VERY Advanced Guide to Playing Nina

version 1
By Reverend C. (K.C. Ma)
e-mail me at: kma@uci.edu
*****************
* Legal Things: *
*****************
Tekken and all the characters in Tekken are copyrighted by Namco. This
guide is written by me, but if you want to distribute it or print it or
whatever, feel free to do so as long as you don't alter the content. If
you have to alter the content, to be included in your web site, or pub-
lication, or whatever because my grammar sucks and I can't spell, just
e-mail me. If you want to make a profit out of this FAQ... e-mail me
for my written consent, but if you don't, I probably will not find out
about it, but if I find out, I don't know, we'll find out when that hap-
pens. But if I see a crappy version of my guide being passed around
web (because you have some lame comments or technique, and you want to
add it to my work) I will not be very happy about it.
*********************
* Table of Content: *
*********************
Why Nina?
Introduction
Movelist
Movelist In-Depth
Strategies
-Kicking Ass
-Custom Strings
-Countering
-Okizeme
-Juggle
-Throw
-Chicken
-Defending
-Interupting
-Blocking or Sidestep
-Reversal & Parry
-Getting up
-Chicken
-Attack!!
Juggles/Combos
-Juggles
-Garanteed Juggles
-Stun Combos
-Escapeable Juggles
VS. Human Strategy -coming in the next revision
Having Fun
Conclusion
Credits
*************
* Why Nina? *
*************
Before we start any further, I will discuss why I play Nina, and
Anna (Her FAQ will be coming soon after I'm done writing this one). One
thing is... they are the best looking human beings in the game. Well,
that's why I started playing Nina back in Tekken Three Anyway. Back
then, I didn't know anything about this game, I just picked Nina because
she's cute, and I tried to Blonde Bomb my way through the game. That
didn't work too well, so you won't see that in any of my strategies...
But besides the obvious, Nina and Anna are the most powerful character
in Tekken without any doubt. Their offensive power is beyond everyone
else (ok, maybe not Heihachi). Their Defense is second to none. If
Either Nina or Anna decides to stay in your face, in capable hands, they
will stay in your face. On the other hand, If they want to keep you
away, they will keep you away. Then there's the okizeme game. If a
Nina/Anna master knock you down, you probably won't ever get up unless
you're really good, too. Now, since this is the Nina FAQ, I will say
why I think Nina is better. First, Nina has more damaging juggles, not
to mention her Devine Cannon must be the best juggle starter in Tekken
(ok, maybe not as good as Wind God Fist). Then there are Nina's multi-
throws, she has more cool looking multi-throws (but personally, I almost
never use them since they aren't too hard to break or reverse). Last
but not least, Nina is much better at dealing out damage quickly if you
are in the mood for that. That's one reason why I pick Nina over Anna
sometimes. Now to Nina's weakness................... There you have
it, that's all of Nina's weakness I can think of. She has no real flaws
like other characters. She doesn't deal out Paul's Deathfist kind of
damage in one single blow, she can't get her Devine Cannon to connect
as often as Heihachi's Wind God Fist, she doesn't have as many throws
as King, and she can't stay as up close as Anna, but that doesn't mean
Nina suck at them. Sometimes, it's not too bad to be ranked number two
at everything. Enought of this, if you're reading this FAQ, you know
why you want to play Nina.
*****************
* Introduction: *
*****************
This FAQ will be very different from other people's FAQs. Any of
the FAQs I write for Tekken will be different from other peoplej's FAQs.
This FAQ is written for people who already know everymove in the game,
can bock every ten-hit combos (are those stupid and annoying) in the
game. This is not really meant to teach you how to play, it more like
a reference for people who misses an different way of play Nina, or
want to know how other Nina masters play Nina that makes her soooooooo
powerful. Maybe you have been poking every one at your arcade to death
and no one can even touch you, but let's face it, poking isn't all that
glamorous, and you want do throws and juggles. Or maybe, you can take
anyone out with two juggles, but against other masters, you have a hard
time setting them up for juggles. Or maybe you want a psychological
edge that you don't have now, and that's where my FAQs come it. Or
maybe one are one of those Asian guys, and you do the same 3 or 4 moves
and ten-hit combos over and over, and you think you're really cool, but
someone just blocked and reversed every one of your deathfist and ten-
hit combos (if you live in Orange County, that guy is probably me).
And you finally want to move up and become a real Tekken player, beat
your friends (you know who you are). This isn't really a how to play
Nina FAQ, it's how I play Nina, and by comparing your own style to mine,
hopefully this guide will make you a better Tekken player.
*************
* Move List *
*************
Conventions:
h-high WC-while cruching FS-fall over stun
m-mid WS-while standing CF-crumble fall
M-mid&grounded WR-while running SH-staggers when hit
l-low c-counter only BS-low block stagger
L-low and grounded JG-juggles KS-knee drop stun
g-grounded GS-gut stun GB-guard Bread
?-I am not sure......
Movelist:
Throws:
Command Place Name Escape
1+3 front Arm Grab Flip 1
2+4 front Lifting Toss 2
=1,2,1 front Shoulder Buster n/a
=2,1,3 front Arm Lock
n/a
uf+1+2 [~5] front Neck Throw [Tag]
1+2 #1
df, df+1 front Embracing Elbow Strike 1+2
QCT+1+2~5 front Palm Strike~Tag 2 #2
1+3_2+4 left #3 Rolling Triangle Lock 1
1+3_2+4[~5] right #3 Swinging Toss[Tag] 2
1+3_2+4 back #3 Triangle Hold n/a
#1 Can be reversed by Lei
#2 Only work with Anna as your partner
#3 Can Tag while doing side/back throw by using 2+5 instead
Multi-part Throws:
Command Name Escape
WR_f,f,f+3 Leaping Heel Hold 2 #1
=1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2 Achilles Tendon Lock 1+2
=3,1,2,2+4 Knee Cross Lock 1
QCT+3+4 Crab Claw 1
=3+4,3,4,1+2 Commando Arm Lock 1
=3+4,4,2,1+2 Heel Hold 2
=3,1,4,2+4 Knee Cross Lock 1
=1,3,2+4,3+4,1+2 Achilles Tendon Lock 2
QCT+1+2 Palm Grab 2
=3,4,3,1+2 Arm Bar 1+2
=2,3,4,2,2 Double Snap 2
=1,3+4,1,2,1+2 Neck Crusher 1
=1,2,4,3,1+2+3 Gale Tech Strech 1+2
=1,3,2,1 Standing Reverse Arm Lock 1
=3,1,4,1+2,1+2 Rear Gale Tech Falcon Wing 1+2
=2,1,3,4,1+2 Falling Reverse Arm Lock 2
QCB+1+4 Betrayer n/a
=1,3,2,1 Standing Reverse Arm Lock 1
=3,1,4,1+2,1+2 Rear Gale Tech Falcon Wing 1+2
=2,1,3,4,1+2 Falling Reverse Arm Lock 2
=2,1,1+2,1+2+3 Twisted Nightmare 2
=1,3+4,1,2,1+2 Neck Crusher 1
=1,2,4,3,1+2+3 Gale Tech Strech 1+2
WS+3~1~2 Palm Grab 2
=Any of Palm Grab's follow up throws
#1 Only work on counter
Punch/Kick Combos:
Command Name Hit-Range Properti
es
df+1_1,2 Double Punch M_h,h
=4 Bermuda Triangle h
=f+1+2 Blonde Bomb M
=1,4 Biting Snake h,l
=3,4 Head Ringer h,l ?
