In-depth character discussion: Axel (3 versions)

[badjab]

I only wish that Axel-1 and Axel-2 had unique 2 and 3 star attacks.

[Antares Zyklus]

I never got an answer to my questions on my last post (Page 1) *sadface*. Abadede is still a pain (try to Grand Upper him out of his special that knocks you down but it didn't work). Last attempt with Axel-1 was just horrible (by my standards). It seems that I can't even get by the two Jets on Stage 2 (SOR2 route) without losing at least one life. And doggone Shiva...argh!

[Don Vecta]

TAny tips on effectively taking out Shiva (Stage 7 SOR1 route) without being pwned?

Shiva has never been an easy opponent.I always try to run sideways with him and let him come closet to me so I can nail him a Grand Uppah, however, you gotta be careful cuz he'll do the fire kick before you hit him so it's about timing.

Never get aligned with him cuz he'll jump-kick at you. Too far he'll do final crash (which you still can avoid by side stepping (up up or down down) and then you nail him with something as he's recovering.

[Punk Signal]

I never got an answer to my questions on my last post (Page 1) *sadface*. Abadede is still a pain (try to Grand Upper him out of his special that knocks you down but it didn't work). Last attempt with Axel-1 was just horrible (by my standards). It seems that I can't even get by the two Jets on Stage 2 (SOR2 route) without losing at least one life. And doggone Shiva...argh!

I have no specific advice for Abadede but I can help you with the Rocketeers:

The Jets have one glaring weakness. Sometimes they will pull back and stay out of the screen. This is your chance to make them pay:

rush to the edge of the screen and stay on the same line. Say you're on the edge of the right screen, they'll pull back and you won't see them, NOW just walk a bit left (3 or 4 steps will do). That's when those b****d will start a rush on you. Thing is: if you turn back to them and make a jump attack they'll bite the dust (they're very vulnerable before doing their stampede). Rinse & Repeat.

This works with most characters, even with Axel-1 despite the short range of his jump kick.

Note: IIRC with "Zan" you have to jump forward and make a diving attack (jump then down B) to connect.

[andrern2000]

Mine analysis:
-3rd rank: Axel SOR2
His speed is slowest among three versions. I NEED THE SPEED. The bulkiness of his body cannot compare with the speed he lacks. Albeit slow, he's got the most damaging attacks with his F F+B Grand Uppah and his F+A ultimate move. I also find his jumping kick has the most range. His series attack of double kicks also has the most range.

PRO:
- Grand Upper does very high damage
- F+A specials does the most damage among three Axels.
- Jumping kick has the longest range, thus safest to use.
- Series kicks has the most range

CONS:
- Speed, he's slow if comparing his body proportion.
- His jumping kick, albeit long range, is the LOWEST in damage among the three.
- Backthrow damage is moderate.

All in all, my analysis for Axel 2 is high-powered long range character with slow speed. (Kinda like Max).

2nd rank: Axel BK3
His speed is the highest among the three. His jumping kick makes high damage, making him one great air attacker. Since on harder difficulty, I need speed more than damage, and also safety, I prefer playing him and learn to be patient when facing enemies, chipping little by little their HPs while not hit. In the end, their HP goes zero anyways, in my thought. So evade and dodge is more valuable for my option.

PRO:
- Since on harder difficulty, I need speed more than damage, I prefer playing him and learn to be patient. SPEEDY.
- Jumping kick has high damage, which I abuse often against enemies.
- Can do infini-Jabs more easier amongst other three Axels. (defeats two 'Heart' enemies in one combo)

CONS:
- Low damage output.
- Grand Upper only does chipping damage.
- F+A ultimate move does least damage.
- Backslam does medium damage, yet long time execution.

I choose Speed over Damage on higher difficulty.


-1st rank: Axel BK1/SOR1
PROs:
- Highest dps (damage per second).
- Quick ultimate execution, allowing least vulnerability.
- Quick on foot.
- Grand Upper does very high damage, along with F+A ultimate
- Long range of normal punch attack.
- Air jumping kick does high damage.
- Back slam does very high damage.

CONS:
- Air kick does VERY little range (with knees?? Seriously.)

No questions, I feel very comfortable playing with him. Yellow Spinal with 2/3 of Axel's health bar can be easily killed by B B B ffB (grand uppah!) or left with very little HP to finish with. The time needed is very short, yet to deal tremendous damage: B B B f+A. Try compare this with SOR2 Axel doing B B B f+A. Long time execution.

The best part of Axel SOR1 in my opinion? is his ability to do 'Just enough' damage to kill a small minion, like Spinal/Galsia. A Galsia usually has 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 of Axel's lifebar. With B B B, Grand Uppah, or B B B, f+A you can kill 1/2 HP enemies in one blow. So pinch them down to 1/2 hp, then do the combo. easy. saves time. Or, if you see an enemy with 1 lifebar, then it means you need just to do the combo B B B Grand Uppah twice.

So Axel SOR1 can deplete enemy's health bar at a rate of 1/2 bar per combo (B B B ffB or B B B f+A), in very quick seconds.

[Stunts]

Damn, SoR2 Axel is crazy strong I want to know how Bomber arrange the strength stat, because his power is more then 3 stars. You can clearly do an entire healthbar's worth of damage by one well-placed combo! (oops, wrong thread )
But yeah, I love how so much detail is put into SoR1 Axel. the B.Team really outdid themselves. I can't wait for the Blaze Thread, I'll really go to town in that thread.

