The dictator to end all dictators: M. Bison. The franchise big bad debuted in Street Fighter 2 as an unplayable boss, before becoming a playable character in Street Fighter II: Champion Edition.

Bison’s only goal is world domination. Anything less is unacceptable. His smoky tendrils impact almost every character in one way or another thanks to his devious strength. He is widely considered top tier.

Categorized as low risk, high reward in the right hands, Bison’s goal is to overwhelm opponents with strong attacks. This character can reflect projectiles and absorb attacks, then use them on enemies. He also has a phenomenal air-to-air game thanks to one of the best moves in the game. Expect a strong neutral and powerful midrange play at the cost of painfully slow movement. His anti-air game is not the best either, but it is a small price to pay compared to characters with bigger weaknesses.

Let’s learn how to play the shadowy empire, starting with an official Capcom beginner’s guide.

Getting started with M. Bison’s basic attacks

Character fundamentals like basic punches and kicks are necessary to move beyond mashing buttons. Every Street Fighter character has light, medium, and hard options.

• Punches:
  • Bison’s light punch is lightning fast but only deals a small amount of damage. Use it to interrupt your opponent.
  • His medium punch is one of the most versatile in the game. It can start a variety of combos from a crouch. Sprinkle in standing and jumping medium punches to amplify pressure. 
  • The standing strong punch is super fast despite its strength. Typically fast moves are weaker like the light punch. Meanwhile, the crouch variation is an uppercut.
• Kicks:
  • His light kick is a little slower from a jump but much faster from standing and crouching. Use it in different situations based on your timing and spacing.
  • Bison’s medium kick helps his neutral game via healthy range.
  • Slide into foes with his heavy kick low or poke players with the standing option’s long range.

M. Bison Throw Inputs

Psycho Impact: 

This throw picks up an enemy and spins them using telekinetic power. Use it to create space and slow down the other player’s momentum, especially if they’re guarding too much.

Psycho Fall:

Psycho Fall is a very powerful throw. Bison grabs the enemy by the neck and slams them on the opposite side of the screen.

Both of his throws are good to get an enemy into the corner, where you can overwhelm them with his high pressure normals.

M. Bison’s V-Skill Moves

Psycho Reflect and Psycho Punishment

Truly one of the best V-Skills in the game. Psycho Reflect can absorb any attack and parry it. Once a projectile is absorbed, Bison holds on to it as Psycho Punishment. Use this to create tension and mind games since the enemy doesn’t know when it’s coming. Bison can hold onto the projectile for as long as he wants.

Hell’s Warp

Bison’s second V-Skill is another great move. Bison teleports behind the enemy and delivers a very strong knockdown hit. Because an opponent goes into a juggle state, Bison can follow up with a Double Knee Press or even his Critical Art.

The move’s main drawback is that it has a long startup. If the opponent reads Hell’s Warp they can punish with a fast normal, so don’t carelessly throw it out.

M. Bison’s V-Triggers

Psycho Power and Psycho Nightmare basically adrenalize all of Bison’s special moves. His dash becomes a teleport, and other moves get special properties. He can even cancel his normals into specials and his specials into EX moves without charging them. As a result, Bison can build seemingly insurmountable pressure once he gets going.

In addition, his Head Press move will no longer bounce if blocked and the Psycho Blast gets stronger too.
Psycho Nightmare has a lower meter cost and adds the ability to cancel a number of moves, leading to more mix-up possibilities. 

Psycho Burst is a very strong escape option. It covers Bison in a force field and causes a knockdown, opening up counter possibilities. Great for resetting neutral. 

M. Bison’s Unique Attacks

• Hell Attack is a solid anti-air and a great combo starter. It also works jumping backwards, making charging a special move easier. 
• Psycho Axe is another really powerful move with great range. Even if it’s blocked Bison can move into something else and keep pressure on the opponent. Use it to control the neutral.
• Shadow Axe is a one-two target combo with decent damage.

M. Bison’s Special Moves

M. Bison’s Critical Art

The Ultimate Psycho Crusher is Bison’s spinning corkscrew from Street Fighter II. Use it to finish combos or as an anti-air with a read. Other players might be hesitant to recklessly approach since the Critical Art is hard to avoid when jumping toward Bison. 

Want to see all of M. Bison’s moves demonstrated along with some strategies? Check out this beginner and intermediate guide by MC MuraFGC.