Fighter's History Dynamite/Clown

Introduction

Part Blanka, part M. Bison (dictator), part child molester!

Clown was unplayable in the original Fighter's History, being the next-to-last boss (and retains that spot when fighting the CPU). Unfortunately, Clown isn't strong enough in this game to have that "boss" stigma. For whatever reason some of his special attacks require a very strict charge motion, which ultimately ends up limiting some of his options and makes him a hell of a lot harder to combo with. Fortunately he does have some other strengths, such as the best normal throw in the game. Clown can definitely pull out wins, but you better know what you're doing with him.

Moves List

Normal Moves

Light Punch

Standing (Far) - Clown flicks his wrist outward. Has incredible priority as anti-air. Actually hits twice against standing opponents, but can be crouched entirely. Not chainable.

Standing (Close) - Small chop. Hits crouchers. Chainable into another light or hard attack.

Crouching - Crouching chop that has slightly more range than it looks, making it a decent attack. Chainable.

Jumping - Divebomb! Has loads of priority, great move to just toss out for the duration of your jump. Can crossup.

Jumping (Neutral) - Weird jumping headbutt. Another move that has deceivingly longer range than its hitbox would seem.

Strong Punch

Standing (Far) - Clown's best poke by far, has incredible range. Cancel it into Pick-A-Card to keep the pressure on.

Standing (Close) - Double-hit headbutt. Very good damage, would be more useful if you could cancel it into his Spin Attack, but alas...

Crouching - Clown does a "raise-the-roof" motion. Comes out quickly. Strong anti-air attack if you do it early. Has an annoying tendency to whiff some crouching opponents.

Jumping - Stronger version of the divebomb, but doesn't have as much priority. Still a solid jump-in combo starter though.

Jumping (Neutral) - Same as regular Jumping Strong Punch.

Light Kick

Standing (Far) - High kick that comes out and retracts very quickly. Really really really shitty range. Don't use it.

Standing (Close) - Funny-looking shin kick. Chainable.

Crouching - Ground kick, the usual excellent combo starter you would expect from a crouching light kick. Chainable.

Jumping - Ass bomb! Decent priority but I'm pretty sure the jumping light punch is better.

Jumping (Neutral) - Basically a jumping version of his far standing light kick. Has more range than neutral jump light punch, so use this instead if you want a neutral jump attack to hang in the air.

Strong Kick

Standing (Far) - Clown does a small hop into a spin kick, although he's still treated as on the ground. Has less range than standing hard punch so it's not as useful as a poke, but it does seem to be good at outprioritizing sweeps. Unfortunately, this move is NOT BUFFERABLE.

Standing (Close) - Very high kick. Good for anti-air if the opponent is jumping right on top of you, but make sure they're close enough or you get the far version.

Crouching - A sweep with decent range.

Jumping - Has more range than any of his other jumping attacks, so it's pretty good.

Jumping (Neutral) - A slightly modified version of his regular jumping attack. Also has pretty good range.

Throws

Forward/Back + Hard Punch - Clown launches them into the air and continually juggles them with his feet, circus-style. After he's done he kicks them away, leaving them at a distance. Mash the joystick/buttons for more hits during the duration of this throw. With proper mashing, this throw can do over 25%! Even without mashing, this throw tends to do more damage than most character's regular throws. It's the best regular throw in the game, so make the most of it - Clown needs all the damage he can get.

Special Moves

Note: All of Clown's special moves, with the exception of Pick-A-Card, must be charged in the Down-Back position. If you charge in either Down or Back, it will not count and the move will not come out. For some reason Clown is the only character in the game with such strict limitations on how he must charge moves.

Pick-A-Card

• Charge Back, Forward + Punch
  • Clown tosses a deadly ring of playing cards at his opponent. Your standard projectile attack, has ok startup and recovery. Usually the move of choice to buffer into, since it's the only one of his moves where you have the option of doing it after a Back or Down-Back charge... sigh.

