Tekken 9 movement options include forward and backward dashes, side steps, sidestep walks, and back dashes, all critical for positioning and evading attacks.
Tekken’s fluid combat relies heavily on movement. Understanding all the ways your character can move is key to success. This guide will give you a basic breakdown of what you can expect from Tekken 9 movement options breakdown.
Players should learn the nuances of each movement type. You’ll need a good grip of back dashes and side steps to create openings and avoid punishment. Practice is essential.
We will be going over the basic movement options. These options give you a better understanding of spacing. Let’s get into it!
Tekken 9 Movement Options Breakdown
Alright, let’s talk about moving around in Tekken 9! This game is known for its amazing fighting, but a big part of that is how you move. It’s not just about pressing buttons to punch and kick. It’s about dancing around your opponent, getting into the right spot, and making them guess what you’ll do next. Good movement can make all the difference between winning and losing. In this breakdown, we will dive into all the different ways you can move your character and how you can utilize them.
Basic Movement: Walking and Running
Let’s start with the basics. In Tekken 9, just like in real life (sort of!), you can walk forward and backward, you can also dash forward and back, or hold forward to run toward your opponent. These are the building blocks of all your movement. Walking is slow, but precise. It helps you adjust your position by a tiny bit. Running is fast and helps you cover more distance quickly. But you are vulnerable when running as you cannot block. The speed of running and walking can vary from character to character. You need to practice with your character to know how fast or slow you are moving. You can also walk sideways by tilting your joystick or pressing the arrow keys to the left or right.
Forward and Back Walking
Walking forward brings you closer to your opponent, setting you up for offense. Walking backward creates distance, good for avoiding attacks and giving you space to think. A lot of newer players get tempted to hold back to just avoid everything, that is not a good strategy. If you are too far from your opponent, they can get free movement and set up their offense. So do not be afraid to move forward. You have to be aware of how you are creating space for the opponent.
Forward and Back Running
Running forward allows you to quickly close the distance between yourself and your opponent. It’s useful for applying pressure, chasing down opponents trying to escape, or getting past a move that has a recovery window that you can punish. Running backward can quickly increase the distance between you and your opponent. It’s a good way to escape pressure or to try to evade a move that is not tracking you sideways. However, be aware that when running you cannot block, so if your opponent knows you are running away, they might try to catch you with a fast move.
Side Walking
Side walking or sidestepping is a type of movement that allows you to walk around your opponent. In Tekken, most of the moves only tracks you forward and back. If you see your opponent doing a linear move, you can sidestep to your left or right and avoid that move and create openings for attacks. Some moves track you very well, so just because you are sidestepping doesn’t mean it will work every time. This is another form of movement where you can explore your character’s sidestep speed and distance traveled by your character, because it is not the same for every character in the game.
Advanced Movement: Dashes and Backdashes
Okay, now we are getting into the more advanced movement options in Tekken 9! Dashes and backdashes are quick bursts of movement that help you close in, retreat, or change your position faster. They’re super important for controlling the flow of the fight. These are also very crucial for creating space, or closing the gaps between you and your opponent. There are different variations of the dashes, which you need to familiarize yourself to utilize all of them.
Forward Dash
A forward dash is a quick movement where you tap forward twice. This can be used to close distances very fast, and this is essential in closing gaps with opponents. After a dash, you can perform a variety of moves, it allows you to have many more options. Players use dash to close the gap and pressure the opponent by attacking them quickly after the dash. Mastering the forward dash is essential for having aggressive and good gameplay.
Back Dash
The opposite of forward dash is back dash. This is executed by tapping back twice. When you backdash, your character moves backwards quickly. The distance you travel from a backdash can differ from character to character. Backdashes are an important defensive tool in Tekken. This allows you to get away from your opponent’s attacks quickly. You can also backdash to create space and bait the opponent into moving forward to create openings. Backdashing is the same as running backward in the sense that you cannot block, but this is much faster than running backward.
Dash Canceling
A special type of movement that players use to confuse or setup their opponents. When you cancel your dashes, you are basically ending your movement early, this is done by tapping back after a forward dash or tapping forward after a back dash. You can use this technique to bait out the opponent into doing a move. This is not easy to pull off, but with practice it can be done. This dash cancel allows you to mix up your movement very well.
Sidestep Movement in Detail
Sidestepping is not just a simple left or right movement. It has depth, and understanding these variations and properties will help improve your gameplay immensely. You can utilize sidestep in many creative ways and make movement a key aspect of your gameplay, not just for evading attacks but also for creating offense. We will look into some of the details related to sidestep movement.
Sidestep Direction
When you sidestep, you are not just moving left or right. You are moving at an angle, and sometimes you move more forward or backwards, depending on how you move your joystick. Some characters sidestep at a very wide angle, which can cover a lot of area, while some characters sidestep in a very narrow angle, covering very less area. It is important to know these properties to play each character to their maximum potential. You should experiment with different sidesteps in your character to familiarize yourself with how they move sideways.
Sidestep Canceling
Sidestep canceling is a special type of move where you cancel the recovery from your sidestep by performing another sidestep in the opposite direction. For example, if you sidestep to your left, you can cancel that recovery by sidestepping right and vice versa. Canceling the sidestep allows you to avoid being vulnerable for a small period of time and allows you to perform another sidestep. This is also very useful in movement and confusing your opponents. When you learn sidestep canceling, you will be a much better movement player in Tekken 9.
