Sakura Street Fighter 4 Moves, Combos, Strategy Guide
Last updated on Oct. 20, 2009
Character Overview
Although most tier lists show Sakura as the second worse character in the game, in front of Dan, her ability to rush down opponents and dizzying them can make her a formidable threat even to veteran players.
She has a strong mix-up game that can begin on a knockdown, and also after landing her EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick. If you can manage to stay on your opponent and never let up pressure, she can win a lot of matches that are supposed to be difficult for her.
Like the other console characters, Sakura is underrated by most players.
• Strengths •
+ Most of her normal moves have good priority and can be Canceled.
+ Good foot and move speed.
+ Strong offensive pressure tactics which can lead to dizzies.
+ EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick is bloody awesome. Has great juggling potential, it's safe on block and leaves you at a frame advantage. Plus, you can do other tricks with it.
+ Easy to land her Ultra via a juggle.
+ Under the radar character; many players aren't familiar with her play style and tactics, so they will have a hard time beating her.
• Weaknesses •
- Stamina is below average.
- Very few ways to do damage from a distance, needs to be up close.
- Can have a difficult time consistently applying pressure to turtling (heavy defensive) players.
- Has few viable anti-air options.
- Relies heavily on EX-moves to win.
- Technical character; you need to have great execution in links and "mind games" to win with her.
- Cross up Jumping Light Kick is fast, but does little damage.
General offensive strategies
Sakura is best played as an offensive rushdown character because from afar, she can't deal much damage.
Also, in a sense she is a high-risk, high-reward character because you have to play close up with her, and some of her moves leave her very open to being punished. Mistakes cost Sakura more life than most fighters because of her below-average stamina.
At the same time, she has some damaging combos and great ways to set up her Ultra, plus a strong mix up game.
You'll need to practice hit confirming because if your opponent blocks, you have to be careful which moves you follow up with, and if they're open you want to land a big combo.
Sakura players should look for lots of knocks downs, follow up with her Jumping Light Kick as a cross and then combo, or threaten to throw or just stay in range to apply pressure and wait for a lapse in your enemy's defense.
Using an Air Reset after an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick
After landing her EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick most players follow up with a combo, but if think you can catch your opponent off guard — execute a normal move instead as they're coming down from the air to perform a Reset so the other fighter lands on their feet.
Many players will expect to be knocked down here and landing on their feet and having to deal with Sakura directly in their face and threatening to do more damage can be an unexpected and surprising situation.
While you shouldn't do this in every instance, throwing in an Air Reset when the other player doesn't expect it can generate some big damage. This works well because instead of being knocked down, your enemy lands on their feet and must QUICKLY choose which side to block on, or to try and tech throw.
These are the most common moves to perform an air reset with Sakura after an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick.
- Walk up then Standing Light Punch
- Jumping Light Kick
- Jumping Hard Kick
- Jumping Hard Punch
- Walk up then Towards + Medium Kick
- Walk up then Crouching Heavy Kick (Sweep)
- Walk up then Crouching Light Kick
The walk up Standing Light Punch and Jumping Light Kick in particular are very good for two reasons. These moves allow you to slip past your opponent by dashing behind them while they're being reset in the air.
If they are not expecting you to end up on the opposite side, you can usually combo into another EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick and eventually dizzy them. If they're expecting a cross up dash, delay your dash command for a brief moment, you won't end up on the opposite side of your enemy, but because they saw you dash they might THINK you are going to. Again, this allows you to set up another combo.
If you feel your opponent is getting wise to which side they need to block on, simply throw them instead as they land on their feet, or use two Crouching Light Kicks first and Link into a bigger combo or again walk up and throw them.
Switching back and forth between these tactics can make it difficult for your opponent to defend the onslaught and you'll be taking off large chunks of their life as they try to figure out how to counter it.
Other setups with Sakura's Air Reset
While the Standing Light Punch and Jumping Light Kick set up easy ways to dash behind your opponent, it is still possible to cross them up after connecting with a Jumping Hard Punch or Kick. The timing however is different.
You need to hit your opponent on the way down, pausing briefly for a moment before jumping with your attack. If you do not time this correctly, they'll be too far away and you won't be able to dash under them. But if you perform this late enough in your jump, you'll get to their opposite side.
Another move that works as an Air Reset is Sakura's Crouching Light Kick. The timing on the move is tricky at first — you must throw this out a split second before they hit the ground — but this gives your opponent even less time to react.
