Game:

Street Fighter IV (2008)

Duration: 3:45

226,585 views

2,388

Option Select Vids:

Whole Cast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnXYcNgLE5M

Zangief:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CzpKOD1v1I

In my second 3-minute fundamental tutorial (I know it's closers to 4 minutes, I really made it as short and concise as possible) I cover option selects in a general way that you can apply to any character. I go over the main archetypes of OP/SEL, such as Crouch Teching, Meaties (ground & air), and Buffering (ground & air).

Song is "The Argon Refinery" off Shatter: The Soundtrack, the artist is Module vs. Sidhe

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Definition:

An Option Select is a joystick or button input which functions as multiple possible actions simultaneously, letting the game engine decide the best counter to a situation. Specific instances allow only certain moves to come out, so you can worry less about your opponents options, and focus more on your own offense.

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1) Crouch Tech:

If you crouch while performing a throw, a crouching short will come out, indicating the dominant option. However, there are subordinate options depending on what your opponent does.

- Opponent Leaves Opening = Crouching Short
- Mid-Block String = Continue Blocking
- Opponent Attempts Throw = Techs Throw

2) Safe Meaty Attacks:

A meatie attack is done on your opponents wake-up, where a normal attack is done early so your opponent gets up INTO the attack. This is the basis for most option selects, it hits on the end of the active frames, giving you enough time to block against slower reversal moves.

There are two typical approaches to this, ground or air, but both yield the same results. It's important to emphasize "safe," in that you should only be performing these types of option selects on characters with slower start-up times on their special moves. A character like Ryu has a 3-frame start-up on his Shoryuken, and can hit you out of these setups should he guess right.

A) Anti-Backdash (Op/Sel Sweep):

- Opponent Does Nothing/Blocks = Normal Attack Hits, continue combo
- Opponent Backdashes = Normal Attack Whiffs, Sweep Catches Recovery Frames

B) Safe Jump:

Safe jumps are a type of meatie attack, the only difference being that you approach your opponent by air instead of ground. These are used a lot in competitive play, and are a large part of the shoto wake-up game. The attack will connect if they get up and do nothing. If they perform an invincible reversal, you are left with room to block.

- Opponent Does Nothing/Blocks = Jump Attack Hits, Continue Combo
- Opponent Performs Reversal = Jump Attack Whiffs, Block In Time

3)Buffers:

Buffering is inputting the motions for a special move while another move is animating. The special move will automatically come out provided that certain conditions are met. The conditions will vary, for ground buffers the special move comes out if the attack connects, and for air buffers the special move comes out if the attack whiffs.

A) Ground Buffer:

- Normal Whiffs = Nothing Happens
- Normal Connects = Special Move comes out Automatically

B) Air Buffer (Daigo Op/Sel):

- Opponent Does Nothing/Blocks = Attack Connects, No Special
- Opponent Reverses/Evades = Attack Whiffs, Special Comes Out

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