Cammy:
* Cannon Spike was a bit too powerful, so they've tweaked it. They have not mentioned how.
* Some attacks that were harder to use have been made easier to use (speed at which they come out is faster, etc.)
* Example given is that her Axel Spin Knuckle (spinning back knuckle?) in particular should be easier to use.
* Some of her normals now feature increased hit detection
* Example: Her far s.rh now works a bit better as an anti-air, covers a bit more area in front of her, and can also serve as a better poke.
* Example: In SFIV, there were times when it looked like her cr.rh should hit but it didn't. They've tweaked it to make it easier to hit with.
* Example: Her jumping light kick works a bit better as a cross-up attack which should make it easier to jump in on an opponent.
* While there were a number of positive changes made to Cammy, the (sweeping) damage nerfs mean that her tweaks won't stand out as much. Still, she now has a few new ways to attack, so overall, the devs think her gameplay has expanded.
* Devs tried to take a new approach with CQC; something that was different from her Gyro Drive Smasher.
* CQC is a counter, so it requires that you actually get hit for it to trigger.
* Reading your opponent will be a big factor in getting it to land.
* The damage on her CQC is quite high, ranking her among the harder hitting ultras. This damage has the potential to single-handedly turn a match around into your favor. Dev's acknowledge that it's harder to land, but they've compensated for it by making it hurt when it does.
* While devs feel that CQC has potential against all of the brawlers, they don't recommend you using it against grapplers unless you like the taste of Screw Pile Drivers. (CQC won't work against grapplers.)
Fei Long:
* In past SFs, Fei Long was all about relentlessly pushing forward on your opponent, especially through the use of his Rekkas. That hasn't changed in SSFIV.
* To keep in line with F. Long's image, they've increased the strength of his more "linear" attacks.
*Example: They've changed the timing on his engekishu (f.hk). Engekishu is a two-hit attack, but in SFIV, opponents had the chance to slip a focus attack in between hits which diminished its appeal. In response, they're giving it the ability to break focus attacks now, in addition to all its previous properties.
*They've made it easier for you to input Fei's Rekkukyaku so it should come out a bit more easily. (I don't think the command has changed, just that they've made the input more forgiving.)
* Fei Long's Gekirinken (U2) works in the same way as Cammy's CQC.
* They feel that a counter ultra works well with Fei Long, even more so than Cammy.
* Example: Take Fei Long's main weapon, his rekkas. From an opponent's point of view, they're going to want to do whatever they can to shut that attack down and keep F.Long from stringing them together. Mixing Gekirinken in between rekkas is a pretty good way to land it.
Sakura:
* In SFIV, the start-up(?) on Sakura's hadoukens was a bit on the slow-end, meaning that opponents had an easier time jumping in on her. In SSFIV, her hadoukens come out a bit faster making them easier to use.
* Devs acknowledge that SFIV Sakura did not have the cross-up game that she had in previous SFs. They've tried to increase the cross-up properties of her f.jump mk so it should be easier to jump in on enemies now.
* Shinkuu-hadouken (U2) is a projectile-based ultra. This contrasts with Haruranman, a standard, beatdown ultra.
* For an ultra, its damage is a bit on the lower side, but it's extremely convenient ultra.
* Depending on button input, you can throw out the standard shinhadouken or use it as an anti-air (Shinkuu-tengyou-hadouken).
* Sakura's U2 works especially well once you've pushed your opponent back into a corner. Her anti-air U2 will prevent people from jumping out and both versions of her U2 will hit grounded opponents.
* Once Sakura has her U2, getting within half a screen's distance from an enemy will essentially shut down their jumps / air attacks.
* Sak's U2 will change how a lot of characters will fight her.
Rose:
* Soul Spark and EX Soul Spark have less recovery time.
* Soul Reflect now has a longer window of activity.
* You can combo into Soul Throw (as mentioned in previous blogs.)
* While Rose's overall playstyle remains intact from SFIV, she now has new combos to play with so she's an overall more interesting character to play.
* Soul Piede (f.rh) was slightly weakened.
* With the ability to create doubles of herself, absorb / reflect projectiles, Rose has always been a character that is slightly different from the rest of the cast. Her Soul Satellite (U2) reflects this.
* The ultra itself creates two orbs that circle around her.
* In practice, her U2 can be used both offensively and defensively. Devs believe that there will be a lot of creative ways to use it effectively.
