Street Fighter 6/E.Honda/Introduction

Introduction

A sumo wrestler looking to bring the sport worldwide, E. Honda has the skills of a yokozuna, but his constant globetrotting has prevented his promotion. Also an expert chef renowned for mouthwatering chanko stew.

Edmond Honda is a powerful and aggressive rushdown character' with a speciality in long-range advancing offense. Honda's entire gameplan revolves around his signature sumo moves, burying opponents under a barrage of slaps, headbutts and ground slams until he's the only one left standing.

Honda's core move is Sumo Headbutt, a forward-moving special that just about does it all. If blocked normally, headbutt is safe and deals significant damage to the opponent's drive gauge. On hit, headbutt deals 1000+ damage and knocks down, leading to strong setplay. At close ranges, the headbutt is fast to start up and is difficult to react to or punish. Headbutt is also an anti-air, and OD headbutt has armor frames and works as a reversal. Opponents therefore can't carelessly approach Honda, as successful headbutts will get them slammed backwards. If opponents chose to block, they will burn out due to drive gauge damage, allowing Honda to begin nearly endless pressure against them. This forces opponents to take action and make risky guesses, and Honda capitalizes by forcing these interactions.

Outside of headbutt, Honda also has a great set of brawling tools. In close range, Honda has strong normals and target combos. Standing medium punch (5MP) is +1 on block and leads to tricky offensive sequences. At far range, Honda can poke with crouching medium punch (2HP) and harai kick (6HK). Oicho Throw (a damage-dealing command grab) and Sumo Smash (a combo finisher and anti-air that is plus on block) round out Honda's offense. Once he's gotten the hit, Honda is capable of dealing exceptional damage thanks to the mighty Hundred-Hand Slap, an incredible combo starter/filler/ender that is safe on block. Allowing Honda to stay still at fullscreen will let him apply Sumo Spirit, a buff that makes successful conversions with Hundred-Hand Slap hurt even more. All of this can make Honda very difficult to deal with once he's gotten close.

While Honda's offense is nothing short of devastating, it does have one major weakness- committment. Unlike a lot of characters, Honda is all in or all out. He has poor movement speed, meaning his footsies can be somewhat lacking. He lacks a throw loop, and Oicho Throw resets him back to neutral on landing it. While Honda has great pokes, his Medium normals are notably either stubbier or slower than the majority of the cast, and he lacks a low to cancel into Drive Rush for demonstrating neutral control. Thus, Honda relies quite a bit on headbutt to get the job done in many matchups. That said, headbutt is a fantastic move that compliments Honda's gameplan well, so smart Honda players have to learn when to go ham and when to back off and be patient. Honda rewards both styles well, as any sumo should. If you love getting up close and personal and live for the feeling of landing a good headbutt or hand slap, there's no better Rikishi to show you the ropes than E. Honda.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Well-Rounded Offense: Honda has a wide variety of offensive options. He can run high-low mixups, can run strike-throw mixups with normal throw or command grab, has moves that are plus on block, deals significant drive bar damage, etc. Although Honda is not necessarily the strongest in any single category, his offense is robust and allows him to adapt to the defensive options of any other character. In addition, the variety of offensive options can overwhelm opponents who are unfamiliar with the matchup. Safe Specials: Sumo headbutt and LP/OD hundred hand slap leave Honda at minimal disadvantage, and sumo smash is plus on block for all versions. This allows Honda to keep up offensive pressure and chip the opponent's drive gauge without fear of a guaranteed punish. Against opponents in burnout, these specials are even more effective. Efficient Conversions: Sumo spirit is an install special that lets Honda convert small hits into large damage. Honda can also drive rush crouching light punch (2LP) into combos. This allows Honda to represent high damage combos in many situations. High Drive Bar Damage: Headbutt depletes an entire bar of drive gauge if blocked. Opponent's have to carefully manage their drive gauge when fighting Honda and either have less to use (because they have blocked headbutt) or they have to make risky guesses (such as parry).

No Throw Loop: Honda cannot perform throw loops off normal throw or oicho throw, even in the corner or by spending drive gauge. For more information, see Throw Loop. Footsies: Honda's medium normals are shorter and/or slower than much of the cast, and he doesn't have any long-range low attack he can cancel into drive rush. He also has a very slow backwards walk speed, meaning he cannot shimmy and whiff punish as well as faster characters. Characters with good neutral pokes, especially buttons that hit low and can be drive rushed, can out-footsie Honda, and Honda must rely heavily on headbutt. Weak Corner Defense: Honda's only true reversal is Show of Force, which costs 1 super meter. OD headbutt has armor but is not invincible, so it loses to throws and cannot be used at very low life. In addition, Honda's medium attacks are outranged by many other characters (such as Juri and Kim). Honda therefore can be pressured in the corner and requires good defensive instincts.