Capcom vs SNK 2/Sakura

From SuperCombo Wiki

Introduction

CVS2 Sakura Data.png

Story

Sakura Kasugano is a Japanese high-school student with a fixation on her favorite fighter, Ryu. She lived a fairly normal high-school life, hanging out with her friends Hinata Wakaba and Natsu Ayuhara, until she saw Ryu fighting one day on the way home from school. She immediately became fascinated, and began training to fight like he does, emulating many of his techniques. She used her newfound skill to beat up the older kids who bully her and her friends, but eventually sets her sights on becoming Ryu's student. She frequently skips class to try and hunt him down, and on the way, has her own journey where she makes friends and enemies from around the world. Namely, she makes a rival in Karin Kanzuki. As she grows up from her childhood fixation on fighting and her idolization turned crush on Ryu, she often finds herself asking if fighting forever is truly a worthwhile use of ones life.

Gameplay

Sakura is part of the big top tiers of CvS2, usually placed somewhere in the top 5 or right outside it at 6th. Like many of the CvS2 top tiers, her ability to control neutral is amazing, with her strong buttons both on the ground and in the air. 5LK, 5MP, 5HK, 2MK, and all of her jump kicks are stellar and versatile buttons that allow her to poke safely at the enemy and get them where she wants them. After she wins neutral, Sakura has very high natural damage, ending combos in her 623P Shouoken uppercuts. She also notably has some of the most annoying roll cancels in the game to fight, with her RC 214K Shunpukyaku tatsus acting as incredibly hard to contest fireball callouts with great reward and her RC 236P Hadosho energy waves being invincible and safe pokes.

Her air mobility is no joke either, sporting the classic shoto air tatsu in j.214K, but also having a powerful divekick in j.236K Oukakyaku. Mixed with her amazing buttons in the air, this makes anti-airing her properly almost as hard as whiff punishing her properly, and when mixed with her amazing RC specials, makes Sakura a neutral nightmare. She also has one of the most powerful Custom Combos in the game, her infamous Shoshosho combo. This is very hard to properly execute, but when done right, makes A-Sakura a terrifying beast of a punish character who can eat your fireball or whiffed poke and spit out 9k or more damage from it. As if contesting her properly wasn't hard enough, the threat of a CC Shoshosho makes it nearly impossible, and Sakura gets to run her game for as long as she wants to.

Groove Selection

Best - A: While Sakura is fairly strong overall, A-Sakura gives her everything she wants to win and more. Having a roll gives her access to RC Tatsu and RC Fireball, making her neutral much more annoying. The real attractive factor is her Custom Combo, Shoshosho. By simply doing repeated 623HP's, Sakura can dish out massive damage and melt through guard bars. The stellar range on this allows her to activate from ridiculously far away and punish whatever the opponent did, whether that was whiff a button or throw a projectile. While her anti-air CC isn't quite as strong, it's still plenty good. A-Sakura is often seen as a point character on plenty of A-Groove teams, thanks to her amazing matchup spread vs other point characters, her strong meter build, and her ability to play without relying on meter while still excelling at using it.

Useful - C/N/K: C-Sakura is likely the second best way to play her. Her level 2 combos, especially using her 214HK Tatsu links, do massive damage and are very flashy to pull off. They are quite difficult however, and in general, C-Sakura is going to be forced to learn Sakura's more difficult links and master the 1 frame link from her 214HK into her 2LP to make her level 2's hurt. C-Sakura plays overall similar enough to A-Sakura, with a different way to use meter. N-Sakura changes the formula a bit, getting much more aggressive potential with run and hop. While she can still roll cancel specials for maximum neutral annoyance, she can also run in or hop over lows, making it even more difficult to directly contest her. She still plays her normal game, similar to A-Sakura, but gets more access to scary mixups with hop crossups and empty hop low/throw, allowing her to vortex opponents very effectively. K-Sakura plays much like N-Sakura, but without rolls. Off of her high damage combos, she often gets enough time to mix the opponent between a hop HK on the same side and a crossup hop MK, or she can always empty hop and go low or throw. Rage gives her a great damage buff, and her level 3 236236K Midare Zakura lets her end Rage combos with huge damage. K-Sakura has to sacrifice rolls however, but she can still play a solid offensive neutral, and her mixups are no joke.

