Chain combo

A chain combo is the basis for a normal move combo in Street Fighter VERSUS. A chain combo is a combo that is composed of normal moves being chained into each other in set button presses. It basically allows you to string your entire set of normal togethers before canceling into more damaging attacks, which is pretty nifty. Unlike rapid fire light attacks, chain combos can not be performed as a whiff.

Each character has different chain combo types depending on the state they are in. There are different chain combos for when a player is grounded, airborne, and really high up in the air.

Each character has different chain combos classes, called 'magic series'. The magic series determines the specific rules of your character's chain combos. There are also a few exceptions to this rule with various target combos, which are character specific chain combos that are in a different set of rules from the others.

Magic Series
Every character in Street Fighter VERSUS has three different magic series: One for when they are grounded, one for when they are in a normal jump (this includes after being reset from many free juggle states, such as after being hit by a Shoryuken), and one for when they are in a super jump. These vary greatly from character to character.

For example, characters like Ibuki and Rolento have incredible flexibility. They can cancel a Light Punch into a Light Kick, then a Medium Punch -> Medium Kick -> Standing Heavy -> Crouching Heavy sequence on the ground. Characters like Zangief have it much shorter; he can only cancel a Light Punch or Kick into a stronger attack. These are examples of the series 'Hunter' and 'Weak Start', respectively

Hunter
The most flexible series. This allows characters to create long sequences of attacks. This is the base string, and the longest one possible:
 * 1) Standing or Crouching Light Punch
 * 2) Standing or Crouching Light Kick
 * 3) Standing or Crouching Medium Punch
 * 4) Standing or Crouching Medium Kick
 * 5) Standing Heavy
 * 6) Crouching Heavy

Stronger
Not as flexible, but it gets the job done. This is the sequence of attacks you can do with this series:
 * 1) Standing or Crouching Light Punch or Light Kick
 * 2) Standing or Crouching Medium Punch or Medium Kick
 * 3) Standing or Crouching Heavy

Weak Start
This is the most limited. This is the only selection of attacks available: In the first two, you are allowed to skip steps. For example, for Rolento, a crouching Light Kick into a Standing Heavy is ok. However, all chain combos must be performed in the order listed above; it is not possible to go backwards in a series and chain, say, standing Medium Punch into Standing Light Punch unless a target combo like that is available.
 * 1) Standing or Crouching Light Punch or Light Kick
 * 2) Standing or Crouching Medium Punch, Medium Kick, or Heavy

In the air, magic series are a bit different. There are two types of normal jump magic series: "Full" and "Normal". Full is similar to the ground Hunter series; it goes Light Punch -> Light Kick -> Medium Punch -> Medium Kick -> Heavy -> Secondary Heavy. Normal chain combos can start and end with any attack, but the maximum amount of hits you are allowed to do is 3. For example, you can do Light Kick -> Medium Punch -> Medium Kick, but you can't chain the Medium Kick into Heavy from there.

In a super jump, all characters have a "Full" magic series. This time, the Secondary Heavy will initiate Flying Screen, regardless of whether or not it was done in a combo off a launcher or not

Command Normals
Command Normals exist outside of the series above and are a bit stranger. Most command normals can be chained into off anything equal or below the strength of the button required to do the normals for what would be a Hunter series. For example, Dudley's Stomach Blow (Forward + Medium Punch) can be chained into from a standing Medium Punch, but NOT a standing Medium Kick because that is later on in the Hunter series even though Dudley uses a Stronger series. Zangief can cancel into his Long Kick (Down-Back + Heavy) off of any normal of his, though, as it is a essentially a Crouching Heavy attack. Most command normals can not be comboed into other normals or command normals with some exceptions.

Some command normals can not be chain comboed into from any attacks; namely, most overhead attacks.

Almost every command normal can still be chain comboed into a Secondary Heavy attack (air combos) or a Launcher (ground combos).

Target Combos
A target combo is a character specific chain combo that exists outside of the normal rules. Not every character has access to chain combos, and they occassionally contradict the normal rules of a character. It is possible to chain combo into a target combo, by chaining into the initial hit of a target combo and then going off into that combo's attacks.

The most general rule is that each state only allows one target combo at a time. For example, let's take a look at Dudley, a character who has a huge array of these. Let's start with a basic chain; say, chain a Standing Light Punch into Standing Medium Punch. Then you activate one of Dudley's Target Combos by chaining the Medium Punch into a Standing Medium Kick; due to Dudley's Stronger magic series, this normally wouldn't be allowed but the target combo property makes it possible. However, from there, you can only cancel into the attacks normally allowed (in this case, Dudley's Forward + Medium Kick Kidney Blow, a Heavy attack, or a launcher) instead of one of Dudley's target combos off a Standing Medium Kick, such as Standing Medium Punch into Standing Hard Punch.

However, after re enterting a state (by, say, exiting a ground combo, going into the air, lifting the opponent up then do a ground combo again; another way would be to do a ground combo that ends in a wall bounce, then comboing off the wall bounce with a ground chain) the target combo count is reset and your new ground chain can use another target combo.