FAQ: Frieza Strategy Guide. Game: DBZ Budokai System: PS2 Version: 1.10 Copyright: 2003 Jacob Lindy This may not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. TABLE OF CONTENTS I Version History II Introduction III Frieza, Master of the Universe. IV Command V Capsule List 5.1 Ability 5.2 Physical 5.3 Support VI Capsule Suggestions 6.1 Defensive 6.2 Offensive 6.3 Balanced VII Combos 7.1 Juggle starters 7.2 Ground Combos VIII Frieza in Battle 8.1 vs. Frieza 8.2 Using Frieza IX Thanks X End I VERSION HISTORY 1.00-first creation 1.10-added using Frieza, 2 balanced set ups(thanks to a groove balrog) and made good old grammatical changes to make more convenient to the reader. II INTRODUCTION This guide will explain the basics of how to use Frieza. It will give move analysis and advanced combos both for style and getting the job done. It is my goal, that by the end of the guide, the reader (you) will have a complete understanding of how Frieza should be played. If you have any questions, criticism, or ideas I could add to make this guide easier and better you can e- mail me, my e-mail is longshot0086@aol.com. Just make sure you title your e- mail FRIEZA. Otherwise I delete e-mails from unknown people. III FRIEZA, MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE. Frieza is an alien who wishes to control the universe. He is the most powerful being at the time but knows that saiyans possess the potential to become stronger than him. Thus, he destroys the Planet Vegeta to eliminate the threat. Only a handful of saiyans remains, Goku included, who eventually beats Frieza by turning super saiyan. This happens on the Planet Namek, where Frieza was attempting to collect the dragon balls for eternal life. Later, he goes to Earth for revenge and is killed by future Trunks. Oh well he is better fated in Budokai. In Budokai Frieza is a very well rounded character. He has two transformations and an arena destroying ultimate move. He has very good ground combos and plenty of juggles. His moves are pretty fast and have decent priority with very little lag. He also has Frieza's Spaceship, a capsule giving replenished life and ki and additional damage. Another interesting bonus is his ability to teleport instead of sidestep. For these reasons, it is well worth learning to be Frieza. IV COMMAND There doesn't seem to be any set command standards so I'll post what mine mean. P = punch K = kick G = guard E = energy F = forward B = back U = up D = down + = simultaneously , = in sequence []= follow specified action ()= note V CAPSULE LIST 5.1) Ability Capsules Final Form- it is his first transformation and prerequisite to 100% final form and death ball 100% Final Form- Second transformation Death Beam- basic death move, 1 ki gauge. Very bad death move because there is a slow start up time allowing them to hit you beforehand and lag afterwards since it does not knock opponents on the ground. Can be juggled into so it is usable. Death Ball- Arena destroying ultimate move, 3 ki gauges. A very bad ultimate move because in the middle of the combo opponent can block. Although, it can be comboed into, and if you see they can block you can replace the energy with a final kick so energy is not wasted. 5.2) Physical Capsules Frieza Nightmare-1 Ki gauge, useless really. Don't bother with this one. Killer Ball-2 ki gauges, easy to connect. Shoots repeated ki waves. Meteor Crash-Throw. Useful if its your style. Evil Dance-3 ki gauges. If in AIR then you can hold e(charge kick) 5.3) Support Capsules I'm only going to list the useful ones, some aren't worth it. Frieza's Space Ship-If you are going to use a restoratives use this. It also gives you a transformation, which you can not be knocked out of, some people will probable only look at Frieza because of this. You can use this with a bean, don't, your not a cat, you shouldn't need nine bars. The Armors-Not worth a second glance. First one outdone by super holy water and 1/3 bean. Second one outdone by potential. Third one out done by senzu bean. Fourth one outdone by space ship. I only mention to tell you my opinion that these are worthless. Dr. Gero's Deflect Back R&D-If you have extra space and your not good at blocking energy this can solve your problem, it will make sure the ki blast is shot back as long as you are blocking. No worrying about timing now, but you can still be hit by energy if you are not blocking. Viral Heart Disease-Does the work for you, good if you chip at em, but chipping is not Frieza's best game. Vaccine-Cures the disease for you only, if you use one use the other. Super Holy Water-I am not sure the exact ruling on this, but if you want defensive and only have one slot, this seems to help me more than the level one armor, its an alternative to 1/3 bean. Potential-After thirty seconds this is the equivalent of 4 transformations for