THE MISHIMA COMPENDIUM: JIN KAZAMA By Red King (red_king74@hotmail.com) CONTENTS: **INTRODUCTION: -Brief introduction to Jin -TTT Jin VS T3 Jin **ANALISYS OF THE MOVES: -Moves -Throws -Strings **MOVEMENTS AND UNCONVENTIONAL MOVES: -Spacing movements and Wave Dash -Dash Buffer -Crouch Dash tricks -Instant WS **JUGGLES -Juggle starters -List of Juggles **OKIZEME -Ground Positions -Okizeme options **STRATEGY: -General advices -Set Up game -Psychological domination **THE SIDESTEP -General considerations -Attacking after a SS -Offensive SS **THE TAG -Tagging out -Tagging in -Tag Partners **CREDITS AND LEGAL STUFF --------------------------------------------------------------------- ***INTRODUCTION*** After some months from my last (and only) FAQ here comes my new work, this time a Tekken Tag Tournament guide for the most popular characters in the game: the Mishima family. This document is the first part of the "Mishima compendium" and it is dedicated to my favourite char (even in Tekken3 days), Jin Kazama. In this FAQ I will revise and use some parts of my previous FAQ (the T3 FAQ "Jin Kazama: the son of the devil") since I do believe that some contents of that guide even if planned for T3 are still actual and can be of some use even now that TTT is out. However in this guide I want to stress the importance of learning the NEW aspects of the game, since you can't imagine how many players still play TTT as a T3 "champion edition", a Tekken3 with more chars and a couple of new moves. Learning how to tag safely is for example one of the first thing that you must learn if you don't want to become your opponent's favourite punching ball. The fact that the basis of the game are the same of T3 is obvious, but the tag system, the increased speed of the game, the universal low parry, the better sidestep of every char and, of course, the new moves, transform TTT in a new game which needs to be studied in-depth if you want to obtain top results. The purpose of this guide is not to teach you something; I just wanted to put my knowledge at the service of the Tekken community; I don't pretend to be a master, I just would like to let other people know what I think (and know) about TTT and Jin in particular; if the content of this guide will help someone, well, I will be happy. I still have to master the game since I haven't played it too much in the arcade (this guide is for Ps2 TTT), so I will update this guide every time I will find new stuff. **Brief introduction to Jin** For all those players who haven't played Tekken3 (or played T3 not with Jin), I will try to give a small picture of the strengths and the weaknesses of this amazing character. About his strengths, well he is, in the right hands, one of the best chars in the game, with a really good spacing abilities, able to deal an impressive amount of damage with his juggles, and geared with a good number of useful moves (good ss, ws, low, mid and high attacks). He is not the fastest char in the game, not the most evasive or mobile, not the best poker, he is not the most damaging even (well, maybe he is au-pair with other two or three chars in this case), and definitely he is NOT the easiest char to use; however, in all the fields that I've mentioned(except the last one) Jin is almost always in the top5, and this strengthen his position as one of the best all round characters in the game. About his weaknesses, well, as I told before, he is not easy to use, his most useful moves require complex movements, and to exploit him at his best you need to gain an impressive manual ability; all the best Jin players I've seen so far have learnt or are practising on this complex movements. If you don't learn how to use most of his moves properly you will find yourself relying upon the same four moves, which will inevitably make your game predictable (the worst thing that can happen when you play against a skilled opponent). Furthermore, now that every char has a better sidestep Jin can be sidestepped more easily than before, so you must learn how to play an accurate and careful game, or your move will whiff more and more often (the second worst thing that can happen when you play against a skilled opponent). This is a common problem in TTT so I will never stop stressing the importance of learning when to attack and when not. **T3 Jin VS TTT Jin** If TTT is your first Tekken, and you haven't played extensively Tekken3 and Jin, you can jump this paragraph since the content won't be of any use for you (I hope you read it in any case ;)...), but if you are a hardcore T3 Jin player, well, I think I can imagine the first question that jumped to your mind: is TTT Jin stronger or weaker than T3 Jin? As I told before, I still have to play a lot TTT before I can say my final impression, but for now I think that Jin is not stronger or weaker than before, just changed a bit, but still a TOP char. I will analize briefly the major changes that Namco made to him, since I will treat this subject more accurately in the other sections of this guide. I think that the main new weapons that Jin gained in TTT are due not to his command list but to some new features of the game: the stagger after having blocked some low moves and the universal low parry. In the first case, thanks to his good old ws+2, Jin can punish (after having blocked) some low moves that he could not punish in T3, like Lei's db+4 or Heiachi's HellSweep for example. The universal low parry gives him the opportunity to interrupt(and deal damage) those short strings that he had instead to block passively in T3, like Julia's 1,1,4 or 4,4 for example. Two really good addictions that make Jin stronger against certain chars. Another important point is that Jin's juggles, even if less damaging than in T3(but still really damaging) are in most cases easy to perform and to connect, which means that Jin is one of the best chars to use to end the tag juggles, the most important juggles in the game. As every good TTT player knows, the tag juggles are the only juggles that won't allow your opponent to recover energy while he is out of the screen. Furthermore Jin is one of the chars that when out of the screen becomes almost immediately enraged with the Netsu Power (after 4 hits taken by your team-mate). These two skills make Jin one of the best tag partners in the game. About his new moves, well, the only one that is really, really useful is the new b+4 kick, which gives Jin a new dimension in the okizeme field. This kick has good properties even against a standing opponent, and I will analize it in the moves section, but I can tell you that if you are going to play against many Jin players (from scrubs to top players) you will see this move coming out very often (and if you are playing against scrubs, even more often than the Ewgf...poor abusers). Let's go now to the bad news. Well, first of all the stun of the b,f+2 is escapable, which means that you don't have any guaranteed juggles after connecting on Ch with this move; a very bad news considering that the b,f+2 was one of Jin's main weapons in the Ch field, and one of the most damaging moves (since all the most damaging juggles that Jin had started with this move). Another change has been made to his df+2, since now whenever it connects not on Ch it won't stagger anymore. I rated the df+2 one of the most useful moves in T3 due to it's properties, and the stagger was one of them. The fact that you could hit a ducking opponent with it and juggle him (even if the juggle was escapable -not so easily-) was a really good feature of this move, and now without it Jin lacks a really damaging close weapon against a ducking opponent (f,f+2 and the instant or cd cancelled ws+2 are slow compared to df+2). The df+2 was one of the few moves that could not be sidestepped on the left so you could use it to prevent your opponent to abuse of the sidestep just by mixing the df+2 with the ewgf(which could be sidestepped only on the left); now if your opponent sidesteps on the left he doesn't take high risks, since he won't be juggled unless on Ch. If you add that, with the better SS of each char, the df+2 sometimes can be sidestepped even on the left, you can well understand how more difficult can be now Jin's anti-sidestep game. In the end, as I told before, Jin is just changed a bit, but thanks to the new game system (I will explain why later in this guide), he is still one of the strongest characters in the game. I have done countless discussions about the "Jin is overpowered" or "Jin is the best char in the game" subjects on the various forums on the net , and what I've learnt is that too many players are frightened by his versatility and too many times they exchange one of their own weaknesses for Jin's power. ***ANALYSIS OF THE MOVES*** This section is entirely dedicated to the technical analysis of Jin's moves; the main frame of this section is the same of my previous guide, but I've added many comments for some old moves and obviously for the new ones. The purpose of this section is to cover the strengths and weaknesses, with particular attention to the speed of execution and the recovery time of each move. In order to give a better picture of this two prameters I will use the frame datas that can be found at www.tekkenzaibatsu.com (thanks Castel for this one). I will give a small explanation about the frame data system and I will use the standard jab as example: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1 5 h 8 +3 +9 +9 Cmnd=command Dmg=damage Rg=range: h(high), m(mid), M(Mid, even grounded opponent), l(low), L(Low,even grounded opponent), sm(specialmid) and ! (unblockable) The -Fhit- indicates the number of frames that pass from the moment you HIT THE BUTTON and the moment that the move will hit the opponent. The -Badv- indicates the number of frames that you have of advantage (if the number is positive) or disadvantage (if the number is negative) after your opponent has blocked the move. The -Hadv- and -CHadv- indicates the number of frames you have of advantage or disadvantage after you have hit you opponent with the move with a normal-hit and with a counter-hit; a Kd indicates that your opponent is knocked down. All the special properties of each move will be explained in the analysis of the move and listed at the end of each paragraph. In TTT some moves that launch you in the air can be Tagged to perform the tag juggles; this kind of launchers are divided according the height at which they juggle your opponent, from class 1 (moves that juggle you very high like Devil's ss+2 or Yoshi's 4~3) to class 4. Jin has almost only class 2 launchers (like his Ewgf or the Rising Upper), but you will find some infos about the other kind of launchers later in this guide (mainly in the Juggle section). However against the Big guys (the Jacks, Kuma, Ganryu, Ogre) sometimes the properties of the lanuchers will change a bit. Whenever a move is Tag-able I will specify it in the properties section, along with the changes I mentioned before. --Conventions-- 1 - Left Punch 2 - Right Punch 3 - Left Kick 4 - Right Kick 5 - Tag button f - tap forward once b - tap backwards once d - tap down once u - tap up once d/f - tap down/forward once d/b - tap down/back once u/f - tap up/forward once u/b - tap up/back once F - hold forward B - hold backwards D - hold down U - hold up D/F - hold down/forward D/B - hold down/back U/F - hold up/forward U/B - hold up/back + - Commands must be input simultaneously , - Move to be done following the previous one _ - Or (either command may be input) ~ - Command to be input immediately after the previous one FC - Full Crouch WS - While Standing from a crouch N - Neutral joystick i.e. no movement input SS - Sidestep CD - Crouch Dash (f,N,d,d/f) **MOVES** Basic left jab: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1 6 h 10 +3 +9 +9 The basic left jab deserves a section on his own for the consistent frame advantage that it gives to you even if blocked; +3 frames of advantage means infact that you can use this jab to put real pressure on your opponent even if he has a char with a basic left jab of 8 frames. Basically you can jab and have the certitude that you can perform another jab without the risk of being interrupted by your opponent jabbing game. Obviously your second jab can be ducked or countered by other evasive moves (Lei's b+1+2 just to mention one), but this means that you can use the jab to put pressure on your opponent and to force him to react (and this is exactly what you want). I will cover more about this jab in the set-up moves section. Basic low jab: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv d+1 5 Sm 8 -2 +9 +9 The basic low jab is the fastest move you have in your arsenal to interrupt an incoming attack; obviously this move must be used in a clever way or you will end eating juggle starters. In general you should use this move during the poking game against your opponent retaliation to gain the huge advantage that this move gives you when it connects (+9 frames means that he must block or he will ate almost every move you will perform). Remember however that when your opponent blocks the d+1 you will have a disadvantage of 2 frames so he will be able to anticipate you in the next attack. One-two punches: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2 6,10 h,h 10 +3,-5 +9,+10 +9+10 This move has been subject to some changes from T3; in TTT infact you are at a huge disadvantage if your opponent blocks the second punch, so the usefulness of this move in the poking field has decreased a bit (in T3 you were at 0 frames of advantage). However the second punch has a really good range and is difficult to ss on the left(which is really important if you are playing against a good sidestepping opponent); furthermore it has good priority and stops incoming attacks (it happened more than once that this string stopped even the terrifying wgf) better than the other punch string 1,1,(2). Whenever the first punch connects, the second one is always guaranteed (the second punch of the 1,1 sometimes whiffs mysteriously) and gives you a huge advantage for the next move, so this string is well suited for set-up purposes(more about this in the set-up section). Be careful to ducking opponents cause obviously the string can be punished if it whiffs. Demon Slayer combo: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2,2 6,10,18 h,h,h 10 +3,-5,-12 +9,+10,+1 +9,+10,+1 One of the possible ender of the One-two Punches, this combo ends with a backfist which hits high (as the other two punches); even if the Demon Slayer has some of the advantages of the Left Right combo, the last punch brings some cons which compromise the effectiveness of this combo. First of all (as I wrote before) the last punch hits high, which means that you can duck the whole combo; the third hit isn't guaranteed, even on CH, and if you add the fact that it suffers some recovery time, you can easily understand how risky can be to use the Demon Slayer. In the end if you consider that the damage is SLIGHTLY greater then the Flash Punches one, I suggest to use the Demon Slayer only as an ender for some juggles (and for style points). Shoot the Works: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2,3 6,10,25 h,h,m 10 +3,-5,+10 +9,+10,kd +9,+10,kd Another variation on the One-two Punches theme, this time ending with a Left Axe Kick which hits mid. This axe kick is slightly different from the one you can perform normally(f,f+3) because it causes, if blocked, a guard stun, giving you a good advantage for the following move(+10 frames). The only thing you must pay attention to is the fact that this kick pushes your opponent bw, so, if you follow-up with a quick but short move, you will miss. Thanks to the guard stun property, this move can be used to set an offensive game, just mixing the follow up games; for example if you perform after the stun a Demon's Paw (f,f+2), your opponent will be able to interrupt your attack only with a low jab; obviously ha can dash bw(so be CAREFULL) or sidestep, but anyway he will be forced to a defensive game; you can find some other useful follow-up moves, and in any cases you will start a fun guessing game, in which you opponent will be forced to think fast and react faster. Finally, if the Left Axe connects, you can perform some short juggles. As I told before, no one of Jin's moves can be performed too often, and Shoot The Works makes no exception; in this case the cons are represented the time which intercours between the two punches and the kick: a skilled opponent will be able to duck the two punches and counter you before the Left Axe Kick or worse, with some character (Julia for example) your opponent will be able to block the punches and attack you before the last kick (with Julia's 1,1,1 but in this case the punches will not be a CH);furthermore, if you miss with the last kick, your opponent can punish you during the long recovery time. Another cons is that the last kick has no tracking ability, so if your opponent sidesteps the two punches, the kick will miss too. A last advice is to never use this combo after a sidestep, 'cause the kick will miss almost every time. Properties: Guard stun, Knock down, Juggle. Shoot the Works High: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2, 6,10, h,h, 10 +3,-5, +9,+10, +9,+10 3,4 25,30 m,m +10,0 kd,+11 kd,+11 This variation is pretty useless, 'cause even against a not so skilled opponent, the last kick is too slow and short to be a danger of any sort. Shoot the Works Mid: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2, 6,10, h,h, 10 +3,-5, +9,+10, +9,+10 3,f+4 25,10 m,m +10,-5 kd,+6 kd,+6 This combo can be useful, thanks to the last kick that has good range, speed and priority. Thanks to the guard stun is impossible to anticipate or counter the last kick, even if it is still possible to block it or avoid it with a backdash. You should use this combo as a mix-up with the other attacks described in the "Shoot The Works" paragraph. If the third kick connects, the last one is guaranteed. Properties: Knocks down. One-Two, Knee: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,2,4 6,10,12 h,h,m 10 +3,-5,-7 +9,+10,+4 +9,+10,+4 In terms of speed and risk, this is the most useful of the One-Two variations. The final knee kick is one of Jin's quickest attacks, it has really good priority, and most of all it has a really short recovery time. At the right distance, if the two punches hit, the knee is guaranteed. You can use this combo as a good variation against those opponents who like to duck under the Left Right Punches (and its variations) since even if the knee can be interrupted with a ws attack, your opponent needs really perfect timing or he will be hit. This string has the same good properties of the One-Two punches (see the One-Two punches section) but if you connect with it the advantage you will gain won't be as effective as the one you get when you connect with the One-Two punches (+4 istead of +10), so it's effectiveness as a set- up is a bit reduced. In the end I have to say that this combo doesn't have some particular cons, but after all it doesn't have so many advantages; it is a low risk combo, still useful to give some variation to your game. A side note: you may cancel the 1,2,4 into a White Heron; in order to do this you must input 1,2,4~1+4,2,4_d+4;Jin will do the One Two punches and then the White Heron. Properties: none. Flash Punches combo: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1,1,2 6,8,18 h,h,m 10 +3,+1,-17 +9,+9,kd +9,+10,kd This is, to my opinion, Jin's most effective punch combo. The Flash Punches Combo has just too many pros to ignore it: first of all the last punch of the combo can be delayed, so you can end the combo only when you are sure that it will hit; unfortunately Namco made some changes to this string so it happens too many times that the second punch whiffs, and consequently the last one is no more guaranteed. For this reason you must learn how to delay the last punch and perform it only when you are completely sure that it will hit; if you add that whenever your opponent blocks the third punch you have a very long recovery time (which in almost every case means juggle), you can well understand how important is to learn when you will connect with the whole combo and when you must stop at the first two punches. Also this combo starts from Jin's quickest attack, the left jab(1), so you can use the first two punches for poking, interrupting and set up strategies (see the set-up section). This move is the best punishment for short recovery times, and the fact that it starts with no direction commands means that you can use the Flash Punches after a successful deep ss (when the camera angle usually makes impossible to understand on which side you are). If you connect with the second punch of this string in CH the advantage that you gain allows you to connect with another left jab; this means that 1,1 CH(the one must whiff and only the second one must be a ch), 1,1,2,(or any other jab string) is a true combo. This happens in general when your opponent ducks the first jab and tries to interrupt the string getting the second punch in his face. Another good property of the first two punches is that, even if blocked, they will give you a very slight advantage (1 frame) for the next move; however you must be careful, because some character have 8-frames jabs, so this advantage would not be enough to anticipate them (Julia with her 1,1,1 combo for example can kill you in no time if you don’t pay attention to this things). If the third punch hits, it will knock down your opponent, leaving room for okizeme (se okizeme section). The only thing to which you must pay attention is that the first two punches can be ducked. Properties: Knocks down. White Heron: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1+4,2 5,10,10 smid,h,h 12 x,6,0 x,3,11 x,3,11 One of the few moves inherited from his mother, this quick combo with all his variations, owes all its effectiveness to the first two hits (in particular the first one is very quick and has very good priority); the