In-Depth Character Discussion: Zan

*Original post by BareknuckleRoo.

Dr. Gilbert Zan, researcher turned cyborg. He's highly underrated as a character due to extremely bad jumping attacks, low damage on his basic punch combo (worst in the game) and relatively weak blitzes. However, his basic combo has ridiculous reach, execution speed and priority making it great for a keep-away game, and his blitzes are great at rushing down enemies (particularly his 2 and 3 star ones), not to mention he has good damage on his slam attack.

Zan's Movelist

Zan's new, SoRR v5 specific moves are marked with *SoRR*. He's got access to the 'standard' police special (summoning a police car or helicopter, where available).

The damage values for all of his SoR3 moves appear to be the same as they were originally. See here for more info: http://www.gamefaqs.com/genesis/586496-streets-of-rage-3/faqs/19717

A - Special
B - Attack
C - Jump
X - Special Combo

Normal Attacks

Basic Combo - B, B, B (Jab, Jab, Rocket Punch). Extremely fast execution and terrific reach, but the damage is pretty awful. Use the the first two non-knockdown hits to follow up with a blitz, or better yet a grab in order to deal some damage.

Series - Hold B for a second or two and release, or you can push the series button. Does the last move in his basic combo, the rocket propelled punch.

Back Attack - B + C or, while holding B, push C. Zan slaps away the enemy behind him. A bit lacking in speed.

Special Attacks (Consumes Special Meter/Health)

Offensive Special (Electric Reach) - Forward + A. Reaches out with both arms electrified, hitting multiple times. Priority and range are both good, although SoR3 Blaze's Kikoushou has about 50% more reach. Damage isn't terrific but there's worse offensive specials out there. You're probably better off using Zan's blitzes and saving his special gauge for his defensive special.

Note: SoRR removed offensive special invulnerability for SoR3 characters, so it's no longer as safe to use as it was in SoR3.

Defensive Special (Electric Body) - A (without pressing left or right). Zan surrounds himself with electricity. Multihit attack, so it will only do minimal damage to jumping or flying enemies compared to single hit, high damage defensive specials. It's not particularly good, but at least is seems to be easier to connect with most of the hits than other multihit specials like Elle's or Roo's (as long as you're touching the enemy it should hit all 4 times). Like all defensive specials, Zan is invulnerable when using his.

Blitz Special *SoRR* - Forward, Forward, A. Zan launches a small, explosive orb at the enemy, similar to the ones Zan could throw using weapons in SoR3. Damage isn't great, but it gives him a ranged attack at all times which is pretty nice. Appears to be unblockable, although enemies tend to move out of the way when you use it. Note that the explosions will hurt you or your teammates if you touch them!

Jumping Attacks

Note: if Zan jumps and then lands without attacking, he'll sort of float to the ground, taking a splitsecond longer than other characters to land.

Standing Jump Attack - C then B (without moving left or right). Sticks his arm down at an angle in an awkward pose. Not very impressive reach, honestly.

Moving Jump Attack - Forward + C then B. Under SoR3 jumping rules you can also use this by jumping straight up, moving while in the air and then attacking. Zan does somersault in midair, ending with a shoulder tackle. Abysmal reach, probably the worst jumping attack in the game. If you hit with the shoulder tackle you do slightly less damage that if you hit when Zan is spinning.

No-Knockdown Attack - C, then while in the air Down + B. Zan brings his arm down in a sort of overhead chop. Awkward, not particularly good.

Running/Blitz Attacks

Unlike SoR3, Zan can use any of his blitzes at any time, even if he's holding a weapon.

Forward, Forward, B. The blitz you use depends on how many stars you've earned via points. 1-3 star blitzes can also be executed by pressing the special combo button (X) when you're standing still and then quickly inputting the set of directions listed.

0 Star Blitz (Dashing Charge) - Dashes forward with a shockwave of energy in front of him. Range isn't great, but the speed is good, and it's decent enough for ramming into enemies.

1 Star Blitz (Upgraded Dashing Charge) - X, Forward, Forward. Zan travels slightly farther than in his 0 star version. Not bad, but his 2 and 3 star blitzes are awesome by comparison.

