Street Fighter IV Characters

Fighter Overview

Consider C. Viper an expert's character, and one that pays off for the work put into her. She's got so many neat tricks that require kind of ridiculous execution that we imagine the surface has only been scratched on the topic of C. Viper strategy. She's got a couple of interesting cancels that let her do stuff other characters can't, plus a relatively painless way to combo into her ultra, so she's good for damage, too.

C.Viper's first intriguing cancel is executed with a super jump. Just press   quickly to execute a super jump, which is good for crossing the length of the screen in an instant. Viper can use the super jump to cancel her Seismic Hammer (    + P ) as long as the Hammer connects with the opponent (either a hit or a block). You can use this for applying pressure, canceling the normal latency of the Seismic with a forward jump. You can also use the super jump to cancel almost all of Viper's ground normals. You can further cancel the beginning of the super jump with some special moves, like a Seismic Hammer, but the timing is pretty tight. Or you can cancel it with a Focus Attack that doesn't bleed your super meter like a typical FADC, letting you dash forward instantly for free. The timing isn't easy, though, and we haven't really seen it used competitively.

Her second unique cancel is triggered by tapping PP immediately after inputting the command for her Seismic Hammer or Thunder Knuckle (    + P ) specials. With this cancel, Viper feints the attack and you can spam cancels to keep the opponent always guessing. As well, you can use the PP cancel to link normal attacks that wouldn't otherwise combo—such as c.HP c.HP—by canceling the first normal with a Thunder Knuckle, canceling the Thunder Knuckle with PP, and then executing the second normal. You can also use the cancel simply as pressure, poking with a normal, canceling the normal with a Thunder Knuckle, canceling the Thunder Knuckle with PP and then dashing forward for a grab attempt. Don't worry, it's not easy for us, either.

Cancels aren't Viper's only tricks. Using her Burning Kick (    + K ) in the air will net you cross-ups if your spacing is right, and you can cancel into a cross-up Burning Kick off of a j.HK from the front. That gives you a quick one-two air attack that hits from the front and from behind, so it's difficult to guard against. Her specials are generally pretty good for pressure since they're rangy and relatively safe on block. Do lots of poking with c.MK and cancel into her MP Thunder Knuckle for pressure, or go for a grab.

Viper's got two cross-up normals, her j.MK and her j.HK, both of which can lead to combos. She can dodge fireballs with her overhead Viper Elbow (  + MP ), as well as with LP Thunder Knuckles. And, as outlined below, she's got a great setup for her ultra combo which does pretty awesome damage. Play Viper aggressively and you should be able to open the opponent up for the ultra, which is key to Viper's success.

Combos

c.LK s.LK c.MP xx    + MP

A simple combo off of a solid poke string. If the first pokes get blocked you've got plenty of time to react and not execute her Thunder Knuckle. Or you can execute the Thunder Knuckle anyway since it's pretty safe on block.

c.HP xx    + PP xx        + HK       + PPP

This is Viper's bread-and-butter entry to her ultra combo. You can actually land it without the c.HP and from fairly far away, using the EX Seismic Hammer to tag the opponent from afar (say, through a fireball) and then immediately cancel with a forward super jump. Connect with a HK Burning Kick in the air and you'll land before the opponent, ready to juggle with an ultra combo.

j.HK s.MP c.MP xx    + MP xx       + P

Here's an easy way to combo into Viper's super combo, should you find yourself not using super meter on her EX moves (you really should use her EX moves). If you land the initial j.HK as a cross-up, ignore the first s.MP in the combo and go straight for the c.MP as the two hits won't link following a cross-up.

Moves List

Viper Elbow	+ MP	NORMAL
A very good overhead that's great for applying pressure. It's also good for hopping over fireballs. It's a bit riskier than just jumping over them, but it does leave C. Viper vulnerable for less time so it's worth getting down the timing.

Double Kick	+ HK	NORMAL
Good range as a poke and it's pretty safe on block provided the second hit touches the opponent. If you start the attack from too far out, the second hit will whiff and leave Viper vulnerable.

Thunder Knuckle	+ P	SPECIAL
Each P button gives you a different effect. The LP Thunder Knuckle goes low and will pass under medium and high fireballs. The MP version is fastest and should be the one you use for general pressuring. And the HP Thunder Knuckle acts as an anti-air with decent priority and speed. If you connect the HP version as an anti-air, you can usually juggle with a second HP Thunder Knuckle before the opponent hits the ground, adding a bit of injury to injury.

Burning Kick	+ K	SPECIAL
Fairly safe on block if you make sure to attack with it at max range, so it's good for pressure. In the air, the MK and HK versions can quite easily cross-up the opponent, good for an easy knock down.

Seismic Hammer	+ P	SPECIAL
Good for beating out fireballs as it travels the length of the screen in an instant. As mentioned earlier, you can cancel the Seismic Hammer with a super jump even if it gets blocked, so you can continuing pressure afterward. The EX version is key to landing Viper's ultra combo, so feel free to spam it and be ready to react with a super jump, air Burning Kick and ultra combo.

Emergency Combination	+ P	SUPER COMBO
It's a solid super that's easy to combo into, but it doesn't have any invincibility on start up so it doesn't have much use outside of combos. Because Viper's EX Seismic Hammer is so key to her game, it's unlikely you'll use this much.

Burst Time	+ PPP	ULTRA COMBO
It sort of works as an anti-air, but not really. It's pretty useless outside of combos, but devastating within. Get used to setting up the ultra combo with EX Seismic Hammers. It's pretty important to successful Viper play.