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Basics Getting Started Openers 1-3 Summary Rolling Claw Sky High Claw
Barcelona Attack Izna Drop Backflips Useful Normals 5-10 Summary
Anti Air Options Scarlet Terror Super Izna Drop Tick Throwing Shoto Tactic
vs Ryu vs Ken vs Akuma vs Sagat vs Bison vs Guile Sharizords Matchups
Suggest changes here.
Okay, first of all I'm going to assume you can play. By play I mean, block, jump, attack and defend. I would suggest learning the basics with another character other than Vega, he's unusual to play in the least. In SF2 there are several similar characters, but to me Vega stands out as a real one off. I also think he's a character that though rewarding to play is harder to 'get into' than most of the other characters.
The first thing you should do when starting to play Vega is go into training mode and get confident at some of his specials. If you are starting out I would focus on the Ariel Claw - D charge U and Punch. The rolling claw, B charge F and punch. And the two variations on the off-the-wall attack. The Barcelona Attack and the Izna drop. Which are both D charge U and kick - then punch when close, or very close for the Izna drop - Vegas off-the wall ariel throw. Forget his super for now, and I wouldn't bother with the Scarlet terror until you are comfortable with everything else he's got. It's a great move with high priority and good invincibility, but it can be tricky to pull off and you have to get the timing perfect with it, your opponent has to be very close for it to contact.
The most basic and obvious opener for Vega is his low, sliding heavy kick. If you get a knock down an easy follow on is the rolling claw. With the rolling claw try to time it so that the first hit lands as your opponent is getting hittable. If you get it wrong you will leave a massive gap for a reversal. This takes some getting the hang off. If your opponent keeps blocking low, use the sliding heavy kick to knock yourself back for a jumping kick or claw and start the process again. During this you are open to reversals, but you can make it hard for the other person by timing the hit contact for exactly as they get up.
The off the wall attack is an option, be aware of people with good anti-air though and read the section on using the off-the-wall I write in a bit. It's a funny move the off-the-wall, it can get you torn to shreds or it can frustrate someone to hell - all depending on how you use it.
The Ariel Claw is an option that can surprise people and get you an easy hit. I don't use it often as generally, almost anything else is a better option. The ariel claw is very useful - but I'll go into that in a later part.
Jump in kick/claw can throw people, Vega has a fast jump so it can be worth a try - usually after you have started with the low slide a few times and they start with a low block.
Some characters will do a move that goes over your low slide - notably the shoto's. If hurricane or bird kick, as you stop the slide, jab light claw and this should pull them out of it. Letting you start a pattern as they get up.
Later we'll go into the Scarlet terror as a starter - but I'm going to leave it for now.
You will find that if you keep starting with a low slide, your opponent will probably switch to a neutral jump kick or jump back and kick. If you anticipate this happening - go for the aerial claw. The next time they will probably start with a jump in kick - so have a scarlet terror ready and catch them as they land.
As you start to play better players the low slide will become less useful as an opener. Liquid Viper states th following:-
I think there is a little too much emphasis on the Slide as an opener. The success rate, I think, is considerably low. Chances are, if you're fighting someone who knows what they're doing, they're already going to be blocking thinking an Izuna drop is coming. A fake dive would work best in that situation...or a high Sky High Claw since that cuts through the center of the screen and has decent priority. Chances are good that it will it since a lot of people are instantly doing an anti-air move and by the time the Claw hits, they will be recovering for the move and be vulnerable.
I just don't think the slide is so safe to open with. It's an invaluable tool(as you've seen me use it to close in on dizzy people ) but it can be unreliable in some instances. Despite great recovery it's still somewhat of a risk.
My comment on this was:-
I hear what you are saying. I think it depends largely on the skill of your opponent and the character they are using. Most Guile's Ryu's and Ken's I face open with a fireball - which the slide will trade hits and do a bit more damage, plus I think you get up quicker so it's not that bad. Better players open by jumping backwards - which is best caught with an Aerial Claw. The thing is - if they think you will open with an aerial claw they will change to a jump forwards kick - so holding a Scarlet Terror to unleash is best.
Vega's worst opener is the claw roll I think, I had some guy keep using it vs me last night as an opener and it seemed to be beat by anything. Against a turtler, the fake wall dive works well, and is pretty safe vs most people, fireball openers might catch you though. I will put all this stuff in the next edit though. Thanks for pointing it out - you've raised a valid point.
