Super Street Fighter IV

But of course, the main attraction will be the new characters. So we turned to Capcom’s community manager and resident Street Fighter expert Seth Killian for an in-depth look at how T. Hawk and Dee Jay have been tweaked for their debut in Super Street Fighter IV.

Above: T. Hawk shows El Fuerte what a real throw looks like

“The good news for Hawk and Dee Jay players is that all their favorite moves are back, along with a few new tricks. Hawk’s biggest change is the new Condor Spire move, where he hops about on one foot into the air and shoots forward horizontally (a bit like his aerial Condor Dive). This move is an attack, and you can actually combo out of it in some circumstances, but its real value is helping Hawk get in close. Up close, he transforms from a circus act into one of the most dangerous characters in the game. A more advanced strategy is to fire off a Condor Spire, and while you’re “flying,” buffer in the input for his pile driver (basically just start spinning the stick like mad). If they’re still blocking when you land, hit the button to activate your throw and crush them. Because Hawk is so strong, he can afford to take a few extra hits in order to set up pile drivers, so be ready to use this move a lot to help him close the distance.

Another new trick for Hawk is to cancel his EX dragon punch into a dive. This works great in a combo, but it also helps him by letting him fly away to relative safety if you went for a dragon punch and the opponent blocked.

Above: T. Hawk’s Condor charge moves make him more maneuverable than other large characters like Zangief and Sagat

Dee Jay doesn’t have totally new special moves, but he has a lot of new possibilities from his familiar arsenal. His max-out “sonic booms” are lightning fast. They work great in combos and can keep an opponent pinned down. The Sobat kicks are my favorite. The short kick version is fast with a great recovery and a few invulnerable start-up frames. So you can use it to hop over Sagat’s low tiger shots or as a safe counter to people trying to throw you. The EX Sobat, however, is what you really want to save your meter for. It has fantastic horizontal range, is fast, partially invulnerability, and best of all, if it hits, the opponent gets “crumpled” (just like you hit them with a Focus Attack). So you can follow up with anything you want, including an Ultra Combo. Overall, it’s one of the best specials in the entire game.

Dee Jay’s Machine-Gun Upper is also pretty interesting in the EX version. It’s safe if it’s blocked, which is great. But if it hits, you can juggle the opponent. You can also use it cancel out fireballs, so if you have a pesky Ryu poking at you with some low forward into fireball tactics, fire up a Machine-Gun upper to eat his fireball and smack him into the air.”

The mysterious Juri

Not much is known about Juri, a brand new character for Super Street Fighter IV. What we do know is that she’s a Taekwondo expert from Korea. And if you check out her bio at the official Japanese website, you can find out that her birthdate is January 1st, and that she’s 165cm tall.

Above: Juri also has a cybernetic eye implant and funny looking pants

Her move set is primarily made up of kick attacks, performed with quarter circle joystick motions. Juri also has a particularly interesting fireball attack. She can launch projectiles from her feet and can shoot them at different angles, depending on which button you use. You can even fire them off at a 45 degree angle to stop your opponent from jumping towards you. But the real interesting thing about Juri’s fireball move, is that you can charge it for later by holding down the kick button. That way, you can unleash it after a combo or a quick burst of moves.

Above: Juri’s kick-centric move set reminds us of Gen, but she feels a lot more accessible than the multi-stanced martial artist

So far, Capcom has only announced T. Hawk, Dee Jay, and Juri. But we expect to see more new characters announced. Which characters would you like to see get the Super Street Fighter IV treatment? Let us know in the comments section below, and head back here for more screenshots, trailers, previews and features as Super Street Fighter IV’s 2010 release date draws nearer.

Nov 17, 2009