Samurai Shodown VI/Ocha-Maro

Introduction

Akuryou taisan, akuryou taisan~

Ocha-Maro is one big mixup machine. How will he arrange his rekkas, and which of his six enders will he choose from? Will he hit from the air when he's jumping, or from the ground with his trolley? Is he going to land the full command grab sequence and delete a third of my lifebar, or am I going to get hit by one of his strong meaty options if I try to escape? Before the fun begins, however, you must struggle with his huge hurtbox, slow movement and shoddy pokes while trying to win neutral. In addition Ocha-Maro also has some of the highest execution requirements in the game, with tight link combos necessary for a safe offense and a command grab sequence which requires fast fingers and good timing to master.

Data

• Dash type: Run
• Damage taken: 100%
• Rage retention: 168
• Rage duration: 13 seconds

Gameplan

Your neutral sucks. You're a big target, your walk speed is slow, your backdash is poor and your jump is floaty as hell. On the flip side your run is surprisingly fast, your rolls travel a good distance if your Spirit has them and you have an extra mobility option which gives you a safe double jump. Ocha-Maro's jump sees him launched upward by his little trolley, which serves a mechanical purpose - when jumping Ocha-Maro can either attack from the air as normal or attack with the trolley on the ground with either jD or Heavenly Feather Dance (j214D). jD is a quick, single spin which makes no adjustments to his trajectory which can be used either as a jump-in or as an ambiguous crossup. j214D, however, causes Ocha-Maro to jump vertically upward while the cart hits once after a delay. At the peak of your jump you can also connect a falling jB. Furthermore jA and jB can be special cancelled into j214D, allowing for a safe-ish offense up close. As for mid-range, you have a few options but the general weakness you need to know about is that your pokes all have slow startups but will usually move you closer to the opponent. 5A is a quick-ish poke which covers a wide area in front of you. 5B is a long-ranged poke which slides you forward a bit, but it is hampered by the fact it goes over some crouching opponents. 2B is a low profile slide which recoils on block and is special cancellable in the last few frames, which can not only mitigate Ocha-Maro's normally-large frame but also help him to start rekka pressure. 2C is a grounded anti-air which swings around Ocha-Maro but it's slow to come out and takes even longer to hit above him, so it may be best to air-to-air with jB instead if you can. It may be tempting to throw out 5C in neutral for its added slide, but because this is punishable on block you should save it for punishes where you have the added benefit of being brought closer to the opponent after it hits.

What to use for meaties? n5B seems to be the obvious solution, much like with other characters, but Ocha-Maro also has an effective meaty in the form of 5D, an otherwise unassuming headbutt which covers a tall area in front of it and links into itself and 2D, which are both special cancellable. This allows him to hit confirm easily into his Fan Celebrate (214S), a rekka sequence with multiple followups but notably has a high-damage ender, if you are good enough with the links. The rekka on its own can be used for a mixup on its own. The second rekka can be either a safe-ish combo-filler/blockstring, a low slide or an overhead leap. As for the third option, you have multiple options. In addition to your damaging ender, another low slide and another overhead leap, Ocha-Maro also gains access to a delayed command grab which evades throws at the start and lunges him forward a bit. The other two enders can be performed outside of this rekka sequence on their own, but are important in countering an opponent's attempts of hitting you out of the rekka. If the opponent blocks 214S~214A and you go for one of the 214S enders, you might be surprised to find out they can just throw you out of their startup. This is where Huge Mountain Dance (623D) comes in, a move whose sole purpose is to counter throw attempts (including command grabs). On its own it will deal great damage and grant you a hard knockdown, but if you are in Rage you are able to link into WFT just before they hit the ground. The final followup is your universal deflect which catches opponents trying to poke you out of delayed rekka attempts or overheads.

In addition to rekkas, Ocha-Maro also has access to a highly-damaging command grab which can ether around a third of their health, but the catch is that in order to increase the damage you must perform a rhythm game of sorts, inputting an exact sequence of inputs in a very specific time frame. The damage of each attack increases exponentially with each hit - if you screw up the final input, for instance, you'll only deal about 40% of the damage overall that you could've inflicted. This combined with the various link combos necessary for a safe offense means you'll have to set some time aside to get it all down.

