In-Depth Character Discussion: Roo

*Original post by BareknuckleRoo.

Roo is sort of an underrated character and I was asked to make this thread, so here goes. I mean, he doesn't seem to be popular for playthroughs of either SoR3 or SoRR if Youtube videos are anything to go by, and I think he's underrated in terms of usefulness, at least in SoRR anyways. He is, however, very awkward to play because of his reliance on a few key moves. It's also important to note that he's way, way better than he was in SoR3.

Roo's been given some serious upgrades in the form of a powerful throw (which also means he can safely end a frontal grab if you accidentally grab from behind and vault over), the ability to pick up and use (or more importantly, throw) weapons, one of the strongest 3 star blitzes in the game and his back attacks are still awesome. His moveset certainly relies on only a few of his moves and he's still a very unorthodox character, but what he can do he does really, really well.

Roo/Victy's Movelist

Roo's new moves are marked with *SoRR*. Note that Roo in SoRR is based on his original Bare Knuckle III version, Victy, and not the modified Roo seen in Streets of Rage 3 (where he has awkwardly higher jump height than everyone else and an extra hit on each of his jabs). He's got access to the 'standard' police special, except that he blows a whistle to call the police.

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, B (Jab, Jab, Double Punch, Backflip). The jabs are fast but have abysmal range, the double punch is quite slow, and the backflip is slow but with good range. The backflip hits up to three times depending on distance to the enemy; too far away and it won't knockdown, although if you're in range for the jabs you're close enough to get all three hits.

Don't bother trying to just run up and punch enemies; the range is simply too atrocious for it to be safe, especially in large groups where enemies can hit Roo out of the backflip. His first couple of jabs are pretty darn quick as far as punches go, so if an enemy comes up right beside Roo or approaches from an angle that's a decent opportunity to punch and quickly grab them.

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 backflip. It's okay for a quick knockdown, but not much else.

Back Attack - B + C or, while holding B, push C. You can also just use the button assigned to Back Attack. Whips his tail around at the enemy, knocks down at close range. You're no longer able to hold C and push B to back attack like you could in SoR3. Also, unlike SoR3, this move no longer hits enemies directly in front of Roo as he whips his tail around.

Depending on how close you are to the enemy, this may or may not knockdown. Repeatedly using this move when you're just barely hitting with the tip of your tail allows you to infinitely keep enemies staggered, although every time you use Roo's back attack he moves towards the enemy slightly, so you'll need to readjust by moving in the opposite direction after each attack to keep enemies staggered.

Special Attacks (Consumes Special Meter/Health)

Offensive Special (Tornado Kick) - Forward + A. SoRR removed offensive special invulnerability for SoR3 characters, so Roo can be hit out of this attack even while he's spinning (especially on higher difficulties). Can hit enemies on either side, but the damage isn't worth it. It's too slow and leaves Roo way too vulnerable now for it to be really useful.

Defensive Special (Tail Flip) - A (without pressing left or right). Roo does a long, spinning backflip that hits anywhere from 1 to 5 times depending on how close you are to the enemy. Will only hit once if the enemy is in the air or is on a motorcycle. There's an amusing (but harmless) graphical glitch in SoRR that happens rarely: Roo will spin up into the air around 3 times the normal height before magically warping back to the ground. I think this happens if another enemy punches you the moment you use it to break free from a grab, not sure though as I've only seen it happen twice.

Save your special meter/health for his defensive special. His offensive special just sucks without invulnerability because of how slow and how low the range on it is, so you should just use defensive specials to dodge attacks or escape when you get surrounded by enemies.

Jumping Attacks

Standing Jump Attack - C then B (without moving left or right). Quickly whips his tail straight forward. Unbelievably difficult to hit enemies with, don't bother.

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. A jump kick with good range that's a bit weak. Roo also doesn't keep his legs extended throughout the jump kick, so it's much less safe to use than other characters.

No-Knockdown Attack - C, then while in the air Down + B. Not bad, but if you want to stagger enemies to approach them for a grab, you're much better off staggering with Roo's back attack.

Running/Blitz Attacks

Double-tap 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) then quickly inputting set a directions.

