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The Grandfather of Combos, the one, the only, TZW!! Without a doubt, he was the single most influential individual in combo video history. Nowadays he's got kind of a "cult favorite" rep going on, but that's only because he's stuck with a classic Street Figiter game, he rarely makes new videos, and it's impossible to obtain them when he does. Still, everything we've got today is based on the foundations he built. If he didn't exist, it's possible that someone else could have filled that vacuum, but things wouldn't be the same because he was at least a couple of years ahead of his time.

TZW's homepage

TZW's Video Vol.3: One More Blue Nightmare (search "TZW")

TZW's Video Vol.5: Information High (search "TZW")

TZW's Video Vol.7: Long Distance Runaround (search "TZW")

Disk-18 SSF2X code-name: Maxion revision.A

A Tribute To TZW: The Original Combo Maestro (content from Vol.7 and Maxion rev.A, edited by me)

The remarkable thing about TZW was his diligence in maximizing combos, to the point where it became comical to watch him do fifty variations on one theme. However, once he found (and repeatedly demonstrated) the plateau of any combo, he would always come up with elaborate setups to take it one step further. That's the real brilliance of TZW. If you look at all of the classic trademark TZW setups, most of them are designed to add one more hit to an existing combo. For him, there's no such thing as an improvement too small to achieve. Once i have a little more time, i'll revisit this topic and outline the most recognizable TZW setups along with their uses/benefits. Until then, please discuss, ask questions, reminisce, etc.

By the looks of his combo video names, it seems he is a fan of progressive rock.

I think the reall craziness is the dedication. I mean he has multiple combos with ridiculous frame specific stuff in it. Not to mention stuff that won't always work because of game randomness. But not only does he have those things, he does them in multiple times, but ends then with a fireball instead of a super. While it can seem kind of cheezey or repetitive I think the fact that he does it by hand is some amazing dedication.

He should come to america and give a synopsis on the Street Fighter 2 fighting game engine.. I would go! I'd even pay 20 dollars or more... U.S. even not like 20 Argentinian dollars!

TZW has a handful of combo setups which seem to pop up frequently. Here's a brief incomplete overview ...

Dhalsim jump over, s.HP

Apart from Guile, everyone has serious frame disadvantage on projectile attacks. When Dhalsim jumps over Ryu and stretches into the fireball using s.HP (which whiffs against opponents at close range), it creates an elaborate midscreen meaty setup for Ryu's fireball. This gives Ryu plenty of time to recover and combo afterwards, plus the projectile's orientation sucks Dhalsim towards Ryu instead of pushing him away. Basically it's like adding a free hit at the beginning of a ground combo.

Characters with fast projectile attack recovery can even hit Dhalsim with a normal move on the same frame that Dhalsim's limb touches the fireball. That's basically two hits for the price of one - Dhalsim still gets sucked in since the projectile's pushback trajectory takes priority. The disadvantage of this setup is that it can't be incorporated into certain corner combos since it sucks Dhalsim out of the corner.

Fei Long F+HK throw (teched)

Since Fei Long's F+HK throw covers so much horizontal distance so fast, using it against a slow projectile attack allows both characters to catch up to the fireball almost immediately. Fei Long has such fast walking speed too. While the opponent is jumping back or whatever, Fei Long can use one of his long range attacks such as c.HP to reach into the fireball and create a crossup opportunity for his opponent.

Obviously the character who throws the projectile has to tech the throw in order to avoid knockdown, but that's fairly easy. Landing from the teched throw even creates a Reversal opportunity, which some characters can use to trigger glitches.

Crossing up dizzy opponents from behind

Most characters lean back and forth during their dizzy animations. Some characters lean forward quite a bit. Sometimes TZW will use a throw to dizzy a combo dummy because most throws make opponents wake up facing the wrong way. Normally they'd turn around during wakeup animation but if they're dizzy they continue facing the same way. This is kind of a cool setup because it allows you to cross up with all kinds of nonsense which isn't a real crossup, such as Guile's j.HP or basically anything that has even a little interior coverage.

Also the consistent recovery period allows TZW to figure out a timing for the jump. After the throw he'll hold forward, whiff a fierce or something, and hold up/forward. This helps him to time the crossup attempt to coincide with the opponent's furthest leaning pose, which is actually kinda tricky since the animation cycles quickly.

Dizzy knockdowns as meaty setups

If TZW wants to set up a meaty projectile from full screen away, he'll simply do a quick near-dizzy combo and then jump back to throw another projectile from full screen for the dizzy. Then he'll immediately throw another slow fireball which will connect meaty, and use an air Hurricane Kick or something to cover the distance. As a bonus, the combo will have started with a dizzy so he'll have to deal with the redizzy limit instead of the restrictive dizzy limit.

Sometimes he'll do a similar thing midscreen, then throw a fireball behind the opponent, and use some kind of a forward-moving attack to knock the opponent into the fireball and continue from there. Usually this involves Blanka because he leans back the furthest during most forms of hit stun.

Chasing a projectile across an entire stange then having Bison land on it

Bison has a fast backwards jump as well as the appropriate jumping hit boxes to avoid contact with projectiles until he lands. Basically this is another meaty setup for projectiles, except it's a full corner setup and it allows for ample time to catch up to the projectile. It's used in Guile combos (since his forward walking speed is slightly faster than his LP Sonic Boom velocity) and Shoto combos since they can cover ground quickly with air Hurricane Kicks.

This setup is very convenient for creating a simultaneous hit scenario with a projectile. TZW has a combo where the first hit knockdown of Ken's DP is nullified by a fireball, so he gets both hits to connect against Bison.

More recently, desk was able to find some crazy applications of this setup which create weird floating glitch states.

Starting to jump right before an attack connects

Basically you can hit someone out of the startup of a jump attempt, but if you combo into another hit, they get knocked into the air as if you had hit them while they were jumping. This turns out to be quite useful in juggle combos with characters such as Ryu and Bison. TZW uses it in every way imaginable.

Meaty Sonic Boom, whiff knee, Sonic Boom

Perhaps the trademark TZW setup, this thing appears in every video he's ever made and just about every Guile video ever made by anyone else. The B+MK knee is a way for Guile to move forward without losing charge. Combining it with a meaty setup allows Guile to link two of them. It's very simple but maybe that's part of what makes it so iconic.