Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo/M. Bison

Dictator's portrait in Super Turbo

Color Options

New Dictator Colors

New Dictator's color options in Super Turbo
To choose the "Hold" color, press and hold any button except Start for 2 seconds. To choose any other color, simply tap the desired button.

--Raisin (April 30, 2007)

Old Dictator Colors

Old Dictator's color options in Super Turbo
Old Dictator's input code is DUUD. Pressing Short simultaneously with Jab or Fierce will give you the alternate color.

--Raisin (April 30, 2007)

Move Analysis

Normal Moves

Note: If I don't mention what the move does, I'm not generally using it that much. My style may differ quite a bit from your Bison style, so if you find something that works, put it up here. =)

STANDING

LP - Bison does a quick standing jab, can be rapid fired to stop Honda's Torpedos and Blanka's Ball though it's not entirely reliable, useful in some anti-air situations.

MP - Bison does a body shot that can be used in ticks, also doubles as a throw command, can favorably trade with Dhalsim.

HP - Bison's main ground to air defense in lieu of a Knee Press Nightmare, also doubles as a throw command, can favorably trade with Dhalsim.

LK - Bison does a quick knee that is used mainly in combos and ticking.

MK- Bison's main "harassment" move. It is safe, beats fireballs, controls a large amount of space, and can be whiffed while charging to start a pindown.

HK- A slower version of MK. Deals really solid damage and has some of the same uses as MK. It is great as a whiff punisher for things such as OG Ken lp shoryu.

CROUCHING

HP - Bison does a slow punch while crouching, with correct timing it can be used to beat T.Hawk's splash, as well as other moves when used as an anti-air.

MK- This move is great as a meaty on wakeup because it can stuff even Shoryus with proper timing. Bufferable, on block can safely be used to setup an lk Scissor Kick for a pindown.

HK- Slide trip. Useful if opponent techs your tick throw. Also great for positioning with a knockdown. Quite unsafe on block.

JUMPING

Neutral LK- Gret priority, stays out for a really long time, low damage but it does beat a lot air to air.

Neutral MK/HK- Both stay out a decent amount of time, horizontal kick can stuff problem jump ins like Shoto j.hk quite well.

Diagonal LP - good cross-up potential, does low amount of dizzy, stays out until you hit the ground (or the opponent).

Diagonal MP: Connects up to three times, either on 2 jumps or three, can be comboed into after Kneepress Nightmare. Outprioritized and not as good as Ryu's jmp juggles in my opinion.

Diagonal MK: Great when used as an instant overhead, excellent cross-up, can stuff Blanka's Up Ball which comes into play very often.

Diagonal HK: Great crossup, big damage, easier to use than jMK on slimmer characters. Decent priority air to air.

Normal Throws

Bison can only throw with Strong and Fierce. He has no kick throws, but Bison can still tech throws with any medium or higher punch or kick even if Bison has no kick throws. This rule applies to all characters.

Special Moves

Psycho Crusher [B (charge), F+Punch] - Also known as the torpedo, Bison flies across the screen in flames. It can do a maximum of 3 blocked hits. The distance and the speed at which it travels depends on the strength of the punch. It has been severely weakened since Super SFII, no longer has great priority besides the Jab version. Can be used to escape corners at times and can also hit opponents from behind/underneath with ridiculous timing and a lot of balls. Generally, stick with the scissor kick. If you make a mistake you can easily corner yourself. Normals beat this far too easily.

Double Knee Press [B (charge), F+Kick] - Also known as the scissor kick, Bison kicks the opponent twice in a forward motion. The distance and speed at which it travels depends on the strength of the kick. When properly spaced to do only one hit, they can be quite safe and useful in pindown strategies. They also are quite useful for scoring knockdowns if opponent tries to counter standing kicks or do low attacks. Can be used as a ghetto anti air, unlike the Psycho Crusher which gets stuffed a lot.

Head Stomp [D (charge), U+Kick] - Bison flies towards the opponent and stomps their head with his boots. You can move very flexibly after the head stomp makes contact with a grounded opponent, but when the head stomp hits an airborn opponent, the control over mobility is not as flexible. Works well to get over fireballs.

Skull Diver [press punch after the head stomp makes contact with the opponent and before landing] - This is the punch that hits the opponent's head after head stomp. You can move left or right using the joystick while performing this move. The active hitting duration of the move depends on the strength of the punch. This can combo in really weird situations.

Devil Reverse [D (charge), U+punch, (optional) punch] - Bison jumps into the air and when the player presses another punch, he turns upside down midair and does a flaming punch. You can control the movement of the attack with the joystick. Learn how to control this as it can be a safe move to do. Also good for trying to charge up and get out of the corner.

Super Move

Super [B (charge), F,B,F+kick] - He does 2 scissor kicks in a row. It has invincible startup. It is Bison's only proper reversal attack.

--Laugh 03:56, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Remixed Changes

This section refers to HD Remix (360 / PS3)

New move:

         Fake Slide = DF + HK

The fake slide recovers much more quickly than the real slide, travels a shorter distance, and it does not put the enemy into blockstun because it can’t hit at all. It’s just a way to travel quickly (and then usually throw!).

Modified moves:

               Devil Reverse: Has 2 frames of invulnerability at startup, and
                              several more frames where feet and midsection are
                              invulnerable, so you can pass through fireballs.

               Standing LP: Has better priority, can stop Honda's Headbutt and
                            Blanka's Ball but is not any better as an anti-air
                            attack.

               Jump MP: Jump straight up + MP now juggles the same as jump Back or
                        Forward + MP.

--added by: _MJ_#R

Strategy

Bison is a high pressure, high risk/reward character. He can deal big damage but has unreliable defense. He has one of the best ticking games in ST and can control the mid range with his standing kicks. There are a couple of ways to play M Bison, you can try to do a pindown/harassment offense because his pokes are pretty safe, and the scissor kick can beat a lot. You can also bait quite well and stuff a lot on wakeup with meaty clk. Other players try to go for big combos and secure a win with his dizzying high damage stuff, that's not my style, but it seems viable.

No matter your style, the main objective with Bison is to not allow yourself to get cornered. There are a lot of ways to do this, personally, in a serious match I rarely jump backward and NEVER walk backward. If I need to get over firballs at a range just outside of my mk/hk where I can't counter them, I will hop straight up over fireballs or simply block them. If I can see they're going to do it again, I want to walk up and kick them out of their fireball animation. When I can make them fear throwing fireballs, I can bait and use scissor kicks for knockdowns/chip and pressure. In the corner, his tick throws are quite difficult to get around.

If I have an aggressive one on my hands, I deal with their jumping at me with stand hp, neutral jump kicks and jmp if I have the opportunity. Jmp is great because you can push them into the corner from mid screen with 3 jmps (I don't usually do the juggle with 2 jumps only as the spacing is a lot better.)

I hope some of you add what your style is, so this can expand. Remember, there is no "right" way to play Super Turbo.

What to do in the corner without meter

This depends on the matchup and how things are going. If your opponent is playing a fireballer like Ryu and has you trapped, your best bet is to initiate head presses or whatever. Unless the Ryu sucks, you'll be getting hit out of it obviously. That doesn't matter. You're likely to lose more energy in the corner blocking fireballs/trying to hop them and hoping they make an execution mistake. Hoping for an execution mistake is the wrong way to go about it. Once you get your kneepress nightmare, try to get out of there and turn things around.

If your opponent is E Honda, sincerely hope that his hand explodes. Without meter in the corner you take Ochios until you die. There's not really a way out. Gief is also great at keeping you pinned with his body splash and can tick you to death as well as T Hawk. Basically, the only way to win these matches is to get them before they get you, don't block their jump ins, don't get cornered and try not to take a tick. Easier said than done against Honda, but Gief and T Hawk are quite a bit more "controllable" because they don't out prioritize you as badly.