0 Star Blitz (Nose Slide) - Roo rolls forward before performing a slide attack. Slow and quite risky unless enemy happens to be at the edge of screen. It's possible to slide right through enemies without knocking them down if you use it too close to the enemy.

1 Star Blitz (Upgraded Nose Slide) *SoRR* - X, Forward, Forward. Basically, the same as his 0 star version, but much, much faster. Travels almost all the way across the screen now, but still doesn't seem to be very practical as it's weak, only the last hit or so knocks down and you're vulnerable while Roo rolls.

2 Star Blitz *SoRR* - X, Forward, Up. Roo slides forward and does a spinning jump attack with his tail. Very effective, hits immediately, good damage and easy to knockdown with. Great for crowd control.

3 Star Blitz *SoRR* - X, Back, Forward, Up. Roo does a fast spinning tailsweep, followed by a spinning jump attack with his tail. Travels almost all the way across the screen, only the jump attack does knockdown. Very effective to use against crowds as it's safe, and even if you're too close to knockdown enemies you'll still do a large amount of damage as you pass through them. If you use it against an enemy that's against a wall or at the very edge of the screen just as they're standing, you'll get the maximum number of hits in, taking off 3/4 of a lifebar!

Grab Attacks

When grabbing an enemy from the front:

Forward + B - Kicks the enemy. Can do this up to three times, 3rd will knockdown. Don't bother knocking down with it, kick the enemy twice then use Roo's throw.

Neutral B (don't hold a direction) *SoRR* - Headbutts and immediately knocks down the enemy. Too weak to be worth it unless you're using it to move an enemy towards the edge of the screen in preparation for a blitz attack followup.

Back + B *SoRR* - Throws the enemy behind Roo for a large chunk of damage. Roo's best grab attack by far.

When grabbing an enemy from behind:

B (doesn't matter if you hold a direction or not) - Roo repeatedly kicks the enemy followed by knockdown. Very weak for a rear grab attack, although unlike Skate's migraine, Roo is invulnerable for all intents and purposes while using it. The only exception is if you try to use this attack to dodge the minecars that pass by on the train tracks. In SoR3, with good timing Roo can use the kick attack just as a minecar is about to hit and it'll travel right through him without harm. In SoRR, the minecar seems to ignore that attack's invulnerability and will hit Roo as soon as it touches him.

Team Attack - While grabbing your teammate from either side, press C. Instead of vaulting you'll use this unique attack with his tail sticking out, feet first. Handy, but hard to use effectively if you're with a CPU teammate.

If grabbed from behind (by either enemy or teammate): C kicks forward, during the kick press B to counterthrow the enemy. This move no longer counts as a slam like it did for Roo in SoR3. If you're grabbed by your partner, using the counterthrow will instead throw your partner into their team attack.

Weapon Attacks *SoRR*

While holding any weapon, throw using B + C or the Back Attack button. This is generally the best thing to do with weapons as Roo fights better without them thanks to his extremely useful back attack.

Roo can't use guns. Instead, any time you try to pick up a gun he immediately throws it in the direction he's facing (at least this beats SoR3 where he'd just drop any weapon he picked up). Also, he can use grenades and pepper spray just like any other character.

Knife/Kunai/Bottle

B - Quickly pokes forward with the weapon. Good priority, but it's not the quickest knife attack.

Forward, Forward, B - Does a jumping upwards slash with the knife, exactly like Blaze's running knife attack. Okay damage, but not really practical. Not usable when holding a kunai or bottle.

Forward + A - Roo spins around as he slashes the knife while moving forward slowly. Flashy, but he doesn't move forward fast enough for it to be effective (I've had Donovans punch me out of it), not to mention the damage isn't worth it. Not usable when holding a kunai or bottle.

Baseball Bat/Metal Pipe/Wooden Plank/Sword

B - Roo swings the weapon over his head and brings it down slowly at an angle. The range isn't bad, but it's unsafe for anything more than hitting enemies as they stand up. Just stick to throwing these weapons.

Forward, Forward, B - Roo swings the weapon around him as he spins forward. Okay damage, only usable when carrying a sword.

