Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo/Blanka

Introduction

Blanka is one of the most underused characters in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Some would even say he gets a bad rep as one of the worst characters in the game. However, Blanka is not without his share of combos, cross-overs, tricks, ticks, and tactics that can get you lots of wins, even in a competitive tournament situation. Blanka has one of the best throws in the game, one of the fastest special moves in the game, and some of the best links leading into dizzies.

The drawback of all this, is that Blanka has a lot of bad matchups. Although at first you will undoubtedly get some wins, after someone plays you a few times, they will get used to your gimmicks and start to find ways around them. There are several characters in ST that straight-up counter most of the things that Blanka can use effectively, if they know it's coming. However, except at the very highest competitive levels of play, you will probably not ever run into someone who knows how to stop some of the tactics I will list below.

Please keep in mind, I will be adding to the work of R3ko, RWD and Crayfish, who have already laid out the groundwork for this guide. I'll be adding my own personal strategies and the combos/links I've found most effective in competitive play.

Moves List

The Basics

Air Attacks and Anti-airs

Blanka's jumping attacks are quick, have long reach, and can be used in several different situations.

His jumping light kick is an excellent crossover, and has excellent priority, sometimes beating other fighter's jumping attacks. It is used primarily as Blanka's crossup move, and can be linked into several different strings of attacks.

Blanka's j.HK is a HUGE dropkick that has extremely good reach. Use this move to quickly jump over fireballs/projectiles and punish your opponents from a seemingly too far distance.

Jumping HP is an awsome high priority air attack. It is a downward-aiming swipe with both of Blanka's claws, that has strange hitbox priorities. Instead of just hitting ahead of Blanka like most other jumping moves, the jumping HP can be used to hit directly BELOW Blanka as well. This makes it an excellent tactic to use when you have your opponent in the corner, or if you are facing someone like Dhalsim, who's standing medium punch anti-air pretty much beats everything else you can dish out, including your crossup j.LK. The jumping HP, when used at the right angle/deepness, can either beat or trade most anti-air normals in the game, and is one of the reasons Blanka can actually dominate a match when given the right positioning.

Blanka has several anti-airs that can all be used in different situations:

-Vertical ball attack can be used in two situations. If your opponent is in front of you, use the HK version (which is VERY fast) to surprise them. Remember, there's no airblocking! If you are getting crossed up, the LK version of the vertical ball will stop or trade about 80% of the crossups in the game, which will definitely frustrate your opponents. However, if your opponent is deep enough with the crossup attack, the LK vertical ball will not work, and you will eat their attack.

-Standing HP can be used in some situations, most notably if an opponent is jumping in for a crossup but is not really deep enough to get it properly. Also, if you are ahead on life in the match, use standing HP to trade with most jump-in attacks. Remember, this is a HP so it will pretty much do the same, or more damage, than most of the jump-ins people use.

-Electricity can also be used as an anti-air, but be wary of trying to use it too much. Unlike a lot of the other multiple button tap moves (like Honda's Hundred Hand Slap or Chun's lighting legs), it doesn't come out as consistently as you'd like. Use this move sparingly, and only if you have enough time to get the right amount of button taps out to activate the electricity in time.

-Jump straight up HP is an EXCELLENT anti-air for anybody jumping at you. It is a quick, upwards smack with Blanka's palm, that most people have now begun to call "the pimp slap" because it looks exactly like a huge palm slap. Use this move to surprise jumping attackers, and also to hit people who are almost directly above you, going for crossups - it is surprisingly fast.

-Standing medium punch is a standing claw swipe downwards. VERY fast, and this move can actually neutralize a lot of jumping attacks completely. Use this in certain matchups to give Blanka the complete advantage - especially against Zangief.

-Jump forward MP is awsome air to air, the hitbox and his jump arc is high, so it hits most other airmoves from above.

Footsies

c.HP is awsome. Huge range and quick recovery, great for punishing whiffed sweeps and especialy good against Fireballers, work at its max range (this is a good jump in range too) and try to trade hits with/ snuff fireball throwing frames. c.HP can beat flat air attacks like Guile's j.HK and Dictators 'Swallow Dive' (the backflip puch that follows Head Stomp)

Against Shotos you can also use his s.HK (backflip kick). At the right range, you will flip over any crouching kicks they throw, but your feet will hit thier hands snuffing thier fireball throwing frames! It works like Sagat's far s.HP in this respect.

c.MK and c.LK are great against other low kicks, they can beat moves like Guile's c.MK clean. This really undermines the opponents comfort ranges and helps you put pressure on.

s.LK has incredible priority, with good enough timing it can beat almost anything. s.LP is great too, experiment...

Whenever attempting a Slide, always charge back in case it connects since it will start his wake-up options.

DSP EDIT: Here are the footsies I find most useful:

-Crouching FP has excellent range, but average damage. It can surprise an opponent who isn't expecting Blanka to have that kind of reach with his attacks. You can also use it for spacing: if your opponent is close enough to block the punch, you know you will be able to do a jab Blanka Ball and it will stop JUST in front of them - this leads into one of Blanka's best tactics, but we'll get to that later.