Against a lesser tick thrower, aka somebody without a command grab, try to reverse their throw. You might atleast get a tech, and if you get a throw, you can escape with a slide.

Advanced Strategy

Meter Building

Dictator has only one reliable reversal, which happens to be his Super. However you only have access to the Super attack when you have a full Super meter. Meaning, in some matchups, it is especially, critically important, to know how to effectively and efficiently build meter in case you need your Super to escape a difficult trap. It also means that anyone who has a larger throw range than Dictator (like Dhalsim), can terrorize Dictator if he's without meter, with repeated throws, without fear of being reversed. This constantly comes into play against T.Hawk, Zangief, and Honda especially, who all can relentlessly tick into command throw against Dictator while giving him no chance to escape (providing that Dictator is without a full meter). Having meter is important.

Building meter can be a simple exercise at first glance. Hitting your opponent with normal attacks during combos or block strings. Retreating to a corner and doing a few Devil's Hands. Looks and sounds simple. But all of those techniques require Dictator to be on offense, or at least far enough away from his opponent where he isn't immediately open to being attacked. It's easy to build meter when you are in control over the match. Building meter on defense however, or while at a situation where you are at an extreme disadvantage (such as after getting knocked down), requires enormous dexterity and precision execution. I'll link some video examples below that illustrate just how difficult building meter at disadvantage can be, yet also showing how mastering the technique of reversal meter building, can give you a powerful weapon that few players can truly use and will completely take your opponents, even the best ones, by surprise.

Getting out of the corner against Dhalsim's throw and flame traps is enormously difficult if you don't have a full meter for a Super. If Dhalsim puts Dictator in the corner, and Dictator doesn't have meter, then Dhalsim is at a huge advantage, and can trap Dictator and lock him into the corner with Yoga flames and tick throws over and over with very little risk. So while getting out of the corner using Dictator's Super attack is the best way to go...it requires a full meter. This is why having a full Super meter before getting cornered can make such a tremendous difference in a round. However if you get put at a serious disadvantage, like a corner trap, and are a few special moves away from having a full Super meter, then you can employ a special meter building technique, involving reversal special attacks, to build enough meter to the point where you can use a reversal Super on wakeup and escape the disadvantage.

If you get cornered (or knocked down), and are close to having a full super meter, then you can sacrifice some life to build meter enough to get a Super. If you have enough life where you can take a few hits and not die, and are a few special moves away (two or three at most) from having a full meter, then you still have a chance to completely reverse the situation to your favor if your execution is really good.

Here we have a match between Hakase (Dhalsim) and Taira (Dictator). The second round opens up with Dictator getting off a few hits, and using a few special moves as well (including some that whiff), all of which build meter. However, before he has a chance to build a full Super meter, Dictator gets cornered and dizzied, and now Taira knows that he has no way to directly escape from the corner without a Super. So after the first Yoga Flame knockdown from the dizzy, Taira wakes up and blocks a meaty Yoga Flame, the next attack from Dhalsim is a Yoga Fire, Taira does a reversal special attack (either Devil's Hand or Head Stomp), and the reversal attack builds him some Super meter (pay attention to Dictator's Super meter in this sequence of events), however he eats damage and gets knocked down. Now Taira needs one more special move to come out before he can get a full Super meter. Hakase does another meaty Yoga Flame on wakeup, Taira does a reversal Devil's Hand, which gives him just enough meter that he has a full Super bar, the Yoga Flame also knocks him down. The third time Taira wakes up, Hakase tries a meaty slide, however this time Taira has built up enough meter for a Super, and unleashes it right into Hakase, who obviously hasn't been paying attention to Dictator's sneaky meter building.

So in that sequence of events starting from the dizzy, Taira (playing Dictator) has gone from being repeatedly knocked down in the corner, to getting a reversal Super combo that hits his opponent for over 50% of his life and turns the match around completely in an instant. Taira went from a situation of enormous disadvantage into winning the round with one move. Because he used a meter building strategy to give him enough meter for a Super he was able to come out on top. He had three successful reversals in three chances all in a row. The first two were reversal Devil's Hands to build meter, the last was a reversal Super to get out of the corner trap. Going three for three in back to back reversal chances in the middle of a heated tournament match is no small feat which is why this is an advanced technique. Even using the piano method with negative edge, getting a 1 frame link reversal, three times in three chances isn't something that most players can do and will require considerable practice to master.

This technique doesn't just have to be used to escape corner traps. This can be used to get Dictator out of any disadvantage situation. Or to even unexpectedly turn the tables on your opponent like outlined below.

Taira (Dictator) is facing off against YuuBou (Fei Long) and tries to use Devil's Hand while being nearly a full screen away from his opponent. YuuBou however jumps right at Taira and hits him air to air. Taira doesn't panic and immediately begins charging down and back upon getting hit in the air. He sees that YuuBou has done a chicken wing upon landing, and that it will hit Taira immediately upon his own landing. Taira is also one special move away from having a full Super meter. So Taira does a reversal Devil's Hand upon landing, which gives him enough meter, at the cost of the damage from the chicken wing. YuuBou, having followed up his last chicken wing with a throw, probably expects his opponent to counter throw, so he crouches out of Dictator's throw range and attempts a sweep. However, Taira is a few steps ahead of him, and immediately performs a reversal Super. YuuBou is completey taken by surprise, his sweep is met with a Super for massive damage. He didn't realize that Taira was building meter, and thought that his ground normal attack would be safe from anything that Dictator could throw at him. Taira wasn't at a huge disadvantage in that sequence of events during the match. He didn't need a reversal Super, but he saw an opening, a way to fool his opponent into sticking out a limb that he could Super into, and he seized it, giving him a well earned victory.

In the above example it is important to note that Taira immediately begins charging down+back (defensive crouch) after getting hit air to air. The reason is that the down part of the down+back charge was used to perform the reversal Devil's Hand on landing wakeup that gave Taira enough meter to use a Super. So Taira performs a reversal Devil's Hand by going from down+back to up+back. Because he has held back through the execution of the Devil's Hand at all times, he still maintains the necessary charge direction for the reversal Super. If you are doing two reversals, the first to build meter, the second a reversal Super, back to back, you need to overlap the horizontal charge with the vertical charge.

Here is another example of meter building from disadvantage, this time to beat tick command throws. Homer (T.Hawk) knocks Taira (Dictator) down in the corner with a command throw. T.Hawk jumps in on Dictator with a jumping forward, Taira performs a reversal Devil's Hand on wake up, the reversal Devil's Hand gives him a full Super meter, the T.Hawk player combos the jumping forward with a low jab. Now, the T.Hawk player could have done a dragon punch from the low jab and knocked Dictator down, but instead of hit confirming, he sticks with a bread and butter tick into command throw. The T.Hawk player is completely unaware that his opponent has built up a full Super meter during the jump-in sequence, and when he attempts the command throw, it is met with a reversal Super. And even worse for T.Hawk in this situation is that he does not negative edge his command throw, so a normal attack (standing fierce) comes out, and he eats every bit of damage from Dictator's Super instead of blocking it.

Yet another example against T.Hawk where meter building while taking damage wins a round. YuuVega (Dictator) is knocked down his Inomata (T.Hawk), he is one move away from having a full Meter. Dictator's opponent hits him with a meaty low jab, he does a reversal Devil's Hand, and it gives him a full Super meter. T.Hawk then tries to use a command throw, doesn't negative edge, a standing fierce instead come out, because YuuVega has done a reversal Super, and now T.Hawk gets rocked for 50% of his health and loses the round. Two reversals in a row in back to back chances, first one vertical charge for Devil's Hand reversal, second one horizontal charge for reversal Super.