Mad Possum stated:-
I'm not a Vega expert but I open with a crouching strong a lot. It's fast, recovers quickly, and stuffs almost anything they stick out (including hitting a fireball before it comes out). Vega's 2 best pokes are standing forward kick and crouching strong.
PlastikLaze said:-
As Balrog, I already have to sort of 50/50 guess what Vega's going to open with a poke. It's either going to be c.strong or c.roundhouse. 'Rog's own c.strong will beat Vega's c.strong, and his c.forward can beat the slide. If they plan on opening up with an Izuna drop, I'll have a headbutt ready just in case they decide to fly in my direction. I didn't read your guide yet, so I think you should make sure Vega players watch out for this.
What all this means in real terms is that with Vega, yuor opener is largely down to anticipating what yuor opponent will do. If they know you are going to slide, their best bet is a jump-in roundhouse, sweep, cross-up combo. If you know they are going to do this a scarlet terror on charge is the best option. In my experience most intermediate players will try a light DP, horizontal rush attack if they have one or jump back and kick. If they don't have a horizontal rush, the aerial claw will probably score a hit and lure them into jumping in with their next opener - which you can scarlet terror. Fake wall dive is farly safe, but the arc on Ken's fierce DP will mean you do risk being hit, its safer vs other characters. You can always wait and let them make the first move. If you do a crouching block, you can take chip damage and decide what to do afterwards. From a starting position, Bisons psycho crusher will pass through you and leave him open to a sweep. Blanka's horizontal roll will land him in sweep range. Honda is tougher, but I find his torpedo easier to scarlet terror for some reason.
If you use an opener that scores a nasty hit, think if that had just happened to me - what would I open with to counter it? 7 / 10 times people seem to assume you will use the same thing again if it worked well - and will act is if you are going to.
Okay, so if you've followed parts 1 to 3 and had a play you should have a few specials to use, and an idea of how to start a round. In this part I'm going to go into more details about how to play a round once you've got through that opening moment. To start with I'm going to look at what your options are. Namely the specials we've covered so far, and a few of Vega's normals which you will find useful.
A heavy rolling claw will do high damage if you can get every strike to contact. The problem with a rolling claw is the gap between hits and the pause from execution to the first hit landing. It's a good pressure move and can occasionally get you out of harms way, but it doesn't appear to have much or anything in the way of invincibility and is risky to use unless you are on the offensive.
There are few uses for might at first seem a slightly pointless move. It's low damage, can leave you vulnerable and needs careful thought about when to use it. The most useful application of this move is when you are facing an irritatingly 'jumpy' character. A character who seems to spend the entire match jumping about. Yes the scarlet terror is good for this too, but it needs excellent timing. You can throw this off from the other side of the screen and expect a hit. A few of these will usually ground jumpers because they will et fed up of being hit. It can be used to go over fireballs and get in on characters with a good anti-air as you'll hit them more quickly than the standard off the wall move. It's difficult to execute this though - if you are on the edge of the screen it simply won't work as it relys on him getting high before hitting the wall. Other than that it's good move to throw at someone to try something different and get them thinking again. The risk with it, due to an annoyingly long recovery time is you can be hit after striking. Use with caution, but use!
[From LiquidViper:]
The Aerial Claw -
You covered the main bits of it but I have a couple more uses for it.
The three different punches shoot Vega off into different angles. Fierce Punch shoots him at the sharpest/lowest angle(think toward someone's knees), Medium punch a little higher(around their waist) and my main use, Light Punch. Light punch basically allows Vega to travel across the middle of the screen(aka overhead). It's a decent escape move since it goes over a ton of moves. However, bigger opponents are harder to get back. Some cases you can hit the bigger guys(T.Hawk, Sagat, Zangief, etc). This move is great to get out of a tough spot as well. However, as mentioned, the recovery time is really bad. So, if you land too close to the opponent be prepared to take some hits if they are too quick. It's possible to tick throw them out of the recovery but it can be fairly tough.
Also, it's a great mix up tool when used with the Barcelona and Fake Dive.
7. Off the wall Barcelona Attack.
This is a good move, but not as good as it was is in classic move - as you don't get the knock-down. You will have better range on the side with the claw on. It has good priority but you will get knocked down by dragon punches and flash kicks and such. A good follow is a low slide or a jumping kick. A lot of the time, you'll hit with this when you are going for the Izna drop until you are used to the distances better. It's quite good for getting in on fireball throwers, but anti-airs will get you more often than not.
