Samurai Shodown IV/Haohmaru

WIP

Colors

Overview

Haohmaru, the drunk and lovable protagonist of the series is back, and he’s coming back swinging. While both Techniques lost some of their stronger gimmicks in the shift from SS3 to SS4, Haohmaru is still both an honest midrange character and also a complete and total gorilla.

Slash

Slash, sadly, lost almost everything that gave him an identity apart from Bust in SamSho 4. He lost his air specials and Zankousen from SamSho 3, and gained hardly anything new to make up for it. This means his gameplay is basic Haohmaru stuff with relatively little spice. He’s got everything he needs to succeed, and is absolutely one of the stronger characters, but Bust has all of that combined with way better offensive AND defensive presence.

Bust

Bust’s moveset is kept mostly intact, with nerfs across the board. He’s not going to be turning fireballs into infinites this time, but his tools and combos remain some of the most potent in the entire game. In spite of the toning down Gou Ha received, it still manages to open up an infinite that can be done regardless of screen position. Even if he didn’t have everything better by default in this Technique, Gou Ha alone would still render Bust the superior pick.

Normals

Far Slashes

f.5A	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - Yes Mid Yes No A somewhat fast swing with stubby range.

f.5B	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 17-15(20-18) - - - - - Yes Mid Yes No A somewhat slow, but decent-range poke.

f.5C	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 39(46) - - - - - Yes Mid No No A slow, but long-range attack. Longer range, higher damage, and new visual effects during Rage.

f.2A	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No Mid Yes No Slower version of f.5A, but crouching.

f.2B	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 17(22) - - - - - Yes Mid Yes No Similar to f.2A, but does more damage.

f.2C	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 36,23(42,27) - - - - - Yes Mid No No A somewhat slow upwards swing. Works as an anti air.

Close Slashes

c.5A	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No Mid Yes No A quick jab, his fastest normal by far.

c.5B	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 17(20) - - - - - Yes Mid Yes No A quick slash that's useful for combos.

c.5C	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 36(42) - - - - - Yes Mid No No A slow downward swing. noticeably faster than f.5C.

c.2A	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No Mid Yes No Same as c.5A, only crouching.

c.2B	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 19(22) - - - - - No Mid Yes No Slower version of c.2A that can combo into things like c.5B.

c.2C	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 36,23(42,27) - - - - - Yes Mid No No Identical to f.2C

Kicks

5D	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No Mid No Yes A slow upward kick. Makes for an okay anti-air.

6D	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 3(4) - - - - - No Low No Yes A low kick that does even less damage than 5D.

2D	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 4(5) - - - - - No Low No Yes A low kick that is slightly faster, and does slightly more damage than 6D.

3D	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - - Low No Yes Haohmaru's Sweep. Slides forward and knocks down.

Jumping Normals

j.A	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No High Landing No Jumping version of f.5A. Makes for a good air-to-air.

j.B	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 17(20) - - - - - No High Landing No A slower version of j.A that does more damage.

j.C	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 25(29) - - - - - No High Landing No An airborne downward swing. Makes for a decent air-to-air, but it has less range than j.A and j.B.

j.D	Damage(Rage) Chip Damage (Rage) Startup Active Recovery Hit Adv Block Adv Deflect Guard Cancel Unarmed 8(9) - - - - - No High Landing Yes A jumping Kick that has less range than j.A and j.B.

Special Moves

Both

-Senpu Retsuzan - 236S

• Description - Senpu Retsuzan is your standard fireball, with each slash button determining how far it flies and increasing recovery. You can follow up on it with a heavy pursuit, leading to fair damage for a low risk fireball.

It's also worth noting that the Bust Version puts you in a juggle state, unlike the Slash version. This allows Bust Haohmaru to combo into his 623S, j.C, or WFT.

-Kogetsu Zan - 623S (Rage Special)

• Description - Kogetsu Zan is your DP, and a fine one at that. Effective as an anti-air, reversal, and your main combo tool.

When raged, it does more hits+damage and allows you to land a heavy pursuit if they’re near the corner.

-Shippu Kogetsu Zan - 623S While Running

• Description - This is an alternate version of Kogetsu Zan that moves forward during the attack and inflicts a longer knockdown. The light version is the best of the bunch, as it nets you a free heavy pursuit afterwards.

Slash Only

-Resshin Zan - 421S

• Description - Resshin Zan is a gimmicky overhead special. All versions startup fast and knock down, with each slash button determining how far Haohmaru leaps. Spacing this so only the tip hits on block makes it somewhat safe.

-Tenha Fujinzan - 4632AB (WFT)

• Description - Tenha Fujinzan is a slightly below average WFT. Deals alright damage, and can be used as a reversal thanks to invincibility and quick startup. Due to not catching on hit, it doesn’t properly juggle airborne opponents and can be exploded out of, leaving Haohmaru with empty POW.