Dragonball Z: Budokai 3 Captain Ginyu Guide By: Fabian Ahmed Version 1.00 Did I miss anything? Did I make any prominent mistakes? Is something not clear? Do you need further explanations? Do you have questions, comments or anything do you want to point out? Talk to me on AIM at NachoandCheese07 or email me at ChangWufei@comcast.net. I don't check my email often but I'm on AIM frequently. Table of Contents: ======================================================================= 1.1: Why did I make this FAQ? 2.1: Introduction: Out With the Old, Enter the New 3.1: Combo and Move List: What Would Anybody do Without Them? 4.1: Playing the Defence: Nullifiers and Stand-offs 5.1: Playing the Offence: Speed, Long Range and the Advancing Stand-off 6.1: Playing Offence and Defence: Combining the Two Elements into One! 7.1: Playing the Capsule Set-ups: Come Forth, Creative Minds! 8.1: Super Combos: A Miniature Feature That Shapes a Skilled Player 9.1: The Final Evaluation: Just How Good are you Ginyu? 10.1: The Credits: Where Would This Guide be Without ‘em? ======================================================================= 1.1: Why did I make this FAQ? Everytime I submit an FAQ, it will always be better than the last. With Each FAQ I type, I always see better ways to present the information I Will be required to give. GameFAQs and Shoryuken are the only places where high level gameplay is being discussed. If you find anymore, show me. One reason why I made this FAQ was because I like Ginyu. I find him a pretty cool character. I’ve used him a good amount in the previous two Budokai games. I then decided to give him a try, and I was most definitely impressed. I have also been receiving plenty of compliments over email and AIM for my Bardock guide. People wanted me to continue with my work, and here you go. 2.1: Introduction: Out With the Old, Enter the New Old Skool Ginyu Old Skool Ginyu was not anything special. He had no effective way to deal high damage at all. He relied on high attack power. He had some cool things to him, like his unique poses, his ability to use <-K, the strong ->PKK cancel, his BODY CHANGE and. . .that’s about it. But this is the world of Budokai 3. Like many other characters, Ginyu has improved. Great additions have been made to his platform, and the new gameplay mechanics have made some of his strong points back in B2 weak. Unlike many other characters, there is not a whole lot of knowledge you have to discard. For example, to play Piccolo effectively in this game, you have to discard nearly all of your knowledge about him in B2 and relearn him in B3. Ginyu hardly suffers this. In terms of the system mechanics which include ki building, range of attacks, ect., Ginyu hardly has changed. The real changes are in his combo platform, where his launchers for his poses are different, his chargable <-K starter, the new death move Strong Jersey and his <-K+G, a new welcome edition to any Ginyu player. ======================================================================= 3.1: Combo and Move List: What Would Anybody do Without Them? Move List: Milky Cannon Level 1 Death Move Ki based Death Move Average Cost: 1 Ki Gauge Damage: Triple Stacked 375(breakthrough only) Double Stacked 312 Single Stacked 250 This is your basic, generic level 1 death move. There is nothing special about the attack, and should only be used as a way to deal quick, effective damage. A normal level 3 milky cannon (breakthrough) does 375 damage. Because Ginyu lacks effective finishers that make the opponent unable to perform the instant recovery, this is worth it if its your style. Strong Jersey Level 2 Death Move Physical Based Death Move Average Cost: 2 Ki Guages Damage: Triple Stacked 525, fully charged 787(breakthrough only) Double Stacked: 437, fully charged 656 Single Stacked 350, fully charged 525 There is no generic physical death move, as the damage ranges are much different and others are used differently. Strong Jersey does decent damage, but without using combos effectively to build ki to make up for its big cost, it will not be worth it. When used on the ground however, it can become an effective finishing move that can lead into some good powering up, taunting or item using. Special Fighting Pose 1 Level 2 Move Stats based Move Average Cost: 2 Ki Gauges Damage: None. For each use for up to three times, increases attack by 5%. A unique special move only to himself and Recoome, this maneuver increases attack power by 5%. You may use this up to 3 times before it will not be usable. Right after Ginyu starts the pose, his attack power will increase by 5%. So if you get knocked back, you can’t stop the attack from increasing. Careful with the ki you use. Special Fighting Pose 2 Level 2 Move Stats based Move Average Cost: 2 ki Gauges Damage: None. For each use up to three times, increases defence by 5% Another unique special move unique to himself and Recoome, this maneuver follows the same rules as special fighting pose #1, except it increases defence rather than attack. A very fine and dandy pose. Body Change Ultimate Move Damage: None. The players switch characters. Average Cost: 4 ki gauges A unique special ultimate available only to Ginyu, this ultimate can be deadly. The only way you can guarantee a landing is by hoping that the opponent will have no chance to sidestep, power hit you nor TC. In the capsule set up section, I list a strategy for Ginyu based entirely on it, and there might be a very slim chance the opponent can avoid it, unless they use a set-up with the same capsules except for the last. Ginyu switches bodies with his opponent, so its like you and your opponent swap characters. This can really turn the tide of a fight if used right. Combo List: For the sake of efficency, I will only list Ginyu’s effective starters, stuns, combo finishers and juggle launchers. Starters: Here is the key. Symbols are used at the ends of the combos % = Can be used in both ground and air # = Can only be used on the ground @ = Can only be used in the air $ = Can be used on ground and air, but there are different variations. Stuns: <-K% Simply an axe kick. Landing it will make the opponent stunned. Great starter. Also chargable. While you charge it, Ginyu can still do stand-offs, a very key point. The stand-off occurs halfway, right before Ginyu’s leg covers his face. <-P% Simply a chop. Chargable. Horrible reach and very weak speed. Should only be used after a stun/cancel. <-P<-P% A chop followed by a counter-chop. Should only be used after a stun/cancel ->->P# Dashing in with a chop, but the hand is shaped into a fist. Only available when doing from behind. K<-K$ High sidekick followed by an axe kick. Axe kick can be guarded, so its only guaranteed landing on the back. When in the air, it’s the high sidekick followed by the uppercut kick drop kick. Pretty effective for juggle cancels. <-K+G@ Knee break. Stun only occurs when done from behind. <-K<-K@ Axe kick followed up with a spinning drop kick. Good to use when possible. K+G# Jumping slamming kick. Quite an odd move, but easy to sidestep. Cancels: ->PKK% Counterpunch, sweep, uppercut kick + drop kick. Thanks to the new mechanic of dodging, this becomes near useless when attacking a defending opponent. Combo Finishers: Note that all combo finishers are meant to be finished by taunting or gathering massive ki, or using items. Therefore, all finishers are built for ground only. KK->K->K. High sidekick, Mid sidekick, mid roundkick, exaggerating thrusting front kick. Good finisher, but takes a lot of timing and practice to use. <-P->K. Chop with jumping advancing sidekick. Very effective, but not very well damaging. <-PPP. Chop, counter chop, heavy chung. Cool to use, very hard to land unless juggling. Can be used as a finisher if the last hit is fully charged. ->PPPKK. Counter punch, hook punch, mid hook punch, spinning sidekick, strong roundkick. Cool looking and builds good ki, but requires very precise timing to use. Juggle Launchers: <-P+K% Uppercut. Very effective to use in a cancel, and opens many juggling opportunities. KKKK% High sidekick, mid sidekick, low sidekick, jumping knee + flying front kick. Very, very effective and is, if not, the best juggle launcher in the game as it launches opponents even higher than the <-P+K. Can be landed multiple times if opponent is against a wall. <-KP# Axe kick, jabbing uppercut. Hard to use, but the <-K makes it worth more its while. Juggle Stuns/Cancels: <-K+G$ A kneebreak. Landing this while juggling will make the opponent turn towards you more, making your juggling life a little easier. Executing this while the opponents stand on the ground make them fall down unconscious. Same thing happens in the air when executed from the front, except you can follow with a combo. When striking in the air and from behind, it stuns. K<-K@ High sidekick followed by the uppercut kick + dropkick. Hard to use, and you can only use it with the <-P+K juggle launcher as opposed to the KKKK. ->KKK->K% Sweep, mid sidekick, knee break, power knee break. Best used when following the <-P+K or KKKK juggle starters. The timing of the first ->K must be correct for it to work. As you can see, Ginyu has horrible cancel options. This is great for people who want to learn characters that do not require memorization of loads of stuns and cancels, like Bardock. But that does not mean Ginyu is an easy character to use effectively. ======================================================================= 4.1: Playing the Defence: Nullifiers and Stand-offs Nullifiers- The fan made term for attacks that automatically override other power attacks and are used as starters Stand-offs- The official term used for situations where a power attack resists another physical attack, making the character turn blue Why are these two so important to playing a key defence? First off, you’ve got a bunch of defencive maneuvers. The backpedal, sidestep, dodge, block and the TC. But everybody can do this, so what separates the weak from the strong? It’s the