[From LiquidViper:]
Barcelona Dive -
The new Fake Dive is a GREAT tool since it changes Vega's mix up quite a bit. I use it a lot against Guiles. If you Fake Dive almost immediately, a lot of Guiles will preemptively use a Flash Kick which will allow you to move in and capitalize.
Against Dhalsims, it can be used in a similar way. Dhalsims may try to keep you at bay with Fierce Punches and Kicks but this is a way to quickly come down and try to slide into them. Also striking quickly with the Barcelona Claw dive is useful.
Another thing I use with the Izuna Drop/Dive is 'juking'. Think of it sort of lightly zig zagging in the air then executing the Izuna. If you are able to do it right people will get confused as to where you are trying to throw them from(front or behind them) which makes them whiff whatever move they're trying to pull off.
Okay - same as Barcelona attack but closer. This is a throw so it can't be blocked. Sometimes you can get this move on REALLY easily if you have the timing and distance and your oponent doesn't know how to deal with it. If you are getting it on really easily - don't win the entire round with just this move - every time I've done it, the person quits on me. Vega has enough in his bag that you can win the round other ways without pissing people off so much they quit.
Okay, we've through the specials, now I want to talk about Vega's main trick and his tactical centre-piece. The off-the wall special.
Now if you just use it willy-nilly you are going to be very vulnerable and are going to get smacked alot. The way to use it is to cross-up, cross up often and keep people on the floor. It IS possible to grab Guile out of a flash kick, but you really want to wrong-side him for it. Honda will be a tough match for you, for one reason with his invincible light sumo torpedo - keep crossing up with this and you can keep him from using it. Shoto dragon punches will catch you out every time if you just dive in, use this move to cross-up, then cross-up again and Shoto's will be reduced to normals for anti-air. Guile is a problem, as is any character with a D then U anti-air. These can't really be crossed up the same. With most characters it doesn't matter as their anti-airs are quite poor. With Guile, his flash kick has silly invincibility and priority and takes up most of the screen. Your only hope here is to use the fake-wall dive to lull him into doing anti-airs at the wrong time. Savvy Guiles won't fall for it though and will alternate slow sonic booms and flash-kicks, meet someone who does this and you have a real task on your hands getting in. General rule - use this to cross-up and hit/grab people as they get up. you will get hit with reversals but good timing and practice can make this harder for people. Don't forget you can go to the opposite wall first - and sometimes this is your best bet for a good cross-up.
You goal with Vega is to knock someone down and keep them from getting up. Don't get into a slugging match, Vega can do good damage but a Zangief will hardly have to touch you, where as you will have to work hard to get his energy down. The same is true for many characters - most will have more stamina than Vega. Vega takes ALOT of damage so focus on NOT being hit.
[From PballDepot:]
One quick note on the Izuna drop; Immediately when you go off the wall, or anytime in the air if an opponent hits any button before you're in range, you can hit the Izuna drop on them 100% of the time. More knowledgeable players will wait until you're right on top of them to throw a move, but in the heat of battle it's not always so easy. It works just as well when an opponent misses a special move (i.e. Guile's flash kick, Ken's DP, or DJ's upkicks,) or when they jump in the air and spam a move. Knowing where an opponents move ends and when they start recovering from it is a big part of successfully employing Vega's wicked air game.
[From LiquidViper:]
The double backflip (which is medium kick + medium punch) is the more useful of the two. If you time it correctly, fireballs/projectiles can go right through you thanks to its invincibility frames. For light hurricane kicks and whatnot, you can use the double backflip to quickly escape at the right distance. Usually, when Ryu/Ken is recovering from the hurricane kick, your backflip has finished and you can hit a Flip Kick afterwards. It's a nice counter that I don't see other Vegas use. The scariest Vega I fight is RoRoYung(I think that's his name). The others rely far too much on the Claw Dive/Izuna drop. Which, is you're fighting Vega vs Vega is easily escapable with a slide. It goes the perfect distance to avoid being hit or thrown.
Standing roundhouse kick - If someone jumps at you at the start of the round(or anytime if you play waiting game with Vega) just knock them out of the air with this kick. It has excellent range and I'd say it's a definite worthwhile anti air....more reliable than a Crouching Fierce Punch.
