When it comes to fighting games, there’s usually a philosophy when designing a character’s movelist. That would be every move should have its use. Well, sometimes, fighting game developers can fudge that up. I’ve been playing Street Fighter 6 for quite a while and I’ve encountered a lot of players using different characters and different playstyles. Even with the variety of gamers I’ve fought against, I have yet to really see anyone do some really specific moves.

Now, it’s not like the move itself may be inherently bad or useless (but there are a couple that are). It’s just that the character with the aforementioned move may have something much better in his or her toolkit that overshadows it. So, let’s got check out five actual moves in Street Fighter 6 that you will probably never see in a competitive match.

Jamie’s Intoxicated Assault AND Ransui Haze

We’re starting out with a character who has not one, but two moves no one seems to be using. To be fair, I’m just going to make this one entry. Capcom had a good concept with Jamie, the first drunken boxer of Street Fighter 6. The execution, however, does lead a lot to be desired as the drink system needs to be tweaked a little to make Jamie more viable in a competitive setting. It can just be a hassle to get high enough drink levels to maximize his potential. Any Jamie player would, as much as possible, try to get his drink level as high as they can, even though getting to Level 3 or 4 may not be feasible in a really tough match.

This is probably one of the reasons why you will hardly ever see a Jamie player do his Intoxicated Assault, his Level 3 Target Combo, and his Ransui Haze, his Level 4 Target Combo. By the time a Jamie player has reached those levels, he or she would be better off just performing his other moves that are already unlocked by this time.

However, I feel the biggest reason is Jamie’s Level 1 Target Combo, the Bitter Strikes, and Level 2 Target Combo, Full Moon Kick, overshadows the need to utilize his other Target Combos. Bitter Strikes starts with a light punch, making it easy to hit confirm. Full Moon Kick starts with Jamie’s overhead kick, which is great when doing it from a Drive Rush. So, why use his other Target Combos when the first two already are so good?

Zangief’s Smetana Dropkick

Ah, you would think that either Zangief’s Tundra Storm counter or his Power Stomps would be on this list, wouldn’t you? Well, I hate to break it to you, I actually fought someone who used his Power Stomps on me in a match. Sure, it was more of a frame kill but it was still used! And Zangief players like DemonDan love using Tundra Storms at random times. It’s even more hilarious when it actually works!

No, there is something in Zangief’s arsenal I still have yet to see anyone use. That move would be his down-forward heavy kick AKA the Smetana Dropkick. I do see what Capcom had planned for this move as it has some properties that would make it useful. For one, if flies over low kicks, making it a good counter to characters who have good low kick pokes and sweeps. It also causes a wall splat on a Punish Counter, allowing Zangief to get close enough to do his Level 3 Bolshoi Storm Buster to end the match as seen in his Advanced 1 trials.

However, even with Zangief mains definitely knowing about this, they will still refrain from doing Smetana Dropkick. The move is pretty risky as you have to read the low kick perfectly for it to connect. If it doesn’t, you’re left wide open as it has a whopping 18 frames of recovery if blocked. I also don’t see it being used as a Punish Counter, even when the opponent does an attempted reversal in the corner. This is because most Zangief mains have it in their muscle memory to counter with his regular Spinning Piledriver or his standing heavy kick and then go for either an OD Borsch Dynamite or Air Russian Slam, his Level 1 Super. Better yet, they can go for one of Zangief’s damaging Drive Rush combos, saving up the meter for the next round.

Luke’s DDT

It’s weird that one of Luke’s gimmicks isn’t really used all that much. Besides the “perfect charged” versions of his Flash Knuckles, Capcom game Luke a secondary gimmick where he can tack on another hit when performing some of his OD special moves. He gets the Fatal Shot after an OD Sand Blast and the Slam Dunk after an OD Rising Uppercut. I have seen these moves come out sporadically throughout my time playing. However, you will nary see a Luke player follow up the OD Flash Knuckle with his DDT.

The DDT follow up isn’t actually a terrible move as it does do 2,000 points of damage in total after the first hit of the OD Flash Knuckle. The Luke player also gets a good 12 frame advantage after the knockdown. So, why don’t Luke players use it? Well, for one thing, tacking on any of the follow ups uses up an additional bar of Drive Meter, meaning you have to use three bars, making it super expensive.

