Advancing Moves
Although Fatal Fury Special has very strong backdashes, there are no forward dashes. Fortunately, all characters have moves that can be used to travel faster than walking. Many of these can be used in neutral, but at worst they are all useful to reposition after a knockdown.
| Character | Moves | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Andy | [1]6A/C, 19B/D | 19B/D goes over projectiles |
| Axel | [1]6A, 4632149BC | |
| Bear | [1]6A/C, ]D[ | |
| Billy | f4/5/6B | Goes over some projectiles |
| Cheng | [4]6B | Unsafe on block |
| Duck King | [4]6A/C | |
| Geese | f5D | |
| Joe | 19B/D | |
| Jubei | [4]6B/D, 2D, front CD | 2D/CD aren't fast but allow charging. 2D goes under projectiles |
| Kim | 214B/D, j2B/D, 21416BD | |
| Laurence | [4]6B/D | |
| Mai | 41236D | Goes over some projectiles |
| Terry | 214A/C, 2147B/D | 2147B/D goes over some projectiles |
| Tung Fu Rue | 214A/C | |
| Krauser | 23B/D |
Common Combo Techniques
Unscaled Combos
There are 2 important things to know about hitstun in Fatal Fury Special:
- Characters are invincible during their last frame of hitstun before regaining control.
- Attacks that hit the second-to-last frame of hitstun will not have their damage reduced by combo scaling.
When reading frame data, this means that a move that seems as if it should start up exactly fast enough to link will whiff on the invincible frame and fail to combo, and a move with 1 less startup than the number of advantage frames will link without combo scaling.
Example: After a +5 move,
- a 5F startup attack will not link
- a 4F startup attack will link unscaled
- a 3F startup attack will link with damage scaling
Please keep this in mind when reading frame data. Of course, most links can be unscaled links with proper timing, but without buffers it's usually impractical due to the risk of dropping the combo.
Examples of buffered unscaled combos:
- Andy c5A (+9) linking to c5D (8F startup) or another c5A (8F startup)
- Billy c5A/f5A (+5) linking to c5A/f5A (4F startup)
Although the two examples above are from "jab" normals, the links must be buffered to happen as soon as possible.
However, there is another type of special jab combo under the opposite circumstance...
Microwalk Combos
Many characters' light normals are highly advantageous on hit and block while having low startup. When using these normals repeatedly, it is recommended to delay them while holding 6 or 3 and rhythmically pressing the button to microwalk closer to the opponent for a longer combo/blockstring. The microwalk's delay also allows for the possibility of hitting an unscaled link. These normals can be repeated even more times if the opponent is backturned (less pushback), so getting behind the opponent after a dizzy is ideal.
| Character | Moves |
|---|---|
| Andy | 2A |
| Cheng | c5A |
| Duck King | c5A, 2A |
| Geese | c5A, f5A |
| Joe | c5A, f5A, 2A |
| Jubei | c5A, f5A, 2A |
| Kim | c5A, 2A |
| Terry | c5A, f5A, 2A |
| Tung Fu Rue | c5A, f5A |
The faster a character's walk speed, the more they will gain out of microwalking. Conversely, characters that want to combo into charge moves (Andy, Cheng, Jubei) won't benefit as much, though it is still fantastic for blockstring pressure.
Low Profile Anti-Airs
Joe and Jubei's 2B and 2D have very low hurtboxes that go under many jumping attacks, rendering some characters near unable to jump against them. Below is a list of what jumping attacks can hit these moves.
| Character | Moves |
|---|---|
| Andy | j9B |
| Axel | jA/B, jC, jD |
| Bear | N/A |
| Billy | jA, jB, jC, jD |
| Cheng | jB, jD |
| Duck King | N/A |
| Geese | j214A/C |
| Joe | j9B |
| Jubei | N/A |
| Kim | N/A |
| Laurence | N/A |
| Mai | jA |
| Terry | j9B |
| Tung Fu Rue | jA |
| Krauser | N/A |
Lane Attacks
Lane Attacks are generally too slow to make use of in neutral, but they are quite good for post-dizzy combos or for left/right mixups after a Lane Blast knockdown. Generally, it is best to use light low-hitbox Lane Attacks.
Heavy lane attacks are very slow and reactable, and generally are only to be used after a dizzy.
Andy, Billy, Cheng, Geese, Joe and Terry have different Lane Attacks depending on whether a punch or kick button is pressed. Punch attacks will have a high hitbox and kick attacks have a low hitbox, except for Billy's which are the reverse. The low hitbox attack should be almost always be used over the high hitbox attack, as the latter will whiff on many crouching/dizzied characters.
Short characters can always crouch under Axel and Tung's lane attacks, and most characters can duck below Krauser's.