Medium punch - Probably Vega's best poke. It's great to link multiple Crouching Medium punches then a Crouching Fierce Punch.
The Slide - Useful to get out of tricky situations and a worthwhile escape move. I can't count how many times I've slid under hurricane kicks or Dragon Punches etc. Works great to avoid cross ups as it gives you the perfect distance to retreat.
Basic Vega Normal Move Analysis: From Sharizord - a top Live ranked Vega Player.
LP - Short range but has some uses.
When times correctly can and will beat Psycho Crusher, Blanka Ball and Torpedo
aswell as similar moves.
MP - It's basically a standing slower version of but has some minor uses due to it's higher hitbox.
HP - Extremely long range normal. Mainly useful for establishing distance, for punishing and poking you have better moves.
LK - Suprisingly high priority. Very fast and is an excellent tick throw setup.
MK - Godlike normal. Wins matches on it's own. The end of the leg has enormous priority due to it's completely invulnerable hitbox. Completely shuts down Shotos in the corner. The close version of it is also probably your best Tick setup since it pushes you to optimal range.
HK - Very good Anti Air the entire upper front part is invulnerable and punishes jump-ins easily during the initial jump arc.
Crouching LP - Has 1 frame less recovery the more often used Crouching MP but deals alot less damage and has less range. Generally i have not found a situation where Crouching MP is not superior.
Crouching MP - The poke that defines Vega. Extremely safe and extremely fast. Deals good damage and can dominate some characters on it's own.
Crouching HP - Very good Anti Air with massive invulnerability on the level of MK at it's tip. Will trade or beat most Jump attacks if placed correctly.
Crouching LK - Main use is being able to be comboed into Clawroll. roll will combo fairly consistently whereas the others are fairly position dependant.
Crouching MK - Your main close range normal when they are too close for Crouching MP since it will whiff against close opponents. Should always be linked into either Crouching MP or another Crouching MK - Crouching MP depending on positioning. If you want to be fancy at close range you can do Crouching MK into HK flipkick x2.
Crouching HK - The slide. The move is fairly special in that it will beat most things along as it is done when your opponent already has their move out. This is due to the hitbox having invulnerability at the tip which moves forwards and basically bulldozes your opponent. It's an extremely good move and wins the match against Guile almost on it's own.
Jumping LK - Nearly indistinguishable from Jumping MK other than having more hitting frames and doing less damage. It does have only 1 frame of startup though.
Jumping MP - Stops walldives clean and has great range as a jump-in. Always hold back or towards when you are doing it as an Air to Air as to have a chance of getting your air throw.
Jumping HP - The neutral version is indistinguishable from the other besides doing more damage and have very few hitting frames. The forward and back version on the other hand are extremely good with extremely high priority.
Jumping LK - Pointless. Do not use this move.
Jumping MK - The neutral one has fairly high priority and can stop alot of things and the jump-in version hits at a very nice angle with quite good priority making it good at stopping hard to deal with normals such as Fei:s Crouching HP.
Jumping HK - Does not have as much priority as
Jumping HP but makes up for it by hitting extremely low making it the ideal
punisher for poorly timed Hadous and the like. Also has very high priority
on the neutral version but with the foot
Okay so if you've been following the guide so far you should have a few options to start, a couple of specials to throw out and be using the off-the-wall to cross people up. You should be trying for rolling claw, sweep, jump-in patterns and trying to keep your opponent down. I'd like to hope you were landing a lot of nice Izna Drops on people. We are now going to get into some Vega's more advanced tactics.
Vega has a few anti-air options. Firstly a ducking Fierce claw will catch jumpers who are at long range. Priority isn't amazing, but it's probably safer than a slide. If they've unleased and pulled back a Heavy Jumping kick - the slide isn't bad - but you'll find people landing and blocking successfully a lot of the time - so if they are in range for the crouching Fierce claw - use that.
As mentioned be someone else in Part 2, his standing Roundhouse is a great medium range anti-air, good priority and fairly safe.
Vega's ultimate anti-air is the Scarlet terror - or flip kick. Which I will go into later in this section. It has invincibility, can go through fireballs and fast recovery. A heavy one will do two hits at close enough range and massive damage.
13. The Scarlet Terror (Or Flipkick.)
First of all - this is a tricky move to pull off. You can ONLy charge with down and back at the same time. Backwards will not work. So charge buffering won't work. You have to be close to connect. The range makes this difficult to time - but if you can time it the priority is ridiculous, I have knocked Eddie Honda out of a super move using this - no lie. The trouble is you have to time it spot on to work.
