- "I am the strongest woman in the world!"
- —Chun-Li (Street Fighter II)
- "You ready for this? (覚悟はいいわね？ Kakugo wa ii wa ne?)"
- —Chun-Li (Street Fighter IV series)
- "Want to see my Kung-Fu? I'll show you.
- (私のクンフー、 見せてあげる！ Watashi no kunfū, misete ageru!)
- —Chun-Li (Street Fighter V)
Introduction[]
Chun-Li (春麗 or チュンリー Shunrei or Chunrī?, Simplified Chinese: 春丽) is a video game character from the Street Fighter series, originally debuting in Street Fighter II. The first female fighter in the series, she is an expert martial artist and Interpol officer who relentlessly seeks revenge for the death of her father at the hands of M. Bison.
Pros:
- She can combo ground super easily after a crouching lk (c. lk c. mk c. hp xx qcf 3k)
- She can combo air super easily after any launcher (s. hk, UP, lp lk xx qcf 3k)
- She can combo air super easily after colossus (wavedash and then launch)
- She has 3 jumps, can turtle in the air
- She has an air dash which is instantly cancellable
- Her air super frequently uncombos (resets) for amazing damage
- Her headstomp is frequently unblockable due to a glitch
- Fastest walk speed in the game (besides Red Venom)
- One of the best launchers in the game
Cons:
- Her normal attacks are all stubby
- You must dash after landing a jumping attack (or you will be too far away to launch into air super)
- Her jumping attacks all suck except headstomp
- Air dash canceling has a high learning curve
- Colossus threat can harshly limit her approach options
- If opponent zones her (hulk sj. hk, venom's venom fang, strider spam j. hp in the corner, etc.) it can be extremely difficult to close distance due to her stubby attacks and air dash which is vulnerable to Colossus
- Bad match-ups against Spider-man, Venom, Hulk, Strider (plus all the god-tiers)
- Physically impossible to chain super against crouching spider-man (her s. hk, s. hp AND her c. hp all whiff)
Basic Tips[]
Launchers: HK
Magic Series: Ground Magic Series: Hunter Series (LP LK MP MK HP HK) Jump Magic Series: Hunter Series (LP LK MP MK HP HK) Super Jump Magic Series: Hunter Series (LP LK MP MK [HP OR HK])
AC Finisher: hP, hK, Lightning Legs
She has one of the best launchers in the game. It is meaty, has high priority, and leads to air super which is arguably the best super in the game.
The most important Bread and Butter combos are:
headstomp, j. hp (or j. hk), land and dash, lk, s. hk, UP, sj. lp, sj. lk, 236 + KK. This combo can be performed after a normal straight vertical jump (or triple jump, etc.) when the opponent is underneath you. No air dash necessary, but if they "wait" in front of you, refusing to take the bait and walk underneath you, you can also use a surprise air dash before starting this combo. You can (and should) substitute the j. hp for j. hk sometimes (particularly against tall characters such as Hulk, Captain America, Venom, Gambit, etc.) but this is more advanced as the j. hk sometimes hits once instead of twice. Another excellent time to use this combo is after killing their character. Walk towards the edge of the screen and stand where their incoming character will land. Then, jump right before they land and headstomp them the moment they touch the ground. If they're not mashing in a panic, and if it isn't unblockable due to the glitch, there's a high likelihood it will cross them up.
headstomp, j. hp (or j.hk), c.lk, c. hp, 236 + KK. The combo above is her bread and butter, but if you are in a pinch, this is the easy version which doesn't require a ground dash. It does much less damage, but is significantly easier to perform. Use it when the game lags or when the headstomp timing is iffy, etc.
s. hk, UP, sj. lp, sj. lk, 236 + KK. This simple combo, her standard launch into air super, is an incredible punish on people who jump towards you. You can even use it against people who jump backwards if you predict it and wavedash forward before launching. When people super jump, you can also cross them up on the ground by wave dashing underneath them and aiming your hk so that it's directly underneath them when they land. Another time you can cross with it is when you kill one of their characters and their 2nd character is entering the screen. If the opponent blocks the s. hk, she generally recovers fast enough to block (you can also cancel into Colossus to protect yourself). Almost no character has any jumping attack whatsoever that can beat a carefully timed s. hk (it can even beat war machine's kneedrop). A few important exceptions are spider-man sj. hk (trades) wolverine headstomp (loses, unless you're to the side of where wolverine will land) and hulk sj. hk (loses).
In summary, use this combo:
- When Colossus hits, wavedash and then use this combo
- When people jump at you
- When people super jump, position yourself underneath them and cross them
- When you kill their char, use it to cross-up their incoming char
- When people jump backwards (you must hard predict it and then wavedash, but you will destroy their character if you succeed)
c. lk c. mk c. hp 236 + KK. This is the combo you throw out when you are playing the horizontal ground game. This combo turns out to be very important also because it's decent damage after a c. lk, which forces your opponent to block low. If you are close enough that a s. hk will connect after the c. lk, you should almost always transpose this combo into her standard launch air super combo above: c. lk, s. hk, UP, lp, lk, 236 + KK (the exceptions are crouching ryu, crouching strider, etc. (because it whiffs) or when you're not 100% sure the s. hk will connect).