-Down-toward+FP "The Slide" - this move is GREAT in certain situations, for example against anybody with a fireball. If you are in range to hit with the slide, and your opponent is about to throw a fireball, your slide will completely cancel out their fireball animation and trip them. Also, the slide goes COMPLETELY underneath Guile's sonic booms, pretty much rendering them useless against Blanka. And let's face it, Guile throws a LOT of sonic booms. The downfall of the slide is that it is pretty slow, and if blocked, you can be left wide open. Also, the slide can be used as an anti-air in certain situations, but if you do not hit with it you will pretty much be screwed.

-Crouching MK - great footsie attack, can be comboed into itself when you are close enough, or into a Blanka ball for quick, MASSIVE damage. Also sets up one of Blanka's dashing-game advanced tactics when buffered into the Dash move.

Misc

Blanka’s ball if great for closing the gap, you can even roll up and throw and from certain ranges, using LP and MP balls.

Blanka is one of the best throwers in the game, and is extremely good at countering tick throws with his own.

Alot of people worry about other characters body torpedo moves when playing with Blanka. j.LK beats them clean. Jump back LK, repeat is a safe, easy deterant against the threat of psychocrushers and Honda headbutts. Especially good when your ahead on energy.

O.Blanka is a waste of time, all hes got is a slightly faster walk speed and a different type of vertical ball. I find Blanka’s slide, leaps and even his super just too valuable to give up.

DSP EDIT: Here's a few miscellaneous things from me: -Blanka's jab ball is GREAT for spacing and advancing. It's quick, it's safe as long as it's not close enough to be blocked (in the respect that if your opponent tries to do something, they will probably trade with a special move and lose the trade), and it leads into a lot of throw/footsie setups.

-Blanka has a ridiculously damaging throw. Use it at every opportunity.

-Blanka's HP ball is RIDICULOUSLY fast. You can use it as a counter-hit move in a surprising amount of situations, most notably when somebody is trying to walk up and sweep you, or sometimes even right at the start of the match (it will hit if the opponent does anything BUT just block).

-Jumping LK will beat most advancing moves, including the sumo headbutt, leg scissors, etc. However, it will sometimes randomly trade with the flaming torpedo (And you will definitely be the loser in that trade).

-I've honestly never even tried O.Blanka, I would never want to give up the speed, spacing, hop, and super that ST Blanka has.

--r3ko and DarksydePhil

Advanced Strategy

Fast Meter Building + Super

This is obvious, backwards beast leap charges meter retardedly fast, unfortunatly, Blanka probably has one of the worst supers in the game, or at least it's tied with Honda's "random hits of doom" but, just like Honda's, it does have a some uses.

Super is the best AA move in the game, huge damage, almost totaly invunerable, can change direction for crossovers and landing it as AA is also the only way to guarentee safety after the fact and secure all 5 hits. Peform motion and hold button early, so that you land the opponent on the height of the vertical motion (this juggles the opponent higher and gives you more time to guage thier falling trajectory), then release so that you roll under their falling body JUST before they hit the ground, this will secure maxximum hits.

Don't use this as a chipper, its the most obvious thing in the world and most jabs/shorts beat it

It rolls under all projectiles except for Low Tiger Shots.

Another odd little trick about the super is on knockdown near the corner, with proper timing this can be used as, I think at least, a crossover which then leads into a free combo attempt - this has been highlighted in the TZW combo videos. I say I think it is a crossover as (when done right) Blanka hits the opponent from behind, but like CE Bison's psycho crusher, it is probably random how it hits when done this way, and is even comboable which you can find details on in the combo section.

Using the leap

The leap is a valuble tool which is often over looked, most people would attribute it to only really setting up throw and combo cheese (which will explained in later sections.), which its great at. But it also makes blanka a very nimble character.

Don't forget that there is little bit of invincibility at the atart of the leap which will help you to avoid low attacks and even get out of SPDs since when you leap your off the ground. So if Gief lands a meaty c.LK, you can leap backwards out of it making his SPD whiff.

You can bait attacks with it, by leaping backwards at close range, and countering with a slide or c.HP or even ball.

You can use it effectively to close the gap after knockdowns if you don’t have a charge ready, so you can start a meaty or cross up.

Leaping forward in to throw range out of blue or off a c.MK can take your opponent by suspise, giving you a throw/headbutt/tick/combo

When Downed

Blanka cannot be crossovered... ever... vertical ball is simply too good and,. Fear the beast...

Don't attempt reversal horizontal ball... ever - you'd be surprised how many attacks will beat it clean which sort of defeats the whole point of a reversal really.

Reversal backwards leap is good to get out of jams mid-screen... just don't use it to avoid something in the corner unless you like being hit afterwards though.

Using Blanka Balls with Caution

Using Blanka’s horizontal ball is extremely risky against certain characters. If blocked the following characters can punish you. Warning some can even punish you when u hit aswell.

