As a beginers/intermediate Sakura guide, you can file a lot of this under "shit you already know."
The real concern is before I post this up, I’d like to make sure everything is factual and legit.
Spoiler
Let me start off by saying, if youre looking for a character with all the tools to win all the matches, Ryu and Sagat are that way -->.
Chosing to main Sakura involves a thought process not too dissimilar to, Man, I really love SF:IV, but really hate myself, who should I main?
Those of us who main low tier do the best with what weve got, this breakdown will explain what exactly it is that weve got and what we can do with it.
Playstyle: Sakura fits the classical definition of an infighter, she wants to be in close dealing as much damage as she can. Her [media=youtube]qzzs6H9Xhf8[/media][sup]1[/sup] game allows her to do just that. She has respectable pokes, but for the most part, she cant compete with the zoning an outfighter like Ryu, Sagat, or Akuma would have.
Unfortunately, Sakura wasnt given the best tools to close distance.
Focus Dash The risk and reward is pretty obvious with this one. All that grey damage is going to add up pretty quick, but you do stay grounded. Just watch for mixups with fireball speed and armor breaks.
MK/HK Shunpu (LK for low tigers) At a distance these can be done fairly easily on reaction. The trouble is, in close, unless youre a little bit psychic and score a hit, the recovery on block is rather poor, and even worse on whiff.
Jumping While I cant say dont jump, I can say jump very rarely or only when you know the spacing will prevent you from being DPd, air throwd, Superd, ect.
Throwing Fireballs While there are very few characters Sakura can brat in a fireball war, slinging a fireball vs their fireball will buy you some extra time to plan your next move and build a little meter.
EX Otoshi EX Otoshi is safe depending on how early you throw the punch, you might be better or worse on block, but if you throw it during a fireballs startup, you get some free damage. However, you need to be a little bit psychic to hit Otoshi like that, and while fireball spammers are relatively easy to read, youve got to remember, by backing up against a fireball character, youre saying, rather loudly, Im going to Otoshi now, and if youre too late, you can be DPd out of EX Otoshi.
EX Sho From about midscreen or shorter, EX Sho can be a very valuable tool for closing that last bit of distance. Best part, it can be done, on reaction, while walking forward. The only negative is that it sometimes inexplicably whiffs at max range, but if you mind your spacing, EX Sho will beat out any fireballs or pokes sent your way and score you a knockdown.
Once inside, there are a variety of combos [sup]2[/sup] and resets[sup]3[/sup] (also, refer to the reset link provided above) you will be able to do. I will not go into the specifics of combos and resets here as you cant teach execution. It should be known that while her combos do a fair amount of damage, the real damage comes from her resets and ability to stun. Her ideal combos require two and one frame links, but if your execution is sound, the payoffs in damage, stun, and meter are plenty worth it.
Footsies and AA: Sakuras footsies can be describedby st.RH, c.mkXXhp Sho, and the occasional c.mp/c.lk. Sakuras standing roundhouse has very impressive range and speed and can be used with great regularity in a variety of situations. c.mkXXhp Sho offers a host of venefits, it does solid damage off a long range poke, and sets up one of two things. Either a [crossup/safejump]( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEnpmh1pSE4)[sup]4[/sup], or a super cancel to really tack on the damage. c.mp and c.lk are to be used situationally when you need to exchange range/utility/damage for sheer speed.
Regarding anti-air, there are a few tools given to Sakura, but the best and most important would have to be c.hp. c.hp has a pretty impressive vertical hitbox and a shortened hittable box, making it arguably the best anti-air normal in the game. Now c.hp isnt without its shortcomings, its startup makes it impossible to use on wakeup, its recovery on whiff isnt that great, and its lateral hitbox isnt that great. That said, Sakura has Shoto-c.mp to use as an AA when shes in need of greater lateral ability. Close HK and HP get honorable mention, but generally fall short of c.hp. As alluded to earlier, Sakura has NO WAKEUP AA, dont even try to AA on your wakeup, just block and ride out the mixup, unless course youre feeling frisky with EX Sho or Ultra, but even then, I wouldnt recommend it.
Wakeup: On your wakeup youre pretty much screwed, your only proper reversals (EX Sho and Ultra) cost you meter and are generally unsafe. Backdash, block, neutral jump and OST are really your only choices here. Against characters without a command throw/El Fuerte, OST is very safe (as most overheads are tragically slow in this game), vs Fuerte, backdash is your best bet, and characters with a command throw need to have those respected. Backdash or neutral jump is the right choice in this case. All that being said, the occasional wakeup EX Sho can get you out of a hole if youre not too predictable, but be aware of the costs, remember, your opponent can take your health, but without help from you, he cant take your meter.
What you can do on their wakeup is determined by weather or not they have a DP, command throw, or the metered equivalent of the invincible reversal. That ambiguous crossup/safejump setup mentioned earlier will be a relatively good choice on anybody except a Chun-Li with meter. On her, and the few cast members without a wakeup reversal (Chuns costs meter), theres nothing stopping you from using jumping roundhouse, but I wouldnt recommend you being too predictable with it. As an alternative to jumping in, you can hover at about c.mk range and mixup with c.mk XX HP Sho, overhead (--> + mk), walkup throw, or walkup combo. Additionally, at zero range, you can jump-back-roundhouse for an instant overhead, or simply block (or OST) if you smell a reversal attempt.
Remember, many matches are decided by who scores knockdown and what they do with it.
Sakura is a fun character to use, and while she has her shortcomings, she can be deadly when used effectively, so keep at it, Rome wasnt built in a day, and your Sakura wont be either.
- Thanks to youtube user amigdala85 AKA SRK poster Amigdala
- Thanks to SRKs Sakura Wiki, combos section written by SRK user StevoKanevo
- Thanks to youtube user IchinShek AKA SRK poster eiSH
- Thanks to youtube user obey325 AKA SRK poster obey562
P.S. Where do I go from here? Matchups. Matchups. Matchups. Learn every one the best you can and try to turn those unwinnable matchups into winnable ones.
Bigups Saikyo Joe for fixing my wall of text problem.
