Real Bout Fatal Fury 2

Game Systems

Attack Notations

A = Punch

B = Kick

C = Jolt Skill

D = Plane Shift

Movements

                  up (u)
                    |
 (ub)  up left - 7 8 9 - up right (uf)
     
     (b)   left - 4 5 6 - right (f)

(db) down left - 1 2 3 - down right (df)
                    | 
                  down (d)

Movement Abbreviations

qcf - 236 - d/df/f - Quarter circle forward

qcb - 214 - d/db/b - Quarter circle backward

hcf - 41236 - b/db/d/df/f - Half circle forward

hcb - 63214 - f/df/d/db/d - Half circle backward

dp - 623 - f/d/df - Dragon Punch motion

rdp - 421 - b/d/db - Reverse Dragon Punch motion

charge - [4]6 or [2]8 - b~f or d~u - Hold in one direction then shift to the designated direction

tk - 2369 - d/df/f/uf - Tiger Knee Motion

rtk - 2147 - d/db/b/ub - Reverse Tiger Knee Motion

hcb f - 632146 - f/df/d/db/b/f - Half circle back forward motion

b~f - [4]6 - Hold back then press forward

d~u - [2]8 - Hold down then press up

db/f - 1,6 - press down back then forward

d/u - 2,8 - press down then up

d,d - 2,2 - press down twice

f/b/f - 6,4,6 - press forward back forward

qcb hcf - 2141236 - Quarter circle back half circle forward

d/df~u - 2/[3]8 - Running Charge

Other Abbreviations

j. - Jump/jumping - Press up-back/up/up-forward.

sj. - Small jump - Tap up-back/up/up-forward.

cl. - Close

cr. - Crouch

st. - Stand

bb. - Backdash

Basic Mechanics

Forward Dash - f, f

• Jumping during a forward dash allows for greater distance

Backward Dash - b, b

• Good for dodging normals and specific specials (I.E. Certain projectiles with less range)

Small Jump - ub/u/uf (Tap once, don't hold)

Block - b (Hold)

• Blocking prevents knockdowns and damage from normals and you take much less damage without knockdown from specials and DM/SDM.
• Standing block can be used against standing and jumping attacks.
• A note on blocking: When you block an attack in this game, you do not have to keep holding the stick back. The game has a semi-auto block where once the first hit is blocked, you can release it and allow your character to continue the block with the joystick in neutral. This makes Break Shots much easier to perform due to not needing to constantly hold back while blocking.

Crouch Block - db (Hold)

• This will block any low attacks. Standing and jumping attacks will still hit you, learn to mix block and low block up depending upon the situation for the best results in your defensive game.

Air Block - b (Must be mid-air)

• Blocks attacks while in the air.
• Best used when jumping in on someone who uses a lot of aerial attacks or attacks that hit high.

Crawl -  df (Hold)

• Also called Duck Walking or DW
• It's useful for remaining in a crouching position to charge up some [d]u attacks like Terry's Rising Tackle, or to do some zoning while anticipating a low attack.

Mid-Air Turn - While jumping, press  d

• Turns character around in the air
• Very useful for quickly turning around while jumping over your opponents in order to go into an attack or to perform a mid-air special.

Feint

• Fake-out moves that start up as though the character is about to go into a special/DM/SDM move, but ends it prematurely. * These are usually used during chain combo's to cancel part of the animation and then quickly go into another attack to continue the combo with another chain. This will allow you to do some very advanced combos not normally possible. These are also used to recover quicker from normals and then continue into another normal or something else.

Evasion Attack - Press  A and  B together

• This will evade an attack for a split second while you attack the opponent.

Grapple/Throw - Press f or b and C when you are very close to your opponent

• Certain characters also have air throws, so make sure you check the command list of who you're playing to be sure.

Safe Fall - Press d during your own knockdown, before hitting the ground, to recover quickly

• Does not work if thrown or hit with a DM/SDM

Pursue Attacks

• Attacks used to hit someone while they are on the ground. All the more reason to use Safe Fall religiously.
• Specific characters have these.

Life Shift Recovery - Hit u + d  as you hit the ground to roll onto the back line

• You need to have H Power or higher to do it.

Taunt -  C + D

• These are more effective as a mind game against human opponents.

Break Shot

• Sometimes referred to as "Guard Cancel", certain special and Desperation Moves can be done while blocking and break your opponent's attack.
• H Power or higher is required as it drains your gauge by one bar. Obviously for DM Breakshot, you need S Power or higher.

