Godzilla

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Introduction

One of the 3 top tiers in the old jp tier list, Godzilla hasn't really benefited quite as much from new glitches and techs that were presumably not known yet at the time. Even then, he was the most technical and hard to play of the 3 top tiers. Compared to other solid playstyle characters, he's the most nimble, aggressive, and versatile. Armed with an annoying run away projectile game, strong midrange footsies, and oppressive run rush pressure up close, Godzilla can hold his own from any screen position, and his strongest range will often be his opponent's weakest.

Overview

Strengths

  • Tools for every range
  • Air fireball doesn't float, allowing it to control huge amounts of screen space
  • Amazing shimmies with his fast run
  • Forward run is slightly low profile
  • His standing hurtbox is smaller than average in general
  • Run slide X has insane reach for its speed, and is probably the best whiff punish in the game
  • His run slide normals in general are highly oppressive due to their frame advantage, speed, and how far he slides
  • Easy backturned unblockable setups off his back throw
  • Big damage off his bite throw from guaranteed OTG dp+X followup
  • Instant overhead with j. d+X
  • dp+Y/X have huge range and priority for their speed

Weaknesses

  • d+Y is his only low, and it's so minus that it's punishable on hit
  • Ground fireballs have a ton of startup and travel too fast, making them relatively easy to avoid
  • By the time his roar recovers, they've probably mashed out of stun already

General Strategy

Unlike most characters, Godzilla doesn't have a preferred gameplan. How he decides to play depends entirely on the matchup and situation. Regardless of the distance, run slide normals is a huge part of his arsenal, and much of the reason why he's high tiered, so get used to the input for it. You basically wanna cancel your run into a regular button as close to the first frame as possible so he maintains his run movement momentum during the attack. Because it hits max speed instantly, instant run slide with f+A~neutral or d into anything adds huge range to his quick but stubby buttons, basically removing their main drawback.

His air fireball has absurd coverage and recovery, and jump back air fireball can force every character to stay put besides the few that can run under it, allowing him to slow down the pace and recover his stun gauge whenever he feels threatened. The ones who can't crouch his air fireball at all just get straight abused and can be forced to take chip constantly throughout a match. His ground fireballs, despite having much larger hitboxes than everyone else's, sadly don't have extra durability, and their telegraphed startup and high projectile speed makes them easy to jump over on reaction in many cases. The main mixup here is just making hoping they misread which strength you do and mistiming their jump, but be aware that in fireball wars, most of them can just hit you during your long startup. So you're often better off doing low air fireballs instead despite them having lower damage and smaller hitboxes. He can defend himself against large projectile volleys by destroying them with qcf+Y, but with the startup it's kinda iffy to do on reaction to anything besides MG74's wrath. Jumping over and returning fire with air fireball will typically be the better option. They also travel slow enough for him to run behind them to close the gap if he wants to.

From mid range, he adopts a style similar to Chun Li thanks to his shimmy speed with his run. His dp has huge range, damage, priority, and quick recovery, though doesn't chip. They can stuff most other midrange pokes, and also threaten to stuff Ghidorah's fireball, so throw them out a lot. Because his run slide gets so much distance, and his X lunges him so far forward already, he can whiff punish a lot of things on reaction that no one else can, like Anguirus hcb+Y or d+X. He also has the best breath attack in the game with qcf+Y, which can also be used as a midranged aimable projectile limb, and is also his midrange chip pressure. And of course, if they happen to jump cuz they thought you were gonna dp+X, just swing the breath upwards for easy antiair. Overall, he's generally a nightmare to fight against in midrange if he just wiggles around a lot and spams those 4 moves with impunity.

His close range game is his most complex, but also the most rewarding. Which buttons he uses will depend on the matchup, but in general, if they can't duck under his st Y/X (e.g. Megalon), spamming run slide into his buttons for very long frame trap strings, and occasionally sneaking in a max range d+Y or throw will be really strong pressure. They do tend to extend his lower hurtbox forward too, so in some cases, like vs MG74, it's better to run slide d+X to poke them over their lows. His running Y is also an option you should sometimes use if given the opportunity, despite its very short range, because it cannot be crouched under, and has very little knockback and recovery. It can be hit confirmed into X, or block confirmed into forced grab, or back run shimmy if you think they're gonna mash grab. His instant overhead does a good chunk of damage and stun, but is obviously unsafe, and is tricky to land due to his lack of low threat and dangerous throws. When you do choose to use it, make sure you're getting enough potential reward to go with the high risk. It's probably better to use it a bit backwards, and show it early in a match when they can't punish it with wrath, then later when they're close to stun, just do d+Y or throws instead to finish the stun after making them think you're gonna overhead.

