Last week Ayano-san said he’d tell you about “THAT” this week. Intentionally vague, many people have been left to speculate what that announcement would be while waiting for Ayano-san to clarify what exactly “THAT” is. Continue reading below to see if you guessed correctly.

Hello everyone, Tomoaki Ayano here!

Lately I’ve been practicing with Hakan so much that even when I use other characters I try to oil them up before the battle!

But anyway…the wait is over! This week I’d like to showcase the new battle systems that will be featured in Ultra SFIV.

New System #1: Ultra Combo Double!

Before the match starts you’re able to choose between your Ultra I and Ultra II combos. In Ultra we’ve added a third option, “Ultra Combo Double.” As the name suggests, once you’ve built up your revenge gauge you’ll be able to use either Ultra combo! The downside to this is that the Ultra will do less damage than it normally does.

Here’s a screenshot of your Revenge Gauge when you’ve selected the Dual Ultra Combo option.(Why the “W” you may ask? Well, doesn’t a “W” sound a lot like “double?” …No? Well, we’re working on it!)

Having both Ultras available will give you new ways to press your opponent, limit their options, and expand your fighting strategies.

New System #2: Red Focus Attack

This is a feature that strengthens the Focus Attack system.

It uses up Super meter, but can absorb multiple attacks. Since it uses meter you’ll have to put some careful thought into how you use it. As the name implies you can distinguish it by its red glow. Just like the regular Focus Attack, the Red Focus Attack can also be dash canceled.

Our vision is that Dual Ultra Combos will give you more offensive options, while the Red Focus Attack will give you more defensive options.

Can you think of how these system changes will affect things for the current 39 characters? And that’s not even taking into account the new characters! Things are about to get interesting!

I’ll be releasing more details about the new systems on this blog and the official site so be sure to keep checking in.

But before I wrap things up for this week’s entry, I’d like to show you the finished poster for the arcade version of Ultra SFIV.

We’ve got the main character, Ryu, at the forefront and a mix of new and old characters behind him. The lightning strikes gives you the feeling that an “Ultra” fight is about to take place!

Well that’s my Ultra SFIV news for this week. Hopefully I can bring you more new info in the near future!