This example is the most incredible of all. Taira (Dictator) against Saitou (Zangief). In the last round of this match, Taira does three reversals in three chances in a row, including doing two reversal immediately back to back. GigaMSX did a video tutorial explaining what happens in the match. I'll add more details about this match sometime in the future.

Some side notes, reversal Devil's Hand, or reversal Head Stomp, on wake up, will come out and count as reversals (you'll see the reversal message and get 1000 points). However those moves are vulnerable at startup, and will lose to jumping attacks and meaty ground normals. This is why you must sacrifice damage to build meter as Dictator. It also doesn't matter if you use Devil's Hand or Head Stomp to build meter from disadvantage as they both reward the same amount of meter (eight points).

--VirtuaFighterFour January 31, 2010

Instant Overhead

Dictator's diagonal jumping forward kick (medium kick), can be used as an instant overhead, when performed immediately after leaving the ground. So, while you are point blank next to your opponent, you do a diagonal jump (either away from or towards them), and hit the medium kick button as quickly as possible (you only have a few frames, the timing is unforgivably strict). If you do this, the jumping diagonal medium kick will come out immediately after you leave the ground, and you'll be close enough to your opponent (or low enough off the ground), so that they will have to block the attack high. If they try to block the attack low, and it is close enough to connect, then they will unsuccessfully block and instead take the hit.

What this means is that there are certain situations, where when you are close enough to your opponent, than you can force them into a 50/50 guessing game of whether they need to block high or low. So, for a basic example, let's say that you throw your opponent and they don't soften the throw, and you walk right up next to them as they are waking up. You now have two options, you can try for a meaty low forward, an attack that they'll have to block low, or you can try a meaty jumping diagonal forward as an instant overhead, an attack that your opponent must block while standing. If your opponent wants to play defensively then they cannot protect against both a low and overhead attack, they must make a decision, and an incorrect choice means that they will take damage and stun.

Your opponent doesn't necessarily have to block when they wake up from a knockdown, they can go for a reversal attack, however reversal attacks are always risky because the execution barrier is high. If they fail a reversal, and you stuck out a meaty low forward in a knockdown situation, then you can potentially score massive damage and possibly a dizzy. So most of the time your opponents will simply block low, because they'll want to protect against meaty ground attacks, and this is when you need to start using the instant overhead to wreak havoc.

One thing to remember, is that a meaty low forward is much safer, can be followed with safe block strings, can be used to tick into throw, and has serious combo potential. The jumping medium kick instant overhead has no real combo potential, is not safe in my circumstances, and has low damage potential. So why use the instant overhead at all and not simply go for a meaty low forward every time off of a knockdown and try to hit-confirm into a mix up or combos? The answer, is that a successful connect of an instant overhead, can lead to a dizzy and a huge free combo.

And that is where the instant jumping overhead for Dictator shines the most. In situations when, if it connects for that one hit, it will almost certainly guarantee a dizzy. Watch this round of Professor Jones (Dictator) against R3ko (N.Honda). Professor Jones knocks his opponent down with a standard three-hit combo, he then approaches his opponent, and throws out two low forward kicks while his opponent is waking up. His opponent, R3ko, is conditioned to block low against meaty low forwards, so he assumes that the low forwards that were thrown out are being used to help Professor Jones successful time a meaty low forward. However those low forwards are bait, and R3ko is fooled into blocking low, and right as he wakes up Professor Jones leaps right at him with a jumping diagonal medium kick. The instant overhead connects point blank against Honda and Professor Jones gets a dizzy (which he follows up with a successful high damage combo). The Honda player in that match saw the two low forwards and mentally focused on them enough that he blocked low and was unable to protect against an overhead level attack.

The other best scenario to try to use an instant overhead on an opponent is when the person is one hit away from losing the round. The reason why you want a successful instant overhead to either dizzy or finish your opponent off is because the move is often unsafe even if it hits (especially in the corner). The reason is it unsafe is because, as a jumping attack, it leaves you helplessly stranded in the air. Pay attention in this match as Taira throw his opponent into the corner and uses an instant overhead as his opponent, playing Fei Long, lands. The instant overhead connects for damage, but it doesn't kill, nor dizzy his opponent, and it leaves Taira cornered. Taira proceeds to be nearly beaten to death in the corner, going from having two-thirds of his life remaining, to one hit away from losing the round. So the reward of using the jumping instant overhead in that situation was a small amount of damage, and the risk was losing nearly two-thirds of your health, and possibly the entire round.

The instant overhead doesn't just have to be used in situations where your opponent is waking up from being knocked down or thrown. You can simply walk up your opponent hit them with an instant overhead at any time if they are crouching (though the risk/reward is heavily skewed towards the risk side). You can also jump at your opponent with a cross-up, then immediately jump away from them with an instant jumping overhead, so if they shift to low block after the jumping cross-up attack, you'll hit them with the instant overhead. In this round Taira hits his opponent with a few consecutive attacks, possibly enough attacks where one more hit of medium or heavy strength will cause a dizzy. So he jumps at his opponent, who is using Chun, and she blocks the first hit of the cross-up. However immediately after the first blocked hit, the Chun player moves to defensive crouch, and Taira guesses right and does a jumping back instant overhead. The overhead hits, and while it doesn't dizzy, is done jumping backwards and is safe from being punished. And, if that that initial cross-up jumping attack had hit, Taira's jumping overhead immediately afterward, would have been a two-hit combo.

Miscellaneous

Dictator has a 100% free damage set up against Guile providing that Dictator can knock Guile down and is close enough for a safe cross-up or vertical safe-jump in the corner.

Guile's only two options to beat ticks throws are his flash kick (a reversal special move) and his normal throws. In order to beat a tick into throw attempt with a flash kick you need a downward charge of at least 54/55 frames. In order to beat a tick throw attempt with a normal throw you need to be within Guile's normal throw range, and you need to get lucky because if two players throw each other on the same frame it's 50/50 who gets the successful throw (and who gets a whiffed normal).

So how does this affect Dictator vs Guile?

When Dictator knocks Guile down at mid screen he's looking for a cross up into combo. However, sometimes Dictator's cross up forward or roundhouse is blocked by the opponent, and instead of a huge combo and dizzy you are left with a block string into either throw or short scissor kicks for chip. Against Guile though, if you can hit confirm really quickly, you have a guaranteed throw setup against him. Why? Because Dictator's throw range is six pixels larger than Guile's.

If you use a safe cross up from the air against Guile, he has to block high, if he crouches then he'll get wrecked with a huge combo. If he reverses the cross up with a flash kick, and you've done a safe cross up, then you'll land and you can try to punish the flash kick during its recovery. However if Guile stands to block the cross up, it means he doesn't have enough charge for a flash kick for another 55 frames, so he immediately loses one of his options, his best option, to beat tick throws. And, after a cross up forward or roundhouse that is blocked, you can input a standing strong immediately (as a two-hit block string), and it will leave you outside of Guile's throw range and just barely outside of Dictator's throw range. After the standing strong is blocked, you can walk forward just a bit, and input a throw (backwards or forwards depending on how far from the corner you are), and Guile cannot do a thing about it except soften the throw.

Why can't Guile do anything? He has no charge for flash kicks so those are out of the window. And he cannot use a reversal throw because you are throwing him from outside of his throw range. The best he can do in that situation is simply soften your throw and go from there. This means that if you knock Guile down, and you have enough time to set up a safe cross up, you have guaranteed damage if you have good hit confirming skills and solid execution and reaction times.

