Darkstalkers 3/Hsien Ko

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Lei Lei(lay lay), or Hsien Ko in the States(I use leilei b/c it does seem easier...to me[gbursine]), has seemingly always been a favorite of Capcom & fans.

In Vampire Savior, Lei Lei has all the tools needed for good rushdown; tho she really is mid tier. Infact, something in my mind makes me think she's been placed lower-mid. Nonethaless, her rushdown can be overwhelming, and her zoning can make players frustrated. Also, her DF is an answer to just about anyone else's DF in the game.

Normal Moves


s.lp/s.lk - both have alot of priority. This makes them excellent for hitting the opponent out of the air. Their best used as a semi-distant anti-air(when the enemy lands little less than a character away), or to hit the opponent out of something( Demitri’s Million Bat EX, or Gallon’s Beast Cannon)

s.mp - here, she throws out her claw above her head. its only a decent AA in VS... it works much better in VS2. aside from that, I don’t believe it has much utility.

s.hp –

  • a. close s.hp - has her poke claw out. It isn’t bufferable, so there’s not much to say, since I’ve never used it(outside of her dark force). If you’re chaining, more often times, you should be chaining into her c.hp for a knockdown. The verdict on this move: it has no utility.
  • b far s.hp – Lei Lei shoots out a saw of sorts. a multihitting saw, which can amount for up to 3 hits. MAYBE if you’ve chain-comboed far, and cannot reach with her sweep should you finish with this. But more often times than not, using s.hp is a bad habit, & does not lead to any benefiting positional value for Lei Lei. Also, Multi hits is really just asking for a GC or tech hit. Neither of which you want.

s.mk – Lei lei does a weird kick w/ both her legs that has her stutter. Due to the placement of the hitboxes, using this seems very special case.

s.rk – Her s.rk is a necessity for all her chain combos. All of which should end in s.rk. Should you accidentally do s.hp, you should automatically chain to s.rk. It is a habit necessary for a high level Lei Lei(-5 on hit & -6 on block, which really isn’t bad). By itself, it hits crouching characters, and does a good job of keeping opponents grounded.

-Standing Normal Frame Data -

Name State Startup Hit adv Blk adv Buff Blk pos
Jab Close 5 +5 +4 y H/L
Far 5 +4 +3 y H/L
Strong Close 6 +3 +2 y H/L
Far 6 +3 +2 y H/L
Fierce Close 7 +2 +1 n H/L
Far 11 -3 -4 n H/L
Short Close 5 +5 +4 y H/L
Far 5 +4 +3 y H/L
Forward Close 11 -14 -15 y H/L
Far 11 -14 -15 y H/L
Roundhouse Close 8 -5 -6 n H/L
Far 8 -5 -6 n H/L


c.lp/c.lk – Much like their standing versions, except c.lk hits low. C.lp retains the priority of its standing version. C.lk is what you generally want to start your chains with.

c.mp- Its her low ranged poke. Doesn’t hit low, but has excellent vertical range. Its best use outside of chain combos is to keep the opponent grounded. Should you anticipate a jump and throw this out, they will more than likely get hit. If not, chain into s.rk and continue rushing/zoning.

c.hp – a looong reaching sweep. Lei lei’s claws turn into spinners, which spin across the ground for roughly a quarter of the screen. Necessary to her game, majority of the time you’ll want to cancel out into s.rk. canceling into s.rk generally takes away her ability to pursue, but allows for you to follow up with instant airdashes or pendulum chains. As said earlier, it’s a safe habit to avoid getting hit should Lei Lei’s c.hp be blocked.

c.mk – Unfortunately I don’t use c.mk as often as I should. It hits low, and is bufferable. C.mkXXlp projectile or c.mkXXpendulum both work well on wakeup within your rushdown.

c.rk- I find this move annoying as hell... She does an angled handstand. the hitboxes are annoying as fuck, and it comes out somewhat delayed. When I first played her I thought this move was good. it doesn't hit behind her surprisingly, and I wouldn't recomend relying on it unless you can properly anticipate a jumpin.

Should you hit a c.rk, you will knockdown your opponent. In my experience with connecting this move, I have almost never missed a pursuit. I’m pretty sure that a pursuit is guaranteed.