His antiair options are qcf+Y, d+X, or tripguard dp+Y/X. With his incredible run speed and slide distance, you should theoretically almost always be able to get to the right range to use the latter 2 options. The breath is more reliable cuz of course, being a projectile, it'll never trade or lose, but the startup can be a bit iffy. Try to get only 1 hit with it so you can juggle them with X/run slide X after to deal much more damage. The other option you should be aware of is his st X. The priority for antiairing isn't very good, but the forward lunge can be a lifesaver to dodge crossups, especially Mothra's crossup dives, and can give you a free whiff punish because X just recovers so fast. And of course, if you have wrath, it's basically made to be used as antiair for huge damage and guaranteed stun. It is very difficult to do it on reaction if you're not buffering it though.

Also worth noting is that by having a fast back run, he can get out of a lot of forced block situations like Gigan wrath or Ghidorah d+X, while most other characters can't move or jump backwards to safety while those hitboxes are active.

Strategy Against

Data Arsenal

+

  • Fast run, sick shimmies.

+

  • Fast run. Has running normals, but more importantly, incredible reach with run slide normals.

  • Worst roar in the game. Stunning with it will often result in not even getting any damage, but is still usually worth it to take away their wrath.

Range

  • Below average, but still very threatening due to his fast run speed and no minimum run distance, or run recovery.

Stun Gauge

  • ?

Stun Recovery

  • ?

Wake Up Speed

  • Fast

Other Mechanics

Movelist

Ground Normals

  • Short ranged high jab with fast startup and recovery. Can be crouched under by some. Core to his close range run rush game.

  • His only low. Decent reach and good startup, but bad recovery. Punishable even on hit by fast normals that can reach him. Still an important poke in his arsenal.

  • Fast high step in hook with superb recovery. Can be crouched just like his Y. Lunges his hurtbox considerably far forward, and can be used to evade crossups, but can be stuffed with quick lows.

  • Ducks and turns and swings his tail in an arc over him, but hitbox is much lower and smaller than it looks, only hitting the area upright of him. Cannot be ducked under, and isn't nearly as susceptible to lows. Mediocre startup and recovery, high priority. Useful as antiair and poking in matchups that are good at stuffing st X, such as vs MG74. Make use of run slides to get into the proper antiair positions.

(During forward run)

  • Quick 1 hit headbutt with very short range, but cannot be crouched. About even on block, but slightly launches on hit, giving him enough plus frames to link into st X. A good normal to mix in during run rush pressure. If they block it, you can go for your own tick throw, or backwards run to shimmy out of and punish their throw attempt.

(During forward run)

  • 2 hit headbutt with poor recovery and less damage potential. Do not use.

Jumping Normals

  • Small jab with very long active frames. Useful for protecting yourself from Mothra dives after you realize you've made a bad jump.

  • Sticks his foot out, very long active frames. A very high priority jumpin with a low hitbox, but difficult to use due to short hitstun, resulting in minus frames in most cases.

  • Small quick downwards punch that spikes air opponents downwards. Decent air to air and jumping long range poke. Better for punishing projectiles in cases where his d+X would swing his tail hurtbox into the projectiles.

  • His main air normal, swinging his tail in a large arc under him. Hitbox extends very low and far forward and can crossup, making it difficult to deal with. His hurtbox also extends quite low, so be careful with that. Can also be used as an instant overhead.

Throws

  • Standard bite throw. Can be stand glitched, but benefits are minimal, and losses from missing it are huge. Just follow up with dp+X every time instead.

  • Forward shoulder throw. Low damage and stun and no strong followups, not really useful.

  • Backwards shoulder throw. Sets up back turned unblockables pressure/combos.

  • Thermonuclear pulse. A rather unimpressive 270 throw, dealing similar damage to his bite and gives the same followup. It deals a large burst of stun, but because of the long startup animation, during which they're recovering stun, its usage is rather situational and generally not worth the risk of making yourself easier to tech. Mostly just good for swag.

Special Moves

/

  • Atomic breath fireball. Terrible startup compared to most, but has superb projectile speed, and a hitbox that enlarges as it travels. A good chip pressure option from fullscreen.
  • X version is a strong stun combo finisher on MG93 and Biollante.

(air)/

  • The best air fireball in the game. He doesn't float or change his jump momentum in any way during it, allowing him to just blanket the screen while approaching or retreating. Skinnier beams than his ground version, and can be crouched under by some characters. Also less damage than ground version.
  • Y version has superb startup and recovery, and can be hit confirmed into st X at the right ranges. If you're ever uncomfortably close to an opponent, you can just jump back air fireball to get space and there's not really a whole lot they can do about it unless they're Anguirus.
  • X version has more startup and faster projectile speed, but poor recovery makes it much less useful.