2 Star Blitz - X, Back, Up. A forward dash attack with one arm forward. Damage is iffy, but the reach is terrific, and it's very safe to use. Great as a quick knockdown, even if you're out of stars. You can move Zan up and down slightly during this move.

3 Star Blitz - X, Up, Back, Forward. Even better than the 2 star version, Zan rushes forward with both his hands stretched out and electrified (same way as his offensive special). Damage is a bit lacking, but the priority and range are top-tier. One of the safest blitzes to rush down enemies with in the game, just a shame it's not a bit stronger. You can move Zan up and down slightly during this move.

Grab Attacks

When holding an enemy from the front:

Forward + B - Slaps the enemy backhanded. You can do this up to three times, third hit will do a knockdown slap attack. A bit slow.

Neutral B (don't hold a direction) *SoRR* - Zan plants his foot in the enemy's face, knocking them down immediately. Weak, but it lets Zan quickly release the enemy if you accidentally grab while mashing B instead of doing those slow slaps like in SoR3.

Back + B - Throws the enemy behind Zan. Damage isn't particularly good, you're better off vaulting and going for slams unless you really need to throw the enemy away.

When holding an enemy from behind:

B (without pressing left or right) - Throws the enemy away a short distance behind you. Damage is okay, but the slam is even better.

Forward or Back + B - Zan lifts and shakes the enemy a couple of times before slamming them in front of him. If the enemy doesn't have wakeup/recovery invulnerability, you can just grab them as they stand and use this attack over and over. This is the move you want to try and use repeatedly as Zan to rack up damage.

Team Attack - While grabbing your teammate from either side, press C. Instead of vaulting you'll jump over your partner and use his shoulder tackle.

If grabbed from behind (by either enemy or teammate): C kicks forward, during the kick press B to break free and throw the enemy.

Weapon Attacks

Zan has great speed and reach when using pipes/bats/swords/planks. He's also pretty good with a knife. Note that he appears to have lost the ability to use his weapons to throw those explosive orbs like he could in SoR3. Instead, that's been turned into a blitz special for him.

While holding any weapon, throw it away using B + C or the Back Attack button. When using a gun, pressing the attack button when an enemy is at close range will use his series attack (the last hit in his basic combo) to quickly knock away the enemy instead of shooting.

When holding a Knife/Kunai/Bottle:

B - Overhead attack with the weapon. Great reach and pretty good speed.

Forward, Forward, B *SoRR* - Sweeps downward with the knife in a wide slash. It's not bad, but the special attack you can use is better. Not usable with a kunai or bottle.

Forward + A *SoRR* - Charges up for a split second then dives forward with a jet engine out of his back! You are invulnerable when using this move. Not usable with a kunai or bottle.

When holding a Baseball Bat/Metal Pipe/Wooden Plank/Sword:

B - Quick overhead swing that ends with the weapon straight forward. Massive range and speed, great attack.

Forward, Forward, B *SoRR* - Rushes forward while spinning the weapon, functionally similar to his 2 and 3 star blitzes. Great priority, okay damage. Not usable with a sword.

Tonight I discovered that Zan, upon reaching his two star blitz level, can throw the big chunky enemies that breathe fire.
The ones that would normally crumple most characters.

After playing a bit more with Zan I can tell his air game, while not exactly the best, it's not half-bad, key is to use it well on wake up enemies. Both jump attacks and down B attacks hits twice; the normal jump attack, while doing the spinning, has a non-knockdown hit property and the shoulder charge knocks down. the downward slash, if timed properly also can hit twice and leave you ready for a grab combo too.

One thing I have noticed about his weapon play is that he's very vulnerable to enemies trying to outflank and come in from above/below...whereas some other characters like Elle and Rudra are surprisingly resistant to that.

(best place to see it is Gangs of Fury stage 1, stand at one end of the pit with the 2-bar metal bat)

RuffNTumble wrote:Tonight I discovered that Zan, upon reaching his two star blitz level, can throw the big chunky enemies that breathe fire.
The ones that would normally crumple most characters.

tbh he should've been able to do that all the time ...he's a big strong cyborg who weighs more than Max

(not to mention does terrible damage given that fact...even a 14-year old kid who weighs next to nothing can hit harder)

A tactic I love to use with Zan is his 3 Star Blitz.

