Special Moves

LP Psycho Blast Charge ,

MP Psycho Blast Charge ,

HP Psycho Blast Charge ,

EX Psycho Blast Charge ,

Psycho Blast: New to Street Fighter V, the mad dictator has a new projectile attack in which a burst of psycho energy explodes from his open hand in front of him. This will nullify incoming one-hit projectiles, expending its hitbox to do so. LP Psycho Blast is the fastest to hit but the slowest to recover, leaving M. Bison at -4 when blocked. HP Psycho Blast hits slowest but is safe when guarded, with M. Bison at +2. All versions deal the same damage and stun, but heavier versions have progressively larger hitboxes. HP Psycho Blast’s hitting area is almost as big as the visual of the blast itself, while LP Psycho Blast’s reach is a little deceptive, as it doesn’t reach the length of the purple energy ball.

You can use Psycho Blasts in combos, though its ranges are restrictive, and combos into Psycho Inferno or Double Knee Press are better. You can also use it to nullify incoming projectiles, but Psycho Reflect is tailor-made for that, and it builds V-Gauge and has an optional full screen projectile follow-up built-in. Perhaps most interestingly, normal versions of Psycho Blast are active for a very long time, at 10 frames. This gives this special move some utility as a mid-range poke, sparingly usable from about the distance you’d swing with . The psycho energy itself isn’t vulnerable, so the opponent will get hit if they happen to dash forward or stick anything into that area.

EX Psycho Blast expends one stock of EX Gauge to send a slow-moving projectile the length of the screen. When the projectile nears the enemy, it will explode into a larger hitbox that knocks down on contact (it will also explode after 1.5 seconds have elapsed; it doesn’t travel forever, unlike most horizontal projectiles). Unique among projectiles, EX Psycho Blast has a hit of armor against other fireballs, so it’ll plow through them and keep going without losing damage potential. This fireball moves very slowly, giving M. Bison plenty of time to jump in/dash in after it, or even to store charge and then immediately perform Head Press once he releases the shot. This is a very important part of M. Bison’s arsenal. The biggest weakness of his offense is that because of his awful walk speed, he advances using forward warping dashes or forward jumps, which are predictable and vulnerable. Having EX Psycho Blast solves this problem completely as long as it’s on screen. EX Psycho Blast should almost certainly account for any of your EX Gauge expenditure in the neutral game, and you shouldn’t be shy about reminding the opposition that you have it.

LP Psycho Inferno

MP Psycho Inferno

HP Psycho Inferno

EX Psycho Inferno

Psycho Inferno: Also new to Street Fighter V, this move allows M. Bison to call forth a pillar of psycho energy from the ground in front of him. This blade of energy is a projectile that stays active for 12 to 18 frames, depending on the version. This move gives M. Bison a big first: strong combos without having to store a charge. It’s also useful for extending juggle combos and can serve as an early anti-air against telegraphed jumps from farther out. The projectile spray of this attack doesn’t have a vulnerable hurtbox for M. Bison, so this will beat anything it hits. The regular versions are all punishable on whiff or block, although the space between M. Bison and a place where anyone can stand safely in front of the energy blade means that optimal punishment against M. Bison can be difficult. Psycho Inferno strikes repeatedly on hit, but it will fizzle out if M. Bison takes a hit during its duration or if another projectile clashes with it. EX Psycho Inferno is almost as fast as the LP version and erupts on both sides of M. Bison. This version deals more damage and stun and leaves M. Bison at only -1 when blocked. With a full V-Gauge, Psycho Inferno can lead to a nasty ground cross-up against someone waking up. Perform Psycho Inferno (preferably HP or EX) aimed just over them, V-Trigger cancel it immediately, then forward dash. If you time it correctly, M. Bison will pass through their body as they rise and the Psycho Inferno will hit as a cross-up, allowing you to juggle with another Inferno from the other side!

