Street Fighter Alpha 2/Sakura

Introduction

Sakura has an unusual interest in street fighting. Most high school girls don't walk down the street looking to pick a fight, but ever since her run-in with three college men, she has sought to take her revenge.

Sakura is very high in the tier list, and for a good reason, being right there with Gief in the high tier group, right under the big 4. She is very difficult to fight, and one knockdown can win her the round. While not extremely damaging, she has some great tools that give her the ability to win against a lot of characters. Her main goal should be to get close to her opponent and use her punch throw to set up her most damaging mixups. Her quick walk speed and good grounded normals give her some tools that can allow her to do just that with smart play.

Pros:

• Very good pokes
• Builds meter fast
• Awesome cross-up
• Damaging combos
• BnB leads to free cross up
• Punch throw leads to free cross up
• Only character who can (easily) combo after a overhead

Cons:

• Can be hard to get in
• No reversal outside cc/super
• Has problems getting in on top 4

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Moves List

Normal Moves

STANDING

- Good frame advantage and cant be ducked by most characters, annoying poke tool up close.

Startup: 3 / Advantage: +4 Block , +5 Hit

- Good frame advantage and priority, use to stuff attacks like you would shotos c.mp.

Startup: 6 / Advantage: +6 Block , +7 Hit

- great range and cancellable, good poke canceled into fireball or hk hurricane.

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Startup: 7 / Advantage: -8 , -7

- good range, mainly used to combo into hp shou’oken.

Startup: 7 / Advantage: -3 , -2

- Very very good anti-air, not used as much as c.fp. Very good angle to it, similar to Adon’s df+mk.

Startup: 9 / Advantage: +1 , +2

- Sakura’s main poke, good range, priority. Very very abusable

Startup: 8 / Advantage: +3 , +4

CROUCHING

cr.- normal low jab, nothing too special about it.

Startup: 4 / Advantage: +3 , +4

cr.- ugly looking attack that usually beats low hits, but not much use other than that, all her other normals are better.

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Startup: 7 / Advantage: -8 , -7

cr.- A great anti-air, that beats damn near anything. On the ground can be cancelled.

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Startup: 5 / Advantage: -7 , -6

cr.- Her best normal up close, leading to her BnB and tick throws. I hate this move

Startup: 3 / Advantage: +3 , +4

cr.- Decent range, good priority.

Startup: 5 / Advantage: -7 , -6

cr.- Her sweep, not the best recovery, good range.

Startup: 8 / Advantage: -6 , -5

JUMPING Jumping (Neutral jump)

nj.-

Startup: 4

nj.- great air-to-air, on the same level of greatness as Rolento’s j.lp

Startup: 4

nj.- Very good air-to-ground move with alot of priority when out.

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Startup: 8

nj.-

Startup: 5

nj.-

Startup: 5

nj.-

Startup: 11

Jumping (Diagonal jump)

dj.- Same hitbox as Neutral J.LP

Startup: 4

dj.- great air-to-air, on the same level of greatness as Rolento’s j.lp

Startup: 4

dj.- Same hitbox as Neutral J. HP; Very good air-to-ground move with alot of priority when out.

Startup: 8

dj.- Same hitbox as Neutral J.LK; great air-to-air and great ranged jump in.

Startup: 5

dj.- her cross-up. Uber good, and can hit either in front or behind evne though you are crossing your oppenent up. Such as bs move, abuse it.

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Startup: 5

dj.- Great angled jump in.

Startup: 11

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Command Moves

Command normals

+- Flower Kick. Best overhead in the game. Great range and frame advantage allowing for combos after, does not even have to be meaty, but does have to be point blank, very good when done after a cross-up.

Startup: 28 / Advantage: +5 , +6

Normal Throws

/+ - The only throw you should be using. This throw does decent damage and allows for a perfect cross-up. Forget kick throw exists.

/+ -

Alpha Counters

+- She does a lp dp, nothing special. Sets up ambiguous crossup (dj. lk)

Startup: 3 / Advantage: -31

+- Does her sweep. Sets up ambiguous crossup (dj. lk)

Startup: 3 / Advantage: +1

Special Moves

+- Hadou Ken. Very good zoning tool from afar. Release speed isnt great, recovery is good. This move can be charged by pressing punch, which also builds more meter. The best way to use the charge variation is as anti air, normally in fireball fights. The fully charged version had a huge hitbox, so if you expect them to jump, charge then release. At worst the hadouken will trade, and does good damage. Kara-cancel cr.hp into this for meter.

+- Shou'ou Ken. Her main combo move, and should only be used for that. Lp is not anti-air despite its looks, and all versions are like negative 8 billion frames on block.

