Introduction
Geese Howard, the ruler of Southtown, and can be the most classic SNK boss in the history... Oh, and he is the most hated character in this game... Why do you ask? He's the best in the game, really. He has infinite combos that are not hard to do, so... Geese is that character that is nice for beginners, and incredible in high-level matches. Now for his for his Good and Bad Things.
The Ruler of Shouthtown's Good and Bad Things
Good Things:
- Easy to play, learn and master;
- Easy combos and infinites;
- He can be the best defensive/offensive character in the game;
- Has nice anti-air moves;
- Has an air fireball;
- Has counter moves;
- His Exceed is nice too use(And it can pass through projectiles).
Bad Things:
- Your opponents will hate you if you use him in the right way(This is bad, really).
- Only that. He isn't bad in this game. Really.
Moves List
Normal Moves
Some of Geese's Normals are pretty nice to use in battle(Well, he is just the best in the game), so begin your strategies here.
s.LP - (Far) A nice poke. It's fast and the reach is nice, but whiffs on low crouching chars and cannot be normal canceled. Can be used in light attack combos. (Close) The best starter to light attack combos. It's cancelable, chains into itself, but whiffs on those low crouching chars.
s.LK - (Far) Not as fast as the f.LP, but can be used in light attack combos. It cannot be normal canceled, so use this only in the MAXIMUM Mode(If you want to use, I mean). (Close) A fast knee. Chains into itself, can be canceled, and doesn't whiffs on low crouching characters. Good to use in a match.
s.HP - (Far) A slow poke(The recovery on this move is very bad). If you really want to use, hit with the tip of Geese's hand. Cannot be normal canceled, but can be Super Canceled, and I don't know why. (Close) This move... Is the best of Geese's ground attacks, and one of the reasons to answer the question:"Why am I using Geese in this game?" You can cancel this into any Command Move(Except the OTG one), and any Special/Super move. This is part of an infinite combo too.
s.HK - (Far) This poke has better reach and speed than the f.HP, but this can't be Super canceled. (Close) A two-hit kick that can be canceled in the first hit. The second kick can be used as an anti-air, but it's risky. The cl.HP is better to use.
j.LP - (Diagonal) This move is good as a jump-in move, but Geese has better options. (Neutral) Slow for a light attack. Don't use. Geese has better options than this move.
j.LK - (Diagonal) Nice move to use. This is Geese's best crossup attack. If the opponent blocks it, don't followup, because you'll be punished with those GCFs. (Neutral) Kick that aims down. Can be used in the opponent's wakeup. If you want, followup with an air fireball to confuse your opponent.
j.HP - (Diagonal) A multi-hitting jumping move. It's better when used against BIG chars(Like EQ and Hugo) to do THAT damage on them(You'll get meter while you hit them too). (Neutral) Geese's best neutral jump-in. It can be better used on the opponent's wakeup. Hit with this, and followup with what you want. It's good to cancel this move into the air fireball too.
j.HK - (Diagonal) Geese's best Diagonal jump-in. Can be used as an air-to-air, and on combos. Simple to use. (Neutral) You can use this in air-to-air battles, but Geese has a ground game, so avoid it.
cr.LP - This is a great normal move. Good to use in light attack/crouching combos. Chains into itself, can be canceled, and it's fast. Can be used as poke too(This move is better than the f.LP/LK in my opinion).
cr.LK - An extremely important normal against most of the characters in the cast. It has the same properties(And a little more) than the normal above. It hits low, and there's something interesting about this move. You can make Geese avoid some projectiles with this(I could avoid from the Shoto's, and Mr. Karate's fireballs), but you'll need to time well. You just need to hit the opponent while he is doing the projectile animation. If you miss the timing, don't worry, you can block the move(This move is safe too, don't worry again). You'll need this in the matches.
cr.HP - Please, you'll need this move. It's one of Geese's best anti-air moves, and can be one of the best normal anti-airs in the game(If not the best). It's part of Geese's main gameplan. It's not unbeatable, but you can use against all chars of the cast. You can cancel this move too, but if you use this move as an anti-air, you cannot combo with it, so cancel if you need meter.
cr.HK - A kick that hits low and knocks down. It's not that fast as the other cr.HKs in the game, so avoid if you want. The best ways to use this move is by whiff canceling this move into a QCF+LP or you can use the same strategy mentioned in the cr.LK(The timing is different).
