Last updated on May 1, 2009
Use your Standing Hard Kick to go under any Air Fireballs Akuma throws out. You should be able to pass right by them if timed correctly and possibly hit Akuma on the way down.
This is a good match to play defensively, because Balrog has the tools to destroy you when you're up close.
He also has moves that will get through your Fireballs, so you have to be somewhat selective when and where you throw these out there.
Your Air and EX-Air Fireball work pretty well in this match. While Balrog can get through them with patience, he won't usually be in a good position to hit you if you're consistently throwing them in spots where you're low to the ground or far away.
Balrog's Headbutt will knock you out of some of your pressure tactics, so it's not easy to stay on him, and it's probably not a good idea anyway. Instead be selective and look for opportunities to combo him.
Play a strong mix up game, never really giving him an idea of what's coming next. Demon Flips work well for this, coupled with Air Fireballs when you need to get a little defensive ground. You'll frustrate most opponents when they have a difficult time getting in on you.
Screwing up just once in this match can cost you big time if Balrog has his Super or Ultra charged, so be smart and careful.
You can punish a blocked Beast Roll with your Ultra if you're fast. This limits Blanka's game because you can make one of his best moves ineffective — when you have enough meter to execute an Ultra that is.
Akuma's Crouching Hard Punch will counter Cammy's Spinning Backfist if she's too close when she sticks out her fist, her Hooligan Throw and some of her jump ins, so it's a very key move for this match up. While the range doesn't seem like much, if you time these well you can stuff a number of her moves.
You have some great combos, so you'll want to bait Cammy into her Cannon Drills and Cannon Spikes so you can punish her whenever possible.
You can be right on the edge of where Viper's Burning Kicks will hit you and go into your Ultra to grab her. Akuma's Ultra offers a small amount of invincible frames that you can use to go through the edge of Viper's attack.
Viper players have to be fairly careful of the range they use their Burning Kicks at when they're up against an expert Akuma player with Ultra meter.
The distance you need to be standing at depends on the strength of Burning Kick Viper uses. If you're struggling with this concept and range you need to be at, make sure you check out video of this being done.
Kicking back in this match and chucking Air Fireballs can make things difficult on Fuerte, as he doesn't have much he can do to counter Akuma's aerial projectiles.
Also if you get stuck in Fuerte's Body Splash loop, simply Teleport away.
If you want to go inside, you can apply a lot of offensive pressure to El Fuerte by jumping at him, using a Demon Flip or following up an Air Fireball and either going for one of your combos, or throwing him. His anti air options are not great — until his Ultra gets charged up.
Once his Ultra is charged, you'll have to back off of him, and your best bet is to try and bait him into it. So play a bit more defensively until he uses his Ultra gauge.
Fuerte is so fast and doesn't leave many openings for you to counter, so keeping on him is usually a good strategy, plus it makes it more difficult for him to pull out his bag of tricks.
Your Red Fireball is a bit more useful in this match because of the onslaught of projectiles you'll be facing. Jumping backwards and either doing a late Air Fireball to counter Guile's Sonic Boom or if he's a ways off using your Red Fireball to blow through his attack and score a hit or chip damage is a good tactic.
Guile has some great anti air options, so jumping in won't be easy, and since you won't always be able to generate offense from the air — countering his relentless projectiles is important. Just don't fall in love with your Red Fireball because it's very easy to counter if the other player can see it coming.
If Guile does his Double Sweep, you can catch him with your Ultra after the first hit, if you're fast. If you don't have Ultra meter, absorb the second hit with your Focus Attack and follow up with a combo.
Contributions to this section by Dorky Diggedy Dave.
Use a mixture of Light Punch Fireballs and Jumping Hard Punch Fireballs to keep Gief off of you. When this guy gets in — it's a big time problem for Akuma.
Your Hard Punch Air Fireball travels forward the most distance, so it's going to be your main weapon. Mixing in other random Fireballs is also huge because if do the same thing all day, any decent player is going to pick up your pattern and make you pay — sooner or later.
Light Punch ground fireballs work well because they're so slow the Russian has a tough time getting around them. Use your Hard Punch Red Fireball to catch Gief as he's coming out of his Lariat if he's far away or as he's getting up to chip away at his life.
Most Gief players will try to Lariat through your projectiles, if they do it too close, Sweep him and then create more distance by jumping away with an Air Fireball.
At midrange distance use your Standing Hard Kick to fight him off, go into a combo if he doesn't block it, if he blocks it — RUN.
If he manages to get in on you, Teleport away as soon as it's safe to do so to create some space. Whatever you do, don't let him get close.