* U2 will make it difficult for her opponents to attack her (because if they mess up on the timing, they'll get hit by the orbs.)
* Trade off is that U2 is less effective against turtles.
* While the damage from U2 is a bit on the low side, it will do things like pull in opponents on cross up allowing you to set-up for other attacks.** (Not 100% on the terminology here.)
Gen:
* While the general opinion (overseas) up until now has been that Gen's been nerfed in SSFIV, the devs say that they've concentrated on making Gen's playstyle "more Gen-like". Specifically, they've strengthened the differences between the Mantis / Crane styles.
* Jump will change depending on stance. In Mantis form, the arc on Gen's jump will be higher, giving him a "sharper" jump-in.
* In SFIV, there were times when Gen would backdash and just as his invulnerability frames ended and he became susceptible to damage - the game treated him as a grounded character. This meant that he ate a lot of combos (that he shouldn't have??). In SSFIV, he'll be treated as "in air" during this time meaning that he won't eat the whole combo - just the first attack. This should help Gen out a lot.
* Jumps in Crane form are a bit more floaty (longer air time) which should make jump-ins a bit easier. Some people thought that the lower jumps actually contributed to a stronger jump-in game but there were a number of instances where Gen would land before he could bust out an attack. This should help alleviate that problem a bit.
* Devs describe Gen's SFIV mp and mk as "slow" and "heavy." They now both come out faster and should be "much" easier to use.
* Oga travels faster, making it easier to hit opponents. (Here they mention frame data.) (Starting from the ceiling) the attack comes out on the 10th frame in SFIV, but in SSFIV it comes out on the 3rd frame. So you have a 7-frame gain.
* The recovery on his Zan'ei has been reduced by 4 frames.
* Jyakoha also comes out 10 frames faster.
* Hit detection on cr.fp has been expanded slightly.
* They mention something about changing his counterhit's damage properties to more closely match his Street Fighter: Zero days. I'm not sure what they mean by 吹き飛び damage though.
* The interviewer says that it sounds like Gen has been made quite a bit stronger but Sano points out that, "Faster attacks and stronger hit detection doesn't automatically make Gen a stronger character. He's always been a character that requires a lot of technique and that hasn't changed in SSFIV. Still, I think we've done a lot to increase his user-friendliness.
* Devs mention that they've adjust nearly every aspect of Gen's game. Almost all of his moves have been adjusted in some way.
* Most of the changes have been made in a way that will benefit Gen's game if you have the technique to pull them off.
* Gen's mk into hyakurenko is now harder to perform. The reason was that even if your mk-hands was blocked, you could keep throwing it out there creating a rather lopsided position with Gen on top. Since most people can't just mk-hands consistently, over-and-over again, a lot of people ended up using turbo to just keep throwing mk-hands out there. As a result, there was a lot of negative feedback about "how this isn't the way Gen should be played!" so we had to make adjustments to remove those "un-Gen like" parts.
* You can combo into Shitenketsu from Zan'ei, just like you can combo Zan'ei into Jakoha.
* He mentions that "people who have confidence in their offense can use shitenketsu with 'interesting' results."
* While Teiga can only be used in-air, it should be easy to land if you time it to match with your opponent's attacks.
* Teiga will be especially effective against projectile users.
* Example: If you use it as your opponent throws out a hadouken, you should be able to counter it quite easily.
* Once you have Teiga, your opponent will no longer be able to just throw projectiles out there. So it also functions as a form of defense. (I'm guessing like Raging Demon and Fuerte's U1)
Dan:
* Dan is, first and foremost, a gag character, so they've done what they can to increase those aspects of him while removing some of the problems he had in SFIV.
* Example: The recover time on his cancels (were there times when he performed multiple cancels?) was a bit off, so they've adjusted timing to make them a bit easier to link-up with.
* They adjusted the start-up frames on his weak air hop kicks and slightly increased hit detection to make them easier to hit.
* Haougadouken (U2) is a projectile ultra. While it may not have a lot of range, it will chip if it hits the opponent. It also is a bit stronger against enemy projectile attacks.
*You can combo into Haougadouken, especially against enemies in air (I'm guessing they mean juggled.)
Interviewer: Do you think these changes will have any effect on Dan's (tier) ranking?
Okuda: Well, we like to joke around that SSFIV's Dan is the strongest Dan in history, but his position won't be changing in SSFIV. (laughs) We're definitely not planning on giving that position up to anyone else.
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