If your opponent is catching on to your mix up tactics, you can sweep them instead. The timing on your Crouching Hard Kick (sweep) is also tricky though, but connecting with it eliminates the other fighter's ability to do a 'quick get up', giving you more time to set up your next attack. You can cross up again with a Jumping Light Kick, or take a step back and use the Crouching Hard Punch as an ambiguous cross up.
Special Moves
60
80
120
100-140
or 
• Fireball (Hadouken) •
Holding down the punch button used will enable you to charge up your projectile, and releasing the button makes it come out. Charged fireballs do more damage, but travel less distance.
You won't win projectile battles with either version of your fireball, but the speed of the attack can confuse opponents on jump-ins thinking they can avoid it.
105
135
155
200
• Shoryuken (Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
All three versions of this move can be Focus Attack Dash Canceled (FADC). A decent move, Light is the best option for anti-air, but because Sakura slides forward before launching into her uppercut, consistently knocking people out of the air with it is difficult.
Hard Punch Shoryukens work great in combos as the damage is good and it will still fully connect from a fair distance out.
You can juggle your opponent for an additional hit after landing a Light Punch Shoryuken if you go into a Medium Punch Shoryuken immediately after wards. This does less damage than if you hit them with a full Hard Punch Shoryuken, but it works good to take off a bit of extra life when you need to use the Light Punch version.
60
120
180
125
• Arcing Hurricane Kick (Shunpukyaku) •
*Armor Breaking*
A good move to use in combos, plus the Light Kick version is safe on block, and the Medium and Hard attacks aren't easy to punish.
You can Link into a Standing/Crouching Light Punch or Kick and follow up with another combo after landing the Light Arcing Hurricane Kick from the right range, but the timing can be tricky.
The Hard Kick version can be used to end combos and can even go over projectiles if timed properly.
50
50
50
80
(In the air)
• Air Arcing Hurricane Kick (Air Shunpukyaku) •
Handy to escape bad situations or alter the trajectory of your jump to throw off anti-air attempts.
168
168
168
168
• Jump Smash (Sakura Otoshi) •
This move has a somewhat low priority and the only time it should be used is after landing an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick so you can do additional damage.
When your opponent sees this coming, it's easy to counter it.
EX Moves
60
80
120
100-140
• EX-Fireball (Hadouken) •
Travels a little bit faster than her regular Fireball, plus it's larger in size and offers unlimited range (i.e. it never dissipates).
Also hits twice, does good damage — works alright as a chip (block) damage attack as well knocking down when it hits.
Like Sakura's regular Fireball, the EX version can also be charged by holding both Punch buttons, this makes her attack take off more power, but it doesn't decrease the range at all.
105
135
155
200
• EX-Shoryuken (Dragon Punch Uppercut) •
Offers several frames of invincibility while the attack is starting up, letting you blow through some moves that her regular Shoryuken simply could not — even letting Sakura get through a few projectiles and Ultras if your timing is spot on.
This is also a great move in simple bread and butter combos because of the damage output.
But it's extremely easy to punish if blocked and not really great against jumping characters unless you have stellar timing. But if you need to get the other player off of you, this move will do the trick.
60
120
180
125
• EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick (Shunpukyaku) •
*Armor Breaking*
The go to move for Sakura's combos. The last hit launches your enemy up into the air letting you juggle with her Jump Smash or Ultra.
This attack is also safe on block, but not only that, you'll be left at a frame advantage so you can throw other moves out there before your opponent recovers from the block stun. Simply put — this is a terrific move.
One of the few drawbacks is that sometimes the last hit (launcher) will whiff crouching opponents, so try nailing them with a Standing Hard Punch beforehand, which stands them up ensuring the move fully connects.
50
50
50
80
(In the air)
• EX-Air Arcing Hurricane Kick (Air Shunpukyaku) •
Makes Sakura float in the air a bit longer than her regular Arcing Hurricane Kick.
168
168
168
168
• EX-Jump Smash (Sakura Otoshi) •
This tracks based on where your opponent is standing at, allowing it to travel full-screen or a very short distance.
Works great as a fireball deterrent because Sakura can punish an opponent from basically any distance who tries to pester her with projectiles.
Be careful with this move though — doing it at the wrong time can lead to your health bar being depleted very quickly. And although Sakura is jumping while doing this attack, it can be blocked either low or high.
Super and Ultra Moves
380
307-435
• Karu Ichiban (Super) •
A decent Super that you can combo with after a Hard Punch or Kick jump in attack, but most players recommend saving your EX-meter for your Arcing Hurricane Kick.