This is also a pretty decent starter move - particularly if your opponent is starting with a jump-in attack. You can probably wait to see if they are holding 'jump-in' and execute when they are in the air. The risk with this move is if you don't connect you are vulnerable for a split second, but recovery is fast so I wouldn't worry too much. If you charge this back while sliding in with the sweep, and your opponent backs into the corner then tries to catch you out with a jumping straight up - kick you on the way down tactic, unleash this with a heavy for two hits.
It's also a better move to knock people out of a hurricane kick. The ducking claw jab will work, but a heavy flip kick will do a lot more damage and if your timing is on - is just as safe if not safer. You will lose out against dragon punches on the way up with move - beware. Flash kicks I'm not sure, most other ant-airs you will win or exchange hits I believe, with the exception of anti-air supers.
On a closing note - learn and practice this move. It's hard to get into your game, but without it your Vega is running on 50%, it's really that important!
14. Vega's Super Shadow Special.
First of all how to do this - the diagram isn't too clear so I will explain. It's not actually that hard a super to pull off, but its arguably one of the best in the game. To pull it off the easiest way - charge DB count to three, then quickly and smoothly push D, DF, D, DB, UF - so you roll forwards and back across the bottom axis of the controller then push up and forwards and hit kick. Then when you get really close from the wall dive go for an Izna drop - with Fierce Punch. Now it is possible to pull off jumping off the back wall, but I can't pull it off reliably so I can't really tel you how to do the motion.
This is really a great move - without it your Vega is running on 75% even if you are comfortable with the scarlet terror. Why? well, firstly if you get the execution wrong you will probably still do something useful. Some characters failed execution means they end up flailing around uselessly or throwing a standing or jumping punch/kick at really the wrong time. With Vega you are likely to either -
i. Do a normal Izna Drop - sure it's not perfect but not bad?
ii. Do a Barcelona Attack - Hey it's a hit?
Of all the throwing supers I think Vega's is easiest to pull off, it does massive damage and cant be blocked. One problem I have found is due to the long animation if you finish someone with this who you have been pissing off for the entire round it gives them plenty of time to quit on you. Use training mode with full super bar turned on to practice this, get is so you can pull it off easily, basically it's just like using an Izna drop but you get masses more damage. You will probably find you can use it quite early in the round too. If you are doing the slide, roll, jump in pattern - every blocked hit will raise your super meter. If they are on a quarter health you will probably finish off most characters with this move!
As yet I havent found a reliable way to consistently tick throw with Vega. If someone is blocking like mad, you can risk omitting a move, then grab them for a standing suplex. Or throw out Barcelona attacks to get them blocking - then do the Izna Drop - but these are not the classic tck-throw patters playable by Balrogs, Dhalsims and to an extent Guile, Honda and Zangief.
Okay, if you've been following the other parts to this, then you should be able to play a match and enjoy some success. However you are probably strugglig with the odd match-up. Even if you are a Vega master - IE better than me, there will be some tough match-ups. Vega's slightly bizarre play-style isn't suited to fighting some of the world warriors.
[From PballDepot:]
Vega doesn't seem to have basic tick throw that I've found either, though his regular throw has great priority and will beat out a lot of characters at close range. (Throwing Giefs and T-Hawks before they can throw you is a very satisfying practice, and fun to do.) I do wish his basic jumping Air throw was better though.
16. General Shoto Tactic [From LiquidViper:]
Also, against shotos/Sagat, a useful tactic is 'baiting' them into a DP. If you try to jump in, they will just about always try to nail you with a DP. What I like to do, is jump forward but not into them. Just short of them; very, very similar to a safe jump but you don't get as close. You just have to make the other guy believe you're jumping in. When they go do the DP, just poke them with MP or c.MP. Don't do it everytime though, this is more if you want to mix things up and keep them guessing.
Essentially, don't jump INTO them. Jump just short of them. Vega is quick enough in the air that you can adjust the distance you jump and where to land. This will more than likely cause the other person to try to DP you since natural reaction causes them to do so. Ken is just a LITTLE bit trickier since he has some invincibility but a c.MP works very well against them. You can do it during his recovery or right after his DP hits its peak.
