I finally got my own PlayStation 3 a few weeks ago and immediately bought Street Fighter 4. I was so excited for this game of course, being active in the community since the early days of the "Sakura Grown Up Please" thread.

I'm so elated Sakura is in the game because her play style is the only one that suits me -- including her speed and range. I find Chun-li and El Fuerte too fast, Ryu and Ken off-timing when I use them, and Zangief too heavy. Without her, I don't have a character I can rely on online or with matches against friends.

I can't say I'm a great Sakura player. Maybe so in our circle of friends, but very far from expert. I rely on her BNB combos and don't use long chains. I find links hard because I use the PS3 controller and I'm left-handed (so my button presses with my right thumb are a bit slower).

What surprised me is that she has a lot of terrible matchups in this game, especially against Blanka, Balrog, Akuma, and Zangief. They give her such a terrible time, especially Blanka! His roll breaks armor and is safe on block! A friend suggested running towards him and use standing roundhouse after his roll, but this is very risky. His air-to-air priority also beats Sakura, and she can only resort to jumping MK or LK.

I've read online that there really are matchups that are uphill for her, especially against the characters above. Sometimes a beginner player can defeat me using Blanka by just spamming balls! I need to train harder!

Playing Sakura requires a lot of patience. A LOT of patience. I even thought of switching to fireball-happy Akuma just to keep things easy, but he is no Sakura. I have to stand by my character and find strategies for her against her terrible matchups. I'm sure I can find one in due time. After all, there is a learning curve to it, right? Maybe I have not discovered an important thing or two about her.

But I'm happy to live up to the challenge. This is the first time I get to fight the whole world (online) in a game I respect and love. These uphill battles will make a tougher player out of me. And who knows, I might prevail!