• Haru Ranman (Ultra) •
A very good Ultra. You can connect with this after a Focus Attack, a Hard jump in attack and of course after the EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick.
After connecting with an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick, dash forward and execute your Ultra to juggle with it. Dashing forward lets you connect more hits and you'll want to start the Ultra when your opponent's back is a little above Sakura's head while she's standing, or it will miss.
Combos
• Jump in with Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Punch Fireball •
You can Cancel into most of Sakura's Special Moves after the Crouching Medium Kick.
• Jump in with Hard Kick, Crouching Light Punch 2x, Link into Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into Hard Punch Shoryuken •
Timing on this can be tricky because of the Link into Crouching Medium Kick, but this is a powerful combo.
• Jump in with Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick, juggle with Jump Smash or Dash then juggle with Ultra •
You need to be fairly close when you execute the EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick or it will not combo.
• Jump in with Hard Kick, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into Fireball, Cancel into Focus Attack •
You need to have two EX bars of Super meter to Cancel out of your Fireball into a Focus Attack.
• Level 2/3 Focus Attack, Standing Hard Punch, Cancel into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick •
• Crouching Light Kick, Chain into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick •
Good combo to use with Sakura's EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick mix up game.
• Jumping Hard Kick, Crouching Medium Kick, Cancel into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick •
• Focus Attack Level 2/3, Light Arcing Hurricane Kick, Link into Crouching Light Punch, Link into Crouching Medium Punch, Cancel into Light Arcing Hurricane Kick, Link into Standing Light Kick, Cancel into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick •
Doesn't do a significant amount of damage, but causes a healthy amount of stun.
• Jumping Hard Punch, Crouching Hard Punch, Cancel into Hard Punch Fireball, Focus Attack Dash Cancel, Crouching Hard Punch, Link into EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick, Ultra •
This combo does massive damage to your opponent, and with a Full Ultra Meter, you can take roughly half your opponent's life off with this nifty combo.
Normal Moves
This is not a complete list of Sakura's regular moves, just some note worthy ones.
• Jumping Drop Kick •
Some people don't expect this move often, but this is a great heavy move that can Link into a Crouching Hard Punch or your sweep.
• Crouching Medium Punch •
This move comes out fairly fast, and can even beat crouching pokes. Also works well in Link combos since it can be Canceled into your special moves.
• Crouching Hard Punch •
Technically her best anti-air. Also great in that it can be Canceled into Sakura's special moves. Most importantly, if you're opponent is crouching and you use this, this will make your opponent stand up and you can go into an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick.
• Overhead Kick •
Like Ryu's overhead punch, this move must be blocked high. Also comes out fast too.
• Jumping Hard Punch •
Basically a one-hit Sakura Otoshi, but this is the go to move for many jump-in combos, and to hit opponents out of the air, because this move hits straight and can beat out other jumping attacks.
The neat thing about this move is that if you time and position your jump right on a standing character, her smash will actually allow her to cross up and allow her to continue to combo from the opposite side.
Heavy contributions to this guide by SSJ3X-II.
Posted by SSJ3X on February 18, 2009 at 8:21 a.m. #1
From what I've played, she's still a great player to use but most of her Alpha 3 premises aren't around. You're going to want to use her EX moves a lot because they have good priority. Her EX Shououken is a good poke move if your opponent isn't expecting it. about 80% of the time they'll be waiting for her EX Shunpukyaku and then counter that with either a dragon punch, grab, sweep, or combo.
She's got good combo skills though. With her EX Shunpu, I was able to at least land a 13 hit regular combo.
Posted by hypergiant on February 19, 2009 at 3:19 p.m. #2
she has a nasty negative edge combo!!!
jumping hard punch
low medium punch (dont let go of medium punch until u do a half circle and the release for fireball)
and the MP+MK for ex Focus attack!!!!
or you can end with ex shoryuken after low meaty punch
this is the same as a combo from the training but its easier to do than a standing meaty punch because you are already positioned for a hadouken!!!
Posted by Thwomp on February 20, 2009 at midnight #3
Standing HK = king of pokes. Crazy range AND we get Sakura leg and panty action.
Posted by Verlaine on February 20, 2009 at 1:39 p.m. #4
@Popolac
I'm pretty sure for that combo you need to do a regular Shouoken, not an EX Shouoken.
Posted by BlossomStar on February 23, 2009 at 6:29 p.m. #5
you need to input the command for ex shunpukyaku as the c.MK is being implemented. It's like a flow, you must be fluid, like water, let the EX continue from your c.MK like one motion, not too fast, but not slow either. HAHA, seriously though, once you get the timing, this will be your go to combo starter for Sakura. Just keep at it, I have faith in you.
