Frankensteiner (フランケンシュタイナー Furankenshutainā) is an attack that doubles as a throw at close range and has been present in Tekken ever since the very first game; the input is df+3+4. The move is usable by both the first and second King, Armor King, Roger/Alex, Roger Jr., Doctor Boskonovitch, and Gon (however, Gon cannot actually grab hold of the opponent's shoulders and hence will only perform the first half of the move). In the cases of Dr. Boskonovitch and Roger Jr, the move is called Dr. Frankensteiner and Animal Rampage, respectively. In the Japanese version, they are called Frankensteiner and Animal Beat (アニマルビート Animaru bīto), respectively. The animations for them are slightly different, but it is the same concept.
When to use it
Frankensteiners are rarely, if ever, used in higher level fights, because it is much too slow and unsafe to use. If you get hit while still in the air, the opponent gets a free juggle opportunity. If you miss or are too far away, you land flat on your back and have to deal with getting up. It is however inescapable, which is its only real boon.
Because of this, it is best to use the Frankensteiner on people still inexperienced in switching from a good defensive to a fast offensive, as they will be more focused on trying to block all your attacks to notice the startup animation until it is too late and while they will probably still block the 15, but will be dealt the remaining damage. It is also sometimes used in arcades to make the other player look bad, as it is considered slightly embarrassing to be caught by a Frankensteiner.
How to defend against it
When the move is close enough to grab you, the correct way to block it is with a low block, otherwise, only the first 15 points of damage will be blocked and the second part of the moves become unavoidable, meaning that you will still take some damage. You can also choose to duck, in which case, you only take 15 damage, and have the advantage of an opponent lying down.
You can also avoid the Frankensteiner by crouching, and rising into a block. If it is timed correctly, you will receive no damage at all and the throw will not connect. This is confirmed in Tekken 1 through Tekken 5; it is much harder to escape unscathed in Tekken 3 and Tag Tournament, however. You will also still be hit (but not thrown) if you attempt to avoid Boskonovitch, as he has a different flip motion, more akin to Nina's Forward Flip Kick.
The optimal thing to do is to do a simple, fast jab just before getting hit, which turns the situation in your favor as you now have a free juggle opportunity. Some characters are also able to reverse or parry the Frankensteiner, though only a select few of the already select few are able to parry/reverse attacks.
Reversal/Parry List
Tekken 2
- Anna Williams: b+(1+4_2+3)
- Paul Phoenix: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Nina Williams: b+(1+4_2+3)
- Jun Kazama: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Wang Jinrei: b+(1+3_2+4)
Tekken 3
- Anna Williams: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Paul Phoenix: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Nina Williams: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Jin Kazama: b+(1+3_2+4)
Tekken 5
- Anna Williams: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Devil Jin: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Wang Jinrei: b+1
- Paul Phoenix: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Nina Williams: b+(1+3_2+4)
- Heihachi Mishima: b+(1+3_2+4) (takes 50 damage and only deals 15)
- Jin Kazama: b+(1+3_2+4)
Tekken 6
- Heihachi Mishima: b+(1+4_2+3) (takes 50 damage and only deals 15)
Trivia
- The Frankensteiner in the Tekken series is in fact a standing variation of the Avalanche Dragonrana. It is unknown why it is called a Frankensteiner in the game anyway, but it can be presumed to be because the Dragonrana was variant of the Huricanrana, which in turn was a variant of the Frankensteiner.