Makoto was my SF4 main - got up to top 50 on ranked with her - am still yet to really play much SF5 - just couldn't get on with it. I should probably give it another go.
New Front End
It looks nicer on screen than the pictures made it look. The main menu is still poorly laid out though and Still doesn't seem to have any integration with the online community / Fight circuit which still seems silly.
New V-triggers
I like Necalis new moves from his v-trigger. The rest of the stuff, it's hard to not see one v-trigger being left behind as there is a clear difference in the quality for some characters. I feel there needs to be 3 options to make the selecting work (would be nice if you could choose between rounds as well)
Arcade Mode
Nice to have this back. For those against it, I always like using Arcade modes to play the characters I normally wouldnt go near and survival just didnt suit that. I played through the SFV version with Ed. Some odd things though. The backdrops on the character select are very plain - just the version logo. Yet we have a really nice animated backdrop at all other times so I hope thats a place holder cause it looks really terrible. The Barrel Bonus round is a bit of fun too. You will also see stages that you may not own which is nice but the selection seemed odd - Cammy at Union Station, Abigal at Metro City and Rashid on the plane all makes sense. But Chun Li in Brazil when we have the back alley stage? Guile not on the airbase? I did like the last three fights being on the shadoloo stages but they should use some of the ones from story mode here as well to vary things up.
Extra Battle
Shin Akuma! This could be an interesting mode. You pay Fight money (1000 this month) for a go and there is a reward of high experience if you win and if you win 4 in a month you also get an exclusive costume. The first trial is Shin Akuma (always in Devil mode, high damage) which makes me think we might see Shin Akuma and Ghost Bison as Bosses if you complete Arcade under certain conditions. Its a one round fight and I had 3 goes with no luck - He has instant raging demon attack and it clears a good two thirds of your health.
Training
The other big change was here with the red/blue guide for recovery frame. It's a nice way to test out if a combo will work or not.
Challenges
The weekly challenge was still there, I had thought it was getting dropped. So an easy 6000 in fm is there. Survival is also being bumped to here. There is also a new set of trials but this time there is only 4 per character. I did Necallis and they all centre on his new v-trigger moves. Took very little time, probably the easiest trials yet.
Sakura
Available from 16th to the 23rd. She plays really nicely, fast with nice combos.