Here it is! Finally, the first episode of Cross Counter is here! Cross Counter is our show where we analyze and critique matches that YOU submit.

It’ll be released weekly on Machinima Respawn so if you like it, please subscribe to their channel, click the like button and leave a nice comment for us so Machinima knows not to fire us lol.

The first match we’re analyzing is between FRAMUSGOLD’s Balrog and HLPent’s Rufus. This match was recorded last week during an Endless Battle XBL session that Mike and I did that was open to whoever showed up. If you want to be part of a future episode of Cross Counter, follow me and Mike on Twitter and we’ll let you know how to get into our sessions which are normally on Tuesdays.

Here is an in-depth transcript of the main points covered. Sometimes we can’t cover everything in the show due to time constraints so we add notes to the description section on YouTube.

TIME: 01:21
NOTE: Rufus opens up with a crouching fierce clearly taking a guess, trying to keep Balrog at a distance. But that move left Rufus open for too long letting Balrog jump in on him.

TIME: 01:26
NOTE: Balrog gets a quick lead then backs off to wait for Rufus to come to him. Once Balrog gets the lead and plays defensively, he can chip Rufus with Dash Punches for free until he has meter. Once Rufus has meter, he becomes more dangerous because he can EX Messiah Kick out of Balrog’s block strings. Once he has 3 EX Meters, he becomes even more dangerous because he can do EX Messiah Kick FADC Ultra which does 458 dmg.

TIME: 01:45
NOTE: Rufus finally brings the fight back to Balrog but can’t open him up in any way, and once Rufus does finally get in he misses great combo opportunities as well as keep the pressure on Rog.

TIME: 02:05
NOTE: Definitely a waste of meter to do the EX Galactic Tornado. After blocking the Dash Punch, it would have been better to jump HK – Snake Strike, while saving the meter for EX Messiah Kick FADC Ultra. If Balrog is in the corner against Rufus, he always has to be careful that he doesn’t get hit by a Galactic Tornado because Rufus can juggle with the Ultra. Although he always has to look out for it because he can juggle with it midscreen, but it’s a 1 frame link.

TIME: 02:13
NOTE: Misses a big opportunity to punish with the most damaging combo possible with no meter: HP xx HP Tornado – Ultra – 545dmg. But saving the Ultra for later and just following it up with another Galactic Tornado would have probably been the best option. Once Balrog is in the corner, it would have only taken two or three major openings for Rufus to have done enough damage so that he could finish him off with an Ultra after hitting a Tornado.

TIME: 02:59
NOTE: Rufus uses the EX Messiah kick and wastes the meter for a non-critical amount of damage. Notice that in the rest of the match he never gets 3 meters which would have made Balrog more cautious because he would have to be wary of getting hit by EX Messiah Kick FADC Ultra.

MIKE ROSS NOTE: I only approve of the EX Messiah because a) it hit and b) i’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he threw it out there to bait balrog’s throw.

TIME: 03:27
NOTE: Technically Rufus does NOT need to go in on balrog anymore. He’s sitting on a 50% life lead and has no reason to risk losing it all. He has plenty of GET-OUT-OF-JAIL free cards in case balrog gets on. Afterall, he’s RUFUS!

TIME: 03:43
NOTE: At this range, Rufus should be able to see any Dash Punch coming and EX Messiah Kick to counter. He he not burned his meter at the beginning of the round, he would have had 3 Meters at this point and would have been able to EX Messiah Kick FADC Ultra which would have put him in the lead. At that point he would have backed off and used safe pokes to finish him off while applying mental pressure by running the clock.

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