Controls
- Sengoku Basara X CROSS (SBX) uses a notation known as Numpad Notation.
Think of your controller's analog stick or D-Pad as if it were the num pad on a computer keyboard. When none of the buttons are being pressed/the stick is not being tilted then the controller is in state 5. This simply means you aren't inputting a direction. The 4 cardinal buttons on a D-Pad are represented with the numbers 4-Left, 6-Right, 8-Up, 2-Down. The diagonals are represented with the numbers 7-Up-Left, 9-Up-Right, 1-Down-Left, 3-Down-Right.
Below is a table showing the layout visually.
7 | 8 | 9 |
4 | 5 | 6 |
1 | 2 | 3 |
Attack Buttons
Because SBX is only available in Japanese, and most tech is recorded in Japanese, it's important to establish parity between the English Community, Japanese Community, and In-Game Notation. Below is a table breaking down the correlation.
Notation | English | Japanese | Command-List Icon |
---|---|---|---|
A | Light Attack | 弱Short For "弱攻撃" | |
B | Medium Attack | 中Short For "中攻撃" | |
C | Heavy Attack | 強Short For "強攻撃" | |
E | Reinforcements | 援軍Engun |
NOTE: While the names of attack directly correlate to using LMH for names to keep it inline with Japanese resources Dustloop will use ABC for move names
Movement
= Dash (or Step)
- Dashes move the character forward at a greater speed than walking. Hold after starting a dash to run.
= Backdash
- Backdashes move the character a preset distance and have some amount of invincibility.
= Super Jump
- After a Super Jump, you cannot double jump, but you can air dash. Pressing or will have you super jump diagonally in the specified direction. You can use any downward direction for the input - doing will still give you a Super Jump.
(In Air) or = Air Dash
- Dash in the specified direction in mid-air. Air dashes quickly cover a lot space, but you cannot block during the first few frames of air dashing. Also during the first few frames of air dashing you are in counter hit state.
(In Air) = Double Jump
- Jump again while in the air. Alternatively you can press or to double jump in the specified direction.
or = Instant Air Dash (IAD)
- IAD is a way to perform an Air Dash as soon as possible after a jump.
Offense
Normals
Normals require nothing more than a single press of a button, and are your main means of attacking. There is a different variation for each when done standing, crouching, or jumping.
They can also cancel into one another, usually in ascending order of strength, i.e. A > B > C. This is known as a Gatling.
Command Normals
A command normal is performed by pressing a specific direction with a specific button.
Every character has a 6B attack which hits overhead.
Throw and Air Throw
Throws are done by inputting 4C or 6C near the opponent with the opponent being thrown depending on the direction.
Air throws are done by inputting 4C or 6C near the opponent in the air with the opponent being thrown depending on the direction. Masamune, Yukimura, Hideyoshi, and Motonari are the only characters with air throws.
If two throws happen from both you and the opponent they are both canceled out which is known as a "throw tech". But unlike most games SBX dose not have a throw tech window meaning that both you and the opponent have to input a throw on the exact same frame in order from them to be canceled out. So realistically speaking throws can't be teched.
Despite the game having proximity throws if you have pixel perfect positioning they can whiff. While this can happen to everyone your throw whiffing happens more against Yukimura then any other character.
BlowBack Attack
Blowback Attacks are done by pressing 5B+C. Upon hitting the opponent you can input 6 to run after them. They can be charged and if fully charged it sends the opponent flying towards the wall where you can also input 6 to run after the opponent. If the opponent blocks a fully charged Blowback Attack they will be sent flying towards the wall but the opponent can mash the buttons and joystick to stop themself from hitting the wall. When the opponent hits the wall after a fully charged Blowback Attack your attacks make the opponent stick to the wall.
There are also non Blowback Attack that have this fully charged blowback state on hit like Oichi's 623A.
Aerial Attack
Aerial Attacks are done by pressing 2B+C. On hit you can jump cancel so you can do an air combo (the jump cancel does not consume air options). During this Aerial Attack state your can cancel all of your air normals into a double jump or an airdash.
Aerial Spike
During an Aerial Attack combo you can input j.2C to do an attack that sends the opponent down into an knockdown.
Dizzy
When hitting the opponent an invisible dizzy gauge fills up. When the opponent is dizzy the opponent can mash to escape the dizzy. If the opponent is dizzy in the air the opponent can't air tech.
Basara Gauge
Basara gauge is gained automatically and also by attacking the opponent. If you have one bar of Basara Gauge you can do a Basara move (a.k.a super) which costs you one bar. You can have up to five bars of Basara gauge represented by the small yellow balls next to your super. After doing a Basara move you can't gain any Basara gauge for a while.
