Immaterial and Missing Power/Movement
Movement is the single most important aspect of this game. Learning how to move properly is the key to allowing you to attack, evade attacks, graze bullets, and maintaining pressure. Because there's so much movement in IaMP, there's a shortcut key dedicated to movement, allowing you to dash and airdash using the D button. During any of these maneuvers, your character will be trailed by blue shadows, indicating that you are in a "graze" state where bullets will not harm you. Rather, you will move through them without sustaining damage, and the more bullets you graze, the more your spirit bar refills.
All notation on this page assumes you are facing the right.
A NOTE ON DIRECTIONAL INPUTS. It is possible to do all movement in IaMP without the D button. High jumps (and high jump cancels) would be executed with 27, 28, and 29; airdashes and ground dashes would be done as 44 and 66. According to Japanese players, using pure directional commands is technically superior because of the wider buffer window allowed, which lets you execute moves on the first available frame without needing perfect timing. This may be of help for certain blockstrings which require the inputs to be done as fast as possible in order for the string to be unescapable. However, for many of the movements required to control your character in general situations, it may be of help to use the D button instead of doubletap to reduce inputs for when exact precision is not required.
Ground Dashes
Ground dashes are quick bursts of movement done on the ground. You can either dash forward by pressing 6D, or dash backwards by pressing 4D. Note that you can perform dashes by holding the D button down and inputting a direction at any time while it's held down; you can also press the direction and then the D button, giving you freedom as to how you want to execute the command. Forward dashes can be prolonged slightly after an initial "fixed" period of dashing by holding [6][D] (releasing D will terminate the dash), while backdashes are generally set in their length.
A few notable exceptions to these rules are:
- Reimu and Sakuya can cancel her forward dash during the "fixed" interval with a backdash.
- Youmu backdash has very little recovery, allowing you to be in a near-perpetual graze state if you hold [4][D].
- Remilia has no normal front or backdash. Instead, she does a forwards and backwards arcing jump, both of which have fixed intervals.
- Suika's backdash and forward dash can both be prolonged for an extremely long time, roughly two seconds.
Air Dashes
Air dashes are like ground dashes but done in the air, obviously. The motion is the same, 4D or 6D but while airborne. Unlike ground dashes, airdashes all have a set interval and cannot be prolonged by holding buttons down. However, you can attack out from an airdash much quicker than a ground dash, with the key being that you cannot attack immediately out from an airdash (there is a delay of a couple frames). Also, in the air every character has two airdashes. You cannot airblock until the graze period ends for most characters, but there is no gap between the two for anyone.
- Remilia is the exception to these rules. She has three airdashes and has a slightly longer interval during which she cannot attack out from an airdash.
- Note that you can cancel bullet-type attacks in the air with an airdash the same way you would perform a high jump cancel, but you obviously only have the choice of going back or forward instead of the three jump directions. This type of cancel doesn't really have a specific notation aside from "4D" or "6D" in the middle of a jump string.
Graze Attacks
Graze attacks are attacks done during a ground forward dash. There are four varieties of attacks: a standing and a crouching variant for both A and B. These attacks (with a few exceptions) all have graze property and usually carry you forward in addition to your existing dash trajectory. Each graze attack's properties depend on the character; some may knockdown, a few have groundslam or wallslam properties on counterhit, etc. The most important thing to understand is how your character's graze attacks work and how you can utilize them to break through predictable or overused blockstrings involving bullets to change the momentum of a match in your favor.
Standing graze attacks are the easiest to do, as they only involve a dash and either 6A or 6B (the 6 must be first, unlike dash inputs where either the direction or the D button can go first). You do not have to use a separate motion for the 6 either; the 6 from your 6D will count towards the input, as long as it is being held before the button input.
Crouching graze attacks are slightly trickier. First off, you can execution a dash from an offensive crouch by doing 3D. From there on, you can hold 3 and then press A or B to execute the crouching graze attack. Alternatively, you can start a dash with 6D, and then switch your directional input to 3 (your dash momentum will be preserved) and then press A or B. The second method is particularly useful if your opponent is on the move and you see a need to switch attacks in the middle of a dash. Note that you can also do the reverse by starting a dash with 3D and changing to a 6A or 6B for a standing graze attack.
- Remilia has no graze attacks due to the fact that she does not have a normal dash.
Dash Attacks
Dash attacks are attacks done after the fixed interval of a forward ground dash. They technically are not a distinct attack on their own so much as a tactic that can be more effectively utilized by certain characters because of their dash. In particular, Sakuya, Remilia, and Yuyuko have the best potential to dash attack, with moves that come out very quickly and at a good range after their dash. In Remilia's case, given that her dash is a hopping jump, her dash attacks would be similar to her air attacks except that they have a substantially faster speed and lower trajectory following her ground dash, turning 6DA into a very fast crossup and 6DB a very low double-hitting move that can combo into itself from the air.
High Jump
High jump (also known as "super jump") is adding a D to a normal jump, changing its trajectory and adding graze property to it. 7D and 9D will make your character jump lower and farther than they normally would, while 8D will make them jump straight up much farther than a normal jump. Because of the high jump's more desirable traits, there is a weakness added: the beginning frames of any high jump places your character in counterhit state, and any melee attack that hits them at that time will hit as a counterhit. They will, however, graze bullets from the first frame as with any other dash. High jumps are best utilized in HJC rushdown sequences with certain characters and escaping the corner by using 8D.
