There are a surprising number of characters in Street Fighter 6 who have a lot of mobility. Whether that be Chun Li’s staggeringly fast shimmying, E. Honda’s screen-clearing headbutt, or Kimberley’s incredible range on Hisen Kick, there’s usually something zippy you have to factor in when brawling.
Whilst not the most popular character in Street Fighter 6, Blanka has one of the better Specials in the game. Of course, we are talking about the rather excellent (and annoying…) Rolling Attack. In this guide, we are going to go over why Rolling Attack is great, and how you can punish Blanka for daring to use it against you.
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Why Is Rolling Attack So Good In Street Fighter 6?
Rolling Attack, like just about every attack in Street Fighter 6, has four variants. They all have slightly different properties, but they all serve roughly the same purpose. That purpose is of course to deal damage safely. Rolling Attack comes out quickly, covers a large distance, deals good damage, and is safe on Block.
What does this mean? Well, if Blanka hits you whilst you are Blocking, you won’t be able to counterattack. This is because Rolling Attack has good Frame Data, but also because Rolling Attack bounces Blanka backwards out of most characters’ reach. This makes Rolling Attack a tempting Special for Blanka to spam – especially if you have no answer to it. That’s where we come in.
When In Doubt, Try Drive Impact In Street Fighter 6
As a general rule, if something is slapping you around, experimenting with Drive Impact can often yield great results. This is absolutely the case here, although the timing is very strict. If you pop Drive Impact too early you are likely to miss and get punished. If you time it too late, you are either getting hit.
We’ve found the best way to punish Rolling Attack is to pop it at the last second. This will cause Blanka to collide with your Drive Impact. Whilst Blanka will bounce off you, your Drive Impact will hit him in the air, leaving him open for a combo or meaty pressure. This method does cost Drive Gauge and is a bit tricky to pull off, but every character can pull it off, regardless of their kit.
Perfect Parry + Drive Rush
Another universal counter to Rolling Attack is to use Perfect Parry. There is no shortcut to landing a Perfect Parry, it just takes practice. Once you land that Perfect Parry, however, you have the opportunity to go on the offensive. Sadly, due to the nature of Rolling Attack, you can’t just Perfect Parry and attack normally.
Instead, you are going to have to use Drive Rush after your Perfect Parry to catch Blanka when he’s defenceless and in the air. You can then apply pressure as needed, or if you are a whizz at landing combos, you could even convert this into a pretty damaging combo depending on who you are playing. We found this harder to pull off than Drive Impact, but also safer.
Disjointed Long-Range Normals & Projectiles
Next up is learning which of your attacks are disjointed and then using them to hit Blanka safely. A disjointed attack is an attack that has a larger Hit Box than its Hurt Box. What does this mean? It means that your attack can hurt your enemies, but enemies hitting your attack can’t hurt you.
A great example of this is JP. Whilst not all of his attacks are disjointed, the fact he has a cane should give you some indication as to why he has some. His Down+Medium Punch is a great example that will hit Blanka out of Rolling Attack with a staggering level of reliability. Experiment with your chosen character’s moves, learn if they have a disjointed attack, and then use it.
If you don’t have access to such a move, then you can instead rely on projectiles. Everything from a piddly Kikoken to the mighty Sonic Boom can stop Blanka in his tracks.
Invincible Anti-Air & Armour
Finally, Rolling Attack is very susceptible to being countered with anti-air Specials. The most obvious would be something like Ryu and Ken’s Shoryuken (Dragon Punch). Timed correctly, you will ignore Rolling Attack and land a devastating Counter Hit. Many characters have access to something like this, so get into the lab and experiment.
Another option would be to check to see if your chosen character has any attacks that grant Armour. For example, Marissa has several that, if timed correctly, can absorb a Rolling Attack and punish Blanka. Her “Superman punch” is a great example of this. E. Honda’s OD Headbutt was seemingly built to punish Rolling Attack. Again, head into the lab and learn what options your character has.
That’s all we have on Street Fighter 6 for now. Be sure to check out our other lists and guides for more Street Fighter content.
