'I think Sakura should do less damage, but get a better fireball/zoning game' - Alex Myers discusses Sakura in Ultra, patch 1.04 changes and more
Posted by Nicholas 'MajinTenshinhan' Taylor • December 19, 2014 at 6:44 p.m. PST • Comments: 27
We, here at EventHubs, figured that the best way to find out how much this might influence the metagame would be to reach out to notable players for each character and hear what they had to say about the initial Ultra status, and the 1.04 changes, and how much they think it'll mean in the long run.
First up, we have some opinions from SoCal's Alex Myers regarding Street Fighter's signature schoolgirl, Sakura. Find a snippet below.
MajinTenshinhan: Sakura was considered something of a threat in v2012, but once vortex was eliminated and she got hit with a few nerfs in Ultra, it was very common to see people say that Sakura is dead, and she got ruined. How do you feel about Sakura's transition from v2012 to Ultra?
Alex Myers: I think the transition wasn't too rough; she still plays relatively the same. Her pokes are the same, and she can still do some safe okizeme, so it's not too bad. I do feel that taking away her escape Tatsu was a little much after already nerfing her a lot, but she's still good. She's maybe top 10 still.
Hit the jump to read the rest of the interview.
Alex Myers: I think the transition wasn't too rough; she still plays relatively the same. Her pokes are the same, and she can still do some safe okizeme, so it's not too bad. I do feel that taking away her escape Tatsu was a little much after already nerfing her a lot, but she's still good. She's maybe top 10 still.
MajinTenshinhan: Her changes in the 1.04 patch were, basically, giving her a few more options with her EX Hadoken, and making it so that her EX Shunpukyaku won't fly over opponents. Are you happy about these tweaks, or are you in any way dissatisfied?
Alex Myers: A little of both, because I'm happy her EX tatsu doesn't whiff as much, but that's how it should have been to begin with. Her EX hadoken is a really cool buff though, it's like Ryu's EX hado now. I like it a lot. Haha! It'd still be nice if they gave her some more useful buffs like a slightly better fireball or something, but I'll take what I can get at this point, haha.
MajinTenshinhan: What was it that drew you to play Sakura in the Street Fighter 4 series to begin with?
Alex Myers: What drew me to playing Sakura was, because my friend told me I should check out Uryo back when he played in Godsgarden and because of my mother remembering Sakura when I used to play her in CvS1.
MajinTenshinhan: What do you think are Sakura's best and worst match-ups in this game?
Alex Myers: I think Sakura's best match-ups are Cody, Dudley and Dan, and her worst match-ups are Rose, Guile and Adon. Anyone that really outranges Sakura in terms of poke ranges is hard for her.
MajinTenshinhan: If you got to make one change to Sakura, what would it be?
Alex Myers: Make her do slightly less damage in order to give her a better fireball/zoning game is the only thing I'd change. Something more like Alpha Sakura would be ideal for me, I felt she was more versatile in that game because she had a little of everything.
Huge thanks to Alex Myers for sharing his opinions with us, and we hope you're looking forward to hearing more about other character's changes from top-level players in the coming days.Alex Myers: A little of both, because I'm happy her EX tatsu doesn't whiff as much, but that's how it should have been to begin with. Her EX hadoken is a really cool buff though, it's like Ryu's EX hado now. I like it a lot. Haha! It'd still be nice if they gave her some more useful buffs like a slightly better fireball or something, but I'll take what I can get at this point, haha.
MajinTenshinhan: What was it that drew you to play Sakura in the Street Fighter 4 series to begin with?
Alex Myers: What drew me to playing Sakura was, because my friend told me I should check out Uryo back when he played in Godsgarden and because of my mother remembering Sakura when I used to play her in CvS1.
MajinTenshinhan: What do you think are Sakura's best and worst match-ups in this game?
Alex Myers: I think Sakura's best match-ups are Cody, Dudley and Dan, and her worst match-ups are Rose, Guile and Adon. Anyone that really outranges Sakura in terms of poke ranges is hard for her.
MajinTenshinhan: If you got to make one change to Sakura, what would it be?
Alex Myers: Make her do slightly less damage in order to give her a better fireball/zoning game is the only thing I'd change. Something more like Alpha Sakura would be ideal for me, I felt she was more versatile in that game because she had a little of everything.
Do you Sakura mains out there agree with Alex? Disagree? Let us know in the comments.
Story image courtesy of Alex Myers' personal Facebook page.
