Hol Horse/Ouchi's version

Don't let the arcade game sprites fool you- this version of the cowboy is actually All Star Battle styled, and though it may be difficult to master, learning to use Hol Horse's moves effectively can make him just as deadly as his arcade incarnation, despite the many differences.

Gameplay


Hol Horse is a six-button character (seven if you count the power draining taunt), opting to use the buttons for attacks and  for grabs and certain specials involving Emperor. They are also the only buttons used for Hypers.

Just like in the arcade game, Hol Horse is a suitable zoner, but resembles a gameplay style closer to All-Star Battle- as such he has many differences compared to his arcade self. For one, Hanged Man won't appear directly from the ground, and instead comes from puddles summoned by bottles Hol Horse throws in the air, which can be activated at any time, which can be used effectively as a trap. His bullet-involved specials are also easier to control- It's your loss! allows for easy trajectory changes depending on your button press, with one version even rebounding the bullet back to Hol Horse to set up a trap for rushdown characters. Even the bullets are a stand! is also easy to control, with the bullet coming out very fast and having simple directional pad controls. It can also be powered up with a press of.

Hol Horse's hypers are avalible at the press of a simple one-button directional command, though they are unfortunately slow and easy to avoid. Despite this, they are still relatively easy to combo into with certain attacks, such as if the opponent is being hit by the powered up version of Even the bullets are a Stand!, emphasized further by the fact that Hol Horse is gonna kill ya! is an attack. Just like in the source game, said hyper only needs 2000 power to use.

Since Hol Horse is All-Star Battle styled, he does carry over some mechanics. He can use Stylish Move provided that he has the green Guard Bar filled, which is effectively a Parry. Taunting also serves a purpose- rather than just simply doing an action, taunting when the opponent is in a downed state will drain their power meter, allowing Hol Horse to avoid being hit by damaging supers. Hol Horse can also chain his normals, into specials, into hypers, similarly to the second version of Kung Fu Man.

Hol Horse does have weaknesses, which include his lack of good melee attacks such as his slow heavy attack and his noticeable fragility, despite having higher than normal defense.

The A.I. is slow to react at first, but quickly picks up in difficulty to a truly fearsome level, putting it's many bullets to good use and peforming large combos if you let your guard down.