The move works wonders when the screen is filled with enemies, double tap dashing with electric arms from left to right decimates the enemies.
SoR 2 level 6 boss on mania for example; the four robots.
3 star blitz is so quick on start-up and recovery that I did not even lose a life to the buggers when spamming it.

DarkThief wrote:One thing I have noticed about his weapon play is that he's very vulnerable to enemies trying to outflank and come in from above/below...whereas some other characters like Elle and Rudra are surprisingly resistant to that.

(best place to see it is Gangs of Fury stage 1, stand at one end of the pit with the 2-bar metal bat)

RuffNTumble wrote:Tonight I discovered that Zan, upon reaching his two star blitz level, can throw the big chunky enemies that breathe fire.
The ones that would normally crumple most characters.

tbh he should've been able to do that all the time ...he's a big strong cyborg who weighs more than Max

(not to mention does terrible damage given that fact...even a 14-year old kid who weighs next to nothing can hit harder)

I'm not a big fan of Zan. His design is bland, and his gameplay isn't as fun as it should be for a Cyborg.

Trust me on this one. Learn his tricks and he's a lot fun. I used to think he wasn't fun but trust me, he has tons of potential.

When I found out that you can move diagonally while doing his blitz I had some serious fun.

Right then.

I have not edited my first post because this deserves noting.

It appears that Zan cannot throw all the big boys, even when fully blitzed, or two starred as I observed.

I'm guessing it's an enemy perametre issue, as the big boys on the helicopter will not be tossed, yet on the next level,, they will.

Also the opening level from SoR3 in remake has big boys that can be slammed.

More experimentation will ensue.

Crash Dummie wrote:

DarkThief wrote:One thing I have noticed about his weapon play is that he's very vulnerable to enemies trying to outflank and come in from above/below...whereas some other characters like Elle and Rudra are surprisingly resistant to that.

(best place to see it is Gangs of Fury stage 1, stand at one end of the pit with the 2-bar metal bat)

RuffNTumble wrote:Tonight I discovered that Zan, upon reaching his two star blitz level, can throw the big chunky enemies that breathe fire.
The ones that would normally crumple most characters.

tbh he should've been able to do that all the time ...he's a big strong cyborg who weighs more than Max

(not to mention does terrible damage given that fact...even a 14-year old kid who weighs next to nothing can hit harder)

I'm not a big fan of Zan. His design is bland, and his gameplay isn't as fun as it should be for a Cyborg.

You do have a point. He should have a special move where he expels a torrent of bombs from his abdomen that destroys the planet.

But with a straight face I say that I always favoured his speed and reach when doing runs of the original SoR3, and still favour them.

That was Smoke's Fatality right?

Crash Dummie wrote:That was Smoke's Fatality right?

Aye it was.

And the fatality itself was quite pathetic if I remember.

RuffNTumble wrote:

Crash Dummie wrote:That was Smoke's Fatality right?

Aye it was.

And the fatality itself was quite pathetic if I remember.

Most them are, if you think well...
After seeing the most part of the fatalities, I used to thin: "why don't they use this kind of moves during the fight?? Those are quite simply moves!"

Okay, wow, Zan, you're blowing my mind here... I knew from previous playthroughs you were very, very good at crowd control, high on reach but low on damage, and generally very safe to play as. But I had no idea you were such a speed demon until today... today I learned to love and abuse the hell out spamming his Blitz-0, and now he's nearly untouchable.

Was playing The Return of Mr. X (on very hard), taking notes & doing research in preparation for posting some Zan tips/tricks/tactics in this topic, and unexpectedly finished with a record number of lives remaining. This mod normally gives me quite a bit of trouble because of its nasty enemy placement.

And now this. Unparallelled carnage...

I'll see if I can replicate the magic tomorrow in some other mods while I sort out my notes into a coherent & forum-friendly list... then I'm posting my findings here.

Definitely one of my nominees for "most effective character, if properly played"... right up there with my Mr.X.

I managed to finish a game with Zan on Mania and all I can say is that he takes a bit getting used to, but using his couple of niches, Zan can clear the screen and not die.

