Ryu's cute, school girl, wannabe disciple! Sakura has changed drastically from the way she played in Alpha 2! A lot of her specials have been altered so that she doesn't exactly "feel" like the rest of the Shotokans! Still, she is a very fun character to use and if only she had some more attack power, she'd be one of the best! Though she's supposed to be copying Ryu, she seems to have Ken's flashy style and her show off potential is great motivation for using her! However, her lack of power, shortness of combos and lack of a super that is neither slow nor leaves him open makes her an intermediate character at best....

Dark Sakura
"I'd never date anyone as weak as you!"

What happened to Sakura?! The Cherry Blossom going evil?! No way! Well, wonders will never cease, and Sakura has followed in the footsteps of Akuma and Ryu by turning to the dark side! She even has a Raging Demon! Dark Sakura is totally different from the regular version in terms of special moves! These will be discussed in the Dark Sakura Strategy Guide! Visually, she looks like regular old Sakura with a tan! Just as a side note....why is that when the fighters turn evil, they get tans? Is there an Evil Fighters Beach Resort or something out there? She may feel a bit more familiar for old school Shotokaners cause she has her SFA2 special moves instead of Sakura's new stuff!

Shoryuken +P
This is unlike any of the other Dragon punches in the game! Instead of being air defense, it is used as horizontal offense! Sakura runs straight towards her opponent with an arc of energy in front her and does a multi-hitting dragon punch! The energy in front of her absorbs fireballs, allowing her to hit the opponent while still in their fireball stun! You have to read your opponent and predict when they'll throw one cause she slows down slightly after she comes in contact with the projectile! Sakura has can do this move both on the ground and in the air! The ground version comes out instantly but leaves her slightly vulnerable if blocked and the air version has more of a start up delay but has no recovery time!

Hadoken +P
Sakura's current Hadoken resembles her fireball from SFA2 after being charged three times because of it's size and the fact that it dissipates quickly! The stronger the punch button used, the longer it takes for it to dissipate! While on the ground, it goes diagonally upward and while in the air it goes diagonally downward! The ground version is great for air defense against people who like to jump in a lot, whil the air version can be used much like Akuma or Ken's air fireballs!

Senpuu Kyaku +K
The same funky looking hurricane from the Alpha series! There's not much of a difference in this move besides it's range! The Short version is a small hop and a kick which is good for use in combos and Roundhouse has her going sky high! This move downs the opponent in one hit every time, which is a bit dissapointing because it doesn't do that much damage! It does have good priority in the air though so it's hard to counter!

Midare Zakura +2P(Level One)
This is one of her best supers because of it's range and damage potential! After activation, she'll run up and do a 15 hit auto combo that ends with a Dragon Punch! It does good damage but it's often difficult to connect! Treat it like you would a Raging Demon, albeit a blockable Raging Demon! It's great for countering missed supers and Dragon Punches but it's really tough to combo! however, if you pull it off right as they're getting up from a Strong Throw, it will often connect! I don't know why but it works on the computer at least!

Shinku Hadoken +2P(Level One)
Sakura shoots out ten huge fireballs diagonally upwards! It doesn't do that much damage but it's still useful for up close, jumping or launched opponents! If it's ground blocked, then your opponent has loads of time to counter with a killer combo or super! Always make sure that you set them up for this move and never just do it if you're even half a screen away from your opponent cause it has virtually no horizontal range!

Haru Ichiban +2K(Level One)
This is one of her more painful looking and impressive supers! After whacking the opponent several times with her legs, she then uses her fists to send them crashing back down on the ground! Use this much like you would use Ken's Shinryu-Ken! The best setup for this move is to combo it after her launcher! Try not to pull it out of nowhere because if the opponent blocks, they will be pushed to safety and Sakura will be wide open while she's coming down!

Senpuu Kyaku MP+MK
It hits once and it floors the opponent....not really a good team attack because it leaves your current teammate with nothing to do unless you manage to OTG the enemy with him!

Shoryuken HP+HK
An excellent counter! It goes through projectiles and will hit several times too! It can be used to counter multi hitting supers because it comes out quite quickly!

Shinkuu Hadoken HP+HK(Level Two)
This super will only connect if she is the one who starts it because if she comes in aferwards, chances are that her partner has knocked the opponent out of range by then! If done with a super that goes straight forward, the opponent will be forced to bloack and unable to avoid getting hit! It's best to pair this with another super with minimal range though to get the most out of it! Ideal partners are Chun-Li's Kikosho and Blackheart's Armageddon!

Well as far as I can see, Sakura's main weakness is her lack of attack power! Nothing she does can really hurt the opponent a lot! She has a hard time against almost everyone cause she can't really make up for the damage that is dealt to her! Unless you can really dominate, it's not very advisable to pick her!

Send me in any troubles that you guys have while using her cause I really don't use her at all!