Giving advice is nice (Ramon users.)

[Average Joe]

Been playing around with him in 2k1 lately and would like to see if I can't learn him well enough to have him earn a spot on my team.

Scoped out various fighter forums and picked up some good info on him, but I figured I'd see if anyone around he knows him well enough to slip me a few tips/pointers as well.

I'd mostly like to focus on his 2k1 incarnation, but I might as well learn 2k2 too since that's all anybody seems to give a damn about.

I'm not super-serious about my playing or anything, but I really can't play him worth a damn and would at least like to raise my skill level from "this guy sux" to "he's alright" status.

 

[k'_127]

dunno if you know that already, but here is the combo that I was using when I used to play him in KOF2001 (it's been a long time so I'm not 100% sure):


cC .... d/f B .... dp B .... dp B .... d d C ...[cancel]... hcb x2 A (DM)



[d/f B] is his sliding kick

[dp] stands for the dragon punch motion.

 

[ray_7]

heh, that's a classic ramon combo.

in fact that combo alone is the only reason for me to play him, so cool for others to see...

 

[Average Joe]

Yeah, combos aren't really something I needed help with.

I've got his down well enough, including that one you listed, which I agree, is quite badass and easy enough to pull.

(Although some good striker setups with him would be nice.)

I'm mostly looking for general strats, do's, dont's, his priority moves, etc...

 

[k'_127]

wish I could help, dude. I only used him for short time in KOF2001 in 1P-mode and that's it.

I know there are some great Ramon players here (Spike Speigel and others), so I'm sure eventually, someone will post something useful.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Ramon is easily top tier in KOF2k2. I'm sorry to say I just don't play 2k1 enough to even start giving advice with him in that, however.

Ramon's bread and butter, in 2k2, is his three move grab (standing close C or D, d/f B drop kick, and snatch 'em TNC). I actually made a pretty big post about him a few years back. I'll see if I can find it and post the link.

edit: found a few things... few random posts I've made about ramon:

Ramon is a huge ass pimp. He's one of the best characters you could play as. Not only is he cool, but he's very powerful. I can walk through whole teams with him. Total... badass.

Use tiger loads. They're great, and overpowered. Thanks to the fact that it's unblockable and hits air targets, too.

Like most chars, use low jumping CDs. Hits a ton and hits hard.

If you can hit a character with his little DP k move, you're sitting pretty. You can do (and I'm talking combos that any idiot can do), a standing C, d/f B, dpB, dpB, and then do a super cancel. You need two bars for the cancel and super. Do his big super, and you'll need three. The timing, at first, sucks. But, once you get it, you're a fucking super pimp.

And my most favorite thing about him is his snatch 'em TNC. Standing D, down/forward B, SNATCH! It's stronger than What Clark can do, and it's easy to do.

There's tons more things you can do. Do his little dancing jump kick. One version comes out and the other is a feint move. Use them both. What a pimp this guy is!

Ramon has some of the longest combos that end in a super finish in the game. He's sick, and anyone that's seen him or plays him for a bit in 2k2 can see that right away. He got almost too strong in 2k2 (unblockable specials and an unblockable super, not to mention his super cancel combo that takes off a bit over half life).

 

[Average Joe]

Good stuff, thanks Spike.

Wish I had the chance to put him to the test against other people, but my connection has been really laggy lately, so I can't even netplay.

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Good stuff, thanks Spike.

Wish I had the chance to put him to the test against other people, but my connection has been really laggy lately, so I can't even netplay.

Hmm, I've only used it against humans in real life. I know that his unblockables really piss people off. His Tiger Load is almost cheap. If they don't roll or jump back, there's almost nothing they can do. Jumpnig will only hit them with an unblockable, and higher damaging, air throw. Do that enough to make the rush you... and they will from my experience. That's where you start doing your throw combos. Agains the computer (level 8) it's not even fair. Total ownership. Play mind games, and you'll own.

But for 2k1? Don't know. Sorry man!
Spike

 

[Average Joe]

But for 2k1? Don't know. Sorry man!
Spike

That's fine, I'll put this info to good use.

