Samurai Shodown VI/Yumeji

Introduction

Yumeji is a headswap of Ukyo who expands on his zoning-oriented Bust moveset from Samurai Shodown III and IV. This character was a sub-boss in Samurai Shodown V who could transform into the likenesses of existing characters for certain special moves, but in VI these have been exchanged for practical keepaway options and combo tools.

Yumeji is a more defensively oriented version of Ukyo with strong frame traps and setplay as opposed to a vortex. Backdash Firefly, 421A/B, and his plethora of amazing normals keeps the opponent away from him. 236S setplay alongside a high/low mix and a jumping heavy that doesn't need a counterhit to combo punish throws comprises his oki. A lightning fast 66C and damaging 66B 421B~B combos make up his punishes. Yumeji has more than enough traits to distinguish himself from Ukyo and in some cases outperform him. If you view him as a discount Ukyo you will never win with him

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 115%
• Rage retention: 90
• Rage duration: 15 seconds

Gameplan

Yumeji has a unique blend of both grounded and aerial keep away that is backed by strong mixup with his high/low game and stabilized by an exceptional frame trap fireball.

His normals all have great reach and damage to them. His close light slash is a strong safe frame trap. His crouching medium slash is an anti air that covers a large arc above him, his standing medium slash is a great poke, and his running medium slash is a two hit move that special cancels on the first hit. His standing heavy slash is a long reaching punishing button that recoil cancels, but his far crouching medium slash is terrible and should never be used. If you're going for a clear punish then always do running heavy slash because it has the same reach as standing heavy but it trades recoil cancelling in order to knock down which let's you set up his fireball oki.

Yumeji's specials are some of the strongest in the game. His fireball is too slow to use for zoning but is so plus on hit that it combos into anything he can do, even Hyper Slash. It is his strongest special because of it's setplay and frame trap use. You must NEVER do this move grounded or you will at best lose ground or at worst be counter hit by a jumping heavy and let me tell you that Yumeji already takes 15% more damage than the average character.

His 623 slash is a move with three different uses: light frame trap that can land counter hits into heavies, medium front slash for knockdown, or heavy crossup slash for knockdown. All three versions can be thrown, and if the heavy isn't a crossup it won't land at all. This move isn't exactly a reversal but it can phase through many moves during it's ghost frames, making it a mixup tool though it is a gimmick if the opponent is patient and eventually they will figure this out.

His 421A/B is a two part move with four different angles. The first hit is always safe, the A version launches on hit. The second part will always be unsafe. This move is a powerful tool because of the speed at which it comes out, allowing it to break armor on an opponent attempting to wakeup with Hyper Slash after they block your fireball. (Try counter hit setups, show all angles). The light version's first hit can set up unburstable Issen combos. If you're using the move during normal combos be sure to do the medium version because the light can miss on many crouching characters. The light however does launch them far into the air which gives you ample oki time, especially for System 5 meditate into fireball maintenance.

Another application of this move is to punish long-range whiffs on high recovery moves because of the speed and reach of it. 421 medium into medium will get the job done. When performing this move you must choose between frame trapping them or the full input. There is not enough time between both slashes to choose. Learn to use this move to the best of your ability because it is one of his best and enhances his keepaway game.

Firefly is another powerful move Yumeji can utilize. You may recognize this as Ukyo's original Tsubame Gaeshi nightmare move from SamSho 2. You lose the overhead property as well as the slash itself but exchange it for more than a few positive traits. For one, it is mostly safe assuming you do not do this move as high as possible. Always use it as air to air, to adjust your jump and avoid a move, always tiger knee it, or always use it as a backdash cancel. It comes out at a blinding speed and can punish some things that even a light slash would fail to do effectively because Firefly will knock them down and gain you distance to resume keepaway.

You can link crouching kick into Firefly but it's not a high low mixup just a niche combo. You'd be better off throwing or attempting another combo for more damage.

Yumeji becomes impossible to run at and safely approach when you know how to cover all of his angles. His Firefly anti air is evasive, he can punish whiffs easily with multiple moves, and even when you do get in close his best combos end with throwing you away from him.

Yumeji has no problem backing himself into the corner because of his solid defensive moves. His crouching far medium slash covers a wide angle and his standing medium/heavy slashes keep the opponent on their toes.

Against a cornered opponent Yumeji has some of the best and safest setplay in the game, ranking below Hanzo, Genjuro, Amakusa, and Rimururu which is nothing short of the best setplay.

Every oki begins with his fireball if they don't roll away, in the event they do roll away you can chase tech with running heavy slash or throw.

