The Basics

Virtua Fighter 2: The Lau Fighting Guide
LAU FAQ v0.9 02 November 1995

written by Colin Leong <[email protected], [email protected]>


INTRODUCTION
-LAU
-TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS FAQ
THE BASICS
-LAU'S MOVES
-HIT LEVELS AND BLOCKING
-PRACTICAL USAGE OF THE "G" BUTTON
-COUNTERS, RECOVERY AND RECOVERY POSITION
-WHAT'S STANDING/CROUCHING GOT TO DO WITH THROWS?
-MORE ABOUT THROWS
-FOOT POSITION
-THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LOW PUNCH
-MOVEMENT
-THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREEN AND PURPLE LAU


------------
INTRODUCTION
------------

VF2 is truly a complex game. There are so many options available when you play, that the discussion of these options have taken up a large proportion of the postings on rec.games.video.arcade since January 1995. So large, in fact, that several people have actually commented that when reading r.g.v.a, they feel like they are in the alt.games.vf2 newsgroup. Those posters who have contributed to this sense of VF2 supremacy, we know who we are, don't we? 8)
Due to the complexity of the game, several people have attempted to write strategy guides for different characters. Chia Jin Ngee's wonderfully massive VF2 FAQ, at first glance, seems to be overwhelmingly detailed, yet it still proves to be impossible to master the game mechanics from the FAQ alone. Even the strategy guides sometimes seem woefully inadequate, but we do try to make them as useful as possible.
Chia's VF2 FAQ, currently in version 3.0, is still a must-read document, encompassing as much game information as possible without being excessively lengthy. The FAQ is available from Andy Eddy's ftp site at <ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/vi/vidgames/faqs>,
or for those without ftp access, check out Lars' The Home of VIRTUA FIGHTER webpage, at http://www.digiweb.com/~vfhome/vfhome.htm for the most up-to-date information on Virtua Fighter, and most FAQs.

* LAU *

Lau Chan is the father of Pai Chan. His fighting style is classified as Koenken, translated as Tiger-Swallow Fist. Lau's fighting style involves a lot of single hand strikes and punches. In the right hands, Lau's floating ability, more often than not, spells either KO or RO for the opponent. Lau is up there with Kage as one of the Kings of Ring Out.
This FAQ is dedicated to teach you how to utilise Lau to his fullest potential. If you are in one of those locations that view RO as "cheap", then you're in the wrong place. 8) Seriously, Lau's potential is only maximised in an arena where he can threaten Ring Out. His power floats are still devastating enough to KO, but Lau's natural inclination is to push his opponents backwards. Best to find some place where RO's are not a big issue, to practise... When you're practiced enough, you'll know how not to RO, but still do big damage.
The FAQ contains information for the beginner as well as the accomplished. Most intermediate players will still benefit from reading the Basics section, although it covers some information that you probably already know. This FAQ specialises in fighting against human opponents, but a section on fighting the CPU has also been included for those who have difficulty on the upper stages of the game.
The following section covers terms used in this document.

* TERMINOLOGY USED IN THIS FAQ *

P - Punch
K - Kick
G - Guard (Defense)
, - move separator
+ - press together, eg P+G means press P and G together
All - Punch+Kick+Guard
d - tap down on the joystick
f,f - tap forwards twice
U - hold up on the joystick
d/f - the diagonal direction between down and forward
b+K - tap back and press K together
FC - from crouching position
UpKn - lifting palm (see Moves)
DnKn - knife hand (see Moves)
m-UpKn - modified lifting palm (see MOVE ANALYSIS, Advanced Moves)
reverse(-sals) - special move to catch attacks; only Akira, Pai, Kage and Wolf possess these moves. See Joji's Akira FAQ for more info. Lau does NOT have reversals.
countering - hitting the opponent before they fully recover from their
attack. See COUNTERS, RECOVERY AND RECOVERY POSITION, and also INTERRUPTION.
frames - a period of time equal to 1/60th of a second. This is
because VF2 runs at 60 fps (frames per sec).
floating - the action of continuing to hit a knockdown character
before he completely hits the floor.