A final important note about Ocha-Maro's moveset is his WFT, which isn't particularly damaging but is otherwise very useful. On block it can deal a massive amount of chip damage and is only really punishable by throw or some other quick attack, and because Ocha-Maro's Rage lasts for a long time you will have many opportunities to attempt this again. This is a hitgrab which will hit both grounded and airborne opponents, and furthermore this will beat normal attacks if their hurtboxes are not adequately displaced enough. Just be mindful that you will have to perform an additional input on the fourth hit, otherwise you will not disarm the opponent.

Ocha-Maro is a big dude who needs to get in close for big damage and jumping is a necessary part of his offense, so III Spirit's dodge and air defense help him considerably, especially given he can air defend even whilst falling from j214D. Furthermore, his knockdowns from rekkas usually grant him enough time to charge a decent amount of Rage on the spot. VI is another option for dodging if you are good with using Mikiri, as Ocha-Maro is good at whiff punishing especially with WFT. Roll cancels into a hard-hitting command grab lend II and V to consideration - of these, II is preferred because of Rage's invincible pose giving Ocha-Maro a reversal and longer Rage duration. V Spirit cuts down your Rage duration to about 8 seconds, which is bad because Ocha-Maro certainly gets decent mileage out of his WFT, furthermore Ocha-Maro relies on rekkas for a launcher during State of Nothingness and can not do so with 6B or a successful 623D despite appearances. I and IV for Ocha-Maro should be avoided, as the former deprives him of his WFT while the latter is outclassed by III for evasion and he doesn't have any good Continuous Slash combos.

Normal Moves

Far Slashes

• 5A - A fan swipe downward. Pretty slow for a 5A but covers a large area. Whiffs at round start range. Does not recoil.
• 5B - Ocha-Maro serves tea on a platter and slides forward a bit for a ranged poke. Will whiff on some crouching opponents making this not very reliable in some matchups. Has a very late special cancel window which means you can only combo this into WFT.
• 5C - Two heavy hits as Ocha-Maro swings his gear downwards, then three non-heavy hits as he wheels forward. Don't try to punish in the middle of this attack as it will frame trap. This is a ballsy way to try getting in because the slide is not only telegraphed but punishable on block. Does not recoil.
• 2A - Beggar's palm. Also not too fast. Has less range than 5A. Does not recoil.
• 2B - A low-hitting slide which doesn't knock down. Sluggish startup and some recovery on hit, but recoil cancellable on block and special cancellable very late into its recovery. A nifty option for closing the gap with.
• 2C - Backflip. It takes a while for the hitbox to reach above Ocha-Maro's head, but it will swing behind him eventually. A pre-emptive anti-air best used against far jump-ins. Very late recoil cancel window.

Near Slashes

• n5A - 5A without the fan. Faster than 2A. Special cancellable but won't combo into anything besides WFT. Does not recoil.
• n5B - Meaty attack, combo starter. Faster than n5A for some reason.
• n5C - Ocha-Maro lifts upward and spins a gear outward. Two heavy hits which will cause a knockdown if both connect. Very late recoil cancel window.
• n2A - Same as far version.
• n2B - Same as far version.
• n2C - Same as far version.

Kicks

• 5D - Headbutt. A low-commital meaty attack. Will not whiff on even the smallest of crouchers, but it is not an overhead. Special cancellable, but notably links into itself and 2D.
• 6D - Four dinky little kicks which combo into eachother. Hits mid. All hits are special cancellable.
• 2D - Has more range than 5D but is slower and still hits mid. Special cancellable.
• 3D - A low-hitting sweep with decent range. Pretty good startup considering who you are playing as.

Dash Normals

• 66A - Running n5A. Also special cancellable.
• 66B - Running 2B with faster startup. This also hits low.
• 66C - Eight hits with the gear. Doesn't knock down. Faster startup than your other grounded C buttons but doesn't recoil.
• 66D - Weird version of 6D. The startup is delayed, and not all the kicks combo into eachother. The first kick requires a counter hit to link to the second, while the third kick will not link to the fourth under any circumstances. You can still cancel all four hits.

