In the latest content update for Capcom’s divisive fighter, players have been treated to a number of welcome changes and additions to the game, including the introduction of Ed for SFV. Whilst this is the first time the character has been playable in the series, the unveiling of Ed for SFV was met with a positive reception, because this is a character with history. He was seen in the story sequences for Balrog in Street Fighter IV but very little was revealed about the character, and this week fans are able to get their hands on his moveset.
Ed for SFV – “special” moves
The reveal of Ed for SFV is just one of several all-new character reveals that Capcom has planned for Season 2. Before this, we had already seen what Kolin had to offer, and despite some visual similarities to Karin she had a moveset that made her incomparable to most other fighters in the roster. With the arrival of Ed for SFV, we’re seeing yet another brand new character with a personality and fighting style that doesn’t seem to mimic too many existing characters, so it’s refreshing to see that these new challengers are more than mere reskins of series favourites. Ed doesn’t have any “unique attacks” in his movelist but his special moves are interesting since none of them require motions. Hold fierce and he’ll do a lunging punch whilst shifting to the other side of the opponent. Press any two punches and he’ll launch his foe into the air. Mash punches and he’ll do a rush-punch combo. The most complex special move is the Psycho Spark – the command is forward+MP, but you can’t simply press MP whilst walking towards the opponent and expect the move to come out. Instead, you press the direction and attack together, and Ed beats the foe with a psycho-power infused blow.
Ed for SFV – pop-ups and V-System
People familiarising themselves with Ed for SFV will also enjoy the rising kick attack known as Psycho Rising – press two kick attacks and he’ll boot the foe into the air, following up with an air attack if a punch is pressed. There’s a risk that if Psycho Rising misses it could be punished as a player falls to the ground, but Ed can also do a ground-based attack known as Psycho Upper that knocks the opponent up and away. Either one is useful for getting some breathing room if you’re under pressure, but Psycho Rising seems like a bigger gamble since you’ll be left hanging if you miss.
The V-System builds on this philosophy with the V-Skill – press the buttons and the opponent will eat a combo and get knocked down; hold the buttons and they’re snared by psycho energy before being launched up and towards Ed, making it more viable than Psycho Upper if you’re looking to follow up with something (using the V-Skill and then Psycho Rising or Upper seems to work.) Meanwhile, you can crouch and press the buttons to snare a jumping opponent, pounce on them and bring them to the ground, or you can crouch and hold the buttons to simply pull a jumping opponent to the ground with your psycho energy. Whilst I enjoyed these moves when trying out Ed for SFV, the rest of the V-System is pretty unremarkable; the V-Reversal sees him move to the other side of the opponent and the V-Trigger is a giant orb-like projectile that combos the opponent if it hits. That said, you can use directions to alter the speed of the orb when it comes out, which makes for fun guessing games. Also, the orb’s big hitbox pretty much secures some easy follow-up damage after a successful held V-Skill.
(As an aside, there are some interestingly goofy things you can do with Ed for SFV when you have infinite V-gauge in training mode; you can only put out two orbs V-Trigger at a time but if you keep throwing one out when another’s about to disappear you can perpetually juggle the enemy for a while… sadly I think that they eventually become invincible to the projectile.)
Ed for SFV – now with improved CFN
The addition of Ed for SFV is already a good enough reason to get back into the game, but it’s worth briefly mentioning the extra features added to CFN in this update. You can now blacklist players and view you blacklisted players, manage your pending friend requests, view a timeline of friend activities in the game, view more in-depth information in each fighter profile, and more besides. It’s a great update, and people who play the game regularly are sure to welcome the changes.