P4U2R/Yosuke Hanamura/Strategy

Introduction

YosukeAt a Glance

Yosuke has a sort of “hit and run” playstyle. He can use his tools to engage and disengage at the drop of a hat. Catching opponents for making mistakes from any distance, all while minimizing the risk of taking damage himself.

The main strategy for Yosuke is to get the other player to approach you while baiting them in with Kunai (j.2A/j.2B/j.2AB) and j.D around fullscreen, and to run/dash in to start your offense with an air/ground normal, while making sure you don’t run into anything yourself. Once you get a combo started it is advisable to end it in Mirage Slash (j.2C) so you can get a hard knock down, this can let you continue your pressure and ideally lead into another combo for another Mirage Slash. Thanks to his amazing movement and jump cancelable normals (5A, 5AA, 2B), Yosuke can find points in his pressure to jump away, reset to neutral and look for another chance to jump back in again.

Gameplan

Neutral

General Neutral Theory

One of Yosuke’s biggest strengths is how he plays Neutral. It really boils down to learning the angles where he can attack from and where his opponent cannot reach him. On the ground, while he does lack some range with 5A & 2A being his best pokes, the air approach is where he shines.

With the help of Yosuke’s j.D, this can restrict the opponent’s options and keep them occupied, giving Yosuke a chance to advance. With j.D on the screen, the opponent has the options of blocking it, attacking / poking it, or trying to evade it. In some ways, it could be seen as a pseudo-fireball.

Placement of j.D is really important. It’s best used extremely close to the ground, using things like Instant Air Backdash or a super jump > backdash at the height you want (preferably at regular jump height).

Along with j.D, Yosuke has 1 more tool at full screen, his Kunais. While having 19 frames of landing recovery, it can still be used to stop the opponent from doing things full screen (Aigis’ who likes to full screen 2B, Yukiko doing fans or 5D, Naoto setting up traps.). B Kunai reaches full screen and has a very large spread making it hard for the opponent to do things. Once you’ve established you’re not afraid to throw kunai, this will force the opponent to move forward and when they do, this opens your next option; A Kunai. A Kunai will reach less than half screen which will catch the opponents jumping / running forward to escape a predicted B Kunai. Next thing to note is SB Kunai; SB Kunai allows Yosuke to move and perform actions after (and poisons upon hitting). A common use of SB Kunai is jump / superjump > SB Kunai > fall > j.D at the preferred height (low to the ground or regular jump height). Once again, this forces the opponent to block / avoid kunais and THEN deal with the oncoming j.D. If SB Kunais hit from a certain height, you can send out j.D (and it will hit) and receive a full screen combo after running up.

Yosuke has a list of amazing normals that can be really hard to challenge; 5A, 2A, j.B, j.C, Sweep.

5B is a normal that should be mentioned, while having a 9 frame startup, it’s vertical hitbox is tall allowing to catch up-back attempts on wake up and allows for a situational anti-air.

In the long run, Yosuke’s neutral is about knowing where your opponent can not reach or has a hard time reaching and attempting to stay there and harass with various methods (j.B, Kunais, j.D).

Common Neutral Tools

j.D

Can be used all the way from full screen. Useful to restrict opponents options and keep them occupied, giving Yosuke a chance to advance. With j.D on the screen, the opponent has the options of blocking it, attacking / poking it, or trying to evade it. It is best used close to ground, via things like Instant Air Backdash or a super jump > backdash at the height you want.

Kunais

Another tool that can be used full screen. B Kunai (j.2B) reaches full screen and has a very large spread making it hard for the opponent to do things. Once you force an opponent forward with B Kunai, you can use A Kunai (j.2A), which reaches less than half screen, to catch the opponent trying to escape B Kunai. Note, since SB Kunai (j.2AB) allows Yosuke to move and perform actions after, you can use it to force the opponent to block or evade and then deal with a j.D after. If SB Kunais hit from a certain height, you can send out j.D and receive a full screen combo after running up.

Normals

Yosuke has many normals that can be very hard to challenge.

5A & 2A

Good mid to close range tools that are extremely hard to beat and challenge due to start up frames and recovery on block.

Sweep (2AB)

A good tool for farther mid range game, it can be used to low profile most long range normals seeing at it moves Yosuke forward.

j.C

A committal button, but good for altering your fall speed. Being 4 hits means that with correct spacing it can clash with some 2Bs, leaving Yosuke unharmed and allowing for a punish.

j.B

Probably Yosuke’s best normal. It occupies a lot of space downward and leads to fairly big counter hit damage both in the air and on the ground. It also covers a lot of space in front of Yosuke, so going for a low forward air dash j.B is another valid option.

