. . . in Super.
So there is a lot of fevered discussion concerning Akuma’s incarnation in Super.
Firstly, we have his comical Ultra II which boasts an odd command combined with an inability to combo, FADC into and also whiffs entirely on crouching opponents. Yum.
Second, there have been reports from those present at the recent Vegas demo of Super (also confirmed by Seth Killian) that Akuma has lost his ability to ‘loop’ via fs.hk, lp, repeat on larger characters - namely Sagat, Abel and so on. It is claimed that this is prevented by way of an extended start-up of the fs.hk which prevents linking to it from s.lp
Keep in mind that Super is still under development and all of this is subject to change. While I personally expected the loop to be removed, I feel that the delayed start-up is a poor way to do it as this impacts the effectiveness of fs.hk in other situations, which is very integral to Akuma’s game - particularly as part of FADC follow-ups from fireballs to maintain pressure and momentum.
That aside, I figured things are quiet here and wanted to hear your thoughts as to how you feel this may impact Akuma (rather than hijack or derail the thread in the Super forum that is more ‘general’ in nature to Akuma in Super).
Character Specific:
- Can no longer loop Sagat to deal damage, build meter, lock him down and stun him
- Likewise for Abel, Zangief and to a lesser extent Gouken
Combo impact:
- Delayed startup will make FADC follow-ups from fireball difficult and even more fickle. This is a key normal to stand opponents up (and deal damage) at a distance. Losing the ability to do this affects our pressure game and maximising damage. A delayed start-up means we may blow two meters trying to land this only to end up being blocked due to the reduced window to connect.
I played a lot last night and found fs.hk a valuable tool - largely against SPECIFIC characters. Its an obvious go-to when facing Sagat and Abel for example. Its borderline avoided (for me) against Ryu though has its uses in FADC situations. I also tend to use fs.hk on cornered opponents to keep the pressure on and feel a delayed start-up potentially stands to detract from Akuma. I also use it as a spacing tool.
I’m curious to hear more about what you guys think about this (possible) change. Big deal? Not a big problem? Only a loss on specific characters? Something this small does actually stand to change Akuma significantly for those who are very familiar with the character though at the same time, he still enjoys a wealth of tools, options, setups and so on.