Alex Myers says that the main change he’d make to Sakura would be to have her do “slightly less damage in order to give her a better fireball/zoning game.”

I’d argue that a Sakura with a strong zoning game who does less damage is just Ryu with a better tatsu. :) Part of the reason I play Sakura is that I’m not by nature a rushdown player and she forces me to be more versatile.

That said, the changes in Ultra 1.04 are great for Sakura. Not having the EX tatsu (the standard combo opener because it’s safe on block) fly over heads is huge.