----------
THE BASICS
----------

I have attempted to include all the tips that I can remember for the game basics. Lau's movelist includes the move, description, damage, recovery and recovery posture. Please send all corrections or additions to my email address above.
Usage of the movelist: the statistics shown for each compound move refer to the LAST move indicated. Eg. the stats listed for P,P,K is the damage, execution/hit/recovery time, hit level etc for the _kick_. To find the stats for the second punch, look under P,P.

* LAU'S MOVES *

Legend:
Damage - Self-explanatory! Given in points (NOT percent)
Exe - Execution time (frames)
Hit - Hit detection time (frames)
Rec - Recovery time (frames)
Lvl - Hit level (high=H, mid=M, low=L, ground=G)
Reverse - Move can be reversed by: A=Akira, P=Pai, K=Kage, W=Wolf
Pos - Recovery position (S=standing, C=crouching)

Basic Moves Damage Exe Hit Rec Lvl Description Reverse Pos
----------- ------ --- --- --- --- ------------ ------- ---
P 12 9 2 10 H high punch A,P,K S
d+P 10 10 2 8 L low punch A C
K 30 12 4 22 H high kick A,P S
d+K 10 14 2 22 L low kick A C
d/f+K 23 14 3 25 M sidekick A,P,W S

Hopping attacks Damage Exe Hit Rec Lvl Description Reverse Pos
---------------- ------ --- --- --- --- ----------- ------- ---
P (same time) 30 24 7 16 M Hopping Knife S
P (ascending 30 51 4 20 M Landing punch S
K (same time) 20 27 2 16 M Hop kick I P S
K (ascending) 30 35 2 21 M Hop kick II P S
u/f+K 30 24 3 25 M Cartwheel kick S
u/f+K+D 32 17 4 24 M Hop Roundhouse S
K (descending) 20 54 3 28 L Hopping sweep C ?

Turning attacks Damage Exe Hit Rec Lvl Description Reverse Pos
--------------- ------ --- --- --- --- ----------- ------- ---
P 12 12 2 18 H Turning punch I A,P S
d+P 14 15 4 -- L
+ 14 18 2 15 L Double low swipes S
D+P 12 14 5 21 H Turning punch II S
K 36 12 2 30 H Turning kick I A,P S
d+K 36 21 8 18 L Turning split kick S
D+K 36 15 3 36 H Turning kick II S

Other Lau moves Damage Exe Hit Rec Lvl Description Reverse Pos
--------------- ------ --- --- --- --- ----------- ------- ---
P,K 30 14 4 38 H Punch-kick A,P S
P,P 12 8 2 15 H 2 running punches A,P,K S
P,P,K 30 14 4 24 H 2 punches & kick A,P S
P,P,P 14 10 2 18 H 3 running punches A,P,K S
P,P,P, K 50 17 7 40 H 3P + high crescent S
P,P,P, d+K 40 18 5 43 L 3P + low sweep S
P,P,P, u/b+K 20 10 3 18 M 3P + flip kick S
(OR b+K)
P, K+G 20-40 18 4 34 H punch & crescent S
P, d+K+G 20-40 22 4 34 L punch & sweep C
d/f+P (near) 15 15 3 22 M Knife Hand, also A,P,K S
(far) 15 17 3 20 M known as DnKn A,P,K S
d/f+P,P 12 10 2 14 H Knife and punch A,P,K S
(aka DnKnP)
d/f+P,P,K 30 14 2 26 H Knife-punch & kick A,P S
(aka DnKnPK)
d/f+P,P,P 14 10 2 18 H Knife & 2 punches A,P,K S
d/f+P,P,P, K 50 17 7 40 H Knife, 2 punches S
and high crescent
d/f+P,P,P, d+K 40 18 5 43 L Knife, 2 punches S
and low sweep
d/f+P,P,P, u/b+K 20 10 3 18 M Knife, 2 punches S
(OR b+K) and flip kick
FC, d/f+P 20 13 3 22 M Lifting Palm A,P,K S
(aka the infamous UpKn)
d/f,d/f+P 20 23 4 18 M Lunging KnifeHand A,P,K S
(aka LgKn)
f+P 19 11 2 21 M Elbow strike A,P S
d/b+P 14 19 3 22 H Overhead elbow A,P,K S
f+K 19 15 2 15 M Snap kick A,P S
FC, release+K 40 14 4 30 M Heel kick A,P S
K+G 30-50 24 6 24 H Crescent kick S
d+K+G 20-35 24 6 32 L Sweep C
u/b+K 40 20 2 34 M Flip kick S
f,d+K 30 21 3 30 L Double-footed sweep A C
(aka Sliding Tackle)

