Street Fighter: The Movie/Zangief

Introduction

• Played by: Andrew Bryniarski
• Stagger frames: 42

Playstyle

The first thing to get through your head when considering this character is that Zangief does not work as a grappler in this game. He has a lot of faults such as being cursed with the longest stagger animation in the game allowing him to play victim to a lot of infinites and shenanigans other characters don't have to be concerned with, and some of his command grabs are bugged. Screw Piledriver and Final Atomic Buster are still as great as they ever were, but the nature of the game itself makes them hard to rely on. Current tier placements have him in bottom 2 with Cammy, but in SFTM any character can still cook so don't let that discourage you. You'll just have to get creative and be ready to sweat a bit. Almost in a comedic act of divine intervention, Gief actually has some good tools to play a weird sort of rushdown and overwhelm opponents. His cr.HK is long reaching and safe (and can combo into itself during juggles), and he has impressive jumping buttons. He also has the ability to spam Violent Flat to become a fast moving horizontal hitbox that reflects projectiles while building meter and a Lariat that can also combo into itself if used in juggles. He's a very scary guy in the right hands.

Play Zangief if:

• You don't plan on staying across the screen.
• You like having really big hitboxes on your jumping attacks.
• you understand that sometimes it makes sense to slow down to poke and fish for counterhits.

Do not play Zangief if:

• You are looking for a traditional grappler.

Normals

Standing

s.LP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

s.MP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

s.HP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

s.LK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

s.MK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

s.HK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

Crouching

cr.LP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Low - - - - - - - -

cr.MP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

cr.HP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - -

cr.LK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Low - - - - - - - -

cr.MK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Low - - - - - - - -

cr.HK

Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Low - - - - - - - Knockdown This is one of, if not THE longest reaching normal in the game, and it puts Gief's hitbox almost on the floor. It's pretty hard to punish on whiff or block. A fantastic tool for footsies and whiff punishes. If you use it in juggles it can combo into itself too. Definitely a button you should use liberally.

Air

j.LP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - -

j.MP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - -

j.HP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - - A wide body splash that can crossup. One of Gief's best jumping buttons. Should also be used liberally.

j.LK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - - All of Gief's jumping kicks have the same animation and hitbox of a long dropkick, making them all excellent for jump-ins and air-to-air. If you knock somebody out of the air with this and Gief lands before they do, it's time for a juggle party.

j.MK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - - All of Gief's jumping kicks have the same animation and hitbox of a long dropkick, making them all excellent for jump-ins and air-to-air. If you knock somebody out of the air with this and Gief lands before they do, it's time for a juggle party.

j.HK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - - All of Gief's jumping kicks have the same animation and hitbox of a long dropkick, making them all excellent for jump-ins and air-to-air. If you knock somebody out of the air with this and Gief lands before they do, it's time for a juggle party.

Command Normals

Knee Press Jumping forward d+LK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - High - - - - - - - - A quick knee that can help Gief tick into grabs. works great with his regular throws and Screw Piledriver or Final Atomic buster if you have the meter.

Universal Mechanics

Throws

Piledriver Close b/f+MP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - Escapable, Counterable

Kamitsuki Close b/f+HP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - Escapable, Counterable

German Suplex Close b/f+MK or HK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - Escapable, Counterable

Throw Counters

Throw Counter/Reversal u+HK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - - This input and data are for Zangief's opponent after he lands a throw. See Throws for more information.

Slammaster d+HP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - - This input and data are for Zangief's opponent after he reverses a countered throw. See Throws for more information.

Interrupts

Violent Flat During blockstun, standing f+MP	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Knockdown

Knee Kick During blockstun, standing u+HK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Knockdown

Regeneration

Regeneration Hold LP+LK, release	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - - Recovers 17 health over 34 frames. See Regeneration for more information.

Danger Move

Head Slide 10 health or less [d+KKK], release KKK	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Low - - - - - - - - Gief slides forwards headfirst and launches the opponent into the air. This move goes under most attacks and projectiles and if set up from the proper distance can combo into itself indefinitely. Sadly it's not very safe if it doesn't hit so be careful.

Special Moves

Double Lariat PPP or KKK

Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Projectile Invincible The KKK version is quicker but the PPP version lasts longer. You can move forwards or backwards by holding f/b during this move. Zangief can even spin off the screen if the camera is locked. This move combos into itself if done during a juggle and it's absolutely fantastic to quickly build meter. Especially the KKK version.

Screw Piledriver Close 360+P	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - - - - - - - - - Throw Gief's best command grab, though it's a little difficult to land in this type of game. You can tick into it with Knee Press.

Atomic Suplex Close 360+K	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Throw This move is unsafe on hit when Zangief is in the corner. Zangief is sent upward but not far enough backward, leaving him vulnerable to juggles. It may also be unsafe on hit from mid-screen against fast moves. Testing is necessary to confirm.

Airplane spin Close [HP]b/f, release HP

Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Dizzies, Escapable If this move is allowed to complete it will leave the opponent dizzy, but for some reason it can be throw-escaped which makes it incredibly unsafe to attempt unless your opponent is unaware of this. If escaped Gief will continue spinning in place as if he's still holding his foe, leaving him wide open to attack.

Violent Flat QCB+P	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Mid - - - - - - - Reflect Moves Gief forwards, reflects projectiles, has a hitbox in front of it, and can be done rapidly to fly across the screen while building meter at a maniacal pace.

Super Moves

Final Atomic buster Close HCBx2+P	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Throw - - - - - - - -

flying Brain Crusher Close QCFx2+P	Damage Guard Meter Stun Startup Active Recovery Adv. Hit Adv. Block Property - Throw - - - - - - - -

Tips

• Liberally apply j.HP,j.HK, and cr.HK.
• Spam Lariat and Violent Flat to build meter quickly and move forwards.
• Don't let the opponent push you across the screen where they can start zoning. Gief has tools to deal with it, but it's still difficult to deal with.
• Gief might not focus on getting grabs as much as he does in other games, but keep em loaded. Screw Piledriver and his supers do tons of burst damage, and all it takes is an opponent worrying too much about blocking a j.HP or j.HK to open them up for a Knee Press into tick throw.
• Sometimes it's a good idea to lay back a little bit to catch somebody overextending when they are getting frustrated with dealing with your aggression, and if you catch them you'll get an easy and painful juggle.
• You probably won't use Head Slide much, but don't forget about it. There is nothing funnier than catching somebody with that when they think they're about to win and then juggling them with it until they die.