LK Double Knee Press Charge ,

MK Double Knee Press Charge ,

HK Double Knee Press Charge ,

EX Double Knee Press Charge ,

Double Knee Press: The head-over-heels tumbling “scissor kick” returns. M. Bison flips forward, striking twice. The LK version is quick, but it travels the shortest distance and is the worst candidate for V-Trigger-canceling or Critical Art-canceling. It’s also the least safe version when blocked (-4), but it leaves M. Bison with the best advantage on hit (+3). MK Double Knee Press can always cancel after one hit into Ultimate Psycho Crusher for good damage, works in combos after any of M. Bison’s cancelable medium normals, and leaves M. Bison slightly safer on block, at -3. HK Double Knee Press travels the farthest and leaves M. Bison at only -2 when guarded, while comboing naturally after standing .

EX Double Knee Press expends a stock of EX Gauge for a faster, stronger scissor kick. If the first knee flip hits, EX Double Knee Press transitions into a short cinematic that leaves the opponent in an unrecoverable knockdown, with no quick-recovery allowed. (Don’t get too excited, though: M. Bison doesn’t get guaranteed meaty cross-up setups or anything off this, as it’s not a real hard knockdown.) This even works in juggle combos if the first hit strikes correctly. From farther away, or in awkward juggles, EX Double Knee Press will merely knock foes down if only the second hit connects after M. Bison has flipped fully forward.

During neutral pressure, Double Knee Press can serve as the same horizontal blockstun tool it’s always been. However, be careful using the LK version as a pressure tool against characters who have guaranteed ways to punish it on guard (like Ryu with a quick Shoryuken, or R. Mika with a three-frame jab canceled to LP/EX Shooting Peach). The HK version is best for mid-range engagements. In hit-confirm combos, Double Knee Press allows you to keep up pressure immediately after hitting because the opponent isn’t knocked down. LK Double Knee Press offers the best advantage on hit, giving you frame advantage to immediately attempt a throw, a small-gap frame trap with standing , or a large-gap, Crush Counter-fishing frame trap with standing . Double Knee Press’s supremacy as M. Bison’s combo finisher is threatened by the inclusion of Psycho Inferno, though, which allows you to finish combos for more damage with a knockdown and without storing a charge.

Head Press Charge ,

EX Head Press Charge ,

Head Press: M. Bison’s classic “head stomp” is a special move with two possible branches. M. Bison launches himself from wherever he is to above the head of wherever the enemy is. There’s no difference in version for normal button Head Presses, and Head Press stomps at the same speed whether you initiate it from full screen or directly next to the target. Only the dictator’s travel arc changes. If you do nothing, M. Bison will attempt to stomp on the foe’s head, bouncing off if successful. You can control the direction of this bounce by holding (or even wiggling) and , and you can execute his Somersault Skull Diver follow-up on the way down by pressing . If you push nothing, he simply lands, possibly influenced by your input if you have a preferred landing vector. If the initial Head Press stomp misses, he also just lands. If you press before the initial Head Press stomp, M. Bison will cease forward momentum briefly and transition into Devil Reverse.

EX Head Press is interesting in that it’s M. Bison’s only non-Critical Art reversal… sort of. It’s totally projectile-invincible, so if (for example) someone tries to chip K.O. you on wakeup with a Critical Art projectile, you can reversal EX Head Press out of it. It’s also strike-invulnerable for the first four frames of startup, so you can wake up with it from a knockdown to dodge most meaty attacks. It’s not a total “get out of jail free” card, though, because it’s vulnerable to ground throws for the first five frames before takeoff, and the last grounded frame is also strike-vulnerable. As with normal Head Press, you can interrupt EX Head Press before contact with or for Devil Reverse. (If you perform EX Head Press and then EX Devil Reverse, you will thankfully only expend one stock of EX Gauge.) When you let it ride, EX Head Press’s actual stomp attack has a fair bit more priority than the normal version, with a bigger hitbox underneath M. Bison. It also causes one of the game’s only “hard” knockdowns on hit, preventing the victim from quick-rising. On hit, EX Head Press doesn’t allow for the Somersault Skull Diver follow-up of the regular version since M. Bison simply lands.

