[P4A] Akihiko Q&A/FAQ Thread

[A.X.I.S.]

I just end strings with sweep anyway.

Since level 3 sweep is -2 I can still jap people if they try to jump out.

There are other things I do like not use kill rush mix up all the time to mix them up.

Also if you wanna beat mash then wouldn't be way more rewarding if you use EX hook to catch mash?

[Zangriefing]

After a corkscrew mid screen I normally B Killrush on oki, but I've that really isn't a valid option in most cases. So I'm just wondering, what exactly should I do? Instant air dash in to a j.B typically?

[A.X.I.S.]

IAD is usually fine, that's all I do and it usually gets the job done.

[Powerstar7]

Are there any set ups using the globe? I want to use the button for something else besides getting keepaway players close to me.

[Powerstar7]

if you absolutely KNOW they are going to jump out of your kill rush mixups, corkscrew punch will obliterate that option and if it's level 3 you can score about 3.5k meterless off the followup combo, and in the corner you can get a super for a bout 4.5-5k. It will also crush anyone trying to mash jab or throw and score a fatal counter. Corkscrew is really unsafe on block though so you probably want 50 meter to cancel it just in case. You will also lose to invincible reversals.

pretty much only do it if you have noticed a trend in the opponent's behavior and you want to scare them into respecting your mixup more.

Which combos are these?

[Durakyura]

Complete noob here, first time even posting even though I have been falling in love with this forum.

Questions ; What causes C to ground bounce? It's probably stupid, but since I'm new and until I have a stronger handle on what I'm doing, I use j.C.. not like pressure, but just a check to sort of gauge how awake the opponent is. I'm pretty sure that the majority of the time I've had j.C bounce was when the other was also in the air. In training room this doesn't work.

Also, any suggestions on what to do after any c?

[Phantom Angel]

Complete noob here, first time even posting even though I have been falling in love with this forum.

Questions ; What causes C to ground bounce? It's probably stupid, but since I'm new and until I have a stronger handle on what I'm doing, I use j.C.. not like pressure, but just a check to sort of gauge how awake the opponent is. I'm pretty sure that the majority of the time I've had j.C bounce was when the other was also in the air. In training room this doesn't work.

Also, any suggestions on what to do after any c?

CH 5/2C causes that effect. As a follow-up, you can do: Dash 5AA, 2A+B, Killrush A, Corkscrew B. I'm not sure about CH j.C... I haven't really experimented with comboing off of it. Can't think of a way off of the top of my head either.

C is dash-cancellable so, you can use it for baiting(back dash) or pressure(forward dash). Sets up oki on normal hit since it knocks down.

[Durakyura]

CH 5/2C causes that effect. As a follow-up, you can do: Dash 5AA, 2A+B, Killrush A, Corkscrew B. I'm not sure about CH j.C... I haven't really experimented with comboing off of it. Can't think of a way off of the top of my head either.

C is dash-cancellable so, you can use it for baiting(back dash) or pressure(forward dash). Sets up oki on normal hit since it knocks down.

Thanks, this was seriously confusing me.

[Zangriefing]

What viable A2A and AA options do I have other than 2B? Because against people like Kanji and Lab, I seem to lose pretty often.

[ShelledMenace]

I think for the most part against lab, your j.a is a pretty good tool. 2b is a little stricter since you know...her j.b is huge so you have to time it properly, assuming they did it late enough for you to AA. I think against kanji you're better off running under him most of the time. Obviously his j.c is meant to kill AAs, but it doesn't have a hitbox behind kanji at all. I THINK it's probably better if you just mixup up trying to AA him along with maybe air grabs if you're ballsy. I guess maybe the better thing to do against characters that have good jump in moves like lab j.b and kanji j.b going for A2A with j.a is probably fine...but you should wait til someone who knows what they're talking about gives some advice .-.

[Zangriefing]

I think for the most part against lab, your j.a is a pretty good tool. 2b is a little stricter since you know...her j.b is huge so you have to time it properly, assuming they did it late enough for you to AA. I think against kanji you're better off running under him most of the time. Obviously his j.c is meant to kill AAs, but it doesn't have a hitbox behind kanji at all. I THINK it's probably better if you just mixup up trying to AA him along with maybe air grabs if you're ballsy. I guess maybe the better thing to do against characters that have good jump in moves like lab j.b and kanji j.b going for A2A with j.a is probably fine...but you should wait til someone who knows what they're talking about gives some advice .-.

Your advice is as good as any, I'll definitely look more into this.

[Effenhoog]

Whenever I play a Kanji that likes to use j.C to beat Akihiko's 2B, I just do j.A to counterhit him out of it for 2500+ damage off the followup combo

[Soriphen]

As these guys have said, j.A counter-hit is godlike. As for dealing with Lab's j.5B, use B Parry > A Corkscrew or B Parry > A+C if you wanna get away.