-Crouching Normal Frame Data -

Name State Startup Hit adv Blk adv Buff Blk pos
Jab crouching 5 +4 +3 y H/L
Strong crouching 7 -7 -8 n H/L
Fierce crouching 9 kd -11 n L
Short crouching 5 +6 +5 y L
Forward crouching 6 +1 0 y L
Roundhouse crouching 11 kd -20 n H/L
Jumping Normals

j.lp - Lei lei sticks a small portion of her claw out. Good for empty chaining into a j.mp or j.mk. If you notice a consistent amount of trading with other moves, switching to this will likely be your best bet.

j.mp - This move is imfamous for its priority. Lei Lei throws out a spike ball(connected to her arm of course). It reaches out little less than a character's lengch away from Lei Lei, which is probably what can account for the priority with it contains. It is a staple in many of her aerial attacks. Be sure to chain into j.mk should you hit.

j.hp - An aerial spinny claw, which has the potential to hit up to 3 times. The hit boxes are similarly placed to Lei Lei's j.mp. Safest when used in an iad. if you are just jumping, its recommended that you chain into her j.hp. This move falls prey to gc's should the opponent block it(much like many of her other hp variations).

j.lk - functions much like Lei Lei's j.lp, except it extends farther out, and is at a bit of an upward angle. Clearly made for air-to-air offense.

j.mk - a kick, angled a bit downward. This move too holds immense priority. the hit boxes for this normal seem to have taylored this move for air-to-ground type attacks.

j.rk - A steep downward angled kick. As such, a j.rk has a hitbox that extends exceptionally lower from her normal jumping normals; which can potentially catch your opponent off guard, should they expect a larger window between the time you actually attack, and force them to block

-Jumping Normal Frame Data -

Name State Startup Blk pos
Jab jumping 5 H
Strong jumping 7H
Fierce jumping 10 H
Short jumping 5 H
Forward jumping 9 H
Roundhouse jumping 8 H
Command Normals

F+mp- her farthest reaching poke. she swings a mace ball thingy out. The hit boxes go to the very edge of the ball. Very useful, tho make sure they at least block it(so you can chain to rk)

F+fp – she swing her claws hella high up taking a hughe part of the upper part of the screen. good if you can anticipate them jumping.

I personally don't like it..I rarely ever use it. I think it has too much recovery.... but the japs use it, so it’s really a matter of implementing it into your game.

Also, should you be in need to get out of it, always tap s.rk, or have a heaven spike EX super ready.

-Command Normal Frame Data -

Name State Startup Hit adv Blk adv Buff Blk pos
Toward+Strong Standing 7 -8 -9 n H/L
Toward+Fierce Standing 11 -15 -16 n H/L

Special Moves

======Gong "Reflect Gong"====== (QCB+P, useable in air) - Lei Lei pulls out a gong, and bangs on it, sending out a small soundwave which can reflect projectiles of all types.

The gong can be outline with four uses:

  • tk gong-(lp, or ES) AA, and anti rush down. if timed right, you can combo the ES gong into the knife super.
  • building meter - lp gong does an excellent job of building meter.
  • psychic gong(lp gong)- it comes out fast as hell. if you're jumping in, and you see a projectile, many times, it is possible to psychic gong that shit. lp comes out fast, and all you need is a bit of practice, and it'll be like, second nature.
  • zoning(ES)- its much like lilith's soul flash, only it can reflect moves, and

Of course you can combo into it, but unless you know you're going to kill your opponent, you're better of comboing into a knockdown of some sort, to set up further mixup.

======Pendulum "Guillotine Swing"====== (DP+P, cancelable w/ kick, useable in air)- Lei lei hooks herself to a chain and starts swinging while spinning. Its priority is random, I'm pretty sure this is how it works... lei lei's [best*]hitboxes are constantly circling around her; so the enemy has to time it if they really wanna hit. The pendulum allows you to do just about anything you could do normally after kick canceling. should you cancel the first pendulum into another pendulum, you still have all your options, except for the ability to pendulum once more.

The pendulum has 4 uses which are outlined below:

  • feigning... use it, and fake it in the beginning of your arch downward
  • crossup... self explanitory... VERY good... if you can master this shit, she'll fly so bloody fast, that when she goes at the opponent, they need mvc2 reflexes to see whether or not a high hit will come out before you land, or just do a quick low one. this type of crossup is 100% dependent on how well you can control pendulum canceling
  • runnaway bitch- jump, scythe at the highest point, kick cancel on your way up(this is her double jump basically).. proceed to go across the screen with a dash, or do a hp scythe to stay uptop.
  • baiting. A lei lei that can pendulum cancel well can use this move freely. so, you can swing->cancel->block->free combo... of course if they go for a ground normal, you'll likely get hit by something.

