Alex: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Moves, Combos, Strategy Guide
Guide by Nyoronoru
Character Overview
Alex is one of the few grappling characters in this VS. series. Because of this, his combos are incredibly damaging, but his movement is extremely slow. While it is tough for Alex not to be zoned out by range fighters, with the right gameplay he can be anyone's nightmare.
• Strengths •
+ Incredibly damaging combos.
+ One of three characters with a Snapback.
+ Has an unblockable move.
+ A command grab that works anywhere and has great range.
+ Nasty Power Bomb air combo resets.
+ One of the most damaging Level 3 Hypers in the game.
+ Several ways to close the gap quickly, despite being a grappler.
+ High stamina.
+ Only character with a Hyper that stuns.
+ Power Bomb takes huge advantage of the height damage mechanic.
• Weaknesses •
- Very slow.
- Has no double jump.
- Has trouble catching evasive fighters.
- All of his special moves are very unsafe if blocked.
- Has a difficult time winning if his partner is knocked out.
- All of his Hyper moves require the opponent to be grounded.
Special Moves
A (2) next to an arrow means to hold the joystick in that direction for 2 seconds to 'charge' the move.
With moves that charge by holding back or down, you can use the diagonal positions to charge up as well. For example, if you're holding back, you can jump backwards or block low and still maintain your charge.
2.8 B
3.1 B
3.4 B
17.3 B
• Flash Chop •
This moves Alex forward a good bit of distance while he does a slashing motion. Has a lot of priority and the Light and Medium versions can be comboed into pretty easily. The Medium version does more stun than the Light version.
While you can use this move to close the gap, it has a good amount of recovery and it is definitely punishable.
The Hard version of the attack is chargeable. Once fully charged, it is unblockable and does more damage than any other chargeable special move in the game.
While it's tricky to land this in a match, you can time it after you KO one character on the opponent's team so that the unblockable attack lands on the entering character. It's also possible to use partner assists to hold players in place long enough for you to charge it up. The uncharged version of this attack is not comboable.
This special move is the only one in the game that turns a character around.
7.6 B
7.6 B
7.6 B
(Can also be performed in the air)
• Powerbomb (Command Grab) •
Alex's unblockable command grab. Does a great amount of damage and can be placed at the end of air combos for massive damage.
It's not too hard to land this if you've scared your opponent into blocking more than they should.
If you're confident in your timing, you can deliberately end your air combo without using the command grab, and then wait until they descend in front of you to grab them instead. This will reset the combo counter and thus the damage scaling.
Unsafe on whiff, but it has great range and it is difficult to punish its air recovery.
2.8 B
3.0 B
3.2 B
• Slash Elbow •
This attack is similar to Flash Chop, but has more combo potential. The Light version allows the opponent to remain standing so that you can continue Baroque combos. The Medium version knocks down so that you can gain a positional advantage. The Hard version does a wallbounce, allowing you to combo afterwards into Launcher without the use of Baroque if you're close to the wall.
It's really easy to combo into this move and one of the best ways for Alex to put on pressure, but it is very unsafe on block. Most players baroque this move when close to make it safe.
As an assist, it does a large amount of hitstun and stays active for a good amount of time, making it useful.
(After a Slash Elbow)
• Drop Kick • *Snapback Effect*
Can only be done after a Slash Elbow, Alex will slam his opponent out of the ring, which is Snapback move. If this lands, your opponent's character is switched out and their partner loses all red life.
Alex is one of the three characters in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars that can force characters to switch and lose all of their red life.
2.4 B
2.6 B
2.8 B
• Air Stampede (Stomp) •
This causes Alex to jump in the air and stomp his feet into his enemy. Light version moves you forward the least amount, Hard the most. Unsafe on block, but must be blocked high. Also, it knocks down on hit.
This is a good surprise attack to use against people that are expecting Flash Chops and Slash Elbows from your ground pressure game. It has the ability to cross up quickly. It also hits on-the-ground, allowing you to hit opponents after a knockdown.
6.0 B
6.0 B
6.0 B
(Can also be done in the air)
• Air Knee Smash (Jumping Grab) •
Will only grab an opponent who's in the air, but now Alex can also do it while he's jumping.
This is an ok anti-air, but usually players will be dashing in on you quickly from above and you won't have time to get this move out defensively. It can be used in air combos, but it's a better idea to end air combos with Power Bombs instead.
Overall, not many uses for this move. You can try to catch people in air-to-air battles with it. Light has the shortest range, Hard the longest.
Hyper Moves
13.1 B
11.2 B
• Boomerang Raid (Level 1) •
Alex throws a bunch of Flash Chops and finishes off with a Power Bomb. Pretty easy to combo into this move, from either the Light or Medium Flash Chops or the Light Slash Elbow.
Does good damage, and if the first part of the Hyper is blocked, Alex can still grab unaware opponents with a Power Bomb at the end of the animation. This grab can be avoided with a jump, though.
It has good range, but it can be punished badly if the whole Hyper misses. This Hyper has a lot of DHC potential since Alex stays pretty close to the opponent, but in a Cross-over Combination, it's pretty terrible.
• Stungun Headbutt (Level 1) •
This move is an unblockable grab that automatically stuns the opponent, letting you set up a big combo or Hyper move. The Hyper is outside the influence of the DHC mechanic and cannot be cancelled by any partner's Hyper. It has good range (about half screen), but it can be jumped out of on reaction.
There are several tricky setups you can use that make this move inescapable, such as allowing your opponent to free fall right where the headbutts are going to start. You can also combo into it from the Medium Flash Chop.
• Hyper Bomb (Level 3, 360 motion) •
An unblockable command grab that does an amazing amount of damage. It's possible to combo into this, and it has unbelievable range for a command grab. The startup is pretty fast, too.
Cancelling it from a Flash Chop is the easiest and most consistent setup for it, and it adds an extra chunk of damage. Landing too many hits beforehand causes it to be hurt by damage scaling more so than other Level 3 Hypers.
Normal Moves
• Shoulder Launcher •
This will launch your opponent up into the air.
• Lariat •
Alex steps forward and throws his arm out. Has a deceptive hitbox in front of him. You can use this move to keep the opponent in front of you after a sweep.
• Hand Stamp (Overhead) •
This must be blocked high.
(In the air)
• Superman Dive •
Alex dives through the air and if he hits the opponent he does a lot of stun. If it's blocked, however, you can be punished badly. While this is a good way for Alex to cross the screen and/or begin a combo, keep in mind that this move cannot be Baroqued until the opponent either blocks it or gets hit with it.
Assists
| Partner Assist | Variable Counter | Variable Combination |
| Medium Slash Elbow | Toward + Hard Attack (Lariat) | Boomerang Raid |
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Storyline
Alex, a young fighter born and raised in Manhattan, sets out to find the mysterious challenger who defeated his mentor and trainer, Tom.
Extremely quick and powerful, he specializes in hand-to-hand combat with a fighting style that utilizes wrestling techniques and throws, complemented by swinging punches.
Character origins
Alex first appeared in Street Fighter 3. He is the lead character from that game and he entered the tournament to get revenge for Gill (the boss of the game) beating up his friend Tom.
He is consistently training in a martial arts gym that he helps manage with Tom. While he's a muscular character, Alex is still very quick and athletic.
In Street Fighter III's endings it was revealed that he defeated Gill, but later on went to seek out another challenging opponent and got matched up against Ryu.
Contributions to this guide by Gnik, RoyalFlush and Rastsy.
