I don’t think that its a secret anymore than i really like defensive characters. To continue this impromptu pro-defense crusade i have embarked upon, today i offer you a breakdown of sumo superstar, E. Honda. As usual, we will look at the character’s gameplan, strengths, weaknesses, and tools to understand what makes him so unique.
Gameplan
E.Honda can best be labeled as a well rounded, yet defensive poking character with a command throw. He can do very well once he gets in, and can also be very difficult to approach if he chooses to play defensively. In SF4, Honda can give many characters a very hard time should he choose to sit on a life lead.
Like many other grappler types, E.Honda doesn’t have an amazing walkspeed, and he has pretty good reach on his normals, although they can be a bit slow too. He can make the opponent respect the space he can cover with them to make them more hesitant with their approach, allowing him to start offense or maintain a defensive stance. Defensive players can pester with long range attacks and counter over extention with a hit confirm into hands or an anti-air.
Honda can be very dominant can be up close. He has very fast, high priority with better range than most of the cast’s similar option. Plus, he can cancel in to great damage.
The range just past the close range is a range where Honda is less dominant, since his long reaching attacks are too slow. This happens to be shoto cr MK range. At this range Honda with try to fish for counter hits by stuffing these normals, notably his cr lp which can be confirmed into hands.
Should Honda want to play offensively, he will often have to rely on bulldogging his way in. Once he is in, he has access to grappler style mixups, that lead to big damage if they land.
Great control of the close range, via great pokes that lead to great damage and a command throw, are what make Honda scary both offensively and defensively.
Strengths and Weaknesses
As mentioned above, Honda is fairly well rounded offensively and defensively and has amazing control of the close range, so much so that opponents would be playing with fire trying to pressure him at this range. This is a range many characters employ as the basis of their grounded offense, so this is certainly a huge defensive asset for Honda to be dominant in this range. Offensively, apart from the obvious hit or throw mixup, he can also stuff many attacks from this range because of his great pokes.
Honda, also has a reliable anti-air that can also serve as a safe(ish) reversal with the Sumo Headbutt (more on that move in tools). This greatly adds to his defense. It can also be used in some matchups to change the momentum from defense to offense since it can get him out of the corner fairly effectively.
Unfortunately, Honda isn’t without weaknesses. Firstly, while he can be scary up close, his approach is rather limited. He can use the Headbutt in some matchups, but even then, it doesn’t leave him that close on block. For the most part Honda needs to suck up the fact that he has a sub par walk speed, and bulldog his way forward. This means that, while he can hold a lead very effectively, he has a much harder time coming back from a deficit.
What really give Honda problems however, are projectiles. Honda doesn’t really have reliable ways around projectiles. He has the Butt Slam, which can be used situationally to avoid projectiles, but it can be punished if predicted. In more recent games Honda can use his super (or ultra) to go through projectiles which helps greatly, but he still needs to wait to have the resources available. The fact that Honda has a wide hitbox, along with poor approach and very limited ways around fireballs makes Honda rather weak versus projectile characters.
Honda’s wakeup game, while not the worst, can be easily bypassed by characters with good crossups, since his best reversal is done with a back charge motion. He can still pose a threat to grounded opponents with a wakeup command throw.
It is worth noting that in SF4 the command throw is slower than the typical grappler 2f, meaning that he can’t rely on it in the same way he did in SF2
Tools
Honda has a concise, yet useful set of tools. From his command throw, to his far reaching heavy normals as well as the full screen headbutt, he has tools to control a great deal of space
His Sumo Headbutt as mentioned above, serves as a great anti-air and reversal. Unfortunately, it is a charge move meaning that it cannot be done on reaction, and that the player really cannot move forward while charging the move. On the flipside, this move is the reason Honda can turtle and play downback fighter so well. The can use the cr LP poke to control the close range and combo if it hits, as well as punish jumps with the headbutt. This attack can also be comboed into for a less damaging, but more reliable option than Hundred Hand Slaps
The Butt Slam is a decent special that can be used as an anti-air at angles that the headbutt does not reach and as a slow but rewarding overhead. This move requires charge as well, meaning that Honda has access to it while turtleing too, but it cannot be done on a whim.
The Oichio Throw is Honda’s command throw. In SF4 it isn’t as fast a other command throws making it less useful in general (although it is still very important to his game). Also, since Honda has damaging combos off of normals and generally weaker approach than some of the other grapplers, he relies on this move less than those characters. This being said, it is still a great tool offensively and defensively.
Honda’s main offensive move is the Hundred Hand Slaps, which unlike most of Honda’s specials, can is done via rapid taps as opposed to charge. This means that he can confirm stray hits into the move while on the offensive much more effectively (granted that the player’s fingers are fast enough). This move does a great deal of damage, and the fact that it can be comboed from great pokes just makes it even better.
Conclusion
If you like to play patiently and hold your ground, while having the option to mix the opponent up as well, you may be a great fit for E.Honda. However, be ready to face some difficult matches and lots of wars of attrition, especially versus characters with projectiles. If that still seems like a good deal, join Honda’s quest to show all the other Street Fighter why sumo is the best martial art around!
15/09/14 Edit: General edits to ensure accuracy