Ichigeki Gauge
Next to your Basara gauge is an orb called the Ichigeki gauge. It is filled by doing certain actions that give you "skill points" which fill up your Ichigeki gauge (this google doc has an full list of what gives skill points https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yXJiIxZZpLJevq0CW5SRgqchaMnls1UKkXM8jRk0H5g/edit). Once you have 100 skill points, your Ichigeki gauge will glow then you can enter Ichigeki mode by pressing A+B+C for a limited time. During this mode you can do a Basara K.O which instantly kills the opponent. You can only do one Basara K.O per game. You are unable to do another Basara K.O if it whiffs or if the Ichigeki mode dissipates. When your Ichigeki gauge is full, your Basara gauge gain is increased.
Reinforcements
Reinforcement Call
At the start of the game your are not able to use your reinforcements. In order to use them you have to call them by pressing the E button where a timer will start indicated by a horse icon. During the timer, your reinforcement level does not go up. Once the horse reaches the line your reinforcements will arrive on the field where you can use them. Your reinforcements are automatically called at level 100.
Reinforcement Gauge
Once your reinforcements arrive on the field you can make them attack by pressing the E button and behave very similarly to Marvel versus Capcom assists. You can make them attack for as much reinforcement gauge (shown as the red bar) as you have with how much you have determined by your reinforcement level.
Once you use up all of your reinforcement gauge your reinforcements will enter into a cooldown where they can't be used until the cooldown is over with the cooldown length being determined by your reinforcement level. They can also enter into this cooldown period by being attacked. When the opponent attacks your reinforcements you and the opponent get a good chunk of Basara gauge. When you hit reinforcements you can do gatlings and special cancels.
Reinforcement Level
Your reinforcement level is represented as an number next to your reinforcement gauge that is constantly going up.
What level you call your reinforcements effects how long your cooldown period is and how much reinforcement gauge you have. Your reinforcements have 3 levels that they can have which upgrades the properties of your reinforcements which are:
- Level 1-49: Level 1 reinforcements
- Level 50-99: Level 2 reinforcements
- Level 100: Level 3 reinforcements
When your reinforcements are on the field they still gain levels only much slower. How much reinforcement gauge you have is determined by when you called your reinforcements and is not changed when they are on the field. For example if you called your reinforcements at level one they will only have one use even if over the course of the game they reach level 100. Your reinforcements can receive the upgrades at level 50 and 100 if they are on the field. As a rule of thumb most characters call their reinforcements at level 51 as that is the minimum for most characters to do infinites. Each character has a different reinforcement level gain rate.
Reinforcement Cancel
Whenever your reinforcements are hitting the opponent you can cancel whatever animation you are in similar fashion to guilty gear roman cancels. It doesn't matter if your attack hits or whiffs as long as your reinforcement is hitting the opponent.
Reinforcement Burst
Reinforcement burst is done by pressing E (or 8E if you have "Another") during the hitstun of your opponent's attacks. When done, your reinforcements will hit the opponent interrupting their combo. It requires one bar of Basara gauge and decreases your reinforcement level by 30 however the size of your reinforcement gauge will remain the same. The opponent during your burst can also press E to counter your burst.
Reinforcement Super
Reinforcement super is done by pressing 5E during your Basara move (it's always your 236236C super) which costs one extra bar for your reinforcements to attack during your Basara move doing more damage.
Defense
Blocking
Hold back or down-back to block high or low. Hold any backward direction to block while in midair.
- High block will not block lows
- Low block will not block overheads
- Air block will not block standing attacks
Guard Gauge
When you block any attack your guard gauge goes down. If it goes down all the way you are stunned. When you are using perfect guard your guard gauge won't go down.
Perfect Guard
Hold any two attack buttons besides reinforcements.
- Perfect Guard quickly drains your Basara guage (notably more than other arc system works titles)
- Perfect Guard pushes the opponent further away while blocking as well as negating chip damage
- Air Perfect Guard allows you to block grounded attacks.
- Basara guage spent increases based on how you block (standing < crouching < air)
- IMPORTANT: You can use Perfect Guard and Instant Block together
Instant Block
Begin blocking just before an attack hits you to perform an Instant Block.
- IBs reduce both blockstun and pushback, allowing you more opportunities to counter attack.
- IB does not negate chip damage, nor does it allow you to block "incorrectly". You must still high block overheads, and low block low attacks.