/

  • Atomic breath. The best breath attack in the game, with the most reach and best recovery. It's an aimable projectile limb that chips and destroys projectiles. Persists as long as the button is held down, but recovery time worsens the longer it's held. A superb midrange poke and chip pressure, projectile defense tool, and unbeatable antiair.
  • Can destroy MG74's entire wrath attack.
  • A great meaty option if you think your opponent's gonna wake up challenge.
  • X version has longer startup, can be held longer, but has extremely unsafe recovery. Only used in edge cases scenarios to finish kills, or secure a large amount of damage on a waking up Mothra in the corner.

/

  • Tail sweep. Turns around and swings his tail at their legs. Does NOT actually hit low, and doesn't chip. Hitbox is also fairly tall and will not be low crushed. Insane priority, especially on X version. One of the best midrange pokes in the game.
  • Y version is extremely quick, does moderate damage, and is safe even on whiff. Like a shoto cr. MK, but even better.
  • X version looks slow, but starts up and recovers very fast, and just has a lot of active frames. Strong beefy damage and knocks down on hit. One of the highest priority moves in the game, and will beat most things clean. Can be used to antiair after running backwards out of their range. Is still safe if they jump, but won't recover in time to antiair. His best guaranteed punish against major mistakes.

Wrath Attack

+

  • Red spiral atomic breath. Has 2 components. Starts with a pulse, where a ray extends out of his body and swings around, then fires a 5 segment beam fireball.
  • The pulse is considered a melee physical attack, and can destroy projectiles and has infinite durability. Can be eaten by wakeup meaty invincibility like all other melee attacks. Has extremely long hitstun and will spike air opponents down. Has no hurtbox, so it has unbeatable priority.
  • Beam has extremely high durability and projectile speed.
  • Deals about 100% stun on hit. High stun bar characters can eek by with a pixel away from stun if only hit by the beam. Because of the high damage and nigh guaranteed stun, and Godzilla doesn't give much free wrath meter, it is very difficult for an opponent to come back after being hit.
  • Primarily used as an antiair, though quick reactions are required due to long startup and time for the pulse to reach the upper part of its arc.
  • It can be combo'ed into from a back throw, though the timing is difficult.
  • It can theoretically also be used to counter projectiles, but it would likely need to be a guess. Beam segments can hit him between the pulse and beam, and safer projectiles will just recover in time and block, making reactive wrath incredibly unreliable. Guessing and just cutting through their beam with the absurd durability of your first segment will punish reliably.
  • Because the pulse is a physical limb with no hurtbox, you can of course also use it as a guess footsie tool to stuff their poke.

Combos/Punishes

Tech Punish

  • dp+X/Y
    • Y is easier to time
  • run slide X
    • Easiest to input and time, keeps opponent standing so you can pressure their stun gauge. Also conditions them for run up throw later for a potentially huge punish

General OTG

  • dp+X
  • qcf+Y/X

Links

  • air qcb+Y, X
    • Range dependent. Too close and you don't have enough frame advantage to combo. If too far for X to reach, you can do f+A~neutral+X to instant run slide X
  • running Y/X, Y or X
  • f u b throw, unblock meaty qcf+Y
  • antiair qcf+Y, X or Y or d+Y


Advanced

  • f u b throw, unblock meaty wrath
    • Somewhat frame tight, timing changes depending on the matchup. Initial pulse counts as a melee hit for meaty interactions, so it's odd that this is consistent at all
  • f u b throw, unblock meaty dp+X
  • qcd throw, dp+X (stand glitch ok)
    • The least benefit from stand glitch, only getting marginally better oki and some extra stun. But at least it's free to go for, since OTG dp+X is already his best normal followup.
  • qcd throw, stand glitch X, dp+X
    • Max damage bite throw followup. Not practical, do not use.

Matchups

Godzilla

Anguirus

King Ghidorah

Gigan

Megalon

MechaGodzilla 74

Biollante

Mothra

Super MechaGodzilla

Godzilla Kaijuu Daikessen
Godzilla Anguirus King Ghidorah Gigan
Megalon Biollante Mothra Gotengo
Mecha Godzilla (Showa) Mecha Godzilla (Heisei)
Super Mecha Godzilla
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Toom's Notes

GENERAL

  • DECENT UP CLOSE WITH NORMALS
  • DOESN'T GET HIS OWN STAGE. HIS THEME OVERTAKES ALL STAGE MUSIC IN VS MODE
  • DIRTY COM SETUP: GRAB TOSS, MEATY TAIL SWING (CONNECTS BUT PASSES THROUGH PUTTING YOU IN BLOCK ANIMATION) INTO ANOTHER GRAB.
  • DIRTY COM SETUP: GRAB TOSS, MEATY LIGHT ATOMIC BREATH INTO GRAB AGAIN.
  • WORST ROAR IN TERMS OF SPEED AND RECOVERY. ICONIC THOUGH.
  • FAIRLY MOBILE RUN AND MIXUPS. HE CAN RUN UNDERNEATH SUPER MG'S QCF BEAMS.

LIGHT NORMALS (Y BUTTON)

STANDING >>> GOOD POKE

CROUCHING >>> BIT SLOW BUT GOOD FOR LANDING HITS ON DOWNED OPPONENT

JUMPING >>> DECENT AIR TO AIR NORMAL / CLUMSY KICK

DASHING >>> A SINGLE HIT HEADBUTT. ALLOWS FOR A GRAB MIX-UP.


HEAVY NORMALS (X BUTTON)

STANDING >>> FAST ATTACK AND SOME DECENT PUSH

CROUCHING >>> DECENT RANGE, DOES NOT HIT DOWNED OPPONENTS. LIMITED AIR COUNTER.

JUMPING >>> A HEAVY PUSH DOWNWARDS ESPECIALLY ON AIRBORNE OPPONENTS / LOWER TAIL SWING THAT HITS RATHER EARLY

DASHING >>> 2 HIT HEADBUTT. BAD RECOVERY WHEN BLOCKED. GOOD FOR MIXING WITH THE LIGHT HEADBUTT OF COURSE.



GRAPPLES (B BUTTON)

F, DF,,D + B BUTTON >>> BITE

  • FAST THROW THAT CAN BE ESCAPED BY MASHING BUTTONS AND WEAK


F, UF, U, UB, B / B, UB, U, UF, F + B BUTTON >>> SHOULDER THROW

  • HANDY FOR CHANGING SIDES
  • MODERATE DAMAGE
  • CAN SET UP UNBLOCKABLE WRATH


U, UB, B, DB, D, DF, F + B BUTTON >>> ATOMIC PULSE

  • HIS STRONGEST THROW WITH STUN



SPECIALS

D, DB, B + ATTACK >>> WIDE 3 SEGMENT BEAM, SLOW AND ALLOWS YOU TO GET IN OR 4 SEGMENT, SLOWER RECOVERY.

  • THE AIR VERSION IS THINNER AND CAN BE DUCKED.
  • STUNS QUITE A BIT IN GENERAL.
  • BOTH VERSIONS STUN QUITE A BIT IF YOU LAND IT.
  • USEFUL FOR MEATY SITUATIONS ON OPPONENT'S WAKEUP.


D, DF, F + ATTACK >>> ADJUSTABLE ATOMIC BREATH

  • CAN COME OUT QUICKLY TO NEGATE PROJECTILES OR ATTACK SOMEONE ABOVE YOU
  • HIGH METER DONATION FOR LITTLE DAMAGE UNFORTUNATELY
  • LITTLE REASON TO USE THE HEAVY VERSION AS IT TAKES A LOT LONGER TO RECOVER FROM WHEN FULLY EXHALED
  • USEFUL FOR MINOR CHIP DAMAGE


F, D, DF + ATTACK >>> TAIL SWING. HIT OR KNOCKDOWN VARIATION.

  • HUGE RANGE
  • DOES NOT DO CHIP DAMAGE
  • POTENTIAL LONG DISTANCE ANTI-AIR OR TRADE TO CONTINUE ZONING
  • CAN BE GOOD FOR HITTING OPPONENT THAT HAS BEEN KNOCKED DOWN


F, DF, D, DB, B, F + HEAVY >>> WRATH

  • INITIAL PULSE IS CONSIDERED PHYSICAL AND DESTROYS PROJECTILES, FOLLOWED BY 5 SEGMENT BEAM WITH HIGH PROJECTILE DURABILITY AND SPEED
  • VERY STURDY ANTI-AIR IF YOUR EXECUTION IS ON POINT
  • 6 HITS IN TOTAL WHICH OVERLOADS STUN METER. 5 HIT SEGMENT DONATES WRATH TO OTHER PLAYER
  • 1/4 SCREEN DISTANCE IS IDEAL FOR PUNISHING PROJECTILES IF YOU CAN REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH
  • UNBLOCKABLE SETUP: SIDE SWITCH THROW, MEATY PULSE. CAN WORK EASIER ON BIOLLANTE / SUPER MG