First of all, most of the time when you meet a Ryu, it's probably nothing to worry about. Most of the Ryu you meet will be people who have just started playing and haven't really 'finalised' their main character yet. That said Ryu in the right hands can be deadly. There are three main lines of assault for Ryu, jump-in pattern attacks, fireball, dragon punch traps and hurricane kick patterns. I'll cover the hurricane kick patterns first.
Your Scarlet Terror will become your best friend against Hurricane Kickers. If you fail to get it off, then wait until he'd overhead and use a light or medium claw to take him down. If you try Fierce - there is a significant risk you will be hit. If he's flying away from you, and you don't think you can connect, a sliding kick so that Ryu lands on it.
For the fireball, dragon punch trapper, you've really got to use Vega's off the wall to cross him up. However, note this will NOT work if he's backed against the edge of the screen. Anywhere except when he's on the edge - do a wall dive to the opposite side of the screen, then take Vega, back to your original side, then back ot the opposite side - and alternative this so he doesn't know which side to do the DP motion. If he is on the edge, try fake wall dives to get him to DP, or jump and slide. The leg of the slide will go under the fireball and can snuff it quite late.
Jumpy Ryu can be a pain, but not if you are hot on with your scarlet terror. He'll probably try to cross you up, at witch point if you think the flip kick isn't going to contact, slide to get into a better position. If he jumps in from afar and keeps bouncing up and down - try the ariel claw a few times to get him to play his ground game.
The trickiest trick up Ryu's sleeve is his overhead punch. It does two hits, is done from standing and can only be blocked if you are standing. Most Ryu don't know this or don't know how to use it properly. The only advice I can give against it is either get used to blocking it - or jump clear, or poke when you see him pull back.
Ryu's dragon punch doesn't cover much of the screen, so it's a good one to use the fake wall dive to initiate.
Ken is very similar to Ryu, he does appear to be better at combo's and his dragon punch has better screen coverage but less damage (unless you connect every hit!) He doesn't have Ryu's overhead punch but he does have a similar overhead kick. The kick will miss you iff you are very close - but if you are that close your claw will miss him so use a light kick to snuff it or scarlet terror him. Be wary of Kens mid-air throw, when you are going for wall dives he'll probably catch you out with this once or twice if you leave him the oppurtunity. Ken seems to be able to unleash a DP with such regularity that you can't time a hit on the way down. When someone is trying this, go for a scarlet terror or just try to time your slide so the leg is under him as he lands. Keep crossing Ken up where you can, use the wall dives - but time it so he can't catch you with his DP.
Akuma is something like Ryu on crack. In the right hands you may not stand a chance against him. Luckily most Akuma players are idiots who don't really understand why he's considered good. Akuma is a very technical character, with lots of options for every situation. Fighting him can generally be like fighting Ryu, with the following additions.
The mid-air fireball. It has a sharply descending angle, and can be tricky to get around - but well times wall-dives can land you a surprising number of hits. Alternatively slide in and use the scarlet terror. It goes through fireballs and will catch him out every time if you time it perfectly.
Akuma can teleport, most people don't use it, but if you let him get on top of you, the odd Akuma will try to use it to run the time down a bit while you are wall-diving. My advice? Mix it up where you land, go for Barcelona attacks at max range so if he teleports you can still catch him and follow up with something. It is worth trying a few Ariel Claws too.
Akuma's Dragon Punch, Akuma has a better dragon punch than Ryu or Ken, more invincibility and more damage. Same as the others though - try to slid under and get him to land on your leg - or use scarlet terrors. The best defence is to wall-dive cross-up him into not being able to pull it off. Be warned there is a risk he can catch you with a normal when doing this though - the same as Ryu and Ken.
The Raging Demon. When you are playing a numpty Akuma, as soon as his Super bar is filled up he'll stand still throwing jabs and kicks and wiggling about. He's trying to pull off Akuma's super but doesn't have the motion down. If you meet a pro player he will seemlessly jump in, cross you up, sweep, then do the raging demon as you get up. If that happens you are screwed. If the numpty does pull one off, either use a standing heavy kick, scarlet terror, wall-dive or just jump clear. watch out for the spark and the sound effect that tells you it's a super and not his teleport. Akuma has less stamina than Ryu or Ken so if you play your cards right you should be able to finish this fairly quickly - unless you have had the misfortune to meet someone good - in which case 'good luck' because you are probably screwed.
