OVERVIEW:
Despite being a rather complete character, Honda will never be a top tier (at least not in the SF2 realm). However it's possible to make him more competitive by giving him more aggressive buffs and combos to improve his chances against bad matchups. In Honda's favor are his damage ratio, wide range of moves and his high priority grabs/throw.
Honda got improved hitboxes to help on his (limited) aerial game and some adjustments to his normals/specials. The LP Sumo Headbutt is now a more efficient reversal (like in HF), the HP version of the move has a faster startup, and his LK butt attack and MP body splash can be used as an antidote to airborne attacks like Bison's Psycho Crusher, Sumo Headbutt itself and Blanka's Rolling Attack.
NOTATION:
LP - light punch (jab)
MP - medium punch (strong)
HP - heavy punch (fierce)
LK - light kick (short)
MK - medium kick (forward)
HK - heavy kick (roundhouse)
CHANGE LIST
COSMETICS:
. new alternative color
. neutral jump LP now has a proper sound (on hit)
. neutral jump MP now has the correct sound for the first hitbox (on hit)
. close MK (double knee) now has the correct sound
. change the sounds of all Sumo Headbutts to "HP"
. new stage color
. new victory quote
GAMEPLAY:
. faster HP Sumo Headbutt
. better jump LK flying butt (inspired by NL)
. improve body splash hitbox/hurtbox boxes
. improve HK flying kick hitbox/footbox
. improve LP flying kick hitbox
. LP Sumo Headbutt has an extra hitbox on startup and more startup frames, which makes it a good reversal
. the Hundred Hand Slap (HHS) is now easier to execute
. close standing LK is now special cancelable
. close standing MK is now special cancelable
. close standing LP is now special cancelable
. close standing LP hitbox moved down 1px, so now it can hit Guile after a cross-up
BUG FIXES:
. sprite position fix after Zangief SPD: this is an old bug which plagues all versions of SF2. When grabbed by Zangief's SPD near the corners, Honda gets "struck" close to Zangief which makes him extremely vulnerable to throw loops. This fix allows Honda to be correctly thrown away from Zangief, like all the remaining roster. (Thanks to Zero800 for this fix)
HIGHLIGHTS:
. LP Sumo Headbutt: as mentioned, now the move is a better reversal, and can counter critical attacks like Bison's Pyscho Crusher, not to mention it can pass through projectiles, if the timing is well calculated.