Air Normals

• jA - Aerial n5A. Special cancellable.
• jB - Aerial n5B. Special cancellable. This is mainly used as a safe air-to-air poke, with Ocha-Maro's sluggish jump speed being mitigated by j214D, and as a jump-in made safe when falling from j214D.
• jC - Buzzsaw angled downward. Hits eight times. This has crossup potential and is mainly used as a jump-in.
• jD - The wooden cart on the ground shifts directly below Ocha-Maro and spins once. This hits mid, but is useful for ambiguous crossups, starting combos and generally occupying space below Ocha-Maro's floaty jump.

Unarmed Normals

• u5S - Same as n5A.
• u2S - Same as 2A.
• u66S - Same as 66A.
• juS - Same as jA.

Hyper Slash (I)

• A+B - Ocha-Maro swerves back a bit then charges full speed ahead with a gear spin. This travels fullscreen or at least until Ocha-Maro hits an opponent, in which he will still travel over half the stage trying to slow down.

Command Moves

6B, can be done unarmed

• Leaping overhead. Can be done unarmed. Knocks down on hit which means you can't use this for launch combos in State of Nothingness. Ocha-Maro's other buttons are pretty slow so this can catch the opponent if they're poking low.

Special Moves

Fan Celebrate - 214S

• Rekka starter. All versions are the same. Each rekka has a lenient cancel window making it easy to stagger your hits.
• Fan Fortune - 214A after first rekka
  • Combo route. Launches on hit. Also pretty safe, so this is what you will usually go into from a raw Fan Celebrate.
• Small Cherry Tree - 214B after first rekka
  • Low route. Like Fan Fortune it will combo from Fan Celebrate for a tiny bit more damage overall but it is less safe.
• Flash Fan - 214C after first rekka
  • Overhead route. Does not combo from Fan Celebrate but will leap over low pokes. The opponent will be launched on hit. On block this is punishable by a throw, but don't screw this up as you might get punished by Ocha-Maro's anti-throw enders.
  • Peak Fan - 214A after second rekka
    • Combo route. Deals very good damage and combos from all of the above but can be punished easily.
  • Cool Wave - 214B after second rekka
    • Low route. Combos from Fan Fortune and Small Cherry Tree and is safer on block (though still punishable on block and by close mediums), but deals way less damage.
  • Prosperous Celebrate - 214C after second rekka
    • Overhead route. After leaping Ocha-Maro delivers two hits with the buzzsaw. If this hits the opponent crouching they will be put into a deephit state. 3D will link from anywhere reliably but in the corner you can combo into n5B. If both buzzsaw hits connect there is a small window where you can link into 5C or n5C. It's about as punishable as Cool Wave, but you can be hit out of the startup.
  • Door Willow - 623D after second rekka
    • Anti-throw route. The sole purpose of this move is to beat throws. This sounds useless until you discover that Ocha-Maro can be thrown out of every other rekka ender (though the window to grab Cool Wave after Small Cherry Tree is too tight). Furthermore throws may also be used to stuff delayed rekkas. This move remains useless until your opponent knows this too, in which case they will usually try to throw you after blocking Fan Fortune.
  • Rare Thing - 623A after second rekka (Samurai Drive)
    • Command grab route. Ocha-Maro leaves an afterimage, rushes in and then grapples the opponent. Think Xiangfei's command grab in 02UM. There is a brief period of throw invulnerability at the start but you can throw Ocha-Maro before he goes for the grab. Door Willow will counter throws for a longer period of time but this has more practical applications.
  • Wind Strain - 236E after second rekka
    • Deflect route. If you think the opponent will abare out with a slash attack then you can cancel into your deflect. Same properties as your regular deflect.

Heavenly Feather Dance - j214D, can be done unarmed

• Ocha-Maro performs a double jump vertically upward while the wooden cart on the ground spins rapidly for a single hit. This won't knock down and the startup is too slow to combo from anything. This has more reach than your jD and can be cancelled from jA, jB and your backdash, giving you multiple ways of controlling space in conjunction with this move. If j214D was performed at the peak of your jump you will have enough time to link a jB after the attack if it hits, which can lead into something big. Overall this is a pretty important tool for covering your approach up-close.