the price of two without energy drain. If you have the room this is a MUST have. Super Kami Water-30% attack power but life drain. Use this if you think the 30% make you do more damage than it deals to you. I like to take my time. Breakthrough-Always a possibility offering 14 capsules for the price of 7. It will make Frieza a very balanced character move wise, but he would rely on having a lot of Ki. There are others, but if you are Frieza do not use them. VI CAPSULE SUGGESTIONS These are just suggestions. These are the styles that I have found to be the most effective. It does not mean I like all the styles it does not mean I use them all. But these will get the job done; I separated them into groups based playing styles. You have to know how you play and then you should be able to choose a set up. If you want tweak my ideas one way or another, if I missed something completely e-mail me and I may post it. 6.1) Defensive A) Frieza Space Ship Senzu Bean Very simple a lot of life, nothing else. Its very hard for someone to have seven capsules make him 3 times more effective, so if you can combo well this can be done. B) Frieza Space Ship 1/3 senzu bean Death beam Super Holy Water This sacrifices some of that extra health for a throw, and a way of using energy. Always try to juggle into death beam or do it towards their back. The p,p,p,p is not the best set up for it. Use f+k,p,p,p,e to get them into a juggle. C) Frieza Space Ship Viral Heart Disease Vaccine There is one thing that makes this set up better on Frieza than anyone else. His teleport, if you use this, all you should do is continually teleport backwards and sideways to avoid everything until he is in mid orange. Finish up from there. 6.2) Offensive A) Potential Super Kami Water Final Form 100% Final Form Serious! Death ball Unfortunately if you do death ball to their front they get a chance to block it. Unfortunately Frieza can not do over 3000 damage in one hit. Fortunately I have created combos, though difficult solve both of these problems all starting with k. You can also add to the combo, making it more difficult but generating more Ki, and damage to exceed 3000. B) Potential Viral Heart Disease Vaccine Meteor Break Evil Dance Do k,k,k,k[hold],g[repeat]. By pushing guard as the fourth kick begins to charge you remove all recovery time. If they are blocking they will have no chance to do anything but block, your ki will quickly reach max, and theirs 0. Once the heart disease no longer works throw immediately after you push guard and they won't be able to stop you in time. Or if you are in the air do evil dance, and if they block then hold energy, this will make it unblockable killing the opponent. 6.3) Balanced A) Frieza Spaceship Final form Death ball Super holy water or super kami water Do plenty of poke combos and go for a death ball combo; the space ship off sets the aggressiveness. The water you choose depend on the damage you want to do and the damage you want to receive. B) Frieza Spaceship Final form Death ballx2 Very similar to the previous one this is just more centered towards getting a death ball off. C) Final form Death beam Death ball Meteor break Super holy water/old style armor Potential Final form ups attack power, making his B&B combos stronger and his throw and super also do more damage. Death beam, despite not having any chip uses because its so punishable, is safe in combos and juggles because it causes a fair amount of hit stun, meaning you cant be punished. The easiest way of comboing into this is f+k,p,p,p,e. Juggling into it should not be a problem, because any method keeps them up long enough. The throw is used to make up for the lack of chipping methods with some mind games(my personal favorite, also the computers). Death ball adds emergency beef, with capability of eating bars in seconds. D) Death beam Meteor break Evil Dance/death beam Super holy water/old style armor Gero's perpetual energy You have perpetual energy to punish all mistakes with a super. Evil dance is available if you want more options, and or death beam X2 for more chip damage. Meteor break can chip, and it's necessary to have an extra cushion. E) Breakthrough Last but not least the breakthrough. With this you will be able to combine almost everything you did in the above strategies and still be effective. You will most likely chip a lot to gain much-needed ki. Any move you do will do decent damage because they are all x2. I do not think that his breakthrough is the best for him, but if you have it try it out, a broad playing style is not cheap or unimaginative but actually takes more discipline and quick thinking. VII COMBOS There are two main ways of doing combos. The first is by doing a juggle then follow with a basic combo ending in either something to knock them away or ability. The second way is a ground combo. I am not referring to the basic combos, which practically do themselves. Some combos end with a move that lets you hold it to charge. One of these, is a double ax kick. Frieza raises his leg in crescent, charges up, then swings down in a similar crescent. You can stop the charge at any time by pushing guard. With this kick you will kick start to charge then stop instantly. You will be able to attack them again before they can recover. So the double axe kick is used for basic ground combos. Frieza is not very good at juggling, but he is the best in the game at ground combos. 