=d+3,4 Jail Crusher Kick l,h
=d+3,2 [~5] Jail Crusher Upper [tag] l,d JG
=1,2,f+1+2 Punch Rush, Blonde Bomb h,h,m
=3 Kick h
=3,3 Spike Combo m,l
=2 [~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 High Kick h
=d+4 Shin Kick l
FC_d+1,N+4 Low Jab, Rising Kick m #1
2,1,4 Twin Jab, Low Kick h,h,l
2,3,4 Jab, Head Ringer h,h,l ?
2,3,3 Jab, Spike Combo h,m,l
=2 [~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 High Kick h
=d+4 Shin Kick l
3,3 Spike Combo m,l
=2[~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 High Kick h
=d+4 Shin Kick l
2,d+3,2 [~5] Jab, Jail Crusher, Upper [tag]h,l,m JG
2,d+3,4 Jab, Jail Crusher, Roundhouse h,l,h
2,4 Jab, Roundhouse h,h
FC_d+2,N+4 Low Jab, Toe Kick m,m
#1
FC_d+3,2 [~5] Low Spin Kick, Upper [tag] l,m JG
FC_d+3,N+4 Low Spin Kick, High Kick h
FC_d+3,d+4 Low Spin Kick, Shin Kick l
df+3,2 [U_D] Creeping Snake [Side Step] m,m #2
=4 Roundhouse h
=d+3 Low Spin Kick l
=2 [~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 Shin Kick l
=3,3 Spike Combo m,l
=2[~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 High Kick h
=d+4 Shin Kick l
=3,4 Head Ringer h,h
=1,4 Biting Snake h,l
df+3,1,2,f+1+2 Assult, Blonde Bomb m,h,h,m
df+3,3,3 Flash Kick m,m,m
=3 Low Kick l
=4 Roundhouse h
=1,2,f+1+2 Assult, Blonde Bomb h,h,m
df+3,4 Mid Kick, Roundhouse m,h
FC_d+4,1[~U_~D] Shin Kick, Spin Punch
[Side-Step] l,h
#2
4,3 Blonde Attack h,h
=2[~5] Upper [tag] m
JG
=4 High Kick h
=d+4 Shin Kick l
#1 Special mid can be block high or low, and low parried
#2 Can only be linked into SS+1 and its follow ups
Special Techniques
Command Name Hit-Range Properti
es
b+1 Killing Blade m CF #1
d/b+1 Helping Hand m
f,f+1 Assasin's Dagger h
SS+1 Snake Shot h
=~F Crouch Dash n/a
#2
=~B Sway n/a
#2
SS+1,2 Double Shot h,h
d/f+1+2 Cross Blade h? GS,FSc
WS_f+1+2 Blonde Bomb m
SS+1+2 Spiral Explosion m #1 #3
b+2,2 Double Slap h,h
#4
d/b+2 Backhand Body Blow m FS
f,f+2 Quick Panther Claw h SH
f,F+2 Panher Claw h
SH
SS+2 Lift Shot m
GB JGc
d,df+2 Shut Up m JG
3,4 Head Ringer h,h
QCT_f,f+3 Bad Habbit m
GS DSc
WR_f,f,f+3 Leaping Slash Kick m #5
d/b+3+4_
d,d/b+3 [~5] Devine Cannon [tag] m JG
d_df+3+4 Twisted Mind L #6
WS+3 Spider Knee m
JGc
=~1~2 Palm Grab n/a #7
SS+4 Heel Slicer l
BS KS #1
QCT_f,f+4 Flip Heel Kick M #8
FC,df+4 Wipe the Floor L BS
uf+4 Hop Kick m
JG
=3,4 Can Opener l,m
d/b+4 Slicer, FCD l
#9
=,3 [~5] Slicer, Devine Cannon [tag] l,m JG
#1 Side-step before executing this move
#2 Link into any Crouch Dash/Sway move, including multi-throws
#3 Can be delayed
#4 Can be reversed by females by hitting 2
#5 On Counter, this move becomes Leaping Heel Hold and link into
any of its follow ups
#6 Hit people on the ground and rolling, but can only be executed
when the other person's on the ground
#7 Link into any of Palm Grab's multi-throw follow ups
#8 If Nina hit nothing, Nina will recieve some damage herself
#9 FCD is face down, feet toward enemy position
Defensive Techniques
Command Name
b+(1+3_2+4) High_Mid Attact Reversal
d_df+(1+3_2+4) Low Parry
u,u/b Evasive Back Flip
Unblockables
Command Name
d/b+1+2 Hunting Swan
=u,u Cancel
QCT~D/B+2+3 Evil Mist
**********************
* Move List In-Depth *
**********************
In this section, I'll discuss each move, its purpose, how I use them,
how I think they should be used, how useful I think they are on a one
to five scale, when to use it, etc. The punch and kick combos will be
covered in strategy section because they are not really moves, but more
like poking techniques.
b+1 Killing Blade m CF
***
Nina does a small side-steps, then extends her left forearm for a chop
that stuns on counter. The side-step and stun make this an awesome, but
this move starts slow. I am not sure if this move can be reversed, but
any moron can see it and block it. If you can anticipate a slow move
coming out, like death fst, use this. You'll hit them before they will
hit you, and because it will be a counter, they will be stunned, and you
can follow it up with juggles. If this move speeds up a little bit, it
will be awesome. Use this sparingly if you can anticipate it, but I try
not to use it since if I can anticipate it, I usually go for Devine Can-
non. Not saying this is completely useless because sometimes I run into
machines that I just can find the diagnal (Nickel! Nickel! 5 Cents Games
in Lake Forest, CA), and Killing Blade becomes an awesome option. It'll
do more damage then uppercuts, and you can do pretty much the same jug-
gles after the counter.
d/b+1 Helping Hand m
**
Nina swipe her left hand upward for small (and I do mean SMALL) damage.
It doesn't have any special properties, and you can't really do much
after this either. Speed isn't all that great... But there's one tiny
bit of redeeming value, it recovers fast, and it has a small bit of for-
ward momentum. What does that all mean? You can stick it in your cus-
tom strings every now and then, or stick it in your juggles (there are
much better alternatives though) It's fairly safe, and moves you for-
ward a little bit. Other then that, this move is pretty much useless,
and I almost never use this. It's a move you can do without, but it
doesn't hurt to stick one in every now and then.
f,f+1 Assasin's Dagger h
*
Nina takes a step forward, and punch the other person's face with her
left fist. Sounds pretty cool, but it hits high, can be reversed,
slow on execution, not exactly fast on recovery. What does this all
lead to? A pretty bad move... The only reason this move did not get
a one start from me is because if it's blocked, Nina will recover a
bit faster. Then again, that doesn't mean much since that can be said
about a lot of other Nina moves, and that's why after reading this FAQ
over couple times, I decide to give this one star.
SS+1 [~F_~B] Snake Shot h
****
Nina side steps, then does a little jab. Sounds pathetic, but noooooo,
this is one of Nina's none juggleing move! If you can side step some-
one, use this! This jab doesn't do much, and should be buffered with
a chicken (f+1+3). That alone make this a great move because chicken
is final, does damage, and leaves you with initiative. If you always
buffer your jab with chicken, this move deserves a five stars, but I
know even the best of Tekken players don't always buffer chickens (I
don't). What make this move even more awesome is the fact that you
can link it to the QCT crouch dash or QCB sway! If they are blocking
crouch dash and you will have the choice of bad habbit or and of Nina's
QCT multi-throws. You can use her QCT+4 flip kick, but why? If you
are playing someone agreesive, and always go after you (other Nina/Anna
players...), sway! Sway avoids high and auto block low. That leaves
you pretty safe. Only mid-attacts you hit you, but wait. Nina will
have swayed far enough to avoid small mid attacks, and Nina will hit
anyone who try to counter with big attacks, like deathfist first, with
either jabs or QCB+1+4 throw! Use this whenever you use you side-step
and are still fairly close to you enemy.