  • after either the first or 2nd pendulum cancel, you STILL have the option to air dash
  • she has hitboxes all around her... tho I think at that main point(where the blade is) is where it has the most priority.
  • ES pendulum - not really worth the meter. I used it once, and then regretted it. Her meter has much better utility in other places; tho I do believe the ES version has juggling properties that can be further looked into.

======Projectile "random object throw, Ankihou "====== (QCF+P): Lei Lei throws a projectile at varying angles depending on the strength used. Her hp projectile must be blocked high, and only her mp and hp projectiles are capable of producing instant-dizzy projectiles.

As far as the dizzy projectiles go, they come out in two occurences:

  • The first type comes out in sequence. onces you see a shruinken(ninja star), it will ALWAYS be followed by a white akuma statue, then a dizzying projectile. Should you throw a lp projectile after previously throwing an akuma projectile, you will get a normal, none-dizzying projectile, instead of the possible instant-dizzy one.
  • The other projectile comes out randomly after these times.

normally, at the start of the match, you will always get two(2) random non-dizzying projectiles, and then start a shruinken sequence.

Lei lei's lp projectile another poke... tho it doesn't allow for dizzy projectiles. its still good in cycleing to a dizzy one though. It goes approximately 5/6ths of the screen, and does a good job of keeping characters like felicia, and lilith from coming at you from a roll/dash. c.mkXX lp proj. also makes for a decent way to apply pressure when necessary..

Her mp projectile will likely be used most often. its serves as a useful zoning tool, arcing across the screen in a path that majority of the VS characters jump in. You will more than likely land instant-dizzy projectiles off this version more than the others.

Ideally, the hp projectile should be used after a heaven spike super to set up for an anji type unblockable(where you have a high and low hit occuring simultaneously to the opponent). BUT, having the opponent block the heaven spike super, then dashing in a bit, throwing a hp projectile, then applying pressure with c.lk's is just ASKING for a GC or tech hit.

So, more often than not, if you do desire to set up an unblockable, you must rely on intuition, predicting that your opponent will strategically wakeup in the corner, where you proerly spaced your hp projectile to land. and then of course, unblockable into heaven spikes, or knockdown.

  • ES- Lei Lei throws 3 spike balls, all of which roll across the screen and hit low. Use it in conjunction with her heaven or ground spike supers, or to deal that last bit of chip to kill.

As with anything, do not spam this move. Many characters have ways of punishing you if they can second guess that you're going to do this. Lei lei spends her time throwing things, and becomes a prime target for things like underground unblockables and beams.

======Command throw "Spectral Slicer"====== (hcb+MP or HP): A 2 frame command throw, that has Lei lei toss the opponent up, and blend them. Its all looks of course; Whats important is that its a 2 frame startup, & knocks down. Useful for mixup, and the knockdown allows for wakeup setups.

The bad? The actual motion is hcb+p. There are no wiff animations for normal, and non-ES throws; which means if you wiff, you will get a gong, which has anywhere from 7 to 8 frames of disadvantage. It may not be much, but you'd likely prefer to be in a better positional situation than having them block a point blank gong. So, use sparingly.

  • ES command throw - lei lei has none (must double check)

-Special Move Frame Data -

Name Strength Startup Hit adv Blk adv Blk pos
Gong Jab 10 -6 -7 H/L
Strong 12 -6 -7 H/L
Fierce 14 -7 -8 H/L
ES 17 +7 +6 H/L
Pendulum Short 30 - - H/L
Forward 32 - - H/L
Roundhouse 34 H/L
ES 32 - - H/L
Random Projectiile Jab 17 -9 -10 H/L
Strong 17 -5 -6 H/L
Fierce 17 -1 -2 H/L
ES 17 - - H/L
Spectral Slicer Strong 2 kd - UBK
Fierce 2 kd - UBK
ES 2 kd - UBK
Pursuit Regular 33 - -
ES 33 - -

Supers & Dark Force

======Ground Spikes "Jireitou"====== (HCF+KK): Lei Lei stabs her claws into the ground, causing a wave of spikes to travel across the screen(likely the precursor of Magneto's Magetic Shockwave).

This move has 33 frames of startup, and is slow. But, it does make for a decent Anti Air, should you be able to properly predict and space this super on an opponent jumping it. Ground Spikes also does well at herding the opponent to the corner, and serves as a natural counter to quite a few dark forces. This EX will also juggle off a well placed AA(anti-air) ES gong.

