Although most tier lists show Sakura as the second worse character in the game, in front of Dan, her ability to rush down opponents and dizzying them can make her a formidable threat even to veteran players.
She has a strong mix-up game that begins on a knockdown, and also after landing her EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick. If you can manage to stay on your opponent and never let up pressure, she can win a lot of matches that are supposed to be difficult for her.
Like the other console characters, Sakura is underrated by most players.
Since her vanilla Street Fighter 4 days, Sakura has gotten a few minor upgrades to improve her play style. You can now cross up your opponents with Jumping Medium Kick, and her new Ultra, Shinku Hadoken is both extremely easy to combo into, as well as having both the ability to shoot straight, or at a diagonal from the ground. Because the game has also been tweaked to balance out the entire roster, some of her matches are slightly easier. However she still has the hardest time playing against defensive characters and players who turtle.
You will still have to play an up close game with her, but you must be more aware now than usual since most players will know her tricks. Play her patiently, punish, and you'll get the win.
• Strengths •
+ Good foot and move speed.
+ Solid set of normal moves and many can be Canceled.
+ Strong offensive pressure tactics which can lead to dizzies.
+ In Super Street Fighter 4, she can now cross up with Jumping Medium Kick.
+ EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick is bloody awesome. Has great juggling potential, it's safe on block and leaves you at a frame advantage. Plus, you can do other tricks with it.
+ Ultra 2 is extremely easy to combo into, plus can be used as anti-air.
+ Ultra 1 still produces great damage and can also combo into.
• Weaknesses •
- Low stamina ranking.
- Very few ways to do damage from a distance, needs to be up close.
- Can have a difficult time consistently applying pressure to turtling (heavy defensive) players.
- Has limited anti-air options.
- Relies heavily on EX-moves to win.
- Technical character; you need to have great execution and use plenty of "mind games" to win with her.
General offensive strategies
Sakura is best played as an offensive rushdown character because from afar, she can't deal much damage.
Also, in a sense she is a high-risk, high-reward character because you have to play close up with her, and some of her moves leave her very open to being punished. Mistakes cost Sakura more life than most fighters because of her below-average stamina.
At the same time, she has some damaging combos and great ways to set up her Ultra, plus a strong mix up game.
You'll need to practice hit confirming because if your opponent blocks, you have to be careful which moves you follow up with, and if they're open you want to land a big combo.
Sakura players should look for lots of knocks downs, follow up with her Jumping Light Kick as a cross and then combo, or threaten to throw or just stay in range to apply pressure and wait for a lapse in your enemy's defense.
Using an Air Reset after an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick
After landing her EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick most players follow up with a combo, but if think you can catch your opponent off guard — execute a normal move instead as they're coming down from the air to perform a Reset so the other fighter lands on their feet.
Many players will expect to be knocked down here and landing on their feet and having to deal with Sakura directly in their face and threatening to do more damage can be an unexpected and surprising situation.
While you shouldn't do this in every instance, throwing in an Air Reset when the other player doesn't expect it can generate some big damage. This works well because instead of being knocked down, your enemy lands on their feet and must QUICKLY choose which side to block on, or to try and tech throw.
These are the most common moves to perform an air reset with Sakura after an EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick.
Walk up then Standing Light Punch
Jumping Light Kick
Jumping Hard Kick
Jumping Hard Punch
Walk up then Towards + Medium Kick
Walk up then Crouching Heavy Kick (Sweep)
Walk up then Crouching Light Kick
The walk up Standing Light Punch and Jumping Light Kick in particular are very good for two reasons. These moves allow you to slip past your opponent by dashing behind them while they're being reset in the air.
If they are not expecting you to end up on the opposite side, you can usually combo into another EX-Arcing Hurricane Kick and eventually dizzy them. If they're expecting a cross up dash, delay your dash command for a brief moment, you won't end up on the opposite side of your enemy, but because they saw you dash they might THINK you are going to. Again, this allows you to set up another combo.
If you feel your opponent is getting wise to which side they need to block on, simply throw them instead as they land on their feet, or use two Crouching Light Kicks first and Link into a bigger combo or again walk up and throw them.
Switching back and forth between these tactics can make it difficult for your opponent to defend the onslaught and you'll be taking off large chunks of their life as they try to figure out how to counter it.
Other setups with Sakura's Air Reset
While the Standing Light Punch and Jumping Light Kick set up easy ways to dash behind your opponent, it is still possible to cross them up after connecting with a Jumping Hard Punch or Kick. The timing however is different.
You need to hit your opponent on the way down, pausing briefly for a moment before jumping with your attack. If you do not time this correctly, they'll be too far away and you won't be able to dash under them. But if you perform this late enough in your jump, you'll get to their opposite side.
Another move that works as an Air Reset is Sakura's Crouching Light Kick. The timing on the move is tricky at first — you must throw this out a split second before they hit the ground — but this gives your opponent even less time to react.
If your opponent is catching on to your mix up tactics, you can sweep them instead. The timing on your Crouching Hard Kick (sweep) is also tricky though, but connecting with it eliminates the other fighter's ability to do a 'quick get up', giving you more time to set up your next attack. You can cross up again with a Jumping Light Kick, or take a step back and use the Crouching Hard Punch as an ambiguous cross up.
