Juri finally was released to the public last week. After a long wait and a lot of anticipation, players all around the world finally got to get their hands on the Taekwondo master of Street Fighter. Now that there has been a week’s worth of time to play the new character, here is the long and short of Juri.
Same Juri as before?
No. I would even go as far to say, Hell no! She was originally released in Street Fighter IV and was good at keeping a bit of distance. She also had her chargeable fireballs which could be used to keep the opponent at range. The fireballs were also great for combos and anti-air. This Juri wants nothing to do with safe, at range play.
The SFV Juri seems to be both reckless and ruthless. Capcom could have updated her style and moves to fit in the current game. Instead, they decided to completely revamp Juri leaving little recognizable (other than the skin-tight purple outfits of course).
When I say she is different, I mean Juri players from SF4 probably wouldn’t want to play her anymore. Sure, it may be nostalgia that keeps them coming back to her, but it would completely alter the player’s style. Using the new Juri as a passive player would certainly lead to a sad, embarrassing defeat.
So what’s new?
As I said, just about everything. She now has better movement and can quickly approach her opponents. A fast approach was something the old Juri could not do whatsoever. Not without getting punished that is…
Juri was originally designed to play in the more technical SF4, so transferring her moves straight across would have been disastrous. The SFV version might as well be a completely new character. The character design, movements, and combos are great. I am not putting her down in the slightest. I just think it’s interesting that Capcom decided to use her for the new set of moves instead of creating a new character who is more fitting.
According to Kreymore:
“She’s a good, complex character. You’ll need to be more reactionary with her,”
“You’ll have to master the character to be good with her and if you do, it will pay off.”
Competitive play?
I, personally, thought we would be seeing Ibuki in competitive play, but that hasn’t panned out. In fact, we have seen very little of the DLC characters in competitive play. Unfortunately, I don’t think she will be any different in that regard.
The best chance at seeing her would have been the old Juri players who migrated from SF4. Now that she has been released and seems to be totally different, I don’t think the SF4 players will want to stick with her.
I do see her as a possible pocket pick for many players though. I think we just might see an unexpected Juri get pulled out to try and gain the surprise advantage in a match. I have my fingers crossed that she’ll come out kickin’ in a major tournament soon, but I’m pretty skeptical.