Michelangelo (TF)

Michelangelo
Height	5'8"
Weight	170 lbs.
Eyes	Black
Age	15½
Birthplace	Woody's Pet Shop, Pennshellvania
Weapons	Nunchucks
Favorite Activities	Surfing, Skateboarding
Ultimate Goals	He is planning a few days off to do some surfin' and boardin'

Introduction

Much like Leonardo, Michelangelo is very shoto-esc fundamentally in terms of overall style & gameplan. Often considered a glass canon due to his lesser resistance to dizzies while possessing the ability to dizzy quickly, Michelangelo finds himself in the more niche side of the meta. With one of the better DPs/Anti-Airs in the game in the name of Rising Thunder as well as Dynamite Bombers for lethal dizzies and soft reads, Michelangelo has explosive potential on both defense and offense when played correctly. The general downside however, is compared to the 3 other turtles, Michelangelo has the WORST normals of the bunch.

Quirks & Tech

Being one of the 2 turtles (The other being Leo) that can reversal or DP immediately off a Backflip, use this tactic to broaden your defensive mixups when being backed into a corner or simply for baiting an offensive or jump-happy opponent.

Against C.dome, a character who has a deadly death grab on the turtles, Michelangelo's fireballs go right over chrome sparks. Use this to your advantage and pressure C.dome into making a mistake which Michelangelo can readily punish for game.

Unbockables

Mike has specific unblockables against Armaggon, Shredder, and Aska. These take advantage of the dead frames the trio have when crouch blocking, and because of this, they require precise timing.

Dragon Breath Unblockable

This works with Aska, Armaggon, and Shredder. When doing a close crouching light punch, quickly cancel it into Dragon Breath for a simple unblockable. With Aska and Shredder specifically, it is possible to do this with a close standing light punch for the same unblockable. This is not possible with Armaggon because his crouching hurtbox is too low for Mike's standing light punch to connect.

Rising Thunder Unblockable

This one is only possible on Aska and Armaggon. When doing crouching light punch into standing light punch, it will essentially become an "overhead" for the two. When doing the crouching light punch, make sure Rising Thunder is charged. If it is, you will be able to cancel standing light punch into the Rising Thunder for an unblockable combo. Remember to use light punch Rising Thunder on aska as heavy punch RT's final hit will whiff because of her hurtbox. It is best to use this in safe jump situations for certain option select opportunities.

Data Arsenal

Pre-jump Frames                        :  2 frames (Hi-speed 1)
Dizzy                                  :  576 points

Movelist

Legend N = Normal chain ok S = Special cancel ok C = CPS Chain ok [] = frames between next active hitbox

• = After active frame(s) For calculating total move time

Advantage is on hit and block, respectively

Standing Normals

Standing Light Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 8 3 12 128 -7/-4 S A slow hook with decent priority and above-average stun for a light normal. Because of its slow speed, this rarely comes to play in neutral, but it can stuff some moves safely. This is best used as an unlockable overhead against Armaggon and Aska.

Standing Light Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 6 1 8 96 -1/+2 N The fact that this can anti-air makes it niche should an opponent jump in on your dragon breath, but that's about it.

Standing Heavy Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 8 9 10 224 -3/0 Worth throwing around abit. Body slamming into this is a good neutral game plan that not enough Mike players use.

Close Heavy Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 8 5 10 224 0/+3 Same as above. You don't get punished for having it blocked.

Standing Heavy Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 7 5 13 224 -4/-1 A working anti-air that every turtle has.

Close Heavy Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 7 5 7 192 +2/+5 This normal has almost no uses. It works as an close anti-air, but Mike has much better options.

Crouching Normals

Crouching Light Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 6 1 11 96 -4/-1 S/N Mike's main combo tool. This is best used to combo into Rising Thunder, but it can also be used in neutral as a pressure tool as it is his fastest crouching normal.

Crouching Light Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 8 5 16 96 -13/-10 N Don't ever use this. Completely useless.

Crouching Heavy Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 7 5 8 224 +2/+5 This is faster than Leo and Don's crouching heavy punch, so it makes for a much better anti-air. This works better than heavy punch in certain situations like being cornered.

Crouching Heavy Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 7 10 16 224 KD/-8 Much like Don's, it is a decent slide that works as a gap closer. Since you can retain charge while using it, you can move in to force jump-ins and punish with a Rising Thunder. Moving in and calling out moves with Dynamite Bomber is also possible.

Jumping Normals

Jumping Light Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 6 Infinite N/A 96 N/A An okay jumping normal with infinite frames. Like his brothers, the move is active after the swing animation ends. Just remember that the elbow hits rather than the weapon.

