Samurai Shodown VI/Wan-Fu

Introduction

After a long hiatus Wan-Fu is back to being fat again. In this game he wields a Chuí.

This version of Wan-Fu serves as the progenitor to his playstyle in Samurai Shodown (2019). Though boasting more moves, there are important tools this version of Wan-Fu is missing in comparison such as a running low attack when unarmed, a standing heavy punch which knocks down and a WFT he can combo into. Another key difference is that your grounded weapon tosses and unarmed command grab will move you forward or backward some distance rather than maintaining your position, which has its pros and cons depending on the situation.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 100%
• Rage retention: 225
• Rage duration: 6 seconds

Gameplan

Wan-Fu has solid damage potential with his weapon equipped but lacks mixups outside of crossups - fortunately, his jC is effective at just that given it swings directly behind him (jD is another option for its priority, but jC leads to your best combos). In addition to his near medium slashes being special cancellable, his near light slashes are able to convert into 623S and 236A. Wan-Fu also has the tools to play defensively, with his 623S boasting good priority (but no startup invincibility), 236S as a far anti-air option and jB as a solid diagonally-downward air-to-air.

However, his most important normals are 5B and 2C, which not only have suitable range for poking and punishing respectively but can also be recoil cancelled. 236A is a safe enough option if you're close enough, but it is 214S which segues into your vortex game. On hit the weapon toss results in a knockdown, but on block the explosion gives Wan-Fu plus frames to work with. Either of these work well with the mixup options enabled when Wan-Fu is unarmed. 214A is your safest option if you recoil close to them, but 214B is more effective at sticking to them near 5B's maximum range. 214C is a crossup which is ambiguous if spaced correctly, which is again at the tip of your 5B. Wan-Fu doesn't have to rely on just recoil cancels for the pillar to hit its mark - j214S is an effective one-time-use anti-air which covers a great deal of range, while in combos you may choose to substitute something more damaging for 641236S, which will end with the weapon close by to pick up after a mixup. It is important that you connect the weapon toss in some way, as it is difficult for unarmed Wan-Fu to gain momentum if he doesn't have it.

When unarmed Wan-Fu gains access to heavy punches (u5B/C, u2B/C, juB/C), a leaping overhead (u66D) and a command grab (u623D). If you have used Wan-Fu in 2019 then it may be best to think of u66D as this game's version of his standing heavy punch, at least regarding Wan-Fu's strike/throw vortex (u5B/C does not knock down in this game, but u66D does) and that it can catch jumpouts. u66D is handy for its far-reaching trajectory and speed - if you think your opponent is going to roll after getting knocked down by something like 3D then u66D will cover both tech options. It will hit an opponent recovering from a short roll for another knockdown while flying far enough to land directly in their face if they long roll, where you can either go for u623D or a high/low strike. u66D is an overhead but it replaces Wan-Fu's running low kick, so a bandaid solution is to simply stop in your tracks and press 3D (you can still input u66D during runstop as a fakeout - however this is a gimmick). u623D is a strong mixup option due to its damage, speed and range, but to counter opponents jumping out of it you'll need to air-to-air with ujS or anti-air with mainly u5B/C.

Wan-Fu's main weakness resource-wise is how quickly his Rage expires - six seconds at best. You usually want to use VI Spirit to keep your WFT for longer, additionally being rewarded with meter for playing aggressively. Furthermore VI synergises well with Wan-Fu's 214D, which gives him immediate access to Hyper Guard and WFT in exchange for health. Unarmed Wan-Fu benefits from roll cancels as another means to land his u623D in addition to benefitting from the extra mobility in general, which are provided by II and V Spirits. Wan-Fu does not benefit much from State Of Nothingness, given his lack of a combo-able overhead or any sort of launcher. Given his short Rage duration, II may be considered for constant access to invincible wakeups and weapon-destroying properties on your WFT (even though you cannot combo into it). Additionally Wan-Fu builds plenty of meter in IV Spirit from Continuous Slash IV given his small rage capacity, but this is situational and you still barely have enough time to land it. I Spirit happens to be a decent choice for Wan-Fu, who doesn't get much out of his WFT anyway, as his Hyper Slash reaches very far, allowing him to punish backdashes and short rolls while also raising his burst damage considerably.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - Short-ranged poke with the end of your weapon. Surprisingly good range but slow.
• 5B - Your most important normal. Not necessarily that it's a great button by itself, but because it has decent range and it can be recoil cancelled. When spaced properly this can be an effective segue to your weapon toss game.
• 5C - Two-hit heavy slash with a disjointed hitbox. Slow as hell, lunges Wan-Fu forward and doesn't recoil. Its hitbox reaches higher than 2C and it does more damage, but other than that this isn't something you want to use often.
• 2A - Quick claw with decent priority, useful for buying space for yourself. Special cancellable.
• 2B - A lower variant of 5B which may be used to hit low profile targets. Deals less damage.
• 2C - A low-hitting sweep which recoils on block. Given its range and its knockdown properties it is also effective as a punish.