Lau's Throws Damage Recvr Opp's Rec Description Escape
------------ ------ ----- --------- ----------- ------
P+G 40 109 Ground Waterwheel Drop P+G
b,f+P 60 164 Ground Face Grab Nil
b+P 50 98 Ground Shoulder Drop Nil
b,d+P+G 10 59 93 Stumble Throw Nil

Lau's Pounces Damage Exe Hit Rec Lvl Description
------------- ------ --- --- --- --- -----------
d/f+K 15 21 8 51 G Foot Stomp
u+P 30 32 7 60 G Single Flying Stomp
u+P -- 32 7 23 - Single Flying Stomp (miss)
U+P(first stomp) 25 33 6 -- G
(second stomp) 15 90 6 59 G Double Flying Stomp
U+P -- 33 6 29 - Double Flying Stomp (miss)

* HIT LEVELS AND BLOCKING *

There are three attack levels in the game (not counting aerial and ground) - high, middle and low; and two defensive positions - standing and crouching. Basically, high attacks will only hit standing non-defenders, mid attacks hit crouching characters and standing non-defenders, and low attacks hit standing characters and crouching non-defenders.

In table form:

Attack HIGH MID LOW CAN BE THROWN BY
------ ----- --- --- ----------------
Standing Vulnerable Hit Hit Hit All
Crouching Vulnerable Missed Hit Hit Jeff/Wolf/Dural
Standing Defending Blocked Blocked Hit All
Crouching Defending Missed Hit Blocked Jeff/Wolf/Dural

Notice that I use the term "vulnerable" instead of "non-defender". This is because there are times where you can be holding the Guard button and still not be in a defensive position (while you are in move recovery, for example).
How can you attack a standing defender? By using either low attacks, or standing throws. Hit crouching defenders using mid-level attacks. Jeffry and Wolf have the added advantage of being able to throw crouchers. Pai can cartwheel over a crouching opponent, but it is not as advantageous as Wolf's or Jeffry's anti-croucher throws. Also, certain moves, when hitting a crouching opponent, will cause them to stagger. See STAGGERS, later.
The GamestMook VF2 Act 1 mentions that a defending character, when hit by an attack of the appropriate level, will take less damage than when in the same position but not defending. Eg, a kickflip that hits a crouching defender will do less damage than to a crouching non-defender.

