Bound [Tekken 6 Impressions]

We've had some more time with Tekken 6 now. Not much more, what with Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Borderlands (and requisite Smash) soaking up free time like a wad of gauze. I've beaten Azazel in Arcade mode, and dabbled ever so slightly in the Scenario Campaign, which is dreadful as far as I can tell.

Of course, the meat of any fighting game is facing off against other people, preferably in person. Rah Digga and Lego have been more than happy to oblige. How are things going?

Lego is rotating his old mains Ganryu, Wang Jinrei, Baek, and the highly revamped Law and mixing it up some with fat Bob. While he always been crafty, Lego's Law fights with a fury unseen. I'm not sure exactly how they've changed Law, but Lego is parrying attacks like it's 1999 (the year Third Strike was released, natch).

Rah Digga, much to her own delight, is having more success than ever with Christie Monteiro, the Nana to Eddy Gordo's Popo. A real pain so far, just as in T5:DR (just as in T5). Her ability to mix it up while staying below most attacks is infuriating to say the least, but, you know, can't knock the hustle.

As for myself, it's been going. Rah's tricky Monteiro is the biggest threat at the moment, as I can usually trade rematches with Lego. First I thought I'd be able to use Dragunov's new low reversal to shut down Christie's capoeira, but it turns out to be very difficult to anticipate a low attack from someone who is button mashing. I then thought trusty ol' Steve Fox would do teh trick with his Sonic Fang and stomp setups. Alas, not much luck. The only clean defeat (which was quickly followed by a losing rematch) was with Kazuya (in his new Daft Punk costume pictured below). Whereas I used to end his juggles with [df+4,4] I can now use [f+4] to bound and hit [f,n,df+4,1].

I'm also learning the ins and outs of Alisa Bosconovitch, but in the meantime, Lego doesn't know her ins and outs either, which makes for exciting rounds.

I know Dragunov's movelist better than anyone else's, so the differences have made a more profound impression on me.

[df+1,4]	A great mixup with Sergei's excellent [df+1]. This quick poke can now be followed up with a spin kick which combos on counterhit. I've been trying to use it 50/50 to punish someone trying to pressure after blocked [df+1].
[df+1+2]	Drag's new low reversal. Haven't got the hang of timing this yet, but it's got the potential to be game changing. One more tool to mix it up.
[4,1]	There are now a few followups to standing [4], but this is probably the best. It's a solid juggle substitute for [1,1] and it seems to be pretty close to neutral on block.
[FDFA, 1+2~1+2]	Sergei's Living Dead is a giacreepy way to rise from the Face Down Feet Away position, and now it can be cancelled into a tackle, which is another great way to deal damage. Careful, though, this can get really obvious if done regularly.

I need to run through Kazuya's movelist to find the changes, and probably a great number more times to absorb Alisa's massive arsenal. Stay tuned.