Worst - S/P: While listed here as worst, neither of these Grooves are necessarily bad for her, and Sakura can still shine in them. They just fit her the least. S-Sakura is one of the better S-Groove characters, mostly thanks to her ability to play without meter available. She can still do her normal and solid neutral gameplan, and even gets a run and hop to solidify her offense more. Charging is a pain, but since Sakura is hard to contest, she can charge a bit more safely after instilling the fear of her buttons into the opponent. However, this is much less effective without rolls, and while Sakura doesn't require meter at all times, it does make her quite a lot scarier when she has it. Infinite level 1's do allow her to use her level 1 236236P Shinku Hadouken to zone a bit more effectively however. P-Sakura is a fairly solid P-Groove character, especially because Sakura can punish pretty reliably off of a good parry. Lack of rolls hurts a lot, and having only hop to make up for it instead of both hop and run is a hard trade-off. P-Sakura relies on you having solid parry ability, converting those parries into a knockdown and a blender of hop mixups, and cashing out on the one or maybe even two level 3 supers you get a round.


Sakura is a top-tier powerhouse of a shoto, with some of the best neutral control in the game. She can control space with big buttons, great air mobility with her divekick and air Tatsus, and her incredible roll cancels. Once she gets meter, she can cash it out into big damage. Sakura is best in A-Groove.

Difficulty: Hard (A-Groove), Medium (Any other Groove)
Tier: S
Pros Cons
  • Neutral: Sakura has incredibly powerful neutral options, from a suite of great buttons and pokes to useful mobility for repositioning and damaging anti-air ability
  • Damage: Her 623HP is a stellar combo ender that connects from very far out, allowing her high and consistent meterless damage. With meter, her punishes skyrocket into being some of the highest damage in the game, especially with Custom Combo
  • Roll Cancel: Roll Cancel Tatsus are safe or even plus on block neutral skips that allow Sakura to get in immediately against players who won't try to avoid them. Roll Cancel Fireballs are fast and safe on block pokes that can't be contested with buttons and must be jumped over, and even then all your opponent can punish with is a throw, assuming they can even get there in time
  • Mixups: With a good overhead, a very strong throw, a great crossup and multiple good jump-ins, and one of the better low confirms in the game, Sakura can vortex opponents very easily into death with just a few good guesses
  • Shoshosho: Sakura's infamous CC, the Shoshosho combo, does massive damage and works from anywhere on the screen against a grounded opponent. It also guard crushes, meaning even if they block, they still get hit. This is a very strong tool, and the reason A-Sakura is such a great top tier. The execution is difficult, but eventually mastering this is key to playing Sakura to her highest potential
  • Zoning: Without a true fireball or invincible reversal, Sakura struggles to zone opponents out without maintaining the range to utilize her powerful buttons, which is only about midrange
  • Execution: Between her Shoshosho being fast repetitive 623 motions, her 1 frame links from 214HK, fast cancels from her lights, and multiple specials that need roll cancelling, Sakura has to master some difficult execution to really shine



Players to Watch

Name Country Groove Accounts Notes
YSK Japan A-Groove Twitter: @yosuke0815 The point character of YSK's dominant SBB (Sakura Bison Blanka) team. Plays with a decent amount of movement and tries to meter build.
Sample Match
Uma Japan A-Groove Twitter: @umaare An OG player and a SBB team user.
Sample Match
Yane Japan S-Groove Twitter: @yanechudan Being a skilled S-Groover, Yane is very well versed with making S-Sakura dominate neutral and is especially threatening with desperation mode.
Sample Match



Normal Moves

Far Standing Normals

5LP

Stand Jab
Lp.png
5LP
CVS2 SAKURA LP.png
Light Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
200 - RF,SP,SU mid mid 2 4 5 11 +8 +8 none
  • .

