Charging by the Second

So, Street Fighter IV's coming out in a matter of weeks. I've played the arcade version a couple of times, and I am impressed - it takes the feel of classic SFII, and adds elements of Alpha and 3S, and throws it all together in a nice, cohesive system that's both accessible and deep. But I'll be damned if I'm playing it on the 360 pad.

I picked up a Hori EX stick for the 360 a while back, and while it's mostly used for Virtua Fighter 5, it's found new lease of life for SSFIIHDR. I've never been much cope with motion characters on a stick, but years of charge character usage has taught me a few tricks.

Mainly with this guy.

See, Honda's always been one of my backup characters. I love the guy's personality, and became surprsingly adept at using him in Alpha 3, despite him being bottom tier. So I start using him online in HDR, and I realise he's actually damned good. Strong, good specials, and a much-improved super - the changes they've made make it much easier to lock down the fireball-spamming n00bs. Very nice. He has now overtaken Guile as my strongest character, with Deejay making a surprise second.

My limited experience with SFIV Honda has shown me he has some new tricks, too. His EXs are nice, and his EX Ochio Throw is downright nasty - extra range + hit absorption = hurt. His ultra is also great - he can take a beating, so it's pretty easy to build meter, and if someone tries jumping in, it's practically free damage.

On the flipside, the priorities of his normals have been changed - his jumping MK belly doesn't seem as useful, and the range of his Sumo Splat is wanting. Early tier lists have him floating around the lower mid - but that's just where I like my characters. It just means you can't bitch about him being overpowered when you've been hundred-hand slapped down.

Come Feb 20th, you'll know where to find me.