Super Street Fighter IV arcade edition loc test changes

The internet has become a Morton's salt factory in regards to opinions on the changes being made to SSFIV in the new arcade edition.

For a list of the changes straight from the location testing check the main page of http://www.shoryuken.com and this thread Here.

For the most part I feel like the changes being made are to make SSFIV a more offensive oriented game. If you've spent a lot of time with SSFIV you'll know that it caters to a turtle play style with it's easy run away tactics and large stage lengths. Depending on how you feel about this (and your play style) this is either great or a boring experience (for me I'd say it's the later).

I think a lot of people are considering the changes "random nerfs" to hinder certain characters specifically, or the wild notion that Capcom is doing it to directly troll the community. I feel like this isn't the case at all, and is an effort against "brain dead" strategies and shenanigans.

For example, Guile's sonic boom will no longer build meter unless his opponent blocks it or gets hit. For a lot of the cast, it is extremely difficult to get in to Guile due to sonic boom spam. This was made a little more difficult in Super anyway thanks to shortened charge time. Everyone can focus absorb the booms to advance, but you don't want to do that too many times as the next mistake could cost you considerable damage from your gray health. Not to mention the fact that sonic boom spam is currently building his meter and allowing him to add random ex booms to his arsenal. What's more frustrating is that if he escapes after cornering him the chase begins all over again and you're right back to trying to slowly navigating through the sonic boom barrage. The change they are suggesting will cut down on the "just hold back and keep a sonic boom on the screen so I can keep running" strategy. If Guile wants the meter to give you trouble he's going to have to engage you more. In my opinion this will encourage more offensive play. Guile will still remain a defensive oriented character but players will be encouraged to come out of auto-pilot more often. Note: This has changed apparently in the 2nd day of testing. His booms now build meter again as they are thrown. I guess Guile strats will pretty much stay the same. We'll just have to see how this pans out in the end.

Another change causing heat is the removal of Seth's jb. HP (air stretchy arms). I've also heard that his wall dive kicks momentum has changed. I don't play Seth a whole lot, but I understand that this really hurts your game with him. At the same time though, a lot of what you encounter from Seth is a bit on the shenanigan side. I don't think running away with jb. HP was really what they envisioned Seth's gameplay to be. My theory is that with the removal of these things he will also receive a health buff which will make him more of a legitimate character instead of a high risk high reward gamble.

With Cammy you are losing the ability to TKCS (Tiger Knee Cannon Spike), but she gains improved combo-ability on her normals. I dunno about you, but I'll take more useful normals with a smile. I feel like the ex TKCS is way more useful anyway and you can STILL do that. You could make the argument that whiffing TKCS was a good tactic to build meter, but I would disagree as it takes 25 or so of them to build a single bar. Are your opponents really letting you do that?

Makoto is getting a lot of improvements and that makes me happy. It was a shame to see her fall from the top to such a low tier position in Super. Her walk speed has increased and the input window for the axe-kick is more akin to 3rd strike to name a few.

Most of the changes mentioned should be considered buffs, such as faster walking speeds, improved normals, etc.

My opinions may or may not make you feel better about the changes, but whatever, they're just my thoughts as you have your own. Read the list at SRK and make your own judgments. I just ask that you take everything as a whole with a grain of salt as this is just a location test after all, none of this is guaranteed for the final build yet.

I don't think any of us will really be able to judge the game as a whole until we get the DLC in our hands. In my opinion SSFIV had a lot of room for improvement and these things should help the experience as a whole. If it doesn't, well, we have MvC 3 and SF x Tekken to look forward to :p