Offense

Pressure & Follow Ups

Yosuke's high speed can make his pressure feel very oppresive. The combination of having very safe normals, the mechanics of his gatling The special category of cancels that describe how each character can cancel normals into other normals and specials., and his jump cancles makes Yosuke's pressure one of the safest and most challenging to block. Dash 5A / 2A after 5AA can be used to create extremely tight pressure with no real gaps. His common block strings can lead into many diffrent options for your opponent to guess between.

Yosuke's most common block strings are:
5A > 5AA > 2A > 5A > 5AA
5A > 5AA > dash 5A > 5AA > 2A > 5A > 5AA
5A > 5AA > dash 5A/2A > 5AA
5A > 5AA > 2AxN

These leave Yosuke at a safe distance and are ONLY -1 (-3 with Shadow 5AA). Additionally the ability for 5AA to be jump canceled on block gives Yosuke about 8 options for your opponent to guess.

5AA > jump > j.C

Beats if your opponent likes to jump or press buttonsthey like to go for their attacks

5AA (> 2B ) > Instant Air Backdash with j.D or Kunai

Use to try to bait something for a j.D counter hit or just to create space

5AA > 5B > Nothing

Can be used to bait DP A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. mashing

5AA > Dash 5A

Allows you to restart pressure, can also catch mashing

5AA (> 5A / 2A) > Grab

A great tick throw A throw done after attacks, very soon after if not exactly when throw invulnerability expires on the opponent. A Tick Throw take advantage of that the opponent naturally expect a Frame Trap coming, making it very hard to react to or escape from.

5AA > 5C > 2C > Hop j.C or j.D depending on distance

5AA > 2A > 5AA

Gapless that you can stagger to bait any defensive presses

Corner 5AA > Instant Air Dash j.B > j.BB

Really good in the corner for hard to block overheads (can insert j.AB to make it even harder).

These are not the only forms of pressure. With a good understanding of how Yosuke flows while the opponent is blocking, you can become more freeform with pressure.

However, ending Stagger pressure in 5B and trying to go into something else is NOT suggested as 5B is easy to Instant Block and creates a huge gap between Yosuke and the opponent allowing them to mash 5A, any fast normal/special, DP A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion., or Super before you can dash 5A to continue pressure.

Counters

Yosuke is one of the few characters who does not have a normal that fatal counters. Instead he has 2 specials that do so, Mirage Slash (j.2C/D) and Tentarafoo(236C/D).

The purpose of Mirage Slash and how fast Yosuke moves allows him to trick and hard call out obvious 2Bs while moving in the air.

2C, while not having Fatal Counter properties, is probably one of Yosuke’s best punishes. 2C has a P1 of 0 meaning the move and lead into very long and damaging combos. 2C is really good for punishing baited DPs A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. or Supers.

Yosuke’s other hard hitting move is counter hit j.D, on the ground this will cause massively long hitstun and lets Yosuke run from almost full screen and still be able to confirm. At a closer distance, delays will have to be made to compensate for j.D's recovery if you’re going to be using 5C or 2C in the combo. In the air, counter hit j.D will allow for things like B Run confirms, 2B into air combos, or auto combo followups.

Okizeme

General Okizeme Theory

Since one of Yosuke's main plays is to go for a hard knockdown after ending a combo in Mirage Slash, it is important for a player to have knowledge on Yosuke's Okizeme From Japanese "起き攻め". Attacking an opponent about to wake up after they were knocked down, usually with meaty attacks or mix-ups. options.

Do note that outside of Tentarafoo knockdown, Yosuke does NOT have any safejump setups. It is therefore important to cycle through your Okizeme options and not be predictable on opponent wakeup.

Play around your opponent's tendencies (Masher/likes to turtle, etc.) and what options you have already presented to keep yourself unpredictable.

Common Knockdowns, Meaty Setups, and Mixups

Jump > Air Turn > Quick Air Backdash j.B

8 > AC > 44 j.B

Cross-up high.

IAD > Air Turn > j.B

96 > AC > j.B

Alternate cross-up high.

2A with a possible

Has the added benefit that since 2A has 10F recovery, a perfectly timed meaty 2A will beat out reversals that are 13F or slower (up to 3F Active + 10F Recovery).

Hop > j.C

This option is meaty Hitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. and will hit people trying to upback and rolls.

The j.B Fuzzy: Crossover j.B > j.AB

If the opponent blocks the j.B high and then goes to crouch block, the j.AB will hit which leads into yet another knockdown.

Walk backwards and do nothing

This option can be used to to bait wake up DPs A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion..