The main problem that I ran into with Zan is that if there wasn't a weapon nearby, and Zan had less than two stars, then he started to run into problems as the 0-1 star blitzes didn't offer the insane priority of the 2 and 3 star blitzes. I managed to beat Mania by pairing Zan up with Adam, who is IMO the most well rounded character in the game, and letting Adam take the lead. Adam's proficiency in dealing with crowd control allowed me to step away from the crowd and spam Zan's blitzes like they were going out of style.

I'll admit that I wasn't too fond of Zan at first. But now he has grown on me.

While Zan's 0-Blitz doesn't have the same "oomph" for clearing the screen or that killer priority, it comes out so fast and increases your effective attack range and movement speed by a huge amount.... Zan can easily interrupt enemies' attack animations or jumps with his Blitz-0, or get out of the way altogether -> no need to rely on priority.

Also this is exactly why you need to train yourself to pull off the X-button Blitzes instead of relying on gaining/keeping stars... you get the best of both worlds with the X-button setting for star moves and training, which is awesome for 3 reasons:

1. Reliable:
Your standard Blitz attack does not change suddenly when you gain or lose stars.

2. Flexible:
Master the X-button commands and you always have the choice between 0, 1, 2 or 3-star Blitzes.

3. Stars still benefit you:
With B-button setting for star moves, "f, f + B" will do a Blitz0/1/2/3 depending on your current amount of earned stars... lose your 3rd star and your fast access to Blitz-3 is gone. BUT...
With X-button setting for star moves, "f, f + X" will do a Blitz0/1/2/3 depending on your current star amount. So you can have your cake and eat it too!

EDIT: 4. More benefit from weapons:
4a -> Access your non-weapon Blitzes with X if you need them even when carrying a pipe/bat/plank/knife;
4b -> Extend weapon life by using Blitzes to finish off weakened enemies instead of wasting weapon 'healthbar'.

I'm totally agreeing you about Zan WillyTheSquid, and the X button > Auto Stars move!
The only weakness of Zan to me is: TIME! This guy have a pretty low damage output reguarding primary combo, special and blitz. His grab game is regular. It will take time and patience to finish a difficult and long mod in mania with this guy, and we are human... we all know that we can lose nerve when keep focusing for more than an hour.

On a sidenote, it is said that it is almost impossible to keep focusing for more than 45 minutes in a half day  

PS: I still don't mange to figure out if the most balance character of the game is Blaze 3 or Adam, but it is off topic!  

BigDarsh wrote:I'm totally agreeing you about Zan WillyTheSquid, and the X button > Auto Stars move!
The only weakness of Zan to me is: TIME! This guy have a pretty low damage output reguarding primary combo, special and blitz. His grab game is regular. It will take time and patience to finish a difficult and long mod in mania with this guy, and we are human... we all know that we can lose nerve when keep focusing for more than an hour.

On a sidenote, it is said that it is almost impossible to keep focusing for more than 45 minutes in a half day  

PS: I still don't mange to figure out if the most balance character of the game is Blaze 3 or Adam, but it is off topic!  

Well, open a topic to discuss it! I am interested in your views on the subject!

I could have given zan another type of jump kick other than that team attack style shoulder attack he came with.

How bout a electric dive kick?

the_master1124 wrote:I could have given zan another type of jump kick other than that team attack style shoulder attack he came with.

How bout a electric dive kick?

(Working on very in-depth reply to BigDarsh's post, but this is a quickie. Expect a double-post)

Zan has that flying knife jetpack special, what would be nice is having a flaming flying (knockdown) kick...
...using jetpack to shoot flames at enemies. Could be performed by holding back+down while jump-attacking

Here's how Blodia does it in Capcom's Armored Warriors...blast from the knee joints.


Here's a quick mash-up I just did of how that would look...

While I'm not a big fan of Zan overall when compared to most of the playable cast, he does have some strong points going for him. As has been noted, his 0-blitz attack comes out very fast, and it's very useful for clearing a path when he's outnumbered. A good tactic is to do a few hits from his standing combo and then follow up right away with the blitz attack. However, his second air attack (the one where you hold the down button while jumping and attacking) makes him surprisingly vulnerable to being hit out of the air, since the attack comes down at an angle (in contrast to other characters, whose attacks will simply point straight down).

