Street Fighter Alpha 3/Akuma

Overview Combos Matchups Strategy

Introduction

With Akuma being a shoto, and thusly having the ability to play a good keep away game, using an aggresive playstyle is the sure way to go. Given his ability to hit hard, control space (and thus the opponent's movement or lack there of), and mix up, it becomes very easy to get in close and land the VCs or Supers that can mean the game.

Keeping on the offensive is also a big part of Akuma's gameplan. To offset Akuma's amazing versatility, his defense/stun are below average. This means that your mistakes get punished harder, especially if that stun damage gets stacked up. Fortunately, you have several tools to keep your opponent on the defensive. Remember, the more your opponent has to think, the more likely it is he will slip up and give you an opening. More on this in the strategy section.

Here's a rundown of the ism choices for Akuma and some of their differences.

• A-ism - A-Akuma has a lot of flexability due to his myriad of powerful super combos, most of which can be cancelled from all of his numerous attack options. He also has the Shun Goku Satsu at his disposal, allowing for very deadly mindgames.

• X-ism - Akuma loses 4 very important things in x-ism. 1, air blocking. Due to his low defense/stun, this hurts his game a LOT. 2, alpha counters. Another terrible loss when coupled with his bad defenses. 3, the hyakki shu. this hurts his mix-up game, which is crucial, and his mobility. And 4, ALL of his super combos, barring the Shun Goku Satsu, limiting his combos, damage capability, and gameplan due to reliance on tactics needed to land the powerful, but predictable super.

• V-ism - This is where Akuma thrives, and it makes him one of the most powerful characters in Alpha 3. His VC flexability is insane, allowing for combos in any situation, including unblockables, that are very consistant. He also has his entire available move set (without supers, of course), and also has all of his close range attack available on command, which expands his ability to mix up his game even further.

Pros	Cons
King of flex. Has options for literally every possible scenario Great set of shoto normals, including the same hopkick as Ryu Divekick is incredibly fast and difficult to react to Great air mobility with both divekick and air tatsu Incredibly difficult to keep cornered due to teleport and air tatsu Difficult to anti-air consistently due to divekick, tatsu and air fireball all being strong air options Tatsus put opponent in a juggle state, setting up tech traps Kick air throw has a very large grab radius and sets up good situations Can easily/safely force damage from a variety of situations with unblockable setups, since you're not limited to only activating as a read or reaction punish. These can lead to nasty resets if the opponent doesn't have meter. Can start OTG customs off sweep Valle VCs that lead to 70-80% damage Insanely fast meter build with tatsu spam Fireball knocks down at close range Strong guard crush potential with b. RH on V-ISM DP option-selects make it difficult for opponents to safely counter-activate or alpha counter against his setups	Fireball recovery is longer than other shotos Red fireball and roll inputs overlap, which can cause more errors than you might think Lacks the stun potential that Ryu has Neutral without meter isn't as oppressive as other top tiers like Sodom or Sakura OTGs have a high execution requirement for consistency

Akuma
Character Data

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Colors

First row: Punch X-ISM, A-ISM, V-ISM
Second row: Kick X-ISM, A-ISM, V-ISM

Moves List

Throws

Seoi Nage

/+

Damage	20
Stun	2
Meter Gain	(A)1(XV)3
Frame Count	5/1/20

Tomoe Nage

/+

Damage	20
Stun	2
Meter Gain	(A)1(XV)3
Frame Count	5/1/20

Jigoku-gurum

Any direction but /+

• Air Throw

Damage	20
Stun	2
Meter on whiff/hit	(A)1(XV)3/(A)3(XV)4
Frame Count	1/1/1(before landing)

One of the best air throws in the game. good for catching back recovery in the air eg. after landing his tatsu.

Ground Normals

• Close/Far Standing Jab:

Damage	5
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	Yes
Special Cancel	Yes
Super Cancel	Yes
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	3/4/6
Block Stun	+4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+5/+10

• Crouching Jab:

Damage	5
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	yes
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	3/4/7
Block Stun	+3
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+4/+9

• Close Standing Strong:

Damage	13
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	4/4/20
Block Stun	-5
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-4/0

• Far Standing Strong:

Damage	13
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	5/8/15
Block Stun	-4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-3/+1

• Crouching Strong:

Damage	11
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	4/4/11
Block Stun	+4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+5/+9

• Close Standing Fierce:

Damage	16/12
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	4/5/26
Block Stun	-8
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-7/Launch

• Far Standing Fierce:

Damage	19/18
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	8/6/23
Block Stun	-6
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-5/launch

• Crouching Fierce:

Damage	15/12
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	6/2/27
Block Stun	-6
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-5/launch

• Standing Short:

Damage	6
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	5/5/14
Block Stun	-5
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-4/+1

• Crouching Short:

Damage	4
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	yes
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	4/4/6
Block Stun	+4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+5/+10

• Close Standing Forward:

Damage	12
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	4/6/17
Block Stun	-4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-3/+1

• Far Standing Forward:

Damage	12
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	7/8/15
Block Stun	-4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-3/+1

• Crouching Forward:

Damage	10
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	yes
Super Cancel	yes
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	5/3/16
Block Stun	0
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+1/+5

• Close Standing Roundhouse:

Damage	9+8(AV)8+9(X)
Stun	8x2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3+1(A)1/4+1(V)1/4+1(X)
Frame Count	6/4,4/18(AV)6/2,4/23(X)
Block Stun	+1(AV)-4(X)
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+2(AV)-3(X)/Launch(2nd hit)

• Far Standing Roundhouse:

Damage	16
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	11/3/19
Block Stun	+1
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	+2/launch

• Crouching Roundhouse:

Damage	14
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	5/6/31
Block Stun	14
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-

Air Normals

• Jump Jab:

Damage	8
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	no
Frame Count	5/10/6

• Jump Strong:

Damage	12
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	5/8/2(N.Jump)6/8/2(D.Jump)

• Jump Fierce:

Damage	16
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	8/6/2(N.Jump)7/6/2(D.Jump)

• Neutral Jump Short:

Damage	7
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	5/10/2

• Diagonal Jump Short:

Damage	7
Stun	2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	0/1
Frame Count	5/10/2

• Neutral Jump Forward:

Damage	10
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	5/6/12

• Diagonal Jump Forward:

Damage	11
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	6/8/8

• Neutral Jump Roundhouse:

Damage	17
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	12/6/11

• Diagonal Jump Roundhouse:

Damage	15
Stun	8
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/4(A)6(XV)
Frame Count	6/6/8

Command Normals

• Zugai Hasatsu/Overhead: +

Damage	8+6
Stun	2x2
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/1x2(A)3+1(XV)
Frame Count	20/3,3/20
Block Stun	-4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	-3/?

• Overhead

• Senpuu Kyaku: +

Damage	12
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	23/2/13
Block Stun	+4
Hit Stun/Counter Hit	0/+5

• Tenma Kuujin Kyaku/Divekick: In Air(apex): +

Damage	11/12
Stun	4
Chain Cancel	no
Special Cancel	no
Super Cancel	no
Meter on whiff/hit	1/3(A)4(XV)
Frame Count	3/15/1

Special Moves

I'll be listing which special moves can be used in specific "isms" by A (a/z-ism), X (x-ism) and V (v-ism).

Gou Hadouken(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Quarter Circle Forward + Punch
  • Basic fireball. Damage decreases gradually the farther it travels as with all the Alpha 3 projectiles. The strength of the punch used determines the speed and power (LP being the slowest, HP the fastest). Knocks down if it hits close. Great for spacing, especially when coupled with the arial variant. Just dont abuse it. Predictability = punishment.

Zanku Hadouken(A,X,and V-Ism)

• (In Air)Quarter Circle Forward + Punch
  • A fireball launched from a jump that comes down diagonally. Another great zoning tool. More info in the strategy section.

Shakunetsu Hadouken(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Half Circle Back + Punch
  • A fireball that hits three times, scores a knockdown, and lights the opponent on fire. This move has horrible wind-up time, making it very easy to see coming. Good for chip damage, and has it's VC uses, but not much else. Use it sparingly.

Gou Shouryuken(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Forward ,Down ,Down-Forward + Punch
  • A flying uppercut that hits 3 times for good damage. This is your primary anti-air move. Also very useful for wake-ups and reversals. I recommend only using the LP version of this move, as the HP version doesnt do much more damage, and leaves you VERY open if you miss.

Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Quarter Circle Back + Kick
  • Can be performed in the air
    • Akuma's "hurricane kick", travels more distance depending on the strength of kick used. Good for juggles, great for juggle set ups. Use sparingly, however, becuase if predicted, again, you'll be punished.

Zenpou Tenshin(A and V-Ism)

• Quarter Circle Back + Punch
  • A forward rolling move that travels farther depending on the strength of punch used. I believe this move to be useless except maybe in mindgames. You are completely vulnerable during this move. I don't use it at all.

Ashura Senku(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Forward, Down, Down-Forward or Back, Down, Down-Back + 3 Punches or 3 Kicks
  • A teleport that sends you farther depending on the use of 3P or 3K. A good move to give yourself a chance to back off of an opponent or get yourself out of a corner, however you are vulnerable during the start up and wind-down, so get yourself a little breathing room first.

Tenma Kujin Kyaku(A,X,and V-Ism)

• During a forward jump, press Down + MK at the apex
  • Akuma's diving kick. Incredibly useful move for mindgames. It has decent priority, stops his jump in midair, and be combo'd out of a verified hit. I'll go over some of it's many uses in the strategy section.

Hyakki Shu(A and V-Ism)

• Down ,Down-Forward ,Forward ,Up-Forward + Punch
  • This move sends Akuma rolling into the air at varying distances depending on the strength of punch used. The move itself is a set up for several other moves. It has incredible combo ability when used after a pop-up and in VC's, but don't use any of the variations alone, as the priority isn't great, and it's easy to see coming. He IS flying across the screen, afterall. (Note that if you are having trouble performing this move, it's much easier to use D,DF,F,UF,U+P.) The variants are as follows:
    • Hyakki Go Zan
      • Perform Hyakki Shu and then do nothing
        • When Akuma lands, he drops into a sliding kick that sweeps the opponent. Use sparingly and only for mindgames. You can't combo out of it, and it's easy to see coming.
    • Hyakki Go Sho
      • Perform Hyakki Shu and then press Punch
        • Akuma uses a flying palm strike. Good in combos and VCs, but not alone unless you anticipate an arial.
    • Hyakki Go Sen
      • Perform Hyakki Shu and then press Kick
        • Akuma performs a flying dropkick. Same rules apply for Hyakki Go Sho.
    • Hyakki Go Sai
      • Perform Hyakki Shu and then press Forward or Back + Punch when close
        • Akuma grabs the opponent for a flip throw. This move has to be performed very close and near the shoulder of the opponent and can also be used against an airborne enemy. Can also be used to OTG throw during a VC.
    • Hyakki Go Tsui
      • Perform Hyakki Shu and then press Forward or Back + Kick when close
        • Akuma grabs his opponent for a multi-flipping neckbreaker of sorts. This move must be performed very close and near the midsection of the opponent and can also be performed on airborn foes.

Zugai Hasatsu(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Forward+MP
  • A chop that hits twice as an overhead. Great for mindgames on a downed opponent.

Senpu Kyaku(A,X,and V-Ism)

• Forward + MK
  • A hop kick. Great poke in that it goes over low attacks, and the recovery can be cancelled, making for great mindgames and applying pressure.

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Super Combos

Messatsu Gou Hadou(A-Ism)

• Double Half Circle Back + Punch
  • Akuma's super fireball. When using all three bars it hits 8 times. Goes through regular progectiles.

Messatsu Gou Shoryu(A-Ism)

• Double Quarter Circle Forward + Punch
  • Akuma's super dragon punch. Again, hits 8 times at maximum level. DO NOT use this as an anti-air unless you really feel you need the extra invincibility frames b/c most of the hits will miss.

Tenma Gou Zankuu(A-Ism)

• (In Air)Double Quarter Circle Forward + Punch
  • An arial super fireball. Unless you're using it as an anti-anti-air, this move is worthless. It does an absurdly low amount of damage for a super. You're better off stuffing AA attempts with the zanku hadoken.

Shun Goku Satsu(A and X-Ism)

• LP, LP, Forward, LK, HP
  • Ahh, the Raging Demon. The name of this move roughly translates into "instant hell murder". Akuma slides across the ground, grabs his opponent, and the screen goes black as the hits rack up. This move does obscene damage, but is very hard to land due to his slow startup time. It is, however, very gratifying.

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The Basics

Which Ism?

V. Akuma's V setups are too good to pass up on.

Combos

• Mid-range control - Keeping control of your opponent's options greatly increases your chances of granting yourself an opening. 2 of the best ways to do this are as follows:
  • Match your opponent's movement, keeping just outside of their attack range. From this distance, your go hadoken is not only hard to see coming, but will also stuff most low attacks. Throwing an occasional whiffed LP/LK into the mix also keeps the opponent on their toes and may bait a jump, which you can punish with a go shoryuken, or if you happen to be in Vism, an anti-air VC. Throwing whiffs can also bait VC's/supers, so be on the lookout if the oppenent gets anxious.
  • Keep a distance and throw an early LP Zanku Hadoken. If it hits late, this gives you time to move in with a close range option. Throws, LK x 2 set-ups, whatever suits the situation.

• Crouching LK x2 - This is your best close range offensive option. The second LK can be cancelled into just about any special or super move. Below, I'll list a number of options you can link crouching LK x2 into off of a confirmed hit.
  • From a confirmed hit
    • crouching LKx2 -> gou hadoken
    • crouching LKx2 -> LK tatsumaki zanku kyaku (standing opponent only)
    • crouching LKx2 -> B+HK (V-ism only)
    • crouching LKx2 -> LK tatsumaki zanku kyaku -> B+HP -> HP hyakki go sai (vism only. excessive, but my favorite combo.)
  • From a confirmed blocked hit
    • crouching LKx2 -> B+HK (V-ism only, beats counter attempts and adds more guard crush)
    • crouching LKx2 -> walk up and throw
    • crouching LKX2 -> F+MK (goes over low counter attempts, and can be cancelled into any special)

Mix it up and keep your opponent guessing.

• Tenma Kujin Kyaku - This move is very difficult to see coming becuase of the sharp angle. You can also use this move to go over an anticipated ground attack. Upon landing, you can follow up with the crouching LKx2 string of your choice. This move is also incredibly useful for wake-up situations and crossovers. Practice the different landing points from the different distances to figure out where exactly you'll land, and then start crossing up your opponents like a champ. the CRAB

Match-ups

Discussion

• SRK V-Akuma thread