SS+1,2 Double Shot h,h
**
Snake shot plus another weak jab. Fairly useless, I use this when I
know ~F and ~B link aren't fast enough and I want hit someone else
before they hit me. Since right jab is fast, it gets the job done,
but nothing fancy after this.
df+1+2 Cross Blade h? GS, FSc ***
Nina cross her arms then swing it out. Af first a seemling useless
move, but then I realized that it's not that bad. I did it couple of
times by accidents (damn machines with bad diagnals!). If its blocked
(I don't know if it can be duck or not...), it'll leave you with the
initiative. If it counters, it'll stun. A mediocore move in every
way, not too fast, not too damaging, not too quick, use sparingly, but
if I find out that this hits high as I suspect, then I'll reduce it
down to two stars.
WS_f+1+2 Blonde Bomb m
****
Imagine Nina takes a step forward, and do a Houdoken. Think Paul's
Deathfist, with a bit less damage. Great way to punish slow recovering
moves. Excellent way to hit Eddys and Lings who think they can avoid
everything staying low, bad way to counter another attack though since
it comes out fairly slow. Also bad in finishing juggles, although it
does look pretty cool, but I see no reason why this should be used when
you have bad habbit. I see many great Nina players who never use this,
and they should. Don't be afraid to deal out big damages and charge at
your enemy. Sometimes I stay very close the whole time and keep the
pressure on them, but sometimes it's not a bad idea to dish out Blonde
Bomb and finish the round quickly. Specially when you play your poking
game to perfection all night. Then out of no where, throw in a Blonde
Bomb. By the time they realize that you're pulling a slower move and
try to hit you out of it, it's too late... Blonde Bomb will have more
priority over anything they throw in your face. Another reason you'll
use this rather then something else is because it track so well. You
don't have to be facing them for this to connect, and Blonde Bomb is
extremely hard to side step. One important thing about using Blonde
Bomb though, you must buffer in chicken. Since there is not much you
can do after Blonde Bomb, it's simply unexcusable to not buffer in the
chicken! I would talk about chicken more, but since I'll have a whole
section about this later, I'll just talk about this later.
SS+1+2 Spiral Explosion m
****
Pretty much like Blonde Bomb, except she takes a side-step before it.
The animation is cooler, she puts her hands together and blow the enemy
away. It's really not as good as the regular Blonde Bomb, and should
not be used as often, but still very handy to do one every now and then
because it does decent damage, and it knocks your opponent down. One
good thing about this move is that it can be delayed. Not too much, but
enough to fool most people. I'd rather use SS+1 linked into either the
crouch dash, or back sway.
b+2,2 Double Slap h,h
**
Nina swings her arm around and slap twice. Well, number one, very slow
on both execution and recovery. Number two, can be reversed by any fe-
male character. Number Three, it hits high, it can be ducked. Every
time I think about this move, I think about the juggle I'll get after
Jin knocks me up with his WS+2 juggle starter, ouch! Just don't use
this, except when you're playing some incompetent fool, and you'd like
to slap that person around (not literally of course). It doesn't get
a one star, because I do use this move in juggles, and it work well.
If you play someone who doesn't quick recover after being juggled, use
this. Devine Cannon Combo, Double Slap, Shin Kick, Spin Punch, dash,
another Shin Kick, Spin Punch, Bad habbit kick. Nine hits, in my opi-
nion the most impressive and not to mention most damaging juggle, but
remember there's a lag time after Double Slap, and the other person'll
actually bounce of the floor a little bit before you can kick that
person with shin kick. That little bounce is enough to do a quick
recover and avoid the rest of the juggle.
d/b+2 Backhand Body Blow m FS
**?
Nina lift her arm for a blow. It stuns, and isn't all that slow, but
wherever this move can be use, there are better alternatives, and I
don't remember the last time I used this, except on crappy machines
with bad diagnal, and it came out by accidents. If you find a way to
use this, e-mail me, I'll give you all the credit, and update this
FAQ.
f,f+2+f,F_2 Panther Claw h SH
*
Pretty much like Assasin's Dagger, except it'll turn your opponent
side way, forget about side-throws, no one will fall for that, but if
for some reason you must use this, buffer the chicken.
SS+2 Lift Shot m
JGc ***
Nina takes a side step, raise her arm, and will juggle on counter. A
decent move, and the uppercut will lead to good juggles, but this move
lacks range. It will not connect unless you're right next to your op-
ponent. I used this a lot in Tekken 3, but with all the new options,
I don't really use this anymore.
d,df+2 Shut Up m JG ***
This is pretty much Lift Shot without the side step, not much to say
about this move.
3,4 Head Ringer h,h
*
Two high kick, both can be reversed, and ducked. What more do I have
to say to convince you this move suck? By the way, it's slow too. I
thought f,f+1 and f,f+2 are the worst moves Nina has, but that's not
true, this is. Maybe you can trick someone into taking the second hit
since there's a small delay between them, but why try that? You will
be better off just leave this move alone.
QCT+3_f,f+3 Bad Habbit m GS DSc
*****
Nina takes a step forward and kick someone rolling on the ground, or
someone standing in the crotch. If block, there's a block stun, and on
a counter, it stuns. This is THE juggle finisher. I never seen this
move reversed before, but if you want to be sure, buffer in chicken.
This is the move that you can abuse. Do it again and again, until the
other person try something funny, then go for juggles. Not to mention
it's so cool when she kick Paul in the balls, and he falls down grabbing
his balls, hahahahhhhaaaaaahahaaaaaaa!
WR_f,f,f+3 Leaping Slash Kick m
***
Nina jumps and kick, on counter, Nina jumps, grab your opponent with her
legs (those lucky bastards...) and does Heel Hold throw that can be link-
ed into Knee Cross Lock or Achilles tendon Lock. You want this to count-
er. Leaping slash kick works, but there are much you can to afterward.
You can dash in and try to kick them as they try to get up, but you will
have to get up first. On the other hand, if this counters, flashy multi-
throws, more damage, and you get up first to start kick them and knocking
them back down the floor. One problem though, don't use it if you know
someone will reverse your throw, or knows how to break them, and don't
try to kick someone out of high priority moves, like death fist and wind
god fist. Leaping Slash Kick is not meant for that.
d/b+3+4_d,d/b+3 Devine Cannon m JG *****
This without a doubt, the second best juggle starter in Tekken, right be-
hind Heihachi's Wind God Fist! Nina will lower her body and lift her
left leg and kick your opponent into the air! It's fast, it recovers
fast. It hit's mid, and it's hard to reverse. I don't try to reverse
this move at all if I know that I'm playing someone who can do the same
juggles that I do to them. Ouch, if I miss the reversal, I'll be in a
world of pain, ouch. You should abuse this move, and you definitely do
not want to be predictable with this. Mediocore Nina always do this
move. As hard as it is to reverse, it can be done when you become pre-
dictable with this move. I try to buffer chickens into my Devine Can-
non, but I usually don't. You'll get plenty of chances to do this move
when you're playing with mediocore players as they tend to leave them-
selves open more often, but against poking experts, be careful when you
decide to use this move. You must know what to do after Devine Cannon
connects though. If you get this to connect twice on the same person,
and they are still alive, you should kick yourself. Juggles aren't as
powerful as Heihachi's juggle, but Nina's are easier to do. Know when
to use this, and know what to do after.
d_df+3+4 Twisted Mind L
***
Nina steps on someone and grind. Cool looking move. Great way to add
a little bit more damage after knock down or throws. It'll catching a
rolling opponent, but can only be executed when that person is still on
the ground. Personally, I don't really use this because I rather do
something else instead, like d+4, 1 for example.