Also, I discovered just last night that if you do his rushing special attack (throwing an energy ball) and then rush right in when it makes contact, Zan will also take damage. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised at that, but it's still something to discourage me from using it often.

Remember when I posted a while back that I found my "winning Zan strategy"? Well, I checked out the old Bombergames forum just to make sure I wasn't the only one who saw Zan's potential and it turns out that Don Vecta has written it up clearly and concisely already.

Linky: http://www.bombergames.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2891&start=15#p122993

Okay, just now made a Mania run of Lucas HB's Manhunt mod with Zan and I have to say he's one of the most under appreciated and funnest characters I've played it. Let's do a quick overview of him.

He has a magnificent crowd control due of several factors:

Great speed. Against to what a very few forum members believe due of their couple of stage experience, I have to Zan is one of the most mobile characters of the roster, his running (dashing?) speed is quite good that allow him to do a decent percentage of hit & grab techniques. Same for his standard rush combo, in spite of his horrible damage, he can pull it out quickly and allow stun hits for a run & grab or a keep away technique to certain annoying enemies. His 0-Blitz charge is also VERY fast in execution and recovery time and allows you to input several of those one after another so you can make your way out of big crowds by ramming enemies who are in your way.

Excellent weapon handling. As his overall damage input is pretty low, his weapon usage is indeed one of his big assets. Standard swings are fast, reliable and with awesome speed (especially pipes/planks/bats) and has wonderful specials as well (knife specials are great, both of them). Incidentally, his f A special with knife leaves him VERY vulnerable, but during execution, he's invincible. Damage is great and take out several punks in the way. This move is highly recommended after you knocked down some with a standard or f f B blitz and then as they stand up psycho-crush them with some steel!

Reliable blitz attacks. One of his best assets. As mentioned above, albeit its low damage and lack of body reach, the Blitz 0 is very quick in both execution and recovery and can be spammed all the way out either from combo enders to clearing mobs. Blitz 1 is as good but reaches further and has a slight more recovery speed. Blitz 2 in my opinion is his best of all of them as it has a decent range of hit and good speed while still safe in the recovery side. While Blitz 3 is certainly awesome due of damage and range, unfortunately leaves him way too vulnerable from behind as its recovery time it's too long. I'd go for Blitz 2 all the way.

Good grab game. His throws give him enough invincibility to deal with crowds, his standard front grab throws enemies in a decent distance, helping to knock down mooks from behind. the back slam is indeed his best assets as his shaking motion can hit other mooks and it's the most damaging one and, as someone mentioned in the thread, allow to chain grab the mooks who stand up quickly (Trolls get the worse end f it).

Explosive science attack. f f A is a quite nice maneuver that allows him to bring out enemies waitying for him from a distance, also can bowl up a group of approaching mooks if they come together since the explosion has around a second of active hit frames. Just time it well and DON'T USE IT CLOSE TO YOU AS IT HITS YOU AS WELL (I have a personal satisfaction in blasting mooks with it as they get split in half, mwahahaha! ).

Fantastic reach. As mentioned before: Abadede killer, Lata killer, or any enemy that gets hazardous when too close. Ignoring his horrible A special (which is not half bad if it scores the enemy with all their hits), he can have a nice keep away game too, from his standard rushes, his weapon game (read above), his fA special, his Blitz 2 and 3. His rush combo should be used to stun enemies from far away then run & grab or pull a blitz or a special. a whole rush combo can be used only in situations you need to knock down enemies quickly as keeping them away.

I think Zan has a very dynamic and fun style of gameplay, you must be always on the move and use his speed, his reach, his weapon game and his unique properties to make the best of him.

There are only a few minor, nitpicky points on which I disagree with Don Vecta, these being:

- Zan's blitz-3 is far better than his blitz-2. It deals more damage and lasts longer, so you can 'capture' more enemies with its attack radius. The key here is training yourself until you can pull it off reliably.

- Zan's blitz-0 is better than his blitz-1 because you can chain it repeatedly and it knocks down in one hit. His blitz-1 does not have these properties.

