Assists
Kamehameha (A Assist)
His Kamehameha has slightly better frame data than most beam assists. It is one-hit, just like the special move version. Has a little more blockstun and hitstop than a normal beam assist. It also causes a wallsplat on hit, and is great on defense and for covering your point character.
Martial Spirit (B Assist)
This is easily Master Roshi’s best assist. It comes out in 25 frames, and has 46 frames of blockstun making it one of the best lockdown assists in the game. The most important factor is that, just like its special move version, it has a guard point. It covers super dashes, stops your opponent from going under you while in the air, and is great against an opponent who is mashing buttons. If the opponent hits Roshi, they will be caught by the guard point, which also works against ki blasts and beams like the special move version does. Also, to make combos much easier, both hits will always come out when the assist is called. The second attack can also auto-correct on a sideswitch, just like the special move version.
Turtle Hermit Flurry (C Assist)
Turtle Hermit Flurry is easily Roshi’s worst assist with much fewer applications than the other two. It is a block string assist like Martial Spirit. While it can go full screen, it is also slower and has no guard point. It will teleport next to a grounded opponent when it comes out. On hit, Roshi will teleport again behind the opponent and knock them into a ground bounce sliding knockdown. There is no real reason to use this assist over his A or B assists, especially the B assist.
No super dash? No problem!
As mentioned before, Master Roshi does not have a super dash like every other character in the game. He has two different moves that replace his ground and air super dash. However, unlike Videl, who lost a universal mechanic with nothing substantial to replace it, Roshi’s replacement options have their own unique strengths to make up for the lack of utility that comes with a standard super dash.
Masterful Leap (H+S)
This is a command jump that replaces Roshi’s ground super dash. It is projectile invincible and has multiple different angles. It has four different variations: 4H+S, 1H+S, 2H+S, and 3H+S.
And all of which have Roshi jump at slightly different angles. 5H+S moves Roshi forward almost entirely fullscreen, and is the best for punishing ki blasts. 4H+S hops forward only halfscreen, and is great for midscreen left/right mixups. 1H+S, 2H+S, and 3+HS all go very high into the air, and Roshi will autocorrect on sideswitch when canceling into attacks or after recovery. You can also use 5H+S followed by an air dash as soon as you leave the ground for a very easy (almost) instant air dash.
It is important to note that the neutral version has a bit of landing recovery, while the other versions do not. Your opponent cannot cancel ki blasts into something like a 2H to punish the leap; they have to commit to it when Roshi is close. This should make a smart opponent wary of when they start lobbing out ki blasts (looking at you, DBZ Broly).
Reverse Kamehameha (j. H+S)
This is Master Roshi’s air super dash replacement. Like his command jump, it can also be aimed at multiple different angles. Also, like his command jump, it is projectile invincible. The beam is an actual projectile, and can be used to hit the opponent. It does not have any tracking like a normal super dash, but it is a little bit faster than a normal super dash.
When you tag or guard cancel, Roshi will arrive on screen a little bit faster than every other character. The 5H+S move propels Roshi forward-back first, 7H+S sends him up-back and fires a beam at a down forward angle, 8/9H+S move him up forward and fire a beam in the direction he came from, 1H+S moves him down forward back to the ground and fires a beam up and to the right, and 2/3H+S moves him down forward and fires a beam to the up left. Moves 4, 7, and 1 H+S essentially gives Roshi an aerial beam, and he is the only character with a beam that can be fired in any direction.
The beam will jail into vanish on hit or block. But if you hit the opponent with Roshi’s body, they will not bounce off the opponent like a normal super dash — this also cancels his landing recovery. This lets Roshi continue to apply pressure like a sparking dash does. You cannot cancel into attacks on hit outside of a Z Change, however.
On the final page of our guide, we go over how Roshi fits on a team and what assists best suit him.
