SF3 Bread and Butter Combo Guide and General Notes - Alex

I'm not an Alex main. All of my knowledge of Alex is from observing people playing him. Because of that, there are details I might have gotten wrong. If you're a competent SF3 Alex player, feel free to offer corrections or lend some advice of your own in a comment below the video.
Also see if you can spot the charge partition in this video
Timestamps:
00:00 - General notes
14:48 - BnB combos (all supers)
16:01 - Supers
16:11 - SA1
17:46 - SA2
20:49 - SA3
shoryuken.com | / srklive

[@WhoIsPopsDiaz]

I only use SA1 so that every time I land it, I can yell, "HYPA BOM" at my opponent.

[@yoshinpixels9924]

Pops Diaz MA MAN ya know what's up! Not wise at all but god damn I will never tire of doing it

[@whirl3690]

This is similar to why I use Hugo SA2, it's so that when I actually land an ultra throw and combo into Super, I can slam my fist down in sync with Hugo body slamming his opponent.

[@lucydream64]

the sheer force of the way he says it. i feel like the cabinet is gonna explode every time i see it

[@whirl3690]

@@lucydream64 And yet Alex's Hyper Bomb remains at a similar tier to Mega Man's Hyper Bomb. F.

[@PabloAvilaEstevez]

I thought I was the only one

[@Apemopo]

4:42 "yes, i'm serious" 3s low-tiers in a nutshell

[@Neogears1312]

Only thing that really holds him back

[@BHS289]

“This is VERY HARD to escape” We saw what you did there, Baf >_>

[@Toomnyusernae]

Most impressive that you found a way to incorporate whiffed SAII end grab.

[@bozzyham]

Wish you guys would have made these breakdowns for the rest of the cast, these videos are excellent, I come back regularly to refresh me on my Ryu and Alex

[@FanosSlapVt]

Always Choose 1. HYPA BOMB

[@simoneguadagnucci1515]

God bless you. Yt is full of "combo video" but videos that explain how to play the actual character are rare. This is excellent

[@realchezboi]

Bafael got that good analytical content

[@iceycold724]

Man, I always hear people complaining about SFV Alex being bad... and while that may be true, it's still crazy to see how much they've changed him! I feel like a lot of his stuff is a lot more functional now (air knee smash, stun gun headbutt, lariat, stomp, medium and heavy flash chop/ slash elbow, etc). I guess to some degree, that's because of the overall game changes... but still, I think Capcom did a really good job transitioning Alex from 3S to SFV.

[@Bafael]

I just wish he kept fully safe chops tbh

[@iceycold724]

Yeah, but isn't chop supposed to be more of a poke in 3S than an overhead? Sure, you can't low parry it, but I feel like that's just a nice bonus that adds to its already good value as a poking tool. I think that given the changes to st hp, SFV chop makes sense the way it is (albeit maybe with a bit less frame disadvantage on block; I liked it at -6). Edit: Never mind, you totally meant flash chop. Can't say I disagree with you on that one. I blame Capcom for giving Alex 2 moves with the word "Chop" in their name x_x

[@AdAce21]

That's the problem. They retained his poor frame data while making all of his specials (and most of his normals) unsafe. In a game where there's already limited defensive options, it means Alex has no chance. At least he had parry and tick throws in 3S.

[@husamismael8926]

That SA3 setup explains all the times I got hit by it thinking that I jumped too late

[@Fly_Ry]

I really appreciate the time you take to make these videos Baf. For a game with so many character-specific quirks, it's great that there's an easily accessible repository of knowledge that folks can reference both for on-boarding new players and learning matchups. If I had any criticisms, it would be that the endings feel jarringly abrupt. Some sort of outro and maybe an end-screen link to the 3s playlist or other videos in the series would really tie the video together. I've put a few hundred hours into 3s now and I'm still learning a ton, so thanks and keep up the great work!

