Dual Souls: The Last Bearer/Brandon

Let's see what you got!

Story

Brandon O'Brien is a restless young swordmaster who is constantly after new adventures. For Brandon, life is full of hidden jewels which he feels an urge to discover. His hunger for adventure was never truly understood by anyone around him, and his behavior was mocked various times by people, who chastised his apparent aloofness.

As a lifelong fan of adventures in medieval fantasy, he decided to take lessons in sword fighting, becoming the best competitor of Manhattan. What nobody ever knew was that ever since his childhood, Brandon heard a voice that told him to search and discover everything around him. It incentivised Brandon to pursue absolute freedom, which let him to push himself beyond his limits and feel like he was able to control his own destiny. Whenever he did what the voice asked, he'd feel an abnormal burst of speed and awareness. He connected this to the voice and feels as it is his reason for living.

One day he learns from Evan, a friend of his who is a historian, that a mysterious power called "Zishin" exists. According to Evan, it grants immortality to its owner, and powers which have limits unknown as of yet. Strangely, from a sudden rift in space, a man arrives and invites Brandon to test his skills against other warriors to obtain the power he seeks. "So, we're gonna go everywhere for this, right? Cool locations, awesome discoveries, that sorta deal?" Observing the man's positive nod, Brandon says, brandishing a wide smile while unsheathing his sword: "Yup, I ain't got anymore questions. Let's rock!" '~ Arcade Mode introduction (paraphrased)'

Introduction

In case any of the terms seem unfamiliar, check the Glossary page!

Brandon is a little like your typical shoto. He's a well-rounded character with access to some of the best projectiles in the game: they're very safe, usable in combos and can be done in the air. His combo damage is explosive and he constantly builds resources to use in combos.

He has generally good offensive options and is able to create pressure in neutral with projectiles, 5BS and 2BS. He's fairly resource intensive, as he needs Recovery Points and meter to maintain pressure. Most of his special moves will move him forward, which lets him easily corner opponents.

His defense is a little weak, as outside of his Red Power, he has no specials faster than 8 frames, no meterless reversals and his meter options are slower than average. Also, his mixup game isn't so tricky, as he doesn't have many gimmicks to mess with his opponents. To compensate, the reward for a successful mix is usually very high.

Playing Brandon correctly lets you have an answer for every situation in the game, but failing to do so will highlight his biggest weakness: he's very punishable on almost everything. Because of this, Brandon is often considered a very good beginner character, but becomes harder to play at higher levels.

Character Stats

Health	Universal Overhead Startup	Meditation Charge	Default Chaos Drive Duration
10000	17 Frames	10% per second	9 seconds

Strengths

Weaknesses

High combo damage potential Reliable air crush Multi-purpose and safe projectiles High meter build, and fastest meditation charge in the game One of the best lows in the game with 2BS Able to convert any hit into very high corner carry Limit Break often beats or trades favorably with offense, forcing opponents to respect him after knockdown

Fairly honest mixup game that can easily become predictable Almost all his offensive options have gaps or are heavily punishable Universal overhead is his only real overhead mixup tool Has to spend resources to offset the disadvantages of his mixup tools against defensive opponents Has poor defense without spending meter Stubby normals that are fairly slow Often needs to be very close to properly combo

Moves

Standing Normals

Slash Air Crush Air Crush	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup 700 Mid Special Cancelable 9 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 3 +0 +2 -8 Your farthest reaching normal outside of 5BS, a good alternative to 5BS when you want a faster poke. Very unsafe on guard, but your best meterless anti-air due to air crush property.

Big Slash Take this! Take this!	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup 900 Mid Special Cancelable 14 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 8 -2 +0 -15 Spam this as much as possible. Usually your best poking normal with a good amount of active frames. Canceling this into 214SL controls neutral really well and leaves you positive after. Is a Fatal Blow.

Kick Moves Brandon slightly forward, can be canceled during end frames Moves Brandon slightly forward, can be canceled during end frames	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup 600 Mid Special Cancelable 8 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 5 +6 +10 -4 The forward movement is useful in combos, but too little to make a big difference in neutral. Usually you're looking to hit-confirm this into 236SL or link it after 2PW.

Forward Slash	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No 5 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 2 +2 +4 0 1 frame slower than 6K, but has more range. An ok poke to help when being pressured.

Forward Kick	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No 4 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 3 +2 +4 0 Very good for tick throws, lets you keep pressure against cornered opponents. Can also interrupt offense if you're close.

Crouching Normals

Crouching Slash Can be canceled during end frames Can be canceled during end frames	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Low Special Cancelable 8 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 3 +8 +12 -8 Your main hit confirm tool due to how plus it is on hit. If you're close, you can link into 5K xx 236SL. Could be very dangerous on savvy opponent if they know how negative on guard it is.

Crouching Big Slash	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Low (both hits) Special Cancelable (both hits) 11 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 4, 4 -4 (1st hit), +2 0 (1st hit), +2 -9 (1st hit), -7 Very good range for a low, cancelable BS. Being able to cancel on both hits sets a nice mindgame when combined with 214SL/BS, as well as being a good neutral tool in general. Is a Fatal Blow.

