Critical Art

Gigaton Blow

Startup	8
Active	10
Recovery	60
Guard Level	HL
On Hit	D
On Guard	-45
VTX Hit	–
VTX Guard	–
Cancel	–
Damage	330
Stun	0
Meter Gain	-900

Gigaton Blow: Balrog’s most powerful attack is the best rush punch in his arsenal, a devastating blow that travels all the way across the screen. Gigaton Blow’s single hit has high juggle potential and works as a big-damage, meter-draining ender to most boxer combos. It’s also his only truly invincible reversal besides fully-charged Turn Punch.

Although Gigaton Blow travels the full length of the screen, it’s not particularly fast for a Critical Art, striking on the eighth frame after activation. This is not a knock against Balrog’s Critical Art, just a word of caution not to use it quite like Ryu’s, Chun-Li’s, or Ken’s, which strike faster laterally and can punish more disadvantaged actions at mid-range.

After a successful Critical Art knockdown, Balrog is left at a whopping +13 up-close as the victim rises.

Finally, note that although Balrog is a fully-fledged charge character, his Critical Art motion is a double fireball motion and not the old command. (Only Guile’s Critical Art currently uses the conventional charge character super motion.)