Against crouching spider-man, the best combo you can do is c. lk c. mk c. hk (c. hp, s. hp, and s. hk all whiff on crouching spider-man), with opportunity for sj cancel air dash mix-sups (see below)
AIR DASH CANCELLING:
super jump, 3P, sj. lk. Easy to learn, Difficult to master. The 3p causes her to air dash, and then sj. lk causes her air dash to immediately end, enabling her to attack/move on her way down. This is basically a nightmare for your opponent once you master the timing. The headstomp itself is often unblockable, and it often crosses them up. Frequently, not even the Chun-Li user knows which side she will land, making it a particularly nasty cross-up. Here are some ways to use it:
- After the lk, LEAN FORWARDS or LEAN BACKWARDS and then use headstomp -> land and dash -> launcher -> air super. It's not physically possible (during a sj) to use headstomp -> hp -> hk so you must decide whether to use hp or hk. In general you want to use hp unless it's a taller character. With this combo, you can time it so that her headstomp hits the top of their hurtbox, or towards the bottom of their hurtbox. You can really skim the ground with this combo with the headstomp -> hp/hk still connecting. Oftentimes you want to try to learn forwards, reach around and hit them in the back of the head. Also, if you aim headstomp so it hits "deeper" into their hurtbox, there is a significant chance the headstomp is completely unblockable.
- After the lk, land and c. lk -> launch -> air super. Basically empty jump after a sj. air dash cancel. This can be pretty nasty if used as a good surprise, or against players who just don't know how to deal with empty jumps.
- (advanced) Use it after super jump cancelling her crouching hard kick (generally after c. lk c. mk c. hk, which is an acceptable combo when the hp would whiff (e.g. against spider-man) or when she would be too far away to connect the 236 + KK super) c. lk c. mk c. hk, super jump, 3P, sj. lk and then use one of the 2 options above.
There are more uses for this maneuver, and more variations. For example you can double jump or triple jump before using it, which can be very important for baiting Colossus.
DOUBLE SUPER JUMP:
Also called "Hover Jump" or "Surf Jump". Taking advantage of the fact Chun-Li has multiple jumps, you press 3k to super jump and then IMMEDIATELY press UP to cancel the super jump into a double jump. Think of it as a super jump that is low to the ground. This turns out to have a number of useful properties:
- A super jump at a normal jump height:
- You cannot be guardbroken
- You can attack multiple times in the air
- Position yourself in the air by leaning left or right in the air
- Control the height of your super jump by varying when you press UP to double jump
- Press 3K and UP near simultaneously for a super jump that barely skims the ground
- Press UP again to triple jump (double hover jump!!)
Chun-Li, Shadow Lady, Strider, and Captain America are the only characters who can make use of this tactic, because they have a double jump. Think of it as a super jump that is low to the ground. Use the extra air mobility to position yourself in the air by leaning left and right. The uses of a low super jump are nearly endless, but here are a few ideas:
- Hover jump forward (3k, up/toward) with the goal of hitting them in the back of the head. Hit them in the back of the head with a headstomp, land and dash, launch, air super
- Hover jump, double- hover jump (triple-jump), lk air dash cancel, headstomp.... this is a total of THREE air fakes in a row (the initial hover jump, the double hover jump, and then the air dash cancel) This is very stressful to fight against, and you will often open them up into a game-winning combo if you mix-up the number of air fakes before finally swooping in (so-called vulture tactic where you circle them in the air, over and over, with randomized attack landing)
- Hover jump hk (do the hk on your way up), (optional: double-hover jump hk to mix-it up) headstomp -> .... -> air super. Not much can beat a well-timed hover jump hk, and attacking with a headstomp AFTER the hk will catch people offguard, because it's disorienting for characters to attack twice in the air
Move List[]
Command Normals[]
Flip Over Kick: 3HK: Chun-Li leaps up to the air and lands behind the opponent.
Reishiki Kikoken: 6HP: Chun-Li unleashes a stalling projectiles which resembles a mini-version of her Kikou-Shou.
Special Moves[]
Hyakuretsu Kyaku: Press K rapidly: Chun-Li swings her leg rapidly.
Kikoken: 41236 + P: Chun-Li throws a fireball from her palms.
Hazan Shu: 63214 + K: Chun-Li does a flip kick which serves as an overhead and can advance her rushing or verticality on the move.
Tensho Kyaku: Charge 2,8 + K: Chun-Li rises up as he does vertical spin kick in the air.
Hyper Combos[]
Kikou-Shou: 236 + PP: Chun-Li unleashes a large spherical projectile that surrounds her.
Senretsu-Kyaku: 236 + KK: Chun-Li moves forward fast as she does a series of Hyakuretsu Kyaku's and finishes off with a flying kick.
Tensho-Senkuu-Kyaku: 214 + KK: Chun-Li does an extended version of her Tensho Kyaku.
Seichisei Senkuu-Kyaku: 236 + KK (only in air): Introduced in MvC, Chun-Li does an air-dash and when it connects, does a strong aerial MK which freezes the screen as random chinese symbols come up which lands the opponent to the other side of the screen.
Combos[]
1) c. FK, c. RK, cancel Lightning Legs (OTG)
2) c. FK, c. RK, cancel Senretsu Kyaku
3) j. JP, j. SP, SK, RK, sj. JP, sj. SK, cancel Shichi Sei Sen Kuu Kyaku
4) j. JP, j. SP, c. SK, c. FK, c. FP, cancel Senretsu Kyaku, Lightning Legs
5) j. JP, j. SK, j. SP, dash, SK, RK, cancel Hazan Tenshou Kyaku, c. SK (OTG), RK, sj. JP, sj. SK, sj. SP, Stomp Kick, Stomp Kick, Lightning Legs
6) j. JP, j. SK, j. FK, dash, JP, SK, RK, sj. JP, sj. SK, sj. SP, Stomp Kick, sj. JP, sj. SK, cancel Shichi Sei Sen Kuu Kyaku
7) launch, sj. JP, sj. SK, sj. SP, sj. FK, sj. RK, sj. SK (OTG), SK, FK, RK