Planes

Two characters cannot be on the back plane at the same time.

Switch to back plane - D

Low Attack -  B From back plane

Overhead Attack - A From back plane

Strong Attack - C From back plane

Switch to front plane - D From back plane

Roll to front plane - d

High plane attack - D when opponent is in back plane.

• Overheard, will pull the opponent to the front plane if connected

Low plane attack -  d + D when opponent is on back plane.

• Must be blocked low, will pull the opponent to the front plane if connected

When both characters are in opposing planes

Front Plane Character cannot duckwalk.

Back Plane Character:

• Cannot perform special moves unless specified.
• Cannot perform DMs/SDMs.
• Cannot crouch. It will however show the crouch block animation when crouch blocking.
• Cannot Duckwalk.
• Cannot jump.
• Dashing forward or backward will switch you automatically to the front plane.
• Standing still for two seconds will automatically switch you to the front plane.
• Holding u will keep you in the back plane.

Walking b or f will allow you to stay in the back plane.

Power Gauge and Desperation Moves

Power Gauge

• This meter will fill up when you use your special moves, connect (not blocked) any attack, or block an incoming attack. There are three levels of the Power Gauage, each having different effects to them.

H. Power

• This is when half of the power gauge is filled.
• You're capable of doing Break Shots when you have H. Power, and you're more likely to have H. Power most of the time than the other two levels of the gauge. Often times, it can be better to just go for a Break Shot than use up everything on one DM/SDM.
• Break Shot will lower the power gauge back down to zero.

S. Power

• When your gauge is filled up, it will become S. Power. This gauge will decrease over time.
• With it, you are able to use your Desperation Moves.
• When you use a Desperation Move, your gauge will go back down to nothing once again.
• If your life bar is flashing red, you will be able to use S. Power DM an unlimited amount of time as long as your life remains critical.

P. Power

• When your life turns red, the gauge will then become P. Power when filled up all the way.
• Like S. Power, it will also decrease over time.
• Allows you to use your Super Desperation Moves. Once an SDM is activated, the bar completely goes back down to zero.
• Remember: As long as your life is flashing red, your gauge will always build back up to P. Power after H. Power.

Chain Combos

Each character is capable of chaining specific basic attacks into Chain Combos. They differ from character to character, but each do decent enough damage on their own. The best thing about these, is you can follow them up with a special/DM that will do much more damage than without them. You can also knock your opponent into the background with some of these, allowing for more damaging combos. It's best to learn how to do your character's chain combos, and then try and turn them into flashier, longer combos.

Characters

Terry Bogard (RB2)

Andy Bogard (RB2)

Joe Higashi (RB2)

Kim Kaphwan (RB2)

Duck King (RB2)

Mai Shiranui (RB2)

Rick Strowd (RB2)

Li Xiangfei (RB2)

Sokaku Mochizuki (RB2)

Bob Wilson (RB2)

Hon Fu (RB2)

Blue Mary (RB2)

Franco Bash (RB2)

Ryuji Yamazaki (RB2)

Jin Chonshu (RB2)

Jin Chonrei (RB2)

Billy Kane (RB2)

Cheng Sinzan (RB2)

Tung Fu Rue (RB2)

Laurence Blood (RB2)

Wolfgang Krauser (RB2)

Geese Howard (RB2)

Tiers

These are rather disputed, and I'll be citing sources as to where these different lists have come from. Bear in mind, this game is extremely balanced and there is no one character that dominates all 100% of the time, even during high-end Japanese tournaments. Any character in this game is a viable option, and at most you might have to try a little harder in certain matchups but you won't be seeing anyone winning because of <Insert character here>.

Ghost Pilot AKA Mr. Big's Tier list

Top Rick, Kim, Chonshu, Escalation-Mode Mary

High Geese, Yamazaki, Terry, Franco, Hon-Fu

Mid-High Bob, Xiang Fei, Krauser

Mid Sokaku, Mai, Chonrei, Mary, Billy, Laurence, Joe, Duck, Andy

Low Tung, Cheng

For further analysis and reading, check here: http://shoryuken.com/f4/fatal-fury-real-bout-2-thread-139480/#post4331965 Ghost Pilot goes into further detail about his tier list and why he chose what he did.

Akutabi's Tier List

Top Rick (Mix-up+Damage), Xiangfei, Billy, Geese & Bob

High Mai & Krauser

Mid Just about everyone else not listed

Low Cheng, Sokaku & MAYBE Mary