Optimal follow up combo from B Parry > A Corkscrew combo near the corner is: Dash up as close as you can, 2A(if you think you're close enough to omit 2A as a starter, do so)> 2B > j.5B > wait a bit > 5B > 236B > 6C > B+D > (5AA > 2A+B > 236A > 6B) or (5AA > 2A+B > 236C > 6B).

[Elochai]

I've recently started playing this character, and I'm confused on what to do for pressure. I usually do like buttons > kill rush > duck or weave > more buttons. I feel this isn't right though. What is Akihiko's pressure game supposed to be like?

[Soriphen]

Killrush blockstrings is a start. When doing blockstrings, you want to mix it up with Killrush blockstrings, C Duck/Weave blockstrings, 5C/2C blockstrings, and AoA stuff. Killrush blockstrings are basically buttons > Killrush > wtv you feel like. C Duck/Weave blockstrings usually involve cancelling a normal into one of em, like 5AA > C Weave > Throw, 5AA > 5B(1 hit) > C Duck > A Hook > Sweep.

You know what, I'll just list all the blockstrings I can think of, cool? Aside from the ones up there, here are more:

1. 5B > 2B > AoA

2. Killrush > A Hook > Sweep

2. (when the opponent is at the corner, thinking they can't get crossed up) 5AA > EX Duck > B Corkscrew

3. 2A x N > 2C

4. 2A > 5B(1 hit) > Sweep into Killrush/AoA

5. 5B > 2B > D Duck > Throw

6. 5B > 2B > D Weave (to cool off pressure when opponent is in the corner and might evade)

7. 5AA > 5B(1 hit) > 2C (0f on block)

8. 5AA > 5B > C Weave > B Hook (+3f on block)

9. 5AA > 5B > Sweep > C/D Weave > Sweep/5C

10. 5A/2A > Jump cancel for cross up > j.5B

11. Anything > A Hook > Short hop > j.5B

12. 2A > C Duck > Throw (really good tick throw)

13. Anything > A Hook > D Weave > 5C

14. Anything > A Hook > AoA

15. Anything > B Hook > wait till it's done to be at 3f advantage

16. 5AA > 5B(1 hit) > C Duck > reset pressure

17. Anything > A Hook > EX Duck immediately > B Corkscrew

18. Killrush > A Hook > EX Duck > A Hook > C Duck > B+D > wtv combo you feel like (starting with a hook into B+D scales really well for you to be able to do a pretty big combo, as opposed to starting with B+D)

19. 5AA > 5B (1 hit) > C Duck > D/C Weave > EX Duck > B Corkscrew

20. 2A > wait till it recovers > dash towards em > back dash back to bait their throw tech > forward dash into 5B

21. Anything > Sweep > C Duck > B+D immediately > hit confirm into 236236C (only good for using when you are desperate and low on health)

22. Anything > A Hook > Weave/Duck > A Hook/EX Hook

23. (At corner) Hold 5D > 5AA > 5B > 2B > let go of 5D > Sweep > Killrush > A Hook > B Corkscrew > wait till opponent gets up > super jump IAD behind them for a cross up j.5B

24. 5AA > 5B (1 hit) > C Duck > Short hop > j.5B > hit confirm 2A into a blockstring or an attackstring.

Some notes to think about:

- 2A > C Duck > Throw is good because 2A has less blockstun than 5A, so you can cancel from 2A into C Duck into grab immediately.

- 5B has the same blockstun for both hits, but different hitstun for both hits (first hit has more hitstun).

- 5AA creates a vacuum effect that can be used to make cross-up opportunities at the corner.

- 5D also allows cross-up opportunities at the corner.

- You generally don't want to cancel a sweep into a duck, since a lot of people see it coming and just DP.

- 5C is faster and has longer range than 2C, but it doesn't mask its obvious overhead as well as 2C does (since you're crouching, making the opponent think you're gonna do a low).

- 2C is 0f on block, compared to 5C which is -5f on block.

- First hit of B+D is air-unblockable

- Use 2B for anti-airs a lot, and if it counters, just wait a bit and then do a forward jump into j.5B. If you're outta range, you gotta jump back and then forward aerial dash into j.5B.

- 5B(1 hit) > AoA/Sweep is a really fast high/low mix-up game.

- Use Akihiko's safe jump option select for oki, most of the time. You usually do it after a level 2 corkscrew near the corner, dash for two steps, IAD, j.5B close to the ground while holding block, hit confirm from there.

- C Duck recovers faster than C Weave, so if you want to reset pressure after 5B/2B, you'll have to make risks based on that. C Weave is good for keeping distance.

- 2A has a slightly longer hitbox than 5A, but scales more (???). Preferable for approaching from neutral game when you don't IAD instead.

- Usually, you condition folks with A Hook > Sweep stuff, and then you switch it up for the next blockstring into an AoA or something.

- Watch Moke (Top PSR Aki), Kubo, and Domi (not Dobi, his Aki still needs some work to be up there with the Aki gods). You can find their videos in the video section here that I posted. I also posted some stuff in the general discussion. I'll post all the recent ones of the top Aki players here, after an edit.