* PRACTICAL USAGE OF THE "G" BUTTON *

When beginners play Virtua Fighter, they see three buttons: one Punch, one Kick, and one that they have NO idea how to use - Guard (also known as Defense, but we use Guard to avoid confusion with Down notations). What in the world is a Guard button for!?
Most of the time, people who start playing Virtua Fighter also have some basic knowledge in SF2-type 2D fighting games. So when playing VF2, they will tend to hold down/back as a defensive position. This mistake is hard to correct, as it is an instinctive action. But against good VF2 players, the SF2 block syndrome spells instant disaster.
To block, hold the Guard button. It's that simple. Well, no it isn't. As you have seen from the table in the previous section, no one defensive position is completely safe from assault. Blocking in VF2 requires good
knowledge of the opponent's attacks' hit levels. This is not too difficult to learn, as most attacks can be seen to aim at their respective hit levels very prominently. (There are other not-so-obvious attacks - later.)
So simply, to block standing, hold Guard and leave the joystick either in neutral, forward or backwards. To block crouching, hold Guard with the joystick in any of the down positions. Yes, even down/forward.
The mechanics of VF2 are such that all characters have a very substantial array of attacks designed to hit crouching defenders. The instinct to crouch and Guard against every single attack also must be overcome. The consequences of stubbornly crouch defending are most evident during a match of a novice player against a beginner Akira. The Akira player will just try to dashing elbow all over the place. When the novice player panics and sets his Guard and starts crouching, Akira's elbow strikes will cause the novice to stagger. If Akira is slightly slow with the repeated elbows, the novice will _continue_ to stagger all the way until RO or KO.
(The correct way of blocking Akira's dashing elbow, a mid-level attack, and any mid-level attack is - you guessed it - to stand and hold Guard.)
Obviously, it's not a good idea to stay upright defending all the time, either. Through experience, and fighting with other people, you will learn when to block high and when to block low, and when you shouldn't be blocking but should be attacking instead, or moving.
The Guard button is also employed in movement. When you dash forwards or backwards using doubletaps, you can hit the G button to stop yourself before moving the entire length of the dash. If you hit and hold the G
button during a dash, you will instantly come to a standing block position. You can also stop in the middle of a RUN by using the G button. Use G taps during movement to fine-tune your positioning, which is crucial when it comes down to whether you avoid your opponent's attack, or are forced to block it.
One other function of the Guard button is the much-hyped Guard-cancel. In this game, there are certain strings of moves that are executed by specific strings of button presses. The most obvious example is the PPPK series, which Kage, Lau, Sarah and Pai have, and to a certain extent, Jacky as well. Tapping G in the middle of the sequence, say after two punches, and hitting the third P and the subsequent K, will end up with the character punching twice, then doing a punch-kick.
The G-cancel, if employed before any pre-defined series of moves (eg PPPK) is finished, will allow the move to recover slightly faster. A popular use of the G-cancel is in Sarah's elbow stagger-kickflip sequence. Against a crouching enemy, Sarah throws an elbow which staggers the opponent. The Sarah player then taps G, u/b+K for the kickflip. This allows the kickflip to execute with minimal delay after the elbow. To kickflip without the G-cancel, Sarah must delay the kickflip command slightly, resulting in a kickflip that is slower by a handful of frames. (If without the G-cancel, Sarah does not delay the kickflip, she will perform a backflip without a kick, due to the lingering potential for the elbow-knee.)
Jacky's elbow stagger-kickflip sequence is similar, but his kickflip, unlike his sister's, has a "built-in" G-cancel. Jacky's kickflip can be done by hitting u/b+K+G instead of u/b+K. It is the same move; in fact, all situations requiring Jacky to kickflip can be done with the u/b+K+G. (Sarah, if attempting to use the u/b+K+G, will backflip instead of kickflip.) Thus, Jacky can just elbow stagger a crouching opponent, then tap u/b+K+G for the followup kickflip, eliminating the need for a separate G-cancel. On the other hand, if Jacky does NOT G-cancel the kickflip after the elbow, either by tapping G before or with the kickflip, the u/b+K will produce Jacky's heelkick instead.
Some of Lau's fighting tactics also involve the G-cancel function, though it may not be that evident to the observer.

* COUNTERS, RECOVERY AND RECOVERY POSITION *

What is a counter? Basically, it refers to hitting your opponent with an attack, during a part of his move. Hitting the opponent before his move's hit detection begins, or while his hit detection is active, is called a Major Counter. (Hitting as a Major Counter is more commonly referred to as interrupting the attack, or simply an interrupt.) Hitting the opponent during his move's recovery phase is called a Minor Counter. Throws can also register as Major or Minor Counters.
Major Counter attacks register a substantially larger amount of damage than the normal attack value. Minor Counters also register more damage than normal, but slightly less in comparison. Knockdown moves that hit as a counter will also float opponents higher than normal, possibly for a good floater combo.
Generally a major counter hit will do 1.5 times more damage, and a minor counter hit will do 1.25 times. For more accurate details on counter damage, see the Akira FAQ on Part II, (3) Misc Information, under Damage.
"Counterable" and "uncounterable" normally refer to the ability of the opponent to get free hits after blocking an attack (as a minor counter, ie. hitting while you are still in move recovery). Akira's double palm, when blocked, can be countered with a throw, a punch-kick or any power move. Akira's double palm is thus considered counterable by all characters. His dashing elbow (f,f+P), though, is uncounterable when blocked. Even the fastest attacks of any character cannot touch Akira as a counter after his dashing elbow.
Akira's single dashing palm, though, can be counterattacked by everybody's PK except Jeffry and Wolf - the two heavies' punches are a frame too slow to counter the single palm.
During your opponent's move recovery, as the attacker you have two things to note - one, whether you have enough time to counterattack; and two, which body position the opponent recovers in, either standing or crouching. It is obviously a waste of time trying to PK Pai after her d+K+G low sweep. The recovery position is especially important when deciding how to punish a missed attack. You can't pull a standing throw on Kage after his rolling sweep, either...
I will attempt to cover in depth about recovery positions when discussing tactics against other human players.

