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Street Fighter IV is a mere two weeks away, and the throngs of Capcom fans are already planning launch events and gaming sessions. With the release of the game also comes the release of the official Prima Games strategy guide, and as the author of the guide I’m here to give you some insight into what you’ll find within its pages. Today I’ll be covering some of the console-exclusive playable characters. I’ll start with Seth, Gouken, Sakura and Fei Long, and move on to Rose, Gen, Dan and Cammy next week.

Seth is the main boss character in Street Fighter IV, who can use various special moves and basic attacks from the other combatants. He has a Sonic Boom (performed with a quarter-circle forward motion instead of a charge), Shoryuken, Yoga Teleport and Spinning Pile Driver in addition to his own unique special moves. While on paper he may seem overwhelming, a few tweaks have been made to the stolen special moves to ensure they aren’t as powerful as the original versions. He also has the lowest health gauge and stun meter in the game, making him relatively easy to KO or dizzy.

Gouken is the brother of Akuma and shares many of his attacks, while adding quite a few of his own. He shares Akuma’s Dive Kick and Demon Flip, with the addition of an aerial parry to the Demon Flip series of attacks. He has three different Hadoken-style attacks; one that shoots upward at a hard angle, one that shoots upward at a soft angle, and one that shoots straight like a normal Hadoken. All three can be charged to create a two-hit projectile attack. His Hurricane Kick can be used as an antiair attack and moves Gouken into the air at an upward angle. What could entice 3rd Strike fans are Gouken’s high and low parries that absorb any single-hit attack and perform an automatic counterattack. Add a launching throw to the equation and Gouken can easily be seen as an extremely formidable opponent.

Sakura retains many of her attacks and strategies from her time in the Street Fighter Alpha series. Old school Sakura players should feel comfortable as soon as they get their hands on her SF4 variant. Of note, her EX Hurricane Kick launches opponents into the air, allowing for a juggle follow up, and her variation of an antiair Shoryuken can be followed by a second Shoryuken. It inflicts minimal damage, but it pushes an opponent toward the corner, setting up some interesting corner traps. She can also juggle aerial opponents with the Sakura Otoshi, or use it simply to avoid projectile attacks.

Fei Long has arguably seen more change than any of the other returning characters, but classic Fei Long players should be able to adjust with ease. His Rekkaken is just as useful as it was in Super Street Fighter II Turbo, with increased range making it even more effective. His antiair Flaming Kick (Shienkyaku) is also almost identical to its Super Turbo counterpart. The animation and functionality of his Rekkukyaku has changed quite a bit, but it still has a few frames of invincibility at the start of the attack. What should really have Fei Long players excited is his new Tenshin command throw, which essentially gives Fei Long a guaranteed attack that can be canceled into a Super Combo.

I’ll be back with more insight into SF4 and the strategy guide next week. Keep in mind that in addition to detailed breakdowns of every character, the guide includes frame data for the 17 arcade characters, as well as health gauge and stun meter information for all characters. The upcoming SF4 tournaments are already becoming huge events with an SF4 arcade cabinet going to the winner of the Game Stop launch tournament, $2,000 on the line at DEVASTATION 2009 (ww.devastationevent.com) in June, and the Evolution Fighting Game Championship (www.evo2k.com) announced their 2009 event coming in July. Be sure to get a jump on the competition with the Prima strategy guide.