Belly Flop (Down+LP)	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 3 Infinite N/A 96 N/A The universal command aerial all turtles have. It's the best lingering aerial they have though its priority can be questioned.

Jumping Light Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 3 Infinite N/A 64 N/A A short-range move with low priority that all the turtles have. JHK, JHP, and belly flop should be used instead.

Neutral Jump Light Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 3 Infinite N/A 96 N/A Infinite active frames, but you should never really use this outside of situational scenarios.

Jumping Heavy Punch	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 5 5 N/A 192 N/A Not quite as ignorant as Leo or Don's versions of this move due to less range, but still has great priority that will see it through. With practice you can make some good jump-ins and follow up with a cr.LP into rising thunder.

Jumping Heavy Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 5 5 N/A 224 N/A Mike's best cross-up. It has higher stun than jumping heavy punch, so use this when you're in need of a dizzy.

Neutral Jump Heavy Kick	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 5 10 N/A 160 N/A Like neutral jumping light kick, this is a very situational normal that doesn't see much usage.

Special Moves

Dynamite Bomber (Light)	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 10 1[9]*3 8 +10/+13

Dynamite Bomber (Heavy)	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 10 1[3]*6 8 +10/+13 Heavy Dynamite Bomber only lands all hits against Turtles and Armaggon on HS1. Advantage is based on last hit.

Rising Thunder (Light)

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 3 20 22 KD/-13 You can definitely abuse this move in pokey situations and to establish the treat of it to your opponent so they respect you. Buffering this move from a backflip often catches opponents offguard, forcing them to become craft with their approach. As long as you're not predictable with it, there are many situations that come up to use this move. Also does good chip if blocked at point-blank range, so keep that in mind when in last hit situations.

Rising Thunder (Heavy)

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 3 3+3+21 29 KD/-27 Reserve this version for dizzy punishes or punishes for unsafe point-blank moves like a blocked or whiffed Raph chestbuster or Aska slide kick. This hits hard, but you really only want to use it when you KNOW it will hit, as it leaves Mike incredibly open for punish if whiffed or blocked.

Dragon Breath

Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 11 N/A 26 320 +3/+6 One of the better projectiles in the game. Mike's main gameplan is to turret with this and force mistakes from the opponent due to it's good recovery. This projectile sits at an extremely obnoxious height for certain characters to consistently deal with, namely Arm & C.dome since it can't be ducked nor easily jumped over in tight situations. You mostly want to zone with this from afar because there is some startup, but at times you can callout certain jumps and pin the opponent with a knockdown, leading to more camping. When in projectile wars, use the light version to gain advantage and use the heavy version when you're deep in to secure a hit OR force the opponent to jump.

Ultimate Attack

Ogre Rush	Guard Level Startup Active Recovery (whiff) Recovery (hit) Hitstun Advantage on Hit Cancelable? 12 99 43 KD/-27 Given here is first possible active frame and total duration until final frame.

Combos/Punishes/References

HP Dynamite Bomber into standing HP or LP Rising Thunder (If you get a soft read and land this, it will often times dizzy and confirm into the combo below.)

Jump in(Immediately begin holding down) HP/HK, cr.LP, HP Rising Thunder (This is an excellent dizzy punish and will always redizzy Raph & other Mikes. KEEP IN MIND that due to Aska & War having weird hurtboxes you will need to crossup J.HK into heavy RT without the cr.lp for the former and completely give up the heavy and do the light RT for the latter. It is an unexplored concept, but for some reason, Mike's jump in has some WEIRD properties. It is in possible theory if you get a deep jump in with perfect inputs this will redizzy other characters as seen here https://clips.twitch.tv/SparklingEagerSwanDerp-WiE6DSsTyTLetgyJ

Strategies

Mike is an explosive turret character, meant to camp and zone to his heart's content while having the ability to turn on the jets and end the round in a violent burst. Think of a Sagat in Street fighter with a Blanka ball, that's Mike. You want to annoy your opponent with your zoning and go from 0 to 100 real quick, making your opponent second guess how they exactly want to take you on. Here are a few key factors to take in as Mike that will help you play MUs accordingly..

