It’s time for another update from Ayano-san!

Hi there everyone, Tomoaki Ayano here again. Monday is the beginning of Golden Week here in Japan! It’s a time for everyone in Japan to go on a week-long vacation, although who knows what kind of weather we’ll be given, considering the recent cold spell!

Continuing with last week’s SSFIV character balance update requests, I’d like to share a couple of more fan requests with everyone this week! Please remember that these are actual requests from fans in Japan, and although a lot of people are requesting similar changes to the ones posted on this blog, it doesn’t mean that we’re actually going to apply to them to the game. We’re doing our own research, independent of the fan requests, but we’re always going to keep what our fans have to say in mind!

Seth

• Spinning Pile Driver: have it come out in 7 frames, and the EX version in 5 frames with no attack invincibility.
• Shoryuken: make it so that it’s invincible, comes out in 5 frames and cannot be Focus Cancelable.
• Tandam Engine: decrease its range and look over the amount of frames he’s at an advantage.
• Jumping Heavy Kick: make it so that it cannot cross up.
• Tandam Stream: decrease its speed or decrease the hitbox against an airborne opponent.
• Reduce his vitality and stun by 50

Right now Seth is a character that can seriously lay waste to anyone. I’d really like something done about his Shoryuken/Spinning Pile Driver mixup game especially. Thank you!

Ayano: a lot of players have been asking for Seth’s Shoryuken and dive kick to be weakened. Even though he has very little vitality compared to other characters, he has a ton of versatility and many players regard him as a strong character, so we’ll take a look at him in detail when we update the game.

Guile

I’m a console player, but even if it may not be back to what they once were, I’d really like it if Guile’s Sonic Boom built more meter, and if Sonic Hurricane had a little bit more power too.

Weakening not only his power but the amount of meter he can build has made him into a helpless character in certain situations. I really want battles to be decided by player skill and not character deficiencies, so I’m looking forward to playing a better game than now! Thanks!

Ayano: many players have been asking for Guile’s meter-building abilities and his Ultra Combo to be buffed. Some people are even asking (outlandishly even!) that his Shades of Glory be buffed too!  Guile’s playstyle has remained largely the same throughout the years, so we’ll make sure to make look into his character to make him more Guile-ish!

Ken

I think the character has a number of strong and weak points, and I’d like to say that the character doesn’t need any changes to be a strong character… but I want his walk speed to be increased just a little bit. His slow speed is especially evident in the Akuma match up, where it’s hard to get anything going. I don’t think he needs any significant improvements, so if you could just look into changing this little thing that’d be great.

Ayano: many fans have been clamoring for an increase in walk speed or to change his low Heavy Kick back to 7 frame startup. Compared to Ryu, who has many of the same moves, he may have a few little deficiencies, so we’ll look into tuning the character so that fans of both Ryu and Ken can enjoy either character.

Guy

Increase my walk speed.

Decrease the recovery on my Emergency Stop by 2 frames.

Buff the second hit of my Bushin Goraisenpujin by extending its range.

That is all.

Ayano: was this written by the man himself? LOL Guy players have been asking for changes such as an increase in walk speed and more reliability on his Target Combo. We’ll look into balancing his character so that he retains his tricky feeling while having him more fun to play.

Rose

I’d like it if Rose’s special moves in general were a little bit easier to use. She has a variety of special moves to use but many of them can be difficult to use, and depending on the character you’re limited to just Soul Spiral. It’d be awesome if you could make it so that the active attack frames on Soul Reflect were longer so it could be used in combos, or if Soul Spark’s recovery frames were reduced and it became easier to connect with.

Ayano: Rose players are a funny bunch, they want Soul Spark to come out faster, but they also want her to look better… heh. I don’t think the latter is going to happen any time soon, she’s already good-looking! As for her balance tweaks, we’ll look into making her a character that can use all of her tools easier in battle.

Remember, we’re taking everyone’s balance requests until Tuesday, April 30 ^th , so be sure to get your voice heard!

Thanks for reading! The next blog will be on Friday, May 10 ^th.