Hmm... I still have a few of the old pictures I used on my webspace.
Yes, they can be rather ugly. Like I said, it wasn't the most polished article. That's a reference for what the (Default) button layout is.
Some of the things I remember off the top of my head;
1) The "Defend" button is probably the most important button in the whole game, because it's an almost-always-working failsafe if you're in trouble.
If you mash the defend button when you see an enemy attack coming, you will block it. You will be chipped, but as far as I've seen -Battle Heat has no Chip Death-, so you can theoretically block perpetually.
It's also the -only way- to get out of certain specials - if it looks like a grab-throw and it's a special, mash the defend button!
Note that some attacks do need to be defended -low- (Down + Defend). This includes being countered from a stomp and any down + attack commands.
The only attack that, to the best of my knowledge, can not be blocked are Kai and Alamis's counter-specials.
2) Obviously enough, the quickest way to beat the CPU is to master the jump-kick, but it kills the fun of the game very quickly;
http://kiddocabbusses.tryhappy.net/rstuf/quickedit.JPGPress the "jump" button, and then down + the strong attack button. It'll work at any point while the jumping animation is playing. The CPU may try to cancel the jump animation with an attack, but if he tries a non-special he'll put himself at a disadvantage in the game's countering system, and like I said before, blocking always works.
If you're able to actually get into the jump-kick animation, there's nothing the CPU can do - it ALWAYS takes a hit.
You can also use this command to do a "Stomp" on an enemy that is knocked down. If you want to go for the extra damage, though, I suggest you try to position yourself "far", because the enemy can counter it if you're "near" and you'll be forced to defend or take the hit.
If you get knocked down yourself, and your opponent tries to stomp from near, you can counter by mashing the "Strong attack" button.
3) The cheat code commonly identified as "Extra Characters" does the following;
A ) Allows you play as "The Holy Dark Empire" characters in single-player mode, fighting the Kriph-side characters. It appears they even have individual character endings just like the Kriph characters.
B ) Allows the second player to play as the Boss characters in 2-player mode.
4) How the game's countering system works (If memory serves me correctly, I'll get back to analyzing this when I can go through the special moves again);
A ) Moves have certain properties. For example, some can be done practically anytime, while some require having the player in a specific position or being caught in a particular status.
B ) Obviously the receiving side can usually counter. The general rule is that moves can be countered with an identical type of move. IE. Low blows from near counter low blows from near. Projectiles counter projectiles. As far as I've seen, only "Grab" specials are un-counterable.
C ) There are some specials where the attacker changes his position, so the defense has to counter with a special that can be executed under the changed condition. This can particularly be confusing if one can succeed in pulling this off in the middle of a special counter-string.
(IE. Kai does his somersault, which moves him from "near" to "far". The opponent has to counter with a "far" special instead of a "near" special.)
D ) Counters can be countered back based on basically the same rules, but there is less time to execute it successfully. This is no big deal on basic attacks, but specials are hard to get down this way. After 3 counters, a normal attack will be impossible to counter, although defending might still be possible.
E ) Kai an Alamis have unblockable counter-specials that appear to be randomly activated during a normal quick or strong attack counter string. With this in mind, try to avoid doing those types of attacks against them if they're your opponent.
4) Ah, yeah, since your "position" is important, I'll explain it;
A ) Basically, you and your opponent can either be "near" or "far". You can tell just by looking at the top of the screen with the character icons what position they're in - "near" will be closer to the center of the screen while "Far" is near the edges". If you're idly standing in battle, that'll also give some visual cues.
B ) You can use the commands up, up or down, down to try to switch positions, but it may leave you open for an attack.
(Anndd I'll get through more of this later.)
