Introduction
Wheel Kick.
Ray easily has THE game breaking move, Wheel Kick. He is otherwise still an amazing character but Wheel Kick makes him the best. If Ryoko had Wheel Kick, she would be top tier. That is how good Wheel Kick is.
Enough about wheel kicks, there are many other reasons Ray is a great character: long range pokes with great priority, a solid projectile, highly damaging combos, an instant dizzy move on some characters (Thunder Dynamite Tackle), and practically no bad matchups. He can very effectively play offense or defense depending on what kind of situation he's in. Perhaps the worst thing about Ray is his weak spot - it's the lightning bolt symbol on his shirt, and since a lot of moves tend to hit the chest area, Ray is prone to being dizzied rather easily.
Ray is a solid choice for a beginner, as all of his moves are rather straightforward to figure out. In the hands of an experienced player, he's even more deadly.
Moves List
Normal Moves
Light Punch
Standing (Far) - High jab that unfortunately whiffs every crouching character. Chainable into another light/hard attack.
Standing (Close) - Elbow attack that DOES hit crouchers. Chainable.
Crouching - Standard low jab, good for combos. Chainable.
Jumping - Not a very useful attack as it has rather low priority, you can sometimes crossup with it but it's kinda iffy.
Jumping (Neutral) - Same overview as regular jumping LP.
Hard Punch
Standing (Far) - Usually the best ender for ground chains, always cancel it into a Big Tornado or Dynamite Tackle.
Standing (Close) - High uppercut-angled punch. Yeah.
Crouching - Anti-air type of uppercut punch. Doesn't really have all that much priority, but why would you want to use this anyway when you have Wheel Kick?
Jumping - Same animation frames as LP, but does more damage. Pretty good attack for jumping in on opponents.
Jumping (Neutral) - Same overview as regular jumping HP.
Light Kick
Standing (Far) - Knee-level kick with decent range. However, it's NOT chainable into other attacks, so it's a bit limited in usefulness.
Standing (Close) - Mid-level knee attack. Chainable.
Crouching - Has more range than Crouching LP, so use this as your primary means of extending chains or hit-confirming combos. Chainable.
Jumping - Knee attack that stays out for the duration of the jump, has the potential to crossup.
Jumping (Neutral) - A weird high stretch kick. Not sure what this could be used for...
Hard Kick
Standing (Far) - Roundhouse kick that recovers very quickly, so it's an excellent poke to use even if you think it will whiff. Has marginally less range than far Standing HP, but is still a good chain ender.
Standing (Close) - High kick. Not much reason to really try to start combos with this when you can use HP instead and option select an added throw attempt.
Crouching - Standard sweep kick with nice range and decent recovery.
Jumping - Probably Ray's best jumping attack, has very nice priority (especially when done close to the opponent), and can sometimes even crossup.
Jumping (Neutral) - A different jump kick with more horizontal range than the regular jumping HK. Might be worth trying from a distance since opponents might underestimate the range. Won't have many options for combos though...
Throws
Forward/Back + Hard Punch - DDT! Ray does this classic pro wrestling maneuver to bring the enemy to the ground. Ray recovers right next to the opponent which is great if you want to keep the pressure on.
[Any direction except Up or Down] + Hard Punch (in air) - Air throw version of the DDT. Functions exactly like the ground version and does slightly more damage to boot.
Special Moves
Big Tornado aka "BAKED POTATO!"
- Down, Down-Forward, Forward + Punch)
- A pretty standard fireball. Not that great for combos, but it recovers fairly quickly so it's great to use to pressure your opponent. Especially if you can coax them into jumping, because then you can hit them with the...
Wheel Kick
- Down, Down-Back, Back + Kick
- Easily one of the best moves in the game. Ray has a long period of invincibility on this move, enough to beat any other similar move with invincibility if they're done at the same time. Opponents jumps in on you? Wheel Kick will hit them every time (unless they're Karnov, in which case you'd have to wait until he was coming down from Balloon). You can also use this move to pass through fireballs, and punish the person throwing them if they're close enough. Generally you will want to stick to using the LK version of Wheel Kick - HK goes in a higher arc but also means more recovery. The LK version recovers pretty fast, so fast that it's possible you can completely take a blocking opponent by surprise, and then throw them before they can do anything. If you overuse this move though, chances are your opponent will start to be more patient and wait for you to do it and then throw/combo YOU instead. Wheel Kick can be performed in the air as well, but it doesn't have many uses outside of escaping corner traps. Obviously it's good for winning air-to-air battles, but if you guess wrong it's a long way to fall to the ground, leaving you a sitting duck. The only other downside to Wheel Kick, and it's a pretty major one - it whiffs against crouching opponents. So it won't beat sweeps and the like, but you can travel over attacks and sometimes recover before they do.
Dynamite Tackle
- Forward, Forward + Punch
- Ray charges forward and tackles the opponent with a headbutt. Knocks down on hit and is safe on block. The best move to end any combo or block string with if you want to keep the pressure on the opponent. The only thing you have to watch out for is that if you do the move from too far, you can potentially be hit or thrown out of it. When done right next to the opponent, it will actually hit twice... but this isn't too practical outside of comboing off a single light attack. Most of the time you will only see the one-hit version.