Near Slashes

• n5A - Standing 2A. Better for stuffing hopping attacks. Special cancellable.
• n5B - Your best meaty attack and combo starter.
• n5C - Two-hit punish tool and another option for meaties. Any combo starting with your close mediums will provide higher damage and a knockdown.
• n2A - Same as far version. May be used to tick into u623D.
• n2B - n5B but lower. Same damage.
• n2C - Same as far version.

Kicks

• 5D - A quick kick to the shins. Doesn't require much commitment as you recover quickly.
• 6D - Butt swing which sends the opponent flying. As Wan-Fu maintains his position this poke is somewhat safe.
• 2D - Short low kick with some delay. May be used to tick into u623D.
• 3D - Long-ranged sweep. This move works well as an unarmed punish and as a mixup option in your vortex.

Dash Normals

• 66A - A short delay before Wan-Fu brunts you with the edge of his weapon. Safe enough but not very useful.
• 66B - Running 5B. This attack doesn't recoil, but the fact that it is special cancellable not only means you have access to a running punish but that you can cancel the blocked recovery into specials anyway.
• 66C - A leaping overhead, but it doesn't travel far enough to sideswitch like Hanzo's. Like most leaping dash normals this can be kara cancelled into an air special.
• 66D - A running low kick.

Air Normals

• jA - Jumping version of n5A. Air-to-air with good priority but bad range.
• jB - Far-reaching air normal which reaches diagonally-downward. Not a bad option if you don't want to resort to j214S for air-to-airs.
• jC - Braindead crossup and solid air-to-air. Provides enough hitstun to combo easily into your close mediums even without a deephit state.
• jD - High-priority crossup, mainly used if you don't have your weapon and you need to hit opponents directly below you.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - Same as n5A.
• u5B/C - Heavy punch. Does only a bit more damage than u5S. The fact that this doesn't knock down makes this much less useful than its 2019 iteration, nevermind that it isn't as fast.
• u2S - Same as 2A.
• u2B/C - Crouching heavy punch.
• u66S - Running heavy punch which knocks down.
• u66D - Instead of a running kick you now have a high-flying overhead. Not very useful for mixup purposes as Wan-Fu doesn't have any running lows when unarmed. This move is useful for tech chasing - it will hit their recovery if they short roll (you recover in time to go for this again) while spacing you directly in front of an opponent if they long roll, giving you perfect spacing to land a command grab. Additionally it may be used for anti-airing, though it doesn't reach that far upward and requires distance.
• juS - Same as jA.
• juB/C - Reaches diagonally downward, but doesn't spike aerial opponents like it does in 2019. Essentially your unarmed replacement for jB.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - A very convincing argument for I Spirit on this character. This is the second most-damaging Hyper Slash in the game, and given it's basically a one-hit version of his 5C it retains that move's great range.

Command Moves

3C

• An anti-air and an overhead rolled up into one move. Both hits cause a knockdown. The anti-air portion starts up quickly but hits too far up to hit grounded opponents (exception: standing Kusaregedo). After a noticeable delay Wan-Fu then performs an overhead which has decent range going for it - however, the distinctive startup period means this overhead is easy to react to. The overhead is safe on block if spaced correctly, but if done raw you will likely get stuffed before it comes out. Make sure you don't get this by accident when attempting to punish with 2C.