damage is very low indeed, so the White Heron is useful mostly to hold under pressure your opponent, varying the follow-up moves after the first two or three hits of this combo (d+1 will be a very good option). Unfortunately if your opponent blocks low the first hit, the other two will hit high so will be easily ducked. If the usefulness of this move is not so great as a normal attack the White Heron shows its real usefulness during juggles: thanks to the first hit, which connects really low (even if it is a s.mid) this combo is the best to juggle after some particular juggle starter such as the Hell Sweep or the Can Can Kicks (see the Juggle section). Thanks to the above mentioned properties this combo is useful even during okizeme (see the okizeme section). Finally, you can chain the White Heron with the Left Right Punches (1,2,1+4...) but it requires perfect timing. Properties: none. White Heron, Mid Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1+4,2 5,10,10 smid,h,h 12 x,6,0 x,3,11 x,3,11 4 21 m -12 kd kd This combo has all the pros and cons of the White Heron; the last kick, in fact, even if blocked, will not guarantee to your opponent any free hit. Remember however that your opponent can interrupt the combo before the last kick (if he ducks the second and third punch). Properties: knocks down. White Heron, Sweep: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1+4,2 5,10,10 smid,h,h 12 x,6,0 x,3,11 x,3,11 d+4 15 L 12 -26 kd kd This variations has more cons then pros: the last Sweep is a bit slow, so even if the game is faster than T3 a skilled opponent will see it coming a mile away; but the real drawback is represented by the long recovery time (and the stagger) after the Sweep, which will guarantee to your opponent (in most cases) a juggle (after having blocked). If the sweep connects you can perform some juggles, but the risk is, to my opinion, too high. As for the White Heron, this combo can be useful during juggles or okizeme. Properties: Knocks down, Juggles, Ground Hit. Left Roundhouse: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f+3 35 h 21 -4 kd kd This kick has some good evasive properties, because during the execution, Jin sidesteps slightly on the left; a sidestep (on the left), immediately before the execution, will increase the evasive manoeuvre a lot. This kick covers a 180° frontal arc so it is very hard to sidestep. Unfortunately the kick hits high, and since it is not so fast, it will be easily ducked. In the end I think that even if this move increases your sidestep chances, there are other attacks which are far more useful. Properties: knocks down. Right Roundhouse: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 4 30 h 25 -10 kd kd Very similar to the Left Roundhouse, this kick lacks the sidestepping properties of the other one. It still hits high and it suffers a bigger recovery time, so I think that you should never use this kick unless you are sure that your opponent will sidestep and don't block or duck (which will be very rare). Properties: Knocks down. Knee Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f+4 12 m 11 -7 +4 +4 This knee is Jin's fastest mid move, and for this reason one of his best interrupters (slower than the d+1 but it has more range and hits mid). The drawback here is represented by the long recovery time if your opponent blocks the Knee (-7) which means that you shouldn't use it too much if you don't want to make your opponent to dictate the game.The damage is low (12), and the advantage you get when this move connects isn't so big (+4) so be careful if you are planning to use it as a set- up move (see the Strategy section). Remember also that if your opponent ss on the left the Knee will hit him (when in range) almost always, so you can use it to limit a bit the sidestepping game (which is in TTT far better than in T3). Properties: none. Overhead Blow: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f+2 18 m 17 +2 +8 +8 This move may not be Jin's most useful punch, but it still has some good properties. First of all it hits mid, which means that you can punish ducking opponents; in the second place this is one of the few moves that, even if blocked, will give you a slight advantage for the next move (+2). If the Overhead hits this advantage becomes more consistent (+8). Furthermore in both cases (both blocked or not) your opponent will end ducking due to the knee guard stun in the first case and to the kneel stun in the second one. Another good property of this move is that it covers a wide arc from high to low. Let's go now to the drawbacks: first of all the move is slow (17 frames) so you won't be able to connect with it too often during a match. In the second place this move can be easily ss on the right. But it's biggest drawback to my opinion is that the command you need to input when you want to perform this move (f+2) makes the Overhead Blow almost impossible to be performed during a match; it may sound weird, but in most cases, when you want to perform this move you will end doing a Stun Punch; this happens since when you block (or simply press b on the stick) and then do the f+2, the system will buffer the first b as the first part of the Stun Punch motion (b,f+2). This means that you can't perform the Overhead Blow whenever you want, but only in some conditions, and this is a big drawback to my opinion. The best scenario when you can perform this move is when your opponent is getting up from the ground and he is forced to block; in this case you can prepare yourself to perform the Overhead to gain some advantage (remember however that there are better options when your opponent is getting up, so use this move wisely to give your game a bit of variety). Properties: Kneel Stun, Knee block stun. Overhead Blow to Knee Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f+2,4 18,10 m,m 17 +2,-6 +8,+5 +8,+5 This is a new string, a TTT exclusive. The first punch is the normal Overhead Punch, and you can perform after it a Knee Kick. The knee is delayable and always guaranteed if the punch connects, so it can be a good choice to perform it in this case if you are going for damage and not for set-up strategies (the frame advantage after the punch alone is better than the one you have after the knee, +8 against +5). If your opponent blocks the punch I suggest you not to perform the knee in order to keep the advantage gained (see the Strategy section). Remember however that the first punch has all the drawbacks of the Overhead Blow..... Properties: none. Soccer Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+4 21 M 16 -4 -2 kd This is the most useful addiction to Jin's arsenal; this kick has really many good properties and only some little drawbacks. It has good range, good recovery, it deals good damage and whenever it connects on Ch it will stun (which is completely inescapable) your opponent for massive follow-up damage(you can deal 60+ points of damage with the juggles after it). When your opponent blocks the Kick he will be pushed back so that even if you are at a disadvantage (-4) he will be out of jab range; sometimes I use this kick as a sort of set-up to provoke my opponent's attack. This properties would be enough to make this move good, but this is just the top of the iceberg. The greatest property of this move is the fact that it hits even a grounded opponent, which means that you have in your arsenal a move which deals good damage (big damage if your opponent tries to attack and you hit him on ch) and it's safe if blocked. The kick will hit a grounded opponent almost from every position (there is a case, when your opponent is with his feet tw you, that you could miss, but if you learn how to position properly you won't have much trouble in connecting in the 99% of the cases) so you will be able to force your opponent to rise after almost every move that knocks down. Thanks to this kick Jin's throwing game (which was good) will become a nightmare for your opponent, since you will have the chance to connect with the Soccer Kick after almost every throw(see Throws section and Okizeme section). Furthermore in some cases if your opponent tries to roll bw while on the ground this kick will juggle him so that you can connect with a White Heron. A Playing Dead Lei was a problem for you? The Soccer Kick will solve your problem. Ling's Phoenix stance was your worst nightmare? A couple of well timed Soccer Kick will make her think twice before using it again (even if the Phoenix stance is still really dangerous). This is that kind of moves that lower the difference between good players and top ones; easy to perform, safe if blocked, short recovery even if whiffed...if you are going to play against lots of Jin players (from scrubs to top ones) you will end to hate this move even if you are playing with Jin yourself. The only minimal drawbacks of this move are that it is not so fast (a 16 frames move) and it is easy to ss, so be careful. Properties: Stuns on Ch, Juggles, Ground Hit. Flip Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 4~3 25 m 37 x kd kd This kick was a useful tool in T3 since it was one of the move you could use to force your opponent to rise quickly from the ground, but now that Jin has in his arsenal the new Soccer Kick (b+4) that makes this job even better, the Flip Kick becomes a bit useless. Obviously you can still use this move since it deals a bit more damage, but in the end the Soccer Kick is safer and far more useful than this move. You should use this move only when you are sure that your opponent will lay on the ground waiting for your attack. Furthermore, now that your opponent can tech-roll when falling face down, this move is no more guaranteed during some juggles like it was in T3 (check the Juggles section to learn how to make impossible for your opponent to tech-roll from the face down position). Properties: Knocks Down, Ground Hit. Demon's Paw: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,f+2 27 m 15 -11 kd kd This is one of Jin's most useful moves. Even if not as damaging as Paul's Deathfist, the Demon's Paw is Jin's best mid-long range mid move. You can dash buffer it to gain more range and even Crouch Dash buffer it to make your guessing game more effective (and gain range as well). Even if this punch is not so fast it has a really good priority, it knocks down and its almost safe if blocked; I say "almost" because -11 frames means that your opponent can hit you at least with a jab, but in most cases the Demon's Paw will push you out of jab distance (Yoshimitsu's f,f+4 with its 7 frames is the only move that can hit you that comes to my mind), but in some cases (very rarely) if your opponent blocks this move after a ss he could be in the position to hit you. As I wrote the Demon's Paw knocks your opponent down, so it leaves you in a good condition for some okizeme strategies; when it connects on Ch it knocks your opponent far away, so you have the chance to run after him and attack. The main drawback of this move is that it can be SS really easily, even more easily than in T3(remember that sidestepping a move in TTT is far easier than in T3); you can ss it on the right and with an interrupted ss even on the left, so whenever you perform this move you should be careful or you will be punished heavily.There is a way to make this move track a bit more: you should input the second f a bit slowly (practically you have to dash buffer it, see the "Movements and Unconventional moves" section); in this way the move will be slower but the second f will make Jin face his opponent. This way to perform the Demon's Paw is good at long range, when you have less chances of being interrupted. Another way to perform it is to Crouch Dash buffer it(f,N,d,df,n,f+2); in this way you can feint a Cd and perform the Demon's Paw in order to fool your opponent. This way to perform the Demon's Paw, even if slower than the normal way, can be really effective when coupled with other crouch dash attacks (like the Hell Sweep, the Ewgf or a Crouch Dash buffered Throw), and if performed when your opponent is forced to block(and can't ss it easily); I will write more about the use of this move in the "Movements and Unconventional moves" section, and in the "Strategy" section. Thanks to his range and damage the Demon's Paw is even a really good move to end Juggles (see the "Juggles" section). As I wrote, one of Jin's best moves. Properties: Knocks Down. Left Axe Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,f+3 23 m 20 -11 kd kd The animation of this kick is the same of the one of the Shoot The Works combo, but, unfortunately, if you take it alone is not as good. First of all this version lacks the guard stun property, so its strategical use is very limited; furthermore this kick is a bit slow, so it can be easily interrupted in the first part of its animation, which makes almost impossible for you to hit a skilled opponent with it. Its range is a bit short, and if you use the dash buffer motion (see "Movements and Unconventional Moves" section), to gain range, the kick will be slower and easier to interrupt. When the Left Axe Kick hits, you will be able to perform some juggles. A not so good attack, I must say. Properties: Juggles. Right Axe Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv df+4,4 10,16 m,m 13 -9,-15 +2,-4 +2,-4 This is the best kick that Jin has in his arsenal, and one of his most useful attacks, thanks to his good properties. The Right Axe is one of Jin' quickest kicks, (second only to the Knee Kick), and undoubtedly the one with best priority; thanks to this two factors this kick is very useful in mid-close range to anticipate or interrupt an incoming move. Another good property of this move is the fact that it covers the whole frontal area (his detection area starts really low near the ground so that you can hit even a side rolling ground opponent), which allows you to interrupt almost everything, and makes this move useful both during juggles or okizeme strategies. The kick is composed by two hits: the first one, which has the properties above written can be used alone and is (as you can well understand) really useful as an interrupter-Set Up even if it deals poor damage (10). The second part of this Kick is not as useful, since it has really bad recovery time, both if it is blocked or not. Infact whenever your opponent blocks it you will have -15 frames of recovery, which means that almost every char in the game can inflict you some damage (and some chars even massive damage); luckily the kick will push your opponent out of jab range, so your opponent must know which attack he has to perform if he wants to hit you (and a GOOD opponent wont leave you unpunished). Even when the kick connects you will have a disadvantage (-4) so in the end you should perform this kick only when you decide that you need those 26 points of damage and nothing more. If the first part connects the second one is guaranteed and since in TTT the second part of this move is delayable, you can perform it only when you are completely sure that it will connect (to tell the truth sometimes it happened that the second part of the kick missed mysteriously, but this is due to the fact that sometimes the big movement that can be done in TTT brings to weird positions and the angle between the two chars makes some moves miss even when they are guaranteed...say thanks to Namco for this). You could even try to delay the second part of the kick even if your opponent blocked the first one in order to fool him and hit him while he attacks back, but I don't suggest you to do this since your opponent can back-dash or SS after the first hit and make you whiff with the second (and kill you in his spare time). Another reason why you should learn how to use this kick wisely is because it can be sidestepped easily on both directions(easily on the right), so be careful. In the end a fast and average damaging mid move. Properties: the first part of the Right Axe Kick is a ground hit against Big guys. Rising Axe Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv ws+4,4 13,21 m,m 11 -3,-15 +8,-4 +8,-4 f,n,d,df+4,4 Even if it has the same animation of the Right Axe Kick, this version has some different properties that you should know. First of all this kick deals more damage, 34 points in total which is good for such a fast kick. The first part of the Rising Axe has a better recovery time than the Right Axe one, so it is even more useful for Set-Up strategies; whenever it connects you have a +8 frame advantage, which means that you can perform a 15 frame move without the risk of being interrupted. This means that you will force your opponent to block (unless he is mad) and this is exactly what you need to start your favourite guessing games(see the "Strategy" section). Unfortunately the second part of this kick has the same bad recovery of the Right Axe one, and if you add that in this version you CAN'T DELAY it, you can well understand how it is necessary to use it wisely. The Crouch Dash version of this kick is good for mixups, and even if Jin has more dangerous attacks from his Crouch Dash this kick is the fastest mid move that you can perform out of it. Be careful however since like all the Crouch Dash moves, even this one can be easily sidestepped. Properties: the first part of the Rising Axe Kick is a ground hit against Big guys. Twin Lancers: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv df+1,2 10,16 m,m 13 -2,-5 +9,+6 +9,+6 The Twin Lancers can be considered the punch version of the Right Axe Kick; same speed, same priority, the best use of this move is again as an interrupter and Set-Up move. Like the Right Axe Kick you can choose to perform only the first of the two hits, and in some cases this can be a good option. The first punch has a really good recovery time: -2 if blocked, which means that your opponent wont take a big advantage from blocking it, and an impressive +9 whenever it connects, which means that you can force your opponent to block the following attack starting again your favourite guessing game; you can well understand how useful this punch can be as a Set-up move. The second punch has a longer recovery time, so whenever your opponent blocks it you will give him more chances to start his guessing game. As may know(or you will learn this one with experience) the fact that you give your opponent some advantage is not always a bad thing, since in some way you are forcing him to react; it may sound weird, but I myself use this kind of tactic loads of times. Giving your opponent an advantage (obviously not a big advantage, in this case 5 frames) will make him attack in most cases; knowing that your opponent will attack can put you in a position of advantage, and can give you the opportunity to make him whiff and punish him badly; so don't underestimate those moves which give you some disadvantage, cause you can use them for Set-Up strategies in any case. Going back to the second punch the Twin Lancer, whenever it connects it knee stuns your opponent, giving you a good +6 frames of advantage and forcing your opponent in a full crouch position (again a very good guessing game position). Unfortunately the second punch is guaranteed only if the first one hits on Ch, so you won't connect with it too often. Again you must choose carefully when you want to perform the whole string or just the first punch. Remember that thanks to the better ss in TTT, this move can be sidestepped more easily than in T3, so, again, be careful. Properties: Knee Stun on CH. Twin Pistons: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv ws+1,2 10,15 m,m 13 -6,-7 +5,kd +5,kd Another Mishima trademark move, but this time Jin's version can't compare with both Heiachi's and Kazuya's ones (I don't even want to mention Devil's Twin Pistons). The big, big drawback of this move is that in order to connect with the second punch (and juggle) you must connect with the first one on Ch. Furthermore the Twin Pistons is a WS move, and Jin has another WS move which is far better than this one, the Rising Upper(WS+2). However the Twin Pistons is not a bad move, it is fast enough, it has really good priority, it has good range and, most important tracks much better than the other WS moves (and better than standing moves too). So don't try to use it as a standard Juggle starter, use it more like an interrupter and as a weapon to put some pressure on your opponent. In general I use the Twin Pistons mainly for it's tracking ability, in particular against characters like Ling. Whenever your opponent blocks it he will have 7 frames of advantage, so remember to stop and react to your opponent's attack. Like all the Ws moves you can perform the Twin Pistons with the instant WS motion or out from a Crouch Dash (I will cover more about this in the Movements and Unconventional Moves section). The Twin Pistons can be tagged (WS+1,2~5) in order to perform a tag juggle. Be careful to those chars that have a punch parry (like Bryan and Genre). A side note: Lei can juggle you whenever he blocks a Twin Pistons simply entering the BK stance(b+3+4) after having blocked the first punch and launching with the BK upper(BK,2). Properties: Juggles on Ch, class 4 tag launcher(never juggles the Big guys). Rising Upper: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv WS+2 21 m 14 -12 kd kd This is one of the best WS moves of the game (Kazuya's Twin Pistons is better) and one of Jin's most useful moves. This is the only mid move that Jin has that Juggles his opponent on every hit, so you can well imagine how useful it can be. It has good speed and range, some priority and whenever it connects you can perform those nasty juggles that made Jin so (in)famous. This move is the big, good reason why you should learn how to perform the Instant WS motion and the CD cancel, this is the move that will give your guessing game strength and variety, this is the move that will make your opponent think twice before performing a high move or a throw. With the introduction of the block stagger after the Low hits (like Lei's Sweep or Heiachi's HellSweep) this