Thunder Dynamite Tackle
- Charge Back, Forward, Forward + Punch
- A beefed-up version of the regular Dynamite Tackle in which Ray is surrounded by electricity as he charges forward. Will hit up to 5 times depending on how close you are to the opponent, but typically will only hit 3 or 4 times in combos. Besides the added damage, the multiple hits can also potentially insta-dizzy any character with their weak spot on either their chest or knees. The only real downside to this move is that it has a long charge time - if you don't charge long enough, you will get a regular Dynamite Tackle instead. Many players have problems doing this move consistently, and the charge time tends to be the main reason why (the other possible problem that can occur is not completing the double Forward tap quickly enough after the initial charge). Master doing this consistently, because it's the key to doing maximum damage with Ray.
Combos
- j. HP/HK, s. HP/HK, HP Dynamite Tackle
- j. HP/HK, s. HP/HK, LK Wheel Kick (will not work on crouchers)
- s. HP/HK, HP Big Tornado
- c. LK, c. LK, c. LK, s. HP, HP Dynamite Tackle
- c. LK, c. LP, c. LK, s. HP, Electric Dynamite Tackle
The Basics
As mentioned before, Ray is a versatile character. You can play him defensively, antagonizing the opponent with Big Tornado's and then Wheel Kick them when you get them to jump in. But it's more fun to play aggressively, rushing down your opponent by any means necessary, and then countering with a Wheel Kick when they try to stop you. In either case, you'll also need to play smart - Ray might arguably be the best character in the game, but he's far from unbeatable, especially if you start to get locked into patterns. Depending on the character, you don't want to throw fireballs mindlessly because they may have a move that takes them over/under/through the fireball to nail you.
Advanced Strategy
Here's a fun trick to take your opponent by surprise - first off, score a knockdown in the corner (throw, Wheel Kick, Dynamite Tackle, etc). While they're on the ground, do a Dynamite Tackle. You will pass over their body and wind up on the other side, with you in the corner now. If they are still holding towards the corner on the joystick, they will not be able to block your attacks in time since they're holding the wrong way! This is a good opportunity to hit them with a couple c.LK's into s.HP into Dynamite Tackle to knock them back down. Of course, after you do this once the opponent will know to start looking out for this. In that case, try doing a Wheel Kick that's timed to pass back over them the instant they get up. If you time it right, they'll be crossed up again and have to block in the direction of the corner for that. It's a very bizarre guessing game, but worth taking advantage of if you get the opportunity.
Match-ups
Vs. Clown:
An easy match. Wheel Kick through Clown's fireballs, Wheel Kick if he tries his vertical spinning ball. The only thing you really have to worry about is his headstomp, which can nail you if you throw a fireball at the wrong time. If you can fake him into doing it early, it's a free hit for you while he falls to the ground.
Vs. Jean Pierre:
Don't throw too many fireballs from close range, since Jean can slide under them. Jean's flash kick is excellent anti air so you can't jump on him too much, but you can sometimes throw it off and make it whiff completely with a mid-air Wheel Kick.
Vs. Kano Ryoko:
Throw fireballs and trip if she jumps in deep enough. It's really that easy.
Vs. Karnov:
Ray's the best character in the game to take down the fat fire-breathing Russian. He has two ways to stop BALLOOOON abuse - Wheel Kick, and air throw. This will give Karnov second thoughts about floating in the air too much. When timed right, you can also get out of his triple kick lockdown with a Wheel Kick if he leaves any gaps in his attack.
Vs. Lee Diendo:
Worst matchup by far for Ray. All of Lee's hop punch combos will hit Ray's weak point so it's extremely easy for Lee to score a dizzy, and then land HUGE damage on you when you're dizzied. You need to fight defensively - keep him out with fireballs, since he doesn't have any practical way of getting through them outside of jumping. Remember that you can also stop his hop punches cold with standing/crouching jabs. It also helps to be consistent at doing the Thunder Dynamite Tackle motion - if you throw out a random Thunder Dynamite Tackle and it hits Lee, chances are you'll dizzy him instantly. Even if you get a dizzy and wind up ahead on life, don't relax until Lee is dead. All he needs is one combo to completely turn around the round.
Vs. Liu Feilin:
Feilin's sliding uppercut can go through your fireballs and potentially hit your weak spot once. She can also do an early air fireball to fake out anti-air Wheel Kick attempts, but even then she's often vulnerable on the way down. There isn't much else to worry about in this matchup.
Vs. Liu Yungmie:
Yungmie can play runaway well, but Wheel Kick will help chase her down and potentially hit through her air fireballs. If she does her uppercut kick, you can Wheel Kick between the two hits on reaction if you're fast enough.
Vs. Marstorius:
Standard anti-Marstorius strategy - throw lots of fireballs, Wheel Kick him out of the air if he jumps. You need to stay away at all costs. Don't do random tackles, since Marstorius has so much range he can potentially Double German you out of it. Just be patient in this match.
Vs. Matlok Jade:
Matlok's most dangerous attack is the Overhead Kick, so don't get caught crouching too much. On the other hand, if Matlok is recklessly doing Overhead Kicks and Spinning Waves, Wheel Kick will take him down.