Head Stamp

• Charge Down-Back, Up-Forward + Punch
  • Clown flies into the air towards the opponent and presses down on their head with his palm. Knocks down on hit. If blocked, Clown slowly floats to the ground and basically gives the opponent a free attack. You can move Clown back and forth while he falls to the ground by moving the joystick, but it doesn't really move him far enough. The HP version flies across the screen much faster than the LP version, but it has an annoying habit of sometimes missing its target completely if the opponent moves after Clown takes flight. LP version is much more consistent at actually making contact, but since it's slower it's easier to block on reaction (or if they were recovering from a fireball, etc). Note that you must do the EXACT motion for this move to come out - the game won't accept finishing the motion at Up+Punch, it MUST be Up-Forward+Punch.

Spin Attack

• Charge Down-Back, Forward + Kick
  • Clown rolls up into a ball and launches himself at his opponent. LK version is slower but safe on block (unless you're in the corner), HK version goes wicked fast (and causes him to yell "SNAAAAAP!"), but sends him flying back into the air whether it hits/whiffs/is blocked. Quite a few characters can punish a blocked HK Spin Attack when he's coming down, so use it with caution. If the HK version whiffs, you can sometimes score a hit with it when he's falling back down to the ground, but not always.

Spin Drop

• Charge Down-Back, Up + Kick
  • A modified version of the Spin Attack where Clown launches himself into the air at an angle, and then drops down. HK version goes slightly farther in distance than the LK version. This move is pretty good as anti-air, but keep in mind that it has no invincibility whatsoever, and can trade/get beaten clean. The best part of this move is not only that it hits on the way down, but that when done at the right distance, it can often crossup the opponent at the last second. Most opponents will instinctively hold back when he's coming down, but then get crossed up at the last second and get knocked down. Don't rely on this too much because you can obviously get anti-aired. Also note that this move has to be blocked high. If you do it at point-blank range, it's like an instant overhead! But that's if you can manage to fully charge it up when you're right up next to someone...

Combos

• c.LP/LK, c. LP/LK, c.LP/LK xx HK Spin Attack
• c.HP, LK/HK Spin Attack
• LP Pick-A-Card, s.HP (1 hit) xx HP Pick-A-Card, c. HK [corner only]
• LP Pick-A-Card, s.HP (1 hit) xx HP Pick-A-Card, HK Spin Attack
• c.LK, c.LK, s. HP, HK Spin Attack

The last combo is very difficult. To be able to combo the Spin Attack off a standing attack, you must do the standing moves when the joystick is in neutral, before pushing f+K to do the Spin Attack. What this means is that you have to charge Down-Back while doing the crouching LK's, then hit standing HP very quickly when the joystick reaches the neutral position, then f+HK. It is a lot more difficult than it sounds, you must be very fast and need expert timing. There are other variations on this combo that you can do to combo HK Spin Attacks off standing moves, but do not attempt without lots of practice. Worth it if you can do it consistently, but it's not easy!

The Basics

With Clown you want to be as unpredictable as possible. The more unpredictable the better, since then they will be more susceptible to getting hit by a Spin Attack. Clown's HK Spin Attack in particular is excellent since it is nearly impossible to counter on reaction. But, if they block it, chances are you're in trouble. Hitting someone with a "psychic" Spin Attack always makes you look good! If you overuse Spin Attacks, chances are the opponent is going to start to turtle up a little bit and stay in blocking position more often. If this happens, it's time to abuse Clown's throw. Go for his throw whenever possible since it can do huge damage.

Once you have the lead, it's not a bad idea to play defensively. Clown can runaway very well - the Spin Drop and Head Stamp can potentially get him out of corners. Throw Pick-A-Cards at them from a distance - if your opponent doesn't have a way to go over/under/through the fireball, they'll often be forced to jump in. At the right distance, Clown's standing LP will beat almost all of their air attacks clean. Throw another fireball when they're on the ground and keep them out.

Clown doesn't have any huge damaging combos, so you need to be able to swat away at the opponent like a mosquito. Keep your cool, don't get careless because Clown's weak spot (his mask) is a common target for a lot of moves, and you can get dizzied very easily if you're not careful.

Match-ups

Vs. Marstorius:

Believe it or not, Marstorius's worst matchup in the game is Clown. To win against Marstorius, literally all you have to do is runaway and throw Pick-A-Card's at him. It is near impossible for Marstorius to jump over the LP version. Marstorius will have no choice but to Rising Knee through them, and you'll always be recovered in time and can either standing LP him out of the air, or crouching HK sweep him to push him back. Such a simple tactic, and yet it works so well. Just keep away and you'll win.