The other reason is Luke can still do follow ups after the OD Flash Knuckle without burning additional Drive Meter. Luke has to cancel the DDT from the first hit of the OD Flash Knuckle. However, the OD Flash Knuckle does a total of 800 damage with the two hits and launches the opponent. Luke can follow up the juggle with another normal Flash Knuckle or a Rising Uppercut. While it doesn’t do as much damage, you didn’t have to burn an extra Drive Bar to use it and you still get some really good advantage after that. I guess the DDT is good for closing the round. But most Luke players already have other OD Flash Knuckle roots in their muscle memory.

Manon’s Tomoe Derriere

Out of all of Manon’s normals, there is one that is really underutilized. That move would be her down-forward heavy kick. Officially called the Tomoe Derriere, this has Manon sliding on the ground a short distance, jutting one of her legs upward. Hitting a grounded opponent isn’t all that great as it just knocks them down a few inches away from Manon. However, this is a brilliant move when an opponent is trying to get a jump in while Manon appears to be cornered. If this is used as an anti-air, Manon will slide underneath and flip the opponent into the corner instead, reversing their positions and giving her the positional advantage.

While this makes it seem like a really powerful move, Manon players rarely, if ever, do the Tomoe Derriere for several reasons. For one, Manon already has a couple of more than decent anti-airs. Her crouching heavy punch has a fantastic hitbox against deep jump ins and she can tack on another hit as hitting heavy punch again is one of her target combos. Her back and medium kick is also pretty good, especially against opponents trying a crossup and, like with the crouching heavy punch version, can add another hit as she has a target combo from this. Manon’s Rond-Pond, her quarter-circle forward with kick special, is another fantastic anti-air if timed correctly and has upper-body invincibility.

As Manon already has a number of good anti-airs already, this leaves Tomoe Derriere in an awkward and very niche place. If it were faster than the other aforementioned moves (it’s around 10 frames, which is similar to her crouching heavy punch, back with medium kick and her Rond-Pond special), it might find more use. As it is right now, there just doesn’t seem to be any circumstance when it would really be more beneficial besides the switching sides things I just mentioned.

Dee Jay’s Speedy Maracas

This is an odd entry as there is a smidgeon of a chance you might actually see this in an actual tournament. There is a big caveat as there are some special circumstances that have to be followed if you’re going to see Dee Jay’s Speedy Maracas unique move. First, it’ll have to be a Dee Jay mirror match. Second, both players will actually have to agree to do the informal Dee Jay ritual. This is not going to happen very often as I have yet to see it… but it might!

So, what is Dee Jay’s Speedy Maracas anyway? Well, it’s a move that builds his Super Meter up. The longer the button is held, the more it goes up. You can actually cancel into it from his Air Slasher special.

That seems really good but there’s a big problem. The recovery after Speedy Maracas is 133 frames! That translate to more than two whole seconds of recovery, even if you just tap the Speedy Maracas input! So, the only time you’ll actually be able to use it is if you throw out a heavy Air Slasher, cancel into Speedy Maracas and hope your opponent is so flabbergasted that he doesn’t realize you’re wide open for what is now just a little under two seconds! All that work for a tiny bit of Super Meter!

To be fair, I guess you can also do the Speedy Maracas after you stun your opponent by Drive Impacting them into the wall while they’re in Burnout state. But then again, why use that valuable time to build meter when you can just do your most damaging jump in combo? Seems like a wasted opportunity, right?

BONUS: Zangief’s Brain Buster and Dhalsim’s Yoga Splash

Well, Zangief returns but I’m lumping him with Dhalsim as these two moves are closely related as they have the same motion: down with light punch and light kick. Yes, these two characters have more than two throw variations. It’s not a surprise for Zangief as he is a wrestler but Dhalsim?

I will say there is some purpose to them in theory. The Brain Buster does the same amount of damage as everyone’s regular throws but is slow (great if you have the life lead and want some burn some clock) and Zangief has around 14 frames of advantage afterwards, 4 more frames than his regular damaging ones. Dhalsim’s Yoga Splash tosses his for much farther than his other forward throw. Being a zoner, this is something Dhalsim wants: distance.

So, why don’t more people use them? Well, it’s because of the input. You have to be really conscious of entering the motion instead of just holding forward or backward, which is what you would usually be doing when trying to get in for a throw.

What other some other moves you haven’t seen done in an actual competitive Street Fighter match? Let me know in the comments section below!