Sidestep into Attacks
Some moves in Tekken 9 can be done right after you sidestep. This means you can sidestep and immediately do an attack, so you don’t have to wait before you attack your opponent. This can be extremely effective as it catches players off guard when they are trying to predict when you will attack after movement. Some moves can be very effective after a sidestep, so it is important to learn which of those moves exist for your character to mix things up even more.
Crouching and Ducking
Crouching is when your character bends down to lower their profile, making them harder to hit with high moves. Ducking is a specific crouch position that allows you to avoid high attacks. Learning how to utilize crouching and ducking will add more depth into your movement. Let’s get into more details on crouching and ducking.
Basic Crouch
To crouch, you simply hold down on your joystick or arrow key. While crouching, your character can block mid and low attacks, and will avoid most high attacks. Crouching has a lot of advantages, and is the most fundamental movement to do in Tekken. Learning how to properly crouch is essential to become a good Tekken player. There are many moves in Tekken that can only be blocked while crouching, so you need to get familiar with those attacks as well.
Ducking
Ducking is a special crouch move that allows you to avoid high attacks very quickly. When you duck, you are performing a crouch movement while in neutral stance, which is when you are not performing any actions. Ducking can be used to go under moves very quickly. You can also go into your attacking move while ducking to create new attack patterns. Ducking is an essential move to have in your arsenal. Many players, in early Tekken gameplay, think they can only block high attacks by standing block, but that is not true. Most high attacks can be ducked, and ducking also creates openings for your attacks as well.
Crouch Dash
A crouch dash is a special type of dash you perform when in crouching stance. You have to go to crouch by holding the down direction and then immediately tap forward to go to a forward crouch dash. This allows you to close gaps between the opponent in a crouching state. This is an extremely valuable tool and will allow you to close gaps by evading highs attacks as well. Crouch dash gives you an advantage to go under attacks, while creating offensive opportunities for your character. There are different move options that are available after a crouch dash, which allows you to be unpredictable in your attacks.
Jumping and Aerial Movement
Jumping is not very common in Tekken, but it exists and has many applications. Jumping is not as simple as it seems, and you can use jump moves to your advantage. Let’s see how jumping and aerial movement works in Tekken 9
Basic Jump
To jump in Tekken, you need to press up on your joystick. Most characters don’t have many moves while jumping. Jumping is only viable if you know what you are doing. Most of the times, a simple jump can be punished if your opponent knows you are about to jump. However, there are specific scenarios when you can jump to evade some low moves and mixup your movement. Jumping does not block while in the air, so you need to be cautious while using this movement. You need to test out with your character and see if jumping is viable in their gameplay.
Jump Attacks
Some characters do have moves that are available after jumping. These moves have specific purpose that your characters can utilize. Some of those jump attacks can be powerful and can inflict good damage to the opponent. Each character has their own moves after jumping, so it is essential to look into the move list of your character to know what moves you can use after jumping, or if it is viable.
Air Control
Air control refers to the ability to change your direction mid-air, especially after jumping. This can be used for evading attacks that are going to land. Some characters have more air control than other. Knowing how your character moves mid-air is also very crucial in playing your character to its maximum potential. Air control allows you to be creative in your movement.
Special Movement Techniques
Tekken 9 has some special movement techniques that are more character specific and advanced. These aren’t always straightforward and require some practice. These movement options will help you be creative with your attacks, as well as movement. Lets see some of these special movement options.
Character-Specific Movement
Each character in Tekken 9 has their own movement properties and characteristics. For example, some characters might have very fast sidesteps, while others might have a fast run speed. Some characters may have moves that change their movement and positioning very drastically. It is very important to learn your character’s movement properties to use them most effectively. This is the most fundamental part of Tekken, as this is unique to your character that you have chosen.
Movement Cancels and Combos
You can also use movement in the middle of your combos. This can change the positioning of the characters which creates some interesting mixups. You can do this using special movement cancels that can be unique to your character. There are many ways to combine your attacks and movement to create unique combos. These movement cancels are unique to each character, so it is essential to look at the move list to learn your character’s combos.
Putting it All Together
Learning to move well in Tekken 9 takes practice. It’s about understanding all the different options and knowing when to use them. Don’t just rely on one or two movement options. Mix it up! Use your dashes, sidesteps, and crouches to confuse your opponent. Experiment with all your movement options. The more comfortable you are moving around the arena, the better you will be at fighting. Think of it like a dance – a dangerous dance, but a dance nonetheless! When you move smoothly, it will allow you to create a proper gameplay and confuse your opponent. Movement is the key aspect of Tekken, and it should be a priority to learn when you first start the game. The more time you spend on movement, the better and more comfortable you will become at it. With practice, you’ll be moving around like a pro in no time!
Understanding these intricacies of movement will not only make you a more formidable opponent, but also give you a deeper appreciation for the complexities of Tekken 9. Happy fighting!
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Final Thoughts
Tekken 9 movement options breakdown showcase new, complex mechanics. Players will need to adjust their strategies to incorporate these changes. Sidestepping, backdashes, and wavedashing all receive upgrades.
These upgrades provide new offensive and defensive possibilities. The movement system now feels more fluid. Expect intense battles to require precise execution of these advanced maneuvers.
Ultimately, understanding Tekken 9 movement options breakdown is crucial. Players who learn the new options will have a significant advantage.
