Street Fighter V spring update gives first look at Rival Schools’ Akira

The Street Fighter V spring update stream aired recently. During the show, the producer and director of the game showcased what all is coming to Season 5. Just like the winter update stream in February, we got an in-depth look at the next character in the season, a brief overview of the following character, and a small tease at the final character. This time around, that includes Rose, Oro, and Akira Kazama from Rival Schools.

Starting off with Oro, we got to see his specials as well as his entire V-System. In the Street Fighter lore, Oro is so powerful that he has to restrict the use of one of his arms. In Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike this was indicated by the fact that he held his other arm inside his gi. In Street Fighter V, however, the self-imposed limitation is represented in a more visually interesting way: Oro holds his pet turtle. He will even interact with it during certain moves.

Fans of the character from 3rd Strike will be very happy to hear that most of his moveset remains intact. His standing medium punch is a launcher that can be followed up into an air combo. His crouching hard punch is also a far more effective anti-air now than it was originally. Having a strong anti-air normal in Street Fighter V is key for a character to be competitive at a high level, so it’s good to see it with Oro. He also has his leaping attack from 3rd Strike, but this time it’s a unique attack. The hop will go over low attacks as well.

Turtle power!

Most importantly though, Oro maintains his iconic double jump. Considering the slower, more neutral based gameplay in Street Fighter V (as opposed to 3rd Strike), it will be very interesting to see how this affects the meta. Oro can double jump straight up, forward, and backwards. Oro also has all of his moves from 3rd Strike, as well as a brand new kick move called Tsuranekeashi. The light kick version is one kick, and the medium and heavy versions are two kicks. Using EX, the kick seems to be his main combo extender, allowing for some big damage follow-ups.

Oro’s V-Skill I is called Onibi, and it functions very similarly to his Yagyou Dama super art from 3rd Strike. The move creates a free-floating projectile that tracks towards the opponent. The startup is a little bit slower, but it allows Oro to follow it up and create uniquely oppressive offensive situations. A move like this is also great against the new mechanic V-Shift, as it will still track the opponent. His V-Skill 2 is Minomushi, a jumping attack that can be followed up with either punch or kick. Punch lets out an overhead chop, and kick is a two-hit overhead kick.

V-Trigger I is called Manrikitan, which grants Oro access to a command throw both on the ground and in the air. Combined with his launch combos and tight offensive abilities, this could make Oro a pressure powerhouse. V-Trigger 2 is Tengu Stone and should be very familiar to fans. It causes different objects to float around Oro, which will hit the opponent independently of himself. Sometimes “special” items will appear that have bonus effects like extra damage.

Yes, it is a Jojo reference

Next up is Rose, who was announced to have a release date of April 19 — less than two weeks away. In this Street Fighter V spring update we got a more in-depth look at Rose’s V-System. What we saw makes her look incredibly strong. Rose is described as a “technical” character and it definitely shows.

Her V-Skill I is called Soul Fortune, and it lets her use four different colored Tarot cards with varying abilities. The white card, “Magician,” lets her charge her own V-Gauge and can be held down to keep charging. The red tarot card, “The Chariot,” increases her own damage. The green card, “The Tower,” is thrown at the opponent and lowers their damage. Her purple card, or “Death,” is also thrown at the opponent and increases the chip damage and gray life Rose deals. Pressing medium punch and medium kick together activates Fortune Shuffle, which lets you change the tarot card you have equipped. Your currently equipped card is shown to the right of your super meter.

Her V-Trigger I is a teleport that lets Rose warp to three different directions. Those being the back of the screen behind her, directly behind the opponent, or above the opponent behind their head. It functions very similarly to teleports from the Marvel vs. Capcom series that lock onto specific areas, regardless of how far the opponent is. The teleport can be cancelled into from most of Rose’s specials, even in mid-air. This lets you do crazy setups like firing a Soul Spark and immediately teleporting behind your opponent to sandwich them from both sides.

Rose is shaping up to be a meta contender

Her V-Skill 2 is her Soul Satellite from Street Fighter IV. Like Oro’s Onibi, they have slower startup than they did in previous games. Rose can have a maximum of two orbs out at a time, and each activation will bring out one orb at a time. This will allow Rose to link certain moves together to create extended combos.

Her V-Trigger II is Soul Illusion, which is very reminiscent of how it was in the Street Fighter Alpha series. Acting like her own custom combo, this V-Trigger summons a shadow of Rose that mimics her attacks. The strength of her projectile attacks also increases while active, and any two-hit moves will launch the opponent into the air. This is Rose’s main V-Trigger for combos as it lets her deal out some impressive damage. Combined with her V-Skill II Rose can create some extremely difficult to navigate situations for your opponent.

As a fun little Easter egg, on her victory screen Rose will throw out Tarot cards featuring other characters — including some not in Street Fighter V, like C. Viper. Rose looks like a high-execution, high-skill-ceiling character with a lot of technical quirks that can create some insane offensive pressure. Players who are able to unlock her potential might be looking at the next top-tier character in the game. She certainly has all of the tools to do so.

Rival Schools lives…! Kinda!

Lastly, we got a quick look at the next character following Oro: Akira Kazama from the Rival Schools series. Akira appears to be very similar to Karin in her gameplay. She has rekka moves and seems to excel at fast, offensive pressure. Akira also has a launcher move that brings the opponent high into the sky just like in Rival Schools. This move appears to be part of one of her V-Triggers. Then, to end the stream, we see a quick look at one of her V-Triggers that has her brother Daigo appear from the top of the screen and cause an explosion.

We also got to see three new costumes coming to the game as well for Vega, Juri, and Seth. Vega dons a trench coat and a mask, and Juri dresses like a nurse, very reminiscent of Valentine from Skullgirls. Most interestingly though is Seth who is the spitting image of a young Geese Howard from Art of Fighting. Perhaps a hint of things to come? Probably wishful thinking, but a guy can dream. Akira is still currently in development and we will surely see her during the next stream update. Based on the past few updates, it will probably take place in the fall. You can also watch the full Street Fighter V spring update right here.