Sadly, I have to settle for emulation to get my KOF 2-player fix (although I'll probably pick up an X-Box and Live if that KOF2k2/2k3 pack ever gets released), and since everyone either plays 98 or 2k2, I'll have to start getting into 2k2 more, since I've hardly played much of it compared to 98 or 2k1.

Can't even do that thanks to my connection being a bitch lately, but I can at least work on some stuff until then.

 

[neojedi]

It's been awhile since I played Ramon, but I remember that the only truly retarded thing about the character was qcb+C. If you hold the C button, it's a fake move animation, but if you let go, it's a special move that does nothing. It's like an empty cancel for free... if you're rushing someone down and they block your shit, just combo into qcb+C and start over... no holes.

I love the d, d+C cancel combo everyone mentioned, but I also like this combo from 2002, one of the more original combos to ever be in KOF:
C, df+B, qcb+C, d+D, buffered d+A, C

The special move d, d, A, C in 2002 is one of the hardest moves in KOF to integrate into your game, but it's stylish if you can land it in a fight.

 

[ken_dong]

Never liked that much Ramon, what a pity chara... ^^

 

[Spike Spiegel]

Never liked that much Ramon, what a pity chara... ^^

Pity character? He's one of the best in 2k2

 

[kafuin_gaira]

It's been awhile since I played Ramon, but I remember that the only truly retarded thing about the character was qcb+C. If you hold the C button, it's a fake move animation, but if you let go, it's a special move that does nothing. It's like an empty cancel for free... if you're rushing someone down and they block your shit, just combo into qcb+C and start over... no holes.

I love the d, d+C cancel combo everyone mentioned, but I also like this combo from 2002, one of the more original combos to ever be in KOF:
C, df+B, qcb+C, d+D, buffered d+A, C

The special move d, d, A, C in 2002 is one of the hardest moves in KOF to integrate into your game, but it's stylish if you can land it in a fight.

ahh that brings back memories.

ramon is the shit, probably one of my favorite kof characters. too bad it took 3 years for his movelist to flesh out and make him a real threat. 2k2 is the real ramon, hands down. there are tons of things you can do with the qcb+C to extend combos, but i suck and cannot do hardly any of them.

 

[krakov]

Thanks a bunch neojedi!
I had totally forgot about that move (d,d,A,C). The combo you mentionen is pimp for sure.

Anyone have good experince on how to utilize the of-the-wall moves?
The grab seems pretty good, since it moves fast and may surprise if you mix it up.

 

[kafuin_gaira]

Thanks a bunch neojedi!
I had totally forgot about that move (d,d,A,C). The combo you mentionen is pimp for sure.

Anyone have good experince on how to utilize the of-the-wall moves?
The grab seems pretty good, since it moves fast and may surprise if you mix it up.

in 2k2, i mixed up his unblockable wall grab, wall super, running grab (hcf+K), and close grab (hcb+P) to basically keep distance and keep the opponent off guard.

the unblockable wall grab (don't remember the exact motion, it's been a while) if timed right can evade projectiles. it also out-prioritizes many ground and air normals. almost never gets stuffed outright, timing is important.

 

[Diavle18]

This is from my experience of KOF2k2 play on Kaillera:

- Sitting and standing versions of A make for a great poke (also great for comboing into HCF+P).

- I only use the standing version of B and at close range to combo into the HCF+P grab. What I love about this is that it’s a standing move but it hits low. I do the combo sB> HCF+P right after they wake up and it usually works, then I run up and do another. Usually this works twice or thrice in a row. They get smart and start blocking low? Run up and do DP+K overhead instead.

- His jCD makes for an excellent air-to-air and even to a good extent a great anti-air.Its also great for tricking ppl into a HCF+P or grab DM.

- jC is excellent for combos and is a very easy to use and powerful cross-up as well. Abuse.

- Df+B is another great move to screw with ppl who are getting up and moving around a lot. It hits low and can be instantly comboed into his DMs. Also great for high=low mind games.

- I love the far away sD. It takes a little while to come out but once it does it has excellent priority, tends to stop ppl in their tracks even if they are in the middle of a move etc. Just make sure you know what distance to use it at, make sure it’s not too close to be dangerous and not too far to whiff. The air version isn’t as good for combos as C but is great for low hop attacks since it points straight down.