Let the wind guide your petals to strike, once their in a blossoms grasp, there is no escape. No Pain, no suffering, simple fragments of beauty...and nothing more.
Posted by JeLLITYMe on February 24, 2009 at 1:19 p.m. #6
Peform the lk link right after she says the move.
Breakdown of the level 3:
Jump in HP: Hit late for easier comboing.
Link crouching into HP by watching the hitspark LP creates when it connects, as it dissipates, hit crouching HP, cancel Shunpukyaku quickly by pressing down-back, than back and LK. As the move connects (first learn LK link timing) buffer toward. In the timespan you link LK,hit toward and LK and cancel by hitting down and Down-toward and HP. This combo will be sakura's bread and Butter and takes roughly 45% of their life.
Posted by Ade on February 25, 2009 at 1 a.m. #7
im having trouble with Abel, in general, his range is silly, especially when using Sakura.
Posted by Elk on February 26, 2009 at 5:15 p.m. #8
Well, the EX Shunpu to Ultra timing is too precise for me at this moment, especially when not in the corner, and I've found that my favorite end to any EX Shunpu combo is probably an Otoshi. I'm not sure if it or the late H Shououken does more damage, so I mix it up to be safe. I'm not too good with Hadouken use, as I like to hold my buttons for short periods of time so I end up charging a lot and getting hit due to the delay. and I'm not TOO good at linking HP into H Shououken after a FA. Usually when I FA I just follow it up with a c.MK EX Shunpu combo. I also find the EX Otoshi from across screen often catches people off guard, and is a great counter for projectile characters.
Posted by ?werdna on February 27, 2009 at 4:47 p.m. #9
"Can anyone comment on a good wake up move to execute as Sakura? Also what about an anti air tactic? I use crouching hard punch but some characters seem to have higher priority on their jump in attacks while other times we trade blows. Thanks."
uh...i think light hurricane kick (cause its safe on block), and light punch shoryuken (as its quick, and you can combo a medium punch shoryuken straight after for an extra hit)
for meaty attack, you could use forward and medium kick? its an overhead, so will hit your opponent of they're blocking low
for anti air, i think the best options are shoryuken, crouching hard punch, or sakura otoshi
but yeah...read this guide also
http://mycheats.1up.com/view/section/...
and ask people/search this forum
http://forums.shoryuken.com/forumdisp...
Posted by TomoHawk on March 4, 2009 at 7:14 p.m. #10
anyone have any tips on Connecting Sakura's Haru Ranman with her ex. Shunpukyaku? I get it maybe 1/3 of the time :/
Posted by theundyingmage on March 4, 2009 at 7:44 p.m. #11
You can just use a normal dash after ex.shunpukyaku to connect the ultra if your opponent is not in the corner. It gives you less time to do the ultra but it saves you 2 bars of super that can be used for other ex moves.
To connect it after the ex.shunpukyaku,start doing the command & wait until the opponent has fallen to about Sakura's head height & then press the 3 kicks.
I rarely us the Ultra as a combo finisher since its damage is scaled so much. I usually use it to counter other Ultras when people use then out of nowhere. Just start mashing the command during their Ultra startup animation. XD
Posted by Kanped on March 8, 2009 at 6:35 a.m. #12
Against Seth, the main thing is to know when and when not to jump. Stay away from the corners wherever possbile and keep the pressure on him. NEVER try to jump over him and always jump away from him when he teleports; when he knocks you down, he'll teleport constantly- try to jump away when you get up, not towards him.
When he turns black and tries to drag you towards him, its your chance to stricke. Do a jumping fierce kick and cancel it either into an ex-shoryuken or hurricane kick.
If your Ultra meter is full, do the ex-hurricane kick and juggle it into her Ultra combo (might take some practice in training mode to get the timing right).
Posted by peace on March 17, 2009 at 6:47 p.m. #13
Dreavus,
HC2 is actually not bad, but here's the trick and this applies to the game engine in general:
Any number of shorts / jabs done sequentially form a chain combo. In other words, they all cancel into each other.
However, there's a restriction where you can cancel from a jab / short into a special ONLY if the jab / short was not canceled.
So how do you cancel from a chain combo (lots of jabs / shorts) into a special (fireball, uppercut, etc.)? Cancel all the shorts / jabs except for the last one which you must link into.
In this case, you only have two LK's, so those must be linked. Hypothetically, if you could connect with multiple LK's, you would cancel the first few and link the last before doing the EX Shououken.