A lot of patience and smart play will consistently win this match for you. If you'd like to see a long and somewhat boring match of this happening, check out this video.
Contributions to this guide by Diem, Yar1n.
Posted by Akuma on March 23, 2009 at 11:35 a.m. #1
THIS IS TIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by Akuma > all on March 23, 2009 at 1:56 p.m. #2
It's true, it is tight.
Posted by benjibean on March 24, 2009 at 2:26 a.m. #3
awesome advice for noob akuma players like myself, will they be doing all the characters im having trouble with fei long and ken?
Posted by SF4inaWeek:( on March 24, 2009 at 6:06 a.m. #4
lol A true Akuma players fears any cammy player!
Posted by Zombiebrian on March 24, 2009 at 10:11 a.m. #5
I use Cammy often and it's the only real time i'm glad when they pick Akuma and it's not just me Ive heard other cammy players talk about it aswell. I even had someone trash talk to me because they thought i was counter acting the fact they picked Akuma not true when you've got to go you've got to go you know
Posted by sg on March 24, 2009 at 4:58 p.m. #6
You can also demon flip dive kick to hit zangief out of his lariat and start a combo
Posted by hey on March 27, 2009 at 12:03 a.m. #7
benjibean they probably will get through all the characters sometime so just wait.
Posted by benjibean on April 2, 2009 at 6:25 a.m. #8
good because im tired of getting my ass kicked by fei long lol!
Posted by me on May 3, 2009 at 9:28 p.m. #9
cammy is to some extent only a counter to akuma if the akuma doesn't know how to play the match-up. you could always hit up shoryuken.com for more information though as its a tad spars here and I really don't like to re-write stuff from forum to forum...
Posted by KenB1988 on May 6, 2009 at 12:05 a.m. #10
I fear no Cammy nor Ken players....going online learns people moves...as always Ken players always do stupid shoryken not thinking that its hit or not...its just stupid...so much people do that lol...maybe Im a turtle player but! I can do some combo to... which is a pain in the ass specially turtle Sagat like me or Akuma ... I can trow dmg to ur as if u mistaking do ur shoryken..
Posted by Gouki on May 20, 2009 at 10:37 a.m. #11
you can link akuma's super and ultra in a combo - beside focus attack.
do a crouching medium kick then super/ultra fairly quickly- should work
Posted by Achooma on July 4, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. #12
Having trouble fighting claws.
Posted by hayzues on July 9, 2009 at 8 a.m. #13
maybe a bison one would be nice...
Posted by Danny on July 25, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. #14
This site is so awesome...
Posted by Unso on July 26, 2009 at 12:02 p.m. #15
a vs bison would be nice cause big trouble :D
Posted by amonamano on July 28, 2009 at 6:23 a.m. #16
am having trouble with Blanka. The only tip available is to use ultra/super? lol
Posted by Vengeful Falcon on July 30, 2009 at 2:25 p.m. #17
Can Akumas ultra/super go through Gief Lariat or banishing fist only just started trying to play as Akuma this morning
Posted by zombo on August 17, 2009 at 8:26 p.m. #18
man im a akuma player.. and my friends use ryu and ken.. so it wouldve been so to know some moves i could use against them.. like wats their weakness (like recovery time) on ken and ryu
Posted by Komobo on August 21, 2009 at 1:52 p.m. #19
akuma 800 Lifegauge force to the user to be 60% defensive and the rest its your choice 10%zonin 10%spacin 10%Pressin 5%mindgame 5%guessin
or 50% defensive and 25% mindgamin 25% forceguessin
this is relative , cause match ups like blanka and guile are frikin hard agains a good player first of all learn to fight your match ups like the tips of this page
a universal tip it is that the first round is the first round if your ownin well at the start of the second rouns you got to rebuild your game from 0 this again good players well it works to me
Posted by de BLOO on September 7, 2009 at 3:41 p.m. #20
VS Dhalsim
Every j.HP 'sim does is a free ultra, even if it hits you.
Posted by Single Pixel Weirdo on November 21, 2009 at 10:07 a.m. #21
I think Akuma is a Dhalsim Killer,
the thing about Dhalsim is... Keep the enemy away... That's pretty hard to do against akuma since he has that Demon Slide...