- IMPORTANT: You can use Perfect Guard and Instant Block together.
Guard Cancel
Pressing 6MH in conjunction with blocking an opponents attack makes you perform a counter attack.
- Consumes half of your guard gauge and 1 Basara Gauge
Teching
Pressing a button in conjunction with a direction after being attacked and left in the air allows you to perform a tech to regain control.
- Teching gives a small bit of invincibility right as it is pressed
Wakeup Timing
While knockdowned pressing 8 allows you to get up earlier then usual, while holding 2 allows you to get up slower then usual.
Recoverable Health
The yellow color on the health bar indicates current life energy. The blue bar underneath the yellow one represents the amount that can be recovered (which is notably quicker than other arc system works games with this mechanic). Recovery is slowed if the opponent is attacking and completely stops if the opponent is in the air or being attacked. Tadakatsu recovers blue life faster than any other character while Oichi recovers blue life slower than any other character. Nobunaga is unable to recover blue life unless he has souls or is in his 214214C install.
Misc
Super Double Jump Cancel
It is done by inputting 28 during a jump cancelable air normal. This results in your jump cancel becoming a super jump even though you are in the air. You can tell if you have done it successfully if you hear the super jump sound effect. In combos this shall be abbreviated as SDJC.
Jump Recovery Frames
When you land from an jump there are 6 frames where you can't block. This can be mitigated if you are perfect guarding but only if you land while perfect guarding. This makes safe jumps impossible.
Kurainige
Unlike most other fighting games when you are hit out of your pre-jump frames you are in an airborne hitstun state instead of an grounded hitstun state. This allows for an defensive technique (which the Japanese call "Kurainige") where if you jump on wakeup and if the opponent hits you during your pre jump frames the opponent will be unable to combo you and you can escape. This isn't as effective against characters who have good air to air or anti-air combos such as Yukimura or Hideyoshi.
Another
If you hold start during the character select screen the word "another" appears. In the game it's above your Basara gauge. another is an alternate control scheme where instead of pressing E+ any direction to do a reinforcement burst you have to do 8E to burst. This is the preferred control scheme as it allows you to tech and whiff punish with 2E without accidentally bursting.
It is also a litmus test to show that you are an experienced player in Japanese arcades. If you do not select another the other player will assume that you are a beginner and not do any infinites and if you do select another they will do infinites. "Smurfing" by not selecting another and proceeding to do infinites is highly frowned upon.
Brave
Brave is done by inputting 214214E. When done you receive 10 stylish points and your Reinforcements are permanently disabled. Try not to do this accidentally.
Black Combo Counter
If you do a combo that the opponent could have teched, the combo counter will be blacked out. Sometimes if you have the training CPU set to air tech they can still fail to tech the combo. So the best way to see if your combo is true is to look at the combo counter and see if it has gone black.
Space Vacation Infinite
By doing 30 hits in a combo and then landing an Aerial Attack, you can repeat your air normals forever going permanently up beyond. Here's a video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYZgQcN18s8
Track And Field Infinite
By doing a hit with any attack that causes a fully charged Blowback Attack state and then getting behind the opponent during this state, you can repeat the combo into infinity. Here's a video example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOFlb48vbaw.
Game Version Differences
The PS2 version is the version played on the SBX discord via the PCSX2 latest nightly emulator along with parsec. It should be noted though that PCSX2 does have at least 4 frames of input delay.
The PS2 has two exclusive characters: Kojuro and Hambe that aren't present in the arcade version.
The arcade version has an invisible ceiling offscreen. This means that in the arcade version you can reinforcement burst Space Vacation infinites even if you are offscreen (except for Maeda and Tadakatsu who's bursts don't go up as high). In the PS2 Version the invisible ceiling is either significantly higher or non existent. This mostly affects Hideyoshi's Space Vacation infinites. In the arcade version Hideyoshi can do j.B > j.C > ADC j.B > j.C to make his Space Vacation infinites more stable. But in the PS2 version any Space Vacation route that involves an air dash or an double jump will fail. Hideyoshi is also unable to do an Space Vacation infinite against Motonari on the PS2 version.
Easy controls are a feature exclusive on the PS2 version. They are selected by selecting the blue text on the character select screen. They are essentially Street Fighter 6 Modern Controls with no downsides. They are banned on the SBX discord.
The PS2 version has an option to bind the analog stick to movement. If you hold left or right with the analog stick and if you hold the D-pad left or right you can block both left and right at the same time invalidating crossups. The use of the analog stick is banned on the SBX discord.