move has become even stronger and now punishes some moves that could not punish in T3. With the instant WS movement and the Crouch Dash cancel you can use this move effectively even as an attacking move; you should spend some hours of training on these complex movements, since even if you can become a strong Jin player without it, those techniques will make your game more spectacular and dangerous. The Crouch Dash cancelled version in particular can be really useful since you can mix it with a Crouch Dash cancelled throw or an HellSweep and make your opponent life really harder. Like in T3 you can use the Rising Upper after a successful SS to punish your opponent; I prefer to use this move instead of the Tooth Fairy since it is safer if blocked and since you can deal more damage after it. Usually in these cases I use the Ewgf (Electric Wind Goofiest) but in TTT it happens too many times that the sidestep changes the camera angle so that it is impossible to understand on which side you are; for this reason performing a Ewgf could be impossible, and a normal WS+2 with its simple motion would be the best choice. The Rising Upper suffers a long recovery time when it is blocked (-12) but it will push your opponent out of jab range so your opponent will be able to hit you only with fast mid range moves (the standing 4 of some chars do the job, or even the df+4). Strangely if you whiff with this move the recovery time will be shorter (don't ask me why) and it will be difficult for your opponent to punish you. Again, even this move can be sidestepped easily (and the Crouch Dash cancelled version even more easily and on the left like all the CD moves). Namco has apported a minimal change to this move, but this small change can affect your usual T3 juggles; in TTT the Rising Upper juggles not as high as in T3, so connecting with a Tgf (Thunder Goofiest) is more difficult now. The Rising Upper can be tagged (WS+2~5) in order to perform a tag juggle. More about the Rising Upper in the "Movements and Unconventional Moves" section. Properties: Juggles, Class 2 Tag Launcher(class 4 tag launcher against Big guys). Tooth Fairy: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv ss+2 16 m 18 -17 kd kd As I told in the Rising Upper paragraph, Jin has another really useful juggle starter after a sidestep, the Tooth Fairy. Even if I prefer to perform after each successful sidestep the Rising Upper, I must say that the Tooth Fairy is still very useful, mainly for two reasons: first of all this move is very easy to execute 'cause it can be performed at every time during the sidestep with the pression of only one button; in the second place it has GREAT range, greater than the Rising Upper, so you can choose to perform it when your opponents goes too far after your sidestep; furthermore, the Tooth Fairy has some evasive properties 'cause during its animation, Jin slides forward ducking high attacks. The height at which you will juggle your opponent will vary whether you connect on Ch or not. In the first case you will juggle your opponent very high(like all the class 2 launchers), in the second case your opponent won't be juggled as high so you may have to change a bit the timing for your juggles. This difference will affect even the Tag version of the Tooth Fairy (ss+2~5), so remember it when you are going to perform a tag juggle. As I wrote before, this move has only one, big drawback: its long recovery time. If your opponent blocks this move you will be in big troubles since the -17 frames of recovery means, almost surely, juggle. Learn when to perform this move and when not or you will be dead in no time. Properties: Juggles, Tag launcher (class 2 on Ch, class 3 not on Ch; against Big guys is class 2 tag launcher only if the Tooth fairy connects on Ch in a srtight line, not from a side). Can Can Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv d+3+4 5,20 smid 14 -31,-10 kd kd This move was Jin's fastest Juggle starter in T3 (14 frames, maybe you can consider the Ewgf as fast as this kick, even if it's very difficult to perform it in 14 frames) but due to his long recovery time and to the fact that it hits smid(your opponent could block both high or low and kill you in the recovery time) it could be used only to punish some particular recovery times. In TTT things have changed a bit, 'cause the recovery time of this move are different if your opponent blocks low or high. In the first case the recovery is really long(-31) and your opponent will kill you with his most damaging juggle, but if he blocks high you will have only 10 frames of recovery and the kick will push him out of jab range becoming almost safe. Furthermore it is easier to connect with a standing jab whenever you juggle your opponent, so now you can perform some more damaging juggles. Unfortunately Namco reduced a bit the range of this move (which wasn't nothing special even in T3) so now in TTT you can't punish some recovery times that you could punish in T3; Julia's recovery after her 1,1,1 was one of those recovery that you can't punish anymore. You should learn which are the recovery times that you can punish only with the Can Can Kick and use this move only in those particular scenarios. I will make an example: against Devil, if you ss on the right the Twin Pistons the first punch will hit you but the secon will whiff, giving you the opportunity to punish him in the recovery time; this recovery is quite short in any case (I think it is 14 frames or 15) so it would be very difficult to punish Devil with an Ewgf (due to the fact that you don't exactly know when you are active and in some cases even for the camera angle), so the Can Can kicks are the best option. From a side you can even get a flip over juggle, so don't underestimate this move. Properties: Juggles. Stun Punch Combo: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b,f+2,1,2 18,14,24 m,m,m 15 -7,-3,-5 -5,-1,kd kd or d+2 or 15 m -10 kd This was one of the most important attack in T3 since it was very difficult to sidestep and thanks to the stun of the first punch (on Ch) it was the most damaging juggle starter in Jin's arsenal (the b,f+2 on Ch, Ewgf, Tgf was a legendary combo in T3, maybe one of the most difficult, and surely one of the most damaging). In TTT all this usefulness has gone, since now the stun after the first punch on Ch is ESCAPABLE (by pressing f). And not even difficult to escape, not as difficult as other Double Over stuns escapes like Bryan's qcf+3 on Ch(which can be escaped with some practice). The better sidestep of each char has done the rest, making even this string more easy to sidestep. Ok, now that I've expressed all my disappointing about these changes that Namco made to this move I will start to analize it more accurately. The string is composed by three punches so I will analize them separately. The first punch is an average mid attack, not too fast and with short range; you can buffer the first b of the motion during the blocking process in order to make the move come out faster. You can delay a bit the pression of the button after the b,f movement in order to gain some range; this will make the move slower, so be careful. You can even buffer the first b, then ss and perform the f+2 since the system will still count it as a normal b,f+2, but since the move is not so fast you will not use it in this was too often. Once the move has started it has a good priority. When this punch is blocked you will have a heavy disadvantage (-7), so you can't use it for set-up strategies; be sure that you never whiff with this punch or your opponent will kill you during the recovery. Even when it connects not on Ch you will have some frames of disadvantage (-5) and the damage itself is nothing special. This told you can understand how important is to learn how to connect with this punch on Ch; you have to plan your set-ups and read your opponent game, have good spacing skills and time this move perfectly. In T3 this kind of efforts were well paid by the inescapable double over stun, which could bring to a 100+ damage juggle; now in TTT you have to pray that your opponent misses the escape in order to deal him extra damage. Obviously even if your opponent escapes the stun you can start your guessing game, but to my opinion this is a very little result for such a hard work. Let's go on with the second punch of the string. This punch has which is delayable, has a better recovery time, both if blocked (-3) or when it connects not on Ch (-1) so you can perform it more safely and without the risk of giving to your opponent a big advantage. If the first punch connects the second is guaranteed(not if you delay it too much), but I have to make a distinction whenever the first is a Ch or not. In the Ch case, the second punch will stun the opponent too(unless you delay it too much), but in this case the escape of the stun will be even easier. However since both the stuns can be escaped (easily by a good opponent)I suggest you to go on with the second punch and use it as a set-up since your opponent will block almost surely after the escape(unless he is mad or a mind reader). If you delay the second punch too much it won't stun your opponent anymore, and this sometimes can fool him; sometimes infact you can delay the second punch so much that thinking that he has to escape the stun your opponent may push f on the controller eating in this way the third punch of the string; this trick won't work too many times, maybe never against a really good opponent, so just put it in your bag of tricks and use it wisely. When the first punch connects not on Ch the second one is guaranteed (again you must not delay it too much) rising the total damage to a good 32 points. While the first punch can be sidestepped more easily, the two punches together are more difficult to ss, so this move is well suited against ss opponents; don't be overconfident however, since if you whiff with the first punch, the second one can be sidestepped easily on the left, or worse, interrupted. When the second punch connects on Ch (and the first one has whiffed) the third punch is guaranteed. Let's end the analysis of this Stun Punch Combo with the last punch. Well I have to say that I don't use this punch (both the 2 or d+2 versions) too often, for two reasons: first of all, when the Stun Punch connects on CH, as I told before, you should stop at the first or second hit; even if you play against an opponent who can't escape the punch stun you should stop and use a WGF(EWGF) instead of the d+2 ender to juggle him. Furthermore, if your opponent blocks the first two punches, the last one can easily be sidestepped (on the right, but there is a little exception: if the first punch whiffs and your opponent blocks only the second one, the third punch becomes almost unsidesteppable) leaving you opened for a massive counter attack; however the fact that your opponent have to choose if he wants to ss or not after having blocked the second punch can be used at your advantage. In the case that he chooses to ss (and it will happen in most cases) he will lose the advantage gained after having blocked the second punch of the string; I will treat more about this set-up game in the Strategy-Set Up section. In general I use the last punch only when the first two punches connect not on CH (or in the above mentioned exception), 'cause, in this case, the last punch (2)can't be sidestepped and will push your opponent too far for him to fight back immediately; obviously I'm referring to the 2 ender, 'cause the d+2 version suffers some recovery time and leaves you near to your opponent. Furthermore the Stun Punch is invaluable when it comes to juggle your opponent, 'cause it is easy to perform, connects after almost every (even Tag) juggle starter (and in some other particular cases, will even juggle on its own, for example if you hit Lei while he is entering his PLD stance) and, most of all, deals great damage. In the end a useful string, but not as useful as it was in T3. Properties: Stuns on Ch, Juggles (only the d+2 ender). Mid Upper: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv df+2 15 m 15 -2 +9 kd Another move toned down from T3. In T3 this move had the stagger property whenever it connected not on Ch, which could be followed by a delayed Wgf (or a dashed Ewgf) and a juggle (the Wgf could be avoided by your opponent by pressing d on the controller at the right time, but even in this case you could deal some damage). In TTT the stagger property has gone, so this Mid Upper becomes really useful only if you learn how to connect with it on Ch since in this case it will juggle your opponent for some good damage. This move, at the right distance, goes well under high jabs, so it is well suited to interrupt poking jabs and jab strings(for example if a Mishima performs a 1,1, you block it and he goes again with another 1,1 or 1,2 you can interrupt the second jab string with the Mid Upper). If blocked you won't give your opponent a big advantage, so you can perform it safely (unless you whiff). When it connects not on Ch you have a really good advantage (+9) so you can start a guessing game. In T3 I used this move couldn't be sidestepped on the left, so I used to mix it up with the Ewgf to deal against good sidestepping opponents. But now that every char has a better ss(and it seems to me that the detection area of this move has been shortened a bit) it happens more and more often that this punch can be sidestepped even on this direction, so it is not as useful as before (plus without the stagger the damage is nothing special in any case). A good interrupter, nothing more, nothing less. Property: Juggles only on Ch. Crouch Dash: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,df x x x x x x This is one of Jin's (and Mishimas in general) basic motions which you MUST be familiar with. The Crouch Dash allows Jin to crouch and dash fw ducking high attacks; during or after it Jin can perform basically four attacks, but some other moves can be executed even if they were not designed to be performed in this way. I will cover each of the basic attacks in the following paragraphs, and all the other moves in the Movements and Unconventional moves section. The Crouch Dash can even be cancelled at any time, just pushing -b- or - db- during the animation; in this way you can feint an attack in order to fool your opponent and make him make a mistake. It can be even cancelled by pressing -f-, which will make you make a short step fw allowing you to perform other moves or movements (again this moves will be covered in the Movements and Unconventional moves section). The Crouch Dash will become in most cases the basis of your spacing techniques and the core of you movement, so be sure to spend some hours of training on this movement. While Crouch Dashing you are exposed to mid(with some exceptions) and low attacks, and some attacks which start from the Crouch Dash can even be interrupted by High attacks, so be careful; furthermore almost every attack which involve the CD can be sidestepped easily on the left. Remember even that at the end of the Crouch Dash you will recover crouching, so you can perform WS attacks after it (f,N,d,df,N,button). Properties: none. Wind God Fist: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,df+2 25 h* 12 -7 kd kd THE Mishima trademark move, again, like the Twin Pistons, Jin version is the worse. First of all it hits high (well there is a way to make it hit smid, I will cover it later), so it can be ducked leaving you opened for an attack; it is one frame slower than Heiachi's or Kazuya's Wgf (12 frames against 11), and most important you won't be able to juggle your opponent whenever it connects on Ch since it will send your opponent flying to the other part of the screen. As I told above there is a way to make this move hit smid instead of high, simply by pressing the Tag button immediately after having pressed the 2 button (f,N,d,df+2~5). In this way whenever the Wgf connects (both on Ch and not) your opponent will be launched in the air and your partner will Tag in to end the Tag juggle. In this case the Wgf becomes more useful, since you can use the crouch dash to go under high attacks and hit your opponent with a guaranteed juggle even in Ch (tag juggle). Furthermore, when you Tag the Wgf it becomes totally unreversable and unparryable. The Wgf is good even to punish some long recovery times like Hei's Twin Pistons recovery, but as soon as you will master the Electric version of this move you will perform the normal Wgf rarely. Properties: Juggles, class 2 Tag launcher(against the Big guys it becomes a class 4 launcher when tagged). Electric Wind Goofiest: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d~df~2 25 h* 11 +4 kd kd This is the ultimate Mishima technique, one of the best move in the game; good speed (well it depends really on how fast you can perform it but from the moment you press the button the move comes out in 11 frames which is really good) insane priority, juggle on every hit, good damage (toned a bit down from T3.. 25 points against 30). Excellent as an interrupter, invaluable when you have to punish recovery times and whiffs, if you want to become a true Jin player you must learn how to perform this move consistently; and when I say consistently I mean while moving, after a ss, after a backdash, while dashing fw (more about this in the Movements and Unconventional moves section), during a Wave Dash (see the Wave Dash section). You will have to make your opponent pay for every whiff or recovery time, and this can be obtained only with hours of training; the motion required to perform this move is infact one of the most difficult in the game: you must do the d,df motion quickly, and press the 2 button as soon as you arrive in the df position. You don't need to perform the d~df~2 motion immediately after the f,n, you can even wait a bit, the important part of the motion on which you should focus is the df~2. Like the normal Wgf even the Ewgf hits high, but due to his really good recovery time it's not easy to punish it; and like the normal Wgf you can make it hit smid by pressing the Tag button(even in this case, the Ewgf becomes unreversable and unparryable). If your opponent blocks the Ewgf he will be pushed back with a guard stun which gives you +4 frames of advantage; thanks to this property I use the Ewgf both as a spacing manoeuvre and for set-up strategies(see the Set-up section). The only drawback of this move is that it can be sidestepped really easily on the left, so you must be careful when you are playing against a good sidestepping opponent. Maybe Jin's best move. Properties: Juggle, Guard Stun, class 2 Tag launcher(against the Big guys it becomes a class 4 launcher when tagged). Thunder God Fist: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,df+1, 35 m, 23 -14,-14 kd kd 3 or 4 m or l or -20 Another move that you can perform after the CD, another Mishima trademark move. This move could have been a good mix-up to the Hell Sweep, 'cause it hits mid, but unfortunately the TGF is too slow to be a real danger for even an average opponent. As the other CD attacks, it can easily be sidestepped on the left (it is almost impossible to sidestep it on the right), and after having blocked it your opponent will be able to hit (and juggle) you before you land, or before you perform any of the possible follow-up moves(the mid kick or the sweep). Anyway the TGF can still be a useful move: if you perform the TGF at the very end of the Crouch Dash, it will make Jin duck and dodge under high and (many) mid attacks; in this way the TGF can be useful in some particular scenarios (you can use it to duck under Lei's Razor Rush Punches and hit him during his rush, for example). The Tgf can even be used during some juggles if you wan to show some style. About the follow up moves, as I told before, your opponent can anticipate both the mid kick or the sweep (with a jab) after having blocked the TGF. I warn you not to use the Sweep, because even if it hits low it suffers a long recovery time (due to the stagger), which leaves you opened for a massive counter attack; however if you are playing against a blind or a brain-dead opponent, remember that after the sweep you can perform some juggles. Properties: Knocks Down. Hell Sweep: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,DF+4 18 L 20 -26 -5_kd kd f,N,d~DF~4 18 L 17 -26 kd kd This is Jin low attack, and one of the best low attacks in the game (now that some other low attacks have been toned down, Lei's db+4 in the first place). As you can see in the command voice there are two ways of performing the Hell Sweep, one at normal speed and one at fast speed(almost the same speed as the Ewgf); the first one can be performed at any point of the Crouch Dash, but slower and doesn't knock down at long distance (Jin will hit only one of his opponent's legs, and the damage will be only 15); if you delay this kind of sweep to the last moment of the crouch dash Jin will recover faster(if the Sweep connects, and if yu are near it will count as clean hit dealing 22 points of damage), so this is the only way in which you can perform some juggles after the Hell Sweep (see the juggle section). The second one, which is far more useful, knocks down on every hit and is 3 frames faster (3 frames can make a big difference). Obviously you should always perform the fast version (if you need range you can Dash buffer it or Wave Dash buffer it). Like in T3 even in TTT whenever your opponent blocks the sweep you will be in serious trouble (even more than in T3 due to the stagger) and even in TTT (more than in T3 due to the better ss) this move can be easily sidestepped on the left. So why this attack is so useful? Well first of all it deals really good damage, since the juggles that you can perform after it can deal 45+ points of damage; this is the reason why Jin's guessing game is effective, since you can deal to your opponent good damage both with a mid hit or a low one. Remember however that you take a huge risk every time you perform an Hell