[tie]

Anyone else still playing Oni?

I am trying to become a better fighter; I would like to reach the point where I can walk all over the bad guys, with a variety of different moves from all directions, and without getting hurt -- like in a movie.

But I'm a long ways from that point. The one way I've found to walk all over the bad guys (playing as Konoko) is to just run all the time, in circles around the enemies, never getting close enough for them to hit me. When I see an opportunity, I turn quickly in, do a running throw, and run right through. I keep on doing this until everyone else is dead. While this strategy lets me get through most fights without getting hurt, it's not much fun -- and it definitely does not look like a movie. I'd like to be able to get by with pure fighting moves, not relying on cheap tricks, stealth, or scenery (i.e., throwing people off the rooftops).

The biggest disadvantage from Oni not having any multiplayer is that it's hard to learn good fighting techniques from other people. What are some pure fighting strategies that people have found work well? For example, how often do you dodge? Do you have set combinations that you try (willow kick to stun and set up a throw, maybe, or slide under and quickly turn to get a backbreaker)? Are most of your moves facing the opponent, or do you do lots of moves to your side or back? How often do you try a special move (possibly with a long key combo, or one that might fail), and how often do you stick to straight punches/kicks? Which special moves do you use (lariat, forward throws..) and which do you avoid (crescent moon, twister kick..)? When and how do you block? Do you stay mostly standing or do you occasionally crouch and go for their feet? Do you have deliberate ways of getting behind an opponent to do a reverse throw/backbreaker? How do you practice?

Sometimes I get surrounded by enemies (I'm careful about this, trying to keep about half the enemies on the ground at any time, but sometimes a key combo fails and I get in trouble). Then they just pound on me, and I'm too dazed to get away. What should I do? Should I jump out of the circle, and risk being knocked from the air? Should I dodge and roll? Should I try a quick dash, then slide? This seems like the best opportunity for a devil spin kick, but sometimes the key combo (press and release crouch, then kick) is interrupted.

Here's some of my own experience:

I do almost all my fighting face to face with my opponents (not many side hits). I am most successful when I stick to a few moves, like the two basic throws (forward-kick or forward-punch, depending on whether there is someone behind me) and a few special moves like the lariat. When I try to mix in more complicated moves, I often just get in trouble because the key combos take too long and are interrupted. Even sledgehammer heel (punch punch kick) is often interrupted. But I'm starting to use devil spin kick and rising fury punch more. When I have a free moment, I try to set up a flashy special move, like a twister kick (side, forward+kick) or crescent moon (forward, forward+kick) -- but since I often only have time for such moves when the enemies are knocked down, they don't always do any damage . I've started to work on using a willow kick (back, forward+kick) to stun an opponent and gain time for a flashy move (or, if playing the female striker, I do the toe stomp instead of the willow kick), but I can't tell yet if this will ever be a practical strategy.

I have a hard time dodging, because I can't always anticipate the right time to dodge, without dodging constantly (which doesn't look very good ). Also I press the shift key too soon so I occasionally just crouch instead of roll.

Sometimes in rough fights I revert to key-pounding. Then I'm pleasantly surprised when a special move comes out or I get a nice kick. I've been working on improving this, sometimes using carousel mode to slow things down (although that also changes the timing of the key combos). I am not sure but I think my keyboard (one of the old keyboards that came with a hockey puck mouse) isn't always sending all the commands -- but it may just be that the commands are interrupted. Should I try a gamepad?

The tankers are the easiest to get behind because they are so slow, although they do reverse kick while getting up.

My favorite practice level is Rooftops. There are lots of small fights in both constrained and open environments, against a good variety of opponents. And then the fun duel against Mukade. (Rooftops is also my favorite level. There are no consoles you have to turn on to open doors. I don't miss the furniture -- like I always do on other big empty levels. There are many good straight fights as well as opportunities for sniping, stealth, or throwing enemies off the sides.)

[Jansar]

When you beat the game, you enable a whole bunch of cheats that you can type in when you look at your information screen (hitting F1 or something). Although it is still cheating, it is the most fun way to play the game. You have not had fun playing Oni until you've enabled the cheats in it. If you want me to give them to you, let me know.

[Arty50]

Well, you haven't listed what machine you're playing on. That makes a huge difference. I had the key combos down for the special moves, BUT whenever my machine got bogged down in a large, detailed environment I would get my arse kicked because the machine recorded my keystrokes so slowly (or not at all). Basically I was untouchable in a small room with only a couple enemies. If you put me in a large environment or added too many enemies for the machine to draw it was a lot more difficult because the moves didn't work. I had to learn how to slow down my keystrokes in order to do the moves in those situations, and then speed back up for smaller rooms. What a pain.

iMac 233, 384M of RAM (now 512M), Gamewizard

[Jansar]

Obviously, his machine is okay. He has not complained about it in his post.