Should you connect the ground spikes, do not waste time in iading(instant air dashing) in. Doing so will more than likely guarantee a pursuit, or you can use heaven spikes, to get addition otg hits.

This super has much utility, but due to the nature of its long startup time, proper caution and planning should be taken when using it.

======Heaven Spikes "Heaven Thunder Destruction, Tenraiha" ====== (lk, rk, mp, mp, up) : A command input super, where Lei lei drops a big weight, which causes a plethora of spike balls to fall from the sky. The weight she drops is an overhead. The spiked balls have the potential to hit the opponent while they are knocked down, or strategically moving.

Since the comannd for the EX is a series of inputs, you can cancel into the super at any point during an chain combo. This makes the super incredibly useful, giving Lei lei a quick overhead should she need one. It also allows for Lei Lei to set up for unblockable setups.

The detracting parts of this super are the immense amounts of potential blockstun that you can put your opponent into. It too easily allows for them to guard cancel or pushblock your efforts. Also, there are visible holes if you use this super at point blank at the opponent.

Nonethaless, this super has immense utility, and is a prime candidate for her meter more often than not.

======Bomb "Chuukadan"====== (HCF+PP) : Lei Lei throws one of two types of bombs:

  • A black bomb, which lasts ten seconds(10s)
  • A red bomb, which lasts five seconds(5s)

Neither bomb does more damage than the other, and both are blockable. Also, the bombs are indiscriminant, and can deal damage to Lei Lei too. They can be kicked(or punched) around by the characters.

As such, the bomb ES actually detracts from Lei Lei's game. You eventually concentrate too much on the bomb, or the pace of the match goes so fast that the bomb eventually is forgotten in another part of the screen. So, it is best that you save your meter for the other EX's, or ES's.

======Dark Force====== (P+K of the same strength) : Lei Lei's sister transforms from seal to human mode, and goes into the background. Lei lei gains hyper armor, and all her "Punch" normals become variations of her fierce. She loses the ability to block, and air-dash, but it is a sacrifice worth taking. Her ground dash no longer teleports, and instead has her visibly running, with her airdash animation.

Knowing where Lei lei's sister is, is vital to where you are during Lei Lei's Dark force. Should Lin Lin(Lei Lei's sister) be far from Lei lei at the deactivation/end of her darkforce, there will be a significantly long recovery, due to the travel time of Lin Lin back to Lei Lei. As such, you should generally make it a rule to stay near Lin Lin, unless you are sure you will knock out the opponent into their next bat.

Her punch normals are re-mapped as follows:

  • s.lp - Lei lei's s.lp is her close s.fierce
  • s.mp - Lei lei's s.mp is her distant s.fierce
  • s.fp - Lei Lei's s.fierce is her s.F+fierce
  • j.p - All of Lei Lei's crouching normal punches are her c.fierce
  • c.p - All of Lei Lei's jumping normal punchs are her j.fierce

Lei Lei's DF is a natural counter for all other dark forces. You will primarilly should be using her s.lp in DF mode. It is rapid-fire cancelable, is faster than her standard s.lp, and due to her hyper armor, it can hit the opponent out of anything that they are doing(with the exception of blocking).

Should the opponent get smart, and back away, and do nothing but block, your BEST choice of action should always be to get near Lin Lin, and deactivate. Not only does deactivating early recover faster than letting the timer run out, but overall, it is a much safer plan, and allows you access to your normal repitoire of moves and abilities.

-EX Move Frame Data -

Name Req meter Startup Hit adv Blk adv Blk pos
Heaven Spikes 1 19, then 23 - - H, then H/L
Ground Spikes 1 33 kd -3 H/L
Chinese Bomb 1 17 - - H/L
Dark Force 1 67 - - -

-Dark Force Frame Data-

Name State Startup Blk pos
Jab Standing 4 H/L
Crouching 9 L
Strong Standing 11 H/L
Crouching 9 L
Fierce Standing 10 H/L
Crouching 9 L
Short Standing 6 H/L
Crouching 9 L
Forward Standing 7 H/L
Crouching 9 L
Roundhouse Standing 8 H/L
Crouching 9 L

Combos & Patterns

-s.lp, s.lk, s.rk, mp, mp, UP

  • the 2 mp's cancel the rk into heaven spike super

-2nd projectile after the shrunken(star…sry for sp) is always a dizzy projectile

-the spike balls on Heavenly spikes can otg

-pendulum->cancel, j.lk, j.mk, land->groundcombo->knockdown.

