- Close strong (medium punch) has less recovery, crouch strong and crouch forward (medium kick) can combo from hit confirm. Far strong can be cancelled same as Ryu. Vulnerable hitbox on far forward reduced, making it harder to hit her out of it.
- Air Tatsu can get more airborne hits. Other various adjustments on making hitboxes bigger, damage, and recovery done to make her stronger.
- Less recovery on each level of HadoukenIf you couldn't tell, those are all buffs! Capcom did this sort of thing with all of the characters considered "low tier," giving them buffs across the board with no nerfs in a deliberate effort to narrow the gap between the relative strength of each character. However, one thing that is not mentioned officially, but I'm pretty sure is true is that Sakura can no longer Tatsu escape from the corner. This was removed from all the shotos (Ryu, Ken, Akuma), so it can only be assumed that it was removed for her as well-- which is technically a nerf. But since this change happened across the board, it doesn't really impact things too much.
The biggest buff here is the recovery of the fireball. Making her recover even two frames faster would improve her game significantly. Making her fireball-anti-air game a terror to deal with because of the slowness of the fireball combined with the forward movement of anti-air Shouokens. Opponents will be forced to block, walk back towards the corner or get closer to Sakura-- all good things. Recovery was also reduced for the other two levels of charge of the Hadouken. This may create even more interesting zoning and meaty setups.
To summarize the rest of her changes, I like to say they are making her more like better characters, thus making her better. Air Tatsu will get multiple hits, much like Ken's. Far standing strong is special cancelable, a change mirrored by Ryu in AE. This will help her pressure game and if anything else, give her that one extra option she can go to. Close strong will be able to be followed up with a combo now, similar to Cammy's close strong. Not only will this give her more ways to land her devastating combos, she may be able to use it as a way to punish crouch tech attempts.
I'm not sure what the line pertaining to hitbox adjustments and damage, this may only apply to the air Tatsu. Maybe the juggle potential is higher? Or perhaps cross-up Tatsu is more viable? (It's already possible in SSF4, but it is not a reliable tool)
Now, the detailed explanations (quoted translation from Neogaf):
-st.MK hurtbox from the shin to tip is cut, making it easier to use as a check
-Depending on the situation, it can be used as a front anti-air
st.MK in AE
- No changes to cr.HP, but because the move is 4F and forces stand, it's a good move to include in combos
-In the last two active fames, the hitbox becomes bigger, and there's no hurtbox from the wrist to tip, making it an unusually strong anti-air
cr.HP
We get more insight to the specific change to the hitbox of s.MK. The hurtbox has been reduced on the leg, making it a more useful anti-air. I believe this is how the move was initially intended to be used. It's a welcome change, because in both Vanilla and Super, this is one move from Sakura that is rarely seen. The change will help Sakura against opponents who abuse empty jumps, the sworn enemy of c.HP-- her normal anti-air option.
Speaking of, I'm not sure why they felt the need to comment on c.HP given that there was no change to it all. It's nice to finally see the hitbox though.
Finally, here is the opinion of three of Japan's best and most visible players-- Daigo, Mago, and Tokido. In an extensive interview about AE with VersusCity, they briefly discussed Sakura. Additionally, they each compiled their own tier list.
Recently Sakura seems a bit dangerous, doesn’t she?
Mago: I’ve been thinking that really, Sakura is strong as hell, isn’t she?
Daigo: Yeah her attack power has been buffed a bit.
Tokido: Her ability to buffer Shouoken off of Crouching MK is definitely strong.
Mago: Crouching HP as an anti-air is crazy good too, even if you use it only once, most, if not all characters will eat it. Sorry to change subjects, but I feel that Adon is a really tough match for Fei.
There's not much to really take from this other than the fact that they think she is definitely stronger and Mago can't discuss Sakura without thinking about non-Sakura things, this is reflected in their tier lists.
Daigo Umehara
S: Fei Long
A+: Yun, Yang
A: C. Viper, Akuma, Ken
B: Makoto, M. Bison (Dictator), Dhalsim, Balrog (Boxer), Ryu, Cammy, Dee Jay, Zangief, Sagat, Sakura, Adon, E. Honda, Rufus, Vega (Claw)
C: Abel, Blanka, Chun-Li, Cody, Dan, Dudley, El Fuerte, Gen, Gouken, Guile, Guy, Hakan, Ibuki, Juri, Rose, Seth, T. Hawk
Mago
S: Fei Long
A+: Yun
A: Yang, Balrog (Boxer), Chun-Li, C. Viper, Akuma, Cammy, Sagat
B+: Ken, Adon, Zangief, Sakura, M. Bison (Dictator), E. Honda, Makoto
B: Rufus, Abel, Vega (Claw), Dhalsim, Guile, Dee Jay, Ryu
C: Blanka, Cody, Dan, Dudley, El Fuerte, Gen, Gouken, Guy, Hakan, Ibuki, Juri, Rose, Seth, T. Hawk
Tokido
S: Fei Long
A+: Yun
A: Yang, Akuma, C. Viper, Makoto, Ken
B: Ryu, Chun-Li, E. Honda, Zangief, Dhalsim, Balrog (Boxer), Sagat, M. Bison (Dictator), Vega (Claw), Rufus, Abel, Seth, Cammy, Sakura, Adon
C: Blanka, Cody, Dan, Dee Jay, Dudley, El Fuerte, Gen, Gouken, Guile, Guy, Hakan, Ibuki, Juri, Rose, T. Hawk
If we do the math here, they think Sakura is the about the 16th or 17th best character. Right smack dab in the middle. The definition of solid-- way more tournament viable than she was. Also interesting, they all have Fei as top followed by Yun and Yang. T. Hawk is likewise unanimously agreed to be the worst.
I'm very happy with her changes. I was not expecting that she would receive a buff as big as the recovery of her fireball. That combined with all the other changes will significantly improve the chances of winning any given match and helps matches like Guile and Honda. I would have really liked an improvement to either her walk speed or dash lengths, but given the other changes-- I can't really complain. See you on top in AE!
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