Posted by shadowofdeath on March 20, 2009 at 8:37 a.m. #14
i been training my sakura for like 3 days and im getting good with her can own the cpu with no prob i got some combos that do some really good damage :D
the 1st is
(standing)HP
LKspinkick
(low)HP if the timings to hard u can sub this for a low of standing LK insted :D
HPuppercut
2nd is a crossup
crossup with
LK
MK(has to be done fast)
LKspinkick
(standing)HP
HPuppercut
3rd is a good punish combo
if they miss a soryuken then throw this out insted of that throw u no u wanna do ;]
(standing)HP
LKspinkick
(LOW)HP
EX spinkick
sakura otoshi
and heres a good way to get on the otherside of your opponent as they get up use a LPuppercut right b4 they get up it
crouching HP is the only anti air i no of it beats most move tho :D
Posted by Kanped on March 22, 2009 at 6:15 p.m. #15
Her standing fierce kick has some anti-air potential. Or, light shoryuken into medium shoruken works well.
Posted by Aku on March 29, 2009 at 3:17 a.m. #16
Someone said that you can link EX shouoken into Ultra... As of yet I haven't done it. I've even done EX focus cancel into ultra and it doesn't link. Either it's impossible or the timing is much more precise. Jumping hard kick into cMK ex hurricane into ultra is more viable and the link is MUCH easier. Sometimes I ex cancel the hurricane to get another hard kick cMK into ex hurricane.
Posted by Kanped on April 10, 2009 at 8:03 a.m. #17
You can't follow up her ex-shoruken; the opponet just falls to the ground; no potential for a follow up.
You can follow up her ex-hurricane kick with her ultra, though. Although, I like cancelling it into a focus attack and then doing the ultra from that.
Posted by shannaro!!! on July 11, 2009 at 5:45 p.m. #18
To VeteranScrub:
I'm assuming that you're having a hard time with Guile while using SAKURA. Each character in the game have strengths and weaknesses to exploit. Guile doesn't really have anything that can really shut down Sakura, but the same goes for her. Remember, Guile is a charge character and has only TWO special attacks. Sonic Boom is his signature projectile and can travel at different speeds depending on which button is pressed. Most players use the LP version and dashes towards you for at least a 2-hit-combo or for pressure. The best way to deal with this is to absorb the attack with a Focus and immediately couter attack when you absorb it. You can start a combo if you successfully land it, or cancel it by back-dashing if you get blocked. Beware of the EX Sonic Boom.
His second special is the Flash Kick. It's multi purpose as Guile can armor break you or use this attack as an Anti-air.
Guile users tend to be turtlers, so as a Sakura user, you need to get around his tactics somehow or another.
Firstly, try getting around his Sonic Boom without using a Focus Attck. If you use the absorbtion technique too much, it could easily backfire on you since the hits you absorb can be re-applied to your health bar if he hits you for real. This is only good if your trying to dish out some damage while building your Ultra at the same time. Note: Sakura's Ultra may not be the strongest, but it's one of the easiest to connect.
Sakura's best solution for this is her EX Shouoken! She becomes invincible to ALL projectiles (including EX, and super/ultra projectiles) but only on her first uppercut. Her second uppercut does more damage and USUAllY chains right after the first, but her invicbility disappears. Guile's recovery time after the Sonic Boom is pretty short so your window of opportunity doesn't last long. So, be Quick about it!!!
Posted by Shannaro!!! on July 11, 2009 at 6:11 p.m. #19
Now that dealing with his Sonic Boom tactics is a little less painful, let's move on to dealing with his Flash Kick. Don't forget that this special is not only an Anti-air and combo ender, it is also capable of breaking armour.
Sakura unfortunately does not have any real methods of getting around this annoying move. So the best way of dealing with this is punishment on the blond soldier! But it's not easy, because you need to carefully read his movements before taking action. Realise that anytime that Guile is crouching, he's charging a special (usually a FK) at the same time! If you approach him, he'll probably try to use his low HK. Low HK consists of TWO kicks that can trip you, so either block or counter with a Focus immediately after the first kick.
However he does it, he'll always have some time to charge a FK. Flash Kick comes out fast and is one of the Game's best wake up moves. Since Sakura doesn't have real good wake up tools, you'll have to bait Guile into MISSING his Flash Kicks. If that happens, he'll be vulnerable for an EX Shunpuukyaku->Sakura Otoshi juggle, or any combo at all. Try doing that by faking a Focus Attack and cancelling it with a back dash. Or jump in, but land just out his Anti-air range and start the punishment.
