Dragon Punch in Street Fighter II Champion Edition

[markrvp]

I am having difficulty performing a Dragon Punch in Street Fighter II Champion Edition.  The joystick combination I have for the Dragon Punch is: 

Forward, Down, Down+Forward+Punch

So far I have not been able to make this work even once.  Are there other conditions that have to be met before the Dragon Punch can be used or do I have the combination wrong?

Any StreetFighter II CE tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Spaz Monkey]

I had a problem with this same move before.

[PhoneLine]

Its an odd movement really, I know a lot of people that had trouble with it.  Sometimes I still get a fireball instead and I think I spent a few thousand dollars on that damn machine during its arcade days.

The movement Spaz suggests is pretty much it.  Once you get it, and then do it a few times, it gets easier, but still is one of the more odd movements IMHO.

[markrvp]

Thanks guys.  I'm now able to OCCASIONALLY do a dragon punch.  That's a tough one.

[walls83]

You got NO street fighter skills if you cant pull off the dragon punch...   

[markrvp]

You got NO street fighter skills if you cant pull off the dragon punch...

[MaximRecoil]

You got NO street fighter skills if you cant pull off the dragon punch...

[Xiaou2]

 When SFII came out for the Snes... I tried the Dragon Punch for like 1hr straight.. and couldnt do it      After my thumb healed.. I kept trying.   Finally, it came.

 Its  not just the motion,  but the correct timing as well.   

 The d-pad -vs- a joystick made it even harder.

 However,  the type of joysticks you may be using could also be causing the problems.    I highly recomend competitions.. as you can feel the diagnols very easily.. and they register very solidly.   Unlike the supers.. which are somewhat harder to get the diagnals to register... as the cheap micro-leafs get bent too easily. 

 Also, when you get decent at  SFII  move on to  Killer Instinct     Its gamelplay is simular, but has a more advanced combo system.  It will take a player guide to understand it, but its well worth the efforts.   Most fighters that have combos - are limited to the way they are programmed.   In Killer Instinct, you can make nearly unlimted combos - nearly any way you desire.   You can also 'break' combos when you are very good.   Theres much more too. 

 

[canoshiz]

If you're REALLY having trouble doing, you could try what I did in like 6th grade.  Do a double qcf (quarter circle forward, or the Hadouken motion) and right before you complete it, press Punch.  Alternatively, you could just do forward -> qcf + P.  The best method for me anyway is the Z-motion in the first post.

[yugffuts]

"Also, when you get decent at

[Lilwolf]

I wonder how much money it took me to be able to master it. 

That and buying an arcade joystick for my snes + a sf clone really did it.  I could then do it in my sleep... 

Something about being able to pull one off as fast as a normal punch that makes you all warm inside

[Crowquill]

I think about a third of it is knowing the motion, and the rest is just practicing the timing. So many other fighting games use this motion that it's definitely worth learning. I found the timing to be easier in SF2 Turbo and after. I think the faster action prompted me to do it in a smoother motion (less time to think and analyze it).

The other big factor are your joysticks. Tighter microswitched sticks are definitely easier than leaf-style joysticks. One interesting test is to go into the service mode of the machine and enter the IO test. It'll show you when you're hitting it and when you're not. Capcom games seem to have the easiest input test of any manufacturers. I used it to test out my control panel once built.

In CE, I still like to do the hidden earnings report: during attract mode, on player 2's controls press U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,Light Punch, Medium Punch. If I remember right it shows earnings per coin slot and how many times each character's been selected. Why do I remember this stuff?

[fatrabbitbrain]

I have no trouble doing the dragon punch, but having said that, my girlfriends brothers are having serious troubles trying to pull off a fireball!

But yeah, I think the best way to do it is to push forward + qcf (fireball). If you are playing on the keyboard, dragon punch is actually F-D-F-Punch.

[XtraSmiley]

Well at one point I was like the NC SFIICE champion, yet, wait for it, embarrassing moment...


I can't beat the computer.  There I said it, it's out there.

I guess I spent so much money/time beating/playing real life opponents that I never learned how to beat the computer (which cheats by the way).

As for the DP, keep trying.  What system are you one?  Sometimes MAME if the settings are off, will mess the timing up and you won't be able to do it.  Also, controls play a big part of it.  Good luck, nothing helps like practice.

[ShinAce]

No problems here, but I'm a fighter player.

Make sure the stick is in neutral right before you do it....
now push the stick to forward, roll to down, roll to forward and hit punch.

I find it comes out much better on the older games like sf2 if you do the joystick motion quickly and hit the button like you mean it.

[BurningDog]

All the advice thus far has been good.  The main thing to remember is to not return the stick to neutral once you start and not to try to hit each direction discreetly, just do it all in one smooth motion.

A better question is, how the hell do you do Zangiefs 360 pile driver?  I STILL can't get that out consistantly.

[ShinAce]

Zangief's SPD does not come out if you are too far away. I think it's literally a 1 frame move if whiffed. Make sure you're close enough to grab them when you practice. And he has really good range using the jab version. Always do the same motion, regardless of which side the oponent is on. I personally do a 270 degree from right to up. Try to tap punch just a tiny bit early.

I normally jump in and do the splash move(down+fierce) as they are getting up, land, they block/eat my standing short, then I do the SPD pretty much right away.

But his best move is all 3 punches, the lariat. Gets you out of so much chip damage AND patterns.

[ften]

I remember when i first learned how to play street fighters... as my friend says now it's a religion to us.

Try changing the position of you hands on the joystick, instead of using the standard joystick holding method switch your hand so you are cupping the ball/bat of the joystick from underneath, placing the stick portion of the joystick in between your ring and middle finger.

[hypernova]

anti-air...more like anti-everything.  you're invincible for half of the attack except when your coming back down.  you can avoid all projectiles using it.  close enough, and you can hit the opponent at the same time for serious damage.

the move was just godlike IMO.  no other character had such an overpowered/uncounterable move.

try performing the fire dance in ff3/6.  it's like a yoga flame...except for some reason, it doesn't work with the full motion.  you have to press A during the final diagonal.  weird stuff.

somehow, zangief got easier for me during the alpha and vs. series of games.  he came to be my favorite.  nothing like performing his supers!!!

helps to learn the shoryuken...otherwise, how else do you plan on using it in MMX2? (different timing there though, IIRC.  you gotta press the button a split second AFTER the motion...just like the hadoken in MMX.)

shoryuken/dragon punch is just WAY too powerful in those earlier SFs.

[MaximRecoil]

anti-air...more like anti-everything.  you're invincible for half of the attack except when your coming back down.  you can avoid all projectiles using it.

If you use it to avoid a projectile you are likely to get smacked on the way back down. At least with a jump to avoid a projectile you can still attack during the entire time you are in the air.

You say that "you're invincible for half of the attack", and then say "except when your coming back down." Well that is an understatement. Not only are you not invincible when coming back down, but you are completely defenseless / completely vulnerable.

In the early 90's, I beat a random guy in his mid-20's in an arcade 40 times in a row on SFII:CE without using a single special move (we were both using Ryu), and he could pull off all of the special moves consistently at the drop of a hat, and he particularly loved the dragon punch. He wasn't used to being beaten, and he made quite a stink about it. He said "You're not even any good! You're not even doing any special moves! I can't believe I'm losing to you!"

[SOAPboy]

Push forward
Roll BACK through forward down, to down.. then push BACK to forward Down.. and press punch..

its how i learned..

[hypernova]

If you use it to avoid a projectile you are likely to get smacked on the way back down. At least with a jump to avoid a projectile you can still attack during the entire time you are in the air.

You say that "you're invincible for half of the attack", and then say "except when your coming back down." Well that is an understatement. Not only are you not invincible when coming back down, but you are completely defenseless / completely vulnerable.

hey now...i didn't say it was always a good idea to use the shoryuken to avoid projectiles, i just said that you COULD.

[MaximRecoil]

well, that's kind of an irrelevant argument.

[KungFuJoe]

MaximRecoil,

I'm not saying you haven't beaten your share of SF2 players without using the dragon punch, but let me tell you, that is one of the BEST moves in the game.  I dedicated my life to the game and I won countless SF2 tourneys back in 91 when SF2 was at its peak and I can honestly say, without feeling like I'm bragging, that I was probably one of the best players in southern california, if not the world. 

So again...I'm not saying you're not a good player and that it's not possible to win without the dragon punch, but not using (or being able to use it) puts you at a disadvantage and is the difference between a good player and a great player.

Man I miss the days of SF2...I used to go to arcades I'd never been to before and people would come up to me and say "hey...you're that tall half asian guy aren't you?". I used to play all day at an arcade on a single quarter while everyone tried to beat me.

Now I have nothing but memories...

*sigh*

[KungFuJoe]

Anyways...regarding HOW to do it...there's already been some good advice on this thread.

DEFINITELY follow that one guy who posted a picture of his hand.  Hold the joystick with either 2 or 3 fingers.

Here's an easy way to do the uppercut.  Walk forward, then try to do a quick fireball.  That is pretty much the motion to do a uppercut and more times than not, you'll do an uppercut instead. 

Another way to try to do it (and is very usefull as well) is to do it from a crouching position.  If you're right handed, you will find it easier to do this from the right hand side.  Crouch with the stick slighly forward (not back in a defensive position).  Now do a tiny quick clockwise circle motion using only that quadrant of the joystick's motion and don't hit the punch button until you are back to where you started.  It's easier for me to show someone than try to explain (I'm probably doing a crappy job of it) but it seems some people learn it that way faster than the "conventional" way...

[KungFuJoe]

And one more thing...hypernova knows what he's talking about.

A few examples of where the uppercut is very useful:

- When Ryu or Ken has you trapped in the corner and is throwing fireball after fireball...if you know a fast fireball is coming, you uppercut through it and the split second you gain while the opponent is recovering is priceless.
- If you throw a fireball at your opponent and he/she times it and jumps at you...you may not have time to let off a roundhouse kick counter...and you will only be able to block.  With an uppercut, you can let one off right at that last split second and still hit your opponent.
- It (usually) takes off more damage than another other single attack by Ken or Ryu.  This depends on the timing and in SF2CE whether you use Ryu or Ken (Ryu's is generally more powerful than Ken's).
- In the original SF2, you can use it to finish off a 3 hit combo that will either have your opponent dizzy or dizzy AGAIN (if he was already dizzy).  But usually, by this time, he's either finished or almost finished.  Basically the combo is to jump at the opponent, roundhouse kick to the back of his head, then regular uppercut, then dragon punch.  Most powerful combo in the game.  I think the only combo more powerful can only be done on a specific (glitchy) SF2 machine where you can do a standing sonic kick with Guile and you finish off a 4 hit combo with it.
- And most importantly, no attack can counter it...it basically wins over all.

[markrvp]

Thanks for the great tips.  Please keep them coming; they don't have to be specific to the Dragon Punch.  Anything to help me get past the third opponent now is greatly appreciated.