Who's the best character in your opinion?

[Shlomosuke]

I think Shiva's the best, and it's not even close. He has many different combos, great reach, great mobility and good damage.
his forward+forward+X is insane. You can pretty much one shot any type of enemy if you combo it right.

He has two weaknesses in my opinion: his ultimate's bad (in my opinion). Unless used in very specific situations, it's terrible.
His Y attacks are also pretty bad. His forward Y takes too long and on mania, you might easily get circled and hit. However, you can attack before the end of the animation, so it's not that bad.
His regular Y has strength and weaknesses:
-you can re-use it almost immedialty which allows for a lot versatility and combo potential. Also, it allows for more leniance regarding your mistakes.

The fact that he cant pick up weapons or roll doesnt really matter. Most characters cant roll and except few cases (stage 6 for instance), weapons are pretty much useless if you plan on getting S ranks.

Worst characters in my opinion are SOR 2 and 3 Axels. The 0.5 sec delay to move after your regular combo, or mid combo, is just insane. I've not played them enough to know if there's a way to get around it (maybe rolling?), but it's just unplayable on mania.

[Doktor Mandrake]

I really like Axels combo potential, and blaze ^_^

So glad this games done so well, devs really deserve it!

[RICHYROO2004]

Wonderfully balanced game which means all the characters are great.

After 30 hours of playing I really struggle to know who is best...

Axel - Powerful hits and good range, though slow.

Floyd - Very slow, very powerful hits and good range.

Blaze - Good mobility and average fighter.

Adam - Good mobility, strong hits, but short range jabs can leave him open.

Cherry - Weak but quick and agile.


I like them all and its a hard choice. Although I am veering towards Adam and Blaze. In the past I have been an Axel player.

[Doktor Mandrake]

Originally posted by RICHYROO2004:

Wonderfully balanced game which means all the characters are great.

After 30 hours of playing I really struggle to know who is best...

Axel - Powerful hits and good range, though slow.

Floyd - Very slow, very powerful hits and good range.

Blaze - Good mobility and average fighter.

Adam - Good mobility, strong hits, but short range jabs can leave him open.

Cherry - Weak but quick and agile.


I like them all and its a hard choice. Although I am veering towards Adam and Blaze.

Ya have to say I've found them all fun to play as so far, though floyd and cherry probably my least favs with Axel Blaze and Adam being my A-team

[Teie]

I believe they are all good it their own manner.

Axel is exceptionally good at jabbing and can do some decent damage to the bosses.
Floyd can deal lots of damage in all kinds of situations + his star special is arguably one of the best in the game.
Adam ... well, still do not quite feel the character, so can't say really. Never found dashing useful enough and only 2 jabs and then an uppercut which makes continuing your combo quite a challenge when another enemy is near. I think I'll get it some day.
Cherry (as it turns out) is also very good at jabbing and flooring the enemies with her guitar which usually floors anyone who's near at the moment. Running is good, but I do not use it that much.
Blaze's -> -> attack is probably the best thing in coop since she can provide lots of opportunities for 2P to continue his/her attack which is AWESOME.

They are all good in their respective manner.
(I do not play as retro characters, so can't say anything about them)

[El Fuerte]

All great characters and great game. For me its between Axel and Adam.

[Grampire]

I've only played Blaze so far so I can't say. I LOVE her moveset and haven't felt the need to change it up.

[XGear]

Floyd is the best character to play. Long range atacks, Double grab, Large hitbox on all atacks and the > > + punch = Cheese everything.

But my main is Axel. Even after Dotemu destroy his design.

[Shlomosuke]

I guess you guys did not give Shiva a try then

[Young Erusean Officer]

Sor4 Blaze for me. She plays like the SoR2 one but she can connect/string/mixup her blitz and other moves better.

[Shlomosuke]

Originally posted by Young Erusian Officer:

Sor4 Blaze for me. She plays like the SoR2 one but she can connect/string/mixup her blitz and other moves better.

If Shiva's S+ tier, SOR4 Blaze is around A, maybe A- if you really dislike the fact that she cant run. I think her reach is quite short tho. Better than Cherry's tho. And she has very high damage combos, a lot of aoe damage, tons of mobility even while hitting enemies so ye, she is strong.

I think my tier list would go like that, from left to right)

Shiva, Adams S tier
Blaze, Cherry, Floyd A tier
Axel B tier
SOR1 characters C tier
Axel SOR 2 and 3 D tier (they have this very annoying delay between a regular hit and movement, it's a huge handicap)

I dont know for the others, i dont have enough experience.

[NYλN.]

Definitely Shiva and Roo. Great damage, range and combos. Insane blitz moves, very comfortable to fight with and do significant damage easily.

[Meat Miracle]

The DLC characters are all the most powerful by a wide margin.
For the base game characters, it's Adam > Axel/Blaze > Floyd. However Floyd got a lot of buffs lately so he might be as good as the rest. The fact that his throw will hit enemies clost to him, this alone makes him a ton safer to use.

retro characters are either novelties (SOR1) or dumb broken (SOR3).