Posted by shannaro!!! on July 11, 2009 at 6:43 p.m. #20
You mentioned to having trouble dealing with his slow Sonic Booms, and his low HK. I've already covered that, fortunately. Now we'll just have to move on, on how to deal with his Air-Throw and his command attacks!
Thankfully, with Sakura, it's easy to deal againts his air-throw! During the event that both Sakura and Guile are in mid-air, immediately pull out Sakura's air-MK or execute an (EX) air-shunpuukyaku! I found that Sakura actually has an incredible set of air-to-air weapons as she can beat out many moves in mid-air, including Ryu's jumping-HK! In terms of safety and decent damage, Sakura's jumping-MK is the most recommended to deal with Guile's air-throw.
Remember how Guile only has two specials? He makes up for it with a boat load of command attacks, which are basically modified normal moves that are more useful to the agressive Guile players. You don't need to worry much about it because of two reasons:
1) The majority of Guile players are usually defensive and you'll need to worry about getting around their tactics more often than not.
2) Between Sakura and Guile, Sakura is the better of the two when it comes to the offensive department. Basically, agressive Guiles may be strong, but they're generally less of a threat.
Well, this is hopefully useful for you Sakura players when it comes to dealing with those pesky Guiles! For those who don't generally use Sakura, some of these tips can still work.
Have Fun!!!
Posted by KING on August 10, 2009 at 12:16 p.m. #21
EAZ BUT NICE COMBO JUMP HK LP C.HP EX Shunpukyaku WALK UP TO THEM AS THEY FALL LP DASH TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THEM C.HP EX Shunpukyaku AND REPEAT ONLY WORK WITH EX BARS!!! AND WILL DAZZ THE OPP IF DONE RITE!!! I HAVE A ALOT OF COMBO HOLLA AT ME UGLY DUCKLE ON LIVE
Posted by shannaro!!! on August 11, 2009 at 9:44 a.m. #22
@KING
Your little easy-combo-cross-up thing actually WORKS!!! It's falshy, yet practical. Thank you!
Posted by SSJ3X on September 6, 2009 at 5:52 p.m. #23
@Shannaro
Blanka's good at mind games, but up close against a good Sakura, she can make opponents look like noobs. If you ever get a EX-hurricane kick to land on him and then crossup, most times they'll usually mash to get electricity, but her crouching lights will beat electricity on start up. Her lights are amazingly quick, just like Boxer. You just have to play a good offensive rushdown once you get in on most of your opponents, even Zangief.
Posted by numme on September 7, 2009 at 9:40 a.m. #24
@SSJ3X
A somewhat good Blanka will use vertical blankaball instead of electricity and that will beat c.lk. I don't think it's punishable by Sakura unless in the corner either.
Posted by Garuda on September 7, 2009 at 3:14 p.m. #25
Ahhhh, finally someone added the Reset info on this, thanks SSJ3X!
Posted by SSJ3X on September 7, 2009 at 6:03 p.m. #26
@numme
In a way yes it is, but you'd be surprised how many Blanka players will not do that; they'll instead mash for electricity or try and block instead. Also, it depends on how or when you attempt to cross up your opponent from underneath.
Its like when you do a cross up on a wake up shoryuken; most times it whiffs because it hits from the side you were originally standing. In a way its the same with Blanka's vertical ball. Depending on when they do the input after the cross up, they can whiff and escape across screen as well.
Also like its mentioned in the guide, while the air reset is great for getting a ton of damage and a stun, you need to be careful when and how you do it. You're trying to play mind games on your opponent so that if they think you're just going to aggressively rushdown continuously, you just throw a wrench in their plans and block their attack and then continue from there.
Posted by roman4328 on September 7, 2009 at 7:26 p.m. #27
HEAVY REVESIONS FOR SETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by SSJ3X on September 7, 2009 at 9:23 p.m. #28
Maybe I can work on him too lol
Posted by shannaro!!! on September 7, 2009 at 9:26 p.m. #29
@SSJ3X and numme
Thank you so much for the advice! I usually use Cammy to counter Blankas, but I have to eventually learn dealing with him using Sakura since she's my main. I really needed that.
In any case, since we are trying to help eachother, I'm here ready to lend some advice to anyone who has trouble dealing with zoning tactics. Ryu, Sagat, and Akuma are all zoning-specialty characters who are super popular. I noticed that most players counter them using anti-zoning characters like C. Viper. I like using Sakura againts ALL of them, so if there's anyone who wants some advice, I'm open to that!