[@mizraimj]

His lariat is great for ending certain jugglable states like an awkward c.hp AA or after catching the opponent jumping with elbow in the corner

[@john-tobeymaguirecena]

I love grapplers & I want to get into third strike again. I used to play it when I was younger & would use the shoto characters. But I’ve grown ALOT since then. Being a kid/teen, to now having 3 kids myself. As a kid, grappler characters made me throw my controller I hated being grabbed soo much but I was a scrub youngster lol. The ironic part is how much I LOVE WRESTLING. Been a WWE fan for as long as I can remember, as well as playing fighting games. But I always kept the two separate; when I played a fighting game I used a martial art based character, if I wanted to play a wrestler I’d play Smackdown Vs Raw 😂 I don’t play the same anymore as we all mature & evolve. I’ve gravitated from playing more flashy, more combo heavy- to more of a damage focused fundamentalist. I’ve grown to love grappler characters since then. I found a love for King in Tekken 7 & I winded up picking up Zangief in SFV. I want to play 3rd strike but there’s no Zangief & Hugo is so damn Wonky big, I want to learn Alex but every comment says how bad he is. I guess I’m a masochist

[@lambchops1]

Thanks for this vid, I've always wanted to get into Street Fighter (Third Strike specifically) and I'm planning to main Alex.

[@echu.6929]

I wonder how that went

[@jaykelley103]

@@echu.6929 he either didnt attempt it or got his shit pushed in 10 times in a row by a 300 year old man on fightcade and bailed.

[@roguelites5225]

@@jaykelley103 yeah is Alex mains are constantly crying cause our character is $hit

[@Budisgud69]

He’s a Tekken man now

[@lambchops1]

i have become racist towards Brazilian people in my time spent playing third strike on fightcade. I still play it from time to time, though i haven't given up!

[@Retribution8]

Since I just started Fightcade 2 all your information has been a godsend

[@ShadyHitchhiker]

Can't wait for Qutorial!

[@Oomgh]

WHoa! Finally an Alex video. Thanks you so much!!!!

[@JacketsOnFire]

Ex air knee can land on grounded opponents if you’re close enough. Also, jump in fierce can also combo into headbutt.

[@AziDoesQuestionableThings]

this video single-handedly has saved my third strike career

[@dephiler]

I learned so much...thanks!

[@Adar252]

One of those top Alex players from the PS3 version of 3SOE was taunting a lot and I didn’t even know his damage goes up if they do it

[@alexthezephyr]

Every taunt does something

[@captaininfinite8082]

10:29 is it possible for a super ender? After the Ex elbow? My inputs on Hyper bomb blows! I have to dash in just to actually do it.

[@brittislove]

i wish thiw guy was my roommate

[@Intrenxic_Dark]

Every time I hear someone complain about Alex in SFV, I'll always show them this video. He's only a truly functional character in the game due to parrying. At least in SFV, his neutral is decent and he can do a ton of damage at any given time. The only buffs I want is for low forward to cancel into light Flash Chop, EX Knee Smash to be like 3rd Strike and have a grounded hitbox that you can combo into, cr. fierce to start up in 9 frames instead of 10, and frame one armor on EX Slash Elbow. I would love for Flying DDT in VT2 to be fireball invincible frame one and for Choke Sleeper to do more stun. I think those changes would make Alex a solid mid tier character.

[@cw.k1532]

.... Boi, you predict some of the Season 4 changes. God Damn.

[@chalachouchou]

@@cw.k1532 maybe the dudes behind capcom saw this

[@cactuz116]

He’s even more buffed now 🥵

[@tcchip]

Yeah, but having a parry actually makes him workable in SF3 despite him being overall worse than in SFV. SFV Alex is a much improved character, but he's still struggling to compete because almost everyone else either have better frames, better defensive options or easier combo routes and mix-ups. Alex hits like a truck, but he's too honest for SFV where part of the game plan is to make your opponent hit buttons so you can get a Crush Counter.

[@wandererboots8387]

good video baf

[@101graffhead]

what are alex's options against urien's jump hk done from max range? is lariat a good option? even if i parry it, i can't really punish it and blocking it really put me in bad state because of urien's super fast dash, and i get thrown most of the time because i am really scared of my throw getting whiffed, which actually does whiff sometime and almost all normals of alex get cancelled by urien's throw only thing probably can counter it is probably lp but very hard to react, usually when urien come from jump in which is very close i do manage to anti air it but urien's hk from max range is really hard to deal with and i am having trouble anti airing it, a lot of my normals just get stuffed by it. please help

[@elianrodriguez5951]

That or ex knee drop

[@nrozmx400]

What are empty cancels?