Strategy

You'll notice that a lot of Roo's moves are bad, plain and simple. His punches have the worst range in the game, his jump attacks are weak and generally only needed for fighting Jets, his only powerful grab attack is his throw, his offensive special is terrible without invulnerability, his 0 and 1 star blitzes are unsafe and not strong enough to be worth the risk, and he's just not very good with weapons.

To make Roo useful, you need to really take advantage of what he's good at. His back attack is a safe poke with extreme priority for enemies who approach you, and if a few enemies group together you can keep them comboed until they die. The sweet spot where Roo's tail will stagger enemies without knocking them down is also more forgiving than in SoR3, so I strongly recommend mastering the rhythm with this attack. It's also extremely important for the more difficult enemies in the game, as, aside from a few enemies like Jets, it absolutely crushes them. For instance:

* Roo's back attack beats Signals if they try to slide at you, and if you're facing away from a Signal they love to come up behind you and use their slide attack. It's easy to just keep whipping Signals as they approach (don't try this in SoR3, their slide attack out-prioritizes Roo's back attack there).

* Kickboxers can't block it and will generally only try to use that slower jumping knee attack against you at that range. If kickboxers have a weakness it's Roo's tail whip. They usually hit you out of pretty much everything else, including blitz attacks.

* Bosses die horribly to the tail whip. It's a matter of actually hitting some of them (like Shiva or R. Bear) at the right spot with Roo's back attack, but once you do all that's required is to maintain the right rhythm to hit them over and over and over. It's not so effective in fights where there are enemies with ranged attacks though, like robots, as you'll get shot from afar while you're busy staggering an enemy, or Abadede, where it's usually better to just jump kick him as he tries to approach you diagonally.

When facing normal enemies, trying to just punch them is risky due to Roo's awful punching range. It's usually better to fend them off with back attacks and, once you're got a few of them staggered, turn around and quickly pull off a 2 or 3 star special. Enemies do not line up like they did in SoR3, so if you're facing more than two enemies at once you'll generally have an enemy try to move in front of you when in the middle of comboing an enemy with back attacks. Instead, especially with groups of four or five enemies, it's best to rush through them with 2 or 3 star blitzes over and over; you'll deal plenty of damage and you'll reliably knock 'em down. Unfortunately, Roo's 2 and 3 star blitzes, despite hitting immediately on startup, do not out-prioritize several things, including Signals' slide attacks, so you'll get hit if you blitz at the same time they slide. This isn't too big of a problem though, as Signals can be hit the moment they take to kneel right before sliding, and Roo's 2 and 3 star blitzes are very fast, so it's pretty safe to blitz them. If enemies decide to approach you all in one group, you can also just repeatedly combo to death with back attacks, but don't count on it, especially not in Mania.

Roo's 3 star blitz is also a huge source of damage if you use it when standing next to an enemy against a wall or the edge of the screen. It's helpful to learn how far Roo's back attack and grab attacks knockdown enemies in each direction so you can manipulate an enemy to be where you want them to. Roo's blitzes have very nice hitboxes. For instance, if you manage to knock a Signal offscreen where only his foot and ankle are showing, you'd still be able to run up and do a full damage 3 star blitz as he's standing up. If you manage to knockdown a group of enemies at the edge of the screen, this is a great way to rack up a ton of damage in a hurry, so long as none of them have invulnerability when standing up.

If you want to grab an enemy, start by hitting them with your back attack so they're staggered as it's a safe poke. Then, you can quickly turn around and, while they're still staggered, move in to punch them and go for the grab. On Very Hard and Mania, enemies appear to recover a bit more quickly from staggering, so you may need to hit them with Roo's tail just close enough that when you turn around you're in punching range but still far enough that Roo's back attack doesn't knockdown. It can still be done with some practice, but it's certainly trickier on higher difficulties. When an one enemy is close to you but several more on the other side of the screen approaching, you'll probably want quickly punch -> grab to throw them towards the rest of the enemies, even if it means risking a hit. That way, all of the enemies are on the same side of the screen and that's good as getting flanked is dangerous.