His fireball is plus one billion on hit and very plus on block. This is an amazing opportunity for tick throws and shimmies. This is combined with his forward + medium overhead and his forward + kick. You must space these moves to make them safe, especially his overhead which can be grabbed on hit if you don't space it.

Do not ever pursuit with Yumeji unless it's to finish a weakened opponent. You're wasting precious time to set up your fireball game or to run away from a short range opponent.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - Fast, long-reaching poke. Effectively a weaker version of 5B but if it's blocked you get to recoil cancel faster. Special cancellable.
• 5B - Same reach as 5A but deals more damage and is active for longer, thus more effective as a general poke.
• 5C - A far-reaching, highly-damaging punish tool. This is great for poking and recoil cancelling, considering its startup is quite fast as well. Get in the habit of using 421B as an OS so blocked slashes can be made safer and create a no cross line.
• 2A - Your fastest midscreen poke but it has less range than 5A. Special cancellable.
• 2B - Effective anti-air, but it leaves you crouching so you're prone to taking deephits if you screw this up.
• 2C - This is Yumeji's only far normal which doesn't recoil, though it is also the most damaging. Doesn't cover any more range than 5C but moves you forward and can go under high attacks.

Near Slashes

• n5A - Safe get-off-me tool.
• n5B - High-reaching attack and thus suitable as a meaty. Special cancellable but not as fast as n2B.
• n5C - Generic punish tool. It's two hits so it can be bursted before the more-powerful second hit.
• n2A - n5A but lower.
• n2B - Your fastest combo starter. Your choice is between this and n5B, in which if your distance is wrong you're whiffing 2B instead of 5B.
• n2C - Generic punish tool which does slightly less than n5C and starts lower.

Kicks

• 5D - Ranged option for when you're disarmed, little use outside of this purpose but it is special cancellable.
• 6D - Low-hitting kick that slides you a little further than one character width. Can be followed up with a pursuit but should always be followed up by 236A or chase tech. Use this alongside a spaced meaty overhead to use his 236A setplay.
• 2D - Short, quick low. Links into Firefly, but don't think you'll be running 2D j1236S vortex with this character as Yumeji's j1236S hits mid.
• 3D - A sweep that hits mid. Reaches fairly high, fast, active for relatively long.

Dash Normals

• 66A - Has more range than 66B and 66D. Has decent priority as well but there's not much of a reason to use this.
• 66B - Instead of crossing up, Yumeji's 66B is instead a running version of her n5B. The first hit is special cancellable, making this move effective as a punish. If you're expecting an upback then this is what you go for.
• 66C - A running version of your 5C, but instead of recoiling it knocks down. This hits higher up than Ukyo's running heavy slash, covering an even greater area. This is one of the fastest and most samurai moves in the game. You will punish everything with it.
• 66D - Running low. Your best option for punishing when unarmed, but you have far better options when Yumeji is armed.

Air Normals

• jA - Aerial n5A.
• jB - Can be used to hit opponents who are close below you. May also be used as an instant overhead in State Of Nothingness if your opponent is tall enough.
• njC - Air-to-air which covers a great distance directly in front of you.
• jC - Ukyo's jumping heavy slash, but easier to use as Yumeji's jump is faster. Good horizontal range.
• jD - Two-hit kick, situational jump-in. Both hits are medium attacks. Your better air option when unarmed.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - High slap.
• u2S - Low slap.
• u66S - Gives plenty of hitstun to link into a knockdown move. u66S is a heavy attack so linking it into itself causes a knockdown.
• juS - Jumping slap. jC reaches farther.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - 5C. The range, power, and threat of this move enhance Yumeji's pokes by a ton. Risky for a character with such low health as him but a powerful threat to scare the opponent with and an even stronger punish than 5C.

Command Moves

6B

• Long-ranged leaping overhead which moves Yumeji a little forward. You must perform this meaty and at a distance or else you'll be thrown at best and punished at worse. State of Nothingness opener.

Special Moves

Concealed Sabre Solar Flame - 236S

• Bust-Ukyo's fast-travelling fireball, but the startup is much slower. Strength determines the range before it dissipates, with 236A reaching about 5C's length away from you and 236C reaching nearly the whole screen. In return for its lengthy startup this move is advantageous enough on hit that it can link into your dashing attacks or anything else that can reach.