[@Tohfool]

Alex is my favorite

[@thedrunkronin4550]

Me too

[@goldengoldy0197]

Yo Baf, you helped me a lot to improve my Alex. I just wanted to ask you a question. I mostly Play Alex/Elena because I like zoning with normals and fishing for a parry. What other Characters could I try with my playstyle?

[@Bafael]

Oro can do that easy peasy, lol. Or Chun-Li.

[@goldengoldy0197]

@@Bafael I'll try them, thanks.

[@misterfields87]

@@Bafael I thought chun li was the cheese character on this sf, in a way I hate that considering she was the only female character I liked other than rose.

[@redvenomweb]

Is SA3 as anti-air (like Birdie's jumping grab super in Alphas) real? Using the upward invincibility to go through the opponent's jump attack.

[@johnanr]

Yeah, but in most cases you will land with your back facing the opennent, and is only start up invincible.

[@Adan-ke4sx]

15:04 nice, how i love when i see charge partition but is so hard to do in a real match, need to practice that.

[@Bafael]

You found it.

[@Adan-ke4sx]

@@Bafael hard to see if you don't know what it is but is a very useful tool so have to learn about it.

[@pachicore]

I just use SA1 for swag

[@mhdunknown]

Ibuki next plz

[@patriciaweber6367]

A quarter into this video the only thing I could take of was Automattock's video on how to play Alex. "footies!? Fuck that!"

[@LightningCayo]

As cool as Alex is, the tl;dw is Alex is Underwhelming? Rip…

[@rotalsh]

What does his taunt do?

[@Bafael]

It raises his damage on his next hit or combo (more if you hold it longer or do it repeatedly) but he never really has time to use it and the increase is pretty minor

[@Toomnyusernae]

You can hold it for 8 arm swings to maximize the damage or you can stack four separate taunts. As Baf says though, it's a rare opportunity. Even after SAIII you might only get one taunt in and have to opt for dash in power bomb which gives the same damage as going in normally. Plus you get less meter for our efforts.

[@rauendoza3599]

Just watch KSK videos, he has the best Alex.

[@robertrogdriguez392]

I always use standing forward over standing strong because standing strong doesn’t hit crouching characters.

[@davetorres3906]

Is this Bafael?, btw, Urien next please !

[@ShoryukenTube]

Yes. And urien will probably be dead last. He's the hardest/most technical character and other than many-year urien mains, very few people (not even me) are qualified to talk about him. Sorry. If I don't know a character well I can't hardly make a guide for them.

[@Un4eseen]

Still waiting for the ibuki guide 💀

[@boomguy2]

Dammit, it sucks so much to see how bad Alex's supers are. It sucks even more when it's so obvious on how they could've been fixed. Make SA1 frame 1, SA2 vacuum on hit, and SA3 invincible when both rising up and descending, and Alex would be a much more functional and interesting character. There's still no way he'd compare to the top tiers, but at the very least he'd WORK. The missed potential on SA3 is just so disheartening...

[@kevint1655]

I kind of disagree with your sa1 analysis. I think you are a bit too harsh on it. I think that hyper bomb can be used to punish a lot of attacks in the game especially if your opponent is getting impatient with you.

[@limmynade]

in low level its really fun to use

[@goukifafa]

great tutorial. he has a one frame cancel for his CR.LK>Cr.Mk

[@olivermisbach2454]

That's his target combo. It's not 1 frame either. He mentioned it in the video.

[@goukifafa]

Oliver Misbach a target combo means u can mash it. It has to be done on the hit.

[@olivermisbach2454]

Target combos don't mean you mash, it means it cancels. Plus, cr.lk>cr.mk is listed as a target combo in his movelist. Go to 4:20 to see it in the video.

[@DJZeeJay]

Man compared to his SF5 iteration this Alex is terrible.

[@AttitudeIndicator]

at ease loosah

[@kingkrispy5289]

kinda sucks that SA3 is a joke because alex having combos is a joke