Episode 1: The basics

Super Street Fighter 4 dropped last tuesday and it was everything my brother, my acquaintances and I had hoped for. After the initial oogling and proverbial dust settling, some imperfections are showing themselves.

Such imperfections are not in the balance but in the entertainment value of fighting match-ups. For example, it is quite hard for Juri to be involved in a boring match, as a player whom mains her. However, fighting against certain characters have been a bit taxing.

Let us take Guy for example. He was one of my personal highly anticipated character, but after fighting against him I have no desire to play him. At a glance, with a week under the community's belt, it seems his best techniques are shenanigans. Run guessing games, slide spamming and predictable yet difficult to punish air grapples when you try to gain momentum. Suffice to say, neither character seems to be dominating yet it seems apparent this is where guy is best at home. PErhaps as weeks go on, we will see if this tactic gets eaten alive and guy changes.

My next matchup that I find to be boring and frustrating is ken, but this is a general complaint. All the successful Kens I've fought rely on similar hijinx as Guy. Step kicks, random overheads, and light shoryuken baits that have tremendous options. Most kens won't use combos, at least the ones that can beat me. To call him a "Scrub" character like some do is a misnomer, because I agree with Sirlin, it's not a tactic you can really emulate and "Exploit". To an extent, it is a talent in and of itself and in that way I can respect it. But I don't enjoy it either.

Lastly, and surprisingly, my old main Vega rounds off this short list. My Vega was combo heavy and very "fluid". I've been called out on "mindlessly poking" and tic throwing but if that is true, all the Vega's I've fought online (this is Claw I'm referring to) "mindlessly poke". They also do not do any combos. While I'm not saying you have to be doing combos to be considered good, for me to feel like I've really been beaten, for me to be satisfied with a loss, I have to feel like I was outclassed or outwitted. So in essence, while I acknowledge such tactics above take a degree of talent, I also am unsatisfied that I lose.

Now, mindless poking as it were is highly punishable by someone skilled in Focus Attacking, which I am not. I know people that can crumple off of a predicted poke with a FA, so I have no excuse but my own shortcomings. I simply refer to this match-ups as boring and frustrating based on how I enjoy playing SF. I will need to know the match-ups to round off my Juri training.

Overall, I've had my bouts with disgruntlement. I am picking up someone brand new, never been in a game before, and everyone plays a character they've polished and honed. It's selfish to say as many people want to see what their mains got, but With all the new options and scaling I'm disappointed that the community is still favoring Ryu and Sagat. Going into week 2, I'm seeing less of those 2 and more of the rest of the cast. But how much of this is Trophy/Achievement hunters going for the C level trophy? We will see as time goes on.

Current projects:
Continuing my Juri Training
Working on my Juri concept art
Modding my SE stick (art and buttons) when lizardlick's package comes