-[c.lk, c.lk, c.lk, iad.lk]xn a nice quick hi-lo mixup. vary the c.lk's, and do the iad.lk at alternating times. this

-AA ES gong, Ground spikes, dash in, heaven spikes(otg), pursuit

-DF- activate, [s.lp]xN df'd s.lps almost make lei lei broken. it counters all other dark forces, and is just damn good.


Due to the nature of her natural moveset, as well as her projectiles, many beginning Lei Lei players take her to be a strict zoner, running away, and spamming different versions of her fierce punch and projectiles. While Lei Lei does have the moveset to add zoning to her repertoire, she plays much more effectively when rushing down.

Lei Lei has both an Instant Air Dash(iad), and her pendulum special move. both of which do an excellent job in allowing Lei Lei to mix up high and low attacks, as well as crossups.

As such, these are two primary ways in which you want to rush down an opponent. Coming in from a distance, you generally should opt to using different variations of her strong punch(mp). during iad's, all of her normal moves are practical for use. Lei Lei's j.forward and j.strong have a noticable amount of priority.

Lei Lei's primary goal is to score a knockdown. Off a knockdown, you have many options for wakeup. Your primary tool for a knockdown will be, more often than not, c.hp. From there, you have the option to pursue, or cancel the c.hp into a s.rk for further options.

After the s.rk, you can pause, to see the direction that your opponent is moving, and iad after them. Once you're on top of them, you can mixup with meaty overheads or low hits.

  • after the s.rk, you can go straight into the pendulum. Depending on where they go, you can let the pendulum continue swinging if they don't move anywhere.

If the opponent moves forward(relative to the direction you were facing upon knockdown), you can cancel the pendulum as it swings backward and airdash forward, or allow the pendulum to swing forward, and land on top of them in that manner.

To recall, once more, while the air dash allows for further controllability 
on where you would like to land, and at what hight you want to attack at, 
a well canceled pendulum allows for air chains, and air blocking.  So, in 
this case especially, you must be able to either predict your opponent's 
habits, or place yourself in whatever manner of your choosing to limit  
your opponent's options/habits.  

If your opponent strategically wakes up behind you(relative to the direction you were facing upon knockdown), you have, for the most part, the same choices as if they were to dash in front of you.

you could also just jump straight up to see the direction the opponent will go, and airdash or pendulum in their direction. Should they not move, you can go down on them with a j.rk, or j.lp->j.rk.

Of course, if you feel your opponent might have the best of you, you can instead zone them out. Though, this works best in the corner. Lei lei can stand 2-3 character-widths away, and control space really well with moves such as her s.F+mp, j.mp, and gong(of course it's not limited to just these).

s.F+mp is lei lei's farthest-reaching 1-hitting normal, with a high amount of priority. the most detracting part of it is its recovery, but that is remedied by canceling into Lei Lei's s.rk. So, s.F+mp is best used if you can have it blocked or hit.

Due to the nature of the game, you can [for the most part] jump up and down(depending on who you're facing), should you expect your opponent to jump at you. Doing so, gives you the option to j.mp, chicken guard into j.mp(which is quite effective for Lei Lei), do nothing, or air dash/pendulum in, should you see the opportunity to get in on your opponent.

Defensively, aside from some of her her jumping normals (j.mp/lk/lp)Lei Lei has no real solid and immediate form of defence against up front jump-ins. s.mp tends to trade, as does a tk hp gong. Going into DF mode is a viable option, due to the initial invincibility, and potential damage that can be net, but of course, it is done at the cost of a meter(which isnt necessarily detracting.)

From a character away, Lei Lei can use s.F+fp, c.mp, tk ES gong, mp projectile, or groundspikes. all of which are relicable, if not a bit slow.

Should you be cornered, and find the need to get away, likely your best option is to tech the opponent away, and pendulum at the peak of your jump. cancel that, and pendulum above the screen once more, where you can swing yourself away from the corner, and airdash in whatever direction you please.

Lei lei Querks

  • heaven spikes super(the ones that come fron the air).... heaven spikes sets up for an unblockable hp projectile.

-the BALLS hit otg. -the block thingy that falls initially is an overhead

Lei Lei has a more restrictive air dash, which prevents her from doing special moves. canceling from her pendulum however, allows her to airblock, airdash, airchain, and do special moves.

Thanx satome for inadvetently making start this this