Posted by SSJ3X on September 8, 2009 at 1:34 p.m. #30
@shannaro
any time bro, you should also hit up the forums on EH and get to know some of the guys over there. We're all willing to lend advice as well on match ups, combos, and various other things, and your voice would be good addition too.
and @roman4328
I do play Seth here and there, and if the administrator will allow me, I'll do a revision guide for him as well. While I don't know a lot about him, I do know how Seth is usually supposed to be played, and I've done alot of player matches offline with friends to see what he's capable of doing.
Hopefully I'll get some time to write it soon.
Posted by Jeremie on September 10, 2009 at 2:11 a.m. #31
@ SSJ3X
by any chance would you know the name of the player who used Sakura recently againt Gootecks....
sorry if its not enough info
Posted by Jeremie on September 10, 2009 at 2:40 a.m. #32
nvm :P
i ended up finding it out....
it was Sabre... sorry for the trouble
Posted by SSJ3X on September 10, 2009 at 7:28 a.m. #33
oops yeah, it is Scott "sabr3" bender.
He plays on XBox360 under sabr3_srk.
Posted by Jeremie on September 10, 2009 at 7:02 p.m. #34
@ SSJ3X
i was wondering what system you play on...if you play on the ps3...id be more than happy to learn things from you first hand...
i main vega...and im learning to use sakura....
i havent been playing for long...but i can still put up a fight
Posted by sakurafice on September 11, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. #35
hey, ssjx,
sakura's shoryuken is called shou'oken (cherry blossom fist)
her hurricane is called shunpuu kyaku (spring breeze kick)
depends if you want it on here though...lol
Posted by SSJ3X on September 14, 2009 at 10:11 p.m. #36
@ Jeremie
I do play on PS3, I can try and give you some help on her. But its cool you main Vega, I find him to be one of my harder matches because he's hard to to catch sometimes lol. If you want to train though, you can look me up on PS3, the SN is well.... Thats easy to figure out :P
Posted by SSJ3X on September 15, 2009 at 7:37 p.m. #37
@ sakurafice
I just stuck to the old school Arcing Hurricane Kick/ shnpuukyaku names, and for some reason I kept thinking Shou'oken as the fireball move from Yuri and Ryo from King Of Fighters lol, so I just left it as the typical Shoryuken.
Posted by shannaro!!! on September 18, 2009 at 3:35 p.m. #38
@SSJ3X
I want to make a "Vs. Character Notes" section for Sakura. How can I do that?
P.S.
I already signed up in the forums.
Posted by Mr T Buhd on September 20, 2009 at 11:33 a.m. #39
I dont really see any players using sakura anymore... any1 wanna challenge me on da XBL i feel im pretty comfortable w her but i still feel like i can play even better! come see me
Posted by SSJ3X on September 20, 2009 at 8:24 p.m. #40
@Shannaro
I got the strategy okayed by the admin of the site, so if you speak to him with information, you should be able to get it posted. Good luck on it though!
Posted by ??? on September 29, 2009 at 5:44 a.m. #41
anyone still here ? lmfao
Posted by Jeremie on September 29, 2009 at 4:56 p.m. #42
Vs Character notes please
Posted by @41 on October 2, 2009 at 11:58 p.m. #43
Nope, nobody here anymore.
CLOSED
Posted by SSJ3X on October 3, 2009 at 10:35 a.m. #44
Oops... sorry 41 and 42, I'm on here still it's just that I've been rather busy with college and what not. I saw that someone wanted Character match up specifics, I'll see what I can do with it, though I'm not gonna lie, if you can play a good mix up game with Sakura, you should be good for the majority of your opponents. The only people who give her problems with the mix up are Zangief, and Akuma. I need to get around to making that video....
Posted by shannaro!!! on October 5, 2009 at 3:39 p.m. #45
@SSJ3X
I do agree that Sakura's rush down and mix-up will give her opponents a good run for their money. Yes, Zangief will defenitely give her problems to her rush down game, but honestly, I really don't find beating Akuma with her a hard time.
Her Shouoken is now actually a very good tool to knock him out of the air. Not only that, Sakura can also sort of duck under his air-fireballs simply by dashing forward. Just doing everything you can to prevent Sakura from being zoned is the key to winning againts Akuma. If she knocks him out of the air, her mix-up game can potentially limit his options for winning.
Posted by shannaro!!! on October 6, 2009 at 6:58 a.m. #46
I'm very glad that Sakura's rank in the new tier list has slightly improved (by like 4 wins). That must mean that more people are starting to use her and that the people who used her are getting better.