Command Moves
Fudou Sakkatsu Uraken
- f+HP - An attack that knocks down. You can use this as a poke, because it has a nice reach, and Geese walks a little forward while he performs this move. You can normal cancel it, but you cannot combo with the special moves. The best way to combo with this move is when it gets a counter hit. Try something like: f+HP(Make sure you get a counter hit), QCF+LP, db, HCB, df+P. This is nice to use when you need. You can combo using this move after a normal too, like this: [Jump Attack] cl.HP/HK, f+HP, df+C(Optional, and you can use it only while your opponent is down). This can help you a lot, but this isn't that useful when compared to the move below.
Raikou Mawashi Geri (aka Spinning Kick)
- f+HK - Another reason to use Geese Howard in this game. This is part of an easy infinite combo(I think Geese has 2 infinites involving this Command Move, and they are really easy to do). You can cancel this move with ease after a Heavy Attack. Punish your opponent with a combo involving this move to do THAT damage to him/her. You can use it as a poke too(By attacking with the tip of the kick), and cancel it into a QCF+P to make it almost 100% safe. Don't let your opponent block it, because the GCFs are real in this game.
Raimei Gouha Nage (aka Face grab)
- db/df+HP (while Geese is near from the opponent and he/she is knocked down) - An OTG(on/off the ground) grab. You need to press the direction and the attack button at the same time, and remember that this is a "Face Grab". It's hard to use this in a battle, because the opponent can recovery roll if he falls down. The easiest ways to use this move are:
- After an AB grab - Well... The AB grab is something really interesting, because the opponent will fall near you, so you can GCF, AB grab, db/df+HP.
- After a cr.HK(And the opponent didn't do a recovery roll) - The cr.HK isn't something good, but it's easy to do this OTG grab after the cr.HK. Just dash 1 or 2 times after the move hits and be happy.
- After a HCF+K in the corner(And the opponent didn't do a recovey roll) - The HCF+K is something that can help you in the combos, and it knocks down in the last hit of the move, so after the move hits, use this, it isn't hard, because you'll be in the right position(If you use the special move in the corner, I mean). If you need, you can dash.
Special Moves
Reppu Ken
- QCF+LP - A fast(and "tall") projectile with nice recovery, but this move isn't spammable. It's hard to combo into this move(If you try to cancel a normal/command move into this, you will get the move below). Some characters have no chance against this one.
Sirocco Slam (aka Comboed Reppu Ken)
- QCF+LP(After a cancelable normal/command/special move) - This move is pretty good to use too(This is another reason to use Geese Howard in this game), but it isn't a projectile. If it hits the opponent, he/she will be in a juggle state, so followup with something damaging like the Raging Storm Super, okay? Oh, and it's possible to use this move as an anti-air too. But how can I use this move alone, if you said that this move will only come out in the middle of a combo? First, I didn't say that. I said that this can be used after a cancelable move, not exclusively in combos. Yeah, you can whiff cancel into this move(Which is nice, but not 100% good). Try something like, cr.LK(You can use any crouching move), QCF+LP. You can anti-air the opponent, and he/she will still be in that juggle state(You can followup an anti-air, that's nice, Geese Howard).
Double Reppu Ken
- QCF+HP - This is slow, and easy to punish. You can avoid this move. While Geese is doing the first Reppu Ken, that "ball"(I don't know what it is) will eat any normal projectile(I don't know if it can eat Super Projectiles yet, because the ball doesn't stays so much time). The second Reppu Ken has the same speed as the Normal Reppu Ken, can be negated by Normal projectiles(Dunno why), but it's larger(Thanks, SNK). If you do this move while you're near from the opponent, the two Reppu Kens will connect.
Double Sirocco Slam (aka Comboed Double Reppu Ken)
- QCF+HP(Same thing as the Normal one will be here) - This isn't that good as the Normal one. About the last hit, I don't know if it can juggle the opponent(But the first hit will). Stick with the LP version only, it's better.