Crouching Kick	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Low No 7 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 3 +1 +3 -3 Ok normal for finishing out games since it's his fastest low. Also hits OTG if you want to force stand up.

Jumping Normals

Jumping Slash During jump:	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - High No 7 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 3 +13 ~ +21 +17 ~ +26 -1 ~ +7 A fine air-to-air due to its priority.

Jumping Kick //	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - High - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Jumping Big Slash //	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - High Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Universal Mechanics

Overhead	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Overhead No 17 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Rush'n Roll In the air:	Do nothing Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Low Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Rush'n Slash Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - High No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Throw , or	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - No 8 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown - Brandon headbutts the opponent then regrets it now and in the next morning. Leaves him fairly close, but not so advantageous in case opponent quick rises.

Specials

Sonic Slash or

Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Hard Knockdown Hard Knockdown - Due to being Power Cancelable you can combo OTG with Red Power after the knockdown. Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable up to third hit - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown - Allows you to cancel into Upper Sonic Slash or Rocket Kick up to the third hit. Fourth hit causes a juggle state on aerial opponents.

Upper Sonic Slash or

Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No 8 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown - Has a Power Recovery window before second hit. Will cause a hard knockdown when used more than once in a combo. Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown - Has a Power Recovery window before second hit. Will cause a hard knockdown when used more than once in a combo.

Magic Arrow or

Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Travels slower than BS version, indicated by its yellow color. Has a Power Recovery window right after the projectile is shot. You can't shoot another projectile until the previous leaves the screen. After the projectile is gone, there's a brief cooldown period before you can use the move again. Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Travels faster than SL version. Has a Power Recovery window right after the projectile is shot. You can't shoot another projectile until the previous leaves the screen. After the projectile is gone, there's a brief cooldown period before you can use the move again.

Air Magic Arrow or

Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Travels slower than BS version, and in a steeper angle closer to Brandon. Has a Power Recovery window right after the projectile is shot. You can't shoot another projectile until the previous leaves the screen. After the projectile is gone, there's a brief cooldown period before you can use the move again. Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Travels faster than SL version, and in a wider angle farther from Brandon Has a Power Recovery window right after the projectile is shot. You can't shoot another projectile until the previous leaves the screen. After the projectile is gone, there's a brief cooldown period before you can use the move again.

Rocket Kick Rocket! Rocket!

Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Your main corner carry tool. Can cancel into Death Rain, although you'll rarely find a use for this. + Home Run Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Spinning hit, wall bounce Spinning hit, wall bounce - Puts the opponent in a spinning hit state. If they hit the wall, they will wall bounce. Has a Snap Out window after a certain amount of frames. This usually matters when you're close to the corner, as you effectively have 7 frames to hit them before they can Snap Out. + Rush'n Roll Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - Power Cancelable - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Will go into Rush'n Roll, letting you extend combos. Comboing into Rush'n Slash will give you access to a hard knockdown. + It's On! Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 0 Spinning hit, wallslide Spinning hit, wallslide - Requires a Buff point. Your main combo extension with Buff points. The opponent flies farther than in Home Run, and when they hit a wall, they will instead suffer a wallslide. The Snap Out window is greatly delayed here, which usually means you'll get your combo comfortably in the corner. Outside of the corner, it's better to go for Home Run if you just want the corner carry.

Blue Sky	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Throw No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Throw Throw Throw

Catcha! , or

or Regular version Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. 0 - - - Adds a Buff point. You can have up to 3 stored. The points allow you to juggle into your Blue Powers anywhere and use the It's On! follow-up for Rocket Kick Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - No 12 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - - Requires a Recovery Point. Immediately performs the move with no recovery time. Can be used in pressure strings to continue attacking, or as a reaction to see what the opponent is about to do. Avoid using this in combos, as the scaling is very high.

Hurricane Limit Break Limit Break	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - No 12 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Powers

Cut'n Roll Power #1 Power #1	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No 8 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown -

Death Rain In the air: Power #2 Power #2	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - High No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Knockdown Knockdown -

Typhoon Red Power Red Power	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Mid No 2 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - Hard Knockdown Hard Knockdown -

Chaos Drive

Rush Hour or ++	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - - No - Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. - - - -

Ultimate

Big Headache	Damage Guard Cancelable Startup - Throw No 0/0/0/0 Active Hit Adv. Hit Adv. Crouching Guard Adv. Full Screen - - -54 Startups are listed by level, from max to 1.

Combos

Combo Notation Guide:
( ) = Optional, typically the combo will be easier if omitted. < > = Used to insert a comment or extra info: <air> A, B. [ ] = Either option works here: [A] [B]. , = Link move B after move A: (A, B). xx = Cancel A into B: (A xx B). > = Use the specified follow-up to the move: (A > B). {}xN = That part can be repeated up to N number of times: {A > B}x3.

Note: Whenever you want to perform a Rocket Kick follow-up, hold the next button to execute it as early as possible. Ex: 236+K, hold SL.

You may begin these combos with a jumping big slash.