---

Here are some of my research notes on Zan's use of weapons:

Zan rocks with "stick"-type weapons -- (metal) bats, pipes or planks. He has great speed and reach when using these. Unfortunately, he loses his awesome blitz-0 dash, which is replaced by a spinning weapon attack. While this is great for breaking the guard of blocking enemies, it's not nearly as fast or as reliably useful as his unarmed blitz-0.

Zan is fantastic with a sword. You get the same speed and reach as when using a stick, but do not lose access to your blitz-0 dash move.

Zan's pretty good with "shank"-type weapons (knife, kunai, broken bottle). Yes, you can't do normal combos but as their damage sucked anyway... no big loss.
Picking up a knife replaces your blitz-0 with a triangular knife slash, which is OK but not nearly as useful as the shield dash. You also gain the "flying knife" forward special (love it or hate it)... and if you get knocked down, enemies may grab your knife.
...but if you pick up a kunai, it does not replace Zan's blitz-0 or offensive special. This is great: you get the unblockable one-hit knockdown stab from the knife attack, but keep access to your normal moveset! (The same applies to the broken bottle, by the way, except that it breaks when it's knocked out of your hands).

Remember that you can extend the lifespan of your weapons by throwing in X-blitzes, Y-knockdowns, grab moves and the likes.

WillyTheSquid wrote:- Zan's blitz-3 is far better than his blitz-2. It deals more damage and lasts longer, so you can 'capture' more enemies with its attack radius. The key here is training yourself until you can pull it off reliably.

I'm not sure if it's better to use the 3 star in a tough situation or go with the easier 2 star (if you're forced to use it as a Special Combo input because you have no stars). The 2 star is still quite reliable and is fairly close in damage to the 3 star, but I agree the 3 star is better. Mostly because it has more priority (ridiculously high priority, easily knocks down blocking enemies) thanks to its slightly longer range (Zan's arms are out a bit further). Shame it doesn't do more damage, it's the best blitz I've found for mowing down kickboxers with ease.

I've noticed his 1 star with its input works pretty well against some enemies due to sheer speed alone - Bear Jr. gets knocked down easily if you use it far away (though his 3 star works just as well obviously and for more damage!).

bareknuckleroo wrote:

WillyTheSquid wrote:- Zan's blitz-3 is far better than his blitz-2. It deals more damage and lasts longer, so you can 'capture' more enemies with its attack radius. The key here is training yourself until you can pull it off reliably.

I'm not sure if it's better to use the 3 star in a tough situation or go with the easier 2 star (if you're forced to use it as a Special Combo input because you have no stars). The 2 star is still quite reliable and is fairly close in damage to the 3 star, but I agree the 3 star is better. Mostly because it has more priority (ridiculously high priority, easily knocks down blocking enemies) thanks to its slightly longer range (Zan's arms are out a bit further). Shame it doesn't do more damage, it's the best blitz I've found for mowing down kickboxers with ease.

I've noticed his 1 star with its input works pretty well against some enemies due to sheer speed alone - Bear Jr. gets knocked down easily if you use it far away (though his 3 star works just as well obviously and for more damage!).

Speaking for myself only: I practiced it until I could pull off the blitz-3 quickly and 90+% reliably. Together with Skate's, I'd say it was the hardest "fighting game" move I've ever had to teach myself. Quarter circles, half circles and the likes are no problem for me, but this was just...RSI-inducing.

Regarding the shield dash (blitz-0/1), I've found that you can just do of the basic ones two in sequence and it will move you both faster and more safely (less recovery, more control) than the 1-star version. Zan is the only character where I would actually recommend against doing stationary X-blitz-1 attacks instead of blitz-0s
Yeah, a single blitz-0 might not reach them before they start to attack but you can do another one immediately and interrupt enemies before they can land a hit. Try it, it's amazing...

I'm really glad Zan got alternate 2 and 3 star blitzes in the Remake. His old ones (where he quickly uses a nonslamming multihit version of his onestar then zigzags and does it once or twice more lower down the screen) in SoR3 were rather sucky. I'd forgotten how bad his upgrades blitzes were until I went to play SoR3 and was all like "Oh Zan. ". I will completely not miss those at all, because frankly his new ones are way better and he really needed them.