Dhalsim is the least of your worries ^^
Posted by Bob on November 24, 2009 at 3:29 p.m. #22
I am losing to a lot of Ryu and Ken users, they are able to keep me out. Please help
Posted by Misogi on December 8, 2009 at 1:11 a.m. #23
@ Rob what are they doing to beat u? try running away a little and start pressureing with fireballs
Posted by @ Misogi on December 14, 2009 at 7:13 p.m. #24
They are pressuring me with jump ins and with a barrage of crouching jabs and light kicks and when i throw something out they interupt with a medium punch and jump again
Posted by @benjibean_N_Bob on January 9, 2010 at 2:55 p.m. #25
Am not the best Gouki player but did manage to get to G1. Here are some pointers against Fei, Ken, and Ryu. (Best tactic is zoning with ground and air fireball and safe teleports when cornered or pressured then counter attack.)
Specific tactics:
Versus Fei
Zoning: Throw a mixup of ground fireball, mainly LP so you can react/counter depending on what Fei does. Occassionly, at a good distance, throw HP red fireball for chip damage or when Fei FA to crumple for Rekka combo. Do not let Fei in. It will be to his advantage with his poke priorities and speed.
Attacking or Pressure: Throw air and EX air fireball, and follow up with Demon Flip throw or dive kick - I normally go for the throw since it deals direct damage plus knockdown for Vortex options or to continue zoning. Also, cr.lp, cr.mp, or cr.mk fireball - the usual stuff. And once your opp is conditioned and turtling, every once in a while go in for the MP overhead chop. You'll know when to do this once the aforementioned tactics are working to your advantage.
Versus Ken/Ryu
Zoning: Throw a mixup of ground fireball, typically LP and HP, and an occassional LP red fireball to keep your opp guessing. Against Ryu it'll be a fireball war. At a good distance, throw HP red fireball for chip damage or direct damage as it negates Ken/Ryu's regular fireball. Never let Ken/Ryu in close as their priorities will just decimate you. Examp: Ryu's shoryu or Ken's cr.MK. Also never jump in as Ken/Ryu will shoryu Gouki all day. Do not abuse your air fireball. Though good for zoning, a HK sweep from Ken/Ryu will leave you open for a followup crossup or tick throw etc. (I learned this the hard way ... numerous loses.) Never throw an air fireball at your peack unless you are at a far distance.
Attacking or Pressure: (Same as above.)
And of course in every macthup, be able to BnB combo for punish whenever it presents itself - st.HP+LK tatsu+HP shoryu etc. The tactics mentioned are the basis if not ground fundamental for Gouki. It can be applied to all other chars really. It works for me just fine though others Gouki players may have better tactics. Who knows? Again, I'm not the best Gouki so take this with a grain of salt.
FYI - Off topic, I tried playing a rush down (offensive) Gouki for a while testing new strategies/tactics and it wasn't pretty. Though Gouki has alot of tools, he isn't really cut out to be a rush down like Ryu, Sagat, Ken, and Rufus. Gouki's greatest strenght is from zoning into a rush down when the opportunity is there IMHO.
Posted by eatmoresausages on January 20, 2010 at 7:45 a.m. #26
Akuma's a nasty rush down character, everyone just treats him like he's porcelin- it's harder against experienced players, but he can toss so much out there eventually you'll catch them off guard.
if you want to be aggressive- switch tactics often
Doing the short teleport into someone's face seems to starttle them enough you should be able to get a few throws in, just back throw an air fireball then follow up with a red one, demon flip, jumping forward hurricane or just teleport around a little.
Personally I hate players that just jump to the back corner and zone with air fireballs then teleport to the other side when you get close and repeat. - usually that's their only offencse. I don't mind it so much if they jump in on occasion or are at least able to do bread and butter.
Also tossing an ex or normal air fireball right over their head, and nailing the ultra when they land usually works- they can either take the hit from the fireball to avoid the ultra, or duck and block and lose most of their lie.
Posted by II Enix II on January 21, 2010 at 8:02 a.m. #27
In depth as apposed to the Ryu matchup thread but when are the rest coming? Or aren't they?
Posted by WTF???_Gouki_Teleporting_Post on January 21, 2010 at 3:07 p.m. #28
Looks like the MODs have nothing better to do and have removed my "insightful" advice about Gouki's teleporting among other gameplay strategies. Way to go! *rolls eyes*
Posted by Guybrush on February 4, 2010 at 5:07 a.m. #29
Any tips for fighting Sagat? That guy's a monster!
Posted by Akuma on February 22, 2010 at 4:17 p.m. #30
I want to know how to fight M.Bison/Vega
Posted by Akuma Tips on March 6, 2010 at 3:28 p.m. #31
If you do not know already, there is a wealth of knowledge base at shoryuken.com in the Akuma forum.