[From PballDepot:]
One note on fighting Akuma: If he throws out a MP or FP air fireball, Vega's (c.Mp) rolling attack will go right under it and usually hit him on his way down. Also, at a distance it's very simple to just jump over Akuma's air fireball and cut him in the face for throwing it. The only time it becomes a pain is when the Akuma player is doing crossups with it, but then you just have to block and get away the best you can.
Technically it's possible Sagat isn't a Shoto, but he plays very similar to one. I haven't played enough top Sagat players to write an authoratitive guide. Play him as if you were playing Ryu, slide under his standing Tiger shot, wall-dive, cross-up or jump-in over the ducking one, but be aware he will try to tiger uppercut reversal you. Generally unless a Sagat knows what they are doing you should do well against them. He has some nice combo's and good damage but he's a big target to hit and not as fast as you. Don't forget to cross him up, and keep the pressure on. Its probably something I haven't empasized with the other sections enough, but trying to apply constant pressure tends to reward Vega players, you can attack from almost anywhere on the screen at almost any time, so DO! Even if you are in the roll, slide, jump in, rinse-repeat-alternate pattern you are doing chip damage. Yes you could get caught with a reversal, but trying to pull off a reversal when under such pressure is harder. If you don't want to play someone try to win the match with nothing but Izna Drops off the wall, it REALLY annoys people if you can pull it off.
There tend to be three types of Bison player, firstly people who are just starting to play and have noticed he's the end boss so think he's good - these people will be jumping around and tryingt o do psycho crushers and probably rage quitting. Secondly is the psycho crusher spammers, who will do nothing apart from psycho crushers and Bisons throw, ticked onto the end of a psycho crusher ending in the corner. Thirdly is the people who know what they are doing and these people will give you real problems.
The most common opener for Bison is a psycho crusher, if they do the fastest one and you do a heavy kick flip kick at the start of the round you should get two good hits and lots of damage. If they have their head screwed on they will pause a split second before unleashing it, you can pause too and try to time the kick - but the fast psycho crusher is a fast move so the timing is hard. If you do manage to land this on someone a few times, they will change tactics - then opening with a slide into roll is a good bet. If you try to slide at a psycho crusher opener - you will take the hit. If you're not confident timing the flip kick - block, and as he passes you slide, you should catch him for a knock down as the psycho crusher ends. Bison is a very aggressive character, but the best way to tackle him is probably being aggressive back. Technically he doesn't have an anti-air and at times you can exploit this with Vega, but his jumping kicks, and particularly the jumping middle punch that hits twice - can be used as anti-air. At long range the knee press is useable as an anti-air, it's a move people don't tend to use much though.
If the Bison you are playing keeps trying for his slide - you can slide into it, but this can result in exchanging hits, better to do a jab claw - the range is great, and as it hits start a slide and try to get into the slide, roll , jump kick pattern. He might be able to throw his way out of it, or do a normal to snuff you - but I don't believe any of his specials can be used as a reversal here except perhaps the super shadow knee press.
Bison has some really oddball air moves, but you won't find them being used much, the damage isn't amazing on them, and they can be tricky to land - which is why they aren't often used. Bison can air-juggle you with his middle punch, if this is happening to you, you have two options, get him jumping and flip kick as he lands - or use the aeriel claw. If it gets into a tick throwing match, Bison wins hands down - so jump clear or reversal, ideally flip kick reversal.
[From PballDepot:]
Against Guile players you want to constantly break their charge and play at mid-range. At this distance you are out of flash kick and sweep range, but still close enough to anticipate and jump over sonic booms for an easy overhead claw. Throw out a few timely pokes (especially between the two sweep legs), and then maybe an Izuna drop out of a flash kick and Guile players will never know what hit them.
Easy stuff.
Sharizord is contactable via the Shoryuken Forum, his excellent Vega advice follows:-
Here are some general tips for Vega since there seems to be quite a bunch of new Vega's.
Always be charging.
This cannot be stressed enough.
One of the things that will separate an average Vega from a good Vega is this.
The most glaring instance where people do not
seem to charge is during walldives.
Charging during your walldives is what allows you to do very mean and evil
things with them.
Another instance is during backflips. Backflip into Kickflip is really good and will catch a lot of people regardless of skill.
Go into training mode and look at the hitboxes
for all your moves.
Alot of Vega's moves have invulnerability at the tip of the claw or feet depending
on the move. The most glaring examples of this are Middle kick and Crouching
Heavy Punch
Here is a very basic matchup guide:
Ryu: From fullscreen walldive can izuna drop him
out of hadouken on reaction.