- HCF+P has insane priority, insane I tell you. It grabs when it seems it’s too far away and grabs ppl almost out of anything they do. Use this move properly and they will be freaking scared to be anywhere near you, literally. Don’t forget to use the walk back and front grab tactic when they are getting up or blocking too much to cancel their recovery/block.

- HCF+K is excellent in that its running animation is the same as Ramon’s standard running animation, great for confusing ppl. Also has great priority upon contact. Don’t abuse too much though.

- Do not abuse his off the wall rebound moves and DM. Both suck and can be seen a freaking mile away (ppl usually roll and DM your ass). Use it very sparingly just to throw ppl off.

- His Ranbu style DM has excellent priority, both on start-up and finish (like if they block and you do another instantly, there is a great chance you’ll out prioritize them).

- About his fakes (QCB+P), its very useful if you know how to use em. The A version does a drop kick and the C version is for continuous pressure. The A version has crappy recovery but has great hitting priority (especially since you can make him travel back a certain distance before you release), a great in-your-face move, can be used sorta like Terry’s QCB+P. The C version is for combos. Not only does it make combos longer and more complex but safer as well, it gives him safe recovery and lets you continue the pressure or retreat instantly.


Overall, he can be played extremely unpredictably because of the huge variety of moves he has. He can be both aggressive and defensive (though I think it’s better to stay aggressive).

 

[Average Joe]

This is from my experience of KOF2k2 play on Kaillera:

- Sitting and standing versions of A make for a great poke (also great for comboing into HCF+P).

- I only use the standing version of B and at close range to combo into the HCF+P grab. What I love about this is that it’s a standing move but it hits low. I do the combo sB> HCF+P right after they wake up and it usually works, then I run up and do another. Usually this works twice or thrice in a row. They get smart and start blocking low? Run up and do DP+K overhead instead.

- His jCD makes for an excellent air-to-air and even to a good extent a great anti-air.Its also great for tricking ppl into a HCF+P or grab DM.

- jC is excellent for combos and is a very easy to use and powerful cross-up as well. Abuse.

- Df+B is another great move to screw with ppl who are getting up and moving around a lot. It hits low and can be instantly comboed into his DMs. Also great for high=low mind games.

- I love the far away sD. It takes a little while to come out but once it does it has excellent priority, tends to stop ppl in their tracks even if they are in the middle of a move etc. Just make sure you know what distance to use it at, make sure it’s not too close to be dangerous and not too far to whiff. The air version isn’t as good for combos as C but is great for low hop attacks since it points straight down.

- HCF+P has insane priority, insane I tell you. It grabs when it seems it’s too far away and grabs ppl almost out of anything they do. Use this move properly and they will be freaking scared to be anywhere near you, literally. Don’t forget to use the walk back and front grab tactic when they are getting up or blocking too much to cancel their recovery/block.

- HCF+K is excellent in that its running animation is the same as Ramon’s standard running animation, great for confusing ppl. Also has great priority upon contact. Don’t abuse too much though.

- Do not abuse his off the wall rebound moves and DM. Both suck and can be seen a freaking mile away (ppl usually roll and DM your ass). Use it very sparingly just to throw ppl off.

- His Ranbu style DM has excellent priority, both on start-up and finish (like if they block and you do another instantly, there is a great chance you’ll out prioritize them).

- About his fakes (QCB+P), its very useful if you know how to use em. The A version does a drop kick and the C version is for continuous pressure. The A version has crappy recovery but has great hitting priority (especially since you can make him travel back a certain distance before you release), a great in-your-face move, can be used sorta like Terry’s QCB+P. The C version is for combos. Not only does it make combos longer and more complex but safer as well, it gives him safe recovery and lets you continue the pressure or retreat instantly.


Overall, he can be played extremely unpredictably because of the huge variety of moves he has. He can be both aggressive and defensive (though I think it’s better to stay aggressive).

Copied & pasted.

Excellent stuff,

Thanks

 

[Knatty Dreadnok]

This may sound like a dumb question... but I've yet to play the 2K series. Is Ramon a real threat in 2K1. See I'd rather have 2001 instead of 2002 becuase of the roster.