Dic can do a feirce psycho crusher

Dee Jay can do a feirce fire ball

Blanka can do a feirce blanka ball

Boxer can use his rush moves

Claw can walk > feirce

Dhalsim can do far feirce or roundhouse

O.sag can low roundhouse tiger

Bite Loops and follow-ups

Basic, retarded, fun - like Dhalsim's bullshit only a bit easier to get out of.

Blanka's bite range is simply sick, I think its actually larger than Sim's, but anyway... generally j.LK or j.LP tick into bite does wonders if not abused too much.

Once you land throw you can do the following:

- j.LK > throw again xx repeat - this is obvious to get out of, but its one of those things that works because Blanka is so fast, even if you only get a second set of bites, damage is damage.

-j.LK > MP > throw – MP ticks nicely into throw, but u have to walk the tiniest bit forward to land the throw otherwise you get normal standing HP.

-j.LK > MP > leap > throw - You can even add a leap in here which if your close enough will cross up, and you don’t necessarily have to go into a throw, a combo or a tick could be a better option.

-j.LK > x-over j.LK > combo attempt - the second c.LK should crossover when your at mid-screen so make them feel the rage (rawh!)... you also have the option of repeated j.LK's if the first crossover attempt doesn't hit.

-Slide - hilarious, but it works, people get so paranoid over the j.LK and trying to stop it they forget Blanka can just low knockdown them and start crossover ball fun again.

-Leap forward twice to crossup > throw/combo – this can be quite useful against characters which don’t have reversals.

Crossover Balls , Knockdown and Electricity Fun

These strats go hand in hand:

Whenever a slide, c.HK or vertical ball connects - you get a free attempt to do crossover horizontal balls... unfortunatly, your going to have to work out yourself which balls to use as the whole thing is dependant on where you are on the screen and how deep the attack you used connected - this is something you get a feel for in time and isn't too hard to work out in a heated battle.

Before we go onto the crossover fun, remember Blanka can also do the following on a fallen opponent:

Forward Beast Leap > meaty f.MP (the headbutt) - the headbutt hits twice and people seem to forget the second hit is low and eat it everytime... ghetto!

Forward Beast Leap > j.LK > Bite Loop - oh bite loops, how I love thee...

Forward Beast Leap > j.LK > x-over j.LK > combo attempt or repeat j.LK's until it hits or your hit - more crossover j.LK fun... told you it was a good attack ^_^

Slide - funny how the most basic of meatys does a fantastic job, gotta love the paranoia of air Blanka people have that they forget about the lows.

Anyway, back to the crossover balls - once you get the feel for it, you can start doing the following:

Crossover ball > combo attempt - I should dizzy all the cast (except maybe Gief) since you alright got a hit in prior, but ST hates people so this won't be the case all the time

Crossover Ball > forward/back MP - for times when you simply can't be bothered to combo, say hello to that headbutt again

Crossover Ball > MP or HP Electricity - what? you think those CvS2 whores made this famous? Bah, Blanka is too ghetto for that game, anyway, Electricity overall sucks but at least you can get some chip damage this way, don't use the LP version, learn how to mash like a man and use MP or HP only. Always be charging for another horizontal ball when doing this, if the electricity hits the opponent, you can do MP vertical ball to crossover then electricity again... repeat until the opponent blocks it

Electricity Chip/Bite psyche out.

When an opponent is getting up its fairly safe to chip with meaty Electricity. But it is also possible to time the early electricity so it finishes JUST before the opponent gets to thier feet, you can then simply puch towards + HP for a bite. Because electricity has almost 0 recovery this is really hard for the opponent to judge, and never fails to provoke a smile or sigh from the recipient :)

Whiffed Ball psyche outs.

Whiffing LP Ball for close range and MP Ball for medium range, you can stop directly infront of a high/low blocking opponent and seemlesly switch into a Bite or c.HK before the opponent has time to respond. Great tactic, really underused.

Combos

While some of these may not be the flashiest combos around these are without a doubt the most practical

j.HP > MP > HP

j.MP xx mp electric

j.HP/HK > c.HK

j.HP/HK > c.MK/Heabutt(1-hit) xx Ball

j.MK > c.MK > c.MK xx Ball

X-over LK > MP > Headbutt - this one gets alot of dizzies and is very easy

X-over LK > c.MK > MP > Headbutt

X-over LK > c.MK > c.MK xx Ball

c.HK knockdown in corner > Super > c.MK xx Ball

j.HP,s.MP,c.HK. This is the bread and butter for Blanka in ST because it gives him a the vital knockdown at the finish and also because in ST (unlinke CPS1 versions) your not guarenteed a dizzy from the HP finish variant of this combo.

Killer 4 hit (works on surprising amount of charas): Deep Crossover HP,s.MP.s.MP,c.HP

Long range 2 hit (especialy useful against Low Tiger Sagat): Max range Jump in late HK,c.HP

--r3ko 07:01, 26 April 2006 (CDT)

Match-ups