This forum was looking a little tumbleweed-ish for such a science-oriented website, so I figured I'd do my part.

Currently loving playing Charlotte, while she doesn't have great range, she's got a couple of zero-setup attacks and some great, versatile answers to just about anything you'd care to throw at her. Only problem is her projectile startup means she loses BAD in duels.

Had some fun with Darli Dagger, but she seems a little more advanced than what I'm looking for currently.

As for the strats part: I love this game and really hope the online doesn't die before it can get going. It's like Divekick writ large: footsie and mind games over rote combo memorization (and for the record: I love MK and DBFZ, but sooooooooooo many games seem to be going the Big Combo route, so this just feels like a breath of fresh air). I haven't done much online, but baiting people after one hit is working so far.

Yes, I'm surprised this game isn't talked about more. I think it's really good, but the online is troublesome. I'll play a few ranked matches and then switch to a ghost match and the speed difference is very noticeable. Yes, I do play on wi-fi which is a big no-no for fighting games, but I never have any problem with any others (MK, Tekken, etc..)

As far as characters, I'm really liking Yashamaru, Charlotte and Genjuro. Just started messing around with Jubei yesterday and he seems fun. Not sure if I'll ever use those defensive stances he has though.

Genjuro is apparently the Ken to Haomarhu's Ryu, so he seems like a great place to start. Had a couple of wins online, but I might check out that ghost mode. It's...very weird that this game is $60. Compared to MK11, DBFZ, SFV, et al, it feels very budget. The characters and gameplay are great, but the 'bells and whistles' (as well as the UI) feels incredibly barebones.

Takes a few minutes to find a match too, but I really, REALLY love how even when I lose, I can tell exactly where I went wrong.

Agree with everything you stated, but I still feel its a worthy $60 game. I enjoy it more than previous MK or DBFZ (haven't played the new MK though). Started using Shiki and have been winning a good amount of games online. Probably my new favorite. Anyway, if anyone is actually playing this game on Xbox, friend me. Tag is CardboardAndy