So, Street Fighter 4 Championship Edition is out,and brings with it several tournament brackets, divided by skill level. Starting out in the G3 bracket has been fun…as the patch is brand new, the skill level has been somewhat all over the place, as even the more skilled players are working there way through, earning their way to the higher brackets. I’d like to think I can make it to the intermediate level of play, and maybe eventually past that. The S rank bracket seems unlikely, as its reserved for the likes of those that compete at EVO and SBO.
We’ll see how long I keep this up, but ideally this column will be reocurring, provided I actually progress through the ladder. Click through for the beginning of my journey!
Things I’ve really liked so far is the blind selection makes things more interesting, and there is so much less stalling at the character select screen. The connections seem stronger, I’m getting full 5 bar perfect connections from time to time. The speed at which the next match comes is like lightning, so any hopes of playing it casually while going through arcade mode should be thrown out the window, at least for now. The only thing I could really ask for is a lobby, for those casual quarter style matches with a small group of friends where the insults and trash talk fly more than the fists and fireballs.
For now, I’ve stuck to playing Sakura seriously, but she takes quite a bit of effort to win; and bad connections don’t make link combo heavy gameplay any easier. It’s frustating knowing I can beat someone, but shes not a forgiving character. It’s taken a bit of work to get the damage up there, and her mix up game after reset isn’t much use against people expecting it or certain characters. Unfortunately, I just get nervous and tend to back off alot when dealing with the likes of Sagat and Balrog(boxer). They deal so much damage easily, even with a VERY basic play style, if I slip up, I’m going to get taken for a ride. Its frustrating losing a few matches I know I should have won, but in the end, any loss is really my mistake. Maybe eventually I’ll cave and switch to something I won’t have to work quite as hard with.
On the upside, the matches have been great, I’ve won a few tournaments, and almost always make it to the second round, and have quite a few runner up finishes as well. If anything, I’ll get better at the matchups that seem to come up alot. There have been quite a few matches where I’ve fought NOTHING but Sagat. Its a bit annoying, but at this level, alot of people aren’t really taking advantage of his beastlyness. Blanka has continued to plague myself and other Sakura players, but I’m getting more confident in the matchup. Chun Li has been bothering me; her normal moves have such range, speed and priority. Combine these with here excellent ability to runaway, and I’m left confused. Her EX Sakura Otoshi has been a nice little tool to close the gap safely, but staying in against Chun is still tough. I probably need to just be a bit more patient.
The Justin Wong style Rufus rush downs are few, but all equally tough for me to deal with..hopefully that will change.
So thats it for now!
G3 Bracket! Grade B A!
Tags: Capcom, fighting game, review, Street Fighter 4, tournament
I too am a Sakura player, have been since the EX days, it’s good to see another person who chooses Sakura! mostly people go for the characters that deal higher damage and it’s really fun taking them down!
i wish you all the best with your conquests! kickarse an let em know Sakura is not someone to mess with!!!