This ST match between Taira (Dictator) and Yoshio (Guile) has the set up in it right in the first round. Watch at 22 seconds in as Taira knocks his opponent down with scissor kicks. He does a cross up roundhouse, then standing strong as a block string, and then a throw. Yoshio can do nothing about it other than take the throw and soften it.

This also works in the corner against Guile as well. Instead of doing a cross up you do a vertical safe jump short kick and then a standing short. That tick set up should leave you just barely outside of Guile's throw range where you can use a free throw against him that he can only soften. If he doesn't soften the throw then you can repeat the set up again. If he does a flash kick against a safe jump in the corner you can try to punish it out of the air. If he softens the throw then you can try a cross up slide or some other corner shenanigan. If Guile takes the vertical jump short, and you have amazing reflexes, you can combo the vertical short, standing short, into a psycho crusher. No matter what if you put Guile in the corner and knock him down you should be able to wreak havoc for a few sequences before he can escape.

This setup also works against DeeJay but only at mid-screen and not in the corner. If you cross DeeJay up with a jumping forward or roundhouse and blocks the attack, and then you tick with a standing strong, and then throw him out of rage, the best he can do is soften it. The reason is that he won't have the vertical charge for his up kicks, and won't have long enough horizontal charge for his dread kicks or his Super, and he'll be slightly out of his throw range, meaning he has nothing to beat a throw from that setup. However in the corner DeeJay can keep a horizontal charge for his dread kicks or his Super, so the guaranteed setup that Dictator has against Guile in the corner will not work, and you'll have to use different tactics instead.

Combos & Block Strings

Dictator's combos, especially his jumping combos, are critical to successfully playing using him. I've put his best jumping combos, cross-ups, meaty combos, ground combos, Super combos, and block strings in the section below. The key thing with Dictator is precision execution and lots of practice. Being able to perform all of his best combos, even the most difficult ones, in the heat of battle will make your life tremendously easier. Dictator's ability to score huge combos and dizzy opponents easily is unmatched in Super Turbo. Once you master his combos you'll notice the wins will start coming in far more rapidly than before. However, unless you are an advanced player from another fighting game migrating over to Super Turbo, or an already experienced Super Turbo player using another character, you'll have to have extra patience and dedication to get to a competitive and consistent level with Dictator's combo.

Jumping Combos & Block Strings

Jumping combos with charge:

• up+forward + j.hk, st.lk, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher or roundhouse scissors
• up+forward + j.hk, st.lk, cr.mp, fierce psycho crusher or roundhouse scissors
• up+forward + j.hk, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher <- best combo against Claw

The first combo does extreme damage is a 99% dizzy against everyone. If you dizzy an opponent and have enough time to jump at them from the front, the first combo is the one you want to use. You can substitute a crouching medium punch for the crouching forward, however the timing is more strict, so I would recommend sticking with the more reliable crouching medium kick.

The last combo is what you'll want to use against Claw. The reasons is that Claw has an annoyingly thing hitbox, so trying to hit him with the first two combos up above will not work. The third combo however will hit Claw from the front. And while it does less damage and dizzy overall, it doesn't matter as much against Claw, because Claw dizzies extremely easily.

The trick to performing these combos it to jump at your opponent, and the second you leave the ground, you need to move the joystick to the backwards direction and hold it there. Then while you hit your opponent with the first jumping attack, and the successive ground normals, you still must keep holding back to maintain charge. Then, once you get to the last move, you move the joystick forward, breaking charge, and your special move will come out. So let's look at the first combo with every input detailed:

• up+forward (this will make you jump at your opponent)
• back (now hold back in the joystick immediately after jumping and keep it held until the last move)
• back + heavy kick(this is the first hit of the combo, performed in air as a jumping attack)
• back + standing light kick (second hit of the combo, you should still be holding back)
• down+back + crouching medium kick (third hit, you need to hold down+back to preserve charge and to get a crouching attack)
• forward + heavy kick (within the jumping sequence and subsequent ground normals you have charge for scissor kicks, so pressing forward + heavy kick will get you roundhouse scissors)

Remember, with these combos you jump and land on the same side of your opponent, these are different from Dictator's cross-up combos where he jumps from one side and lands on the opposite side (which are detailed further below.

You don't just have to start the jumping attacks with jumping towards roundhouse, you can use any jumping attack, and you can even start the combos with a vertical jumping attack while you are right next to your opponent.

Jumping combos without charge:

• up+forward + j.hk, st.lk x 3, st.rh

The jumping attack can be anything, but jumping roundhouse does the most damage, inflicts the most dizzy, and is the most reliable to combo with for this combo. If the three standing light kicks are pushing you out of range for the last standing roundhouse then hold forward on the joystick during the ground attacks of the combo. You can also only use one or two standing light kicks in the combo instead of all three to help make executing the last link of the combo easier. Against Claw the standing light kicks won't combo because of his thin hitbox, so just do an immediate standing roundhouse or standing fierce after the jumping attack.

Jumping cross-up combos with charge:

• cross-up j.hk, st.lk x 2, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher
• cross-up j.mk, st.lk x 2, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher

These two combos are Dictator's most famous combos. Mastery of these is essential for achieving a competitive level with Dictator. The reason why these combos are so powerful is that you can slightly vary the position where you hit your opponent. A few pixel's difference of distance of the jumping roundhouse or forward as a cross-up and it will change which direction (left or right) that your opponent has to guard. This basically means that your opponent is put into a 50/50 guessing game when you cross-up them up with these two jumping attacks. If either of these combos land you are looking at virtually a guaranteed dizzy and then a huge free combo to follow that up. So let's break down the inputs of the first combo to see how you finish the combo with a charge attack even after you've jumped all the way over your opponent at the start of the combo:

• up+forward (this will make you jump at your opponent at a distance where you will land just behind them)
• forward (now hold forward in the joystick immediately after jumping and keep it held until the last move)
• forward + heavy kick(this is the first hit of the combo, performed in air as a jumping attack)

Now at this point in the combo you will have hit your opponent in the air with a jumping attack, you will then land on the opposite side of your opponent. So the joystick direction of 'forward' is now actually 'backwards', because you have switched sides.

• back + standing light kick (second hit of the combo, you should still be holding the same direction as you were at the start of the combo)
• back + standing light kick (third hit of the combo, keep holding back to maintain directional charge)
• down+back + crouching medium kick (fourth hit, you need to hold down+back to preserve charge and to get a crouching attack)
• forward + heavy punch (this will combo the crouching medium kick directly into a fierce psycho crusher)

So in this combo you've gone from jumping over your opponent, while charging in, at first, the opposite direction, then landing after the jumping attack while continuing to hold what was originally forward on the joystick, which then becomes backwards because of the side change. After the ground normals are done as part of the overall combo you will have enough charge time to finish the combo with a fierce psycho crusher.

Jumping cross-up combos without charge:

• cross-up j.hk, st.lk x 3, st.rh

The jumping attack can be anything, but jumping roundhouse does the most damage, inflicts the most dizzy, and is the most reliable to combo with for this combo. If the three standing light kicks are pushing you out of range for the last standing roundhouse then hold forward on the joystick during the ground attacks of the combo. You can also only use one or two standing light kicks in the combo instead of all three to help make executing the last link of the combo easier. Against Claw the standing light kicks won't combo because of his thin hitbox, so just do an immediate standing roundhouse or standing fierce after the jumping attack.

