Surprise! Ultra Street Fighter 4's Decapre plays nothing like Cammy
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Don't be deceived
Yes, the fifth (and final) character reveal for Ultra Street Fighter 4, Decapre, looks a lot like Cammy. That's to be expected, since SF lore dictates that they share the same DNA. But when it comes to playstyle, Decapre's technique is worlds apart from Cammy's flurry of Spiral Arrows and Cannon Spikes. Capcom's Peter "Combofiend" Rosas stopped by to show me Decapre (dee-cap-ree) in action--and after playing her, I can attest that this tights-wearing clone feels quite unlike the other fighters in the game's gigantic roster.
First off, Decapre's a charge character, so it's extra challenging to maintain her forward momentum during a fight. Her special attacks help counteract this; Decapre can dash-teleport around the screen (controlling where and how she lands), or blitz forward with a series of dagger slashes. And while the Decapre I saw was about 80 percent complete, Rosas assured me that her copy-and-pasted Spiral Arrow attack has been removed entirely, which helps balance Decapre's powerful offense. Funnily enough, Rosas likens Decapre's playstyle to E. Honda instead of Cammy, given the constant need to charge back while still pressuring opponents with heavy-hitting normals.
I'm most excited by Decapre's mobility options, which are always a gamble: the Scramble teleport will confuse and cross-up unprepared opponents, but Decapre becomes extremely vulnerable if the opponent starts to predict her movements. As a whole, she feels like a glass cannon, capable of killing or being killed in the blink of an eye, and playing as--or against--a good Decapre requires entirely different tactics than a Cammy match-up. So don't judge a book by its cover, because this masked Shadaloo Doll's all-out-aggression brings something entirely new to the table.
Check out the following screenshots for additional info!
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A little bit of extra Psycho power has given Decapre some excellent jump-in attacks (with deceptively large hitboxes).
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If you look closely, you can see Decapre's scarred skin underneath the mask.
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Yep, Decapre takes a page from Vega's book and wields metal daggers in both hands. This is a street fight! C'mon!
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Decapre's coolest Ultra attack is DCM (Defensive Combat Manuever), which is a dash-attack frenzy akin to Spider-Man's Maximum Spider in MvC.
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Decapre has a useful auto-combo that pops her opponent into the air--and she can actually follow that up with an air throw. Crazy!
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I asked Rosas if Decapre's alternate costumes would be other Shadaloo Dolls. Judging from his reaction, it seems my guess was way off base.
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Decapre's Super is fittingly risky: it's got extremely high damage but very low utility, since it often loses to other moves.
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Funnily enough, the dagger-slash forward special is a simple "Mash punch" command. And yes, it feels awesome every time.
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Just look at that pose. When you have a Decapre mirror match, it looks like they're making a one-armed London Bridge.
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Sinosaur - March 27, 2014 7:09 a.m.
It would have been nice if Capcom hadn't majorly fucked up the reveal, though. Decapre isn't interesting from a story perspective, either... although I suppose I'm in a weird category of people who actually care about the Street Fighter story. ...I may have been part of a Street Fighter/KoF crossover MU* for awhile. -
Darkhawk - March 27, 2014 5:31 a.m.
I wish the fans (including GR) would stop trying to help Capcom rationalise what's essentially a clone character. They clearly chose Decapre because it requires less character model work, and less move-set development. We all saw the trailer; at least 50% of the moves were straight up Cammy'isms. Even if they've gotten rid of some of them, I think news outlets still have a journalistic responsibility to call Capcom out for such laziness. Just consider the alternative: why didn't they create an ACTUALLY new character?! -
Teh_Ty - March 27, 2014 9:21 a.m.
"Just consider the alternative: why didn't they create an ACTUALLY new character?!" Because that would cost a lot of money and time. If they did create a new character, they would have to make a new model, with new rigging, new backstory, new designs, all done from scratch. This would cost capcom a lot of money and on top of hat, delay Ultra until 2015, seeing how they'd have to put in much more work and time into one new character. If it got delayed until 2015, there would be less hype from the FGC seeing how they would have to wait longer for something that was originally going to be a balance update and it wouldn't have made it in time for EVO this year, which would be another blow. Is it lazy, or is it saving money when they really need it? -
lewis-barclay - March 27, 2014 4:30 p.m.
Its lazy. this is maybe the 5th iteration of street fighter 4. I call lazy. -
Teh_Ty - March 27, 2014 8:14 p.m.
The reason there's even a fifth iteration is because the FGC wants it. Because the FGC has been asking for balancing for over a year now and capcom thought they would make some money off it as well and put some new characters and features in to change up the meta. -
lewis-barclay - March 27, 2014 10:21 p.m.
Eh. I cant really support capcom anymore. Sf4=bought it and loved it, ssf4 new modes, characters and such AND a lower price?= bought it and loved it, I think ssf4 arcade edition came out next= wanted it until I saw the price went BACK up so it was a no go. I wanna say turbo was next but by then I lost interest. The price shouldn't have went back up. I gave up on sf after that. Still great games but they're milking it too much. -
lewis-barclay - March 27, 2014 4:26 p.m.
I wanted to say clone characte but I thought I'd be torn apart for it....but your right. Just a lil costume swap and a few different moves and BOOM. New character. -
lewis-barclay - March 27, 2014 4:56 a.m.
wait...... ANOTHER street fighter 4? How many sf4s Does that make now? 4 or 5? This is why I don't respect capcom anymore. We COULD actually try and create something new.....or Just keep making half assed sequels that could just be a few more characters and play modes through dlc. -
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g1rldraco7 - March 27, 2014 2:02 a.m.
I'm glad she's very different and sounds like a fun character to master. Thanks Lucas
Showing 1-11 of 11 comments
robotic-fiend - March 27, 2014 5:32 p.m.