Introduction
Antagonize the opponent with powerful combos through the reach and convenience of his moves. OG players can fight with him in the same fashion, more or less.
Billy is actually quite simple to fight with. His major weakness is that he is rarely safe when close in, because of the lack of invincibility.
Final Edition Change List
Move list
At a glance
| Normal throws | |
|---|---|
| Jigoku Otoshi | (throw) f/b + C |
| Ippon Dzuri Nage | (throw) f/b + D |
| Command moves | |
| Daikaiten Geri | f + A |
| Bōtakatobi Geri | f + B |
| Special moves | |
| Senpūkon | A repeatedly |
| Shūten Renpakon | C repeatedly |
| Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi | hcf + P |
| ┗ Kaen Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi | (during Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi) qcf + P |
| Sen'en Sakkon | dp + P |
| Kyōshū Hishōkon | dp + K, (f/b) |
| Karyū Tsuigekikon | qcb + B |
| Suiryū Tsuigekikon | qcb + D |
| Super special moves | |
| Chō Kaen Senpūkon | qcf hcb + P |
| Daisenpū | qcf qcf + P |
Normal moves
- cl.C – cancelable.
- cr.C – cancelable, faster to get out than cl.C. Use this as much as you can get away with.
- cr.A – abnormally long reach. Powerful in zoning.
- cr.D – no longer has the kick portion (so now it’s just a staff hit). It’s quick to get out, and it leaves you less open now, making it easier to use.
- st.C – now has an attack hitbox at startup, so that it can hit opponents in midair.
- vertical j.B – functions as an overhead if you use it while ascending.
- j.A – has high priority, so use it for air-to-air.
- j.D or j.B – okay for jumping in.
Command moves
- Daikaiten Geri
- f + A
- Billy does a spin kick. It combos from weak moves, and even if it’s blocked, the pushback is such that you aren’t open. The hitbox also happens to have good priority, so you can go on to use it for zoning or combos.
- Bōtakatobi Geri
- f + B
- Billy pole-vaults into a kick. It’s so slow to get out, it doesn’t even combo from strong attacks. It is now an overhead, but if the very tip doesn’t touch, you are open.
Special moves
- Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi
- hcf + P
- Billy pokes with his staff. It has quite a bit of reach, but it leaves you way open, so it isn’t suited for zoning.
- Kaen Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi
- qcf + P during Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi hit
- If hit or blocked, the recovery is long; use hit confirmation.
- Senpūkon
- A repeatedly
- Billy spins his staff, surrounding himself with an attack hitbox. It has the capability to extinguish projectiles, the hitbox has good priority, and it doesn’t leave you very open.
- Shūten Renpakon
- C repeatedly
- Billy pokes forward rapidly. If blocked, the opponent is pushed back a lot, so you can use it to get some distance. Though, if they manage to get behind you or something, you can count on getting punished.
- Kyōshū Hishōkon
- dp + K, (f/b to adjust landing position)
- Billy rises above the screen with a kick that will launch the opponent if it hits, and descends with a multi-hit assault (which can whiff, be blocked, or juggle off the first hit). It is possible to juggle after hitting. The first step has neither high priority nor invincibility, so you can’t really use it as an anti-air. This move combos from strong attacks, but the strong version does not do so safely.
- Karyū Tsuigekikon
- qcb + B
- Traps striking special moves and midair moves. Does multiple hits, which don’t combo safely but won’t leave you open if they glance off or even whiff.
- Suiryū Tsuigekikon
- qcb + D
- Traps ground normal moves and command moves. Does multiple hits, which don’t combo safely but won’t leave you open if they glance off or even whiff.
- Sen'en Sakkon
- dp + P
- Billy rises upwards (somewhat lazily), striking with his staff. This has extremely high priority, so you can go on to use it for anti-air or interruption. Unlike most other characters’ anti-airs, it has not been strengthened; in fact, the invincibility occurring at the same time as the active frames has been removed.
Super special moves
- Chō Kaen Senpūkon
- qcf hcb + P
- Billy spins his staff with a whirling blaze, covering his whole body with a projectile hitbox. After a bit, he then sends this giant ring of fire forward. The reach is short, but for UM he now has invincibility at startup. Other than as a juggle from Kyōshū Hishōkon, you can use it for interruption. After the MAX version hits, the opponent is now left with a hitbox as long as they’re still rising, but only a really quick Sen'en Satsukon in the corner will combo there.
- Daisenpū
- qcf qcf + P
- A wild-looking striking move. It combos from weak moves. It has no invincibility, so keep it to combos.
Combos
Basic
- (cr.B > cl.B) or cr.C >> Daikaiten Geri (f + A) or Sen'en Satsukon (dp + P) or Daisenpū (qcf qcf + P)
- The Daikaiten Geri (f + A) doesn’t do knockdown, but is safe even if blocked.
- j.D > cr.C >> weak Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi (hcf + A) >> Kaen Sansetsukon Chūdan Uchi (qcf + P)
- This does knockdown, so you want to aim for this when you know you’ll get it.
- cr.C >> weak Kyōshū Hishōkon (dp + B) > j.C or st.C or qcf hcb + A (corner)
- (corner) cr.C >> weak Kyōshū Hishōkon (db + B) > MAX version Chō Kaen Senpūkon (qcf hcb + AC)
- Only for Advanced Mode. Use qcf hcb + AC to activate the Chō Kaen Senpūkon.
The Basics
At mid-range, cr.A may seem a given, but it is slow to get out, and it would not be odd at all if it were dealt with severely. Thus, being careful not to throw it out there too much, play it so that the very tip will touch. Bear in mind that you should occasionally switch out vertical j.A or one of the command moves to mix up the rhythm.
When you see the right moment, close the gap by zoning with something like j.C or j.CD, then continue to push and turtle up the opponent with mainly Daikaiten Geri, cr.B, and j.C. When it seems the opponent is going to try interrupting, you’ll want to remember to immediately deal with it by blocking or using Sen'en Sakkon.
Billy’s defense isn’t strong, so you’ll want to look ahead as much as possible and following up with what will work. In particular, during cr.A, there are a lot of patterns in which the opponent will jump over, so when you use it, you have to watch out for those.
First, look at the jump-checker, st.B. It is defenseless to foot-level hits, so don’t throw it out too much; just show it every once in a while. If you’re pretty sure the opponent will jump in, you should tap the jump’s startup with the first hit of Daikaiten Geri. It’s safe even if blocked, and it’s quick to get out, so as long as you don’t overuse it, it can hardly be interrupted.
After you see a jump, you pretty much have to use strong Sen'en Sakkon to deal with it. You’ll probably trade hits, but you’re doing this to retain control anyway. Also, if the opponent uses a jump attack, Karyū Tsuigekikon also works. If this is the case, then unless they whiffed it on purpose, it won’t trade hits, and if it’s blocked, you have nothing to worry about. Choose wisely, at any rate.
To some extent, if you’ve got the room, it can be helpful to flash st.D. Even if this gets jumped, it will generally win out; unless the opponent has a rushing move that’s quick to get out, it’s hard to counter. That being said, it leaves you pretty open, so naturally, you must not overuse it.