Punish him for everything he does:
Hadou = Jumping Heavy Punch or walldive.
Tatsu = MK, HK Flipkick x2 on crossup
SRK = Anything you want.
If you get him into the corner MK is extremely
hard for him to deal with.
It beats every move he has besides SRK. and SRK will whiff depending on your
spacing. Keep pressuring with it and if he start turtling close MK is a perfect
tick.
Ken: Practically the same as Ryu the difference being you should not place as much emphasis on Walldive.
If you can Crouching MP, LK SRK consistently you can beat most scrub Kens.
Honda: Jump back HP is your friend. Beats headbutt and you should always link it into Crouch MK, Crouch MP, walldive x opposite wall. Once you get the opposite wall Honda has alot of trouble stopping you. hit or block always link into Courch MP x Opposite walldive and repeat. HP Wallclaw beats Slaps.
Blanka:
Crouching MP keep him out of crossup range.
Walk forward Crouching MP after blocked ball is guaranteed.
Slide electricity as soon as you see it.
If you don't have flipkick charged simply Crouching HP as an antiar.
If he starts to get close walk back while throwing the occasional Crouching
MP or simply Jump back HP if you think he will ball.
If you get knockdown You can usually Roll on him without any major worries.
If he tries to emptyroll into mixup simply slide it as it is landing or flipkick
if you have reflexes for it.
And if you need to apply pressure Jump forwards HP is extremely hard for him to deal with.
If he does get in he can easily kill you.
Guile:
Slide is still extremely hard for him to deal with. Slide slide slide Crouching MP to get back to max slide range and snuff booms. I think J.chensor said you can do max walldive fake and walldive on booms or flipkick but i've not had success with it.
Boxer:
Crouching MP, Crouching HK snuffs rush punches keep pressuring him and bait and punish Headbutt. Whoever gets the momentum usually wins.
Chun:
Getting knockdown and starting walldive mixups
is your main plan.
She can pretty much beat you on the ground and the air. Mixup walldives with
fakes that only go halfscreen and try to hit with the tip. Once you get knockdown
she has alot of trouble.
Gief:
Play Keep away. Only slide lariat if it's close
to you. The risk of getting knockdown outweighs the damage you get 10 to 1.
Keep him at max range from you with HP and Crouching MP at this range flipkick
will always antiair and so will Crouching HP. Walldive hitting with tip of
claw is very hard for him to deal with. If you get the lifelead you can practically
win this Honda style.
Sim:
Walldive. Then do some More. If he does upflame HP wallclaw punishes for free
at any distance. Jump back HP stops his drills and gives you another walldive.
Sagat:
Play like like a ryu that you can more easily walldive but not MK pressure.
Oppsite walldive on reaction to tiger shots are extremely effective.
Claw:
Mirror match. Jump up MP beats walldives consistently. If your opponent knows this mixup walldives with halfscreen waldives hitting with the tip. Getting knockdown and starting the walldives is what wins the match. Kickflip on reaction to walldive should not bother you very much since you can generally punish it if it's K backflip and P backflip is another free dive.
Thawk:
Play it the same as Gief. Flipkick his dives and watch out for psychic SRK. There is very little else he can do to get in.
Fei:
Slide beats rekka. Play it like ken without a
fireball and a less effective SRK.
His Crouching HP is very effective against you and has a strange hitbox than
can hit some of your jumpins, Jump forwards MK will always beat it though.
Play keepaway and you can generally win this easily.
Deejay:
His Crouching MK is extremely effective against your ground game. Mainly focus on mixing up walldives and punishing his Maxouts. Your gameplan should resemble the chun matchup.
Cammy:
Bad distance drill can be punished with Crouching MP. Walldives are not very effective against Cammy due to her great Cannon Spike hitbox and arc. Other than that the matchup is not very different from Fei.
Dictator:
He has no real wakeup answer to walldives at all so once you get knockdown you can generally win or at least do lot of damage.
Flipkick crusher and Scissor if you can. Your groundgame against him is similar to against Boxer without the worry of headbutt. If he starts spamming jump up MP, bait it out and flipkick and then go into walldives or if he does it up and down in the corner time your walldive so that you reach him as he is going down.
That is the basic idea in your matchups.
GL with Vega. - Sharizord