[ElCid]

All SOR1 characters are busted because they deal so much damage (to compensate the limited moveset). They suck in Mania / Mania+ and Survival exactly because of lack of options, though.

But, In my opinion the Top 5, considering their viability for both normal game and Survival, are:

1) Shiva (SOR4)

Insane air combos. If done right he can shave off 50% of a boss health in Mania+ with ladder combos alone. He has an infinite combo reset with air combos and Back Attack that is pretty much guaranteed.

Flying Kick (alternate Blitz Attack) is completely busted (even after they nerfed it): deals a lot of damage, has tons of invincibility frames and sets up Shiva perfectly for starting bread and butter launcher.

Flaming Circular Kick (default Defensive Special) hits off-the-ground and has the perfect angle for more air combos.

Senretsu Ken is great for the multi-hit properties while keeping enemies stunned, while the aerial version is absurd to extend his air combos, especially with wall bounces.

I'm not sure which Star Move you're referring to, but both are amazing. His Spirit Dance (alternate Star Move) is completely busted and amazing in boss battles (and even better in Survival with certain perks)

If I were to point ONE flaw Shiva has is that he is very susceptible to anti-airs; Donovans will wait below you to throw that uppercut when you're descending from air combos.

I've been meaning to make a guide for Shiva for a long time but I need a capture card, and I really wanted to add gifs of his combos (instead of videos) but I don't know how to add gifs to guides.

2) Floyd

Two words: combo loops. His Magnetic Grab (default Offensive Special) can lead to infinite combos as you can re-grab enemies in mid-air (though after being grabbed multiple times in a row enemies will break off). Combine that with Gatling Punches (alternate Blitz) and Thunder Trap (alternate Defensive Special) and you'll keep juggling enemies like crazy.

Also, he can walk while grabbing enemies, and his throw deals SO MUCH damage, especially if it hits the wall. Amazing crowd control.

On top of that, his Rakushin Beam (default Star Move) hits full screen and deals a lot of damage. Super broken.

3) Roo (SOR3)

Roo might have a low damage output but his multi-hit attacks, particularly his Handbrake (default Blitz) and Hurricane Kick (default Offensive Special) and pin down enemies.

Also, Here Comes Bruce! (his default Star Move) can summon multiple Bruces if you have more than one Power Star. Amazing during bosses.

I'd say he's best played on co-op, but he can really fend well for himself without many issues. He is a beast on Survival with Elemental Perks.

4) Max (SOR4)

He hits harder than Floyd and has more mobility but lacks the infinite loops. He can, however, do some semi-loops near walls with his normal combo, since it ground bounces opponents.

But what makes Max truly a powerhouse is his Iron Will (alternate Star Move) which makes him immune to stagger and knockback, and completely unkillable for whopping 15 seconds.

5) Blaze (SOR4)

Blaze was Shiva before Shiva was. She was the first character to have jump cancel, has limited air combos with her normals and her Tobi Kyaku (default Air Special), and also has a lot of reliable off-the-ground attacks. In fact, she is probably the best partner for Shiva in co-ops.

Notable Mentions

Estel. Has tons of flexibility, with plenty of off-the-ground attacks and on-demand grenades. Her only issue is the high skill ceiling (especially online, with higher latency).

Axel (SOR3) and Shiva (SOR3) both hit fast and hit hard. Enough said. Their only issues is lack of decent crowd control (and in my opinion they're really boring to play as).

Cherry. Very nimble and with nice combo potential. She is really good but just tends to get outclassed by other characters.

Adam (SOR4). He was my main before they added SOR4 Shiva. His short hops grants him the best mobility in the game. He has some pretty neat combo potential (even more so after the latest patch gave him jump cancel), but his lack of reliable off-the-ground attacks for more follow-ups kinda holds him behind a bit.

[Bijiooo]

dead conversation? whatever, I'm leaving my take . . . which you may take or leave right here.

I don't think there's a lot to say about Shiva NOT being the "best" character in the game. "beast" = "most powerful". but Blaze is for sure my girl right now. I just find myself having the most fun with her; I always miss her sweeping R-trigger kick (I guess that's what you call their defensive? I dunno, I'm a casual at best).

also, with the second choice on her forward special attack, she can move around quite well once you get the double-tap / X pattern.

and then of course she's just got the style, the attitude, that sweep of the hair when she cleans a level. and those muscled thighs that *actually play into* her playstyle – her sweeping kick being (I believe) the biggest non-special attack in the game.

Blaze is just fun. and frankly I'll almost always find myself feeling like I'm cheating when I use the DLC characters, so I barely do. Shiva, especially, is quite insane.

[SebaOutbreak]

Anyone that's not any of the 2 Skates (and maybe Zan as well) has the potential to be the best.

I personally really like Floyd and Max SOR4. I've reached my farthest levels in Survival thanks
to them.

However, it's no surprise that the general consensus is that Shiva SOR4 is the best, he was made specifically to be the UMK3 Noob Saibot of the cast.