- Know the fireball dynamic:

Mike generally can camp it out against most characters, but it is important you are able to identify which characters you can openly fireball camp, which you may need to carefully choose fireballs, and which who can compete and possibly try to camp Mike in return *cough cough Raph* usually in the fireball dynamic, there is a zoner and the other one is the "snuffer". While the zoner has the better fireball from afar and will win the fireball wars, the snuffer usually can use their fireball more up close. Leo & Chrome Dome are fireball snuffers typically and Raph & Mike are zoners. Mike is interesting in that his relatively quick startup on his fireball can make him snuff stuff with it. This is evident vs Raph as Raph will beat Mike in a fireball war from afar, but closer ranges favor Mike. Knowing the fireball traits of your opponent helps you adjust Mike's incredible fireball game accordingly.

- Establish respect, but don't overdo it:

Mike's Rising Thunder is dumb, let's face it. However, a good player will adapt and begin trying to fish it outta you. You need to fight your dumb shark turtle brain instincts of DPing on wakeup but also let your opponent know you will gladly do so if they don't respect it. Sometimes you should "make due" with substitute anti-airs like Mike's standing HP or even the rare standing LK spam just to get your opponent's eyes off the Rising Thunder so you can pull it on e'm later.

- When you explode, make it count:

Ever played super smash bros and that captain falcon player just seems to really destroy everyone when he gets that ONE opening? Well Mike embodies that, most notably with his dynamite bomber and fireball trapping. When you get an advantage state in most MUs, it is in your best interest to try and see if you can close it out ASAP because Mike can be fragile to dizzy setups, meaning if you can wrap it up before your opponent even gets a shot to make a comeback, you're probably best off doing just that. Mike hits HARD, so get that dizzy or a corner situation and overwhelm your opponent so they don't even see Mike's weaknesses.

MATCHUPS

Here is the matchup section. We will display advantaged MUs into disadvantaged ones to keep with consistency across character pages.

VS War

{{ MU Rating=[80/20] This MU is quite laughable if you know what to do, it isn't even fair and Mike bullies and negates War completely. Spam your fireball, force War to move, punish accordingly, repeat. You have the frame data on your fireball to quite literally react to any response with your own. All turtles can easily stuff War's DFA with a neutral jump heavy kick. If you block a DFA, you can just slide him as he comes down. Let's not even get started on the fact that the moment War gets knocked down in a corner it becomes fireball trap hell and its GG. The only thing War has in this MU is that Mike cannot dizzy punish him with heavy Rising Thunder, but War gets shut down so hard it doesn't even matter. }}

VS Aska

{{ MU Rating=[70/30] Aska is annoying, but can definitely be lamed out with Mike. Just need to respect the DP here and there and bait them with spacing. The turtles have a pretty big exploit on Aska in the form of backflip corner camping, they can literally TURTLE her (Pun intended I'm sorry). Due to Aska's throw being AWFUL, all the turtles can easily deal with Aska pressure, counter her, and drive her crazy into wanting to throw them, which will put her in the corner and well, she doesn't want that. Oh, and to add insult to injury, all turtles can use that same corner they camp with to backflip and completely dodge Aska's super. Aska can still be annoying with her amazing and ignorant DP which stuffs Mike's own DP, but overall if any turtle player camps the corner against Aska, they just laugh. Aska at least can trick turtles up with her DP, so she has it better than War at least. }}

Frame Data Quick List

Move	Startup	Active	Recovery	Advantage
sLP	8	3	12	-7/-4
sLK	6	1	8	-1/+2
sHP	8	9	10	-3/0
clHP	8	5	10	0/+3
sHK	7	5	13	-4/-1
clHK	7	5	7	+2/+5
crLP	6	1	11	-4/-1
crLK	8	5	16	-13/-10
crHP	7	5	8	+2/+5
crHK	7	10	16	KD/-8
jLP	6	infinite	N/A	N/A
BFlop	3	infinite	N/A	N/A
jLK	3	infinite	N/A	N/A
djLK	3	infinite	N/A	N/A
jHP	5	5	N/A	N/A
jHK	5	5	N/A	N/A
djHK	5	10	N/A	N/A
lDB*	10	1[9]*3	8	+10/+13
hDB*	10	1[3]*6	8	+10/+13
Proj	11	N/A	26	+3/+6
lRT	3	20	22	KD/-13
hRT	3	3+3+21	29	KD/-27
UA**	12	99	43	KD/-27

(*)Heavy Dynamite Bomber only lands all hits against Turtles and Armaggon on HS1. Advantage is based on last hit.

(**)Given here is first possible active frame and total duration until final frame.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Tournament Fighters
Aska	Chrome Dome	Donatello	Armaggon
Karai	Leonardo	Michelangelo	Raphael
Rat King	Shredder	War	Wingnut

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