WS+3~1~2 Spider Knee m
JGc ****
Nina lifts her knee to attack. This is a new Tekken Tag Tournament move
that's not in Tekken 3. This is an awesome move, the only problem it
has is that it has small range, but it's not suppose to have too much
range. Against an expert, it might be hard to pull this move off, but
against 98% of the people, there should be no problem. On counter, it
juggles, but this is one case you don't want to counter. If you ever
pull this move out, make sure you hit 1 and 2 really fast. It'll lead
to Palm Grab throws. Easy way to deal out lots of damage fast. Since
it has little range though, only use it to counter ducked high attacks,
and since it's a knee, it can't be reversed!
SS+4 Heel Slicer l
BS KS ****
Nina takes a side step, then turns around and does a very fast low kick.
It leaves you with initiative blocked or not. If your SS+1 [~F_~B] does
not work, do this. It trips them long enough for you to start your nasty
custom strings. Or if you're on the defensive, it completely shifts the
momentum to your favor. Another move to be abused (very hard to parry).
QCT_f,f+4 Flip Hel Kick M
**
Nina flips a round and kick. Hits mid, and grounded people. Not a bad
move, just don't use it too often. A good time to use this is right af-
ter your juggle. Do this for added damage, it'll hit them grounded or
not.
FC,df+4 Wipe the Floor l BS ****
Nina pivoted her whole body around her arm, and kick. Awesomem move
that surprises everyone if used properly. It has amazing reach, so if
you distance yourself right, you'll be safe from any retaliation. IF
you distance yourself properly... If it connects, you'll trip your op-
ponent a little bit, for not much damage, but it adds up.
uf+4,3,4 Can Opener mlm
JG **
Nina does a triple kick. Actually it's more of two kicks after a hop
kick. The hop kick juggles, but it's a horrible juggles. I never see
this work on an expert player, Castel made a Nina juggle movie, and one
of the juggles started with hop kick, but forget it, Nina has better
juggle starters. Can Opener brings you close to your opponent very fast.
Not saying you need this move to close your distance. Nina doesn't need
this, but this is not completely useless. When the match is about over,
or maybe both of you are about to die, pull this out since not many peo-
ple block low after the hop kick, but only use this like couple of times
a day, or it won't work. It only surprise once, or maybe twice (Assuming
you're not play with some dumb Asian dude who does nothing but ten-hit
combos, against those, forget this FAQ and just reverse every one of the
ten-hit combos, they are easiest to beat once you know how).
d/b+4,3 Slicer, Devine Canon l,m JG **
Certainly not as powerful as it use to be... Slicer hits low, and I
usually stop there. In FCD position, you can trip your opponent, and
start a juggle from there, but avoid this. If slicer is blocked, you
will trip a little bit and get up, Devine Canon won't even comeout. I
guess this is Namco's way to encourage low blocking. If Slicer does
connect, however, don't hesitate to go into Devine Cannon, but REMEMBER
to buffer chicken.
d/b+1+2 Hunting Swan ! **
Thanks to the new tag system, this move isn't completely useless like it
used to be in Tekken 3. If you can anticipate a tagging. Do this before
the other person actually tags. If that other person already tagged
then it's too late. Time it right, and you'll hit them as they enter.
QCT,D/B+2+3 Evil Mist !
****
This is pretty much like Yoshimitsu's bad breath. This in itself does no
damage, but it stuns for good juggles, very useful. Use this as part of
your QCT mix-ups, mainly between bad habbit, palm grab, and this move.
FC_d+4,1 Shin Kick, Jab l,h
*****
FC_d+3,2 Low Kick, Upper l,m
*****
FC_d+1,4 Low Jab, Rising Kick m,m
*****
These three are actually part of punch and kick combos that should be in
the next section, but I can't help it because these are the reasons why
Nina is so feared! It's not the juggles or multi-throws that kills, it's
these three incredibly simple and effective moves! Low Kick will kick
low, and grounded people. Shin Kick hits low, and rolling people. Low
jab hits special mid, easy to block, but it can interupt any move that
exists in Tekken (ok, maybe with a few exception like Ling's knife hand).
Most people will fall for the Rising kick, even expert who can parry and
reverse every ten-hit combo in the game gets hit by it, I do. On counter,
it floats a little bit, just enough for a Blonde Bomb or Bad Habbit to
connect. On a clean hit, Rising Kick Stuns enough to give you initiative,
but I don't know if Blonde Bombs are garanteed. They usually work for me
though. Shin Kick, Jab, and Low Kick, Upper, are just... I can not des-
cribe it. All I can say is that if you fully understand the nature or
these three little combos, and know exactly when to use them, these are
all you need to win. There are many nights I win countless fights using
nothing more than these three moves (ok, that's not completely true, more
like these move made up 90% of everything I did). Most Nina players do
not use this enough... Playing Nina isn't really about setting up Devine
Cannon or multi-throws. Even King and Jin can't just rely on juggles and
throws. Juggles starters can be reversed, and throws can be either bro-
ken or worse, reversed. But these little pokes just chips away the other
person's life, a little bit at a time until they're out of life. By the
way, you probably guessed it, I'm going to tell you to buffer chicken for
the high attacks. If you do this couple of times, better players will
start to try to reverse you. In a way, you are tricking them into more
damages since chickens are final.
******************
* Custom Strings *
******************
Poking your opponent to death isn't glamorus, it's not suppose to
be, but it'll win you games. It's nice to juggle after Devine Cannon
every once in a while, it's even better to connect a multi-throw, since
it'll do lots of damage if you're allowed to complete the multi-throw.
To win, however, you have to poke, and poke, and poke, and poke. You
will have to constantly attack whoever you're playing with attacks that
string one after another so the other person won't have a chance to do
anything. If they ever try to hit you out of your string, you'll beat
them out, and possibly a chance for big juggle. The punch and kick
combo section is very self explainatory, and I really think every Nina
player should create their own strings. All it takes is a little bit
of experiment to find out what works. But here are some combos that I
have to point out because you should base your strings around these
combos:
Command Hit-Range
FC_d+1,N+4 m,m
This is perhaps the most import combo in the game, especially for the
female characters. The low jab is incredibly fast, and the rising kick
come right after the jab. There are two ways to use this, dash in, and
stick this in, or you can use this to hit somebody out of their slow
moves, like deathfist. The trick to this move is that you can't stick
this out when you see deathfist right at your face, you have to start
this as soon as you see Paul brings his arm back for deathfist. You'll
hit him out of his motion, but if you're a little bit late, you'll eat
a death fist in your face, and get slapped with a counter for about
two third of your life bar, and prepare to roll out of the way Paul is
charging at you, but chance is you'll probably be stepped on. I guess
this is what seperates the beginners from the scrubby players from OK
players from good players from experts. The beginners will never use
this. The scrubby players are too busy practicing their stupid ten-
hit combos that only work on beginner, other scrubby players, and the
poor ok and good players. Ok players will experiment with this, but
after eating couple deathfists abandon this move. Good players know
to use this, except they too eat deathfists all the time, except they
keep using it, and some of them eventually become experts who kick ass.
FC_d+4,1 l,h
Don't think this is a useless move, I used to think that way, but man,
do I hated myself once I understand how powerful this simple combo is.
One great thing about this combo is that it has forward momentum. As
you poke and poke and poke, you'll push your opponent away from you,
and that's where little combos with forward momentum come in. As Nina
kick and slap, she also takes a step forward. This is very important
in your strings, because it allow you to stay in your opponent's face.
An even more important reason to use this is okizeme, knocking floored
opponent back to the floor while their trying to get up. If you use
this while their grounded, it'll wiff, and your okizeme attempt is
pretty much over. However, time it right, or wait for movements, and
the kick will lift them off the ground as they roll. You can either
finish this little juggle, or more okizeme. If you are quick enough
and your opponent isn't that good, then bad habbit to finish the jug-
gle, and okizeme. This is a miracle move only Nina and Anna have, and
in my opinion, this is definitely one of the best move in the whole
entire game.
FC_d+3,2 l,m
I use this move as much as I use d+4,1 combo, and I must say, this
little combo never seize to amaze me. It's not as great in okizeme
attempts, since if they stay still, low kick will connect but upper-
cut will wiff. I only use this on grounded opponents when I know
they'll move, or I see movements, but even when your opponent rolls,
uppercut misses sometimes. I'm not saying you shouldn't use this
on grounded opponents because sometimes you have to (ie. when some-
one refuses to get back up, or Lei playing dead, and Twisted Mind
takes too long to recover for your situation). Where this move
really kick ass is when you stick it in your strings. If you train
your opponent to block low and duck high (d+4,1), stick this in,
they will keep blocking low, but uppercut will juggle for big damage
here. Mix this up with d+4, 1 to be unpredictable. As always, you
should buffer chicken in case someone try to reverse your uppercut.
But even if your jabs and uppercuts get reversed, it's not really
that bad since these two moves alone don't do much damage.
Like I said earlier, I really think every Nina/Anna players
should develop their own strings. For one thing, it's your string,
it's unique. For another, I don't want to see a whole bunch people
doing the same strings over and over and over... That's as lame as
ten-hit combos. I'll give you examples of strings I use myself, but
I vary my strings all the time, and I change them on the run (and I
do it good enough to be very unpredictable, and that's probably why
I'm probably better than just about everyone out there). If I see
anyone doing nothing but these following strings over and over and
over, I'll personally pop in 15 cents (in Nickel Nickel) or 50 cents
(everywhere else) to kick you butt (by the way, I'll tell you in the
conclusion section how to identify me for other people pretending to
be me). Then again, I just might let you beat me on purpose and tell
you how good you are, and let someone else kick your butt... haha...
My Custom Strings:
df+1,2->d+4,1->d+1->FC,df+4->WS+1+2
df+3,2,3,2->1->df+1->df+3,2,1->F+1+2
d+4,1->d+1,N+4->d+4,1->d+1->WS+1+2
df+1,2,1->d+1,N+4->FC,df+4->WS+1+2
df+1,2->dash->d+1,N+4->d/b+2
As you can probably see, these strings aren't setted up for
tricking people into Devine Cannons. If you want that figure it
out for yourself. These strings are all setted up to trick people
into countering you. At the end of every string, there should be
a big move that if blocked will push your opponent away and leave
you safe. You can chain together many small jabs and kicks, but
an expert will know how to counter them. The last one finishes in
Backhand Body Blow, if counter, will leave you opponent stunned for
a very long time.
df+1->dash->1->dash->df+1,2->uf+1+2
d+1,N+4->d+4,1~U_~D->1~F,1+2->Palm Grab
d+1,N+4->d+4,1~U_~D->1~B,1+4->Betrayer Grab
df+1,2,1->d+1,N+4->F+1+2->b+2+4_b+1+3
These are three of the strings I use to set up throw and
reversal. The first one work well, because the Neck Throw has
more range than other throws, not to mention you can tag out of
this throw. More damage than normal throws, harder to escape (1+2),
extra damage from the tag throw, and tag Nina into safety to recover.
A small problem in the jab though, because you're dashing (f,f), and
you jab (1), sometimes f,f+1 will come out instead, and you might
not recover fast enough to continue. The second one and the third
one are examples of the new strings that you can do with Nina now
thanks to all the extra moves that link into side-step, and the SS+1
that link into Crouch dash or sway. Against turtles, I use the
second string to grab them, and against the super aggressivepeople,
I use the third one. A small problem, this cancelling doesn't always
work, and I don't know why, if I find out, I'll update this section.
Most of you should know how to poke, and already have your own
strings. This section is for those of you who want fresh ideas, or
those of you trying Nina out after Paul and/or Law became too boring
(you know who you are). Or maybe some of you haven't play Nina to
her fullest extent and relied on Devine Cannon juggles to win fights
like I used to. You get the point... Poking isn't rocket science,
but it's one of those things that take some thinking, planning, and
anticipating. if you know that your d+4,1 will both get blocked or
ducked, stick in d+3,2. Chance is they won't recover fast enough
to avoid juggle. If you know your uppercut in d+3,2 will get rever-
sed, do a d+4 shin kick instead, or better, buffer a chicken. If
you become repetitive, and predictable, that just killed the whole
purpose of poking. If a string work, do it again, but if not, then
pretend to do it and change our string on the run. Remember, it's
not the throws and juggles that win you games, it's the contant
pressure you put on your opponent with poking that eventually break
them down.
**************
* Countering *
**************
Countering... Those of you who play Paul, or Heihachi can skip
this section. You're probably a master of countering, just try out
different moves, like Blonde Bomb (wink, wink), any uppercuts, d+1,N+4
(wink, wink), etc. When you counter, the moves will do more damage.
What you want is minor counter, I know, some of you guys will disagree
with me here. Minor counter will allow some moves that would otherwise
be pretty useless to start a juggle, ie. SS+2. It's not as good as
major counter, but a lot safer. I go for major counter, but I don't
do it but sticking Bandhand Body Blow (d/b+2) in Paul's face when he
does deathfist. Chance is I'll eat that deathfist and lose two third
of my life bar, ouch. Major counter should be setted up, constant pok-
ing, and a somewhat slow, but not too slow move to induce deathfist,
or other powermoves. At this time your stun move should already be-
gun, and you'll hit them for major counter. My point is, don't try
to major counter when you see a move coming. Plan it out, and trick
people into doing a big, slow move and have a stun move ready and
waiting. If your Bandhand Body Blow ever stuns, throw! Against de-
cent players I go for multi-throws, but that almost never get any
chance to be finished against experts, so I go for df,df+1, Embracing
Elbow Strike.
***********
* Okizeme *
***********
This must be my favorite part of play Tekken. Well, actually my
favorite part is doing long, painful, juggles, but this is close, and
depending on who I'm playing with and my mood, I actually like this better
sometimes. Okizeme is some weird Japanese word someone came up with, and
I'm just using it for the lack of better way to describe it. You play
Tekken, you should know what this is, and I expect people who read this
FAQ to know about okizeme. I'm just going to elaborate on how mean Nina
can be when she plays good okizeme. All characters can hit grounded
opponents. All characters have the jumping ground punch (u+2_U+2) that
hit grounded opponent for extra damage if you managed to knock someone
done. Nina and Anna are special in that not only do they knock you down,
they will keep you grounded by repeatingly knocking you back on the floor
until you lost just about all of your life bar. What make Nina so good
at this is her d+4,1 and d+3,2 combo. If you see movement, as they try
to roll, d+4,1, and it will lift them in the air long enough for a small
float. Then, they will fall back on the ground, back to exactly where
they started, except with a smaller life bar. The damage inflicted in
here are all that amazing, but the cool thing is that they can't get up.
Every time they try, you beat the crap out of them. If they constantly
try to get up, mix it up with d+3,2 and they'll never get up. There
are many occasions when I play some Asians doing nothing but ten-hit
combos (you know who you are), and they think they are really cool, and
they were doing what seem to me a ten-hit combo competition, you know,
the better ten-hit comber win. I just can't bare to watch it anymore,
so I drop my nickels (I love Nickel! Nickel!), block the first nine hit
of Paul's 1321421421 combo, reversed the last hit (could've reversed
before that, but I decided to block the first nine hit just to show I
can block them). Then on to the fun part, d+4,1, f,f+3, d+3,2,d+4,1,
d+4,1,f,f+3, FC,df+4, f,F+1+2, dash, d+1,N+4, dash, d+4,1,f,f+3, f,F+
1+2, QCT+4, 3, d+4,1, and he died. I was like man, I'm not done yet.
Then his friend challenged me. This guy is even better, he keep try-
ing to get up, and the d+4,1 keep hitting him, and he doesn't know
what to do, so he keep tapping his left punch, and I just d+4,1, d+4,1,
d+4,1, d+4,1, d+4,1, d+4,1 him to death. Of course they gave me the
standard, I'm cheap crap and left. Of course, they are THE BEST Tekken
player in the world because they have couple of ten-hit combos down to
perfection, and everyone else who beat them without ten-hit combos are
just cheap. Anyways, below is a list of moves to do in Okizeme, and
against experts, you have every reason to use it, even though it does
not work as well on them because they learned their "how to get up
depending on what you're doing" trick, but this one place to get free
hits on them, and you'll need everyone of them. Here are the moves,
hopefully you will find some cool new moves that you never tried in
your Okizeme tactic.
FC_d+4,1
FC_d+3,2
FC_d+1,4
FC,df+4
FC_d+4,d+3
FC_d+4,3
F+1+2
f,f_QCT+3
SS+4
f,f+QCT+4
WS+4
WS+1+2
d+3+4
u_U+2
***********
* Juggles *
***********
Now here is why you should play Nina. Nina has incredibly, pain
-fully, long juggles. Heihachi has better juggles, but they are harder
to perform. Jin has equally good juggles, but they are not as damaging.
Kazuya is Kazuya, Kazuya kick ass! Well, Heihachi is actuaaly better
(in my not too humble opinion anyway) thanks to his new b+1 and WS+2
stun that side-steps a little bit, but we are not here to talk about
the Mishima family (my favorite characters outside of the Williams sis-
ters). I am here to write the section on Nina's awesome juggles. The
reason I love Nina's juggle so much is because one, they are painful.
Two, they are long, if properly combined with good okizeme, your oppo-
nent will die before ever have a chance to do anything. Three, they
look awesome. I hate little juggles that's stuffed with a whole bunch
of jabs. Not Nina's juggles. Nina's juggles are made of cool punches
and kicks. Nina's juggle will be listed in a later section, but I'm
going to talk about how to set up juggles here. To juggle, you need
to start the juggle with a juggle starter. For Nina, this means one
of the following three, uppercut, Devine Cannon, and other starters.
Devine Cannon:
This is the jack pot. This is what you want to land, but un-
fortunately, you won't land too many of these against experts. One
way to get this is by doing it at the same time the other person ex-
cutes his/her move, and you beat him out for major counter (not re-
commanded). The second way is to minor counter by doing this while
the other person recovers. The third way I have yet to confirm, but
in Tekken 3, if the slicer, d/b+4 counters, Devine Cannon follow up
will be garanteed. This seem to be the case, but I'm not sure yet.
The fourth, and last way is after a low parry. Like the third way,
I'm not 100% sure if Devine Cannon is garanteed after parry like it
used to be in Tekken 3, but I don't recall and occasion where I De-
vine Cannoned after parry, and it did not work. If you can get De-
vine Cannon, great, a couple of this and your opponent will be dead,
but if you don't get it, it's no big deal since Nina does not rely
on Devine Cannon to win fights (but your strategy should lead to
this attact since Devine Cannon should be the move you center you
strategy with).
Uppercuts:
This is the juggle starter you'll get about 90% of the time.
This will lead to less impressive and damaging juggle, but this is
what win the fight for you, a whole bunch of juggles started by the
uppercut setted up by your poking. Most of the time, you will pro-
bably get this after a d+3 kick in d+3,2 or any combos that lead to
d+3,2. This will probably be part of your poking string, except in
juggle, the damage is garanteed (except the ones that you can quick
recover from). What make this different from Devine Cannon is the
fact that the uppercuts and juggles are all part of the long string
that started with poking, then juggle, then okizeme, then poking,
then more juggle, and more okizeme, etc. After the juggle, don't
let your guard down, don't get lazy, dash in and start okizeme im-
mediately and don't let your opponent get up. If they got up, then
tsart poking!
Other Juggle Starters:
Mainly SS+2, WS+3, and uf+4. The first two only work when
you counter. Besides that there aren't any real difference between
these two and the uppercut, so you can just treat them like your
uppercut. uf+4 hop kick is different though. It takes forever to
come out, it takes forever to recover, and it's just not as good.
The only time you use this is when your opponent is doing his/her
moves from too far away, and your other juggle starters can't reach
them. juggle them while they're recovering to teach them not to do
that again.
**********
* Throws *
**********
Personally, I hate throws. I hate it when people walk up to you,
and throw you. Throws can be broken, and I shouldn't whine so much, but
because I never walk up and throw someone, I'm not all that good when
it comes to breaking throws. Setting up for a throw, though, is totally
different. By setting up throws, I mean use stun to set up throw, or
trick people into walking into your throws. Nina should never rely on
throws to win fights. It's just a nice little bonus that you get once
in a while to make your life easy. Front throws are made of basic 1+3_
2+4 throws that everyone has and command throws, but you already know
this, and I'm not going into great details about what they are or how
to perform them. How to setup throws is discussed in poking section.
Although I rarely use throws, there are times when throws work better
than anything else. An example, you side-stepped Paul's deathfist, and
you are behind him now, back throw. Another example, Paul is doing his
slow WS+2, juggle starter, uf+1+2, and then maybe tag. Throws are just
throws, and I really don't think there's much to talk about... If you
are reading this FAQ, you should know how to do them.
***********
* Chicken *
***********
This is the counter to reversals, but since the announcer always
say, "Chicken!" I call it chicken. People, USE THIS!!!!!! I can't
emphesize this enough. If you don't see any reason to do this, can't
you do this for the sake of showing off? People always go, "woo," and
"ahhh" when they see Paul's deathfist, and unblockable last chance at-
tempt get reversed by me, but when they see me counter Paul's reversal
attempt on my Blonde Bomb, they just go totally nuts! That's not the
reason why you should counter those reverse though, you should do it
because one, it stops any momentum they have and turn the tide against
them. Two, chicken is final, they can't do anything about it. Three,
it does some nice added damage. Fourth, it's really not much trouble.
It's not like you'll have to do this lightening fast like some people
believe... All you have to do is buffer in your chicken in moves that
will probably get reversed. Last but not least, after three or four
chickens, 99% of the people will never reverse again except the
experts (like me) who look at your hand to make sure you don't have
a chicken buffered, and you can abuse your mid-level juggle starters
like uppercuts and Devine Cannon like crazy!
My Personal Little Story:
There is this one time, I see this guy playing Paul (surprise,
surprise), and he racked a 9 game winning streak by reversing everyone
to death (or until time run out, which happen very often in Tekken
Tag Tournament). I hear all these whispering, "dude, this guy is so
good," or "forget it, no way anyone can beat him," or "that guy pro-
bably wrote a whole bunch of FAQs, and beaten everyone else in tour-
naments." I was watching and thinking, "man, this retard is just
standing there and trying to reverse everything, and he's not even
good at blocking, LOSER!" And then I heard this guy talking to the
guy playing with him trying to be helpful teacher, "you have to learn
to reverse, if you can reverse, no one can beat you because everything
they do will be reverse by you, I know because I'm William Knight, the
guy who wrote that FAQ for Jin." What do you know, a FAQ writer im-
poster (which brings me to another point, you people out there, please
DON'T try to pretend to be a FAQ writer, not even if you're actually
better than that person, it's just wrong). Right, Can't beat you,
I dropped my two quarters, picked my favorite characters Nina, and
Anna (I wish they change the format to King of Fighter where you can
pick four characters, and I can pick Heihachi, and either Kazuya,
Julia, Michelle, Jun, Bryan, Hworang, Paul, or King just for the cool
Multi-throws). I do a Blond Bomb, got reversed, shaked my head.
Then I do d+3,2, low kick hit, but uppercut got reversed, shake my
head again. Dash back and forth, side-step, and then Spiral Explosion,
got got that reversed again. Shaked my head, and the crowd gets louder.
Hehehe, here's where the fun began. Blonde Bomb, buffered with reversal
counter of course, Chicken! That guy couldn't believe it, Blonde Bomb
again (with counter of course), Chicken again! This guy looked so
confused, I don't think he ever seen a chicken in his whole entire life.
Well, after a while, I chickened away half of Paul's life bar, and he
swtiched Jin in. I said, "Hey AOI, your FAQ is great, I must have read
that thing 500 times." Jin ate the uppercut coming in, of course I
continue on with the obligatory d+4,1->f,f+3 juggle. He tried to get
up, so I had to do my obligatory d+3,2->d+4,1 okizeme. Then the time
ran out, and I lost. On with the second round, I Blonde Bombed him
to death all on counters, and Okizeme, that was fun. Then comes the
third round. He ate the Devine Cannon, on with uf+4, d+4,1, f,f+3
juggle. As soon as we both landed, I counted on him quick recovering,
not because he seem like the player who would, but just because, he
was panicking and taping 1 very rapidly. I was right, and my d+4,1
lifted him up a little bit, then he quick recovered again, another
d+4,1, then I went on and d+4,1 him to death and he never had a chance
to even got up. The point of all this is, I didn't see another re-
versal from him during that match. And I didn't see another reversal
from him all night. The arcade closed after while, of coursce, he
had to give me his obligatory complaint about my okizeme being cheap.
Whatever, William Knight wannabe. That was a fun night...
****************
* Interrupting *
****************
Why is interrupting important? Most people don't interrupt other
people's offensive effort becuase they fear eating a deathfist, I guess
this make sense to some people. Why take the risk of eating a deathfist
just to hit Paul with a low jab, and maybe a rising kick. Because you
will probably never beat an expert if you never interrupt their attack.
In a way it kind of suck because the better your opponent, the better
offensive strings they'll use, which means it'll be harder for you to
interrupt. But the better your opponent is, the less likely you'll be
able to sit back block and win a match. By interrupting, you gain ini-
tiative, you get a chance to start your string, and you can get some
distance between you and your super aggressive opponent if you space
to breath. Think, you interrupt with a simple d+1,N+4, follow it with
a short df+3,2,d+3 string, follow that with a quick d+3,d+4, low kicks
and trick them with a F+1+2 Blonde Bolmb. You just turned the whole
tide in your favor! Start your okizeme, let them get up so you can
set them up for a Devine Cannon juggle. Before you know it you won.
Of course it's not as simple as that, and the art of interrupting will
take a lot of experience and practicing. Watch for delayable moves,
for example, if Jin does b,f+2,1, and he delayed, the rule of thumb is
to wait a little bit, because the last d+2, or 2, can be delayed to
beat your interruption. Below is a list of good Nina moves to use to
interrupt, and here's some good news, Nina has more interrupt moves
than anyone else (maybe besides Anna, and Ling). Then come in all
different ranges, and are extremely quick, and recovers fast.
Movelist for Interrupting:
d+1,N+4 (use this!)
df+1,2
1
d+1,WS+1+2
F+1+2
d+2
df+2 JG
d,df+2 JGc
3 H
f,f+3 DSc
d+3,d+4
d+3,2
d+3,WS+4
df+3->most of the things following df+3 work well
d+4
d+4,1
d+4,d+1
FC,df+4
f,f+4 (be VERY careful if you want to use this!)
*************************
* Blocking or Side-Step *
*************************
To block or to side-step, the question that troubled me for the
longest time. I always debated with myself which one is better, and I
finally figure that that are equally important. It's kind of like is
it more important to attact or block, you have to do both. Sometimes
there are things that you just can't side-step, Bryan's f,f+3 kick for
example. But if you manage to side-step an attack, either side throw
and the back throw are both very rewarding, and you can follow Nina's
side and back throws with mean okizeme.
Even though you're playing the defensive side, you still have to
remain unpredictable. If you only block or side-step, your opponents
will eventually figure that out and capticalize on your predictability
and you'll be very sorry. Either alter between side-step and blocking
or when you think your opponent is catching on to either your blocking
or side-step pattern, trick them.
Nina has the best side-step game in Tekken with out any doubt.
Anna and Jin are close but they are quick like Nina, and they don't
have as many different options. Below are lists of things to do after
you side-step:
2 JG
4 BS KS
1~F_~B
Side Throws
Nina has more options than that, but these are the only ones that have
practical use. Uppercut juggles on counter, if you anticipated death-
fist, and side-steped it, juggle! The damage you will inflict will
rival that of a side-throw, but leave you with more choice (if that's
not good enough for you, it look better and kill some time at the end
of the round). 4 is my choice of move if I can't get a counter, it's
extremely fast, comes out of nowhere, and hit's low. As long as you
don't abuse this, it'll almost always work. If it's block, you really
don't have anything to lose, but if it connects, Nina will stun your
opponent long enough to follow with a Blonde Bomb or Devine Cannon (I
am quite sure it's not garanteed, but it usually works). The jab is
in my opinion the best new addition to Nina's arsenal. The jab alone
doesn't really do any damage since it'll probably be blocked, unless
you counter, but the ~F and ~B follow up makes Nina's side-step game
unpredictable. If you decide to crouch dash, you have bad habbit,
flip heel kick, and Palm Grab available to you, or you can wait until
the end of crouch dash to do an uppercut or WS+1+2 Blonde Bomb. If
that's not enough choice, sway back, you'll duck high, block low, and
continue with a jab to interrupt your aggressive opponent, or better,
just grab them out of whatever their doing with QCB+1+4 grab. Which
brings me to my next point. Besides blocking and side-stepping, Nina
is blessed with sway, use it!
*******************
* Reverse & Parry *
*******************
Blocking the first nine hit of Paul's 1231421421 ten-hit combo and
then reverse the last deathfist must be one of the coolest thing to do
in Tekken. Almost as cool as Buffering a chicken and counter that re-
verse and hear the crowd go nuts! My point is, reverse is cool, and it
can change the tide of the fight, but a reverse can be counter. Parry,
on the other hand, is final. Although by itself does no damage, it will
give you initiative and possibly juggles and okizemes that add up to a
lot of damage. In Tekken 3, some moves are garanteed, Devine Cannon was
one of them after Nina parries a low kick. I don't know if Tekken Tag
Tournament still has this, but uppercuts and Devine Cannon almost always
connects after I parry a low kick (I say almost always because there are
occasions that it got blocked, maybe my timing was off, I don't know, if
you do, e-mail me, I'll be sure to include you in the credit). If this
doesn't sound practical to you, at least use it to break someone's low
attack in a long string/combo. Why risk getting your reverse countered
when you can parry? If you must reverse though, here is an advice for
you. Try to catch your opponent's finger in the corner of your eye. I
know it's not easy, but you'll get used to it (I did). If you don't see
a counter being buffer, reverse! Most of the time, you don't even have
to worry about this, reverse people all you want since very few people
bother with chicken, but if you get a chicken in one fight, watch it!
By the way, I want to clear a confusion regarding to other characters'
low parry. Most of them have d/f low parry. Some people believe that
you have to catch a low attack because it cannot be initiated from the
crouching position. This is FALSE!! WRONG!! If you're already block-
ing low, Gunjack's low punches for example, all you have to do is either
roll your joystick to the d/f position or move it to d/f position quick-
ly. I find this much more useful than trying to catch a low attack with
the diagnal. I mean, every machine has a different diagnal, and this
made low parry much less useful then they were in Tekken 3. It doesn't
matter though, Nina has the d+1+3_d+2+4 low parry! This is soooo much
better than Anna's d/f low parry! Personally, I almost never try to
catch a low attack with d/f! Are you crazy, with all the different
diagnals out there! You want me to walk into Heihachi's Hell Sweep
because d/f is suppose to parry, yeah right.
**************
* Getting Up *
**************
Getting up in itself deserves a FAQ of its own. You have so many
options available, and you're opponents have so many options to knock
you back down. The best advice I can give you on how to get up would
be learn to play mean okizeme, only then will you understand when and
how to get up. Assuming you know how to get up already, here are a few
things you should do while getting up with Nina. If you can quick re-
cover, do so, it will save you a lot of pain especially if you're play-
ing with a very good Nina/Heihachi. If you are grounded, always look
before you choose an action. Don't roll into d+4,1 or d+3,2. Don't
roll into Blonde Bomb. Don't roll into Bad Habbit. If you're getting
up with either 3 or 4, alter them, or you'll get your low kick parried
and high kick reversed all the time.
Getting up is another thing Nina's good at. You can always do a
quick d+1 to interrupt whatever comes in your way, but why stay on de-
fense. Nina can kick ass getting up too. If you are in the face down
and head away position, a 3 (low kick) will lift your opponent in the
air for a quick juggle. If the distance would allow it, do f,F+1+2
flying chop! Every descent Tekken player knows that this will stun,
but very few knows that you can juggle after. After the chop, you can
juggle with d+4,1 as it will pick them up. This will work because the
chop will stun them long enough just so they can't block a really fast
attack, ie d+1 and d+4,1
***********
* Chicken *
***********
Chicken is so useful in so many ways. It's too bad they are so
damn hard to do, and I guess that a difference between experts and the
merely good players. If you buffer chickens to prevent reversals, you
are probably pretty good. Not only is chicken a great offensive tool,
it's an awesome defensive manuever. You're opponent is playing a very
mean Nina and you have no room to breath, what do you do? Well, I us-
ually play stupid, act dumb, stick out a stupid slow as hell mid kicks
or Blonde Bomb, and buffer the chicken. While the guy's still talking
about how his wonderful strings have finally tricked you into panicing
(if they don't say that, that would be what they're thinking). You've
grabbed them and counter with an elbow.
**********
* Attack *
**********
What better way to defend yourself than kill your enemy? If you
kill your enemy, then you don't have to worry about all that parrying,
blocking, and side-stepping. Bad Habbit Kick, any quick combos that
end in uppercut, Blonde Bomb, Side Step Jab, Side Step Shin Kick, and
throws all work well in attacking your opponent while your opponent is
attacking you. Another reason why Nina is so great, even when she's
defending, she still kick ass!
***********
* Juggles *
***********
Garanteed Juggles:
WS+2, d/f+2, uf+4, or Uppercut Height Juggle Starters:
d+4,1, f,f+3
d+4,1, 1, F+1+2
1, 1,2,1,2,F+1+2
1, d+4,1, f,f+3
df+3,2,1, f,f+3
df+3,2,1,4
df+3,2,1, F+1+2
db+4,3 Devine Cannon:
uf+4, d+4,1, f,f+3
uf+3, d+4,1, f,f+3
uf+4, d+4,1, F+1+2
uf+3, d+4,1, F+1+2
d+4,1, 1,2,1,2,F+1+2
1,2, d+4,1, f,f+3
f,f+2, d+4,1, f,f+3
Stun Combos:
db+2 Backhand Body Blow (counter):
df,df+1
uf+1+2 [tag]
1, d+4,1 f,f+3
f,f+3 Bad Habbit (counter):
f,f+3
d+1,N+4, F+1+2
df+4,3
d+4,1, f,f+3
b+1 Killing Blade (counter):
d+4,1, f,f+3
d+3,2 [tag]
QCT~db+2+3 Evil Mist:
f, db+4, any Devine Cannon Combos
Juggles That Can be Tech Rolled:
Devine Cannon:
b+2,2, d+4,1, f,f+3
Dash after any d+4,1, and do another d+4,1
These are not all of Nina's juggles, it's what I usually do. They
are fairly long, and all does good damage. You can certainly make
more juggles, but these are what I find to be the best balanced jug-
gles (they really aren't any more damaging juggles).
**************
* Having Fun *
**************
This section is about how to have fun playing Tekken, well, it's
what I do to make Tekken more fun. If I discover any new fun things
to do, I'll be sure to update this FAQ. Catlord's Tekken Psychology
is pretty good, and my favorite thing to do is mixing a whole bunch
of mid and low attacks, and create what seem to be infinitely long
strings. As the scrub playing with me slowly dies, I teach him how
to block, high, high, low, high, high, low, low, high, etc. As soon
as that person gets a hang of it, I say low, and do Devine Cannon,
continue with the juggle, then apologize, "I'm sorry, did the wrong
move..." Then laugh my ass off. Note, don't do this to a master,
you'll get your ass handed to you and make an ass out of yourself.
Masters deserve respect because they'll kick your ass so bad, you'll
be so embarassed you might never go back to that arcade again. An-
other thing I do is when I see Eddys and Hwoarang and Baek people
smashing button like crazy, I grip the joystick with a deathgrip,
and cover all five buttons with my right hand, then I go nuts on the
machine, smashing the buttons and rotate the joystick non-stop (be
careful with the joystick, you don't want to breat it!). Then I
slowly start to shake my head up and down faster and faster, until
I'm totally look like an ass. After I lost that match (on purpose
of course, winning isn't all of the fun), I shake hand with the
winner, and say, "Wow, that's fun man, so exhilirating, well, I am
just not as good a buttom smasher like you are. Can you teach me
to do that combo you killed me with?" or "No fair! You can do all
those cool combos! You're mean, I'm just a beginner!" Anyway, if
you know any fun thing to do in the arcade, e-mail me!
**************
* Conclusion *
**************
If you live in Orange County area, you can find me in either
Lake Forrest or Huntington Beach Nickel Nickel. They have Tekken Tag
Tournament for 15 cents, that 3 nickels, cheaper than most of the pla-
ces' Tekken 3 game. I always wear the same Fila shirt with Black and
Red, or all white outfit, and I have a big burn scar on my left arm
and a tongue stud. You can identify me fairly easily, and I always
go with my girlfriend, Nancy. She always wear jeans and tank tops,
except every now and then she would go as naked as they would allow
her to be. If you see us please challenge me to a game of Tekken, or
Nancy to a game of Marvel vs. Capcom (she'll kick your ass with her
cheap air demon Chun-Li combos). Once again, at Nickel Nickel, they
have 15 cent Tekken Tag Tournament, so please stop going anywhere
that charges you 50 cents a game even if the continue is only a quar-
ter. By the way, I'll be writing FAQ for Heihachi, Kazuya, and Anna
next. Depending on what happens after that, I'might write more FAQs
for Julia, Jun, Jin, Michelle, Bryan, Hwoarang, Paul, and Wang (That
right, I play just about every character there is), but Kazuya will
probably come first, since I played him for the very first time a
couple of days ago (I never played Tekken 2), and I must say I'm to-
tally hooked on his WS+2 stunning gut punch, that punch must be the
most awesome move in Tekken (right there with Wind God Fist, funny
how Mishima, Kazama, and William families got all the good stuff).
I'm getting off the subject, anyway, if you want to meet me to play
a mean game of Tekken (or lame if I feel like screwing around) just
e-mail me!
***********
* Credits *
***********
Here are the list of FAQs and Web Sites I refered to while writing
this FAQ:
Catloard's Movelist {catlord@tekken.net)
Tekken Zaibatsu (http://www.tekken.net/zaibatsu)
Chris Ozols's Tekken 3 Nina FAQ (ozolschr@pilot.msu.edu)
M Kaufmann's Nina FAQ