ability to lure enemies into attacking you, and using that to your advantage. How is this possible? By executing nullifiers and using stand-offs like parries of SFIII. As you might know, many characters have a <-K starter that will either be: A. An axe kick B. A sweep These are the two generic nullifiers in the game. Other characters might have a knee strike. This is in no way defencive. The axe kick/sweep will nullify the attacks as the attack finally works their way into hitting the opponent. For the axe kick, its when the character finally brings their foot up. For the sweep, its when they are dragging their feet after getting down on the ground. Remember that these will nullify normal punches and kicks easily. When timed right, they can override other power attacks. After the <-K, many characters will have different options. The ones who have the sweep will need to follow up with an attack that can stun or juggle, while the axe kick might stun the opponent long enough. If this isn’t the case, then they require a quick stun or juggle starter afterward. Now, what does Ginyu have in terms of nullifiers? He has A. The Axe kick. This is truly unique compared to the rest, because it is chargable. While it charges, Ginyu is still in a position to use it as a nullifying stand-off, almost halfway through the attack. In other words, he can resist attacks and flash blue while charging and letting the kick come down to make it a standoff, and he can launch the attack get in a position to combo, making it a nullifier as well. This is a tricky part to Ginyu that many offencive players and defencive players alike can have trouble dealing with. Use it well, but don’t get predictable, as when Ginyu tries to bring his foot up, he is vulnerable to the weakest attack. The key difference between A and B is that A is more effective but can start burst zone fights, and B is a little unreliable. An effective stand-off is a power attack that can stand-off within the first frames of the attack and last all the way through, and can be canceled very easily. This is different from an effective nullifier because the effective nullifiers can be countered during their preparation, while the effective stand-off cannot. You can also be in position to cancel it immediately, so its in a way better than a dodge if you can time it right. Simply because you take the hit like a man, and you won’t be stuck in the dodging animation. Instead, you can cancel and attack within a flash. Here are the most effective stand-offs in the game: A. The double hand scooping uppercut(ground) B. The double hand pound(air) C. The head bash(ground & air) D. The three sequence kick(ground & air) E. Fist slam A is usually done just by pressing P+K on the ground. If the character does not do anything remotely similar to that (like Teen Gohan), then they don’t have an effective stand-off option. Just about every character in the game has B, and that is done in the air by pressing P+K. Goku and Krillin have C, and Vegetto has D. Gohan has E. Now what does Ginyu have? Ginyu has A, the double hand scooping uppercut. That’s it. In the air, his power attack is a very quick quadruple punch, and it’s only use is to quickly dispatch stand-offs and nullifiers. So when fighting on the ground, Ginyu has an effective stand-off. The very first frame of the motion can nullify, making it very effective, and you can cancel it right after you execute it, although the timing is also very precise. This is a great way to get yourself ready for fighting people who are predictable in their movements, and have long range starters. Most characters who use their long range starters pull themselves into close range combat anyway. So once they strike, cancel and immediately counter. Ginyu’s only option is to use his P starter, but that’s okay. PPPPE will not connect, but P->PPE will. If your opponent has some speed issues, you’ll have more options such as the KKKK juggle. You can also try his ->PKK cancel if you really do see an opening. If you can cancel P+K right, your opponent will have absolutely no idea what you are doing! ======================================================================= 5.1: Playing the Offence: Speed, Long Range and the Advancing Stand-off These are the two key things in a strong offence: Range Speed Poke Game Why do you think Piccolo has the best offence in the game? Because his ->P chains are very fast and they have great range! Speed in this game is defined as: How fast a character can recover from a chain without relying on a cancel Can a character attack fast throughout their entire chain? Or are there weak points where the transition from one attack to the next is slow? Are their starters fast to execute? Those three points define speed in Budokai 3. A poke game is how well a character can attack with certain moves, and not have to cancel. Most pokes are simply done by tapping P. Others like Piccolo have ->P as a poke. What does Ginyu have in terms of speed? Not much. His speed is average. Fast