Whirlwind Zap (aka Shippu Ken)
- (In air) QCB+P - An air projectile. Good to use against tall characters after a cancelable jumping normal(The n.HP is the best to use). It can be unsafe if your opponent blocks it, so watch out. And Geese has a ground game, so... Use if you want. Use this as something like an air-to-air.
Flying Solar Slice (In the movelist I saw, it's Sawblade instead of Solar, but it's okay)
- DP+P - A good anti-air move. It does two hits, and in the LP version, you can juggle your opponent in the corner(And lead to some interesting resets). Oh, and you can't combo into the Supers/Exceed after the second hit. It's very unsafe on block too, so watch out when you use. The first hit can be MAX canceled.
Evil Shadow Smash
- HCF+K - Another reason to use Geese. This move plays a nice role in Geese's combos(especially in MAXIMUM Mode), and if you're having trouble with the infinite, this can help you. LK version will stop in the middle of the screen, and the HK version will stop near the corner. Enjoy this move in MAXIMUM Mode, really(Just see the combos section later), because any hit from this Special move can be MAX canceled. It's unsafe too.
Upper Body Toss
- HCB+LK - Interesting counter move. And it's pretty basic to use too. The counter will only work if something hits Geese's hand. This can be used to counter jumping attacks(Yeah, like an anti-air move), some Special moves(I could stop the Shoto's Tatsu with this), Supers(I could stop Ryu's Tatsu Super with this too), and even Exceeds(I will test this later, but I could prove that Claw's Exceed is counterable). Don't abuse of it, because the opponent can predict those counters with ease.
Middle Body Toss
- HCB+HK - This can be the same as the above, but can counter only the middle moves(I don't know why, but Ryu's f+LP is an overhead, as you probably know, and it could be stopped by this move). Can be the less used of the three. Don't abuse of it too.
Lower Body Blow
- HCB+LP - This is to counter low moves(Low ≠ crouching move, remember that). Good to use in the opponent's wakeup, and against those characters with low special moves(Like Sagat and Zero). This can help you. Don't abuse of this move, please.
Super Moves
Raging Storm (In the movelist I saw, it said Raising Storm, but don't worry about the name)
- db, HCB, df+P - Nice anti-air super(Another good reason to use Geese Howard in this game). For some characters, it's IMPOSSIBLE to jump over it, and I'll say again, IMPOSSIBLE. You can use as a damaging followup for the Comboed Reppu Ken. The damage is pretty nice. It's possible to combo after a normal/command move too, so this move can be your main super. Don't worry with the command, there's a shortcut if you're with trouble. Try this: QCB/HCB, HCB, DF+P. It's easier to do, and the super will come out. It's unsafe if blocked/whiffs the opponent too, so don't use it alone. [1] << You should watch this video about this Super too.
Rashomon
- HCB(2x)+HP - I'm not sure if this move can be used only with the HP button, but when I tried with the LP button, I got that Low Counter move. This move is great to use against those turtles that are afraid of Geese's gameplay and are just waiting for the time to punish you. You can use this after a GCF too(Like some players who like to grab with CD only), and you can buffer the command if you think that you don't have time, like HCB, GCF, HCB+HP. You can combo with this move after a cl.HP too(See the combos section later for more details). After the Super hits the opponent, he/she will wake up with his/her back turned(And near you depending of your position), so you can try to followup with a crossup combo after this Super.
Exceed
Deadly Rave
- HCB, f+LK+HP+HK(Press the three buttons at the same time, and after Geese hits the opponent) LP, LP, LK, LK, HP, HP, HK, HK, QCB+HP+HK(The two buttons at the same time again) - Yeah, this is a huge command, but not hard to use. First, don't do the QCB+HP+HK part. Why? Geese can do better finishers than that(He can followup with any combo if you stop the inputs after the finisher). Second, the timing is a little tricky, but if you miss, try to do the inputs faster. Third, you can pass under the floating projectiles with this(while Terry's Deadly Rave cannot). Now for the last part, it's unsafe after the second hit(Yeah, the first LP is safe), so if the opponent blocks it, don't continue, and forget your Exceed in the match.