUST. In this matchup, the tackle is of much benefit. If you can read when the Akuma player backs off to zone you out from the air from full screen, an EX tackle (or any tackle really depending on dist.) will go underneath the air projectile and tackle him for 26 stun (nearly half) or if you choose not to tackle, you can go for something else that's a bit more, damaging. If you can properly set up Sean's stun from his basketballs, this will make his moves even more dangerous Vs. Akuma. Be ready to heavily punish any and every LK Tatsu on block. Dealing with Demon Flip mix-ups are tough, but if you can see the DF coming, either jump back HK/Cr.Fierce/or LP Dragon Smash him out of the air and SA1 him (if you picked it) before he hits the ground. Like Remy, all it takes is 5 fierces to stun so when you're going on the offensive keep this in mind.

Note: Akuma's hitbox is a bit bigger than the other shotos, meaning he can be hit with all 3 hits of the EX Wheel. On block or hit when this happens, its 0.

Recommended Super: All 3 are highly damaging to Akuma's health. Any one will do in this MU.

• Vs. Urien:

Spectre General went into heavy detail on this match up in the Shoryuken Forums:

(Urien)

• Vs. Yun

• Vs. Chun-Li

• Vs. Dudley