Anytime you're fighting somewhere there's a wall where enemies can't go offscreen and attack you, you can always hide against the wall and repeatedly back attack enemies as they approach. This doesn't work so well if there's enemies who can jump kick you, but for elevator fights against groups of kickboxers and such, this can be a good way of dealing with enemies.

Also, while cheap, grab combos are highly effective (grab from the front, kick twice, vault twice, regrab and repeat until dead) one-on-one. Roo lands very close to enemies after double vaulting to the point where you can usually regrab the enemy without even needing to stagger them with a punch. This works against almost everything (as long as they can't break free from grabs), even enemies who block punches, although it's extremely slow to kill things.

Some of the more dangerous enemies for Roo:

* Anything with a ranged attack. While you're staggering enemies with back attacks, if an enemy with some sort of ranged means of attacking (be it a jump kick, gun, laser, etc.) is around you will easily be hit. Roo's back attack generally has terrible priority against any jumping attacks, so if you see one coming you'll need to dodge is with a defensive special.

* Obese guys. They love to jump at you if they get even a second to recover from staggering, and if you're standing near them as they recover from knockdown they seem to be invulnerable and will quickly slap you around. It's also harder to hit them out of their fire breath attack via Roo's back attack than it was in SoR3. If you're facing two at once, I'd recommend grab attacks to keep them knocked down. Get around one, kick/headbutt him to the ground and do the same to the other. One at a time they're not so bad, although their jumping bodyslam is irritating.

* Ninjas. They SUCK. Nailing them with a back attack to combo them is ridiculously hard due to how they jump around, let alone just hitting them with any sort of attack. Their hitbox just seems to vanish whenever they jump, low kick, etc., making it absurdly difficult to hit them. Even blitzes don't seem to work particularly well.

Strategy if you're playing Bare Knuckle III/Streets of Rage 3: Have fun spamming his back attack over and over for the entire game as enemies approach you, occasionally use Tornado Kick's invulnerability to dodge stuff or kill ninjas. Don't try to kill the final boss with jump kicks on hard difficulty as they're too weak to kill him in time compared to Axel/Blaze/Skate's jump kicks, back attacks are the way to go. Seriously, if you were rating characters in SoR3 into tiers, he'd be in the "What are you, a masochist?" tier. You're using him because you either want a challenge, like using awkward characters or don't know any better.

Hopefully this wall of text proves useful or, at the very least, interesting. I don't profess to be an expert at the game, but I have had a good deal of practice with Roo as he's probably my most used character, and it seems he's not liked by many people. Not that I can blame them, seeing as how his fighting style is very different from the others, although he's perhaps easier to master than someone like Max, due needing to learn how to use only a few key moves and possessing very good movement speed.

Edit: updated, forgot running sword attack.

Roo can be hard to use, especially for anyone who's used to fighting with a certain reach/distance, since his attacking reach is quite possibly the shortest among the playable characters. His jumping attack and blitz attack, on the other hand, are very good and have good reach, and he's also one of the faster characters in terms of movement. So, challenging but passable.

As of version 5.0a, Roo now has his invulnerability back on his offensive special, Tornado Kick, so you're guaranteed to be safe when you hit the special button. This is especially nice as it's the easiest one to use by accident (when you're holding away from an enemy during a tail whip stunlock) and his offensive special is a bit stronger if most of the hits connect. Use it over his defensive special at all times if possible.

Roo can also now use the kunai exactly like the standard knife (weapon blitz + weapon special).

Shadow Fist King wrote:since his attacking reach is quite possibly the shortest among the playable characters.

His basic punches have horrible range, and his jumping attack pulls in a second after the kick (as opposed to staying out until you land), but his back attack has the most insane range of any spammable attack in the game. You can use it to stagger an enemy, then turn around and quickly input a 2-star blitz or get close for a punch->grab. His range is only bad if you're in the habit of trying to punch enemies (like you would with most characters) in order to stun them and initiate a grab.

His jumping attack and blitz attack, on the other hand, are very good and have good reach, and he's also one of the faster characters in terms of movement.

His jumping attack's quite iffy compared to characters who keep their leg out until they land. It's also abysmally weak. His 0 and 1-star blitzes suffer from long startup time where he can be hit out of the initial roll (he only does damage when he's doing the slide). The slow, 0 star version is possibly the worst blitz in the game, with the 1 star having decent speed but moving you so fast that you sometimes go through the enemy.