7.1) Juggle Starters b+p+k b+p,p b+k,p These are the only reliable juggle starters that I saw. If I am missing one please tell me and I'll update it. How you end the juggle is entirely up to you. But the longer a juggle combo is, the less damage the later attacks do, so longer does not equal better. Moves like death ball restart the combo meter when it connects so that is good. 7.2) Ground Combos. I won't list them all but I will list some A) Easy combos k,k,k,k[hold],g,k,k,k,k k,k,k,k[hold],g,f+p,p,p,p,e (killer ball) k,k,k,k[hold],g,p+g (meteor crash) k,k,k,k[hold],g,k,k,f+k,k,e (Frieza Nightmare) k,k,k,k[hold],g,f+k,k,k,e (evil dance) k,k,k,k[hold],g,f+k,p,p,p,e (death beam) B) Intermediate combos k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u(teleport so facing opponents back),b+p,b+p k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u,p,p,p,p,e (death beam) k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u,f+p,p,p,k,e (death ball) k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u,b+p,p...(finish with a juggle) C) Advanced combos *k,k,k,k[hold][pause],g[repeat](if timed right they will recover but not be able to block, if they don't recover then second set knocks them into the air) ***k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u,fp,p,p,k,k[hold],g,fp,p,p,k,e (deathball)*** This combo will do 3000 damage with the set up meant to do so. k,k,k,k[hold],g+d/u,fp,k,k[hold],g,fp,p,p,k,k[hold],g, fk,p,p,p,e (death beam) *The timing to do this infinite must be perfect, the most I have been able to get out of this is 4 repetitions, if you want you can teleport instead of just guard. Another advantage is not only do they not get knocked in the air, the combo meter resets so you can do infinite damage. I call it a guard cancel infinite. VIII Frieza in Battle 8.1) Vs. Frieza If you are fighting against Frieza if you watch out for some key things you should be able to beat him. If he uses death ball do not charge. Because, with his teleport he would end up with your back to him every time. His death ball is too slow to do it too your face, and way too slow for him to juggle into it. If you are on the ground then just stay down and it won't hit. If you aren't you need to break fall. If in the air and you see him charge an ax kick but not guard cancel it, then he is doing one of two things. One, he is drawing you in, and will cancel it to get you off guard, two he is making his evil dance unblockable. Despite your instincts the easiest way to avoid both is back step do it enough so you're confident you're out of range. Or throw a ki blast; just do not approach him. End every combo with a ki beam or a charge up move. If not his retaliation will be one of those combos on advanced or intermediate. If he teleports a lot then you need to get in his face. If he blocks a lot then you need to guard break him. Use the kick, because that has best range and lowest recovery time. Just make sure you kick early so your back is not made visible and you don't charge from far away, otherwise he can easily teleport. The computer should not be a problem because it does not do any of the ground combos except the cancel into the throw. So you do not have to worry about death ball, but he will teleport a lot and teleport well. If you are taller, then use your long limbs as an advantage. Keep at a distance, so that your punches barely hit him. If your small, use that as an advantage and stay on the ground, in the air your body is centralized better, but on the ground you can hope for a whiffed kick. 8.2) Using Frieza The characters of this game can sort of be grouped into certain categories. Some of them fall into more then one category. It all depends on the capsule set up. Big Guys- The big guys are different from all the rest. They are big. Being big makes them easier to juggle, and makes their moves slower, but more powerful. With Frieza's speed you would think it would be very simple to just go in and rip them apart. But because of their seize they are able to keep Frieza at a distance, if they do you will be unable to initiate any ground combos. The easiest way to stop this is to run right next to him from the beginning of the match and never let him get away. And if he makes distance, stay away and force him