Jumping attacks into block strings:

If your opponent blocks a jumping attack, you can continue with the normal combo sequence. However instead of finishing with fierce psycho crusher, roundhouse scissor kicks, you can finish with short scissor kicks (only if you have charge). Short scissor kicks will do block damage to your opponent and leave you safely out of range from your opponent's attacks. So the string would look like this:

• safe jump (hold back for charge), st.lk, cr.mk, short scissor kicks
• cross-up jumping attack, st.lk x 2, cr.mk, short scissor kicks

At any time during that block string you can stop, interrupt your own block string, and go for a throw. If your opponent is expecting you to finish the block string they won't be prepared or ready for your throw. Even if they are expecting a throw you can change which attack you finish the block string with and when you attempt the throw. For example:

• safe jump, st.lk, throw
• safe jump, st.lk x 2, throw
• cross-up jumping attack, st.lk, throw
• cross-up jumping attack, st.mp, throw

So if your opponent blocks your jumping attack then switch to a block string tactic with either short scissor kicks for block damage or a mix-up into throw. If the opponent is hit by your jumping attack then finish the combo for high damage.

Meaty Combos & Block Strings

Dictator's meaty sequences always start with crouching medium kick (low forward). From a meaty low forward you have several options depending on the situation and whether or not the meaty low forward connects for a hit or is blocked. Using a meaty attack is useful when you've knocked your opponent down and don't have enough time, or aren't at the right distance, to set up a safe jump or a cross up.

However, meaty ground attacks are carry a far higher risk than safe jumps or cross ups. So don't rely on meaty attacks for okizeme situations unless you are relatively certain that your opponent won't reverse your attack. If you try a meaty low forward and every time your opponent successfully uses a reversal then you must change tactics.

With that being said, let's start off with combos that you'll want to use when your meaty crouching medium kick successfully hits the opponent:

Meaty combos with charge:

• meaty cr.mk, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher
• meaty cr.mk, cr.mk, roundhouse scissor kicks

Scissor kicks do more damage and dizzy but have a slightly longer charge time. So some setups that don't allow for the full charge time for scissor kicks need to have the psycho crusher used as the combo finisher instead.

Meaty combos without charge:

• meaty cr.mk, st.hk
• meaty cr.mk, st.lk, st.hk
• meaty cr.mk, cr.mk

Meaty low forward into standing roundhouse does a good amount of damage and dizzy and is fairly easy and reliable to combo. Standing roundhouse whiffs against Blanka if he's crouching, so substitute a crouching or standing medium kick instead, if you hit a crouching opponent playing Blanka with a meaty low forward.

Now let's see what options Dictator has when his meaty low forward is blocked by the opponent:

• meaty cr.mk, throw
• meaty cr.mk, st.lk, throw
• meaty cr.mk, cr.mk, short scissor kicks

If your meaty crouching medium kick is blocked you have two options, go for a mix up tick throw, or do another crouching medium kick into short scissors to chip your opponent and leave you safely out of any direct counters (like throws or special attacks).

Super Combos

Dictator's Super does enormous damage and can be followed up with two jumping diagonal strong punches as a juggle at most distances.

• Super, j.mp x 2

This combo is basic and should be done every time you land a Super. If you land a Super you can juggle the opponent with jumping diagonal strong punches afterward for even more damage. Never waste the extra damage from the juggling punches.

Some of Dictator's normal attacks can be used to combo directly into Super. The usefulness of doing a combo into Super is almost entirely limited to situations where your opponent is dizzied. Considering that a Super combo or a regular jumping combo from Dictator is likely to take more than half of the opponent's health anyways, doing a combo into Super is mostly done for flashiness or showing off.

• cr.lp, cr.lp, st.lp, 2-in-1 Super, j.mp x 2

This combo requires a backwards charge before you hit the first crouching jab so be prepared beforehand. You'll want to combo the first to low jabs while holding defensive crouch, as this will preserve the charge for Dictator's Super. Then you'll want to move the stick to back, then forward, then back, then hit standing jab and hold it down, then hit forward on the joystick plus any kick buttons at the same time. The standing jab should combo directly into Super. Finish it off with the jumping medium punches for a juggle. The reason you want to hold down jab after the standing jab is that if you release the button you might accidentally get a negative edge jab strength psycho crusher. A jab psycho crusher after a standing jab won't combo, it will interrupt your Super combo, and will result in far less damage than a Super would have. I detailed this combo in a post in the HDR section.

• st.mp, 2-in-1 Super, j.mp x 2

This is another combo that requires a full charge before you start it. You must be right next to your opponent (who should be dizzied) and have enough charge for a Super. While holding back, move the joystick rapidly to forward, then back, then forward again, then go to neutral (I usually just let go of the stick). Right after, like on the first frame if you can do it, you go to neutral, hit medium punch and hold it down, then immediately hit any strength kick. A standing medium punch should come out and it should combo directly into Dictator's Super. Remember to hold medium punch down and don't release it until the Super has come out. If you release medium punch before the Super comes out you risk getting a medium strength psycho crusher because of negatived edge.

Dictator's normals like cr.mp, st.lk, cr.mk, can be used to combo into Super, but they are entirely impractical, way too difficult to execute in the heat of battle (impossible in my opinion), and pointless when there are much better options to use anyways. I have never seen anyone combo anything but st.lp or st.mp into Super with Dictator in all my years of playing and spectating matches. Most of the time you do a Super combo with Dictator, the Super will be the move to start off the combo anyways.

Super Juggle

After Dictator's Super connects you can follow the attack up with j.mp x 2 for two extra juggle hits. However, if you hit your opponent in the air with Dictator's jumping medium punches, and you juggle them, you can tag them with a Super before they fall to the ground.

• j.mp x 2, Super

Jump at your airborne opponent and immediately put the stick in the backward direction after taking off from the ground. You'll to start charging immediately to have enough time to use the Super. Hit the opponent air-to-air with your jumping medium punches. You'll land on the ground and your opponent will still be falling. And while they are falling, you can hit them with a Super from the ground, and you will juggle them for extra damage. The timing is extremely tight for this combo, and no matter what, the Super will connect for two hits at most (for a total of four). Getting the Super to combo for two hits instead of just one requires precision timing at mid screen and is slightly more lenient in the corner.

• j.mp (first hit only), j.mp x 2, Super

Just like the first combo, except you hit your opponent in the air at first with just the first j.mp, then juggling them again with j.mp x 2 and follow the rules of the first combo from then on.

When doing this combo you have to remember that it does a good deal of damage but only if the Super connects twice. It also burns your Super meter leaving you basically helpless if you get knocked down. So try not to use this combo unless you are sure that it will end the round or at least leave you close enough to victory that you won't need a reversal Super later.

Ground Combos

Ground combos are combos used against your opponent that start and end on the ground. They are usually done to a dizzied opponent or after your pass through your opponent with the special corner trap.

Ground combos with charge:

• st.lk x 3, fierce psycho crusher or roundhouse scissor kicks
• st.lk x 2, cr.mk, fierce psycho crusher or roundhouse scissor kicks

In order to connect three st.lk in a row you need to be right next to your opponent. Instead of a third st.lk you can do a cr.mk or a cr.mp as well. To be safe, or if you are unsure of distance, you can just do one or two st.lk to start the combos out.

Ground combos without charge:

• st.lk x 3, st.rh

This combo is extremely difficult. Linking three st.lk in a row and then st.rh takes tremendous execution and is not something that most players can simply throw out in the heat of a match at any time. If you don't have charge and need to execute a ground combo then you might opt for only doing one or two st.lk into st.rh to lower the execution requirement. You could also just do st.lk x 2, cr.mp which still does a fair amount of damage. The max damage though is going to be st.lk x 3, st.rh for ground combos, so practice and practice.