His 2 and 3 star blitzes are good in terms of speed and damage, but because the range at which it hits is so close to Roo's own hitbox, it has relatively low priority over other enemy attacks compared to stuff like Zan's 2/3 star blitzes, Rudra's 0/1 star blitzes, Elle's 2 star blitz (all of which they put their arm out well in front of them which extends the attack range and helps a ton with priority over enemy attacks). You need to be careful about when to use his blitzes or you can end up being hit out of them more easily than you'd think.

As of version 5.0a, Roo now has his invulnerability back on his offensive special, Tornado Kick, so you're guaranteed to be safe when you hit the special button. This is especially nice as it's the easiest one to use by accident (when you're holding away from an enemy during a tail whip stunlock) and his offensive special is a bit stronger if most of the hits connect. Use it over his defensive special at all times if possible.

This is a very nice combo finisher...it can take up to half a bar off providing all the hits connect (which seems more frequent nowadays) and if you're in a big crowd it hits mobs all around (so it's great for that too). Not to mention it scores a ton of points if you hit multiple mobs.

His range is only bad if you're in the habit of trying to punch enemies (like you would with most characters) in order to stun them and initiate a grab.

This is surprisingly effective, due to his manoeuvrability and combo speed. His throw is also one of the best for crowd control, so with this, the forward+A and the back attack (safe knockdown if you don't stunlock) you'd be surprised how effective he can be in a big crowd.

His jumping attack's quite iffy compared to characters who keep their leg out until they land. It's also abysmally weak. His 0 and 1-star blitzes suffer from long startup time where he can be hit out of the initial roll (he only does damage when he's doing the slide). The slow, 0 star version is possibly the worst blitz in the game, with the 1 star having decent speed but moving you so fast that you sometimes go through the enemy.

His jump is better than it looks - it does standard damage (12), is a reasonable counter and his vertical isn't dreadful either (unlike some characters). Not the best by any means but still useful if you think more about when to fire it.

The 0-star blitz isn't altogether bad (there are worse ones), and can be useful on crowds near the edge of the screen. The 1-star is useless though, as there's no damage or knockdown for most targets.

The 0-star blitz isn't altogether bad (there are worse ones)

Honestly... I can't think of any that are quite that bad. Blaze's Hishousouzan is pretty awful due to startup time on the flip, but SoR1/2 types do good damage if they connect, and SoR3 hits a bit more reliably. I seriously can't think of any 0 star that's as bad as Roo's is, his startup before hitting is huge, it moves slowly, and the damage is too low to be worth the risk. What ones are you thinking are worse than Roo's?

All the Blazes (slow to hit with, vulnerable while doing it), all the Shivas (hard to hit with, extremely vulnerable while doing it) and ofc Axel 3. Roo's doesn't do too much damage but it's not too bad compared to all SoR3 0-stars and Roo's other moves in general.

I dunno, I agree that Final Crash is pretty iffy in terms of range and damage, but at least it's something for Shiva to link to a combo (though offensive special if you have the meter is better). As weak as SoR3 Skate tends to be, all his blitzes are better than Roo's 0 and 1 stars in my opinion. Grand Upper is generally sucky compared to blitzes that move you far or have better range, but it's easier to hit with connected to a combo, and I'd say Axel 3's Grand Upper is about the same as Final Crash in terms of usefulness. Easier to hit with, but horrible range and not so good damage.

Most of the 0 blitzes have uses (some more pigeon-holed than others). For instance, Shiva's Final Crash has very high priority (either that or brief invincibility). Using it is very likely to provoke a sucker-punch, but I've used it on occasions where I don't have a special and a kickboxer is charging me or I'm running at Electra and she is about to use the whip flail (jumping would have been too slow). I do agree though, Roo's is pretty much unnecessary.

bareknuckleroo wrote:

The 0-star blitz isn't altogether bad (there are worse ones)

Honestly... I can't think of any that are quite that bad. Blaze's Hishousouzan is pretty awful due to startup time on the flip, but SoR1/2 types do good damage if they connect

Blaze 2's upgraded Hishousouzan is actually quite good due to an early frame hit (before the flip) that sets up the rest of the attack. Try it .