Run up 5A or 5B

This option is good for catching upback.
5B, while having a 9 frame startup, has a tall vertical hitbox and good active frames, which enables him to catch up-back attempts on wake up.

Jump over > backdash > j.B

Good for baiting 2Bs and most DPs (except those that cover crossups)

Instant Air Backdash > j.D

As long as the instant air backdash is timed perfectly, Yosuke should be able to block all Strike DPs/react to rolls in time. If the opponent blocks Jiraiya, Yosuke can start his offense.

Less Ideal Options on Knockdown

Hop > j.AB

While this option is slow and highly telegraphed, j.AB is still considered a high during hops.

Hop > Moonsault

While Moonsault has good invuln frames, it doesn't start until frame 5. Moonsault is also slow and predictable.

Jump over and immediate j.2D

If done right, Jiraiya will put Yosuke on the other side, however due to j2D's recovery, it's highly punishable.

Tentarafoo Safejump

Due to Sukukaja allowing Yosuke to special cancel j.2C, he can combo into Tentarafoo after. Tentarafoo's recovery / knockdown after the popup allows Yosuke to get a consistent safe jump off it. The only downside to this is that it's locked behind Awakening / 50 meter / Shadow Frenzy, or risk doing it in pressure up close.

Awakening

General Awakening TheoryAwakening Mode Activates at 35% HP or less.

For normal Yosuke, awakening unlocks his install A move, usually a super, which changes the properties of the character themself, usually for the better. super Sukukaja. This can be used to extend combos into big damage. It is recommended to end any Sukukaja combo in Shippu - Nagareboshi since it is a free extra super.

Against many characters in this game, it may be difficult to enter awakening normally since everyone can do 50% of Yosuke's health provided that they have meter saved up and/or a burst. Therefore, learning how to self-awaken whenever possible is crucial to gain the awakening defense bonus and Sukukaja.

For example, after the opponent blocks a jD or 5D from Yosuke, he can simply DP in neutral. Since DP takes away blue health, if Yosuke does it while he's close to awakening, he can enter it on his own terms. Knowing how to do this requires situational awareness and good positioning, but it is well worth it for any Normal-type Yosuke player.

Defense

General Defense Theory

Once again, Yosuke's biggest strength is his mobility. Learning to move effectively will be one of your greatest defenses. Most of his matchups revolve around a character's inability to catch him, knowing how to move effectivly makes Yosuke extremely hard to catch and kill.

Besides his mobility, Yosuke’s biggest strengths on defense are 2 things, his DP A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. and how fast his normals are.

His DP A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. is extremely good and difficult to safe jump correctly. Landing a DP A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion. will put Yosuke in a favorable position. Beware of the risk of being baited though, since “Taunt” has a long period of recovery; however, if activated “Trip” only has 6f of recovery.

His fast normals are another essential tool in Yosuke's arsenal. Learning to Instant Block and being able to quickly react with a 5A and 2A is a key tactic. Sweep can be used to stop characters while they attempt to restart pressure (from a distance). It can stop things like Naoto, Marie, or Teddie's 5Bs, Yukiko's fans (to break the Persona between fans > 5B), and Akihiko's Corkscrew/Weave. Yosuke has one of the best 2Bs in the game. The move hits the large space in front of him, the space above AND behind him. This means he’s really hard to jump in on and cross up while blocking or on wake up. A Successful 2B will also combo into Flying Flash Cut > j.2C.

It should be noted that one of Yosuke’s weaknesses is how much recovery his air actions have. Misusing or ending in the wrong special will end up in Yosuke being caught in a crouching counter hit combo which could end in a swift death. Against the rest of the cast, he only has room for 2 or 3 mistakes at most.

Abare

Abare means to attack during an opponents frame advantage with the intention of interrupting their pressure. Naturally, fast moves or invincible moves work best for this task.

Key Abare Moves

Yosuke's super fast normals (5A, 2A, etc.) make for great Abare moves.

Anti-Air

Key Anti-Airs

Yosuke's 2B anti-air is among the best in the game and is a key tool in his anti-air stratagy.

Covers crossups and hits behind him.
Head invulnerability frames starts from 7F. Startup is 11F.
Remember that you should position yourself carefully when using 2B due to its limited horizontal reach. Characters with good midrange air normals can outspace Yosuke's 2B if you are not careful.

Yosuke's 5A is the fastest normal Yosuke has outside of Sukukaja. It makes for a situational anti-air simply due to its speed and decent range for an A normal.

Yosuke's 5B has 9 frames of startup, but it's tall hitbox and good active frames makes it a pre-emptive, situational anti-air for its reach.