enough so that nobody can block if he successfully lands his starters, but slow enough so that he can be very weak to sidestepping + dodging. Range is simply how far an attack can reach. With good range, you can keep out of reach for shorter range starters. Ginyu has two very long reaching starters. His K+G and his ->K. Though slow, it has longer reach than nearly all of the other starters in the game. And when using it from its maximum range, the opponent might not be able to respond right. There is another thing to a strong offence. It’s not as important as range and speed, but it helps. The advancing stand-off. Think of a stand-off maneuver, but advancing forward. The best example of this is the generic ->P+K. This is a stepping forward power counter punch. On the first frame of the attack, the character can still stand-off. The really cool part to this is that if you can time it right, you pull yourself right into close range combat. This is essential if your character is easily outranged, especially when fighting Piccolo and Dabura, or your character can play a very effective close range game. The main weakness is that the attack can only charge from halfway. You can cover a vast amount of distance. Do the ->P+K with Ginyu at the range of Piccolo’s ->P, but make sure you cancel it. You’re much closer now. Close enough so you can use Ginyu’s awesome nullifier, the <-K. You’ll also be able to use ->PKK, but that is saved for the openings. Remember that Ginyu can do this on both the ground and the air. Don’t forget that! Ginyu has another way to fight at long range. His K+G. Though easy to dodge when defending, using it as someone tries to attack from long range can be a great advantage. Ginyu jumps pretty high, so he will be hard to hit while in motion. Don’t ever use this predictably, and don’t ever use this one someone who is defending. You’ll get yer ass kicked. ================================================================================ 6.1: Playing Offence and Defence: Combining the Two Elements into One! So now I’ve spat out the knowledge of using offence, and using defence. But here lies the question: How does one combine both in Budokai 3? It’s simple. The position you are in will determine what you must do with each character. There are times where you can just play complete offence, others where you use more defence, ect. You generally play defencive when: Your enemy can TC more than you (e.g Hercule vs Kid Buu) Your enemy beats you in range and is taking advantage of it (e.g Goten vs Piccolo) You have no good ways to attack a defending opponent (e.g Goku vs Gohan) You generally play offencive when: You can TC more than the opponent (e.g Kid Buu vs Hercule) When you can outreach your opponent and you take advantage of it (e.g Piccolo vs Goku) You have many mix-ups and good speed in your combos (e.g Teen Gohan vs Gohan) Ginyu is strictly a defencive character. He has some long reach, except that he lacks the speed to make good use of it. So with Ginyu, you can’t really be the one to be the first to attack. You need to rely on your enemies landing the first blow. Because of Ginyu’s chargable <-K starter, the opponent might not always be safe attacking a good Ginyu player. When Ginyu charges his stand-off attacks, you’ve got four options: Let it go, cancel it and do whatever you want, sidestep up, sidestep down. Yes, as you charge, you can just execute a sidestep. Very tricky. So as you charge his P+K, ->P+K or his <-K, maybe even his <-P, you can sidestep and fool your opponent. Quite nice, I must say. If you are in air combat however, Ginyu can play some offence, but only at close range. His K<-K becomes available as a cancel. An attack that cannot be countered after being both dodged and sidestepped, this attack is good. Just remember it is outsped by anything faster than the generic ->P starter. Ginyu’s <-K is a stun. Once you land this, or any other stun, use your combos and juggles. You’ve got your KKKK as a juggle launcher, <-P/<-P<-P as your extra stuns and if you use a KKKK/<-P+K juggle launcher, you can use his ->KKK->K as a juggle stun. ->PPPPPE is a solid ending if you want to taunt. Otherwise, a good PPPPE works. You can also try a P->PPE! If you have poses, use them when you can. They help. Then focus on just blocking if your ki drops below baseline. Remember how many times you use each pose! ================================================================================ 7.1: Playing the Capsule Set-ups: Come Forth, Creative Minds! Capsule set-ups in Budokai 3 allow you to customize your character to a certain extent. They can change your stats, they can affect your opponent, and it can even add maneuvers to your move list. Captain Ginyu has decent potential. At the same time, he has one set-up that can really change the outcome of a fight if used right. These capsules are the ones you should pay biggest attention to: Medicinal Machine Special Pose #1 Special Pose #2 Battle Testament Any of the armours Medicinal machine cuts down overall damage more than a single slot armour, at the cost of 1 slot! It also doesn’t reduce ki as you get hit like it says. Its usually a must have. If you can land your poses, you’ll be in very good shape in a fight. Battle Testament is a good attack increaser. The armours Ginyu have can be important for reducing damage done to him. No Posing! 