--VirtuaFighterFour March 06, 2010

- - -

j.rh, st.lk, cr.mk XX (any strength) scissor kick or fierce psycho crusher - This is the combo that works on any character and does good damage. Note that if you use short scissor kicks, the second hit might not connect against some of the thinner characters like Chunli.

cross up j.mk, (close) st.lk x3, st.rh - This is a 5 hit combo that requires no charging and canceling and does really good damage. It will often dizzy the opponent also. The trick for this combo is to walk forward a little bit with each close st.lk so that the third st.lk is also a close one, because far st.lk has little frame advantage and a st.rh won't combo afterwards. If you want more consistency, use one less short.

j.strong, j.strong, j.strong, super - This combo is best used in the corner, where you can get more hits of the super. It's possible to do 2 j.strong's into the super as well. After 3 j.strong's, the maximum number of juggle hits you can get with the super is 2.

(meaty) cr.mk, st.lk XX (any strength) scissor kick - A decent, practical 4 hit combo starting from a meaty that knocks down. You can substitute cr.mk or cr.mp instead of st.lk for more damage but you have to use forward or roundhouse version of scissor kick in this case.

--Laugh 04:17, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

Attack Info and Frame Data

Dictator's special move the Psycho Crusher (charge b,f+p) is guaranteed to come out with a charge time of 55 frames (no matter what strength you use). However there is a 50% chance that with 54 frames of charge, a successful Psycho Crusher will come out. Dictator's Scissor Kicks (charge b,f+k) will always come out with 71 frames of charge. However there is a 10% chance that scissor kicks (of any strength) will only require 70 frames of charge.

Overall those instances of randomness within Dictator's backwards charge commands don't have a tremendous impact on his game play. However, the charge time difference between Psycho Crusher (55 frames) and Scissor Kicks (71 frames), of 16 frames, is extremely important. The reason that it is important is that some combos, and some block strings, will give you enough time to charge for a Psycho Crusher, but not enough time to charge Scissor Kicks. So knowing when you can only use a Psycho Crusher, and when attempting a Scissor Kick will fail, because of charge time, is very important.

Let's take a look at a basic example of where a Psycho Crusher will work in a combo and where a Scissor Kick will not. Jump at your opponent with jumping roundhouse, then combo a low forward kick, then try to combo a fierce Psycho Crusher. This basic three-hit combo should work every time. Now substitute the last fierce Psycho Crusher with roundhouse strength Scissor Kicks. So you'll perform a jumping roundhouse, then combo a low forward kick, then try to combo roundhouse strength Scissor Kicks. You'll notice that after a jumping roundhouse, then low forward kick, the Scissor Kicks will not come out. The reason is that that specific jumping sequence allows only for enough charge for the Psycho Crusher and not the Scissor Kicks.

That is just a basic example of when you need to be aware of how the difference in charge times between Psycho Crushers and Scissor Kicks affects playing as Dictator. There are many other situations, usually combos and block strings, where you need to be knowledgeable about how much charge time can be built into those combos and strings.

--VirtuaFighterFour 20:01, January 30, 2010

Match-ups

Serious Advantage Match-ups

Cammy

T.Hawk:

Both N.Hawk and O.Hawk have a woeful time with Dictator. On paper this match looks like it should be even. Hawk is a throw centric character with a powerful command grab that has a negative edge option select mechanic built into it. Dictator has no reversal special attack to escape command grabs as well (except his Super). So Dictator can be throw looped to death unless he a Super meter. However the match of Dictator vs T.Hawk (both N.Hawk and O.Hawk) rarely comes down to a throw loop. So why does Dictator rarely get throw looped to death?

For one, Dictator's normals take priority over almost everything Hawk has. N.Hawk's splash can be beaten by crouching fierce punch from any distance and O.Hawk's splash can be beaten by crouching fierce punch unless Hawk is right on top of Dictator. So if you have enough time to get the active hitboxes for crouching fierce punch out you can beat splashes. Just make sure that you perform the attack early enough. Shutting down Hawk's splash removes one of his best tools for getting in on many characters from mid and close range. And if you get stuck in the corner, and Hawk is repeatedly using his splash over and over, you can usually cleanly fierce psycho crusher underneath the second or third splash. Worst case scenario is you defensively crouch to eat the first splash, only if Hawk is spamming splash against you in the corner, then fierce psycho crusher out of there underneath the next splash.

N.Hawk's and O.Hawk's jumping jabs and jumping shorts completely whiff against Dictator if he is crouching. So anytime you see Hawk jump at you, and seeing Hawk use jumping jab is common, the odds are that you can crouch and hit him with a crouching medium kick and win. Jumping jab is a staple jumping attack for both N.Hawk and O.Hawk and not being able to use it makes this match enormously difficult for Hawk. Pay attention to jumping jab, because anytime you see Hawk use it, it means you have an opportunity for free damage. If you stop Hawk from using jumping jab to approach from mid range, you can try to condition him from using jumping jab in other situations, like as an air-to-air move.

Hawk's dive is extremely risky against Dictator. If you block the dive, and you have charge, you can hit Hawk with a fierce psycho crusher and knock him down. If he jumps close to you to set up a dive, you could jump at him and hit him with jumping strong punches for a juggle, and those will score you a knock down as well. And knocking down Hawk is the primary goal of this match offensive wise (not getting knocked down is the most important part defensively). Hawk's dragon punch is also terrible in this match because it whiffs against Dictator if he's crouching from nearly point blank range. A whiffed dragon punch can also be juggled with jumping strong punches. Hawk's special attacks carry such extreme risks in this match if they aren't used properly.

Hawk is also susceptible to being poked by Dictator's standing forward and standing roundhouse. It might be boring but you can often take a majority of your opponent's life using just these two moves. You can easily dance in and out and win a few footsie sequences with Hawk at mid range with just standing forward and roundhouse. Even better for Dictator is when you condition your opponent to block the kicks enough that you score a walk up throw. Putting Hawk on such a defensive will cause a mental break in your opponent as well and possibly cause him to become aggressive and make a foolish mistake.

Hawk can't just walk up to Dictator as well from full screen because he'll risk getting tagged with a fierce psycho crusher. Hawk has to take a step, rapid fire crouching jab, and then take another step. It is painstakingly and unmercifully awful for Hawk to have to advance a few pixels, then rapid fire jab, only to advance a few more pixels. Dictator doesn't have to every worry about Hawk closing in the distance as long as he is standing. It is too dangerous for Hawk to approach Dictator more than a few pixels at a time.

So Hawk has a tremendously difficult time of closing in the distance in this match from both the air and the ground. Dictator can easily keep T.Hawk from getting a knockdown or getting with throw range. And if T.Hawk gets close you can simply run away and play a total runaway or turtle style.

Another effective way to play this match is to simply overwhelm T.Hawk with cross ups. Against Hawk, you can often knock your opponent down one or two times per round, and possibly three or more. And the odds of T.Hawk surviving the cross up game that Dictator has, after being knocked down two or more times, are quite low. T.Hawk is extremely vulnerable to Dictator's cross ups, so if you keep knocking him down, then putting him in a 50/50 guessing game, to block left or right, for cross ups, it's only a matter of time before your opponent guesses wrong. And if your opponent guesses wrong, you can hit him with a huge combo, and either dizzy him or outright end the round right there.

- [VirtuaFighterFour]

Advantage Match-ups

N.Sagat, Fei Long

Fair Match-ups

Zangief, Guile, Claw

Disadvantage Match-ups

Blanka:

The most important thing is to sort out your anti-air. Bison's primary air defense is going air-to-air: climbing jump strong, vertical jump rh/strong, escaping jump rh, etc. This isn't his only option, however - two other choices to keep in mind:
1) crouching fierce. If Blanka is eager to win an air-to-air clash with his jumping jab or short you can generally shut him down with this ground attack. You need a feel for the spacing and a read on your opponent, but crouching fierce is a good back-up anti-air.

2) run away. Psycho crusher underneath him as he jumps in. Or, if he's trying to start a cross-up short trap use a slide kick to sneak away.