Huge Mountain Dance - 623D

• This is Door Willow on its own with the same obscure purpose: to counter throws. Upon a successful throw parry Ocha-Maro will flip them over, resulting in a hard knockdown. This will also catch command throws. Though this is more rewarding than a simple throw tech this also leaves you vulnerable to counter hits. This juggles exclusively into WFT and the opponent's falling animation will not be slowed by State of Nothingness.

Puppet's Turn 1 - 632146A

• Command grab with more range than your standard throw. Ocha-Maro transforms into a karakuri theatre while the opponent is turned into a toy. A puppet then slides from the curtains to strike the opponent with its fist. The consecutive inputs must be performed without any filler from the time the puppet leaves the stage to when it is just about to strike the opponent. ~9% of the total damage.
• Puppet's Turn 2 - A, A, BC after Puppet's Turn 1
  • The doll strikes with a fan. ~14% of the total damage.
  • Puppet's Turn 3 - C, C, ABC after Puppet's Turn 2
    • The doll strikes with a hammer. ~18% of the total damage.
    • Puppet's Turn 4 - A, B, C, B, ABD after Puppet's Turn 3
      • The doll strikes with a battering ram. This particular series of inputs is difficult to do quickly, but if you are playing on stick a trick you can do is to run your finger across A B C, then press B, ABD. You would want to practice this because the full sequence can shave off around a third of their health. Ocha-Maro slides back a bit after this move. ~59% of the total damage.

Toy Transformation - 6412364E (II)

Supers

Lion's Dance Driving Out Devils - 236AB

• Ocha-Maro dons a lion's mask and charges at the opponent. Instant startup. If blocked you can deal up to 21 hits of chip damage and the opponent doesn't have much time to punish you. If it hits an opponent in any way (grounded or jumping) they will be consumed by the lion's mask and grinded by Ocha-Maro's internal gears. On its own this will not disarm the opponent - you'll have to input the followup for that.
• This WFT has a insanely fast startup which allows it to link from attacks which are otherwise impossible to combo from, such as a spaced 2B. Though it's not necessarily invincible (you will be thrown out of the startup if they were already throwing), it beats everything besides other WFTs, which it trades with. Not a highly-damaging WFT but very useful overall.

Lion's Dance Ogre Crest Seal - ... 6321463214ABC

• The fourth hit of 236AB is cancellable into this, which will tack on extra damage at the end as Ocha-Maro overheats and disarm the opponent.

Secret Round Fan Maple - 6321463214BC (II), 236BC (VI) (Samurai Drive)

• Ocha-Maro unleashes a flurry of attacks. Anything which combos into rekka will combo into this. In a similar fashion to Q's SA1 in 3rd Strike, the fifth hit is a low while everything else is a mid.

Combos

Assume the fourth hit of 236AB is always cancelled into 6321463214ABC.

Standard Combos

• 5D, 5D, 2D - Link combos from your safest meaty. Much easier with a counter hit state. All hits will combo into rekka.
• n5A/66A/5B 236AB - Combos from attacks where you don't have enough hitstun for rekka. WFT may also replace rekka in the combo below.
• n5B/2D/5D/6D/66D 214S~214A/B~214A - Combos into rekka. Using 214B instead of 214A for the second rekka will result in more damage.
• 2B, 214S~214A/B~214A - Link combo from a spaced 2B. Requires a counter hit.
• (236S~236S)~214C, n5B/5C/n5C/3D/236AB - Links from a deephit 214C. The C button followups are tight links and the near followups are corner only.
• 2B, 236AB - A spaced 2B hit will link into WFT.
• 623D, 236AB - WFT is the only thing fast enough to juggle from 623D.

Continuous Slash (IV)

• A+B BBC 236AB - The best you have in IV Spirit. Without meter the best you can do is juggle into 214S~214A, and even then that only lands sometimes.

State Of Nothingness (V)

• n5B 214S~214C, n5B ABC - This takes advantage of the rekka's ability to launch. 214S~214A also juggles but it deals less damage.

Colors

External Links

• Seesaa wiki