Sweep, so don't become overconfident or you will be dead in seconds; furthermore a very skilled opponent can see this move coming, even the fast version, so be careful. In general this move will become useful when your opponent will be forced to block (maybe for a long recovery time or while getting up) and you can start you guessing game mixing the Hell Sweep with other mid attacks (a Crouch Dash cancelled Rising Upper or a Crouch Dash cancelled Demon's Paw for example, or even a simple Rising Axe Kick). The Hell Sweep has been a bit overrated in the T3 days, mainly because the overall level of the Tekken community was not as high as it is today; you can still use this move to kill Tekken beginners and scrubs, but believe me, today against a good opponent it is more difficult to connect often with this move. A last word about this move must be spent for the okizeme field: in T3 the Hell Sweep was the move you had to perform to hit a grounded opponent, but now in TTT you have the Soccer Kick (b+4) which is safer.... Uh, and NEVER, NEVER perform the second kick, since it is completely USELESS; if you connect with the move and your opponent falls down you can't perform the juggle(the kick will hit, but the damage will be poor); if you hit your opponent but he doesn't fall down (in the normal Sweep case, do you remember?) the mid kick will whiff leaving you opened for a counter attack; if your opponent blocks the sweep you will be staggered so the kick won't come out at all; if you whiff with the sweep and your opponent blocks the kick he will kill you in the recovery time. Properties: Juggles. Hopping Kicks: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv u_uf+4,4, 25,15, m,l, 15 -24,-26, kd kd 4,4 12,25 l,m -26,-10 This move was a bit useless in T3, now in TTT it is COMPLETELY useless. The two versions (u and uf) differ only for the fact that in the u version you won't be staggered if your opponent blocks the first low kick but only after the second. However your opponent will be able to low parry the low kick in any case, so there is really no reason to perform this move. The recovery is horrible and you will hit only a blind opponent with this move. It still has some tracking properties, but it is too little to my opinion. Properties: knocks down. Parting Wave: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+1 15 m 18 -2 +8 +8 This a new move, an elegant blow that Jin makes with the side of his hand (the animation looks like a karate parry). Unfortunately this move is pretty useless; it has a good recovery, just -2 if blocked and a good +8 when it connects, but the damage is poor, so it has the properties of an interrupter; unfortunately this move is too slow to use it in this way (18 frames), and Jin has some better options in this field. You can follow the b+1 with a df which will make Jin perform a Crouch Dash immediately after it, but you can't perform an Ewgf or a quick Hell Sweep after it (or a Crouch Dash cancelled Rising Upper) so it is almost useless. Furthermore the command of this move (b+1) is annoying since it makes this move come out even when you simply want to perform a normal jab while blocking (not to mention the fact that due to this move Jin has no more his b+1 special jab that he had in T3 and that Kazuya has now in TTT). Properties: none. Corpse Thrust: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv db+1 24 m 21 -4 kd kd This new punch looks great, maybe one of the nicest animations in the game (to my opinion). Unfortunately the usefulness of this move is not so great, since it is really slow (21 frames!!!) and even if it goes under high attacks during the punch animation, you will be hit by the mid ones. Out of his slow execution, this move has some good properties: first of all it goes under high attacks, and even during the recovery high attacks will completely miss. Furthermore this move is not subject to CH so even if you are hit during it's animation the hit will be a normal one. Another really good feature is that this move tracks a lot. Whenever it connects your opponent will be slammed to the ground (like Hei's 1+2 on ch), and if he doesn't quick rise (holding b) you can inflict him more damage with a guaranteed ground hit (a Flip Kick works well for this purpose). A major drawback of this move is that sometimes it will come out when you instead wanted to perform a normal d+1, so be careful.. Backhand to High Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+2,3 12,15 h,h 17 -13,-1 -2,+1 -2,+1 A new string, nothing special to tell the truth. The main drawback is that both hits are high, so this string can be ducked easily. The kick however comes out fast, so it is impossible to perform a WS attack between the two hits. The recovery time of the string is good, since the kick has a guard stun property which reduces the recovery to a really good -1 if blocked. However when this string connects you won't have a big advantage (just+1), so you can't use it for set-up purposes. The only real use of this string is when you perform the Crouch Cancelled Rising Upper; when you make a mistake during the cancel, most of times a b+2 will come out instead of the Rising Upper; in this case if you buffer the kick (by pressing 3) Jin will perform this string (however there is a better option in this case, see the Moves and Unconventional Moves section). Properties: Guard Stun. Corpse Splitter: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv U_UB_UF+2+4 30 M ages x x x Well, hem, yes, this move is completely useless. You can use only to jump over a charging opponent and for taunting purposes....useless. Properties: Ground Hit. Hop Back Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv ub+4 9 m ? ? kd kd You will not use this move often, but it can still be useful to know that whenever you want to go Bw safely you can use this kick which is quick and has good priority. Remember also that while in the air you can buffer some motions: for example if you hold back while hopping back, and press fw+2 as soon as you hit the floor, you will perform a Stun Punch. Properties:none. Running Side Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,f,f+3 30 m 22 +10 kd kd Even if you won't use it often, you may find the running side kick useful in certain situation. The kick is slow, but once it started it has some good properties; first of all it knocks down on every hit dealing good damage (30), and at the right distance it jumps over low moves. Whenever your opponent blocks it you have a really good advantage (due to the guard stun), so this move is well suited for SET-UP PURPOSES; remember that namco has changed this move from T3, so you don't have any guaranteed hits after the guard stun. In general this move can be easily sidestepped in the right, so you should use it when your opponent is forced to block, which in most cases happens when he is rising from the ground (see the Okizeme section). You can perform this kick even out of a Crouch Dash, but the motion required is a bit difficult: f,n,d,df,f,uf+3 With this motion you can perform it without running. Properties: Guard Stun, Knocks Down. Spinning God Fist: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+1+4 40 !(m) 43 x x x Well this unblockable has good speed if compared with other unblockables in the game, and while performing it Jin ducks and slides fw; even though, at good level of play, it can be easily interrupted so you should never use it against skilled opponents. You can use it when you think that your opponent is going to Tag, to hit the incoming character, since if he cancels the Tag and blocks you will hit him (see the Tag section). This move hits the big characters while they lie on the floor. Properties: Unblockable, Knocks Down. Super Spinning God Fist: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv B+1+4 80 !(m) 63 x x x This is the big version of the SGF, and even if it deals more damage it is too slow to be a danger for someone (you can try again during the Tag). Properties: Unblockable, Knocks Down. Attack Reversal: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+1+3_2+4 varies x x x x x The high-mid Reversal, that Jin learned from his mother Jun, can be useful, but you must be cautious and learn when to use it. Besides the "chicken" which will break the reversal attempt but which will inflict small damage, the worst mistake you can make is to become overconfident and try the Reversal too often; this will make you become predictable and your opponent may take advantage of it by performing delayed or Low attacks whenever you try the Reversal motion. You should use the Reversal once in a while or during some combos, when it will be more difficult for your opponent to break the reversal. Furthermore the proper use of the Reversal may have a psychological effect on your opponent: sometimes it will happen that he will become so concentrated in breaking or avoiding the Reversal attempt that his attacks will lose effectiveness; when it happens immediately take advantage of it. Furthermore, in TTT thanks to the Soccer Kick the damage that you can inflict with a reversal can become really huge, making it worth trying it once in a while. Another moment in which you may use the reversal is while you are Tagging in with Jin; in this case your opponent will almost surely try to attack you, and you can interrupt the attack with your reversal; your opponent could delay the attack or choose a low attack, but in any case this can be a way to make him be more cautious when you are tagging in (unless he uses a non reversable move). Properties: none. Universal Low Parry: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv df x x x x x x A big innovation in TTT, the universal Low Parry can be performed by every char in the game simply pressing df on the controller. Jin lacked a Low Parry in T3, and now this addiction is really welcome. You won't use this move too much, since Jin has one of the best WS attacks in the game, the Rising Upper, that you can perform after having blocked most of the low hits; you don't have to Low Parry so often then, or at least not often as other chars that need a low parry to deal more damage. But there still are some cases in which you will use it, mostly against those chars which have strings or low hits that won't guarantee a hit when blocked: Julia's 4,4 or 1,1,4, for example. In this case the Low Parry allows Jin to react and interrupt where in T3 he had just to block and wait. When you Low Parry a move your opponent will have 7 frames of recovery if you parry a punch (no guaranteed hits here but guessing game), and 15 frames of recovery if you parry a kick. In the second case you can deal some guaranteed damage; the minimum response should be a Right Axe Kick (df+4,4) which is fast and easy to connect, but you mat choose to go for a Tagged Ewgf (you need the tag in order to make this move hit smid since your opponent recovers crouching and the normal Ewgf hits high); the second option is far more difficult, but the damage will be definitely higher (well it depends which char you have as partner, cause Jin will Tag out and you have to perform the juggle with the incoming char), so make your choice. The right use of the low parry can be the key of victory against some chars so learn how to use it properly. Properties: none. Force Block: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+1+2 x x x x x x This move is not very useful, mainly because it is a bit slow, so you can't use it as reaction, to neutralize an incoming move. You may use it against a flying move (King's f+1+4 or Ling's f,f+3+4) to start some juggles, but as I told before in most cases you must perform the Electric Block before your opponent starts its move, so even in this case, you should guess which move your opponent will perform; to my opinion it is too risky against skilled opponents. The only way I use this move is as a taunt, both on the ground and during juggles (see Juggles section), or to start Devil Jin possession. Properties: Guard Stun. Devil Jin Possession: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv b+1+2,2,2,3 x x x x x x This is a TTT exclusive, a new stance that Jin can enter only when his partner is Heiachi. Very, very cool idea, unfortunately the possession is not as useful as it could be. When you perform the command Jin's dark side comes out, he is surrounded by lightning’s and runes appear on his face; Jin changes his combat guard from the normal one into Heiachi's one (too cool). While in this stance you can perform all Jin's normal moves plus some exclusive moves that I will list in the following paragraphs. A very, very cool idea, unfortunately the possession is not as useful as it could be. Infact Jin will exit the stance as soon as you block, sidestep, run, cancel a Crouch Dash or perform a move (both a Devil Jin move or a normal one). You can well understand how difficult is to use this stance effectively during a match; plus you need as a you Tag partner Heiachi (my fav Tag team...well with King and Armour King). In general you will have the chance to enter in to the Devil Jin stance when you knock down your opponent, but you will inevitably loose some time that you could instead spend into some Okizeme strategies. A side note: every time you perform a Devil-Jin-only move, Jin will take points of damage; not too much, but remembe this one when you have little energy. Properties: Guard Stun. Devil Jin Wind God Fist: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,df+2 21 m 12 kd kd Yes, Jin has a mid Wgf. No, you won't use it too much. Why? Because you won't be able to enter or hold the Devil Jin possession stance enough to use this move consistently. The move itself is amazing, since it is fast (one frame slower than the Ewgf) juggles on every hit (juggling even higher when it connects on Ch), guard stunning your opponent when he blocks it (you gain big advantage but no guaranteed hits after it). It can be sidestepped like every other CD attack, but the fact that it hits mid gives you a big guessing game chance (if you mix it up with the Hell Sweep). A side note: if your opponent blocks this move and he is using a Mishima, you won't gain any advantage since you will be guard stunned as well. Jin will lose 19 poits of energy every time he performs this move; it will deal 4 points of damage if your opponent blocks it. Against Jun or Kazuya it deals 13 poits of damage if blocked and 28 poits of damage instead of 21 when it connects . Properties: Guard stun, Juggles. Devil Jin Hell Sweep to Rising Axe Kick: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv f,N,d,DF+4, 15, l 16 -16, kd, kd 4,4 12,10 m,m -3,-16 +8,-5 +8,-5 Again another amazing move; an Hell Sweep that can be performed with no risk of being hit back if blocked. This version infact has a couple of really good features: first of all you won't be staggered in the normal way if your opponent blocks the Sweep; the second great feature is that you can follow up the sweep with a Rising Axe Kick; this means that if you stop at the first part of this Rising Axe, Jin will be completely safe even when your opponent blocks this move. Furthermore you can even juggle your opponent even after the mid kick. Coupled with the mid Wgf this move is a great guessing game weapon. Jin will take 13 points of damage every time he performs the first sweep, and other 3 poits for each of the following kick. Properties: none. Devil Jin Crouch Stun Punch: Cmnd dmg rg Fhit Badv Hadv CHadv 1+2 28+3 m 21 -12 kd kd This punch has the same animation of the db+1 Corpse Thrust; the properties are different however since whenever it is blocked it will push your opponent very, very far; if your opponent is using Jin, Hei or Devil your recovery will be longer but you will push them even more far; if your opponent is using Kazuya your recovery will be shorter than normal. Whenever it connects it will stun your opponent dealing even good damage; after it you can perform some juggles. This could be a useful move, but the times you will be able to use it are very, very limited. Jin will take 9 points of damage every time he performs this move; the damage will be 7 against Kazuya; no damage taken against Jin, Hei and Devil. The damage inflicted will be greater against Kazuya, 41 points. Properties: stuns on every hit. **THROWS** I will now analize Jin's throws; remember that Jin's throwing game has improved a lot due to the new Soccer Kick that will almost always give your opponent big problems after every throw. I will write in the following paragraphs only the properties of the throw and eventually all the guaranteed hits after them, leaving the Okizeme advices to the Okizeme section of this guide. Bitch Kicks: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape 1+3 30 12 1 The standard left throw that Jin inherited from his father; the damage is normal, and there are no guaranteed hits after it(the recovery time is longer than in T3). When Jin is in team with Kazuya or Jun this throw will be little different: Jin will wait a bit before starting to kick his opponent, he will laugh and his opponent will be surrounded by lightnings after the throw; the most important difference from the normal version is that the recovery from this throw is far better , so you have the chance to inflict a ground hit to your opponent (Hell Sweep or, better, a Soccer Kick). The escape is easy, and can be done even just for luck (the left jab is a common move while in close range) so mix it up with the other throws. Flip Toss: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape 2+4 30 12 2 The standard right throw, same damage of the right one, again no guaranteed hits after it. However the position in which you will leave you opponent is far more dangerous(for him) than the other one, cause he will lay face down, head tw you. You can set good okizeme after it(see okizeme section) so use it often. Stone Head: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape f,f+1+2 33 12 1+2 The Mishima trademark throw, slight better damage, and more difficult escape (1+2 not so difficult at high level of play, a trained eye can see the f,f motion). This is one of the few throws in the game that can be techrolled (your opponent will always techroll on his left); if he just tech rolls there are some guaranteed hits: ff,b+4 or UF,4(the stunning mid Kick). However you opponent can block this two hits just techrolling and pressing f; I don't know why, but the f makes the recovery time shorter. However whenever your opponent Techrolls you can Juggle him(in any case, both if he holds f or b) with a ss~Ewgf~5; the timing is a bit difficult since you have to time your tagged Ewgf as soon as the ss alignes you with your opponent (after his techroll). You may even try to aligne with a F (F,f,n,d,df~2), but in this case(to my opinion) the timing is even more difficult. If your opponent chooses not to techroll, you can hit him easily with a Soccer Kick (again you have to move a bit fw or SS). If your Tag partner is Jun, you can Tag this throw (f,f+1+2~5) and let her come in to finish the throw animation. Striking Shiho Rage: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape df+2+3 38 11 1+2 Jin learned this throw from his mother Jun, and this is his most damaging frontal throw. Whenever you connect with this throw, your opponent will end laying face up with Jin on his right side; since Jin will be nearer to the opponent's head rather to his feet, whenever he chooses to rise he will be backturned. In T3 you had a guaranteed Hell Sweep after the throw, but now the Sweep(or a Soccer Kick) seems escapable by rolling on a side and then rolling back; however your opponent must do it immediately as soon as he is floored, or the Sweep (or better the Soccer Kick) will connect. Another good property of this throw is that you can delay a bit the 2+3 command during the df crouching motion; obviously you can't perform it from a full crouch position, but you can delay it enough to fool sometimes your opponent (mixing it up with the instant Ws+2 which can be performed after a df,n motion can be a good strat). This throw lacks a bit of range, but the escape command requires two buttons (this is a change from T3 in which you could escape it with one button). Twisting Wrist Toss: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape qcb+1+3 35 11 2 This throw deals good damage, but requires a stick motion that will inevitably slow down the speed of the throw. Even though this throw leaves your opponent in a rally bad position (for him): face up, head tw you, which gives you the opportunity to deal him extra easy damage. No guaranteed hits, but something like: if he lays on the ground you can move a bit fw and ,guess what? Yes, Soccer Kick; the only way he can escape it is by rolling on a side, but if you think that he is going to roll you have simply to perform the Soccer Kick without moving and you will hit him. The escape command for this throw is easy, so mix it up with the other throws. Devil Jin Stonehead: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape f,f+1+2 37 11 1+2 This is almost the same throw that you can perform while not in Devil Jin stance; the only difference is that the damage that you will inflict greater. Left Side Throw(when on your opponent left side): Cmnd dmg Fhit escape 1+3_2+4, 43 12 1 or every throw This side throw is very good, since it leaves your opponent in Play dead position, which means that you have very good Okizeme options after it(see the Okizeme section). Right Side Throw(when on your opponent right side): Cmnd dmg Fhit escape 1+3_2+4, 40 12 2 or every throw An average good side throw, your opponent will be in Slide position; in this case if he tries to rise immediatley you can juggle him with a White Heron; if he rolls back you can follow him with a f,f or a CD and if he tries to attack you can CH him with a b+4. Back Throw: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape 1+3_2+4, 60 12 none or every throw Ouch, this hurts! The damage of the throw itself is good, but if you add the guaranteed Soccer Kick after it(60+21, 81 total damage), well you can well imagine how devastating this throw can be. Unfortunately you won't connect with this throw too many times (maybe never against a good opponent), but well whenever it will happen your opponent won't forget it for a while. Ultimate Tackle: Cmnd dmg Fhit escape df+1+2 x x The Ultimate Tackle is not a good move: it is slow, it can be interrupted easily, has limited range (unless you use the CD motion, see Unconventional Moves section), and if you miss you are opened to a counter attack; furthermore it can be escaped in two ways (and even reversed), and even if you knock down your opponent, he will be able to escape both the punches (1,2..or 2,1..) or the Arm Bar (1+2) quite easily. **STRINGS** I have to say in advance that I don't use the strings too often (at a high level of play they are almost useless) but I will give them a quick look 'cause I think that at least two of them can have some use. b+2,4,4,4,4,2,1+4,2,(1,3or4_3+4) This set of strings is not so good 'cause the first two hits are high and the fourth kick (a sweep) can be easily low-parried; if you manage to arrive to the last hit unharmed, your opponent will have to block correctly the ender you choose (remember however that the last TGF is a little slow, so it won't be difficult for your opponent to duck to block the Can-Can kicks and than rise and block a possible TGF). b+2,4,2,1,2 I've listed this variation separately, 'cause this is undoubtedly Jin's most useful string. It has some good properties: first of all this string is more difficult to interrupt, and since the last three punches are mid, your opponent can't low-parry the string and get free hits. If the second hit connects, the 3rd and 4th hit are guaranteed. Furthermore the first punch of this string has the property to turn slightly on the side your opponent;in some cases (for example if you hit you opponent on the left side, or after having blocked some particular moves such Jin or Hei's Flash Punches) the whole string will connect. This string can be used even during juggles, so be sure that you learn the right timing and distance. As I wrote in the moves section, this string can even be useful when you perform the Crouch Dash cancelled Rising Upper (see the Rising Upper paragraph). 3,2,4,3,1+4,2,2,1,2 3,2,4,3,1+4,2,1,3 3,2,4,3,1+4,2,1,4 Whenever you start one of these sets of strings you should stop at the third hit; the 4th in fact hits high, and you opponent will be able to duck it easily and hit you with a WS attack. f,f,N+2,1,2,2,3,4,3,2,1 f,f,N+2,1,2,2,3,4,1,2,1 f,f,N+2,1,4,4,2,4,3,2,1 If you have played T2 (or you play TTT with Kazuya) you should know that these set of strings are exactly the same of Kazuya; they look cool, but unfortunately the first two variations start with four high punches, so it won't be difficult for your opponent to duck them. The last variation instead can be quite useful, 'cause after the first two punches Jin will perform a Right Axe Kick which hits mid. The 5th punch is a low jab, and if you stop at it you will end ducking; this means that you can perform, immediately after the recovery time, every WS attack (I try this once in a while, to catch my opponent off guard). Devil Jin String: 1,2,2,3,2,4,3 This is obviously the best string in the game since it is guaranteed if the first punch connects even not on ch. The first hits of the string are high, so your opponent could duck them, so be careful. Jin will take no damge for the first 5 hits; if you perform the 6th Jin will take 4 poits of damage, if you perform even the last one Jin will take 12 poits of damage. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ****MOVEMENTS AND UNCONVENTIONAL MOVES**** In this section I will analize all those particular movements and unconventional way to perform certain moves that if mastered will inevitably make a big difference between an average player and a top one. ***Spacing movements*** Spacing is one of the most important basic skills in Tekken; a good spacing can make your opponent whiff more often and will make your attacks connect(blocked or not) almost always. Every movement listed here can be used for a specific task, and learning how to use them together your spacing skills will be really deadly. -Continuos Backdash: This kind of movement, similar to Lei's HAHA step, allows you to Backdash repeatedly (and quickly) without the recovery time of the normal Backdash. If you try to do it in the normal way (b,b, b,b..) you will have to wait a long recovery time between each b,b command, making impossible for you to Backdash repeatedly. However there are two unconventional ways to make your Backdash continuos and quick; these are the commands: b,b,db,n,b,db,n,b,...repeat b,b, f~b,b, f~b,b...repeat In the first case you will cancel the first -b,b- motion with a -db- input; the cpu will buffer the -b- part of the -db- input so you will be able to repeat the backdash inputting only another -b-; again you can cancel the backdash with another -db- and so on. The -n- command you see after the -db- means that you have to can't slide from the -db- to the -b- position (like a qcb) since in this case the backdash won't come out. Don't worry, it's easier to do it than to explain with words (and with my english..:) ). This kind of Continuos Backdash covers a big distance allowing you to block during all the Backdash; with this Backdash you can make your opponent whiff really easily, you can even avoid two or three-hit strings (like the Twin Pistons: b,b on the first hit and db,n,b to avoid the second one). If you couple it with Jin's really good speed and with his ability to shorten the distance with the Crouch Dash(or even a f,f), you can well imagine how useful this Backdash can be. In the second case (the b,b, f~b,b, f~b,b.. motion) you will cancel the -b,b- motion with a -f- input and immediately cancel the -f- with another -b,b-. The -f- input will make Jin recover for his -b,b- and allows you to input the -b,b- again. You should input the -b,b- command immediately after the -f- in order to shorten the window in which Jin is vulnerable. This kind of Backdash, even if not as safe as the previous one, can be really useful since every time you input the -f-, you can buffer it as the -f- motion for the Crouch Dash command (or every move that requires a -f- movement). In this way you will be able to punish your opponent's whiffs with the Ewgf more easily. In general I use the first kind of Continuos Backdash when I want to gain lot of space, and the second one when I need less space and more attacking speed. -Forward Slide: This kind of movement allows Jin to slide forward without dashing, and continuously facing his opponent. The command for this movement is: f,b~f,b~f... You will have to cancel the -f- with a -b- and immediately input the -f- again. As I wrote Jin will face his opponent while sliding, since every -f- input will redirect him tw his opponent. Furthermore the system will buffer the -f- command, so you will be able to input the Ewgf (and other attacks) at every time. This is an effective way to put pressure on your opponent, tracking his sidestep (he can sidestep the attack you perform, but it will be more difficult since you can perform it at any time) and staring a good guessing game (Ewgf if he tries to interrupt, throws if he blocks high, Demon's Paw or Stun Punch -which is buffered by the b~f motion- if he ducks). This movement is faster than the Wave Dash (even if you can do WD a light speed, this movement will always be faster), tracks better and in a faster way, but has less "buffered" options; it is more suited when you are at close range. -Snake Dash: The Snake Dash is the name that Koreans gave to a particular kind of movement that consists in cancelling the Crouch Dash movement into a Sidestep. The command of this movement is: f,N,d,df,f,ss...repeat f,N,d,df,b,ss...repeat or even f,N,d,df,ub,u f,N,d,df,db,d As I wrote in the Crouch Dash section you can cancel the CD movement at any moment with a -f- or -b- input(or even ub_db); immediately after the cancel you can input the sidestep command. This movement is useful to fool your opponent and make him whiff (if he tries to interrupt the CD), and even to follow your opponent when he sidesteps. The attack you will perform won't track him, but with the Snake Dash you can anticipate him in the side movement and you can try to launch a surprise attack. Remember, the attack you may launch after the Snake Dash won't track, it could be sidestepped as a normal attack; the only scenario in which the attack will hit a sidestepping opponent is when he chooses the wrong time for his ss. -Sidestepped Dash and Backdash: This is not a particular movement (with particular command) but is more a way to move on the screen so that it will be more difficult for your opponent to hit you, allowing you to launch your attach from a side position. The command for the Sidestepped Dash is: ss,f,ss,f,ss,f ....repeat This kind of Fw movement is done just by cancelling the sidestep with a -f- input (or with a -f,f- if you want to cover more range) and cancelling it again with another sidestep. You can decide at which moment you want to cancel the sidestep, so you can vary the width of your side movement. The Sidestepped Dash is useful when you want to come in close range while sidestepping your opponent attack; obviously you won't sidestep every attack, so you must chose the direction of the sidestep according to the attack that you guess your opponent will perform. In general I do a couple of sidesteps cancelling them immediately with the -f- (or -f,f-) to shorten the distance between me and my opponent; this will make my opponent try to attack in most cases (to interrupt my advancing movement) and when I'm in attack range I will perform a huge sidestep. The Sidestepped Backdash is nothing more than a reverse Sidestepped Dash; the command is: ss, b,b, ss, b,b ...repeat In this case you are cancelling the sidestep with a backdash; again you can cancel the sidestep at every moment, so, again, you can vary the width of your side movement. This movement will cover a huge distance while changing the angle between you and your opponent. This will make him whiff more frequently since he could whiff both for range (due to the -b,b-) and for the sidestep. If you cancel the sidestep with a single -b- instead of a -b,b- you will cover less distance but you will change angle more quickly. Obviously you can mix the Sidestepped Backdash with the Sidestepped Fw Dash to make your opponent life really difficult; but remember, you must be ready to block if your opponent succeeds in reading your movements. I warn you, IT IS NOT EASY to use this kind of movement effectively, so don't be sad if at the beginning your opponent hits you with some lucky shots; the only advice that I can give you is to use this movements cautiously, and obviously not for the entire round. However if you train and make experiments I'm sure that you will be able to use this movements effectively. -Wave Dash: The Wave Dash is a motion which consists in performing repeatedly the Crouch Dash movement. The command for the Wave Dash is: f,N,d,df, f, ,d,df, f, d,df, f ....repeat or f,N,d,df,f,f,d,N,d,df,f,f,N,d,df,f....repeat In the first case you cancel the first Crouch Dash with a -f- input that can be buffered as the first -f- command for the next Crouch Dash motion, and so on. The faster you cancel the Crouch Dash with the -f- , the faster you will input the second Crouch Dash; this is the motion required if you want to perform what Koreans call Light Dash (Wave Dash at light speed). In the second case you will simply cancel the Crouch Dash motion with a -f- and input the Crouch Dash command again; in this case the next Crouch Dash will be performed more easily but even more slowly. The Wave Dash can be a useful tool, but you really must know how to use effectively; performing 100 Crouch Dashes in a second won't make you a Tekken master. The first thing you should learn is how to perform consistently the attacks that Jin can perform while Wave Dashing. Since the main purpose of the Wave Dash is to set up a dangerous guessing game which will deal to your opponent consistent damage every time he guesses wrong, the main weapons you need for this task are a low hit (the Hell Sweep and the Throws), a mid hit (the Demon's Paw or the Rising Upper, both the CD cancelled and the instant Ws versions) and a good interrupter (the Ewgf). Once you have learned HOW to perform the Wave Dash consistently, the next step is to learn WHEN you should use it. About the guessing game application of the Wave Dash you should use it when your opponent is somehow forced to block; this happens in two cases: when you gain a consistent frame advantage or when he is rising from the ground. The second case in particular is even more indicated since your opponent would be at a high disadvantage, he won't be able to sidestep(a big advantage!!!) and the attacks that he could use to interrupt your guessing game are very limited(more about this in the Okizeme section). With the Wave Dash you can cover long distances in almost no time, so this kind of movement is well suited when you want to shorten the distance between you and your opponent. In general you won't have to perform more than a couple of CD before you should launch your attack. Obviously this may change according to the opponent that you are facing; against interrupting-happy players a couple of Wave Dashed Ewgf (f,n,d,df,f,d,df~2) will make him think twice before trying to interrupt your WD again; while against less reactive players you can do more Crouch Dashes. However a good sidestepping opponent, and more in general a good spacing one can be your worst enemy when you use the Wave Dash. As every other strategy in the game infact, the Wave Dash is not unbeatable, and good spacing skills (sidestep included) can be the key to reach this goal. The Sidestep vs Wave Dash matter is not an easy one (I've done countless discussions on the net on this subject); the important point that must be cleared is that every attack performed during the WD can be sidestepped easily and in almost every case on the same direction (on the left); choosing to Sidestep your opponent will avoid part of your guessing game since he will be able with one choice to avoid both your mid hits and your low ones. This is a fact: every time your opponent understands that you are going to attack he will be able to sidestep the move you will perform. The difficult part in this sidestepping strategy is to understand at which point of your WD you will attack. However, even if it is it true that more than two Crouch dashes will track an opponent who tried to sidestep the first or the second one, but in most cases he will be able to block the attack that you will launch with the third CD. Three CD and the attack can be useful against opponents that will attack you immediately after the sidestep; but what if your opponent chooses not to sidestep and tries to interrupt your WD instead? As you may see the guessing game between the attacker and the defender is endless, and each one can have the upper hand, so I won't go on and I will leave to your own experience the final word. What you should remember is that when you Wave Dash you expose yourself to some risks that you can't ignore: whenever your opponent guesses right you can be in real troubles (a sidestepped Ewgf, a blocked Hell Sweep or a ducked Throw can mean massive damage); but at the same time whenever you Wave Dash properly you will force your opponent to react to your attack making him pay hard for every mistake. Uh, and remember that you can block at every point of your WD simply pressing -b- or -db-. -Fake Crouch Dash and Fake Wave Dash: This movement will be one of your most useful tools if you want to build a good Wave Dash strategy or more in general if you want to make your opponent whiff more often. This movement consists in cancelling the Crouch Dash motion in order to make your game less predictable and to make your opponent whiff if he tries to interrupt your movement. The command is: f,n,d,df~b,b, f,n,d,df~b,b...repeat or f,n,d,df~b, f,n,d,df~b....repeat In both versions you cancel the CD with the -b- input, stopping it at the point you desire(the faster you input the -b- the faster you will stop). The two versions are slightly different: with the first one, thanks to the second -b- input Jin will backdash immediately after having stopped the CD. With the second one Jin will just stop after the CD. Obviously you can input the cancel even during the Wave Dash making harder for your opponent to understand when you will launch your attack and when not. The goal you want to achieve when you perform a Fake CD or WD is to make your opponent whiff, so be ready to punish him whenever it happens. If you succeed in doing this you opponent will feel more insecure, and he wont try to interrupt you as often, leaving you all the space and time you need for your guessing game (and Wave Dash). ***Dash buffer*** There are several moves that can be dash buffered, but before listing them I will explain for new players what is the dash buffer. The concept is quite simple: whenever a move requires a starting -f- (forward) or - b- (back) stick motion, you can initiate this move after a dash (f,f or b,b) because the system will take the second f or b command of the dash as the f or b command of the move. Obviously the same goes for moves which require a -f,f- (or b,b) motion: in this case you can simply dash forward, hold the -f- direction and press the button command; by delaying or anticipating the input of the move you can arrange the distance that you want to cover with the dashed move, so be sure to learn how to perform Jin's moves with the dash buffer technique. Be sure to give a look to the dashed Ewgf since it can become a really useful weapon in your arsenal. Here are the moves: -EWGF: this motion is a bit difficult, but if you master it will give the EWGF(or the WGF) more range making this move perfect to launch sudden attacks (the motion will be f,f,N,d,df~2); the dashed Ewgf can be sidestepped easily, but there is a little trick that can become useful if you want to make this move less easy to ss: if you input the second f slowly and hold it for a brief moment Jin will face his opponent, so if you perform the Ewgf it will somehow track him; this can be done only if your opponent tries to ss the Ewgf anticipating the motion, and however he will be able to block in most cases. If he guesses that you are slowing the dashed motion he can sidestep the move in any case, or worse, interrupt it since this kind of motion slows the execution a bit. The dashed Ewgf is required if you want to perform some juggles (see the Juggles section). -Hell Sweep: this is one of the moves which take more benefits from the Dash buffer; with this motion you can gain a lot of range and perform the Sweep immediately with no CD animation so that this move will become less predictable (f,f,N,d,DF+4). -Demon's Paw: go with the dash buffer command whenever you look for range; remember however that it will slower a bit the execution time. -Stone Head Throw: another good option after a dash, and a good alternative to the Demon's Paw; if your opponent stands to block the punch attack, throw him with the Stone Head; remember however that most players will try to escape this throw even if it can be more difficult (it requires two buttons) whenever they see Jin dashing fw 'cause it is the most common throw that comes out after a dash (remember also that you can perform every standard throw after the f,f command, for example with a f,f+1+3 command you will perform the left throw, so mix them up for a good throwing game). -Left Axe Kick: as I told in the Moves section this kick can be easily interrupted, so I don't ever use the dash buffer command 'cause it slowers the kick a bit. -Knee: well this could be obvious, but don't underestimate the dash buffered version of the Knee Kick, 'cause it still is one of the best interrupters and with this motion it gets more range. -Any other Crouch Dash(f,N,d,df...)attack: As you may have imagined you can Dash buffer every CD attack, or even only the CD motion. ***Crouch Dash tricks*** The Crouch Dash attacks that I've analized in the move section are basically four: the (E)Wgf, the Hell Sweep, the Tgf and the Rising Axe Kick. However as I've mentioned in the CD paragraph, there are other attacks that may involve the Crouch Dash motion. In the following paragraphs I will analize this kind of particular motions and attacks. -Crouch Dash Buffer: The concept of the Crouch Dash buffer is similar to the Dash buffer one; the system infact will hold for a brief period the -f- input of the Crouch Dash command as the first -f- input for those moves that require a -f,f- command. If you input another -f- after the Crouch Dash (as you do when you have to cancel it) and press the proper button you will perform the Crouch Dash buffered version of the -f,f- move you choosed. The motion is:,n,d,df, f+button The two moves that you will use more often with this motion are the Demon's Paw (f,n,d,df,f+2) and the Stonehead Throw (f,n,d,df,f+1+2). In both cases the Crouch Dash buffered motion will be slower than the normal -f,f- one, but you can gain more range, benefit of some of the Crouch Dash properties and sometimes even fool your opponent. The frame window in which you can input the second -f- is wide so you may choose to cancel the CD immediately or after a bit; however if you wait for too long before you input the second -f- you wont be able to perform the -f,f- move (a normal f+button move will come out instead). If you just input the second -f- and hold it without inputting the button command Jin will run (f,n,d,df,F). -Crouch Dash cancelled WS moves: This is one of the most useful motions in the game, but even a hard one to master. The command for this motion is: f,n,d,df, b+button or f,n,d,df, db,n,button Both these motions allow you to cancel a Crouch Dash into a WS move. In the first case the WS move will come out naturally(as if it were designed to be performed during a CD), but you have a limited window in which you can input the b+button command: if you input it too early a b+button move will come out, otherwise Jin will perform one of his Crouch Dash moves (for example if you want to perform a CD cancelled Rising Upper -WS+2- if you input the command too early you will do a b+2 punch and if you input it too late a Wgf will come out). For this reason this motion is difficult to learn and to perform consistently; in the case of a Ws+2, I suggest you to input after the b+2 the command for a string that starts with the b+2 punch (b+2,3 or b+2,4,2,1,2). In this way your opponent may have some problems in punishing you if you fail to perform the CD cancelled ws+2. Furthermore you can even buffer a chicken and the string at the same time (CD,b+2,f+2+4,2,1,2,). The second command is more easy to perform: you have to cancel the CD with a -db- input making Jin recover low (like you do when you want to stop the Crouch Dash and block), making easy the input of the WS+button command. You can cancel the CD at every point so this motion is easier than the previous one, but the animation will be less fluent (unless you time the cancel perfectly), making for your opponent a bit easier to spot it. This version is even a bit more versatile since you can decide at which distance you will perform the WS move. The move that you will use more often with this motion is the Rising Upper (WS+2); when you will learn how to perform it consistently your Crouch Dash mixups will be more dangerous and less predictable (and your Wave Dash strategies as well), so I suggest you to spend some hours of training on this motion. Remember however that this version of the Rising Upper can be sidestepped easily on the left. The other WS move that you may want to perform with this motion is the Twin Pistons (WS+1,2); even if not useful as Kazuya's one, Jin version shares with his father's Twin Pistons the tracking property, making this move useful if you want to prevent your opponent to sidestep too often your Crouch Dash attacks. Obviously you may even want to use it as an interrupter in order to exploit its Ch properties. ***Instant WS motion*** Jin has some of the best Ws attacks in the game, and even if these attacks must be started from the crouching position, there is a way to perform them actually without the crouching animation. The command for this motion is: db_df,n,button or d,db_d,df,n,button You must wait a split second before the db_df command before executing the move or you will perform a crouching move. Be careful not to press d instead of db_df or your character will sidestep. There is another command that you may find elsewhere: d,db,b+button To my experience this method works well, but it's not necessary: it works since the -d,db- motion gives you the timing for the -db- input without the risk of inputting the -d- command instead (that would make you sidestep) while the -b- input gives you the timing for the pression of the button without the risk of inputting it too early (which would make you perform a crouching move instead). In terms of command required the db_df,n is the only one necessary, but if you feel more comfortable with the other motion, well, use it. The instant WS motion can be used in various situations, even during your Wave Dash (after the -f- cancel). I use the instant WS motion for the Rising Upper often after a successful sidestep. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ***JUGGLES*** Almost every character in the game (with few exceptions) can inflict a considerable amount of damage, after having launched the opponent in the air, by hitting (juggling) him with other moves; since this kind of damage is 100% guaranteed (you can't block while in the air) you can well understand how important the concept of juggle is. At high level of play juggles will happen less frequently, so you should learn how to deal the maximum amount of damage every time that you juggle your opponent. Obviously some characters have more ways than others to juggle their opponent, and other characters deal more damage; Jin is one of the best jugglers in the game since he has a good array of juggle starters, and, most important, he can deal an impressive amount of damage after each of them. The concept behind juggles is that you can deal guaranteed damage, so in this section I won't consider the Stun Punch as a starter (as it was in T3) since the stun after it is now easily escapable. Let's take a look at Jin's juggle starters: Rising Upper(WS+2): One of Jin's most useful launchers, after it you can still connect with some of Jin's most damaging juggles; remember that now this move juggles not as high as before, so connecting with some juggles is more difficult now. Ewgf(f,N,d,df~2): Jin's best launcher, most of your juggles will start from this move. After it you can perform Jin's most damaging juggles. Twin Pistons(WS+1,2): this move launches high enough in the air to perform some good damaging juggles, but the firs hit must be on CH. Tooth Fairy(SS+2): another good starter, 'cause it can be easily executed after a sidestep, it juggles high, but its recovery time is longer then the above mentioned moves, so you will be able to juggle with less moves after it; on CH it juggles higher. Can Can Kicks(d+3+4): Jin's fastest juggle starter (well au-pair with the Ewgf if you can perform it in 14 frames), you will use it only at short range and for fast recovery times; the recovery time is horrible, so you won't be able to connect with most of your usual juggles after it. If you have a choice use another starter. Mid Upper (df+2): this move juggles only on CH; when it happens, this move juggles high enough to perform damaging juggles (you can even perform a TGF but the timing is really hard). Stun Punches Combo (b,f+2,1,d+2): I just mention it as a starter but you will never juggle someone better then average with it. There are other moves that, even if they don't launch your opponent in the air, they will allow you to perform some small and average damaging juggles; the most common of these starters is the Hell Sweep. Here is the list of these unconventional juggle starters: Hell Sweep(f,N,d,DF+4): after this move you can perform some average- damaging juggles, mostly the one involving the White Heron Combo. You can even do a Stun Punches Combo after it, but the timing is too hard do it consistently. White Heron Combo(1+4,2,d+4): After the last sweep you can perform the same juggles that you can do after the Hell Sweep. Spinning Kicks(uf+4,4,4..): If the second or third sweep connect, you can juggle your opponent mostly with the White Heron. Left Axe Kick(f,f+3): Whenever it happens that this kick connects you can perform some short juggles. Soccer Kick(b+4): The soccer kick may be considered an unconventional juggle starter since whenever it connects on CH you can perform some damaging juggles after it; this move somehow replaces the Stun Punch since now the stun after this punch is easily escapable. -Electric Block juggles- The Electric Block is a pretty useless move, but in some particular scenarios it can be used to juggle your opponent; this happens whenever you use the block against flying moves such as King's 1+4; the Electric Block will make your opponent bounce up and you will be able to juggle him. Remember however that in most cases you won't have enough time to do it as reaction, so if you want to use it you should guess what move your opponent will do. -Side and Flip over juggles- When you juggle your opponent from a side, in most cases, the first hit that will connect on him will make him flip over and fall face down. In T3 this kind of juggles were useful since your opponent could not techroll from this position (facedown). This kind of juggles are now more rare since in TTT you can techroll when landing face-down. However I say rare (and not impossible) since there is a way to hit the falling opponent so that he won't be able to techroll. You have to hit the upper part of his back; you will notice that in this way he won't bounce at all(in TTT your opponent will bounce up if you hit him in the normal way making the juggle timing different from T3) and he will fall quicker tw the ground (like it happened in T3). Furthermore, due to the new bounce now it is possible to connect with more hits if you juggle your opponent form a side. -Face down sweep juggles- Another way to juggle your opponent is to tap the left kick (3) when you lay on the ground face down; Jin will perform a sweep which once connected will allow you to juggle your opponent. This will not happen too frequently and you must be careful, cause whenever your opponent blocks the sweep you will be opened to a WS attack. -Diving stun juggles- In T3 if you performed a dive after a Fw roll while getting up and your opponent blocked it you had the opportunity to juggle him with a jab (during the guard stun) and follow up with other hits. In TTT you can't do it as easily as before, but the dive stun juggles are still possible in one particular case: the dive must hit the blocking opponent on his knees (it happens when it connects at the last frames of the dive animation); in this case the guard stun will be long enough to juggle him with a jab as before. This won't happen too often with a rising dive, but more often with a Tag dive (see the Tag section). -Tag Juggles after Class one starters- As I wrote before in TTT some launchers can be tagged to perform the Tag juggles; the Class one juggle starters are those launchers that launch your opponent at the highest height: Devil's ss+2, Yoshi's 4~3, Gun Jack's d+1+2... Jin doesn't have a Class one starter, but he can obviously end a juggle started by one of these launchers when Tagged. This juggles are some of the most damaging in the game, plus as you may know the energy lost during the Tag juggles can't be recovered while out of the screen. --List of Juggles-- Now that we have analized the possible starters let's take a look to some of Jin's possible juggles; this is obviously not a complete list, it is only a selection of my favourite juggles. Launcher Juggle (E)Wgf, b,f+2,1,d+2, f,f+2 b,f+2,1,2, f,f+2 b,f+2,1,2, Ewgf b,f+2,1,2, df+4,4_ws+4,4 b,f+2,1,2, 1+4 b,f+2,1,2, f,f+1+4,(2),d+4 Ewgf, Ewgf Ewgf, db+1 Ewgf, 1, Ewgf Ewgf, 1, db+1 Ewgf, b+4 b+4, Ewgf Ewgf, 1+4,2, f,f Ewgf Ewgf, 1+4,2, f,f+2 Ewgf, f,n,d,df+4, Ewgf f,f Ewgf, b,f+2>1,2 1,2, b,f+2,1,2 Tgf,3 b,f+2,1,2, b,f+2,1,2 (BIG) Devil Jin Wgf CH Tgf, 1+4,(2),d+4 WS+2, b,f+2,1,d+2, f,f+2 b,f+2>1,2, f,f+2 b,f+2,1,2, df+4,4 Ewgf, f,f,1+4,2, f,f+2 Tgf,3 df+2 Ch b,f+2>1,2, f,f+2 b,f+2,1,2, df+4,4 Tgf,3 ss+2, 2, b,f+2,1,2 d+3+4, 1+4,2, f,f,Ewgf 1+4,2, f,f+2 1, b,f+2>1,2 f,n,d,DF+4, 1+4,2, f,f,Ewgf 1+4,2, f,f+2 1+4,2,4 delayed " b+4, 1+(4),2, f,f,Ewgf b+4, 1+(4),2, f,f+2 b,f+2,1,2, f,f+2 Ewgf, 1+4,(2),d+4 b+4 Ch, b,f+2>,1,2, f,f+2 df+1, b,f+2,1,2 f~b+4, 1+4,2, f,f,Ewgf f~b+4, 1+4,2, f,f+2 f,f+3, 1+4,2, f,f+2 1+4,2, EWGF 1+4,2, df+4,4 B+1+2(against flying opponents), 1,1,2 1,2,2 1,2, d/f+4,4 1+4,2, f,f+2 1,2, WGF 1,2, f,f+2 1, b,f+2,1,d+2 1, b,f+2,1,2 b,f+2,1,d+2 b,f+2,1,2 FCD,3, 1+4,2,4 1+4,2, WGF 1+4,2, f,f+2 WS+4, 1+4, df+4,4 WS+4, 2, f,f+2 1+4,2, df+4,4 WS+2, df+1, f,f+2 dive, 2, b,f+2,1,2 2, b,f+2,1,d+2~5 f+4, 1+4,2, f,f+2 After Class 1 launchers: class 1, Tgf,3 Tgf, 1, f,f+2 Tgf, 1+4, df+4,4 Tgf, Ewgf Tgf, 1+4,2, f,f+2 Tgf, 1+4,2, f,f,Ewgf -Side and flip over Juggles- ssr, Ewgf, b,f+2(flip),1,d+2, b,f+2,1,2, f,f,b+4 (ouch!!!) Ewgf, b,f+2(flip),1,2, f,f,b+4 ssl, Hellsweep, 1+4,2, b,f+2,1,2 The juggles that I've listed here are just for knowledge purpose, since in most cases you will rely on two or three juggles for each starter. Remember also that you must choose your juggle not only for the damage, but even for the Okizeme chances that they will leave you; juggle that deals 5 or 6 more points of damage but that gives you little chances to apply your Okizeme strategies should be used only when those 5 or 6 points could make you win the round. I will list some of the juggles I use more often, but I suggest to make some experiments to find which are the juggles that suit better your fighting strategies; here are my fav juggles: Ewgf(or WS+2), b,f+2,1,2, f,f+2: This juggles deals a very good amount of damage and after the last hit you will have the time and space to Dash or Crouch Dash (and Wave Dash) tw your opponent. Ewgf(or WS+2), b,f+2,1,2, f,f,1+4: The damage is not as high as the previous juggles, but is good; the 1+4 recovers very fast after having connected so, even if you are very close to your opponent you have the time to apply your Okizeme techniques; if you need those pare points to win the round you may even decide to end the white heron with the 2,d+4 variation. This juggle is very good even for set up purposes; since the 1+4 connects very low, after you perform this juggle a couple of times, your opponent will try to techroll before the 1+4 and after the f,f; in this case you can do the f,f and instead of performing the 1+4 you can try to catch your opponent after his techroll with a guaranteed Ewgf~5. Ewgf(or WS+2), b,f+2,1,2, Ewgf: Again good damage (but the timing is a bit tricky), and the final Ewgf gives you the chance to Tag out and perform a slide, a running kick or a dive with your tag partner (not guaranteed); if your partner is a Mishima you may tag in with a CD_WD. Ewgf, f,f,Ewgf, b,f+2,1,2: Ok I don't use this one too often since it is very difficult to connect with it consistently, but I like it too much not to mention. One of the most damaging juggles in Jin's arsenal. Hell Sweep, 1+4,2, f,f+2: The most useful juggle from the Hell Sweep; the final f,f+2 gives you space and time to perform your Okizeme techniques. Hell Sweep, 1+4,2, Ewgf: Again you may decide to Tag out and perform an attack with your tag partner(if timed right the tag slide is guaranteed). --------------------------------------------------------------------- ***OKIZEME*** The word okizeme is used to represent all those "infamous" techniques that Tekken players use to inflict damage against a downed or getting up opponent; if one doesn't know how to get up, Okizeme can inflict more damage then any juggle or unblockable moves; is for this reason that I consider knowing how to get up properly a basic skill, and more than often, these techniques can be used to recognize a good Tekken player from a just average one. A well planned Okizeme can become a dangerous guessing game even for those players who know how to get up, and if used properly it can give you those spare points of damage which will allow you to win the match. Jin possesses some well suited moves for okizeme tactics, but before I go further I have to explain a basic concept about Okizeme: Okizeme starts with the move with which you knock down your opponent; I will try to explain what I mean. The most important thing about it is that you should exactly know how your opponent will land when you knock him down: will he land face up or will he land face down? And feet towards you or head towards you? This kind of knowledge can give you the advantage for the following guessing game; and getting up is THE guessing game in TTT (like in T3). **Ground Positions** Before analizing the moves you can perform during Okizeme, we must consider the possible ground positions and all the possible options your opponent have to get up: Possible ground positions: Play dead(PLD) : face up, head towards you Slide(SLD) : face down, head towards you Face down(FCD) : face down, feet towards you Knock down(KND) : face up, feet towards you Possible getting up options: -Tech-roll: your opponent can get up as soon as he hits the ground simply pressing the punches(roll TW the stage) or the kicks(roll TW the screen). Remember that in TTT your opponent can techroll even when he is falling with his face tw the ground. In TTT your opponent can even techroll with the Tag button, which will make him Tag out as soon as he hits the ground. -Roll(Fw or Bw): after having landed, your opponent may choose to roll towards you or backwards (pressing -f- or -b-); during the first part of the roll animation he is vulnerable to mid and low attacks and even to some high one. After the roll he may attack you with a low or mid kick (3 or 4 after the roll) which will came out with different speed depending to the starting ground position; remember that after the roll he can even attack you with a dive. -Rise: your opponent can rise from the ground and block both high or low simply pressing up(or db if he wants to stand blocking low) on the stick/pad. Pressing the -2- button will make hi rise more quickly. During the first few frames of the rising animation he is vulnerable to low connecting attacks, so if you hit him during these frames he will not be able to block. -Ground Roll: your opponent can decide to roll on both sides and change ground position (from face up to face down) or he can roll and rise; in the first case he will be able to rise, roll or attack, in the second case he can only block or attack; while rolling on the side he is vulnerable to some attacks that could not hit him if he just lays on the ground. -Attack: your opponent can attack you with a mid or low kick almost from every ground position, but these attacks will came out with different speed, depending from the starting ground position. -Lightning kick: if your opponent is laying on the ground in KND position he can even perform a low kick, which has good speed but suffers a long recovery time; Hei, Bryan, Ogre, True Ogre, Kuma and the Jacks can't perform this kick. -Lay on the ground: obviously your opponent may choose to lay on the ground, which in most case can be the safest option: you can hit him with a ground hit, but in most cases this hit will push him far enough to let him get up safely. -Tag out: your opponent can even tag out of the screen while he is on the ground; while rolling out of the screen he is vulnerable to some low , smid and mid attacks. -Backflip Kick: this is a new kind of kick that your opponent can perform as soon as he hits the ground simply by pressing -f-. Since this is a mid kick, it is subject to all the rules of the rising kicks; you can Ch it, reverse it, and hit your opponent if he whiffs; however if this kick is blocked your opponent is safe. **Okizeme options** Ok, we have analized the possible options, so now we can go straight to Jin's okizeme moves; the MAIN weapon in your okizeme strats is the Soccer Kick. As I wrote in the moves section, this should be(sad but true) the attack of your choice every time that your opponent is on the ground. Other useful attacks are: the Hell Sweep, the White Heron, the Rising and Right Axe kicks and obviously the basic low-smid attacks, the Right low kick and the Left low jab. If you have trained hard enough you can even start your Wave Dash (or Dash-Crouch Dash) strategies while your opponent is on the ground: hit him with a Hell Sweep or a Soccer Kick if he lays on the ground, interrupt with the Ewgf his rising attack if he tries one(or block it and punish the recovery time), start your guessing game if he just rises and blocks (Rising Upper, Demon's Paw, Throws and Hell Sweep). These are general strategies that can give you a picture of how devastating your Okizeme can be; now I will analize briefly the various ground positions with your Okizeme options: -Opponent in PLD position: Your opponent will end in this position after the Twisting Wrist Toss (d,db,b+1+3) and after the right Side Throw. As I wrote in the Throws section, you could give serious trouble to your opponent even just with the Soccer Kick: if he stays on the ground you can move fw and Soccer Kick him; if he Ground-Rolls you don't have to move and you have to perform the Soccer Kick immediately. When your opponent is in a PLD position every hit that he takes during the rising animation will make him recover with his back TW you; this can give you a very important advantage , 'cause he can't block. Even if you hit him with a fast attack while he is performing an attack from the PLD position, you will be able to interrupt the attack and make him recover BK. In these case , the most useful interrupter is the low jab, 'cause if you connect you can juggle with a WS+2 (Rising Upper); the good thing about the low jab is that it is so fast that you will have better chances to hit your opponent(you can perform it twice). A good way to fool your opponent when he is in this position(especially after a HellSweep) is to perform a ws+4(CD) that will whiff in order to make your opponent move, and immediatley perform a d+1, ws+2; if your opponent reacts after the whiff he will be hit by the d+1 and he will recover backturned, so the ws+2 will be guaranteed(thanks ThunderFist for having reminded me this one). If he decides to roll Bw you can pursue him with a Fw -Wave,Crouch-Dash and start your guessing game; if you think he is going to attack after the roll, you can even run after him then sidestep on the left: both the low kick or the mid one can be sidestepped in this way if he tries to perform them after a roll from the PLD position. If you understand your opponent's intentions in time you can even Dash fw and perform a Soccer Kick; if you connect with it while he is rolling the kick will juggle him (very low but you can connect after the Soccer Kick with a 1+4,df+4,4). Others attack can connect while he is rolling, like the Demon's Paw or the Right Axe Kick, but the Soccer Kick is the more damaging option. Note that Lei can perform another attack when in PLD position, his 3+4: be careful and try to anticipate it with a White Heron or sidestep it on the right. -Opponent in SLD position: Your opponent will end in the SLD position after the standard right throw(Flip Toss); from here you should guess what your opponent is going to do: if he rises, you can juggle him with a White Heron or hit him with a Right Axe Kick in the first part of the rising animation. If he rolls back you can dash after him and immediately do a White Heron, which, if timed correctly, will hit your opponent during the first part of the roll animation. If you don't want to guess whether you opponent is going to roll or not(or you think that he is going to block after the roll), you can wait until he starts the roll and then perform a Running Side Kick (f,f,f+3 or f,N,d,df,f,uf+3); you will be able to take advantage of the guard stun and hit him with well timed Demon's Paw. If you think that your opponent is going to attack after the roll, try to anticipate him with a Demon's Paw. If your opponent simply attacks you with a mid or low kick, the best option is to sidestep on the right and crouch: in this way you will effectively sidestep a possible mid kick and block the low one(which can not be sidestepped at all), and in both cases juggle with a Rising Upper. A low kick will interrupt both the rising animation and the attacking one, but it will deal poor damage. -Opponent in FCD position: Jin doesn't have many moves that will make your opponent end in this position, but since his reversal has one animation that will do it, I will analize even this ground position. The most important thing about this position is that in most cases, if your opponent lays on the ground a Hell Sweep will completely MISS; be careful to the standard low sweep (FCD,3), be ready to block and kill your opponent or attack and interrupt with a Soccer Kick. If your opponent rolls back you will hardly hit him during the roll animation, so I suggest you to run after him and perform a Running Side Kick; or you may decide to start a WD and follow him. -Opponent in KND position: This is the most common ground position and your opponent will land in this way after every juggle. The distance between you and your opponent may vary according to the juggle you performed, so be sure you know it exactly when you juggle him. If he lays on the ground you may hit him with the Soccer Kick, but in order to do this you must make a step fw so that Jin's feet will touch your opponent's feet, or it will whiff. Another good choice is to ss around your opponent to reach a more useful position; in this case if your opponent tries to interrupt your movement with a rising attack you should be ready to block it (if your were not able to ss his attack with your movement) and punish him during his recovery. If you are a bit distant from your opponent I suggest you to CD tw him and apply your WD strategies; if he starts to react and tries to interrupt your WD, you may fake a CD and make him whiff or simply anticipate him with an Ewgf. If he starts to roll bw follow him and hit him during the roll. -Techrolling opponent: Tech-roll can be useful to avoid ground hits and is necessary if you want to avoid some juggles; the bad part of the tech roll is that your character recovers crouching and during some frames of the animation(32 frames in total), he is vulnerable to low(between 20-21 frames) and mid(between 21-32 frames) attacks. So whenever your opponent tech-rolls, you should try to hit him during those frames, and since he can't block mid for a long period (compared to the other one), you should focus on fast mid attacks; the Right Axe Kick is very good at this task, even though a well timed Demon's Paw can do more damage. The ultimate punishment for a techrolling opponent is a tagged Ewgf; however the timing is hard to learn since you must aligne Jin with the opponent after his techroll(you have a very small window of frames to do that). Hitting your opponent every time he tech-rolls is a good way force him to stay on the ground, which is exactly what you need to start your okizeme tactics. A new feature of TTT is the bw techroll: by pressing b as soon as you hit the ground(like the techroll) your char will roll bw; in this case the recovery is really long, so if you guess that your opponent is going to rise in this way you can add more guaranteed damage. -Tagging out opponent: Some times your opponent will try to avoid your okizeme tactics simply by tagging out of the screen; this will happen when he has little energy left or simply because he wants to fool you. If you think that your opponent will tag out you have two options: time your attack so that it will hit the Tagging OUT opponent or simply time you attack so that it will hit the Tagging IN one. Low attacks seem to gain some range against a tagging out opponent, so in this case a well timed HellSweep will do the job. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ****STRATEGY**** In this section I will try to cover the most important aspects of the game: the Set Up game and the Psychological Domination. **General Advices** Ok, we have reached the point that will make you win or lose a match: the strategy. You can't argue about a move property, but you can talk ages about strategy; I really can't tech someone which strategy he has to use, since I'm not so presumptuous. The only thing I can do is to give you some advices. First of all you should learn well to fight at any distance, from long to short range since your opponent may be able to put you in a position that is not exactly the one you prefer (for example a Julia player will hardly let you stay out of jab range). Second, you should learn which is the distance you want to keep during the match and how to stay at that distance; to my opinion Jin is stronger at mid range and I suggest you to keep this kind of distance for a good part of the match. Why? Simply because Jin has a really good fw movement, and because like all the Mishimas he can punish heavily every whiff. Staying at mid distance will give you the chance to make your opponent whiff and to punish him. Another general advice that I can give you may sound obvious: learn the recovery times of every move in the game (well maybe not all the moves) and learn when you can attack and when you can't. This is the only way I know to maximize the damage you can inflict and to deal against your opponent' Set Up strategies. **Set Up Game** The most important aspect of the game to my opinion is the Set up game. In general the concept of Set Up game is that you perform an action that gives you a reasonable chance to connect with an attack after it. This doesn't means that you have to consider Set Up moves only those moves that give you an advantage; moves that give you a disadvantage (obviously I mean a small disadvantage) can be used successfully for set up purposes; if your opponent knows that you have a disadvantage he will attack in most cases, and this is exactly what you want; a well planned back dash or ss will make him whiff and will give you the opportunity to punish him during the recovery. Furthermore I think that the concept of the Set Up should be applied not only to the moves, but more in general to movements; fakes are maybe the best Set Up that you can use with Jin and more in general with all the Mishimas. Moves that give you huge frame of advantage are obvious choices, but there are other moves that have a more subtle Set Up use. Obviously when you try to build a good Set Up strategies you need good guessing skills, since the Set Up is completely builded on guessing. Your opponent will always have at least one option to counter your strat, but again you will have an option to prevent his counter move. Since nothing is guaranteed you should build your Set Up strategies carefully. I will divide the set up game into two parts: the Basic Set Up, the Advanced Set Up. *Basic Set Up* In this section I will give you a picture of the most common Set Up moves and SOME of the options you have after them: -Basic left jab (1): this is Jin's basic jab, and it is one of the most useful Set Up for his close range game; when your opponent blocks it you will have +3 frames of advantage, which means that your opponent won't be able to interrupt you with his standing jab (Julia anyone?) if you jab again. After it, if your opponent blocked you can: a) perform 1,1(2), or to anticipate a jab attempt; if your opponent blocks the second string you still have 1 frame of advantage. If you think that he may ss the 1,2,4 string can be your choice. b) perform a mid move to catch your opponent if he decides to duck (to avoid your second jab string); in this case you can use the first punch of the Twin Lancers which is fast and gives you a big whenever it connects (+9 frames), or the first part of the Right Axe Kick (if you hit you can go with the second part of the kick, if he blocks you can simply backdash to gain space). A Stun Punch Combo or a Soccer Kick can be useful if you think that your opponent is going to duck and attack back with a Ws move. c) perform a Ewgf if you think that your opponent is going to attack you with an attack slower than a jab. d) perform a throw (I suggest you to buffer it out of a CD) if you think that your opponent is going to stand and block. e) move out of jab range (with a ss or b,b) and Ewgf if you think that he will try to fight back; in this way you will punish him heavily. If the left jab connected than you have a really huge advantage (+9 frames); in this case you may: a) perform an Ewgf(tag) to prevent your opponent ss (with such a big disadvantage his ss attempt will inevitably fail) and interrupt any kind of attack. b) start your mid-low(throw) guessing game. -Flash Punches(1,1): this string useful for Set Up purposes at close range to gain advantage. If your opponent blocks than you have +1 frame of advantage so you may: a) continue your jab game with a 1,1,2, or 1,2,4 to interrupt a jab attempt, only if your opponent has a 10 frames jab; even in this case the Mid Upper(df+2) of most chars can interrupt a second jab string, so be careful. b) if your opponent has a 8 frames jab (Julia is the best example) you can use the 1,1 to fool him and make him attack; in this case you should perform the 1,1 and immediately b,b(and more if you need) to make him whiff and punish him immediately after. This works obviously even against the above mentioned df+2 interrupter. c) start your usual mid-low-throw guessing game if you think that he will block. If you connect with the 1,1 you should end the string and go for okizeme; however be careful since there are some cases (mainly when you ss on the left before attacking) in which the third punch won't hit your opponent (or he will be able to block). In this case since you have the same advantage you have after the left jab you can continue your game from there. -One Two Punches(1,2): Basically after this move when it connects you have the same advantage you have when you connect with a single left jab, so your options are more or less the same; remember that this string tracks an opponent who tries to ss on your right, so don't underestimate it's usefulness. When the move is blocked you have 5 frames of disadvantage; in terms of frames it means that you must stop your attack, but you can use this knowledge to your advantage to provoke your opponent's attack. Again a back dash can make them whiff so that you can punish them during the recovery (you may even duck if you think that they are going to jab you back). -One Two Knee(1,2,4): Since it is a variation of the 1,2, even this string tracks on your right, and the tracking properties of the knee simply increase your chances to hit a ss opponent. Both when it connects or it is blocked, this string pushed your opponent far a bit , so in both cases you must plan your follow up. If it connects you have +4 frames but due to the distance you may whiff if you follow up with a Jab; you can a) I use often a df+4 to prevent my opponent SS and to keep the advantage(if he blocks it you can just backdash out of range); a df+4 will suit even as an interrupter. b) if you think that your opponent is going to block a fast Demon's Paw or a (crouch)dashed throw will be enough for your guessing game; in this way you will even be able to follow your opponent if he SS and blocks. -Knee Kick(f+4): same as above -Shoot the Works(1,2,3): If you are sure that your opponent will block your jab string and if he has a 10-frames-jab char you may decide to use the 1,2,3 to exploit the +10 frames advantage of the guard stun. -Twin Lancers(df+1,2): The first punch of this string is the best mid move that Jin has for Set Up purposes: huge advantage when it connects (+9 frames), minimum disadvantage when it is blocked; in the first case you have the same options that you have when you connect with the left jab(see above), in the second case you may: a) perform a jab string to interrupt a slow counterattack (moves slower than 13 frames); this options is risky since your opponent may perform a quick jab string or an attack that goes under you jabs, but in some cases you may choose to do it to fool him. b) back dash(or ss) to make him whiff and punish him during the recovery. If you decide to use even the second punch of the Twin Lancers remember that when it connects your opponent will be kneel stunned and you have a good advantage; if he blocks dash out of range. -Ewgf: Yes, you may use the Ewgf even for setup purposes; when your opponent blocks it you will guard stun and gaining +4 frames of advantage and even push him back out of jab range. In general your opponent will block after this move; usually I prefer to dash in and attack with a dashed Ewgf to stop a possible counterattack or continue with my guessing game (f,f+throw, f,f+2, dashed HellSweep). The dash can be useful even if you think that your opponent will try to ss; in this case delaying the second f input of the dash you will track him a bit. You may even decide to cover the distance with a CD or WD, mixing fakes with attacks to confuse him. -Right Mid Kick(df+4):I'm in general cautious and never use this move alone; its recovery when you whiff can be deadly (for you) so I use this kick only in particular situations, when I have to keep the advantage and interrupt an attack, or when I simply want to keep a certain distance between me and my opponent. If you connect you have +2 frames of advantage, so you can keep the initiative; if your opponent blocks you will have -9 frames of disadvantage which means that your opponent will almost surely try something; however since you are at mid distance you may have reasonable chances to back dash out of range or even ss. -Rising Mid Kick(ws+4):even if the animation of the kick is the same of the one above mentioned, the properties are really different; the +8 frames you gain when this kick connects give you loads of setup options, so go for this version of the kick whenever you can. When blocked this kick gives you only -3 frames of disadvantage, which means that you have all the time you want to dash out of range, ss or even try a fast interrupter; the last options can become more effective if you mix the two kicks (df+4 and ws+4) to fool your opponent. -Mid Upper: another good setup move; the options you have are the same of the first punch of the Twin Lancers. Remember that when you connect with a df+2 not on ch your opponent won't be able to ss an Ewgf if you perform it immediately after the Upper. Sometimes (rarely) I whiff with this move on purpose when my opponent is going back (and when I'm at mid-long distance) to provoke his attack; another df+2(immediately after the first) sometimes catches my opponent in CH (remember that at the right distance it goes under high jabs), or a backdash will make him whiff. -Crouching Jab (d+1): this good interrupter has some really good setup properties since it gives you +9 frames of advantage when it connects; after it a Rising Upper cannot be interrupted or even SS. Obviously your opponent may decide to backdash (and block), in this case I use to pursue them with a dash, and perform after it a throw or a Demon's Paw. If the jab is blocked you must be careful since you have -2 frames of disadvantage, and every ws attack that you may try can be anticipated. In most cases, when this happens, your opponent will try a quick jab string or a standing 4; if you think that he will do such a move than simply keep ducking and interrupt or punish with a WS move. You may even decide to backdash but since the distance at which you usually will perform the d+1 is really close this options won't give you that much room. Remember that you can ss(u) out of a crouch dash. -Stun Punches Combo: the Stun Punches Combo is an unusual Set Up move, but I use it often in this way; the basis of the setup options that you have are bound to the fact that your opponent in most cases will ss- right before the last punch(after having blocked the first two) in order to punish you. This means that, if you stop at the second punch, with the ss your opponent will lose some of the advantage he gains after having blocked the two punches(-3) so you can build a good guessing game after it: If you think that your opponent is going to do a full ss you can try to catch him with an Ewgf that tracks a bit on that direction. The choice of your opponent to avoid this is to perform immediately a jab attack or another quick move like a standing 4; in this case a quick jab string (1,1,2 or 1,2,4) may interrupt their attack since your opponent lost his +3 frames advantage with the ss. Another option you have is to ss after your opponent ss; in many situations this can make your opponent attack whiff completely, giving you the chance to punish him. In order to prevent you doing this, your opponent will do a very small ss and attack immediately after; in this case your ss will interrupted but you still have the option to counter him with a jab string. Obviously after you connect with this strategy a couple of times, your opponent will decide to duck your jab string or he may even decide to try to counter you immediately without the ss; in the first case you can simply perform a fast mid move like df+1 to keep the advantage, in the second case, if you guess that your opponent will do such a hazardous manoeuvre you should go on with the third punch of the Stun Punches Combo and hit him (in this case the d+2 version will juggle him). Remember that in all the above mentioned cases you always have the option to backdash out of range and punish and eventual whiff. *Advanced Set Up* As I mentioned before I consider really useful for Set Up purposes not only moves but even movements; this kind of Set Up is obviously far more difficult that the normal Set Up game, so you must train a lot before you can use it effectively. -Crouch Dash and Wave Dash fakes: the CD fakes are your first tool in this kind of set up game; the main purposes of a faked CD are two: 1) Make your opponent react and whiff 2) Make your opponent block to give you a very little advantage for your following move In both cases you must be very careful and obviously ready to catch the chance your opponent will give you. I will make two examples(maybe an obvious one) to make a bit more clear what I mean: 1) Jin vs Jin match: after having performed a couple of Ewgfs or CD attacks you fake a CD (f,n,d,df,b,b); your opponent after having blocked your former attacks decides to interrupt and counter your next move so as soon as he realizes that you are going to attack he tries an Ewgf (or another interrupter). Your backdash makes him whiff so you can immediately punish him with an Ewgf. 2) same match: after having being punished by your Ewgf your opponent will become a bit more cautious. You fake again the CD, and now your opponent awaits for you to backdash and Ewgf again so he blocks or backdashes; instead you dash in and throw (or poke him to gain advantage). Obviously you would have many other choices but these examples may give you an idea on how to use your fakes. The Wave Dash fakes are an advanced version of the CD fakes, a bit more difficult to use but far more spectacular. -Spacing and SS: this kind of Set Up movements are a bit more difficult to use since you must know well how to ss your opponent's attacks, but since in TTT the ss is far more effective than in T3, you will have good chances to succeed in your Set Up game. Basically you should space and ss in order to make force your opponent to perform a particular kind of move that you are ready to counter or even ss; this kind of strategy obviously imply a huge knowledge of the game and ss both for you and your opponent. You really should train a lot before you can apply these concepts to your gamestyle effectively, so don't give up if your first attempts will fail. I will make an example to make more clear what I mean: Jin vs Jin match: you start to perform a ss-backdash on the left in order to keep your opponent at mid-long distance; your opponent knows that he needs a mid distance attack that can't be sidestepped easily on that direction: his choice is Jin's Demon's Paw (remember, this is just and example) which suits for the purpose. He prepares for your next ss and performs his attack; being ready for such a move (this is exactly what you have planned) you can ss on the right dodging easily the f,f+2 and punishing the whiff or, if you feel more courageous, you may even Ewgf him in the face. As I wrote, this is just and example and obviously the opponent could have chosen other options, so a big dose of guessing ability is required when you decide to perform this strategy. However whenever you succeed in fooling your opponent he will be more and more insecure about his own weapons, which is exactly what you need to gain the edge and dictate the match. *Putting all together* Now that we have a picture of some examples of set up options, the next step is to put all this stuff together; as you may have noticed some set up moves have for follow-ups other set up moves. This means that you can build a complex wire of options that will make your opponent life hard. I won't make any example here since it would be a waste of space, the only advice I want to give you is to keep your attack flexible, and never try to build some sort of Custom Strings. You must always keep an eye on your opponent reactions since this is the purpose of you set up game: guess his reaction and kill him. Do not keep going with your string of attacks blindly since even a blocked low jab can put you in big troubles. **Psychological Domination** As for every fighting game, and more in general for competition, the psychological aspect is one of the most important. Gaining the edge in this field can give you a really big advantage on your opponent; I've seen so many times players with amazing technical skills lose against an opponent who was not as strong him in that field but more solid in the psychological one. In particular during tourneys, when one is heavily under pressure (the crowd, the prize..) the difference between strong psychological players and less solid ones is more evident. The first goal you have to reach is to NEVER, and I mean NEVER, lose your self-control; TTT gives you so many chances to come back in the game (more than T3) that you really should never give up. A juggle missed mysteriously? The third punch of The Flash Punches whiffed even if the first two connected(and you are going to eat some massive damage)? Your usual ground attack doesn't hit your opponent as always? These are just an example of the things that may happen in TTT (and TTT has loads of "strange stuff"), so you must accept it and go on with the match; starting to complain won't be of any use, and more, it will distract you from what's happening on the screen. After you have reached this self-control, you can focus on the other important aspect of the psychological field: how to make your opponent lose HIS self-control. I won't mention those methods that do not concern the gameplay (such as trash talking and other shit like that), but there are some things that in general can put your opponent under a heavy pressure: hitting him during all his long recovery times, ducking under a throw attempt and throw him a lot, staying out of range or sidestepping his best attacks, blocking consistently his low-mid pokes, can stress him a lot; maybe he will attack sconsiderately with his most powerful moves(which is good) or better he may stop to attack, too frightened to retaliate, giving you the opportunity to dictate the game. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ****THE SIDESTEP**** This was the new feature that I liked most in T3; the chance to avoid some attacks stepping in the correct direction ,being able to punish my opponent immediately after, sounded a really nice addiction to the usual 2D gameplay. In T3 the sidestep followed some "severe" rules for which in most cases it was impossible to SS an attack on the wrong direction; this was the reason why you could build both a very good sidestep and anti sidestep game. The sidestep was an art that you could practice effectively only if you knew the game in depth. In T3 some chars had a very strong SS, others, like Paul(a monster in the 2D game), were somehow limited in this field. Maybe someone at Namco decided that this was unfair, so in TTT they made some changes, improving the SS of every character. BUT as often happens, when you try change something that works, you may do a BIG mistake; this is what happened, to my opinion, in TTT. T3 was a game where lucky sidesteps were definitely limited; what do we have now? A game in which in lots of cases you can sidestep an attack even on the wrong direction, a game in which the anti-SS strategy is very limited, a game in which in general the sidestep is TOO STRONG. It may sound weird to hear me, one of the most obstinate SS theoretician-supporter, say such a thing, but believe me, the SS is no more the sublime art that it was in T3. I mean, every average-good player can now obtain very good results in this field with just applying some simple principles and a bit of luck. It is still possible to limit the SS game of your opponent with some techniques, and still there are some moves that are a bit difficult to ss (Kazuya df+2 VERY difficult, for example), but in comparison to TTT, you will have to work much harder. The main problem is that since every char now moves faster and has a better ss, it happens too often that the attacks that in T3 were launched while the two char were(mostly) on the same axis, in TTT are launched when the two chars are on different axis; this sometimes causes strange collisions and inexplicable whiffs. However, the ss is still subject to some rules, so I will try to analize it in any case. A huge part of the following paragraph is the same of my previous guide (since the concepts are almost the same), with some little addictions. A first and universal consideration should be made for what concerns the position at which you will end after a SS: as long as you aren't performing an "interrupted" SS, the nearer you are(to your opponent) at the moment that the SS takes place, the deeper your sidestep will be; another parameter that will influence the depth of your SS is the range of the attack you are going to sidestep: the longer the range, the deeper the SS(the SS of a very long-ranged attack such as Hei's f,f+2 for example, will make you end behind your opponent). The first way to sidestep is the most common one, that is when you sidestep anticipating your opponent's attack(you start the SS before your opponent starts his attack); this SS requires obviously some guessing skills, and should be performed from short-mid range, 'cause at the long one your opponent's attack may track and hit even if the direction you choosed for the SS was correct. This kind of SS can be dangerous, 'cause you must rely only on your guessing skills. The second way to perform a SS is to do it as reaction; it is the most difficult way to sidestep an attack and some moves can't be sidestepped in this way; you need extremely good reflexes and still a bit of guessing skills. As I told before, some moves have a natural direction on which you have to choose if you want to successfully sidestep; however there is a way to sidestep that may give you the opportunity to sidestep some attacks even on the wrong side. IN order to do this you have to perform the SS motion and at a point of its animation hold back (-b-) with the stick/pad. In this way the sidestep will be less deep(you actually stop at that point), but you will move very slightly bw, so that your final position will be less by side but little more distant from you opponent. With the powerful technology I have in my hands I will show you a visual example of the difference between a stopped SS and a normal one (please forgive me...): Starting position After a "stopped" SS After a normal SS _ _ _ _ P1 O_ _O P2 P1 O_ P1 O_ _ _ _O P2 _O P2 I will make an example of a possible scenario in which a stopped SS could be useful: -A Jin vs Jin match: P1 is going to perform a Demon's Paw(f,f+2); P2 can sidestep it easily on the right, but in the case that P1 makes a feint and performs a Hell Sweep he would be hit by the sweep(that must be sidestepped on the left); so P2 decides to sidestep on the left, which is not the natural direction to sidestep the Demon's Paw; in this case, if he holds back during the SS (and stops it) he will be able to sidestep even the Demon's Paw (or in the worse case block it) otherwise he will be hit.- This concept is more difficult to explain than to do, so don't get scared by my complicated explanations (uhh..my english) and just try it in practice mode(with a friend if you have the jap TTT version). As you may have understood this way to sidestep can be very useful when you face a character which has a lot of moves which must be sidestepped on one direction and just one or two (dangerous) which should be sidestepped on the other side. Another thing that happens really often is that you will be able to SS on the wrong direction a mid ranged attack if you perform the SS when you are in extremely close range; in this way you could be able to SS every kind of attack(jab strings are little more difficult), but I think that I don't have to remind you that Jin is not the most effective char at this distance. **Attacking after a SS** Avoiding your opponent attack is just the first step, but if you want to kill them you have to learn which attacks you have to perform after a successful SS. Jin has many good moves that suit this task: Flash Punches, Ewgf, Rising Upper, Tooth Fairy and the Throws. Mainly the use of each move is dictated by two main factors: the recovery time of the move you have sidestepped and the distance-position after the sidestep. Let's see briefly the main use for each move I mentioned: Flash Punches Combo: the ultimate punishment for all those moves which have very short recovery times, the best attack after a short SS cause will almost always anticipate your opponent; furthermore you won't have the problem of inputting a direction command, so this attack is very useful when the camera angle gets crazy (and this happens a lot). EWGF: very useful when it comes to juggle after a "Stopped" SS cause it is very quick and juggles even on CH; the only drawback of this move is that you have to train properly if you want to perform it whenever you need it. Rising Upper: you should use this upper whenever you end near to your opponent 'cause it lacks the range of the Tooth Fairy; remember to learn how to perform it quickly after a sidestep 'cause it is Jin's best juggle starter. Tooth Fairy: you should use it whenever you perform a deep sidestep and end at mid distance from you opponent; be sure to perform it during a long recovery time and not in front of your opponent, 'cause if blocked, you will be hit for free; again, like the Flash Punches, no direction command required. Throws: throws work well after every kind of sidestep as long as you end at short distance; otherwise you will waste a good opportunity to inflict some damage to your opponent. Remember also that if you succeed in a deep SS on the left the b+2,4,2,1,2 string is guaranteed(the first two hits will bk turn your opponent so that the whole combo is guaranteed). Just a little advice if it ever happens that you end behind your opponent's back at close range: a d+1 low jab allows you to connect with a WS+2 Rising Upper. **Offensive Sidestep** In general the SS is used to avoid an opponent attack, but remember that this is not it's only use; you may use the SS you re-align you after(or before if you guess right) your opponent has sidestepped(and even re- sidestep him with what I call a counter-SS); or you may use it to get in close from a different angle(sometimes even to fool him with the camera angle), to give your opponent more problems. More in general try to use the SS for what it is: a form of spacing. For other tips about the SS use be sure to read the Movement and Unconventional Moves section. **A final word** Since the SS if far more easy and effective in TTT, I have decided not to write a section on the way to SS each character like I did in my previous guide; if you think that you really need it, well e-mail me and I will try to update this guide. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ****THE TAG**** The most important feature of TTT is obviously the Tag; you can be the strongest player in the world with Jin, but if you don't learn how to master this aspect of the game you will never win a match against a good opponent. In this section I will try to analize the most important aspects of the Tag. **Tagging out** Tagging out safely is the first aspect of the tag that you have to master, since if you don't tag out properly in most cases you will lose the round. Most players (average) usually Tag out after they have sustained big damage and are near to die; this can save your life, but is inevitably the most predictable way to Tag. Your opponent will be ready to catch you while you are going out, or in any case, to hit the character that comes in. For this reason you should learn how to Tag when your opponent cannot attack you, and this happens only in three cases: when he is out of range, during one of his long recovery times or when he is on the ground. The first case is self explicative, for example if you are hit by a Deathfist you can immediately tag out as soon as you hit the ground with reasonable chances to go out safely; in the second case you can tag out when your opponent tried to hit you with an attack that has a long recovery time (such as Hei's f,f+2). The third case is obviously the best(but even the most difficult), since it means that you have grounded your opponent. Throws are well suited for this purpose, same goes for the Flash Punches. However in general I prefer to Tag when I still have an advantage on my opponent, so that he can't have the chance to inflict me more damage; in general Tag juggles are the best way to tag when attacking, but this means that you will not exploit one of Jin's strengths, his damaging juggles; obviously if your tag partner is a damaging char such as Julia or Bruce you won't have many problems, but if your tag partner is King.. So if you wan to tag in while attacking without the tag juggles you should learn when you can do it without giving your opponent the chance to inflict you damage; again tagging when he is on the ground is the best option since you can Tag in and slide/cross-chop (or do the tag cancel, see the Tag in section). You can tag after a juggle(choose the proper juggles, that will put you at the right distance, or better, choose a juggle that ends with a tagged Ewgf), after a throw, or after a fast attack like the Flash Punches. **Tagging In** Ok, by now you should have learnt how to tag out safely, so we can go to the other part of the Tag, how to Tag in properly. A huge part of the effectiveness of your Tag in is obviously determined by the way(and the moment) you tag out. Assuming that you should know how to end a Tag juggle with Jin (if you don't well you should train a little more..:)) I will analize the way to Tag in safely and effectively. First of all you have to learn how to perform the Tag cancel: while you are tagging in, if you try to block in the normal way you will eat your opponent's attack, since is impossible to block for a long period. However there is a way to cancel the Tag in and block: the command is ub,b,b. I really suggest you to learn this one if you don't want to become your opponent favourite punching ball. Another kind of tag cancel that you can do is to use a faked CD; while you are tagging in you may perform a CD to attack, but being it a normal CD you can interrupt it with a -b- input (f,N,d,df,b); the quicker you input the command the faster you will be able to block. The good part of this kind of movement is that you can use all the CD tricks; you can Tag in and WD for example if your opponent is too far, or attack if he is close, or cancel the CD into a SS, and so on. I use it almost always, since it is more versatile, and has all the properties of a CD (goes under high attacks and sometimes even buffers a low parry). Remember that while you tag in you can perform almost every move(except the Ewgf and ws or full crouch moves), even a reversal or a low parry. Obviously you may even chose to perform one of the standard tag in attacks like the slide and the cross chop. **Attacking a tagging in opponent** Attacking an opponent that is tagging in can seem easy, but believe me that at a high level of play, if you are not careful, you may end having bug troubles. The first thing that you must learn is to calculate with no mistakes the distance between you and your opponent(the one that will tag in); if you want to connect with your attack you must anticipate your move so that it will hit your opponent as soon as he enters the screen; if timed correctly this kind of attack can't be blocked with the cancel, and not even reversed or countered. Remember that the timing for the tag in changes according to the position your opponent has when he tag out; if your opponent tags when he is on the ground the partner will tag in a bit later than normal, so be sure to learn such slight differences if you don't want to whiff with your attack. Remember also that there are some chars that benefit of particular ways to tag in; I really suggest you to learn what they can do or you will inevitably take some damage. I will make some examples: Ling: she is the bitch for what concerns the tag in; if she enters the Phoenix stance you will whiff with almost every attack, except the HellSweep and a well timed Tgf. Even the Soccer Kick whiffs when she enters this stance, so be careful; if you are going to perform an HellSweep remember that she may decide to tag in with a low parry. She may even enter the Raindance Stance, which will make you whiff with some mid-high attacks. Yoshi: make yourself a favour and remind constantly that Yoshi can enter with his Flash Block b+1+4; if you try to attack him you may eat massive damage(ch+netsu+juggle). Yoshi can even enter with a b+3+4, which will make you whiff with most of your attacks. Lei: Lei can enter with his play dead stance, so be sure not to perform an attack that will whiff or you will be juggled; he may even tag in and enter his BK stance or even immediately perform some HAHA steps. Changs: not as dangerous as other chars, but don't forget that their 1,1,1 is fast and can CH if you are too slow when you attack them. Kazuya: Kaz can tag in safely just pressing f(mist step) as soon as he gets in. P-Jack: he has a special tag in; he may decide not to enter the screen normally , but he will fall from the sky; not so dangerous, but remind this or you will be stomped(ouch..). Remember also that every char that has a reversal or a parry may use it as soon as he enters the screen (Ewgf~5 will be the answer here). **Tag Partners** As I wrote in the introduction, Jin is probably the best all round char in TTT, so he is the perfect team-mate; I will give a brief look to the best tag partners for him. Heiachi: This is my fav team; Tag juggles with these two chars are not too difficult (maybe when you have to end the juggle with Hei you must be more precise) and deal a really good amount of damage. Heiachi has so many launchers that can be used for tagging purposes that coupled with Jin's power can make the difference during a match. Remember also that you can use Devil Jin only when you have Heiachi in your team. Kazuya-Devil: Even when coupled with the other two mishimas Jin can make the difference; the juggles of these two chars are not so powerful (unless on ch) but when Jin is in the team, a tagged Wgf can easily change the outcome of the match. Devil has even the ss+2 launcher that can bring to really massive tag juggles. Julia-Michelle: the Jin-Changs team is one of the strongest teams to my opinion; Changs' strength in the CH field, coupled with their ability in ending every tag juggle (the f,f+1 is the perfect move to connect after every launcher) makes the Changs perfect partners for Jin. Lei: Another good team; Lei can easily finish every tag juggle, and even if his tag launchers won't connect so often, every time it happens you will be able to deal massive damage. Plus Lei has the 1+3 tag-able throw that can deal really big damage. Yoshi: A really powerful team; the best Mishima with maybe the best anti Mishima. Yoshi is really strong in TTT and he can finish easily (and dealing good damage) every tag juggle; but obviously the main strength of this team is Yoshi's df+2~5. This move is really abusable, it hits MID, launches on every hit and juggle high enough to allow Jin end easily the tag juggle. Hwoarang: well, not as strong as other teams, but worth mentioning for Howarang's CD+4 class1 launcher; furthermore Hwoarang can end juggles quite easily. Law: Law is a good partner since he has some good tag-able launchers and since he can end tag juggle easily. Bruce: Bruce can end tag juggles quite easily , dealing really good damage; his launchers won't exploit Jin's strength in ending juggles, but in any case the damage that you will inflict will be not so bad. A solid team. Ling: Another really strong team, Ling can end tag juggles dealing good damage, and has some good launchers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ****THE END????**** Obviously not, being this a MISHIMA compendium I'm working on Heiachi's section and planning a Kazuya one; be patient please..... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ****CREDITS**** Again this should be the longest section of the whole guide; there are so many people to which I must say "thank you" that to list them all is almost impossible, so please forgive me if I forgot someone. My daily Tekken Mates, the Divine School of Hokuto: 7ronKo(my prodigy,HAHAHA), Simone, Yattajin, Wonderboy, Sandro, Jordy and Antonio(we are still waiting for your return), for being some of the most skilled players I've ever seen. The Chief: you are the man Dec, thanks for what you do constantly for the tekken community, and most important, thanks for being the person you are. ThunderFist: for having spent some of his time in reading-revising this faq, and for having reminded me so many things.... The Euro Guys: King the Second, Jorkie (GRRR, ROAR...we Kings understand each other), Claka, The Chef, Amraj, too many to mention, thanks for those great matches we played and for the ones we will. Ryan: for being a fucking robot (hehehe, jok...uh, not joking) and for giving me a good reason to keep training. The NZ guys, Abrar and mirAge for the countless good chats about tekken. The guys at the tekken forums(Zaibatsu, Euro, Salute): Yu_Mingfei, Shauno, Notti, KOFTekken, Icek, bluu, Rev C, too many to mention, again thanks. Slikatel, for having opened my eyes on the world of Tekken, and Castel(www.tekkenzaibatsu.com) for keeping my eyes opened. Tragic for having written the basics of the Tekken Knowledge. Giorgia, my beloved girlfriend, for having not blasted me in all these years of Tekken play, thank you. ****DISCLAIMER**** This guide is ment to be freely distributed on the web without any change as long as it is for personal use; if you want to take any part of this guide and use it in another context please e-mail me before (red_king74@hotmail.com). This FAQ is (c) of Dario Natoli, Tekken is (c) Namco. End of the document......UNDER THE MASK HE IS RED