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+- Shunpuu Kyaku. Different than other shotos, she actually travels in a arc, going higher and farther the stronger the button pressed. Hk is the most useful version, going over fireballs and giving great frame advantage on block. Lk and mk can be cc’d or hit on block pretty easily. Be careful when using hk, since it can be cc’d when they have meter (or ac’d).

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Super Combos

+- Shinkuu Hadou Ken. Pretty much worthless super. Not safe on block, weak damage. Yes it can anti-air for 3 hits, but thats meter you could have used for a anti-air custom.

+- Haru Ichiban. Her spinning kick super. Instant low, and put opponent in blockstun after super is over, letting you continue the pressure. Can be comboed into, good damage.

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+- Midare Zakura. Her shoryureppa type super. Nice damage on this, and worth comboing into at lvl 3. Lvl 1 does good damage, but not so much more than her BnB to be worth it, but still, I aint mad if ya do.

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Combos

>>>>c.lk x3, s.lk xx hp dp<<<<

This is your main combos, easy to hit confirm, great stun, and damage. Anytime you land a c.lk, it shoud end in a s.lk xx hp dp. Best BnB in the game hands down. Learn it, love it, live or gtfo. More on this in general strat.

• s.hp xx hp dp (use to punish)
• c.lk x2, super
• s.hp xx hurricane kick (Hk vesion)
• f+mk, link c.lk xx hp dp
• f+mk, link c.lk xx qcb x2+k
• s.mp, link c.lk xx hp dp
• s.mp, link c.lk xx super
• Cr.LK x2,s.LK, HP SOK

F+MK,link cr.LK,HP SOK

Cr.HP,HP SOK or Lvl3 H.Ichiban

f+mk, link c.lk xx hurricane super

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Miscellaneous

Taunt

Can kill if the opponent is at zero health. The red dot on the end of her finger is the hitbox.

The Basics

Knock down. Cross up. Combo. Repeat. Thats what it breaks down to, but you have a few options when you get up close and they are blocking. You want to try to keep close to land BnBs.

Starter, c.lk x2

If hit continue to BnB.

If blocked you can do a couple things:

walk up throw If successful, you have a free cross-up. If they blocked your cross up, start back at c.lk x2. Another thing to do is empty jump into BnB.

walk up, counter hit c.lk, s.lk Do this to counter them trying to throw you. If blocked, walk up throw or go for cross up.

Cross-up j.mk If blocked go back to c.lk x2, or hesistate then throw, or f+mk into combo.

counter hit c.rh Do this if you think they are mashing then go for cross up, if blocked match is reset.

5.counter hit s.fp xx hadouken

This will push you back out.

Basically, try to stay on your opponent to land combos or grab. Her acs arent great but if hit they are non-rollable so, in some cases, a free cross up.

Advanced Strategy

Custom Combos

Sakura doesn’t have the strongest customs, but still good damage and tool to have.

Lvl 1- c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp c.rh xxhp dp, hp dp

lvl 2- c.rh xx hp dp x3 c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp x2

lvl 3- c.rh xx hk hurricane, hp dp x3

Anti air CC-

s.lp or s.mp xx hp dps (for lvl 3 use mp dps, end with hp dp)

For her ground custom, getting all hp dps can be hard to time, you can make it easier by:

1. Replacing 1 hp dp with mp dp

or

2. Using mk hurricane instead on hk hurricane.

Lv1:

[CC]c.HK,HK SK,HP SOK[/CC]

[CC]c.HK,HP SOKx2[/CC]

Lv3:

[CC]c.HK,HK SK,HP SOK,MK SK,HP SOK[/CC]

[CC]c.HK,HP SOK,LK SKx2,HP SOKx2[/CC]

[CC]s.MP,HP SOKx3[/CC]

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Match-ups

Vs. Adon:

Vs. Akuma:

Vs. Birdie:

Vs. Charlie:

Vs. Chun-Li:

Vs. Dan:

Vs. Dhalsim:

Vs. Gen:

Vs. Guy: You pretty much just have to out play him. It’s not too horrible though because she’s real small so she can duck his s.fp and even his hurricane most of the time. So you’re both missing chunks of your offense. If you wanna beat him air to air use j.lk or j.mp, should work fine. Jump in with mainly j.fp or j.rh since you can’t really cross him up so no need for j.mk, except deep corner.

Just play basic mindgames:

c.lk, throw c.lk, wait half a second, c.lk, s.lk xx DP overhead, s.lk xx DP Cross over empty jump, duck hurricane, combo. Etc.- Dreamfire

s.fp help alot in that match also cause it beast hurricane.- RSX

Vs. Ken:

Vs. M. Bison (dictator):

Vs. Rolento:

Vs. Rose:

Vs. Ryu:

Vs. Sagat:

Vs. Sakura (self):

Vs. Sodom:

Vs. Zangief