[bewebste]

My basic strategies are:

1. Always try to fight one enemy at a time. It's hard to lose when it's one on one, but fights with multiple enemies get tough quick.
2. Almost every type of enemy has a weakness that you can exploit. Strikers often try to rush you head on, and it's pretty easy to dodge to the side, turn around and do a backbreaker. You can hit a tanker twice while he's on the ground after missing a flying tackle.
3. I've found that the quicker opponents are trickier to fight consistently that the slower ones. The chick fighters and ninjas are the quickest, so using lots of quick moves that don't do as much damage is usually more effective than trying for the big, slow hits. I avoid side/back attacks unless its necessary, which it often can be when fighting multiple opponents.
4. Most of your damage will be done by fighting, but don't underestimate the importance of weapons. Try not to waste weapons dropped by opponents, check and swap your weapon for a new one if the other one has more ammo. Also, plugging someone with a couple rounds in a fight can be pulled off pretty easily and make them easier to bring down, especially in multi-fights. Another good tip is to kill an opponent right after he/she reloads their weapon, so you can pick it up with full ammo.
5. Throwing people off of ledges is generally a good thing, but you can also lose weapons/hypos if you're not careful.
6. My favorite moves are:

• Sweep kick - hit 'em while they're down, and it's also a hard move for them to block.
• Triple hit haymaker - the punches are very quick and even if you don't land on all three, you usually at least get one or two hits.
• Devil spin kick - the timing takes practice, but it's very hard to block and doesn't require much aim. Trying it while fighting multiple opponents can be risky, but if you hit more than one, it can be worth trying. It also looks kewl.
• Lariat - this move I usually don't consciously try to do, but it just happens while you bum rush someone and punch. At worst, you get a blocked punch and run right past the guy, at best, you give them a chiropractic readjustment.

So basically, divide-and-conquer and patience are the two main things to do, along with a healthy dose of weapons. Dodging and blocking are both critical to learn, along with learning your opponents' weaknesses.

Hope this helps!

[Jansar]

Also, if you're caught with very little life and a lot of guys to deal with, try jump kicking around a lot while turning, and eventually you'll start hitting the enemies. It takes a while, but if you can get the hits in, they'll all go down eventually.

Another tip is that if you've been through a level already and know which guys have the weapons and / or hypos, throw the ones who don't off the ledges. Trust me, there are a crapload of ledges and cliffs throughout the game.

[Arty50]

Originally posted by Jansar:
<STRONG>Obviously, his machine is okay. He has not complained about it in his post.</STRONG>

Uh, no.

Tie said:
<STRONG>I am not sure but I think my keyboard (one of the old keyboards that came with a hockey puck mouse) isn't always sending all the commands -- but it may just be that the commands are interrupted. Should I try a gamepad? </STRONG>

The fact that he has a hockey puck mouse means it's an old machine. Also he mentioned that the commands aren't working all the time. This leads me to believe that machine lag is killing his key combos. It might not be so obvious on say a 300-400 mhz G3, but on my 233 it's plainly obvious that the lack of processing oomph is causing these problems. If (as I suspect) this is the case, then no gamepad will help.

[Arty50]

bewebste, great tips.

I love the lariat as a sort of kick ass appetizer. In other words, it's a nice first move on an opponent. It's wonderfully effective when more than one bad guy is around too. The target gets a spinal realignment and everyone around him gets a foot in the face. Also, the uppercut is a personal favorite.

I definitely second the advice on choice of targets. It's usually a good idea to take out the harder opponents first and then clean up the scum after. The harder opponents are much more aggressive and should be dealt with first. Unless the others offer a quick lariat opportunity.

Also, blocking is one of your best friends. Granted, not all moves can be blocked; but 95% of what's thrown at you can.

That's why I loved about this game. You couldn't just go around mashing buttons. You have to have the patience to block and then counter moves.

[ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: Arty50 ]

[tr]

don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but one move which i find very useful is sneaking around/silent creeping, getting behind an enemy, and then using the back breaker move. you can usually sneak up on someone when their back is turned, and the back breaker move kills them instantly.

tr

[tie]

Thanks for all the tips. I've been playing more recently and have been quite surprised at how much better I've gotten. Working on my dodging and figuring out the timing for all the moves, my fighting is effective as well as splashy. Still have to practice some more, though.

I don't think my machine is a problem, I've never noticed it stuttering. I picked up a two-button mouse and I find myself using for some moves (punch punch kick) but not others where the timing of the kick matters (e.g., willow kick).

[Arty50]

Originally posted by tie:
<STRONG>
I don't think my machine is a problem, I've never noticed it stuttering. I picked up a two-button mouse and I find myself using for some moves (punch punch kick) but not others where the timing of the kick matters (e.g., willow kick).</STRONG>

That's good to hear. I almost forgot about a two button mouse. I couldn't imagine playing this game without one. With regard to timing, this game seemed really picky about that. Just find an area with no baddies where you can work on the moves until you have the timing down cold.

[Jansar]

Originally posted by tie:
<STRONG>I don't think my machine is a problem, I've never noticed it stuttering. I picked up a two-button mouse and I find myself using for some moves (punch punch kick) but not others where the timing of the kick matters (e.g., willow kick).</STRONG>

There. So don't tell me, "Uh, no," or that kind of crap to "attempt" to flame me. You are not good at it. Just wanted to let you know to keep yourself from being an idiot in the future.