Blanka's Vertical Roll Ultra Street Fighter 4 - Up-Ball

feralwolf72 posted December 5, 2014

Upball is Blanka's "dp", although it is not as reliable and shouldn't be relied upon the same way. When compared to other charge move dps it lacks any version of invincibility, unless you use EX meter. For this reason it is not recommended to use the same way from knockdown.

It can be used very well for punishing other jump ins. It works even better for chasing down players that jump back frequently.

Maintaining the down charge may seem like it limits the move slightly, but remember by holding either down forward or down back while charging you have access to you Surprise forward/Surprise back so that you may command hop around and Upball when you land. This furthers the use of upball as an anti air attack.

In Ultra upball is finally Focus and Red Focus cancel-able. This allows for any blocked upball to be safely cancelled out of, instead of punished harder than a missed upball. On hit it adds to more pressure and combo usage, especially with red focus crumples.

The latest gimmick that combines the ability to surprise forward, upball, red focus cancel is what has been referred to as the "Nishikin Special". Named for it being commonplace in Nishikin's, high level Blanka player, matches. It combines Blanka's mix-up potential and mobility in him being able to capitalize on new features in Ultra, but also finally being able to use the SF4 engine on all of his appropriate moves to do so.

ShotoSurgery posted November 26, 2014

Blanka's vertical roll is an effective and useful anti-air, but if used incorrectly, you will be punished. HARD. This, not to mention Blanka's lack of launchers, means that this move must be used mostly for punishing and that is about it.

Tassadar posted November 23, 2014

Not only does Blanka's Up Ball act as a great anti-air, it can also be used to avoid a variety of other moves when timed correctly, including a number of Supers and Ultras.

Jake_da_Thrilla posted November 16, 2014

EX Up Ball is Blanka best anti-air thanks to its invincibility frames. Really useful against dominate jump-in attacks like Ryu and Dudley's Roundhouse.