[Erpy]

One thing I didn't like about Axel was his or rather my tendency to die an embarassing death by doing a blitz near a drop like the ones on the SOR1 bridge or SOR3 construction site.

One thing that wasn't mentioned was Axel's Forward-Special weapon attack with a sword. When you use it, Axel stands in place for a second while flashing and then he brings down the sword in a downward slash that has extremely long range. From the moment he executes it until the moment he ends the slash, Axel is completely invincible, so while it's slow and tough to hit certain enemies with while they're running around, it's very reliable to use on enemies who are about to walk into range and beat on you. (they'll get hit and knocked down before the invincibility wears off) Very useful against those horrible kickboxers.

[kmc]

One thing that wasn't mentioned was Axel's Forward-Special weapon attack with a sword. ....

This is really an abusable move! When you have sor2 weapon style, all you need is keep the sword as long as possible. Rudra's sword forward+A does not have invisibility and is less strong.

[Chan1522]

Damn,it looks like SOR3 Axel Stands nowhere in the ratings but he is my favorite since childhood,plus not a single video on youtube,so I made One Solo Run

[Chan1522]

SOR3 Axel Part 2

[Neo Metal Shadow]

I only wish that Axel-1 and Axel-2 had unique 2 and 3 star attacks.

QFT!

If they had different blitz attacks [ like SOR 1 Blaze and SOR 2 Shiva ] they could be better imo.

The best version of Axel Stone imo is the SOR 1 version, this version is perfect to me [ except for the flyng knee XD ]

And of you choose the SOR 3 pause delay his combos become more stronger imo.

And thank you Don Vecta for this tread, [ and the others characters discussion treads ] helped me a lot =)

[realnabarl]

I begin to love Axel-3, he is the most smooth to use of the three, and he will be still powerful if you avoid using Grand Upper and offensive special.

And today I pick up Axel-1, he is good when you play with him a bit defensively. Who give him a headache the most are Kung-fu masters and Muay-thai boxers, cause Axel-1's poor knee can't win them in a air competition. And I will be extremely nervous when I see a SoR1 Galsia take out his knife or he is with a bat. His series attack is his longest reach attack, can counter many attacks, but it is not easy to use in a chaotic scene.

Another lack for Axel (also Adam) is he jump so close...so when I play with him I will avoid normal jump, this is inconvenient when you are used to other chars who can jump further.

[KingLion]

For me it's like this:
Axel 1 Worst
PROs:
- Highest Dmg
- F+A Special (fast and safe to use)
- Long Range Attacks (useful till you get used to the other Axels)
- Best Running Speed
- Blitz2 (it's easier to get more hits and I think it generally has more hits than the other Axels)

CONs:
- SLOWEST walk speed (I don't know why everyone seems to think he is fast. There is barely any difference in the walk speed, considering he has 1 star over the others in speed)
- Worst Air Attacks
- Worst Jump Height and Distance (You can't even jump attack bikers without getting hit)
- Mobility Sucks (Axel2 also has this problem)

Axel 3 Middle
PROs:
- 2nd Run Speed
- Best Walk Speed
- Safer Combos (because of his speed)
- Best Air Attacks
- Best Jump Height and Distance
- Mobility (seriously he is all over the place and very easy to use)

CONs:
- Grand Upper is useless (sure you can and probably will still use it against Abadede, but almost never otherwise)
- Dmg a little lacking (he can make up for this, I'm just not good enough with him and think he requires waaay to much patience)
- Low Range Jab (his speed usually makes up for it)

Axel 2 Best
PROs:
- Grand Upper (His Grand Upper probably does the most dmg, I need to check this out more)
- Decent Air Attacks
- Decent Jump Height and Distance
- Longest Range (on some attacks, sadly not the jabs)
- Blitz1 (I don't find the extra range to be a disadvantage, especially against certain situations)

CONs:
- Low Air Dmg
- Low Range Jab
- Useless Throws
- 2nd Lowest Walk Speed
- Mobility Sucks

I think Axel 2 is the most versatile out of all the versions, his low range being his biggest issue. If you can get past that... Axel is the character with the 2nd highest dmg in the game, he loses to Max (and the boss charas) since he can dmg faster and safer.

[realnabarl]

Axel 3 Middle
PROs:
- 2nd Run Speed
- Best Walk Speed
- Safer Combos (because of his speed)
- Best Air Attacks
- Best Jump Height and Distance
- Mobility (seriously he is all over the place and very easy to use)

CONs:
- Grand Upper is useless (sure you can and probably will still use it against Abadede, but almost never otherwise)
- Dmg a little lacking (he can make up for this, I'm just not good enough with him and think he requires waaay to much patience)
- Low Range Jab (his speed usually makes up for it)

He must use SoR3 combo type, his 3rd jab is super long, which can make up for the previous two.

[Damon Caskey]

Axel is the character with the 2nd highest dmg in the game, he loses to Max (and the boss charas) since he can dmg faster and safer.

Not even close.

Axel is an effective character, but a damage machine he's not. Version to version Blaze absolutely owns him in output, and unlike Axel Blaze 2-3 loses nothing against fat guys. Axel just hurts himself trying to keep up (literally). I'd wager Adam and Shiva outclass him pretty handily as well.

DC