In a ground battle standing medium kick is ok. Keep backing up - it's good to have a quick trigger finger on the scissor kicks and psycho crushers to catch him doing a slide punch or crouching roundhouse.

Cross up medium kick loses to reversal vertical ball. You can beat that ball from the front though. The jump kick has to be a little bit high (i.e. a shade later than "well timed") to avoid a trade.

Fierce psycho crusher seems to be a decent option. Blanka can block and counter with a crouching fierce but in my experience it's a little random. If you do one psycho crusher and he misses then another and he hits, the 6 ticks of life from the blocked crushers will add up to more damage than the one fierce punch. (nohoho)

DJ

Ryu

Ryu is one of the easiest matches for Dictator to get overwhelmed in very quickly. You will get knocked down or cornered eventually. Knowing how to keep your cool in these disadvantageous situations is something that will greatly elevate your overall effectiveness in the long run. Dictator has the worst defense of any character in ST. And getting cornered by Ryu will mean you will be eating a lot of chip damage from repeated fireballs. Being cornered also sets Ryu up for all sorts of guessing games coming off of a blocked fireball as a tick. Ryu also has some pretty brutal cross ups and fantastic mid screen okizeme sequences against Dictator that can drain your life fast.

The general rule for this match is patience. Be calm. Trying to be overly aggressive and relentlessly poking Ryu to shut down his fireball game is risky. Your opponent will catch on quickly and dragon punch you, in turn knocking you down, and then you'll be set up for some difficult sequences to come out of on top. Dictator cannot survive the defensive end of okizeme after getting knocked down too many times. Try to stay standing as much as possible even if it means sitting in defensive crouch and letting your opponent throw a few fireballs at you.

One thing that you'll always want to establish, is that you know how to poke Ryu with standing forward and standing roundhouse, for the mid screen footsie game. You can effectively shut down Ryu from throwing fireballs at close to mid ranges if you stuff enough fireballs with your standing kicks. If you get a good enough read on your opponent, take a step and fool him into thinking a standing kick as a poke is coming, bait him into using a dragon punch, then counter and punish with standing kicks, scissor kicks (if you have charge), or a slide. Show him that you are reading his moves, and stop him from throwing unpunished fireballs and dragon punches, at least from close to mid range or with Ryu's back to the corner. If your own back is to the corner, then focus on reading when your opponent is going to leave you an opening, to get out of the corner or to throw him into the corner if he goes for a throw (meaning you'll have to reversal throw using the back direction, and get lucky because of the randomness in the game engine).

If Ryu has a full Super meter then you have to be extremely aware of your opponent's reactions to your footsies. A standing kick as a poke will beat fireballs while they are starting up. However those same pokes will lose to Ryu's Super fireball (because it has invincible starting frames), and they will lose badly. Losing almost half of your life over one whiffed footsie attack is very costly and is often a mental break. Adjust your tactics accordingly when Ryu has a full Super meter. If you aren't paying attention then you'll pay for it and pay for it dearly. If you are playing right, then your opponent will usually use the Super to chip you, or to force you to block to then set you up for an overhead, low, or throw guessing game. If your opponent is repeatedly hitting you with the Super then you need to shift your tactics.

Head stomp, only the short version though, do not use forward or roundhouse as those have a terrible trajectory against Ryu, can be used to hit Ryu if he throws a fireball from longer ranges. You have to perform the head stomp relatively early, and far away enough that you don't get hit by the fireball on the way up (it will happen if you are close), for the head stomp to cleanly hit Ryu. If you're slightly late, then Ryu can just recover and block the head stomp after throwing a fireball. If you are way too late, then Ryu has all the time in the world to counter you. The most effective way is that he'll go air-to-air with jumping strong, juggle you, and knock you down. So don't telegraph your head stomps, or else Ryu will bait them and then knock you right out of the air.

Now, after a head stomp hits or is blocked, you have a few choices from there. You can try for the skull driver followup, this move can cross up, and does enormous dizzy. A successful head stomp, skull driver, and pretty much any move after that (like a standing roundhouse for example), will result in a dizzy. If your opponent is effectively using anti-air attacks to beat your skull drivers then simply fly away and land safely after a head stomp. You can also land next to, in front of or right behind, your opponent and then throw him after a head stomp. Don't get too caught up in using the head stomp and skull driver though in this match. Once Ryu catches on and sorts out his anti-air attacks then you'll have to back off using these setups.

Speaking of the air, Ryu's jumping strong punches are very good in this match. Annoyingly good. Trying to play air superiority with Ryu is not something that you should be going for regularly. Go for your own jumping strong punches with Dictator only to counter Ryu after a failed dragon punch or against a very poorly timed jumping attack. Going air-to-air with Ryu usually is disastrous for Dictator.

Dictator's slide can be used in footsies this match, however it's usefulness is somewhat limited in that the move is very punishable. A slide that is blocked that puts you right next to Ryu is punishable by throws and even dragon punches. A slide that is blocked that leaves you just out of Ryu's throw range can be punished by Ryu's low roundhouse (which is his sweeping attack that knocks opponents down). The slide is rarely safe do use it sparingly. However, a successful slide does score you a knockdown, a situation that is highly prized, and can make your opponent play more defensive at close-mid ranges allowing you to close the distance to threaten pokes or walk up throws.

You should be throwing often in this match. Offensively, such as during tick setups, and off of block strings, or if your opponent whiffs an attack during footsies you can try to walk up and throw him even. And defensively, reversal throws against meaty ground attacks, and always counter throwing (because Dictator has a larger throw range than Ryu). Anytime Ryu throws you it is from inside of your own throw range so never hesitate to counter throw. Be creative with your tick throws in this match. For example, you can have your opponent block your devil's hand, then walk up and throw him. Or if he blocks a devil's hand, walk up and do a standing short as a tick, then throw him. Keep him off balance and never be obvious when you are going to throw, as a solid Ryu is going to dragon punch or hurricane kick you if he expects a throw. Mix up those ticks and then go for a throw.

One thing to remember is that if you are withing range for a jumping attack to connect you can end the round with one combo and its dizzy and a follow up combo if you need it. If you anticipate that your opponent is going to throw a fireball, and you are close enough to connect with a jumping combo, do not hesitate. If you see that opening then go for it. The recovery of Ryu's fireball animation can be slammed from the air with Dictator's huge jumping combos. Here is YuuVega turning the tables on Mike Watson at the end of the match using this very technique.

Dictator's Super is extremely useful in this match. You can blow right through fireballs and crush your opponent with a Super then followup with jumping strong punches for juggles. Your opponent will have to considerably rely less on fireballs once you acquire a full Super meter. If your opponent isn't expecting a Super, and he carelessly throws a fireball, then you can explode from a defensive position and score incredible damage. The Super is also highly useful in footsies and in throw pressure games. Let's say Ryu is knocked down in the corner, you tick him with a meaty low forward, then back off a step, and then Super. If he attacks or counter throws then he eats a Super. If he blocks then he gets four hits worth of block damage and you are safe from being punished.

Dhalsim

Dictator versus Dhalsim is a challenging affair. On the one hand, Dictator has the most explosive offense of any character in Super Turbo, and Dhalsim can be dizzied more easily than any other character. Two standing roundhouse kicks from Dictator can easily dizzy Dhalsim. Dictator also has a few tricks in the corner were he can very effectively set up a block string that is basically an infinite lock down (though the execution for the lock down is difficult). On the other hand, Dhalsim has a powerful and simple to execute throw loop that can be utilized against Dictator (because Dhalsim has a larger throw range), and Dhalsim has some inescapable corner sequences as well (unless Dictator has a Super).