3 Slot Armour Medicinal Machine Battle Testament Milky Cannon Milky Cannon No Posing! Version 2 3 Slot Armour Medicinal Machine Battle Testament Strong Jersey Strong Jersey No Posing! Version 3 3 Slot Armour Battle Testament Medicinal Machine Strong Jersey Milky Cannon Attack Bonanza Special Fighting Pose #1 Potential Battle Testament Medicinal Machine Milky Cannon Milky Cannon Defence Bonanza Special Fighting Pose #1 4 slot armour Medicinal Machine (Insert any 1 slot capsule of your choice here) Ginyu’s Final Desparation Senzu Seedling Body Change This is the only set-up I’ll comment on. Nnamz thought up of this. Senzu Seedling, when activated, gives you 30 seconds of unlimited ki. Go hyper mode, and keep chasing after your enemy. 30 seconds of max ki going for an ultimate can be hard to avoid. Ginyu’s launcher is cancelable at the first frames, and it can hit sidestepping opponents. Land it, and your opponent is stuck with a Ginyu who has NOTHING to offer. You should easily be able to win afterwards. Try this out when your energy is low. ================================================================================ 8.1: Super Combos: A Miniature Feature That Shapes a Skilled Player Here are some sample combos to try out. As always, here is the key, followed by the combos themselves. All combos assume they are performed on the ground and you’ve got a breakthrough slapped on. Also, Ginyu is hardly deep in his combo platform. His intermediate and advanced combos have nearly no difference. Beginner ones do obviously. But Ginyu’s combos are so simple and easy to do that there really isn’t a need to list many of them. His options for cancels, stuns and juggles are all low, so Ginyu doesn’t require a big combo section. - = Cancel ^ = Juggle * = Stun Sample beginner ones: KKKK^ PPPPE KKKK^ ->PPPPPE <-K* KKKK^ PPPPE Intermediate and Advanced: <-K* <-P* ->PKK- KKKK^ ->PPPPPE ->PKK- KKKK^ <-K+G^ PPPPE ->PKK- <-K<-KE Ginyu’s highest damaging combo: This combo assumes you start with 3 baseline ki w/ breakthrough, and your opponent has 100% defence. <-K* ->PKK(cancel + sidestep) <-P<-P* KKKK^ ->PPPPPE = 1335 damage If you find anything better following the same procedure I did, please notify me! ================================================================================ 9.1: The Final Evaluation: Just How Good are you Ginyu? Lets see here: Offence: 1/10 Abysmally pathetic Defence: 8/10 Great Range: 9/10 Awesome Overall Speed: 5/10 Average Combo Resistance: 5/10 Average Juggle Potential: 7/10 Good Cancel Options: 3/10 Bad Damage Potential: 2/10 Terrible Capsule Potential: 7/10 Good Overall, Ginyu is below average, with some HORRIBLE downsides, such as his pathetic offence. His range rules, but his speed on top of it is rather weak. His capsule potential is up there due to some of his deadly combinations. He’s very limited on his cancels. His combo resistance is only average. He hardly has depth in his combo platform. I suggest you don’t use Ginyu if you’re intention is to win a tournament filled with skilled Budokai 3 players. But if you use the Senzu Seedling + Body Change, you can win, even against the most skilled players, using the top tier! Oh yeah, Ginyu has HORRIBLE damage potential, and relies on attack power ups as well as his poses that beef attack. ================================================================================ 10.1: The Credits: Where Would This Guide be Without ‘em? CJayC- Making the site GameFAQs- The main site I was able to submit this guide to Daisuke Uchiyama and Dimps- Making the game Nnamz-Mentioning Ginyu’s awesome Senzu Seedling + Body Change People who complimented my work-For inspiring me to work on another Budokai 3 guide Budokai Veterans-For allowing such intelligent discussion of fighting game theory on this game, making my skills at the game increase. Tears of the Moon-Getting me to finish this guide when I left it unfinished for a good amount of time! And the rest of you-For reading this guide of course! Legal Stuff: This FAQ is only been posted here in www.gamefaqs.com. If you see this FAQ anywhere else and it is not posted by me, it is plagiarism. Make sure I am questioned about it before it is reported. Feel free to distribute this FAQ as long as: I: You do not change my name II: Ask for permission III: You do not change the contents to make it look like your own IV: You do not make any money in any way off this FAQ V: If you make a document with information from here you did not know about, to give me credit. This document is Copyright 2005 Fabian Ahmed. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective, trademarks and copyright holders.