Oh, so Blaze 2's 1 star blitz isn't just a faster/longer Hishousouzan? All of the Blaze 2/3 stars are significantly better, but I didn't realize they added an extra early hit to Blaze 2's 1 star. Does Blaze 1 get that upgrade on her 1 star?

Blaze 1 misses out on the extra hit. Very unfortunate because I feel she really needed it.

By the way, have you achieved S rank with Roo yet?

No, not yet. :(I don't really think I'm that much of an expert at SoR (at least not yet!), I still keep meaning to go and beat Mania without using continues. Haven't managed to do that yet, but I've been meaning to get back in the game and do that with several of the characters (I've been wanting to learn to play Adam and Max well for a while).

That, and as much as I like SoR, shmups are probably my true love, been distracted by those lately. Blasphemy, I know. :p

It's a shame Blaze 1's blitzes are all kinda iffy compared to her SoR2 and 3 versions. She was the best character in SoR1 by a huge margin (thanks to her crazy fast speed). She's still super fun to play as, though. I love her version of Kikoushou.

That Progear video was awesome. I am absolutely terrible at shmups but I love them nonetheless. Will definitely check out your other videos!

Thanks, I loved shmups for a long while too before I actually started to get decent at any arcade-difficulty ones. As in, years before I was able to manage any sort of clear. That Progear one's probably the best run in any game I've had (and I'm still working on the full 2 loop clear).

For folks who want to see some Roo action in Mania, here's a run of the SoR1 route in Mania (default lives, no continues).

I think I've improved. Hopefully this is useful reference material for someone looking to play Roo.

Mania 1cc/no continue clear, no Police Specials, SoR2 Route, default lives setting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0_a6dBJRpQ / https://www.twitch.tv/videos/602474846

S-Rank of Survival, Round 1 as Roo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lGrHn02P9E / https://www.twitch.tv/videos/602471776

Also note, Roo's 3 Star Blitz special combo is Special Combo, Back, Forward, Up. However, the game often misreads this input as his 1 Star Blitz, Special Combo, Forward, Forward for some reason. The same thing happens with Skate's 3 Star, Special Combo, Up, Forward, Back. To avoid this and guarantee the game reads it as the 3 Star add a Down to the inputs. As in:

Roo 3 Star: Special Combo, Back, Down, Forward, Up

Skate (SoR2 & SoR3) 3 Star: Special Combo, Up, Forward, Down, Back

New to v5.2:

• Roo now hits in front of him with his Back Attack, same as in BKIII/SoR3. This means on any enemy that can't block, he can now do punching infinites from the front easily by doing Attack (1-3 times) -> Back Attack -> repeat. It's a speedy way of damaging enemies, but it doesn't work on all enemies. Blocking enemies will break free of the punches, and enemies with fast counterattacks such as R. Bear can also escape. For those enemies, use the long range Back Attack stunlock.

• SoRR v5.2 no longer occasionally misreads 3 Star Blitz inputs with back -> forward in them as 1 Star (forward, forward) inputs. This means you can reliably use command inputs to do Roo and Skate's 3 Star Blitzes without risking them using the 1 Star unintentionally.

This may or may not be new to v5.2 (can't remember if it was like this previously):

• Roo's hitbox is smaller than normal whenever he's walking in any direction or in the middle of his back attack animation (the entire animation counts). He's small enough that gunshots from the SoR3 enemies in suits, the laser beams from the SoR2 robots, and Mr. X's horizontal shots will just pass right over him. Very useful for evasion. Note that Mr. X's diagonal and vertical shots appear to hit low and will connect with Roo when he's walking.

For people wanting to learn to play Roo, here are No Death, No Police Special clears of Mania on the SoR1, SoR2, and SoR3 routes, which will hopefully serve as a useful reference. These are all single runs without any tool assistance (no using SoRR's Save State function, etc).

SoR1 Route:


SoR2 Route:


SoR3 Route:


S-Rank Survival (SoR2):