Special Moves

True Rolling Spirit Blast - 214S (air OK)

• Wan-Fu's most important move and one of the best recoil cancel options in the game. He leaps up and throws his weapon, in which the ensuing explosion either knocks down on hit or gives advantage on block.
• A version leaps backward while throwing the weapon from a short jump. This is overall your safest option but the fact Wan-Fu leaps back makes it difficult for him to keep up momentum, and when unarmed Wan-Fu loses momentum he's screwed.
• B version leaps forward while throwing the weapon from a high jump. If you do this too close you will leap over the opponent while the weapon will miss them completely, so it is best to space this properly with the range of 5B.
• C version leaps high up and over the opponent and dropping the weapon down, resulting in a crossup. Spacing this correctly not only makes this ambiguous but also leaves Wan-Fu at a good range to start mixups. Though harder to stuff it feels slower than its 2019 counterpart.
• The jumping versions toss the weapon at a diagonal angle as Wan-Fu leaps back. Strength determines a slight pitch in angle, with A reaching the farthest out and C reaching the most inward. This is an amazing air-to-air and provides plenty of utility. Given its aerial properties it can be kara cancelled into from your backdash and 66C.

Spirit Blast Whirlwind Wham - 623S

• Wan-Fu's DP. None of its versions have invincibility on startup, but they are all fast with good priority.
• A version can be followed up with a guaranteed pursuit if it hits late.
• C version is your strongest combo ender. Has a built-in OTG attack at the end which further makes this version extremely unsafe.

True Spirit Blast Beating - 236S (Samurai Drive)

• Wan-Fu swings his weapon, with the strength determining how many cycles. This is your combo tool if you cannot reach with DP.
• A version is another safe option for recoil cancelling, but it will whiff if you recoil from too far away. However, it is the only version that can not be cancelled by Samurai Drive in the console-exclusive VIII Spirit.

Spirit Blast Careless Pitch - 641236A/B

• Exclusive to VI is another way Wan-Fu can get the weapon out of his hands. Essentially 236S but the last hit is replaced by a fake spin then a weapon toss spinning upward, which has a hitbox until it hits the ground. For the A version this means its only hit is a delayed weapon toss, so it can not be used in combos. This weapon toss deals less damage than the final swing of any 236S, so it is less optimal for combos unless you wish to mixup with u623S afterwards.

Spirit Blast Careless Explosion - 641236C

• What makes Explosion different to Pitch is that, instead of the weapon arcing upward then falling down after Wan-Fu throws it, it flies straight to the end of the screen. Given the lengthy startup before Wan-Fu tosses his weapon this probably won't win you any fireball wars, but the fact that the fireball itself has a wide hitbox and causes a hard knockdown means you could potentially bet on this to skip neutral, or at least to bait a jump or a forward roll.
• This move guarantees a pursuit followup.

Raging Ball Pummel - 214D

• Wan-Fu stays in place to headbutt his weapon four times, sacrificing 16% of his health for maximum Rage.

Spirit Blast Crush - u623D

• Your unarmed command grab, complete with great range and fast startup. Thrusts you forward during the animation, but tosses your opponent much farther. If your weapon is far enough behind you then the distance closed with this may be enough to take it off the screen. However, given this causes a hard knockdown you have more than enough time to stay on top of them. Furthermore this gives Wan-Fu particularly good corner carry.
• The input is designed to be easy to perform when running, but you may end up overlapping with u66D instead.

Toy Transformation - 6412364E (II)

Supers

Wrath Of God Blowout - 236AB

• A super version of 214C with more blockstun. Be wary that this game has crossup protection, meaning that the opponent doesn't have to change blocking direction between any of the hits. Unfortunately this WFT is not fast enough to combo into.
• The startup actually has a hitbox behind him while he's spinning his weapon, but this won't juggle even if you connect into it with A+B BBC in IV Spirit.

Super Spirit Blast Whirlwind Beating - 341236421BC (II), 236BC (VI)

• Highly-damaging combo ender. Effectively a suped-up version of your weapon swings with a DP ender that will combo from the same things as 236B. The opponent can Rage Explode out of this if they have the right Spirit.

Combos

Standard Combos

• n5A/n2A 623S/236A - Combos starting from light slashes.
• n5B/n2B/66B 623S/236S/641236S - Combos starting from medium slashes. 623C deals the most damage while 236S is the most reliable given its reach. 641236S is an alternative to 236S if you wish to start your unarmed mixups.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC 623C - Juggle combo into DP.
• A+B AABBCC 236C - Optimal damage. 623C will not fully connect.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki