Command-input move

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Command Input Special Moves, also known as Command Attacks are upgraded versions of the special moves of Ryu, Ken and Terry that requires a specific motion on the Control stick and a button press in a specific window of time.

Overview

While the special moves can be activated by simply pressing the B button and holding a direction, they are intentionally slower and weaker then they can be. Command versions of these moves are more complicated to activate, but have the benefit of being faster and more powerful. There are also some moves that can only be activated via command input.

Moves With Command Inputs

• Hadoken: A blue, single hit fireball and the Neutral special of Ryu and Ken. The command version can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a quarter-circle towards the opponent, then pressing a button (↓ ↘ → + attack/special). If done correctly, the Hadoken will be faster and deal more damage.

• Burning Knuckle: A lunging energy punch and the Forward-Side special of Terry. The command version can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a quarter-circle towards the opponent, then pressing a button (↓ ↘ → + attack/special). If done correctly, the Burning knuckle will be more powerful and travel farther, with a green-yellow trail behind Terry. It should be noted that the input is reversed from his home series as normally is a quarter-circle away from the opponent.

• Tatsumaki Senpukyaku: an airborne, spinning crescent kick and the Side special of Ryu and Ken.The command version can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a quarter-circle away from the opponent, then pressing a button (↓ ↙ ← + attack/special). If done correctly, the tatsumaki will be more powerful and travel farther.

• Crack Shoot: A spinning heel kick and the Back-Side special of Terry. The command version can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a quarter-circle away from the opponent (↓ ↙ ← + attack/special). If done correctly, the crack shoot will be more powerful and the second will will deal shield damage.

• Shoryuken: A leaping uppercut and the Up special of Ryu and Ken. The command version can be accessed by moving towards the opponent, the tilting the Control stick down and forward in a "Z" motion, then pressing a button (→ ↓ ↘ + attack/special). If done correctly, the shoryuken will be more powerful while having more intangibility (frames 1-14 versus frame 5) and lower landing lag (16 frames versus 23 frames).

• Power Dunk: A jumping knee strike and the Down special of Terry. The command version can be accessed by moving towards the opponent, the tilting the Control stick down and forward in a "Z" motion, then pressing a button (→ ↓ ↘ + attack/special). If done correctly, the power dunk will be more powerful, grant intangibility during its ascent, and enables the last hit to meteor smash.

• Rising Tackle: An upward corkscrew flying kick and the Up special of Terry. The command version can be accessed by holding down to charge the attack for a minimum of 24 frames, then quickly pushing up on the Control stick and pressing a button (hold ↓ for 24 frames, then ↑+attack/special). This type of input is know colloquially as a "charge motion." If done correctly, the rising tackle will be more powerful, hits more times, and grants intangibility.

• Shakunetsu: A special variant of the Hadoken exclusive to Ryu. This move can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a half-circle towards the opponent, then pressing a button (← ↙ ↓ ↘ → + attack/special). If done correctly, a red, multi hit Hadoken will come out.

• Oosoto Mawashi Geri: An outward roundhouse kick that is exclusive to Ken. This move can be accessed by rotating the Control stick a half-circle towards the opponent, then pressing a button (← ↙ ↓ ↘ → + attack/special).

• Nata Otoshi Geri: A swiping crescent kick that is exclusive to Ken. This move can be accessed by a reversed quarter circle motion towards the opponent, then pressing a button (→ ↘ ↓ + attack/special).

• Power Geyser: A Super Special move exclusive to Terry after he reaches 100% or after he reaches below 30 HP. This move can be accessed by a quarter-circle in one direction, then quickly tilting the Control stick in the other direction (↓ ↙ ← ↙ → + attack/special). This input is colloquially known as the "Pretzel Motion" due to its knot-like appearance. A simplified version of this input is also available (↓ ← ↓ → + attack/special). If done correctly, Terry will punch the ground and a massive geyser of energy will explode in front of him, dealing incredibly high damage at the cost of a slow start up and high endlag.

• Buster Wolf: A Super Special move exclusive to Terry after he reaches 100% or after he reaches below 30 HP. This move can be accessed by 2 quarter-circle motions towards the opponent (↓ ↘ → ↓ ↘ → + attack/special). A simplified version of this input is also available (↓ → ↓ → + attack/special). If done correctly, Terry will launch forward. If Terry connects with the opponent, they will be grabbed and thrown for incredibly high damage, similar to Lucario's Force Palm. Unlike force palm, there is only a grab hitbox, meaning Buster Wolf is extremely punishable if it misses or is shielded.

Origin

Command inputs can be traced back to the 1987 arcade game Street Fighter. In that game, the player can access the Hadoken, Tatsumaki Senpukyaku and Shoryuken with their respective inputs. There was a very strict window to activate, but all moves did massive amounts of damage to compensate. Players complained that the activation window was too strict which led to inputs being "eaten" and the controls feeling inconsistent. Capcom listened to these complaints and decided to make special moves easier to perform at the cost of damage for Street Fighter II. Takashi Nishiyama, creator of Street Fighter, also listened to these complaints after moving to SNK and created Fatal Fury. These two games laid the foundation for all fighting games in the future, and the inputs introduced are now commonplace across the genre.