Dhalsim also has incredible zoning potential, he has projectiles that control the entire horizontal playing field, an anti-air Yoga Flame that burns head stomps, devil's hands, and late jumping attacks, and his normal attacks and drills can zone Dictator from mid range and tick Dictator outside of Dictator's throw range. Not only that but Dhalsim can simply slide under head stomps and jumping attacks, if timed properly, and he'll either avoid the attack or outright win the exchange. Dhalsim's standing jab also stuffs all of Dictator's jumping normals if Dictator is late jumping in on Dhalsim. Dhalsim also has attacks that put him low enough to duck under devil's hand yet will still hit Dictator as he's landing.

Like everyone with a fireball, Dhalsim is vulnerable to simply being jumped in on, if he throws out a yoga fire at the wrong time. If your opponent likes to throw fireballs during mid range combat, and you can anticipate it, jump at your opponent and hit him with a jumping attack during his fireball animation's recovery. If your opponent recovers early from throwing a fireball, the worst that will happen is that you'll get hit with an anti-air jab, so the risk is far lower than the reward. However if you simply jump at your opponent, when he hasn't thrown a fireball, then you are leaving yourself open for a number of damaging attacks. Mindlessly jumping at your opponent hoping to score a touch of death or some other huge combo is not something to rely on in this match.

If Dictator pins Dhalsim in the corner that Dictator's character portrait is on, then he can use a specific block string to deal a continuous series of chip damage to Dhalsim. So if Dictator is the 1P player, and Dhalsim is the 2P player, Dhalsim must be in the corner with his back facing the left side of the screen. And if Dictator is the 2P player, and Dhalsim is the 1P player, Dhalsim must be in the corner with his back facing the right side of the screen. Once you've got Dhalsim pinned in the opposite corner from which he started in, it's time to initiate this block string:

• st.lk, cr.mp, mp.psycho crusher (the psycho crusher should hit twice), repeat starting at st.lk

Hit your opponent with a standing short, then a crouching strong punch, then a strong strength psycho crusher, all as a block string. Now, if the medium strength psycho crusher hits for two hits, then you can restart the sequence again. But only if the psycho crusher hits twice, you must pay attention, if it hits once then you will be leaving yourself open for a reversal throw if you go for a standing short. As long as the medium strength psycho crusher hits twice you can repeatedly perform this block string and chip Dhalsim over and over.

Now, if Dictator pins Dhalsim in the corner that Dhalsim's character portrait is on, then he can use a different block string, to also deal a continuous series of chip damage to Dhalsim. So if Dictator is the 1P player, and Dhalsim is the 2P player, Dhalsim must be in the corner with his back facing the right side of the screen. And if Dictator is the 2P player, and Dhalsim is the 1P player, Dhalsim must be in the corner with his back facing the left side of the screen. So once you've got Dhalsim pinned in the same corner that he started in, it's time to initiate this block string:

• cr.lp, cr.lp, st.lk, mp.psycho crusher, repeat starting at cr.lp

Unlike the first block string, this corner sequence causes the medium strength psycho crusher to hit twice ever time, meaning the series is continuous with no chance of Dhalsim getting out of it. No chance of getting out of it providing that you make zero execution mistakes however. Actually performing this block string without an input error is quite hard, but escaping it, as Dhalsim, is just as hard.

Master these two corner traps and you can really terrorize your opponent.

Serious Disadvantage Match-ups

E Honda:

Honda is one of Bison's worst matches because you can be very quickly overwhelmed and get put into a situation where you will lose the round in only a matter of seconds. If Honda puts you in the corner, and you don't have a Super ready, you're going to repeatedly eat a series of command throws, most likely until you die. The 'Ochio loop' is ferocious in this match, and needs to be avoided at all costs. Being pushed into the corner is virtually a guaranteed loss. You need to constantly be aware of your proximity to the corner, how far your opponent is from you, and what attacks he can threaten to lock you into the corner.

Throwing Honda, while avoiding getting thrown yourself, is also extremely difficult. Honda's normal throws have more range than Dictator's normal throws. So if Honda crosses you up, or safe jumps at you, he can then perform a tick that puts him just outside of your throw range, and he can freely throw you with his holds or with his command throw. So getting ticked by Honda is something you need to try hard to avoid. Even worse is that when you are on the offensive, and you try to tick throw Honda, he can simply store his command throw and negative edge it, giving him a risk free option to try to beat your throw attempts.

Honda's headbutts stuff almost everything that Dictator has on the ground, besides a very early jab psycho crusher. In order to beat a headbutt, or even Honda's super, you need to time your jab psycho crusher before your opponent starts his headbutt. This makes beating headbutts almost entirely unreliable, your opponent will basically have to telegraph his headbutts in order for you to win. If you can read your opponent correctly, and pick up on when he usually goes for a headbutt, you can anticipate one and beat it with a jab psycho crusher. Score a few of these and you might even be able to make your opponent hesitant about using headbutts. And if you can condition your opponent to refrain from using the headbutt to advance and control space on the ground you can advance and control space yourself a little bit more freely. Elite level Honda players however will rarely give you that luxury. They will knock you down, and stuff your advances with headbutts, and then follow them up with devastating okizeme tactics and sequences.

The only other way to stuff headbutts, from the ground, is rapid firing standing jab. The problem is that standing jab is not entirely reliable and will sometimes trade or lose to a headbutt unless you are furiously mashing the button down. And having to rapid fire jab that way will tire your hand out if you have to do it across long stretches in the round. If you are certain that your opponent is going for a headbutt, and you can't throw out a jab psycho crusher in time, then rapid fire jab. Rapid firing jab, taking a few steps, then rapid firing again, can be an effective, albeit risky way, of slowly advancing on the ground as well.

The best way to beat a headbutt from Honda isn't to beat it on the ground, but actually jumping over it in the air, and landing on Honda and punishing the recovery with a huge combo. If you are in the corner, and Honda headbutts at you, and you jump straight up, you'll land on top of Honda (with the right timing) and you can dish out a huge jumping combo and often inflict a dizzy. Even at mid screen Honda can pass slightly under you with a whiffed headbutt if you jump over him, and you'll fall right next to him, and you can hit him with a jumping attack then a followup combo while he's recovering from the whiffed headbutt.

If Honda whiffs a butt slam, and you are close enough, you can punish him with jumping strong punches and juggle him. These will knock him down and give you enough time to set up a jumping cross up, devil's hand, or a head stomp. You can also try to go air-to-air with Honda with jumping strong punches as well.

Medium strength psycho crusher almost always leaves you point blank next to Honda and open for his command throw or a headbutt to counter your throw attempt should you try one. Fierce psycho crusher can be punished by Honda's hands or his low roundhouse almost every time as well. Using either of these special moves to directly attack Honda will get you nowhere.

If your opponent likes to use Honda's butt slam as a reversal on wake up, you can do a Devil's Hand high in the air above Honda, and it will consistently beat his butt slam and knock him out of the air. Don't get too reliant on this strategy though, it might work once or twice, but your opponent will catch on rather quickly.

With no reversal, Bison loses to clp tick Ochio Throw. Bison has only one special move that beats Honda's headbutt clean, Jab Crusher. Jab Crusher must come out before the heabutt though, so it requires great timing. Your general ticking strategies won't work so well against Honda because he can store a reversal Ochio and then start ticking you back. You can zone him with mk/hk some, however, if you don't build that meter he can eventually land the one Ochio or blocked sequence he needs to win. Headbutts beat everything you want to do clean, jab crusher is unreliable as previously stated.

Chun, O.Ken, O.Sagat

External Links

Street Fighter Dojo: Dictator

NKI's translation of T.Akiba's Frame Information and SF2 Information

Yoga Book Hyper: Dictator Section in PDF format

Yoga Book Hyper: Dictator Basic Information

ST Dictator Thread at SRK

HDR Dictator Thread at SRK