to close the distance with a dash. Dodge and stick him again, any time you give a big guy an opening, they will knock you at a perfect distance away, allowing their attacks to hit and not yours. This can be a difficult opponent, but just use speed to your advantage and don't let him use size to his. Very hard opponent. Powerhouses- These guys will do a short juggle followed by a small combo. The problem with that is the small simple combo can easily eat away a whole life bar. Everything they do will do a whole lot. But it's not much of a problem because they might not have a size advantage on you. If they don't then your speed should take care of everything, just keep on throwing the blows, and when you strike at the same time, you will outprioritize them and win. Very easy opponent, unless they are also a big guy. Little people- These guys are a pain in the ass. All the long fancy combos you have which could easily devastate anyone; they have a flaw. They use mostly kicks making key parts miss; this could give them the opportunity to block. But, you can get rid of that advantage. When you fly, you will not be on the same plane, the characters waists are centered on each other. Congratulations, you just eliminated their biggest advantage. On ground, hardest opponents, in air their stubby limbs make them easiest opponents. Speed demons- Frieza is one of these. So this is almost a mirror match. But Frieza has an advantage vs. every character here except Saiyaman, he can teleport. Stay on the ground and the Gt. Saiyaman lost that advantage. Frieza also has the advantage of being the best ground comboer, only one character matches his ability in that area. Raditz, and if he has saiyan spirit then you can even throw out random death balls and he is hopeless. But it is still not easy, first person to mess up will be eating a huge ass ground chain, and he has more starters for it, but he can't hope to get the back, so his require more skill. Faster characters, like 17, who is considered the best character in the game, is actually an easy match up, by doing ground chains, you can remove his one hope of pulling off crazy juggling shit against you. But if he does, and you were transformed, he will juggle you with ease until you have 0 ki gauges. So count on relying off of basic combos. In this match, using Frieza is a stepping stone above the rest. One hit wonders- Some characters put all their eggs in one basket. Make them pay, this is the easiest match up you can hope for. Just kick and teleport until they have no energy, they will try to knock you away so they can charge, don't let them, do not even let them transform. You won't even sweat. Pokers-These fellows use insane priority to make EVERY move is retaliated with half of a bar. If you know how to play your cards then you can win, but you're at a disadvantage. The two hardest ones are Hercule, with continual dynamite kicks, which have ungodly potency. And, interestingly enough, Tien is a pain in the ass. His dodompa or whatever has great speed, and will always stun Frieza enough so he can not retaliate. If you see a Tien I can almost guarantee he will have perpetual energy. The best set up to use vs. him, is one with viral heart disease, so that he can not toy with time. He will try to get a far distance, do long range dodompas, and basic ki blasts. Let him, teleport away from his dodompas and deflect his ki blasts, or if you see him punching air, shoot a ki blast. But he is no easy guy up close either, because his move will push you far enough away to not get hurt and be able to do another one. The chipping adds up, draw him into you then strike. Tien is not the only one with this potency, but he sticks out in my mind. Be weary, have good timing with a quick finger and you should be all right. IX THANKS First and foremost, I would like to thank Gamefaqs for hosting my guide. I would also like to give credit to where it is due.The people of Prima, for making their guide. A Groove Balrog, for offering additional balanced type set ups and for strategies with Frieza against key matches. X END That is pretty much everything. So now I'll just regurgitate the important info if you wish to contact me. My e-mail is www.longshot0086@aol.com I do not check it daily but do frequently enough. If you e-mail me make sure you title it FRIEZA. If you wish to contact me on Gamefaqs my account is bothersome. I'm at the Budokai message board daily. If you wish for me to post this FAQ to be posted on your website then feel free to contact me. If you e-mail me to offer an opinion, support your opinion, I don't want to read hundreds of e-mails saying I suck, but I do want to know why I suck. Or, if you feel I should add a whole new section then tell me. And finally, I thank you for your time and hope this guide made you the best Frieza player in your area.