- Nearly all high jumps have a graze period that lasts 20 frames, starting the instant they are activated. The CH period lasts from when you leave the ground until the graze period ends. As with airdashes, airblocking is available immediately after the graze period ends and there is no gap.
- All of Remilia's high jumps have 15f of graze rather than 20f, and Suika's 8D lasts for only 17f.
High Jump Cancel
A high jump cancel, or HJC for short, is the use of a high jump right after a bullet-type attack is done when the player is on the ground. This removes the recovery time that the projectile would normally have by canceling the move into a high jump. Many projectiles can be HJCed, and this tactic ranges from useful to absolutely essential, depending on the character that is being played. HJCs are performed by doing a super jump after the cancelable point of a bullet move. Note that HJCs are susceptible to the same counterhit status as normal high jumps are, in that there are a few frames after doing the move in which your character is in a counterhit status.
- In notating combos and blockstrings, there will be three types of HJCs depending on the direction in which you do your jump. HJC7 will be a backwards cancel, HJC8 will be straight up, and HJC9 will be forward.
Gameflow
For more in-depth analysis of movement and gameflow read Xenozip.'s IaMP blog.
Tables and Data
Horizontal movement speed table:
- Speed values are given in pixels.
- The available arena size is 1200 pixels wide.
- Players start at positions 440 and 760.
Character 6 4 6D 4D 9 7 hj9 hj7 j.6D j.4D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reimu 4.5 -4.5 9 -10 4 -4 9 -9 9 -9 Marisa 6 -6 10.5 -11.5 5 -4 10 -10 10.5 -10.5 Sakuya 6 -6 11 -10 5 -4 10 -10 11 -11 Alice 6 -6 9 -10 5 -5 9 -9 8.5 -8.5 Patchouli 4 -4 8.5 -10 3 -4 8.5 -8.5 8 -8 Youmu 3 -3 11.5 -14* 5.5 -5.5 11 -11 10 -10 Remilia 6.5 -6.5 15 -25 7 -7 11 -11 10* -10* Yuyuko 4 -4 6 -10 4 -4 10 -10 7.5 -7.5 Yukari 4.5 -4.5 9 -10 4 -4 9 -9 9 -9 Suika 5.5 -5.5 9 -9 8 -8 10 -10 8.5 -7.5 Meiling 6 -4.5 10 -12 6 -4 11 -8 11 -11
- Properties
- Youmu 4D: Starts at -14, reduces by 1 every frame until 0
- Remilia j.6D: 30 speed first 8 frames
- Remilia j.4D: 30 speed first 6 frames
6D movement data table:
6D State Reimu Marisa Sakuya Alice Patchy Youmu Remilia Yuyuko Yukari Suika Meiling --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Startup 11 15 14.5 10 8.5 11.5 x 15 11 9 13 Slow/frame 0.5 0.5 0.75 0.5 0 0 x 0.5 0.5 0 0.5 Hold 9 10.5 11 9 8.5 11.5 x 6 9 9 10 Slow/frame 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 x 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 Final 0.5 4.5 3 1 2.5 1 x 3.5 0.5 2 5
- All 6D, except for Remilia's, start up faster than normal then slow down to a hold value. When the buttons are released, it slows further until it reaches a specific value and halts movement. Of special note here is Yuyuko's, hers starts very high and takes some time to slow down.
Vertical movement data table:
- Initial is the starting vertical speed.
- Gravity is the vertical speed lost per frame.
- Peak is the highest point reached by that jump, uninterrupted.
- Frames is the number of frames required to reach the peak height.
Action Reimu Marisa Sakuya Alice Patchy Youmu Remilia Yuyuko Yukari Suika Meiling ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/8/9 Initial 12.5 16 15 15 13 16 18 12 12.5 16 14 Gravity -0.55 -0.75 -0.7 -0.65 -0.4 -0.8 -0.95 -0.4 -0.55 -0.75 -0.7 Peak 148.35 178.75 168.3 180.6 217.8 168 179.55 185 143.35 178.75 147 Frames 23 22 22 24 33 21 19 31 23 22 21 HJ7/9 Initial 15 16 15 15 15 17.5 16 13.5 15 16 16 Gravity -0.65 -0.7 -0.7 -0.65 -0.6 -0.7 -0.85 -0.5 -0.65 -0.7 -0.7 Peak 180.6 190.9 168.3 180.6 195 200.2 158.65 189 180.6 190.9 190.9 Frames 24 23 22 24 26 22 19 28 24 23 23 HJ8 Initial 20 21 20 19 19 23 21 18.5 20 21 21 Gravity -0.65 -0.75 -0.7 -0.65 -0.6 -0.75 -0.85 -0.55 -0.65 -0.75 -0.75 Peak 317.75 304.5 295.8 287.25 310.4 364.25 270 320.45 317.75 304.5 304.5 Frames 31 29 29 30 32 31 25 34 31 29 29 J.4D Initial 5 5 5 5 3 5 2 3.5 5 4 5 Gravity -0.45 -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.4 -0.6 -0.6 -0.45 -0.45 -0.45 -0.45 J.6D Initial 4.55 4.4 4.4 4.4 2.6 5 -4 3.5 4.55 4.5 4.55 Gravity -0.45 -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.4 -0.6 -0.6 -0.45 -0.45 -0.45 -0.45
- Properties
- Remilia 8: Initial 19, Gravity -0.95, Peak 199.5, Frames 21
- Air techs: All air techs are Initial 11.25, Gravity -0.75.