5MP

Stand Strong
Mp.png
5MP
CVS2 SAKURA MP.png
Medium Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
800 - SP,SU mid mid 5 5 12 22 +3 +3 none

5HP

Stand Fierce
Hp.png
5HP
Heavy Punch
CVS2 SAKURA HP.png
Heavy Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1200 - SU mid mid 5 3(2)5 23 - +1 +1 none

5LK

Stand Short
Lk.png
5LK
CVS2 SAKURA LK.png
Light Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
300 - SP, SU mid mid 3 5 13 21 -3 -3 -

5MK

Stand Forward
Mk.png
5MK
CVS2 SAKURA MK.png
Medium Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
800 - SU mid mid 7 7 21 35 -8 -8 none


5HK

Stand Roundhouse
Hk.png
5HK
CVS2 SAKURA HK.png
Heavy Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1000 - none mid mid 8 5 17 30 +2 +2 none

Close Standing Normals

cl5MP

Close Stand Strong
Close Mp.png
cl5MP
CVS2 SAKURA CMP.png
Medium Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
700 - SP,SU mid mid 4 5 11 20 +4 +4 none

cl5HP

Close Stand Fierce
Close Hp.png
cl5HP
CVS2 SAKURA CHP 1.png
CVS2 SAKURA CHP 2.png
CVS2 SAKURA CHP 3.png
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1100; 900 - SP,SU; SU mid mid 3 8 27 38 -11 -11 none

cl5HK

Close Stand Roundhouse
CloseHk.png
cl5HK
CVS2 SAKURA CHK 1.png
Heavy Kick
CVS2 SAKURA CHK 2.png
Heavy Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1200; 1000 - SP, SU; SU mid mid 4 7 23 34 -6 -6 N/A

Crouching Normals

2LP

Crouching Jab
D.pngLp.png
2LP
CVS2 SAKURA 2LP.png
Crouching Light Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
200 - RF, SP, SU mid mid 3 4 6 13 +7 +7 none

2MP

Crouching Strong
D.pngMp.png
2MP
CVS2 SAKURA 2MP 1.png
Medium Punch
CVS2 SAKURA 2MP 2.png
Medium Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
800 - SP,SU mid mid 4 4 21 29 -5 -5 N/A

2HP

Crouching Fierce
D.pngHp.png
2HP
CVS2 SAKURA 2HP 1.png
Heavy Punch
CVS2 SAKURA 2HP 2.png
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1100, 800 - SP,SU; SU mid mid 3 11 26 40 -13 -13 N/A

2LK

Crouching Short
D.pngLk.png
2LK
CVS2 SAKURA 2LK.png
Crouching Light Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
200 - RF, SP, SU low low 3 4 8 +3 +3 - N/A

2MK

Crouching Forward
D.pngMk.png
2MK
CVS2 SAKURA 2MK.png
Crouching Medium Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
700 - SU low low 4 4 24 32 -8 -8 N/A

2HK

Crouching Roundhouse
D.pngHk.png
2HK
CVS2 SAKURA 2HK.png
Crouching Heavy Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1000 - SU low low 6 3 35 44 KND -14 -

Air Normals

8LP

Jumping Jab
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Lp.png
8LP
CVS2 SAKURA JLP.png
Jumping Light Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
500 - - - - 3 22 - - - - -

8MP

Jumping Strong
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Mp.png
8MP
CVS2 SAKURA JMP.png
Medium Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
800 - - - - 4 8 - - - - -

8HP

Jumping Fierce
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Hp.png
8HP
CVS2 SAKURA JHP.png
Heavy Punch
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
11100 - - - - 7 5 - - - - -

8LK

Jumping Short
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Lk.png
8LK
CVS2 SAKURA JLK.png
Light Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
400 - - - - 4 26 - - - - -

the hitbox visualisation doesn't do the incredible range of this move justice. this move gives sakura phenominal air to air and as a jump in, let her jump in from 2/3 distance for no good reason

8MK

Jumping Forward
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Mk.png
8MK
CVS2 SAKURA JMK.png
Medium Kick
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
700 - - - - - 5 8 - - - - -

amazing cross up, this should be your go to normal for that application.