Posted by @45 on October 6, 2009 at 10:46 a.m. #47
"Sakura can also sort of duck under his air-fireballs simply by dashing forward"
Most chars can do that too.
Posted by shannaro!!! on October 6, 2009 at 2 p.m. #48
@#47
Agreed! That's why I believe too many people are actually overating Akuma. His so called "cheap traps" are not really that cheap.
Posted by Thatguy on October 7, 2009 at 1:31 p.m. #49
Ryu>>>>>>>>>>>Ugly kid
Posted by yes4me on October 13, 2009 at 8:03 a.m. #50
I tried AGAIN Sakura and she is not for me =(
191 times played for 1000cp... yep... combined with her low health and quick dizzy, she is low tier in my hand.
The biggest problem is to hit the c.HP>qcb.KKK. You need to be fairly close and if I screw up, Sakura start to crossover and is open to anything. While it is true most people do a jump attack before c.HP, it is fairly predictable after a while.
Posted by Vaarp on October 15, 2009 at 3:33 p.m. #51
@yesforme
"The biggest problem is to hit the c.HP>qcb.KKK. You need to be fairly close and if I screw up, Sakura start to crossover and is open to anything"
That's because you don't have to do:
c.hp - ex hurricane kick
The combo you have to do is:
c.lp - c.hp - ex hurricane kick
c.lp to c.hp allows you to hit confirm the combo, if it lands, hit with the ex hurricane kick and follow up with sakura otoshi, ultra, or whatever you like, but for playing sakura at high level you have to learn to hit confirm your combos. Yes, I know it's tricky to link c.lp to c.hp because you only have 2 frames to pull the combo, but that's the way it is, and obviously trying to hit confirm the sakura combos with a d-pad is almost impossible, she's a stick character.
Posted by Vaarp on October 15, 2009 at 3:36 p.m. #52
@yesforme pt.2
Of course I'm talking about being offensive, when they miss a SRK or an Ultra or whatever move you can punish with a c.hp, just do c.hp - ex hurricane kick if you want.. but if the opponent is just waiting for you to attack you just have to hit confirm your combos.
Here is a master class of Poongko using Sakura, it begins @ 5:01
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUrghc...
Posted by SmexyMillz on October 21, 2009 at 2:40 a.m. #53
Ive been playing sakura since release now and i think the best player to watch is Scott Sabr3 from shoryuken.com Just watch his match vs Alex Valle in evo...
Sakura is a good character all she needs is average health, average dizzy.. Better zoning options or give her the same fireball from CvSnk2.. Faster standing RH and a better ultra.. Medium kick cross up please the hit stun on the Lk is garbage..
Sakura play simply means to get in close and vary your mix up game from tick throws, cross ups and resets.. Add me on xbl: SmexyMillz and if anyone even plays her anymore
Posted by shannaro!!! on October 21, 2009 at 1:29 p.m. #54
The strongest combo I've ever done with Sakura is not really practical but it does a total damage of 568 if all the hits fully connect. It works better againts larger characters like Zangief and Sagat, but I should also tell you that I just came up with this while I was in training mode.
So here's how it goes:
Medium-charged fireball, FADC forward, jump-in HP, crouching HP, cancel into EX Shunpuukyaku, dash forward, ULTRA!
The end damage is 568 and hits a total of 12 times.
Here's a weaker combo but it makes up for more hits and more flash:
Medium-charged fireball, FADC forward, jump-in HP, crouching LK, link into crouching LP, link into crouching HP, cancel into EX shunpuukyaku, dash forward, ULTRA!
The end damage is 455 and it hits a total of 14 times. Although it's a weaker combo, it looks REALLY cool if you manage to pull it off! The added links just make it even less practical.
Both combos listed above should only be done if you dizzy the opponent, but with how damage scaling works, you really only wanna do it if you want to be flashy.
Posted by yoshimitsu on November 6, 2009 at 10:22 p.m. #55
arghhh! i hate when strategy guides reveal all your characters secrets, they're not helping by doing so, only the opposition :( thanx eventhubs
Posted by "nuts to your opinion" on November 7, 2009 at 12:26 a.m. #56
best Sakura incarnation
Posted by SSJ3X on November 7, 2009 at 10:19 a.m. #57
Hey it happens, to be honest I had that same thought about the whole revealing the strategy or tricks with her, but sometimes it's good to put this stuff up for people who are new to the community and want to learn. The important thing is, reading and doing the stuff described here are two different things. You can read this and have an idea, but if you can't do the stuff like linking and what not, you just have to practice harder.
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