Somersault Skull Diver After Head Press hit/guard,

Somersault Skull Diver: The dictator falls with a punch attack after bouncing off the enemy from non-EX Head Press. Thanks to the liberal control afforded post-Head Press, you can place Somersault Skull Diver almost anywhere on screen. However, note that it doesn’t correct its direction of attack if M. Bison passes over the foe, so you can’t use this as a cross-up (also a concern if an aggressive opponent blocks Head Press and then dashes forward under M. Bison). Like Head Press and Devil Reverse, Somersault Skull Diver is an overhead attack that the opponent must block standing. It’s a bit like jumping and Hell Attack in that the tip of the attack is invincible. Skull Diver can be regarded as a potential jump-in attack after Head Press, since you can go immediately into ground combos on a successful hit. When guarded, M. Bison is left at +5 after landing, similar to jumping in with a light attack. If Somersault Skull Diver hits air-to-air, the adversary will be put into a jugglable state like after jumping or Devil Reverse, potentially leading to the same type of follow-up combos. There’s only one version of Somersault Skull Diver regardless of button used, and there is no EX version.

Devil Reverse Before Head Press hit/guard,

EX Devil Reverse Before Head Press hit/guard,

Devil Reverse: M. Bison’s upside-down, flipping psycho punch returns as a change-up from Head Press. Start Head Press, then press before M. Bison stomps on the enemy. You can do this late, altering your aerial arc and attack timing just before stomping to coax a bad reaction from your challenger. Or, you can do this early, flipping into Devil Reverse just off the ground and pulling up way short. From far away, this is a fake-out designed to build a little EX Gauge while making your foe hesitant to react to your Head Press change-ups at all. Up close (like from a grounded blockstring), Devil Reverse is as close as M. Bison gets to a fast overhead. The button you choose determines how far forward the Devil Reverse punch travels: LP the shortest, HP the farthest. You can still hold or during Devil Reverse to further alter the attack’s course.

While this is a great move, it does not have the invincible punch tip of jumping or Somersault Skull Diver. In fact, M. Bison’s hurtbox is drastically larger than the hitbox around his extended fist; hitting the air anywhere around M. Bison counts, basically. Devil Reverse is intended to trick enemies who are watching too intently for grounded specials, cross-up , and Head Press, but it’s not intended to beat out other attacks head-on. If the opponent is ready to anti-air it, or if you meet them air-to-air while they’re also attacking, they’ll usually win. To make Devil Reverse work, you’ll need to feed them a diet of Head Presses into Skull Divers, along with faked Head Presses into Devil Reverses that pull up way short. That way, they’re never quite sure when M. Bison is really going to fly in for a frontal air hit with Devil Reverse. On hit, Devil Reverse knocks down. When M. Bison does Devil Reverse in and gets blocked, the frame situation upon landing is neutral. You can go for light attacks or a throw, but characters with three-frame attacks will beat you out.

EX Devil Reverse solves some of normal Devil Reverse’s problems and helps create even more uncertainty in the enemy. Upon activation, M. Bison gains new upward momentum no matter where he is in Head Stomp’s arc, spinning upward while fully invincible for 16 frames. Properly timed, you can use this to totally avoid moves that an opponent intended to use as anti-air against a normal Devil Reverse or Head Press. A grounded anti-air (like crouching or from many characters) will simply whiff due to EX Devil Reverse’s temporary “bounce” back upward, while early rising anti-airs (like Shoryuken or Cannon Strike) may whiff because of the invulnerability of the “bounce.” After the invulnerable upward flip, M. Bison plummets down with an extremely controllable two-hit version of Devil Reverse. EX Devil Reverse has a much better hitbox/hurtbox overlap than the normal version; while it still doesn’t have an invincible tip like some M. Bison moves, it at least doesn’t lose to basically anything that’s already extended. Opponents can anti-air this if they wait and do a high-priority move very late, but if they were waiting for EX Devil Reverse, then they wouldn’t have been prepared if you’d just let Head Press hit or used normal Devil Reverse instead. You should begin to see how varying your Head Press use can basically force foes not to react to M. Bison’s aerial shenanigans.