* WHAT'S STANDING/CROUCHING GOT TO DO WITH THROWS? *

This is obvious... a standing throw can only be pulled off on a standing character. Likewise, a crouching throw can only be pulled off on a croucher. Most characters do not have a crouch throw, which is a privelege that only belongs to Jeffry, Wolf and Dural (see the table under HIT LEVELS AND BLOCKING, above, for a tabular representation).
It technically takes 20 frames for a character to go from a standing position to a crouching position. The first ten frames, the character is still considered to be a standing character for the purposes of throwing. Only in the second ten frames is he considered to be crouching. If you throw a low punch or kick, you will be _instantly_ in a crouching position. This can make the difference between getting thrown and staying alive. Similar but not quite as useful, is the fact that if you throw a normal punch, you can also instantly stand from a crouch position.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. When you tap f,f or b,b, for a forward or backward dash, you will automatically be standing. Similarly, if at any time you engage a low dash, you will automatically be crouching.
this is the reason why some people seem to get standing throws just after the opponent low punches - the opponent tapped f,f to close in, unwittingly standing in throw range.

* MORE ABOUT THROWS *

The basic throw that every character will have is the P+G throw. In Lau's case, this is his Waterwheel Drop that Sarah escapes out of in the game's introduction.
The simple P+G throw is the easiest throw to execute, not requiring any joystick motions. However, the throw victim can escape the throw by hitting P+G within 10 frames of execution of the P+G throw. In Lau's case, the escaped Waterwheel Drop switches the positions of the fighters around 180 degrees, and both fighters recover at the same time.
With the exception of Jeffry's Body Press (b+P+G; b+P+G to escape), all other complex throws cannot be escaped from. However, it is important to note that the P+G throw has priority over all other throws, if the proper throw conditions are satisfied. Meaning, if Lau happens to hit P+G at the same time that Kage goes for b+P, Lau will end up throwing Kage.
Complex throw instructions can be entered while holding the Guard button, but the final direction+buttonpress must be entered with Guard released. For example, in the instance of Lau's b,f+P Face Grab, G can be held while buffering the back component. G must be released prior to hitting f+P, though, otherwise the throw will not execute. This is true for all characters in the game - Jeffry's backbreaker can also be done this way.
Evidently, when the opponent is attacking, he cannot be thrown while his attack is executing (unless the attack is the type that "dodges" first; for example, Sarah's dodge-punch can be thrown while she is dodging to the side), and during the hit detection. You can only throw the opponent during the recovery stages of his move.

* FOOT POSITION *

There are two types of foot positions, or stances: closed and open. These are represented below:
CLOSED OPEN
<Player A>===<Player B> <Player A>========<Player B>
(L (R (L R)
R) L) R) (L
Basically, at the closest range possible in either stance, the two players will be closest together in CLOSED stance (due to foot overlapping), and further away from each other in OPEN stance. This is why it is more difficult to throw an opponent while in open stance.
Some mid-level attacks which have notoriously short range, like Lau's elbow and lifting palm, will entirely miss against a crouching defender in open stance. This is why it is more advantageous for Lau (and most players) to maintain a closed stance while on the offense, and try to keep an open stance while on defense.
There are ways, however, to get around the open stance "minimum safety distance" problem, though. One way is to use the run-and-stumble method (detailed below, in MOVEMENT) to bring the bodies especially close, even in closed stance (though I suspect that the constant foot position change while running has something to do with it). The alternative is to switch stances, which is not an easy task when using Lau. If anyone comes up with
a better way to close the minimum separation in open stance, let me know.

* THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LOW PUNCH *

In Singapore, the low punch is an essential part of VF2 gameplay. Low punches are short and weak, but fast. At close range, low punches can interrupt most moves designed to hit crouchers, such as sidekicks and elbows.
Low punches are normally used as harrassment, and also a starting point for bigger attacks. One of the most common uses of the low punch harrassment is the low punch-elbow sequence popularised by Kage players (who tend to over-rely on stagger, PK and sweep). Similarly, Lau can also use this form of harrassment.
Other low punch-xxx techniques include low punch-throw, low punch-sliding tackle, low punch-sidekick. But perhaps the most important implications of the low punch is that Lau is crouching and ready to go into a lifting palm sequence. Be warned, though; the low punch-xxx does not guarantee execution of the following move. It is still possible to be interrupted before your follow-up attack fully materialises.
As mentioned above in the section on throws, low punching is one way to get out of standing throws before the opponent can pull the throw. As a low punch makes the player crouch instantaneously, he is no longer in the standing throw-vulnerable position.
The true power of the low punch is only evident when your opponent totally clams up under a close-up barrage. Once he stops trying to attack your low punch sequence, you're basically free to do anything - move up and b,f+P! The low punch is one way with which you take the initiative away from your opponent - by creating the illusion that he must block. Once your opponent takes the defensive stance, then you're free to do all sorts of funny things to him, depending on his block position.

* MOVEMENT *

There are several different types of movement techniques that you should attempt to master. Dashing is done by a double tap in either the back or forward direction, and running is done by double tap forwards and hold forward, from long distance. You can control the distance of the dash, limiting it by tapping the Guard button to stop short.
Inching is done by holding the joystick in the forward or backward direction. An interesting feature of inching is that if you inch while the opponent is getting off the ground, you will automatically switch foot positioning to match a closed stance formation. This is particularly advantageous when pressing the attack.
VF2 allows your character to run forward without much restriction, except when facing an opponent. Upon reaching 3 metres (game distance) of the opponent, the running character will immediately slow to inching movement. At this distance, it is still much too far to attack. The way around this is to release the joystick, somewhere just before the 3 metre mark, causing the running character to stumble into a stop, but in this case _much_ closer to the opponent (usually within throw range). This is known as the run-and-stumble method of movement.
This technique is still in frequent use, mainly employed as a means to do running throws from a distance. Of course, when the opponents start attempting to duck when you run in, you know it's time to rush in with the elbows...
Crouching movement is seldom used because it seems slower than normal standing movement. In a way, it is - you can't do a crouch run. 8) But
I'll try to explain the basics anyway.
Take a forward dash and analyze it. The motion is scripted as f,f. But your joystick will physically hit forward, neutral, forward. A crouch dash is similar to the standing dash, except that everything is done in the vertical position of "down" instead of "neutral". So to execute a forward crouch dash, the joystick should hit down/for, down, down/for. A crouch dash looks like a little squatting hop forward (or back), where the character st-ret-ches his legs to move while staying low.
Remember, though; at all times that the character is crouch dashing, he is considered a crouching vulnerable/non-defender. And also susceptible to crouch throws, even halfway during a crouch dash. You can still use the G button to fine-tune distances with the crouch dash, as with the standing dash.
Regular inching can also be done when crouching, by holding d/f or d/b (without holding Guard). But I haven't seen any character change stance automatically while in a crouching position yet (without doing any moves).

* THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREEN AND PURPLE LAU *

Is there a difference? you might wonder. And the answer is, in VF2, yes. The Green (Dragon) Lau will float his opponents higher than the Purple (Tiger) Lau. So what difference does that make?
The "classic" 7-hit stagger float combo (detailed later) can only be done by the Green Lau. When attempted by the Purple Lau, the second part of the combo will not connect. Similiarly, most m-UpKn float combos will fail when using Purple Lau, as his opponents hit the floor sooner.
This bug is fixed in VF2.1, making both Laus equally deadly, but whether by reducing the overall float power or increasing Purple's to match Green's, I don't know. This FAQ only details fighting in VF2. If VF2.1 ever appears, I will probably consider writing a VF2.1 version. 8)