  • .

8HK

Jumping Roundhouse
Ub.png,U.png,or Uf.png+Hk.png
8HK
CVS2 SAKURA JHK.png
Jumping Heavy Kick
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
1000 - - - - 8 12 - - - - -

better jump in than JLK if your close enough, but lacks that moves incredible horizantal range

command normals

8HK

Sakura kick
F.png+Mk.png
6 mk
Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
700 - none H H 23 3 16 42 +1 +1 -

Special Moves

Fireball
Hadoken
Fireball
236+P
CVS2 SAKURA HADO.png
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LP
Qcf.png + Lp.png
1200 - - mid mid 16 - 37 - KND -3 -
MP
Qcf.png + Mp.png
700+700 - - mid mid 19 - 24 - KND 0 -
HP
Qcf.png + Hp.png
500x3 - - mid mid 22 - 31 - KND +3 -
DP
Shuoken
Combo ender.
623+P
CVS2 SAKURA LDP.png
Light
CVS2 SAKURA MDP.png
Medium
CVS2 SAKURA HDP.png
Heavy
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LP
Dp.png + Lp.png
1100 - - mid mid 4 6 36 46 down -26 -
MP
Dp.png + Mp.png
900+300x2 - - mid mid 6 3,3,10 35 - Down -30 -
HP
Dp.png + Hp.png
500+300X4 - - mid mid 9 3,3,2,2,12 41 - Down -30 -
tatsu
Tatsumaki Shunpukyaku
214+K
CVS2 SAKURA LTATSU.png
Light
CVS2 SAKURA HTATSU.png
Heavy
CVS2 SAKURA AIR TATSU.png
Air
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LP
Qcb.png + Lk.png
700 - - mid mid 16 10 19 - -5 -5 -
MP
Qcb.png + Mk.png
400+500 - - mid mid 16 3 (9) 6 19 - -1 -1 -
HP
Qcb.png + Hk.png
300+300+400 - - mid mid 16 3 (9) 3 (9) 2 19 - +3 +3 -
tatsu follow up
Tatsu follow up
hard knockdown tool
after Tatsu, 214+k
CVS2 SAKURA TATSU END.png
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
All versions
Qcb.png + K.png
500 - - mid mid 10 8 27 - Down -13 -
otoishi
sakura otoishi
623+k then p or k
CVS2 SAKURA OTO1.png
Start up
CVS2 SAKURA OTO3.png
Hit
CVS2 SAKURA OTO2.png
Disengage
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LK
Dp.png + Lk.png
600 - - mid mid 50+41 - 15 - Down -30 -
MK
Dp.png + Mk.png
600 - - mid mid 50+41 - 15 - Down -31 -
HK
Dp.png + Hk.png
600 - - mid mid 50+41 - 15 - Down -24 -
punches
P.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
stop
K.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Dive kick
Ouka Kyaku
Dive Kick
In air, 236 K
CVS2 SAKURA FOOTDIVE.png
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
all versions
Qcf.png + K.png
800 - - mid mid 12 until landing 4 - +10 +15 -

all button strengths are the same.

Super Moves

Fireball
Shinku hadoken
Fireball super
236236+P
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LP
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Lp.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MP
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Mp.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HP
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Hp.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
dps
Midare Sakura
DP super
236236+K
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LK
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Lk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MK
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Mk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HK
Qcf.png Qcf.png + Hk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
tatsu s
Haruissen
Tatsu super
214214+K
Version Damage Stun Cancel Guard Parry Startup Active Recovery Total Adv Hit Adv Block Invul
LK
Qcb.png Qcb.png + Lk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
MK
Qcb.png Qcb.png + Mk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HK
Qcb.png Qcb.png + Hk.png
- - - - - - - - - - - -

Colors

Sakura CvS2 colors.PNG


CvS2 Wiki Navigation

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Boss Characters
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