Here are my matchup tips for a better Akuma. (Key Note: Akuma's greatest strength stems from his unpenetrable zoning game via air/ground fireball and teleports. Learn this well for all characters. Wins and loses are rooted in this knowledge.)
Versus Sagat
Sagat's damage output will make minced meat out of Akuma in seconds especially with his low stamina so optimal zoning is key. Do not, repeat, Do Not jump in on Sagat without safeguards. Will explain this shortly. Getting TU-cuts will hurt a lot. Eatting 3 or more and it is lights out. So the key is to keep Sagat at bay by zoning (neutralizing) him. This is done by throwing air/ground fireballs preventing him from jumping/closing in. Throw a HP red fireball once in a while for mixup/chip damage especially if Sagat spams tiger-shot/fireball war. This will frustrate Sagat and eventually will lead to an opening - random jumpins, tiger knee, TU - opened for DP, BnB, or throw. Look and be prepared for them to punish. If Sagat does none of these, content staying at a distance, for an all-out fireball war. Akuma is well ahead and prepared to take the match. Again, the HP red fireball will deal chip damage and its third ball will hit whenever it cancels a tiger shot, even the EX version. This also causes knockdown so here is Akuma's chance to close in via demon flip, jump in (neutral baiting a wake-up TU), or leading with an air fireball. Take your pick. Another option is to fireball war evenly until you have meter then the fun really begins. With meter, now Akuma has a fast full screen flying demon flip for an aerial assault. Anticipate Sagat's next tiger-shot and BAM! Ex demon flip to either demon throw, palm, or dive kick for combo. The knockdown also gives Akuma vortex options for added damage or teleport safely away afterwards to commence fireball war. Again, to Akuma's advantage. As said, this tactic will easily frustrate a spamming tiger-shot happy Sagat for good mixups and punish. If you are truly brave, you can teleport in throw a tiger-shot for a throw, DP, or BnB combo. This saves meter and will surprise your opponent, not to mention wow them with your Akuma arsenal/options skills. (Note: This can be done to setup a gauranteed Super/Ultra when you have it.) Bottom line, neutralize Sagat by zoning him to the Nth degree and capitalize on every opening. Do Not jump in without safeguards. Any other Akuma mixup thrown in, cross-up tatsu or air fireball etc., just makes this mathup that much easier.
continued ...
Posted by Akuma Tips on March 6, 2010 at 3:29 p.m. #32
Versus M.Bison/Vega
Admittingly, M.Bison is one of the harder matchups for Akuma due to the scissor-kicks, std.HK, and headstomp easily evading and punishing random/casual fireballs. So this means throw fireballs sparingly. And do not or rarely throw the HP red fireball. Its slow recovery just leaves Akuma wide open. (The normal ground fireballs used strategically works best.) The air fireballs only comes into play when mounting an offense, especially on a knockdown - at close range, jump, on descent, toss an air fireball. Follow up with pokes like a sweep, MK hado, demon flip etc. to keep up the pressure and to deal damage. You always want to get Bison into this scenario as it is most promising for dealing damage and BnB opportunities. Bison also has no anti-air and this is his weakest game so take full advantage. Just be aware once Bison has Super/Ultra. Should Bison successfully teleport away, you are safe to begin zoning again.
All Vega will want to air dive with descending mixups. Most will always descend with an attack opposite the side of their flight. Block accordingly and punish. If you score a knockdown then pressure same as with M.Bison. Be aware that unlike Bison, Vega does have an anti-air flash kick so you may elect to toss a HP red fireball for chip damage instead of jump-in options. Once Vega decides to attack on the ground, he will usually go for the roll or roundhouse HK. Block and punish whenever there is an opening. On any double backflips, immediately walk forward up with a standing HK with sweep for free damage. If Akuma has Super/Ultra, this is a gauranteed demon. Vega is kind of tricky due to his speed but patience will prevail in this matchup. Teleporting is not really needed against Vega unless you just want to bail out of a corner trap or under pressure situations. Also, Do Not jump air fireball, tatsu, or red fireball period when Vega has Super/Ultra. It will hurt immensely, likely leading to a "KO".
Well, those are my tips (2-cents) in these matchups. They work well for me and hopefully will aid you in your matches as well - for the "W" of course.
Posted by sweetness on June 7, 2010 at 5:26 p.m. #33
akuma has the best rush game...
he can be all over the screen its so not funny...
best tip...
practice and get sum skill
Posted by darko_p86 on November 18, 2010 at 7:37 p.m. #34
i kinda liked the akuma match against gief.
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