- Watch out for frameholes with Akihiko that work as combos but not as blockstrings, like 5A > Sweep, and 5B(1hit) > A Hook.

- Depending on which parry you do, you get meter if you wait for the thumbs up animation. EX Parry gives you lots of meter.

- Parry makes your whole body invincible during the whole animation, so you can use it to parry unblockables.

- 5D > EX Corkscrew makes you safe.

- 5D when you're at the corner and the opponent is approaching you > evade. Very good for switching spots at the corner.

- There are some people you can pressure for free on wakeup, like S.Lab, Labrys, Chie, Elizabeth, and Yukiko. I'll list the ways you can do it...

Yukiko: You can meaty sweep her just out of range of your hurtbox, so that your sweep clashes with her DP.

Elizabeth: Option select 5A > 5B > 44. If she blocks, your 5B comes out, if she DPs, you backdash after whiffing your 5A. Also works with 2A.

Chie: Meaty 2A and hitconfirm into a jump-cancel to block her parry attack in the air.

Labrys: Any easy meaty attack that can be cancelled into a DP or a B Parry.

S.Lab: The same as Labrys but harder.

Videos:

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?14482-P4A-Akihiko-Video-Critique-Discussion-Thread/page4&p=1480391&viewfull=1#post1480391

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/showthread.php?14482-P4A-Akihiko-Video-Critique-Discussion-Thread/page4&p=1490884&viewfull=1#post1490884

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAk330-a6kg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJVRN1S_pJE&t=14m30s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKH_AXwldLA&feature=youtu.be&t=17m (He's spread throughout the video)

I didn't link some others because they weren't really playing their best, like Kubo against Mute etc.

[Elochai]

Thanks a ton! Greatly appreciate it.

[Soriphen]

I added some more stuff, so check it! I gotta fact check some stuff, since I'm doing this all by memory and some of the things there I haven't used in a while, but everything should be correct.

[Skye]

It's worth noting in better depth to gauge your pressure strings, once it comes down to it, your opponent can avoid your shenanigans with either dp or dodge, so sometimes it's better to end your strings early or go for some DP baits (besides the OS oki).

My usual routes starts with staggers and resetting pressure;

5a x N

5aa > 5b (1) > 236c, reset pressure

This makes them worry about blocking and upsets them into doing something, this makes it easier to dp bait;

killrush > a hook > d weave (gets past some dps)

5aa > 5b > 2b > 2c (perfectly spaced 2c that is dp safe and can punish most dp attempts, common worst case scenario, you lose a persona card, big whoop -- untested on (SH) Labrys, may not work)

killrush > a hook > d duck > EX weave (one of the best dp baits Akihiko can use, it gets through all dps except Elizabeth's and you can react to hers with AoA. Also a great throw bait on everyone but Kanji, you can punish the whiffed throw with corkscrew and net an easy 3/4k, all you need is 25 sp)

killrush > a hook > c weave > EX hook (this is the dp bait you want to use if you know you can punish them for trying it right away, a better punish, but not as versatile, since it has armor, many skilled players can cancel into a super to punish you, this is one thing to throw out unexpectedly)

5a, cross up jump (gets past most dps and will give you a freebie vs the counter-type dps)

Once you feel comfortable enough you explore other less safe options, one good conditioning method is duck > grab, with will get the better of some players, one thing I've noticed is that most players react to the duck, not the throw. This means once their trained to react to duck > grab, you can do something along the lines of duck > AoA, and get a free 3-5k, or c duck > d weave and a cork on reaction to them trying to throw break. Throwing your opponent is good for Akihiko, because people often like to roll his pressure, and midscreen that's his best punish for it, it trains them to not roll as much, which only leaves you to worry about the dp.

Just my 2 bitty cents.

[Codename Exia]

Thanks for the notes on pressure strings -- I needed some more ideas! I often do duck grab for the exact reason you stated, but I totally forgot that it would condition my opponents like that. Time to pull out some more tricks.

[Alpha152]

Here's a video to help visualize how some of his already mentioned frame traps look like, as well as some other info. http://youtu.be/tK3nFG25oz0

[Soriphen]

Did you make this? If you did, you are da bess! Otherwise, <3 for the link! I haven't ever dealt with a wiki article, but, think it'd be cool if we compile all this info in it?

[Alpha152]

Ya that would be cool. There's a few more traps you can do with casear and SB Hook but I'm sure people can just calculate the gap to see if it's any good.

[Zangriefing]

Thank you, based Alpha. Now this is pod racing.

[deepshock]

This will really help. Thanks, Alpha!

[Nizzy]

Okay, so i've already done all the challenges with Akihiko except mission 27, because for the love of all holy things, i can't connect with second boomerang hook. What am i doing wrong?

Also, what would be the most important things to learn with Aki? And any cool tips?