Concealed Sabre Firefly - j1236S

• Remember how Ukyo's Tsubame Gaeshi used to spawn a fireball while also being an overhead? While Ukyo has ditched the fireball since III, Yumeji has adopted it while abandoning the overhead hit. Furthermore while the fireball retains the same V-shaped arc (strength determining the angle it flies upward) it no longer travels fullscreen, reaching a little farther than your 5C at most before dying out. However, this move is still very much useful not only for the angles it covers but for its near-instant startup, in addition to the air practicalities of a standard Tsubame Gaeshi (you can either TK it or cancel your backdash into it, the latter being useful as a keepaway option as it stuffs whatever angle of approach your opponent is rushing you down from). When zoning you will often have to decide between 236S's range and damage potential versus j1236S's speed and upward geometry.
• When tiger knee'd, this move is amazing as a close-ranged punish tool for its speed, range and the knockdown it gives. This is capable of punishing blocked attacks which most other characters can only punish with a throw, if theirs can even reach. Because Yumeji doesn't stop to cough at the end like Ukyo does, if this is performed far enough then it may be hard for the opponent to meaningfully punish you depending on the matchup.
• If you expect your opponent to short roll on wakeup then TK j1236S will hit their recovery. From the same spacing however the fireball will dissipate just out of reach for catching long rolls, which do not have strike vulnerability on their recovery anyway. However, the opponent long rolling is ultimately better for you not only spacing-wise but also because it allows you to set up 236S safely.

Concealed Sabre Snowdust Flash - 214S

• Practical recoil cancel option with roughly the same range as your 2A, also a possible far anti-air for its vertical reach. This is similar to Ukyo's apple slice but instead of multiple independent hits it is a hitgrab akin to Yoshitora's Asagao (furthermore you're throwing a persimmon instead of an apple). Strength determines its active frames and number of hits if it connects.
• There is no fakeout version of this move.

Concealed Sabre Ephemeral Shadow - 623S (Samurai Drive)

• Concealed with the morphing effect from V, Yumeji dashes forward then swipes at the opponent. This is your replacement for Ukyo's 66B in that the heavy version is a crossup, but it's nowhere near as fast. Theoretically useful as a recoil option if you've conditioned your opponent not to hit buttons, as all versions have a lengthy, telegraphed startup. Otherwise use sparingly, as you're better off sticking to keepaway rather than trying to shmix with Yumeji.
• 623A can be linked into your faster attacks on hit including 2C. It is also fairly safe on block.
• 623B hits in front of them, while 623C will cross over if spaced correctly.

Oral Tradition Snow Wind - 421A/B~A/B

• This move is a long-ranged attack which has followups that lead to knockdowns. Be mindful that the input window for the followups is quite small. The first hit is either a launcher which reaches upwards (A) or a low-hitting downward strike (B), both of which are fairly safe. The optional next hit reaches not only farther but either higher (A) or lower (B). As this is your fastest grounded special it is also your combo ender. 421A~A deals more damage than the other versions, which then all deal the same amount of damage, but 421A whiffs on crouching opponents. For this reason 421B is preferred for consistency, in which you may decide to either knock your opponent away from you for keepaway (421B~A) or to keep them closer for okizeme (421B~B).
• Be careful with using the followups in neutral as they are are easy to avoid, have long recovery and leave you in a counter hit state.

Toy Transformation - 3214623E (II)

Supers

Heavenly Wave of Soichi Jinmu - 236AB

• Bust-Ukyo's WFT. Fast startup and travels fullscreen quickly. While it can be used as a standalone punish because of this, this WFT is best used as a combo ender where it is guaranteed to hit. Will sideswitch and leave the opponent close to you in a hard knockdown.

Secret Move Ground God - 641236BC (II), 236BC (VI) (Samurai Drive)

• Viable alternative to WFT as a combo tool. The first hit's range is roughly the same as your 2A's. This deals slightly more damage than 236AB, but instead of sideswitching it pushes the opponent far away.

Combos

Standard Combos

• n5B/n2B/66B/5D 421S~S/236AB - Combos starting from medium slashes.
• 623A, 2D, j1236S - Various links.
• 623B/C, 3C - Guaranteed pursuit.
• 236S, 66X - Ground fireball's hitstun is long enough for you to follow up with one of your dashing normals, or anything else that will reach.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC/AABBC 421A/B~A/B - For the BBC juggle 421A~A/B is most consistent.
• A+B BBC/AABBC 236AB - Continuous Slash into WFT.
• A+B BBC 214A - Corner only.

State Of Nothingness (V)

• 6B, ... ABC - Conversion from overhead into Issen. Be careful not to link grounded heavies together in your filler. jB may be used as an instant overhead instead if the croucher is large enough.
• 421A ABC - Launcher into Issen. Immune to Rage Explosion if your opponent is running a Spirit which has it, but has short range. After performing 6B your opponent's hurtbox will usually be too low to hit with 421A.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki