Characters of the Street Fighter series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The main titles of the Street Fighter fighting game series have introduced a varied cast of 87 characters from the main series, and 34 from several spin-offs, for a total of 121 playable characters who originate from 24 countries, each with his or her unique fighting style. This is a list of playable characters and non-playable opponents from the whole franchise. They are categorized based on the game in which they first became playable, including the original Street Fighter game, the Street Fighter II series, the Street Fighter Alpha series, the Street Fighter III series, the Street Fighter IV series, Street Fighter V, Street Fighter 6 and other related games.
The table below summarizes every single fighter in the main series. A green cell indicates that the character is playable, with the number indicating the revision or version of the game they are introduced in (e.g. the numbers in Street Fighter V and Street Fighter 6 indicate the downloadable content season; number 0 indicates the character was part of the original or base game roster), a red cell indicates that the character does not appear in the game in any way, while a yellow cell indicates that the character makes an appearance as a non-playable character. Bold indicates the character's first playable appearance in the series.
Several titles have also introduced characters to the Street Fighter series that are considered canon only to their respective media. This includes the Monitor Cyborg for the Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie and related game, Shin from the browser video game Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation, and the characters Blade, Arkane, Kyber, F7, and Sawada from the arcade game based on the 1994 Street Fighter film. Several characters from the Street Fighter franchise also appear in Street Fighter EX and its subsequent re-releases and sequels. While these games introduce new characters, they have been since expanded into their own franchise under the Fighting EX Layer series, and ties to the Street Fighter cast removed. Street Fighter 6 was the first main series entry to include playable third-party guest characters, adding two fighters from SNK's Fatal Fury series.
| Character | Street Fighter | II | Alpha | III | IV | V | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Abel |
No | No | No | No | 0 | Cameo | No |
 Abigail |
No | No | Cameo | No | Cameo | 2 | Cameo |
 Adon |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | 0 | No | 2 | No | Cameo |
 Akira |
No | No | No | No | No | 5 | No |
| Akuma |
No | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
 A.K.I |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 1 |
 Alex |
No | No | No | 0 | No | 1 | No |
| Balrog |
No | 1[Note 2] | 2 | No | 0 | 1 | Cameo |
 Birdie |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | 0 | No | No | 0 | Cameo |
 Blanka |
No | 0 | 2 | No | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| C. Viper |
No | No | No | No | 0 | Cameo | Cameo |
| Cammy |
No | 3 | 1 | Cameo | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Chun-Li |
No | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cody |
No | No | 2 | No | 2 | 3 | Cameo |
 Dan |
No | No | 0 | No | 1 | 5 | Cameo |
 Decapre |
No | No | No | No | 4 | CPU[Note 3] | Cameo |
 Dee Jay |
No | 3 | 2[Note 4] | Cameo | 2 | No | 0 |
 Dhalsim |
No | 0 | 1 | No | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dudley |
No | No | No | 0 | 2 | No | Cameo |
| E. Honda |
No | 0 | 2 | No | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Eagle |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | 3[Note 4] | No | No | No | No |
 Ed |
No | No | No | No | Cameo | 2 | 1 |
 El Fuerte |
No | No | No | No | 0 | Cameo | Cameo |
 Elena |
No | No | No | 0 | 4 | Cameo | 2 |
 Eleven |
No | No | No | No | No | 5 | No |
| Evil Ryu |
No | 6[Note 4] | 1 | No | 3 | Cameo | No |
| F.A.N.G. |
No | No | No | No | No | 0 | Cameo |
| Falke |
No | No | No | No | No | 3 | Cameo |
| Fei Long |
No | 3 | 2[Note 4] | No | 1 | Cameo | Cameo |
| G |
No | No | No | No | No | 3 | Cameo |
| Geki |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Gen |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | 1 | No | 1 | Cameo | Cameo |
| Gill |
No | No | No | 0[Note 4] | No | 4 | No |
| Gouken |
No | No | Cameo | No | 0 | Cameo | Cameo |
| Guile |
No | 0 | 2[Note 4] | No | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Guy |
No | No | 0 | No | 2 | Cameo | Cameo |
 Hakan |
No | No | No | No | 2 | Cameo | Cameo |
| Hugo |
No | No | Cameo | 1 | 4 | Cameo | Cameo |
| Ibuki |
No | No | No | 0 | 2 | 1 | No |
| Ingrid |
No | No | 4[Note 4] | No | No | Cameo | No |
| Jamie |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
| Joe |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| JP |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
| Juli |
No | No | 2 | No | Cameo | CPU[Note 3] | Cameo |
| Juni |
No | No | 2 | No | Cameo | Cameo | Cameo |
 Juri |
No | No | No | No | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Kage |
No | No | No | No | No | 4 | Cameo |
| Karin |
No | No | 2 | No | No | 0 | No |
| Ken |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kimberly |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
| Kolin |
No | No | No | Cameo | No | 2 | No |
| Laura |
No | No | No | No | No | 0 | Cameo |
| Lee |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Lily |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
| Lucia |
No | No | No | No | No | 4 | Cameo |
| Luke |
No | No | No | No | No | 5 | 0 |
| M. Bison |
No | 1[Note 2] | 0 | No | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mai |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 2 |
| Maki |
No | No | 3[Note 4] | No | No | Cameo | Cameo |
| Makoto |
No | No | No | 2 | 2 | No | Cameo |
| Manon |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
 Marisa |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 0 |
 Menat |
No | No | No | No | No | 2 | No |
| Mike |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | No | No | No | Cameo | No |
| Nash |
No | No | 0 | No | Cameo | 0 | Cameo |
| Necalli |
No | No | No | No | No | 0 | No |
| Necro |
No | No | No | 0 | No | Cameo | No |
| Oni |
No | No | No | No | 3 | Cameo | No |
| Oro |
No | No | No | 0 | No | 5 | No |
| Poison |
No | No | Cameo | Cameo | 4 | 4 | Cameo |
| Q |
No | No | No | 2 | No | No | No |
| R. Mika |
No | No | 2 | No | No | 0 | Cameo |
 Rashid |
No | No | No | No | No | 0 | 1 |
| Remy |
No | No | No | 2 | No | No | No |
| Retsu |
CPU*[Note 1] | No | No | No | No | No | CPU[Note 5] |
| Rolento |
No | No | 1 | No | 4 | Cameo | No |
| Rose |
No | No | 0 | No | 1 | 5 | No |
| Rufus |
No | No | No | No | 0 | No | Cameo |
| Ryu |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sagat |
CPU*[Note 1] | 1[Note 2] | 0 | No | 0 | 3 | Cameo |
| Sakura |
No | No | 1 | No | 1 | 3 | Cameo |
| Sean |
No | No | No | 0 | No | Cameo | Cameo |
| Seth |
No | No | No | No | 0 | 4 | Cameo |
| Shin Akuma |
No | 5[Note 4] | 1[Note 4] | 1[Note 6] | No | CPU[Note 3] | No |
| Sodom |
No | No | 0 | No | Cameo | Cameo | No |
| T. Hawk |
No | 3 | 2[Note 4] | Cameo | 2 | No | Cameo |
| Terry |
No | No | No | No | No | No | 2 |
| Twelve |
No | No | No | 2 | No | No | No |
| Urien |
No | No | No | 1 | No | 1 | No |
 Vega |
No | 1[Note 2] | 2 | No | 0 | 0 | Cameo |
| Violent Ken |
No | 6[Note 4] | No | No | No | No | No |
| Yang |
No | No | Cameo | 0 | 3 | No | Cameo |
| Yun |
No | No | 3[Note 4] | 0 | 3 | No | Cameo |
| Zangief |
No | 0 | 1 | Cameo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zeku |
No | No | Cameo | No | No | 2 | Cameo |
| Total | 2 | 20 | 38 | 21 | 44 | 46 | 26 |
Notes
Adon (アドン) introduced in the original Street Fighter as a Muay Thai warrior. He also appears in Alpha, Alpha 2 and Alpha 3. In the first two Alpha games, Adon is characterized as a former pupil of Sagat, seeking to surpass his disgraced master by defeating him, which he succeeds in the second Alpha game.[1] In Alpha 3, he tries to track down and challenge Akuma.[2] He briefly appears in Sagat's Street Fighter IV prologue, where he is defeated by Sagat. Adon is a playable character in Super Street Fighter IV,[3] where decides to join the S.I.N tournament and gets his rematch with Sagat, defeating him there.[4] In his ending, he makes fun of redundant Sagat and since then he refers to himself as a new Muay Thai master.[5] Like Birdie and Eagle, Adon and Sagat share a motif: both characters' special moves are inspired by big cats, with Adon in particular based on the jaguar.
Adon appears in one episode of the Street Fighter cartoon series as a non-speaking role. He also makes a brief cameo in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation.
He was the only character created by Keiji Inafune for the original Street Fighter.[6] Adon was included in a wishlist of characters by GamesRadar for inclusion in Street Fighter X Tekken.[7] Adon is ranked 22nd in a worldwide Street Fighter character poll held between 2017 and 2018.[8]
Eagle (イーグル, Īguru) is a bouncer from England and a master of stick fighting derived from the combination of Eskrima and Singlestick. He craves to experience all fighting arts, searching for the perfect duel.[9] He is introduced in the first Street Fighter as one of the opponents. Upon his reappearance in later titles, Eagle was redesigned and inspired by Queen lead singer, Freddie Mercury: One of his voiced win quotes is "the show must go on", based on the song of the same name. He appears as a selectable character in the crossover game Capcom vs. SNK 2, having become a secret agent for MI6.[citation needed] From there, he is included in the GBA and PSP versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3. He has special moves named after British cities, such as Canterbury, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxford and St. Andrews.
European Street Fighter champion Ryan Hart listed Eagle at the top of his list of best Street Fighter characters.[10] Eagle was included in the UGO.com top 50 Street Fighter characters.[11] Eagle was nominated eighth by Heavy.com as one of 10 characters they wanted to see in Ultra Street Fighter IV.[12]
Geki (激) is a Japanese Ninja who fights with hand claws and shuriken and has the ability to teleport. He is the second Japanese opponent in the original Street Fighter,[13] a battle which takes place near Mount Fuji. In an issue of UDON's Street Fighter comic book, Geki appears as an assassin sent to kill Gen.[volume & issue needed] In the Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki comic miniseries, Geki is depicted as a rival clan to Ibuki's clan. On the official website for Street Fighter V, it is implied that the original was killed and had a successor named Geki II. He makes a cameo in Vega's Street Fighter V ending.
Gen (元) is an elderly Chinese martial artist and former assassin with ties to Chun-Li's backstory, first introduced as an opponent in the original Street Fighter. Gen resurfaces as a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, as well as Street Fighter IV and its updates. Gen's fighting style incorporates various kung fu styles that he has utilized in his assassinations. As of Street Fighter Alpha 2, this is reflected in Gen's ability to switch between two fighting styles during gameplay (mantis and crane). Gen also makes minor appearances in Street Fighter V and Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix.
Gen has appeared in media outside of video games. UDON's comic book adaptation delves into some of Gen's history as well as giving him a fairly pivotal role in the second arc of the series. Gen appears as one of the main characters the live-action movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, portrayed by Robin Shou. Depicted as a younger martial arts master, he serves as the leader of a secret anti-crime organization known as the Order of the Web and teaches Chun-Li her more advanced moves, including the Kikoken[clarification needed], and accompanies her in the fight against M. Bison and Shadaloo. He is mentioned by Gouken in the second episode Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist.
Gen has been positively received for his in-universe longevity, and for being one of the few characters in fighting games who has multiple movesets and who is challenging for most players to master. IGN ranked Gen at number eighteen in their "Top 25 Street Fighter Characters" article.[14] He was ranked 20th on the list of top Street Fighter characters by UGO.com.[15] Complex ranked Gen as the "21st best Street Fighter character"."[16] Now Gamer listed Gen and Heihachi Mishima as one of the rivalries they want to see in Street Fighter X Tekken.[17] In a GamesRadar article by Michael Grimm, a fight between Gen and Wang Jinrei was written as one of the ones players wanted to see in Street Fighter X Tekken.[18] In 2015, Gamer Headlines ranked Gen as the "9th top over 50 video game character in gaming".[19] Paste Magazine placed Gen at 41st place.[20] Den of Geek ranked Gen as the "34th Best Street Fighter Character".[21]
Joe (ジョー, Jō), appears as the first American opponent in the original Street Fighter, is an underground kickboxing champion who practices by participating in street fights. Similarities between Joe and "Ghost", the blond underground fighter in red jeans from the Capcom game Final Fight: Streetwise, have led many to believe they are the same character.[22]
Lee (李（リー）, Rī, pinyin: Lǐ) is a Chinese martial artist seeking to test his skills against worthy opponents. He is the first Chinese opponent in the original Street Fighter,[23] encountered at the Great Wall of China. He later appears in the manga Street Fighter: Sakura Ganbaru! as an opponent who challenges Sakura in a street fighting event sponsored by Karin Kanzuki at the Setagaya Ward. He appears in UDON's Street Fighter Legends: Chun-Li, where he challenges Fei Long for the honor of revealing a Chinese artifact. Lee is revealed to be a distant relative of Yun and Yang.
Mike (マイク, Maiku) is an African-American boxer who formerly competed professionally, until he accidentally killed an opponent during a match. He is the second opponent in the US in the original Street Fighter. He is thought to be a precursor to Balrog (known as M. Bison in Japan) from Street Fighter II due to his similar profile and outer appearance.[24][25] The Street Fighter: World Warrior Encyclopedia notably lists them as separate individuals[26] as does the Japanese Street Fighter V website, which has a separate character page for Mike with redesigned artwork for him. He makes a cameo appearance Street Fighter V Arcade Edition.[27]
Retsu (烈) is a former Shorinji Kempo instructor who was expelled from his temple after getting involved in too many fights. He is the first Japanese opponent in the original Street Fighter.[28] He later appears in Street Fighter 6 as an NPC in the game's World Tour mode, and has been depicted in other Street Fighter related media, including two Japanese Street Fighter II audio drama albums, an appearance in the US Street Fighter comic book and as a card in Card Fighters 2.
Sagat first appears as the main antagonist of the original Street Fighter. After being defeated, Sagat tells the player character that he is the "strongest Street Fighter in the world". His next appearance was in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, where he appears as one of the four Grand Masters. He appears in this game with multiple scars, including a large diagonal one across his chest that he received from Ryu as a result of his loss in the first game. This scar reminds Sagat of the grudge he harbors against Ryu after the loss in the first tournament.[29] Like the other bosses, he became a playable character in the subsequent revisions of the game beginning with Street Fighter II': Champion Edition.
Sagat appears in the prequel series Street Fighter Alpha. In addition to fleshing out his rivalry with Ryu, a rivalry with his former apprentice Adon is introduced there as well, along with new character Dan Hibiki, whose father, Go, was killed by Sagat in a fight years before. It was also revealed that Sagat lost his right eye during that fight. The Alpha series also shows Sagat joining M. Bison's criminal organization Shadaloo, only to leave in Street Fighter Alpha 3 after he discovers that Bison had wanted to experiment his Psycho Power against Ryu, allowing him to realize the pettiness of his vendetta against Ryu. Sagat is an unlockable character in Street Fighter EX3, where his story has his resentment for Ryu fading.
Sagat returns in Street Fighter IV as a playable character with the animosity in his feud with Ryu no longer present and even referring to him in his ending as a "friend". In Street Fighter V, Sagat is featured as part of the third season of downloadable content. During his story, he is briefly tempted by Satsui no Hadō but overcomes it, coming to understand Ryu's struggles in the process.
Sagat also appears in crossover games such as Capcom vs. SNK 2 and Street Fighter X Tekken, in which he is paired up with Dhalsim and in other titles, including mobile puzzle game Street Fighter: Puzzle Spirits, where he is a super-deformed character.[30]
Basim Usmani of Dualshockers described him as the most believable villain of the series, a celebrated over 7 ft tall kickboxer that used very few words. They also praised his design compared to other fighters in the series, stating "He is gigantic, arrogant, and muscular in a way that is only slightly exaggerated, [...] He lives to fight and usually appears to be having a good time."[31] IGN's D. F. Smith noted that while much of his design didn't stand out, "Throw in that face, though, and everything changes," adding that elements such as his scar and eye patch "come together to make a guy who means business." Smith further noted his importance as one of the few characters from the original Street Fighter to appear in later installments of the series, stating that while he wasn't as popular as Ryu, "he's certainly pulled together a following of his own."[32] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek described him as "a bit of an antihero", whose personality is reflected in how he fights, comparing him to Ryu but describing him as "far more blunt, unforgiving, and controlling". He further praised his story for being one of redemption, and how he eventually comes to see the world the same way his rival Ryu does.[33]
Though Capcom has not stated the inspirations for Sagat's character, IGN noted a close resemblance to manga Karate Baka Ichidai's antagonist Reiba.[34] Thai website Sanook additionally suggested the character's name was likely borrowed from that of Muay Thai fighter Sagat Petchyindee, who made several fighting appearances in Japan in the 1980s.[35]
Balrog appears in Street Fighter II as one of the opponents, and would become a playable character in subsequent revisions of the game, beginning with Street Fighter II: Champion Edition. He is characterized as a bully or a ruffian who is a tough, aggressive and belligerent street-raised boxer seeking the "American Dream" and one of the "Four Devas" (Shitennou, "Four Heavenly Kings") of Shadaloo. Balrog is a nearly 6 ft 6 in tall African-American professional boxer wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top, as well as red boxing gloves and boxing shoes. In Japan, he is named M. Bison, with the letter standing for "Mike", after boxer Mike Tyson. When the developers of Street Fighter II were working on the overseas versions, they changed the names of three of the boss characters for the English localization, including M. Bison, as they feared naming him "Mike Bison" could cause legal issues.[36] Years later, Mike Tyson revealed that he was unaware of the character, but was honored by the homage.[37] The story of Street Fighter 6 acknowledged this change within the context of its narrative, claiming that all three names were aliases that Shadaloo's leadership operated under to protect their true identities.[38]
His next major appearance was in Street Fighter Alpha 3, where he was a sub-boss in the arcade version who faced certain characters and became playable after certain requirements were met, but was also playable via a secret code. He was made into a regular playable character in the arcade update and subsequent home versions and given his own in-game plot, home stage, and endings. This incarnation of Balrog also appears in Capcom vs. SNK and Capcom vs. SNK 2. He later appears in other Street Fighter games, such as Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, and Street Fighter V. Balrog appears in the film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, where he serves in a similar capacity to his role in the video game. In the 1994 live-action film version of Street Fighter, Balrog is portrayed by Grand L. Bush and is a supporting protagonist and the videographer in Chun-Li's news crew. He later appears in the 2009 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, portrayed by Michael Clarke Duncan. He also appeared in the 1995 Street Fighter animated series.
Inspired by Bruce Lee, Fei Long is as an action film star from Hong Kong who enters the World Warrior tournament to test his skills as a martial artist in Super Street Fighter II.. In his ending for Super Street Fighter II, he gives up his film career and forms his own kung-fu style known as the Soaring-Heaven style (飛天流, Hitenryū, meaning "Sky-Flying style"). He later appears in other games, including Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Street Fighter IV. He also appears in other works, including Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, Street Fighter II V, and UDON's comic adaptation of the Street Fighter story.
T. Hawk is one of the four new characters introduced in Super Street Fighter II. He is a member of the fictional Thunderfoot indigenous American clan, whose homeland was taken over 30 years before the events of the game by M. Bison, who also murdered his father, Arroyo Hawk.[40][41] He was introduced as a grappler; despite his height at over 7 ft, he is much quicker and more maneuverable than the series' other large type characters such as Zangief and Sagat, despite his massive frame.[42][43] As seen with moves such as the long-range "Condor Dive", his primary strategic aim does not involve grabbing opponents up close.[44] During the development of Super Street Fighter II, T. Hawk was named "Geronimo", but his name was changed after an American staff member suggested that the name "Geronimo" could be seen as racially offensive.[45] T. Hawk's hairstyle was also changed from an Elvis-style haircut to one more consistent with his heritage on the suggestion of Steve Patton, a staffer from Capcom's US office who is of Native American heritage.[44] He has since appeared in multiple future games, including Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Super Street Fighter IV. He also appears in films, such as the 1994 live-action film version of Street Fighter (portrayed by Gregg Rainwater) and Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, and the cartoon series Street Fighter.
Cody Travers (コーディー・トラバース, Kōdī Torabāsu) first appears as the lead character of the 1989 beat-em-up Final Fight, where he is one of the three playable characters in the game. In the game, he is a martial artist whose girlfriend Jessica has been kidnapped by the Mad Gear Gang. He teams up with his friend, Guy, and Jessica's father, Mike Haggar.
After the events of Final Fight, Cody is mentioned in the SNES sequel, Final Fight 2, where he is shown in the opening flashback to be the one delivering the finishing blow to the Mad Gear gang's leader, Belger, from the first game, but Cody himself does not appear in the second game at all. His absence from the second game was given an in-story explanation that he was taking a vacation with Jessica during the time of Final Fight 2.
Cody makes a cameo appearance in Guy's Final Fight-themed home stage in Street Fighter Alpha 2, alongside his girlfriend, Jessica. The couple makes a similar cameo appearance in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, in which they're among the spectators watching the fight at the background of the "Mall Madness" stage.
His next major appearance was in 1998's Street Fighter Alpha 3. In game, Cody had ended his relationship with Jessica (who has since left Metro City to study abroad in Europe) and became a convicted felon, having been thrown into jail after becoming a vigilante. Bored with his life, Cody had wandered the streets looking for any riffraff he could find, and subsequently beat them into submission until he was finally caught and jailed. Instead of his jeans and white T-shirt from Final Fight, Cody's wardrobe now consists of a blue-and-white striped prison uniform with handcuffs on his wrists (which he is actually able to remove when he taunts his opponent, but fights wearing them anyway) and stubble on his face. His fighting style in the game is modeled after his abilities from Final Fight. During his storyline, Cody is challenged by Birdie and ends up joining forces with his friend and former ally, Guy, in his fight against M. Bison.
Cody would appear in two subsequent Final Fight games following his appearance in Alpha 3. Final Fight Revenge, a 3D fighting game based on Final Fight also released in 1998, features Cody from within his depiction in the original Final Fight. In his character's ending, he gets arrested by police officer Edi E. after being framed by the surviving members of Mad Gear and he is shown in Poison's ending wearing the same jailbird outfit he wears in Street Fighter Alpha 3. In second Final Fight spinoff, 2006's Final Fight: Streetwise, features Cody[46] as the elder brother and mentor of the new main character, Kyle. Cody was willingly incarcerated for an unspecified crime committed by Guy, causing a fallout between the two former friends. Upon getting out of prison, Cody's constant fighting had taken its toll upon his own knees, in which he had developed arthritis from within them and that Cody himself was forced to retire from mainstream fighting, becoming a cornerman for Kyle during his run from within Metro City's underground pit fighting circuit. During the events of Final Fight Streetwise, Kyle learns that Cody had been taking a new street drug known as "GLOW", which is said to give the user immense strength and power, but turns them violent and dangerous at the same time. Eventually, Cody is kidnapped by Father Bella (who is later revealed to be the younger brother of Belger) and is used as a brainwashed guinea pig by Bella, who seeks revenge against him for the death of his brother. In the end, Cody regains his senses and helps Kyle defeat Bella. Few days later, the effect of the GLOW cures Cody from arthritis when returning to his former human-self.
Cody returned in Super Street Fighter IV, breaking out of prison to try to cure his boredom. His rival is Guy, who tries to convince him to team with him to fight Seth. After defeating Seth, Cody runs into Guy once again and after deflecting Guy's praise, leaves to return to his cell where he claims he belongs. Cody is also featured as a DLC character in Street Fighter X Tekken, with Guy as his official tag partner.[47]
Cody returned as a playable character in Street Fighter V. Now free from prison and no longer forced to wear the uniform and handcuffs, Cody succeeds Mike Haggar as the new Mayor of Metro City. Though he is bored with the bureaucracy of the position and misses fighting the city's gangs, he secretly enjoys his new life. Under Cody's direction, as of Street Fighter 6 World Tour, Metro City becomes mostly lively.[48]
An episode of the American Street Fighter animated series titled "Final Fight" adapts the plot of the original 1989 beat-em-up game, with Cody portrayed as a slow-witted, short-tempered character with a southern accent. In the episode, Cody and Guy, after learning that Cody's girlfriend and Haggar's daughter Jessica is kidnapped by the Mad Gear gang, go off to fight them on their own accord, while Ryu and Ken are hired by Haggar to infiltrate the gang in order to save his daughter. Cody knocks Belger from the top window of his penthouse (although Belger is not killed), and rescues Jessica. He also appears in some of the Street Fighter comics by UDON. In Resident Evil Zero, Billy Coen can have Cody's prison outfit as an extra costume as a DLC. Professional wrestler Kenny Omega portrayed Cody for a live action Street Fighter V trailer.[49]
Guy is one of three playable characters in the original arcade version of Final Fight, released for the arcades by Capcom in 1989. In the backstory of the original Final Fight, Guy is established to be the 39th successor of the Bushin-style Ninpo. He aides his friend Cody as well as Metro City Mayor Mike Haggar in rescuing Jessica, who is Haggar's daughter and Cody's girlfriend, from the Mad Gear gang.
Due to space constraint, Guy was initially omitted from the SNES port of the game, with Cody and Haggar being the only playable characters in that version. Capcom later produced a second SNES version titled Final Fight Guy, which replaced Cody's character with that of Guy (who is the only character featured in the game's cover art). Later versions of the game such as Final Fight CD for Sega CD and Final Fight One for the Game Boy Advance would include all three characters. Capcom also produced an NES game titled Mighty Final Fight, a parody of the original Final Fight which features all three characters.
Capcom later released Final Fight 2 in 1993, a sequel created specifically for the SNES. In this installment, Guy's sensei, Genryusai and his daughter Rena (Guy's fiancée), are kidnapped by the new incarnation of Mad Gear. In the game's story, Guy is off on a training mission and is unable to rescue his fiancée and master. Instead, the game features Guy's sister-in-law, Maki Genryusai, who has also been trained in the same fighting style, and Carlos Miyamoto, a South American swordsman. Guy only makes an appearance in the end of the game, although the game does feature power-up icons shaped after his character.
In Final Fight 3, released in 1995, Guy finally returns to Metro City and teams up with Haggar to rid Metro City of the Skull Cross gang, the latest gang to try to pick up where Mad Gear had left off. They are joined by Metro City SCU officer Lucia Morgan and former gang member who double crossed the gang, Dean (who wanted revenge when Skull Cross murdered his family). The four succeed, and are able to rid Metro City of the criminals. Metro City is left in shambles, but Guy does not seem to care, and leaves that to Haggar.
In 1998, Guy was featured in Final Fight Revenge, the American-produced fighting game for the arcades and Sega Saturn. In 2006, the second American-produced Final Fight sequel, Final Fight: Streetwise, a reimagined Guy's character as a Japanese crime lord in the Japan Town district of Metro City.
When Capcom produced the original Street Fighter Alpha in 1995, Guy would be one of two Final Fight characters to be included in the game along with the game's second stage boss Sodom. He was selected for inclusion because of his high popularity at the time.[50] Guy and Sodom would be joined by Rolento in 1996's Street Fighter Alpha 2 and by Cody in 1998's Street Fighter Alpha 3, followed by Maki's appearance in the portable versions of Alpha 3. In the Alpha games, Guy's Bushin predecessor is revealed to be a man named Zeku, who would appear in Guy's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2 to test Guy for his successor-ship. Zeku's presence in the game contradicts Final Fight 2, which identifies Genryusai as Guy's sensei, as designers of the Alpha games did not take into account the SNES Final Fight sequels when developing the games. Zeku was mentioned once again in Guy's bio in Street Fighter Alpha 3.
In Street Fighter IV, Guy was one of the new characters added in Super Street Fighter IV.[51] In his ending, he is shown rescuing an unconscious Rose from Bison. In Rose's ending it is hinted that he might be the only one powerful enough to stop Bison (though in Street Fighter V, Bison is destroyed once and for all by Ryu), and in Cody's ending Guy is shown trying to persuade him to come back on the right side of the law. Guy is also the one who threw the kunai in Fei Long's ending in the original Street Fighter IV, since Ibuki has no involvement with S.I.N.
Guy is as a playable character in Capcom Fighting Jam, a crossover fighting game also featuring characters from Darkstalkers and Red Earth. Guy is a playable character in the Japan-only tactical role-playing game Namco × Capcom, in which he is paired with Sho (Ginzu) from Captain Commando as a single unit, the in-game story depicting Sho as his future Bushin-ryu successor. He also appears as a playable character via DLC (actually contained on the game disc[52]) in the Tekken and Street Fighter series' crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken, in which also Tekken's Raven can be dressed in Guy's costume.[53]
Guy appears in the American Street Fighter animated series in an episode titled "Final Fight", which adapts the plot of its namesake. In this episode, Guy and Cody befriend Ryu and Ken, who aid them in fighting the Mad Gear Gang to save Jessica. He also makes an appearance in Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as one of the warriors who have agreed to accompany Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li to Professor Sadler's base and rescue Shun, Ryu's alleged brother. As the fighters battle each other outside Sadler's base to demonstrate their skills, Guy fights Dhalsim. When Sadler's true intentions are revealed, Guy and the other fighters are freed by Ken and Chun-Li.
Guy makes an appearance in UDON's Street Fighter II Turbo comic, in which he was given an invitation to fight in the Japanese branch of the Street Fighter Tournament by M. Bison. Dan tries to take Guy's invitation from him by force, yet is quickly defeated. At night, Dan breaks into Guy's house and steals his invitation; Guy witnesses the whole event, but decides to give Dan a chance, as he was not planning on joining the competition in the first place. Guy also appears in the manga adaptation of Street Fighter Alpha by Masahiko Nakahira, where he is depicted as a well-known vigilante ninja credited with bringing an end to several criminal organisations. Guy disguised himself as a member of Shadaloo to face M. Bison, but he is forced to reveal his identity when Vega tries to kill both Adon and a possessed Ryu. After making quick work of Vega, Guy kicks several oil drums at Ryu (a nod to the Final Fight series), then proceeds to fight Ryu. Due to Guy's superior speed and training to fight multiple enemies at once, Guy is able to block every attack from Ryu's Shun Goku Satsu and defeat him. He is last seen watching over the battle between Ryu and Sagat.
Guy's character was created and originally designed by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda, who felt that it was a Capcom company tradition to often feature a ninja character, even in the Western-themed game Gun.Smoke. His work-in-progress name was simply "Ninja",[54] inspired by the actor Sho Kosugi[55] who often played ninja characters during the 1980s. According to Capcom's Tatsuya Minami, Guy was included in Street Fighter because he was extremely popular and easy to translate to the one-on-one fighting genre.[56]
Ingrid (イングリッド, Inguriddo) was slated to appear in the canceled Capcom Fighting All-Stars arcade game using the nickname "Eternal Goddess", but her animations were completely redrawn in 2D, and she was introduced as a playable character in Capcom Fighting Jam for the arcades, Xbox and PlayStation 2. She entered the Street Fighter universe in Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX for the PSP. Little is known about her, although Alpha 3 MAX presents some possibilities about her true origins. Her source of power is apparently derived from Psycho Power, yet is not purely evil like that of M. Bison; though seemingly quite similar to Rose's Soul Power. Ingrid claims that she is the true bearer of what is called "Psycho Power", telling M. Bison that the Psycho Power is "her power" and that he has stolen it. Her power is so intense that if given the chance, she can actually break Ryu's madness if he ever succumbs to the Satsui no Hado.[57] How M. Bison came into possession of the item is never explained, though it bears a resemblance to the crests on her head. When M. Bison is eventually defeated, she comments that a regular human being like him couldn't possibly control such power and takes the whole Psycho Drive with her as she leaves. Ingrid also possesses psychic abilities similar to Rose's. She addresses both Ryu and Rose by name, despite the two of them never revealing their names to her. Rose also cannot look into Ingrid's future, as she did with other Street Fighters.[58] Ingrid's arcade ending reveals that she has the power of time travel, sending herself to the year 201X where she notices that Ryu "is up to something interesting". Ingrid's Street Fighter V character profile disregards her story from Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, amending her backstory to be more in line with how she was originally going to be portrayed in Capcom Fighting All-Stars.[59] Ingrid also plays a role in the background story of Street Fighter X Tekken. She appears as a solo unit in Project X Zone 2.[60] In addition, her likeness is featured as a downloadable alternate costume for Karin in Street Fighter V.
On Capcom's official Street Fighter Character Poll, Ingrid ranked 4th most popular character in the Japanese rankings.[61] In another official poll conducted by Bandai Namco, Ingrid was the third most requested Street Fighter character to be added to the roster of Tekken X Street Fighter, having received 15.38% of the votes.[62] Ingrid also placed tenth by Heavy.com as one of 10 Characters they wanted to see in Ultra Street Fighter IV.[12] In a 2014 poll ran by Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Ingrid was ranked as one of the top three most requested characters to be added to Ultra Street Fighter IV.[63]
According to Matt Moylan, Director of Publishing for UDON Entertainment, Ingrid can't be used in Street Fighter comics without special permission as Capcom has seemingly reclassified her as a guest character.[64][65] Despite this Ingrid was still included as a choice in the Who's Your Top Tier Street Fighter character poll within Street Fighter 6's Battle Hub in June 2024 which featured the entire roster of fighters from the mainline Street Fighter series in addition to Captain Sawada.[66]
Juli (ユーリ, Yūri) and Juni (ユーニ, Yūni) make their first appearance in the arcade version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 as a pair of sub-bosses. Before the final battle against M. Bison in the single-player mode, the player faces them simultaneously in a two-on-one fight similar to the Dramatic Battle match. The two characters can be unlocked in the arcade version, but they have no storyline in the actual game, sharing their ending with M. Bison. They are similar to Cammy in character design, but have their own special moves and super combos. Juli and Juni are the only characters in Alpha 3 to have combined special moves and super combos; these are used exclusively when both characters fight as a pair during the Dramatic Battle mode.[67] Juli and Juni are members of a special unit within Shadaloo called the "Dolls", or Bison Elite Guard (ベガ親衛隊, Bega Shin'eitai), which is composed of twelve young women brainwashed to serve as Bison's personal assassins. The twelve members of the Dolls are named after the months of the Gregorian calendar in various languages, Juli and Juni being German for July and June.[68][69] Juli and Juni were given their own individual storyline and ending when they became part of the regular character roster in the console versions of Alpha 3, in which Juli is assigned to track down Cammy and Juni to track down Ryu. Juli's backstory is further developed in the console versions of Alpha 3 with the addition of T. Hawk to the cast. In T. Hawk's single-player storyline, Juli is revealed to be Julia, his girlfriend who used to live in his home village until she was kidnapped and brainwashed by Shadaloo.[70]
Juli and Juni appear in Namco × Capcom as two enemy characters that protagonists face throughout the game. They make cameo appearances in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, and remains NPC in later Street Fighter mainline games since Super Street Fighter IV. Since Street Fighter IV, as shown in the second OVA prequel which commemorated Super Street Fighter IV, Juni was the first Doll to be saved and under protection of Delta Red. In Street Fighter V, Juli and the other Dolls has their original mind altered by F.A.N.G., until the Dolls member, Decapre becomes a second to be saved, and aids Cammy and other heroes in a final raid on Shadaloo Base, allowing Rashid to use a code given by his late female friend whom F.A.N.G. murdered to free all the Dolls. Street Fighter 6 World Tour Mode reveals that Juli, and her fellow Thunderfoot tribeswoman and also former Shadaloo Dolls member, Noebellum have return to their home tribes sometimes later while remains in touch with Delta Red, with the former now married to T. Hawk.
Karin Kanzuki originally appears as Sakura's schoolmate in Masahiko Nakahira's Street Fighter: Sakura Ganbaru! manga, published between 1996 and 1998.[71] Karin's rivalry with Sakura is analogous to the relationship between Ken and Ryu, the difference being her personality is "colder and more self-centered".[72] Her last name is a tribute to Masaomi Kanzaki, a manga artist that worked on Street Fighter II related manga in the early 1990s.[73] Karin's first video game appearance was originally meant to be Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, but was ultimately cut.[72] She was later integrated into the Street Fighter video game series as a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha 3. The developmental team for Street Fighter Alpha 3 introduced Karin to provide a contrast to R. Mika, a character designed to be "tricky and technical".[74] For her original appearance in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Karin, like that of her rival Sakura, wears a sailor fuku with a predominantly red color scheme and a blue ribbon. Her hair is styled into long, oversized ringlets in a European Victorian-era fashion.[citation needed] Her fighting style is Kanzuki-ryū kakutōjutsu, a mixed martial arts style she claims to have created herself.
Within series lore, Karin is concepted as the only daughter of an ultra-rich corporate family, who behaves like a stereotypical elitist rich girl with an obnoxious laugh.[75][76] She is attended to by at least two employees who serve as her butlers. Her original motivation was to "be the winner of everything", and resorts to travel the world to track down and defeat Sakura to redress a prior loss at her hands. After winning her rematch with Sakura, however, Karin comes to realize that fighting to earn her victories is ultimately more important than the victories themselves,[77] to the point that she later amends the family motto to "[one] must get what [they] want by [their] own effort".[78] Later in the Sakura Ganbaru! series, Karin buys most of the shares of the family-owned corporation Kanzuki Zaibatsu and ousts her father as its leader. In spite of this, he muses to himself that she has excellent potential, although he originally desired a son.
Karin appears as a playable character in the crossover game Namco x Capcom, where she is paired with Sakura. She is also playable in Capcom Fighting Evolution.[79]
Karin is a playable character in Street Fighter V, and retains the same mannerisms and personality quirks observed in her previous appearances.[80] She is redesigned with full tight leggings and a martial coat with frilly long sleeves.[81] In V, Karin plays a large role as the one who coordinates the efforts of her anti-Shadaloo faction in raiding M. Bison's main base, leading to his final defeat.
Maki Genryusai (源柳斎 真紀, Genryūsai Maki) first appears in Final Fight 2. She and her elder sister, Rena were old friends of Guy, who then becomes her sister's fiancé and her future brother in-law. Like Guy, Maki was also taught by her father's successor, Zeku.[82][83]
The plot of Final Fight 2 revolves around the kidnapping of Rena and their father by the newly revived Mad Gear gang during Guy's absent. Maki enlists the help of Mike Haggar and his friend Carlos Miyamoto to rescue them.[84] Maki appears in the Street Fighter Alpha 2 tie-in manga Sakura Ganbaru!, where she is one of Sakura Kasugano's competitors in a tournament sponsored by the Kanzuki family.
Maki has made her fighting game debut in Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001. Maki's ending in Capcom vs. SNK 2 implies that she is searching for Guy to challenge him for the Bushin style's succession following her father's death.[85] Maki's storyline in the PSP version of Alpha 3 plays upon this premise and has Maki fighting Guy as her penultimate opponent in the single-player mode, before M. Bison; in a nod to her appearance in Sakura Ganbaru!, Maki also confronts Sakura as her fifth opponent.
Maki also appears in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash video game series by SNK Playmore and in the Street Fighter comic series by UDON, and makes cameos in the video games Final Fight Revenge (in Damnd's ending) and Capcom Fighting Evolution, and in the American Street Fighter cartoon series (in the episode "Final Fight"). A four-inch figurine of Maki was released only in Japan as part of a three-figure Capcom vs. SNK 2 set by Capcom, based on Kinu Nishimura's artwork for this game;[86] Street Fighter Zero 3 figures of Maki were also released by other companies in 2002 and 2011.[87][88]
Maki has been generally very well received by video game journalists. According to Hyper review of Final Fight 2, "Capcom get PC points for including a female character. Too often the girls are just the helpless kidnap victim, but Maki is as hard and fast as the blokes, and has some very damaging kicks in her repertoire."[89] Video Games & Computer Entertainment in their own review added "The leggy, red-haired Maki is bound to draw a lot of attention from fighting fans."[90] GamePower in turn praised her inclusion, stating "Maki promises to break hearts (like mine) and share the stage with Chun-Li."[91] Jeremy Parish for USGamer described her as "Capcom's answer to The King of Fighters' Mai Shiranui,[92] a statement Paste echoed by describing her as "a more modest version" that "proves the lady ninja motif doesn't have to lead to bad character design."[93] Discussing the "underused" characters of Street Fighter, Anime News Network's Todd Ciolek opined "Maki could've been huge if CAPCOM had stuck her in Super Street Fighter II instead of a Final Fight sequel."[94]
The character was also well received in her appearances beyond Final Fight 2. Den of Geek complained that all her appearances were defined by trying to show she wasn't Guy, and unlike other "obsessed characters, like Sakura and Rufus, Maki didn't have much to hang on to," further adding that they'd like to see her return but also for Capcom give her different direction.[95] Australian magazine Cube added in regards to her appearance in Street Fighter Alpha 3 that "She may look cute but she can mix it up with the toughest of fighters."[96]
Charlie Nash (チャーリー・ナッシュ, Chārī Nasshu) is a soldier and former comrade in arms of Guile. Originally, prior to Street Fighter V the character was known simply as Nash (ナッシュ, Nasshu) in Japan and as Charlie in overseas versions. The name change was done following a suggestion by a staff member in Capcom's U.S. subsidiary who felt that "Nash" was not natural sounding enough for American players to relate to.[97][98] The two names would later be combined in certain licensed Street Fighter media—particularly Udon's comic book series—to form the full name "Charlie Nash", which was officially adopted by the games starting with Street Fighter IV.[98] As a result, Street Fighter V was the first game to abandon the usual practice of changing the character's name to "Charlie" in overseas versions, referring to him primarily as "Nash" in every region.[98]
Nash is first mentioned by Guile, where his motive for entering the tournament is to confront the tournament's host M. Bison for an incident in Cambodia that involved him, Bison, and Charlie Nash.[98] Subsequent sequels in the series fleshed out his backstory, where he is the military comrade and close friend of Guile, who is looking to avenge the death of his friend who was killed by Bison sometime before the events of the game.[98]
Nash first appears as a playable character in Street Fighter Alpha, where he is a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force,[99] assigned to track down Bison and uncover corruption within the American military. Charlie's ending sequence in the original Alpha, as well as in Street Fighter Alpha 2, both end with him being killed after defeating Bison: in Alpha, Bison attacks him from behind when he calls for backup and in Alpha 2, a corrupt officer piloting his intended backup helicopter shoots him for Bison and sends him falling down a waterfall. Street Fighter Alpha 3 was initially the sole exception to this convention, which actually has Charlie surviving in his ending. His death scene in Alpha 2, however, is treated by Street Fighter V as canon, making Charlie's appearance in Alpha 3 semi-canonical.
Despite Nash's apparent death, Street Fighter IV would provide hints of his survival in the game's storyline. Charlie returns as a playable fighter in Street Fighter V, which reveals that he underwent reconstructive surgery after he was mortally wounded by M. Bison, leaving him with stitches across his body and head with gray, dead-like patches of skin, as well as a green jewel on his forehead. It is actually the work of Illuminati, and his revival project was headed by Kolin (under a guise as Helen), using the body sample Twelve's prototype version, Eleven, created by Urien. After being revived, Nash's lifespan is limited, as Nash must save his energy to confront Bison. Nash sacrifices his life on attempting a suicide mission by absorbing Bison's powers as much as he can, weakening Bison long enough for Ryu to finish Bison.[100]
Charlie also appears as a playable fighter in X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as well as in the unreleased Capcom Fighting All-Stars. Besides fighting game appearances, Charlie is a playable character in the shoot 'em up game Cannon Spike. An alternate version of Charlie named Shadow appears as a hidden character in the crossover game Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. Shadow's sprite is the same as Charlie's, but with almost his entire body blacked out and a white eye shining behind his glasses. He has all of Charlie's moves. Shadow also appears in Marvel vs. Capcom as a side character that can assist the player in combat.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nash appears as a spirit in the adventure mode.
In the 1994 film adaptation Street Fighter, Charlie is amalgamated with the character of Blanka to form the character Carlos "Charlie" Blanka, a Brazilian friend of Guile and a soldier in his unit, who is taken prisoner in Bison's Shadaloo compound. When Bison discovers the friendship between Charlie and Guile, he sends Charlie to be brainwashed and mutated by Dr. Dhalsim to become the green-skinned, red-haired killing machine known simply as Blanka.
Charlie Nash is played by Chris Klein in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, where he is portrayed as a member of Interpol.[101][102]
Nash is a central character in the miniseries Street Fighter: Resurrection portrayed by Alain Moussi.[103]
Though he does not physically appear in the film, Charlie is alluded to several times in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Dialogue reveals that prior to the film's events, he was killed by Bison, and now serves as Guile's primary motive for personal revenge against the warlord. Though sympathetic towards Guile for losing Charlie, Chun-Li successfully persuades Guile to put his personal vendetta aside and help Interpol fight Shadaloo. Guile later attempts to fight Bison, who openly mocks Charlie to provoke him before defeating him but sparing him as an insult.
The 1995 anime television series Street Fighter II V, Nash first appears in episode 19, when he and Guile are hired by Ken's father to rescue him from Bison. Nash is later killed off in episode 26 after Bison strangles him to death. He retains the name "Nash" for the English dub, although Guile calls him "Charlie" just before his death in episode 26, and the narrator refers to him as "Charlie Nash". As the series was produced while Street Fighter Alpha was still in its earliest development stages, Charlie bears no resemblance to his video game counterpart, instead sporting slicked brown hair and a beard, vaguely similar to actor Jean Reno.
The American Street Fighter animated series, which aired from 1995 to 1997, adapts Blanka's origin from the 1994 film, combining Charlie and Blanka into one character as well. Charlie's hair color and skin tone was also changed to suit the character's different ethnicity in the show. In "Eye of the Beholder".
In Masaomi Kanzaki's manga adaptation of Street Fighter II, Guile is directly responsible for Charlie's death. Years before the events of the manga, Bison uses Charlie and other members of Guile's unit as unknowing test subjects for a mind-controlling substance. Charlie went insane during a mission and began attacking unarmed villagers, causing Guile to kill him. Charlie is only shown in one panel in the manga, which depicts him as a silhouette with an insane smile.
In the American Street Fighter comic book series, Charlie's Japanese name is made into his surname, giving him the full name of Charlie Nash. The comic goes on to include that it was in fact Charlie who taught Guile how to use the "Sonic Boom" technique, and indeed how to fight. Udon would also include Shadow as part of the comic's storyline: Bison captures Charlie, turns him into Shadow, using him as an agent. He tries to have Shadow kill Guile and Chun Li in Japan, but Charlie regains his memory in the fight and runs off. He later attempts to rejoin his friends, but is gunned down by Bison's helicopter. With the last of his strength, Charlie sacrifices himself by using his Somersault Justice to destroy the cliff on which they were fighting, sending both Bison and himself plunging into the sea. He also has a new comic called Street Fighter V: The Life and Deaths of Charlie Nash that explains what happened to him prior to Street Fighter V and why he looks the way he does.
Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek described him as simply cooler than Guile in every way, adding praise for his appearance in Street Fighter V, adding "His story in the latest game is tragic, but it's also a good piece of closure, even if we didn't get enough Guile/Charlie interaction."[33]
Rolento made his debut appearance as the fourth stage's boss in the original Final Fight. He is a former member of the fictional Red Beret special forces unit and serves as the supervisor of the Mad Gear gang's weapons plant. When defeated, instead of just fading away while lying on the ground like most enemies in the game, he stands up and blows himself up with his own grenades, fading away completely scorched. Rolento and his "Industrial Area" stage were not included in the Super Nintendo Entertainment System port of Final Fight, nor in its re-release Final Fight Guy, but were included in other ports of the game, such as the Sega CD and Game Boy Advance versions (if the player confronts Rolento as "Alpha Cody" in the GBA version, Cody will joke about Rolento's omission in the SNES version). In the SNES-exclusive sequel Final Fight 2, Rolento serves as the boss of the fifth stage, Italy (his name is transliterated as "Rolent" both in the game and in the instruction booklet).
His debut as a playable fighter was in the fighting game Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996, in which he seeks to build a military utopia following the downfall of the Mad Gear gang and wants to recruit his former ally and nemesis, Sodom and Guy respectively, to his cause. Rolento's ending in Alpha 2 depicts him invading the streets of Metro City after forming his own army. In Street Fighter Alpha 3, Rolento tries to persuade Cody, another former nemesis, to join his army. In his ending, Rolento attempts to infiltrate Shadaloo's underground base to gain M. Bison's secret weapon, the Psycho Drive, only to destroy it with Sodom's help.[23] His Alpha series' incarnation also appears as a playable character in the 2001 crossover fighting game Capcom vs. SNK 2, as well as in the 1999 fighting game Final Fight Revenge which follows his backstory from the Alpha series.
Rolento returns as a playable character in the 2012 crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken, where his official tag partner is the ninja girl Ibuki. In 2013, he was announced to appear as a playable character in Ultra Street Fighter IV.[104]
Rolento made his first appearance outside the Final Fight series in the original Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, where he makes a cameo in Sodom's ending among other former Mad Gear members gathered by Sodom to help rebuild the gang. Although he does not appear in Street Fighter EX, Rolento also plays a role in Doctrine Dark's backstory in this game, as the one responsible for physically crippling him and causing his psychotic breakdown.
He is available in the SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash series, and appears in Capcom World 2. Outside of video games, Rolento appears in the Street Fighter animated series, in the anime OAV miniseries Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation, in the Street Fighter comic book Street Fighter II Turbo, and in the manga Sakura Ganbaru. In 2012, Rolento returned to boss role in the platform game Street Fighter X Mega Man, as an enemy of Mega Man.[105]
Rose first appears in Street Fighter Alpha, characterized as a mystic fortune teller from Genoa, Italy, who searches the world for M. Bison to eradicate his evil power with her unique ability, known as Soul Power. At the end of the game, Rose engages Bison in combat and seems to kill him. In the ending of Street Fighter Alpha 2, however, she consults her tarot cards and learns that Bison survived.[106] Rose was inspired by JoJo's Bizarre Adventure character Lisa Lisa.[107]
At the climax of Street Fighter Alpha 3, Rose faces Bison once more and rams her fist through his chest, channeling her energy into his body. As Bison grapples with Rose, he reveals that they both share half of "the same soul". In the end, Bison's physical form evaporates and Rose collapses from exhaustion. Soon after, Guy recovers her and takes her to safety.[108] Although it appears as if Bison has been killed, he has transferred his consciousness into Rose, effectively claiming her body. In the period between the Alpha series and Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Bison remains inside Rose's body until his scientists can form a new (albeit weaker) one for him. Bison appears as the final boss of Street Fighter II. The Street Fighter IV Training Guide reveals that Rose survived the possession but has no memory of it.[109]
Rose returns in the home versions of Street Fighter IV as an additional character, voiced by Gina Grad. Her purpose is to track down Bison and stop him for good after learning that he has survived Akuma's attack at the end of the second World Warrior tournament.[109] While competing in the tournament, she runs into Ryu. She is determined to halt his advancement for his own protection, saying that he is "the last hope", and they reluctantly fight. In her ending, she is confronted by Bison, who takes his remaining power back from her, causing her to fall to the ground unconscious. As Bison stands over her, he declares his intention to keep her alive to satisfy his soul. The situation is resolved in Guy's ending of Super Street Fighter IV, when Guy rescues Rose from Bison as he attempts to flee with her. Rose appears as a playable character in the fifth season of Street Fighter V, where she has taken on a new apprentice, Menat.
Rose appears in Namco × Capcom, first as an enemy unit, being made to serve Black Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Densetsu via soul contract alongside Armor King from Tekken, then as a fully playable ally, after Heihachi Mishima arrives with the Golden Seed, giving it to Valkyrie who then uses it to allow their souls to escape; after being freed, Rose attempts to use her Soul Power to stop M. Bison and joins the party for the rest of the game. She is also a playable character in Capcom Fighting Evolution, and a boss in Street Fighter X Mega Man.
Rose makes a cameo appearance in an episode of the first season of the American Street Fighter cartoon series ("The Medium is the Message") as a competitor in a Street Fighter tournament in India among other Street Fighter Alpha characters. She has a more prominent role in the second-season episode "The Flame and the Rose", where she teams up with Ken and Blanka to fight against Bison.
Rose also plays a major role in the 1995 manga adaptation of Street Fighter Alpha by Masahiko Nakahira, where she is a soothsayer who guides Ryu in his quest to control the Dark Hadou. She plays a similar role in the 1999 Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie OVA.
Rose appears in Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li played by Elizaveta Kiryukhina as M. Bison's ulterior objective in the story, having sought her in Bangkok, where she was left after her mother died. As in the games, she is depicted as the manifestation of M. Bison's good side, though she is born instead of created, making her M. Bison's daughter. For safety reasons, she is alternatively referred to as the "White Rose" to hide her identity. Because she has lived her entire life in Bangkok, she is incapable of speaking English. In the movie's deleted scenes, there is a part where she is confronted by Nash and her eyes turn red, meaning that she was likely meant to be possessed by M. Bison as she was in the games.
In the Street Fighter comics by UDON in close collaboration with Capcom, it is told that Rose was a member of a tribe of Roma (a.k.a. Gypsies) that followed a white haired woman known only as Master. The woman had a glowing yellow lightning bolt on her forehead and a very similar hairstyle to Rose. When Rose was a child (roughly ten years of age), M. Bison, a former student of the Master, returned to the tribe and declared that he was going to kill Master, as her knowledge of Soul Power was a threat to him. Though Master fought bravely, Bison's Psycho Power (corrupted Soul Power) ultimately killed her and almost every other person present in the village. Only a man who was away chopping wood away from the village survived. He returned after the explosion and discovered an unconscious Rose who now bore Master's Lightning bolt on her forehead (events in Street Fighter II #1). In Street Fighter #2, Cammy was tracking Ken and Ryu in San Francisco where she was intercepted by Rose. Later, Rose completely cleansed Cammy of the Psycho Power's influence and erased her brainwashing. She later deposited Cammy on the doorstep of the British Embassy in Italy where her instinctual response to a terrorist attack directly led to her being recruited to Delta Red, the organization she works for in Super Street Fighter II. Rose is distressed when Cammy, under the employ of MI5, not only returns to a life of violence but also engages in missions that will inevitably lead her back to Bison. At the conclusion of the Street Fighter II line of comics (issue #6), Rose directly confronts Bison (alongside Cammy) and attempts to finally put an end to him. However, he overpowers her with ease and ends up sapping her of her life force. Rose's body dies but her soul continues to live on and comes to haunt Bison in the following comic series (based on Street Fighter II Turbo).
Sodom originally appeared in the 1989 beat-em-up game Final Fight, where he is the boss of the Subway stage. An underground wrestling promoter dressed in a samurai-style helmet and gear, Sodom fights the player in an underground ring in the Metro City's subway, wielding two katana swords. In 1993's Mighty Final Fight, there are three Sodoms (or Katanas, as the character is called in the English version), known as the Three Katana Brothers. In the English-language localization of Final Fight for the Super NES and Sega CD, Sodom was renamed Katana. The name change was repeated in the SNES version of Street Fighter Alpha 2 to maintain consistency. The initial name change was due to its reference to sodomy, as well as a possible religious reference to Sodom and Gomorrah.
Sodom's first appearance in the Street Fighter series was in the original Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams in 1995. According to Tatsuya Minami, senior manager of Capcom's Product Planning and Design section, Capcom included Sodom in the game because he was popular and easy to translate to the one-on-one fighting genre.[110] In the Alpha series, he is characterized as an American Japanophile, who is greatly fascinated by Japanese culture but misunderstands it. After being defeated by Guy in Final Fight, Sodom recognizes his wrong perception of Japan and travels there to re-educate himself. He develops a new fighting style based on Japanese and Western martial arts and trades his swords for a pair of jitte. In the first Alpha, he seeks to rebuild the Mad Gear gang by defeating his rival Guy in combat. In his ending, he reforms the gang and holds up a poster reading "Mad Gear" (魔奴義亜, mado gia, written in ateji). In his ending in 1996's Street Fighter Alpha 2, Sodom goes to a sumo ring in Japan to seek new members for the reformed Mad Gear and ends up being challenged by E. Honda. In 1998's Street Fighter Alpha 3, he seeks a new hideout for his gang and goes to claim Shadaloo's new underground base as his own when he learns about it from his former ally Rolento. He crashes his truck into M. Bison's Psycho Drive to foil his plot. Though he is presumed by Chun-Li and Charlie to have died in the explosion, Rolento expresses his belief that Sodom may still be alive.
Apart from the Alpha series, Sodom appears as a playable character in 1999's Final Fight Revenge and makes two cameos in 1997's Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix. Sodom makes a cameo in the background of a stage in 2012's Street Fighter X Tekken.
Sodom makes a cameo appearance in the 1999 anime film Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation as a fighter who travels with Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and some other fighters to Dr. Sadler's laboratory to find and rescue Ryu's alleged younger brother, Shun, though Sodom's comments hint that he is only doing it to prove he is not a coward. As the fighters battle it out to demonstrate their skills to Sadler, Sodom takes on Ken, but is beaten. He and the other fighters are later imprisoned in a cell to have their fighting Ki stripped, but they are released by Ken and Chun-Li.
For Capcom's 15th anniversary of Street Fighter, SOTA Toys released a series of action figures, amongst which was Sodom. The figure was fully posable with 16 points of articulation, and modeled after his Street Fighter Alpha appearance.[111]
UGO Networks stated that "Street Fighter series has seen its share of oddball characters, but few are as goofy as Sodom," further describing him as having one of the "nuttiest backstory of any fighters".[112] Basim Usmani of Dualshockers praised his design, stating "Sometimes Capcom takes a wild swing on a character, and the Japanophile Metro City gang leader, Sodom, is as high concept as they come."[31] On the other hand, Doug Perry from IGN specifically singled out as a character in Street Fighter Alpha 3 he'd never play due to its oversized cast, calling him "stupid" and adding "Sorry to those of you who play him. I just have one question... Why?"[113] Paste described his story as interesting, but felt the character was a footnote in terms of the series overall, adding "He's little more than a comical and fun addition from the Final Fight roster."[93] Den of Geek added that they were torn about the character, calling his introduction "the epitome of badass" due to his size and presentation, but responded negatively after he was brought to Street Fighter Alpha with "I mean…it's funny, don't get me wrong. [...] I just feel that it wasn't the best way to answer his mystique."[33]
Alex (アレックス, Arekkusu) is a wrestler from New York who first appears in Street Fighter III: New Generation, and his design and character are based on Hulk Hogan.[114] He serves as a protagonist of Street Fighter III. His parents died at a young age, so he was raised by his father's friend, Tom, who trained him in fighting. In New Generation, Tom loses a fight with Gill, the president of the Illuminati and gets injured as a result. This angered Alex and prompted him to enter the third World Warrior tournament hosted by Gill in order kill him. Alex beats Gill and wins the tournament, but spares Gill, who is impressed about Alex's skills after their encounter. Alex eventually returns to Tom as a changed person after fighting various people around the world.[115][116][117] Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact[118] retcons New Generation, but Alex's story stays the same, but he now has a rivalry with Hugo, a German pro wrestler of extreme height. Alex returns in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike[119] with a slightly different personality. He meets Ryu and fought him, only to lose, in which Ryu told Alex to explore the world and find worthy fighters.[120]
Alex makes an appearance in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars as a playable character, alongside other Street Fighter characters, Ryu and Chun-Li. He also appears in Capcom Fighting All-Stars and Capcom Fighting Evolution.[79][121] Alex reappears as a playable character in Street Fighter V as the first of 6 characters to be released after the game's launch in 2016.[122] In the story mode of Street Fighter V, "A Shadow Falls", Alex is first shown winning a pro-wrestling tournament. He then competes in a tag-team exhibition match with Laura against Zangief and R. Mika, which is broadcast live on television. However the signal cuts out due to a Black Moon detonating over New York City, causing a blackout. Dhalsim comes to his trailer, wanting the chess piece, but Alex believes Dhalsim is a mugger and fights him. Dhalsim successfully convinces Alex otherwise and receives the chess piece from Alex. Dhalsim then tells Alex that big things will happen to him in the future, foreshadowing his role as the main character of the Street Fighter III series, and teleports away.[123][124]
In December 1997, Alex ranked 44th on Gamest's "Top 50" video game characters, tying with Goro Daimon, and in January 1998 was named the 22nd-best character of the preceding year, tying with Ryuji Yamazaki.[125][126] IGN voted Alex one of their top 25 fighters.[127] He was ranked as the sixth-best Street Fighter character by UGO.com.[128] Alex was named by Heavy.com as the character they wanted to see the most in Ultra Street Fighter IV.[12] Alex was also named as 10th-best character in the series by Complex.[129] In the official poll by Bandai Namco, Alex was the second most requested Street Fighter side character to be added to the roster of Tekken X Street Fighter, as of August 2012 racking up 17.97% of votes.[62]
Dudley (ダッドリー, Daddorī) is an upper class heavyweight boxer from Britain with powerful techniques and speed. He seeks perfection both in and out of the ring, always behaving as an impeccable gentleman. He is also the son of an athlete who later became a successful businessman. When his father's business began to fail when he was in college, Dudley was able to recover his losses thanks to his boxing career.[115][130] In Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact,[131] he fights outside a London pub called the Sherlock Holmes, while Knightsbridge tube station and the Harrods department store can be seen in his 3rd Strike background. When his father's prized Jaguar XK120 is purchased from a debtor's auction, Dudley goes after the buyer, a man named Gill. In Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, Dudley has received the honorary title of "Sir"[132] after making a comeback and winning the championship title, and is invited into a contest that will be held in the presence of the royal family. Now known as Sir Dudlington, he decides to travel the world and improve himself before the day of the match.[120] He is also shown to have a great interest in the gardens of his illustrious country estate, occasionally losing track of time, or getting lost, as shown in his Third Strike ending.
In Super Street Fighter IV, Dudley returns as a playable character and joins the tournament in search of new roses for his garden. He also claims he needs something to get his mind off of his missing car and encounters Balrog who challenges him to a fight. In his ending, he is shown lamenting the fact that he was unable to procure the new roses for his garden. As he does so, Dudley notices a flower bloom and comments on its beauty to his butler, Mr Gotch. He also appears via DLC in Street Fighter X Tekken with his official tag partner, Elena.[47] In a small cameo, Dudley can be seen in the background of the England stage in Capcom vs. SNK 2, reading a newspaper while wearing boxing gloves, and he has another small cameo in Pyron's ending in Capcom Fighting Jam.
Alex Donaldson of VG247 described Dudley as "the reverse of [Street Fighter]'s most famous Boxer", adding "He's some of Street Fighter's design at its best – simple, understandable, and with a fighting style that is a perfect match for the style and personality of the fighter."[133] Ash Bates of Cultured Vultures described Dudley as the "infinitely better option" compared to Balrog, praising the character's style and sophistication that he brought to his appearances, further adding "There's just something charismatic about a well-dressed man battering seven shades out of you, before throwing a solitary rose on your unconscious body and declaring you to be 'guttertrash'."[134] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek shared similar sentiments, adding that the character "oozes style in everything he does, [...] Dudley simply is the man."[33]
Gill (ギル, Giru) is the main antagonist and final boss of the Street Fighter III series.[135] At the start of the series he is the President of the Illuminati, a secret society that has controlled the underworld for thousands of years and seeks to turn the whole world into a utopia by causing an armageddon. His ultimate goal is to test the skills of several warriors and coerce them into his cause. Gill appears in his default costume as a tall, muscular man with flowing blond hair, the right side of his body colored red, and the left side colored blue, wearing nothing but a loincloth. 2nd Impact introduces Gill's younger brother Urien as a player character of similar build and attire but with short hair; in addition, Urien's body is the same color on both sides. In Urien's ending, Gill is revealed to have been promoted to "Emperor" (天帝, Tentei, "Celestial Emperor") after Urien takes over Gill's former presidency, which he still holds by the time of 3rd Strike[136] The blond woman who assists Gill before battle in 3rd Strike is his secretary Kolin (コーリン, Kōrin), who also appears in Dudley's ending in the first two games, handing him the keys to Dudley's car.[137] Gill is not playable in any of the arcade versions of the Street Fighter III games. However, he is selectable once he is unlocked from within the console versions of 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike. He appears in the ending of Street Fighter V revealing that Helen is in fact his secretary Kolin. Gill makes his playable debut in Street Fighter V as a playable character in the Champion Edition update.
Hugo (ヒューゴー, Hyūgō) is a massive professional wrestler from Germany (7ft10in ) (438lbs 200 kg) who first appears in Final Fight under the name Andore (アンドレ). He made his first Street Fighter appearance in Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact,[138] in which he wears a similar pink leopard-print shirt and pants with chains around his waist. Because of his physical appearance and strength, Hugo is often compared to André the Giant, a real-life wrestler who worked for the WWF in the mid-80's and inspired the Andore character, extending as far as Hugo's rivalry with Alex, mirroring that between André and Hulk Hogan. Hugo is the son of a farmer from the German countryside and was raised alongside his two younger sisters. After leaving his hometown at the age of 20, he becomes a popular wrestler in the US, with former street warrior Poison, another enemy character from Final Fight, as his manager.[115][130] In 2nd Impact, Hugo seeks a partner for an upcoming tag team wrestling tournament due to take place in a few months. Hugo's final opponent in the single-player mode varies, the four possibilities being Gill, Ryu, Elena and Necro. Afterwards, Hugo and his rival go on to form a tag team to compete in the CWA tag tournament. In 3rd Strike,[139] Hugo achieves such an overwhelming victory in the tag tournament that no other wrestler dares to challenge him anymore. Worried about the lack of matches for Hugo, Poison forms a new wrestling organization with him, recruiting only the best fighters. In Hugo's ending, he and Poison form the Huge Wrestling Army (H.W.A.), which includes other 3rd Strike characters.[120][140] Outside the Street Fighter III series, Hugo appears as a playable character in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos and Capcom USA's Final Fight Revenge. He also appears as a playable character in Street Fighter X Tekken with his official tag partner, Poison. He is an optional pit-fight opponent in Final Fight Streetwise. He also appears as a playable character in Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Designed by Akira "Akiman" Yasuda for Street Fighter III: New Generation, the team had implemented legacy character Ryu into the game, and wanted to include a female character, but found her difficult to come up with. Akiman then suggested "Let the girl be a ninja. Ninjas are absolutely cool!"[141] Her initial design was drastically different, consisting of a short haired muscular girl with glasses, wearing an outfit similar to Guy from Final Fight, another character he had developed. However they felt this design looked "more like a martial artist than a high-flying ninja".[142] Another pass was done with a focus on a more traditional ninja, the next drawing giving her a full bodysuit and armor over her hands, ankles and crotch.[143] Her appearance and outfit were refined further,[144] giving her a look he described as cute "even though she looks shabby". Series artist and fellow character designer Kinu Nishimura took that statement to heart and emphasized that cute aspect of her art of Ibuki, as well as designing a school outfit for the character.[145][146] Producer Tomoshi Sadamoto recalled that because they were located in Japan Ibuki was much easier to find reference materials than other characters. Her unique ponytail proved a bit of a problem for the animation team, as to do it properly she had "1.2 to 1.3x the character data" of other fighters, requiring several months to complete with Sadamoto himself helping at the end.[147]
In the plots of the original Street Fighter III and 2nd Impact,[148] Ibuki is sent by her clan to retrieve a mysterious "G file" from Gill's organization, the Illuminati. In Ibuki's game end sequence, Gill hands her the file after their battle. In 3rd Strike,[149] she is shown preparing to graduate from high school and is studying for her college application exams, hoping to move away from home to enjoy a normal campus life and find a boyfriend. As part of her final exam, Ibuki is sent to find and defeat the elderly martial artist, Oro. In her 3rd Strike ending, she is accepted into the fictional Sarusuberi University (私立百日紅大学, Shiritsu Sarusuberi Daigaku), at first without knowledge of its cover for an elite ninja training camp.[150]
A kunai resembling her is seen in Fei Long's ending in Street Fighter IV (2008). She became playable in Super Street Fighter IV (2010), where her introductory sequence shows her interacting with a fellow ninja Guy for the first time.[151] Her story for the game depicts her looking for fun and boys to date. Ibuki also meets Sakura Kasugano, as she tries to get Sakura to introduce her to a boy.
Ibuki reappears as a playable character in Street Fighter V as a DLC character.[152] In her prologue story, Ibuki finally finishes her ninja assignment and is informed by her friend Sakura about the party invitation sent from her rival Karin Kanzuki. Arriving at the Kanzuki Estate, Ibuki fights and defeat Birdie and Karin. After the fight, Karin lets her stay at the party with handsome boys and gives her the contract which has been approved by the Shinobi village to work with her. Ibuki also appears in the ending of R. Mika's prologue story, rejecting her offer in muscle training which angers R. Mika who beats her in a fight. Ibuki and R. Mika continue to argue and bicker through the course of the game's main story, "A Shadow Falls", which begins when they and Karin travel to the New York City to find out who is behind the activation of the seven Black Moons, eventually finding out it is a Shadaloo plot. During the first infiltration of the Shadaloo base, Ibuki fights Balrog but fails to beat him. She then uses her smoke bomb to distract the enemies and the two successfully escape with it until they reunited with Karin. They witness Zangief beat Abel, Ibuki watching in disgust while R. Mika idolizes him. In the final assault against Shadaloo, Ibuki and R. Mika fight off Shadaloo soldiers. Ibuki is last seen watching Shadaloo's destruction with the other fighters.[153]
A super deformed version of Ibuki is a playable character in the fighting game Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix / Pocket Fighter (1997),[154] in which she sneaks off from her ninja training for an ice cream in Tokyo.[155] Ibuki is playable in the mobile puzzle game Street Fighter: Puzzle Spirits (2014),[156] and appears as a card in the browser-based social game Onimusha Soul (2012)[157] and in person in Street Fighter Battle Combination (2015).[158][159] Her cards also appear in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash (1999) and SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters DS (2007). She has a cameo in Capcom Fighting Evolution / Capcom Fighting Jam (2004).
Ibuki also appears in the crossover fighting game, Street Fighter X Tekken (2012), with Rolento as her tag team partner.[160] In it, she is persuaded by her village leaders to accept Rolento's request for a joint mission to the South Pole, serving as his advisor on infiltration.[161] In the story mode, Rolento initially addresses the very annoyed Ibuki as private but "promotes" her to the rank of sergeant by the end of the game. According to a backstory for the Street Fighter X Tekken DLC ninja costume-swap for the Tekken series' Asuka Kazama, Asuka was sent Ibuki's village to learn the ninja arts from her.[162] Ibuki's own Tekken swap costume is in the style of Yoshimitsu, with her latest assignment having her join his Manji Clan.[163]
Ryota Niitsuma originally considered her for inclusion as a playable character in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars (2008), but she was ultimately cut due to time constraints.[164] The "head student at Ibuki's ninja village" was supposed to be a new player character in the rejected concept of Street Fighter IV Flashback by Backbone Entertainment,[165]
IGN's Jesse Schedeen stated "Ibuki is an apple that falls a bit far from the ninja tree. She's not a musclebound brute, but a young, quirky girl still finding her way in the world," adding that her eccentric nature was "part of what makes her so fun."[166] Martin Robinson of AskMen stated "ninjas might be ten-a-penny in videogames, but none are as effortlessly cool as Ibuki" and added that she "is one of a handful of characters worth salvaging from Street Fighter III."[167] Gavin Jasper of Den of Geek praised her as "too fun not to like", noting her complex life specifically and giving additional praise to her role as the straight man to Rolento's eccentric behavior in Street Fighter X Tekken.[33] Paste stated "her design, both aesthetically and as a fighter, is actually pretty strong", further calling her the best ninja of the series "by far".[168] Amanda LaPergola and Becky Chambers of The Mary Sue praised her status as a ninja, but criticized the emphasis of her story on her story on meeting boys, a trait they felt was too common amongst female characters in the Street Fighter universe.[169]
Necro (ネクロ, Nekuro), whose real name is Illia (イリヤ, Iriya), was born in a poor Russian village near a lake. He is the third of four children, with two older brothers and a younger sister. He also has massive data. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he wanders off from his home village and into the vicinity of Moscow, where he comes into contact with Gill's organization, which remodels his DNA to turn him into a living weapon, granting him superhuman flexibility.[170] His fighting style is simulated by a computer, then programmed into his brain with cyber implants.[115][171] Necro has a long reach and can use throws and electrocution. In his ending, he is tricked by Gill and left for dead in a facility, until he is rescued by a young girl named Effie (エフィー, Efī), and the pair go on a journey together. Necro's story is the same in 2nd Impact, in which he gains the nickname "super electromagnetic alien". In this game, however, he also has a role as one of Hugo's potential final bosses and tag partners, forming the tag team "Thunderbolt". In 3rd Strike,[172] Necro and Effie are pursued by agents of the organization, but still live in hope of "truth and liberty". In his ending, Necro saves Effie from falling and thwarts agents of the Illuminati at the Siberian railroad.[120][173]
Oro (オロ)[174] is an ancient martial arts master who lives a secluded life of an immortal hermit.[175] His lack of attachments has allowed him to exceed his legendary fighting skills beyond those of an ordinary person, though he does seem to have a weakness for cute girls. He attained such extraordinary abilities through the mastery of an extreme fighting style known as senjutsu (仙術). He sets out on a journey to find a worthy successor of his secrets in order to kill time. Through the use of magic, he sealed one of his arms in order to even the odds in favor of his opponents as he could accidentally seriously injure or kill his opponent if he did not.[176][171] Oro decides that the only martial artist he met worthy of inheriting his secrets was Ryu.
Oro later reappears in Street Fighter V during Dhalsim's character story as Dhalsim encounters him while teaching a police officer named Mahesh how to breathe fire. Oro engages a discussion with the yoga master about mastering one skill before he leaves sensing another interesting person in the area. He was later mentioned in Karin's character story as Karin travels to India to find Oro, but is told by Dhalsim that he had already left a few days prior. He is also seen in Menat's character story when Menat, sent by her master Rose, warns him of an evil power in their world, which Oro is already aware of. He was made a playable character in the game's fifth season, in which he confers with Rose and Dhalsim about this lingering Psycho Power left behind after M. Bison's defeat. He once again fights using only one arm, carrying a tortoise named Yamasen in the other. Outside of the video game series, Oro also appears in the Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki comic book miniseries where Ibuki's final ninja exam is to challenge him. Together with her friends Elena and Makoto, she goes to the shrine on Mount Atago, where Oro has travelled to meditate. After the fight, Oro says that she actually made him think about using both hands and commends her on an entertaining challenge.
Despite appearing only in SFIII at the time, Oro was voted 35th-most popular out of 85 Street Fighter characters in Capcom's own poll for the 15th anniversary of Street Fighter.[177] Oro also ranked 21st in a worldwide Street Fighter character poll held between 2017 and 2018.[178] UGO Networks listed Oro as one of the top 50 Street Fighter characters due to his "unorthodox, powerful, and unique" design.[179] He also ranked in Den of Geek, Complex, and Paste Magazine's favorite Street Fighter characters lists.[180][181][182] Meanwhile, GamesRadar named Oro one of the worst Street Fighter characters.[183]
Q, who first appears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, is a mysterious individual in a trenchcoat and hat, whose face is concealed by an expressionless metal mask, based on the main character from Tokusatsu series Robot Detective (Robot Keiji K). Q is being tracked by the CIA because of his presence in numerous strange disasters.[120][184] Nothing of his background has yet been revealed. All of Q's techniques are named in "descriptive" form rather than with traditionally-styled move names, as if they are given by people who have watched him fight. Q was nominated third by Heavy.com as one of 10 Characters they wanted to see in Ultra Street Fighter IV.[12]
Remy (レミー, Remī), who first appears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, is a young turquoise-haired savateur from Paris who seeks revenge against his father, a martial artist who abandoned him and his sister. After Remy's sister died, he encased her body in an iced casket, which he keeps in an underwater cove in the Bay of Biscay. Remy takes his aggression out on other martial artists by challenging them to battle. Remy's rival match illustrates this, as his sudden appearance and challenge surprise Alex, who thinks him nothing but a troubled man. In his ending, Remy realizes that he has been inadvertently following in his father's footsteps. He makes peace with his sister and follows a new path. His attacks are similar to that of Guile and Charlie, but no notable connection to them has been established.[28] Remy was voted 8th in Capcom's popularity poll of 85 characters for the 15th anniversary of Street Fighter.[177]
Sean Matsuda (ショーン・マツダ, Shōn Matsuda) is a young boy from an average home in Brazil and the younger brother of Laura. Impressed by Ken's performance at a martial arts rally, Sean seeks to become his disciple, calling him "Master Ken". An intense but courteous young man, Sean is determined to win no matter what. He was once trained by his grandfather, who was of Japanese descent. Sean's greatest weakness is receiving attacks while attacking. He dreams of creating his original special moves.[115][185][186] It is Sean who leads the basketball parry bonus round in 3rd Strike. In his ending, he becomes Ken's disciple, only to be told that he needs to defeat Ryu to become worthy. In 3rd Strike,[187] Sean is allowed to participate in a martial arts tournament, but Ken tells him that his current skills will not even get him through the preliminaries and that he needs to develop his own style. In his 3rd Strike ending, Sean dreams that he has won the championship title, but in fact he loses in the qualifying rounds as a result of his lack of training.[22][120] Sean makes a cameo appearance in Ryu's ending and intro in Marvel vs. Capcom, and as a supporting character in Street Fighter V.
Twelve (トゥエルヴ, Tueruvu) is a humanoid creature introduced as a playable character in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. His stage background, shared with Necro, is Saint Basil's Cathedral. Twelve is the ultimate humanoid weapon developed by Gill's organization. He has a shapeshifting body that is an improved and strengthened version of the prototype body given to Necro. Via the X.C.O.P.Y. super art, Twelve has the ability to briefly copy his opponent's form and moves. His targets are filled with despair when he corners them.[120] His objective is to track down Necro and Effie, who are fleeing from the organization.[188] Twelve is considered a bottom tier character due to his low damage output and health.
Within series lore, Gill and Urien (ユリアン, Yurian) are the children of gifted parents who excelled physically and intellectually.[189] The Illuminati separated the brothers from their birth parents at the age of six and gave them a specialized education to become candidates for the organization's presidency. Gill was ultimately chosen, leaving Urien bitter with resentment.[115][190] In 2nd Impact, Urien challenges Gill for the presidency. He eventually gains the title, only to learn that Gill has been promoted to Emperor, the true leader of the Illuminati, whose existence is known only to its presidents and chairmen. In 3rd Strike, in spite of his new position, Urien still resents the supremacy of his brother.[191] He decides to eliminate Gill permanently and destroys the preservation facility where Gill is still recovering.[70] During the character introduction that precedes every match in Street Fighter III, he is presented as wearing business attire prior to the beginning of his fight, where shortly afterwards his skin darkens and his clothes disappear, leaving him wearing only a white loincloth like Gill.
Gavin Jasper from Den of Geek placed Urien 34th place in a ranking list of Street Fighter characters, noted that his role as a disgruntled underling plotting to usurp his brother calls into question who is the true main villain of the Street Fighter III series.[192] As Urien is essentially a head and palette swap of Gill's in-game model and gameplay mechanics, Jasper praised the developers of 2nd Impact for differentiating both characters by applying select variations to Gill's moveset and visual design to create Urien. Ian Walker from Kotaku noted that Urien was popular with players in both casual and competitive spheres of Street Fighter III due to his distinct look and abilities.[193]
In their backstory,[194] The Lee Brothers, Yun (ユン) and Yang (ヤン) were separated from their birth parents when they were young. They were raised by an adoptive grandfather who runs a restaurant in Hong Kong and have eight underground bosses as godfathers. By the time of Street Fighter III, the two brothers are the leaders of their local town. Yun, the elder of the two, is described as being more responsible, while his younger brother Yang is calmer and more analytical.[195]
In Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike,[196][197] Yun and Yang set off to fight a mysterious organization (Gill's group, the Illuminati) threatening to take over their village.[198] In their respective endings, Yun and Yang end up driving away Gill from their home town and the two return home to be greeted by their female friend Houmei and her younger sister Shaomei, who both harbor a respective crush on Yun and Yang.
Prior to Street Fighter 6, when their cousin, Jamie was still a young kid, the brothers saved him from being beaten by common thugs, thus serving as Jamie's inspiration to be a fighter like them.
After the Street Fighter III series, Yun appeared as a playable character Capcom vs. SNK 2, in the portable versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 for the Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable and in Capcom Fighting Jam. They both later appeared as playable characters in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.
The twins later made a cameo in Chun-Li's introductory cutscene in the console versions of Street Fighter IV and in again in her ending in Super Street Fighter IV. They also made a cameo in the Half Pipe stage in Street Fighter X Tekken.
Abel (アベル, Aberu) is a heavily scarred French martial artist described as an amnesiac. He serves as a protagonist of Street Fighter IV. Obsessively following every lead on the whereabouts of Shadaloo's remnants, he was found in the burning remains of a Shadaloo base and nursed back to health by a group of mercenaries, working alongside them to rediscover his past and to defeat Shadaloo once and for all. He recognizes Guile's "Sonic Boom" technique, but refuses to comment when Guile presses him for information about Charlie, its originator. It is hinted in his original ending that Abel may have been abducted in his youth to serve as a "replacement body" for M.Bison, or created by Shadaloo as a prototype of Seth, a later replacement body. This is reinforced by dialogue from both Bison and Seth, who refer to him as "the one that got away". The appearance of his eyes change to resemble Seth's during the initiation of his Ultra Combo 1, Soulless. It is also hinted that Charlie was the person that helped him as Abel recognizes Guile's fighting style and Abel even comments to Chun-Li about the soldier that rescued him from Shadaloo.[clarification needed] In Abel's rival encounter, Abel mentions that he recognizes Guile's Sonic Boom, leading to speculation that he may have spent time with Charlie. Abel's fighting style has elements from Judo, Kyokushin style of karate, Wrestling, Sambo and Mixed martial arts. He obsesses big judo or wrestling type of throws and slams as well his signature move Flying wheel kick (Jap. kaiten geri) which is originally a full contact karate technique. He usually wears sambo like composition; blue judogi or sambo kurtka with white shorts and belt and also pair of shin pads and MMA gloves. In Street Fighter IV his alternate outfit is like the original, only with blue wrestling singlets with embroidered French flag on his chest.
Abel appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting game Street Fighter X Tekken, with his official tag partner, Guile. In the original design, he was a young judo fighter who wore pigtails and "could be mistaken for a girl".[199] He appears as part of Street Fighter V's story, going undercover within Shadaloo at Guile's request to find out the truth behind Operation C.H.A.I.N.S.
Crimson Viper is an American double agent, who is posing as an employee of the S.I.N. organization. She is in fact an undercover CIA agent, whose goal is to acquire data for the BLECE Project. She wears a S.I.N form-fitting suit which enables her to perform electrical, seismic, and pyrotechnic moves. Her fighting style greatly revolves around baiting, fakes, high jump cancels, and rushdown.[200] She is often seen speaking to her daughter Lauren on her mobile phone. In Street Fighter V, Viper appears in M. Bison's story mode and serves as the main narrator of events while spying on the dictator. Crimson Viper also appears as a playable character in the crossover fighting games Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.[201] She is also a boss character in Street Fighter X Mega Man.
Designed by Daigo Ikeno,[202] Viper was designed around the concept of a 20-year-old single mother.[203] Viper was designed based upon marketing research on what sorts of characters an American audience would enjoy playing.[204] She was tailored towards Western tastes, as an experiment to see how audiences would receive the character.[205] Street Fighter IV executive producer Yoshinori Ono has described her as the most "unorthodox" of the four new characters introduced in the title, emphasizing this aspect as one he felt would appeal to American players.[206] She was reportedly his favorite character when the game was early in development.[207]
Writing for VideoGamer.com, Wesley Yin-Poole described Crimson Viper as looking "ridiculous", and called her a "SNK character lost in a Capcom game",[208] with Eurogamer's sharing the latter sentiment.[209] Todd Ciolek from Anime News Network felt the character fit comfortably in the "Street Fighter mold", in spite of her design's deliberate similarity to characters from the King of Fighters series.[210] A reviewer for the New Straits Times described her as the best of the new characters, praising both her appearance and attack arsenal.[211] In response to claims that the character resembled one found more commonly in SNK developed games, Ono retorted that the resemblance was unintended, and that she was created from the best parts of several proposed designs during early development.[212] He went on to state that she was also an attempt to create a character with a "cool" design, which he feels are predominant in SNK titles.[213]
Decapre (ディカープリ, Dikāpuri, Декапри) is a character who makes her first playable appearance in Ultra Street Fighter IV. She is a member of a special unit within Shadaloo called the "Dolls", or Bison Elite Guard (ベガ親衛隊, Bega Shin'eitai), which is composed of twelve young women brainwashed to serve as Bison's personal assassins. She first appears as a non-player character in Street Fighter Alpha 3, making a cameo in Juli and Juni's introduction. In Ultra Street Fighter IV, it is revealed that she is an earlier, imperfect product of Shadaloo's cloning experiments that would eventually result in Cammy's creation. Years later, during the S.I.N. fighting tournament, she escapes the Shadaloo testing facility that houses her and goes on a murderous rampage. In Street Fighter V however, Decapre is eventually being rescued by Cammy, with the help from Juri, and fully recovers to aid them in the final battle against the Shadaloo. As of Street Fighter 6, Decapre becomes a Delta Red soldier, like Cammy before her.
The twelve members of the Dolls are named after the months of the Gregorian calendar in various languages, "Decapre" alluding to the Russian word for December, which is actually "Dekabr" (Декабрь).[68][69] She bears a strong resemblance to Cammy (even without her mask), though she speaks with a heavy Russian accent and wears a metallic mask to conceal a large scar covering most of her face, until she discard it in the end of Street Fighter V.[214][215] Katrina Durden portrays Decapre in the miniseries Street Fighter: Resurrection. Paste noted that while her character model was taken from Cammy, much of her character was completely different, adding "It makes you wish they'd come up with a completely different concept and backstory for the character, honestly."[216]
El Fuerte (エル・フォルテ, Eru Forute), meaning "The Strong One" in Spanish, is a masked Mexican luchador. He is an aspiring chef who seeks out the greatest fighters to learn what they eat and incorporate their recipes into his cooking. Despite his love of cooking, he seems to be an incompetent chef. Many of his moves have names referring to Mexican food. The UDON comic series of Street Fighter shows El Fuerte as a big fan of R. Mika. He immediately recognizes fellow wrestler Zangief as "Tornado Rojo" (Red Twister), and then announces his own title as "The Hurricane of the Gulf of Mexico". He has a friendly rivalry with T. Hawk, who bested him before the events of Super Street Fighter IV and told him to challenge him again when he got stronger. The character of El Fuerte is inspired by real wrestlers from Mexico, in particular El Santo, a prominent Mexican wrestler who also wore a silver mask. He makes a cameo appearance in Street Fighter X Tekken.
In the storyline of Street Fighter II: Ryu, Gouken trained Ryu and Ken in his temple somewhere in the Japanese wilderness.[218] One day, Akuma stormed Gouken's dojo and killed him, leaving Ryu and Ken with the duty to avenge their master's death. While the novel took liberties with the established canon of the games, Gouken's character would be adapted in the storyline of the later games in the series following Akuma's introduction in Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
According to the backstory that was developed for Super Street Fighter II Turbo and the Street Fighter Alpha series, Gouken and Akuma learned a murderous martial art style from their master, Goutetsu (轟鉄, Gōtetsu). It included the special techniques the Hadouken, the Shoryuken and the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, 20 years before the Street Fighter tournament. After Goutetsu was killed by Akuma, Gouken refined these special techniques, eliminating the "murderous energy" they possessed and developed them into a purely combative martial art. He would then teach this new style to two students, Ryu and Ken. Gouken also trained Dan at one time, but then expelled him after seeing that Dan was motivated by revenge.[219]
Gouken makes an appearance in Akuma's ending in the original Street Fighter Alpha, in which he is depicted as a white-bearded old man with bushy eyebrows. Akuma's dialogue exchange with Ryu in Street Fighter Alpha 2 suggest that Akuma killed Gouken prior to the events of the Alpha series. Suzaku Castle, Ryu's home stage in the Street Fighter II series, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, is the apparent resting place of Gouken.[220]
Gouken makes his first full-fledged appearance as a fighter in the arcade version of Street Fighter IV, where he appears as a secret computer-controlled challenger.[221] Capcom retconned Gouken's apparent death during his battle with Akuma. In Gouken's animated opening he reveals that after losing in battle to Akuma, he did not die but was simply rendered unconscious for an extended period of time. Gouken survived the Shun Goku Satsu by completely emptying his soul of emotions, which left him in a deep coma. He is shown watching as Ryu and Ken walk off, believing him, Gouken, to be dead. He is not concerned, however, what Ryu and Ken believe as he knows that their path is a righteous one and that he looks forward to reuniting with them once more someday. Gouken's mid-game cutscene show him confront Ryu, much to Ryu's disbelief, for a friendly master versus student spar in which Gouken is victorious. In his animated ending, Gouken faces Ryu again, finding that his student is being overtaken by the murderous energy, defeats him and suppresses, after which he notices Akuma is in the area. He also appears again in Akuma's animated ending. In this scene, after Ryu has been defeated by Gouken, Akuma appears and challenges his brother to a fight to the death with the winner claiming Ryu. Gouken also reveals that he has reached a new level of mastery known as "the power of nothingness" (無の拳, Mu no Ken) and has now become even stronger, to the point where Akuma stops his Raging Demon attack after sensing Gouken's power of Nothingness.[222][223]
Hakan (ハカン, Hakan) is a 6ft 3 in tall oil wrestler from Turkey and is the second new addition to Super Street Fighter IV. His fighting style is based on Yağlı güreş and involves him coating himself in oil to make his body slippery. This enables him to slide across the ground and launch his opponents by squeezing them through his bulging muscles. Hakan is the father of seven young children and the president of a company that seeks to create the perfect olive oil. He is apparently old friends with E. Honda, his fighting rival in Super Street Fighter IV.
In Street Fighter IV, Seth is presented as the CEO of the weapons corporation S.I.N., and has altered himself using highly advanced technology, which has changed him on a seemingly structural level and made him much more than human. Having collected data on some of the world's best fighters, Seth borrows moves from a number of different characters to create a fighting style of his own. Seth is intent on completing BLECE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Cell Explosion), which spurs the creation of a new fighting tournament.[224] Seth is a non-playable final boss in the arcade version of Street Fighter IV, but is selectable in the home console version.[225] In the character's ending, Seth is revealed to be "Number 15", one of many androids created by Bison which are intended to be a replacement body for him. Number 15 rebels against his programming, tries to overthrow Bison and pursue his own agenda. Another major character introduced in the game, Abel, is also revealed to be a prototype of Seth's model.[226] Outside of the Street Fighter series, Seth appears as a rival unit in Project X Zone, interacting with Alisa Bosconovitch, Juri, Ryu and Jin Kazama.
Seth appears in Street Fighter V as a post-launch DLC character for the game's season 4, and is included with the Champion Edition update. It is revealed that Seth has survived the events of IV after transferring his consciousness from his damaged original body into "Doll Unit 0", a feminine body type used in Bison's Doll Program.[227] An updated version of Seth's original design from Street Fighter IV is available as an alternate costume for the character.[228]
The character is named after Seth Killian, Capcom's former[229] senior manager.[230] Killian explained in an interview dated April 2009 that it was not his idea to have the character named after himself, though he felt honored as a Street Fighter fan for being part of the series' history.[230] In an interview with Eurogamer to promote the release of Street Fighter IV, series producer Yoshinori Ono explained that Seth is a new character who has connections to other major characters in the game's narrative, in particular recurring series antagonist M. Bison and his Shadaloo organization who were presumed to have met their demise at the end of Street Fighter II. Ono drew attention to his vacant facial expression, strange skin coloration, and the Tanden Engine device embedded in his stomach as visual markers indicating his "unique-looking" visual design and that he is clearly not an ordinary human being.[231]
At the conclusion of the 2019 edition of Capcom Cup, Ono and professional wrestler Kenny Omega appeared on stage to announce the unveiling of Seth as the 40th and newest addition to the Street Fighter V: Champion Edition roster, the full version of which will be released on February 14, 2020.[232][233] For the character's redesign, the development team began with an “antique/old-fashioned” concept, as the goal was to make the “First” Seth. The team was also exploring the idea of an apprentice character for Gen at the time, and eventually decided to combine that idea with Seth's look in Street Fighter IV.[234] The design direction then began to shift toward the character's finalized appearance in Street Fighter V, with a hair knot replacing the character's bald head, and inspiration for the character's silhouette drew from fierce Buddhist statues like Kongo Rikishi and Nio statues.[235] Seth's physiology is based on the idea of a human-like being found by some organization who would “continue evolving” by absorbing the DNA of other individuals.[234] The developers also explored the idea of Seth’s arms and legs transforming in the manner seen in Steampunk-themed movies and books, and fans would be added to the character's back to suggest a cooling down mechanism is in place to prevent overheating issues during battle.[234] Small Tanden Engines are also implemented to work as spherical joints; when the character's epidermis expands, the power flow from the Tanden Engine becomes visible.[234]
Abigail (アビゲイル, Abigeiru) is a character who makes his playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC. He is a hot-temperered Canadian member of Metro City's Mad Gear gang who originally appeared as a boss character in 1989's Final Fight. Seeking to clean up his act and try his best to control his temperament, he starts up a legitimate scrap metal business in Metro City, aided by fellow former Mad Gear members Roxy, Axl and J. He is the game's largest character, towering over other heavyweights such as Zangief and Birdie. He has a move called the Ontario drop, and likes to mimic car sounds. Despite fighting out of Metro City, he is noted for being the first playable character in the series who is a Canadian national.[236] Streamline Studios, based in Malaysia, was responsible for modeling and rigging of his model.
Akira Kazama (風間 アキラ, Kazama Akira) is a character who makes her playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 5 DLC. She was first introduced in 1997's Rival Schools: United by Fate as a high school student from Seijyun High who initially posed as a male biker to go undercover at Gedo High and find her missing brother Daigo, then investigate the suspicions behind Daigo's personality change during its sequel Project Justice. In Street Fighter V, Akira is invited by Karin to join her, Sakura and Ibuki for a tea party at her mansion, where she retells the story of how she and Sakura first met during the events of Rival Schools. Her fighting style is derived from Bajiquan, a Chinese martial art that utilizes elbow and shoulder strikes, while Daigo assists her in certain attacks. While the Rival Schools series has long been established as taking place in the same world as the Street Fighter series, Akira is the first Rival Schools character to appear as a playable character in a mainline Street Fighter game.[237]
Ed (エド, Edo) is a character who made his playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC. He first appears in a non-playable capacity in Street Fighter IV during Balrog's ending, created as a potential replacement body for Bison before being stolen by S.I.N. He is found as a child and freed by Balrog, who believes Ed's ability to channel Psycho Power like Bison could be useful. He is featured in Street Fighter V: A Shadow Falls, having undergone accelerated aging and working alongside Balrog for Shadaloo. He later joins the playable roster during the game's second season of DLC content, now a grown adult and leader of Neo Shadaloo, an organization seeking to help others who were victims of Shadaloo's experiments. Due to his struggling to fight off the fragment of Bison's soul in him, Ed parts away from Balrog, in order to save themselves, and being forced to fight him one last time before both departing for new lives. Despite parting ways, Ed and Balrog still share a bond with each other, as shown in his Arcade ending artwork where they have an official boxing match, as well as Ed's past life after Neo Shadaloo's full assemble in Street Fighter 6 where Balrog usually pays them a visit.[238] Several years during Street Fighter 6, where he return as one of the four Season 1 DLC fighters, an organization of Shadaloo remnants led by JP attempt to abduct Ed into the would be revived Shadaloo organization. However, Ed can see JP's lies and had been leading Neo Shadaloo, fighting against every remnant loyalist of a now defunct terrorist organization. Currently, Ed resides at Metro City underground subway where he and his fellow Neo Shadaloo members usually meets up with each other. However, makes matters worst, the Shadaloo remnants has a once notorious Metro City criminal gang Mad Gear to get involve into their cause; whereas Falke went missing during her mission at Nayshall.
His gameplay can be considered a mixture between Balrog and M.Bison, as he has the boxing (particularly kickboxing outside fist-only official match) prowess of the former and psychokinetic powers of the latter. He is specialized in Flicker Jab techniques. Until in Street Fighter 6, he is discarded his kickboxing fighting style in exchange for a pure boxing, with a similar prowess to that of Dudley's.
Eleven (イレヴン, Irevun) is a character who made his playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 5 DLC. He is a humanoid weapon created by Gill's organization, and a prototype of Twelve from Street Fighter III. Though capable of imitating other fighters, Eleven is heavily damaged during a training exercise with Urien and deemed a failure, resulting in the design being further modified to create Twelve. Despite being considered a failure, Eleven's raw material was later used by Kolin for the reconstruction of Charlie Nash. Eleven does not have his own fighting style, but instead functions as a mimic character, transforming into a random fighter with a randomly-selected V-Skill and V-Trigger at the start of each match.[239]
Falke (ファルケ, Faruke) is a character introduced in Street Fighter V Season 3 DLC, stated to be of German descent. Falke was built by Shadaloo to be an alternative clone for M. Bison and forced to undergo relentless experimentation and training. After being rescued by Ed, the duo became founding members of Neo Shadaloo. Several years later in Street Fighter 6, it is revealed that Falke went missing while investigating JP's cause at Nayshall.
Due to the experiments performed on her, she can channel Psycho Power through her staff "Harmony".
G is a character introduced in Street Fighter V Season 3 DLC, who claims to be the "President of the World" and seeks to unite all of its people, using social media to spread his message and streaming video of his battles with strong fighters. During battle, he can perform a "G Charge" to increase his presidentiality level, enhancing his special moves. He can also create a momentary shield to protect him from single-hit projectile attacks.
G's English voice actor, Christopher Corey Smith also portrayed a live version of himself for his character's Street Fighter V gameplay reveal during EVO 2018.
Kage (影ナル者 Kagenaru Mono, lit. "The Shadowed One") is a physical manifestation of the Satsui no Hadō separated from Ryu's body, introduced in Street Fighter V Season 4 DLC. The Satsui no Hadō is purged from Ryu's body during the events of Street Fighter V: A Shadow Falls, but somehow develops sentience and manifests as an independent physical entity calling itself Kagenaru Mono. As a sentient version of Evil Ryu, Kage's fighting style is reminiscent of pre-sentient counterpart from the earlier games, including Akuma's Oni form from Street Fighter IV updates. His own character story ends with him fading away from existence after Ryu overwhelms him by tapping to the Power of Nothingness.
Kolin (コーリン, Kōrin) is a character who made her playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC. She first appears in Street Fighter III in a non-playable capacity as Gill's assistant. She is featured prominently in Street Fighter V: A Shadow Falls, operating under the name "Helen" and organizing a group of fighters to help stop Bison's plan in order to advance the Illuminati's goals. She later joins the playable roster during the game's second season of DLC content.[240] Her ice attacks that drain the opponent's stun meter will end up freezing them, rather than simply leaving them dizzy. The fighting style she uses is Systema, a hybrid Russian martial arts that can be seen in her use of counters, throws and strikes.[241]
Lucia Morgan (ルシア・モーガン, Rushia Mōgan) is a character who makes her playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 4 DLC. She was first introduced in 1995's Final Fight 3 as a detective with Metro City's Special Crimes Unit and one of the game's player characters. There, she worked with Guy and Mike Haggar to take down the Skull Cross gang as thanks for Haggar clearing her of a false corruption charge in the past. In Street Fighter V, she continues to work with the Metro City Police Department under Mayor Cody, while remaining in touch with former Mayor Haggar. She is asked by Haggar to investigate rumors of a new plot by the Mad Gear gang.
Luke Sullivan (ルーク・サリバン, Rūku Sariban) is a character introduced in Street Fighter V Season 5 DLC as the final character of the game. He is an American MMA fighter who joined the military to become stronger after his father, Robert, was killed in a terrorist attack during his childhood. However, he finds his military training is not bringing him the type of strength he seeks. Guile suggests he find his own path instead, leading Luke to leave the army and become a competitive fighter to honor his father's memory. In Street Fighter 6, Luke lives in Metro City where he teaches his military MMA at the Buckler Security Service, following his past experiences as a contractor for a PMC. Luke was also being assigned to be a bodyguard of Ken's son, Mel in the same week where a terrorist group known as Amnesia framed Ken for a crime he did not commit at Nayshall.[242] Between Street Fighter V and 6, he removed the star design tattoos he sported during V when he found out his father had embroidered stars on his jacket for every comrade he couldn't save, and deeming it as disrespectful out of embarrassment.[243]
Luke was originally created for Street Fighter 6, but was added to Street Fighter V as a preview for the new game. He was described by director Takayuki Nakayama as an important character to the future of the Street Fighter franchise who was created to help expand the universe in which the series takes place.[244] On February 20, 2022 (February 21 in Japan) when Street Fighter 6 was announced, he appeared alongside Ryu as one of the two first characters revealed.
Menat (メナト, Menato, from Arabic منات, Egyptian 𓅓𓈖𓏏) is a character introduced in Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC. She is the youthful, Egyptian apprentice of Rose, and like her is able to wield Soul Power and foresee future events. She can summon multiple orbs that can be shot away or retrieved. Her name may be a reference to the menat, an artifact linked to the cult of the Egyptian goddess Hathor. She also serves as the shopkeeper for the game's loot box system.
Based on Japanese only Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition – Visionary Book II, a crystal ball she owned, the "Left Eye of the Lion" was stated by the current director Takayuki Nakayama to be created from a product of a god-beast believed to have once protected the phantom desert kingdom of Sangypt, a home territory of Red Earth villain Ravange. This suspects that Red Earth may or may likely take place in a feudal timeline of a Street Fighter shared universe.
Necalli (ネカリ, Nekari) is a character introduced in Street Fighter V. Necalli is an ancient Aztec spiritual entity who descends from time to time to challenge the strongest living fighters and devour their souls after defeating them. Necalli is the only character in Street Fighter V who does not have a skeleton when electrocuted. In A Shadow Falls, he appears as an antagonist on his own, unrelated to Shadaloo nor the Secret Society. He is apparently permanently destroyed by Akuma in the latter's character story. His model was created by David Giraud of Volta, based in Montreal.
Rashid (ラシード, Rashīdo, from Arabic راشد) is a character introduced as the protagonist of Street Fighter V, according to Capcom, and is the eldest son of an old Middle Eastern family, who lost their old lands to Gill's ancestors in a single night. Accompanied by his attendant and teacher Azam, he is searching for a missing female friend, who used to work as a S.I.N. engineer before being kidnapped by Bison and Shadaloo. During a final battle against Shadaloo, he found out that his friend sacrifices her life to countermeasure Shadaloo's plan before F.A.N.G. killed her. Rashid has an obsession with the newest technology and is capable of producing small tornadoes, earning him the nickname "Rashid of the Turbulent Wind". Sometimes later in Street Fighter 6, he begins his career as a FooTuber, often being scolded by Azam whenever he gets carried away with his silly antics. He also began patrolling Amnesia's criminal activities in Nayshall ever since they framed Ken Masters, and suspects its leader, JP, is a former Shadaloo member. The creation of Rashid was a close collaboration between Capcom Japan, Sony, and Pluto Games.[245] Rashid's appearance was announced by Yoshinori Ono during the Games15 event in Dubai.[246] Rashid's model was created by NXA Studios, based in China.
Zeku (是空, Zekū) is a character is a character who makes his playable debut in Street Fighter V Season 2 DLC. He first appears as a non-playable character in Street Fighter Alpha 2 as Guy's teacher and the 38th Master of the Bushinryu school. After Guy defeats him, he passes on his title as Master and disappears. In Street Fighter V, he re-emerges to establish his own ninja clan and develop a new fighting style. During gameplay, he can vanish and reappear as a younger version of himself, which bears a strong resemblance to another Capcom character, Strider Hiryu. Ironically, Strider is one of Zeku's planned clan names, during a conversation between both of his older and younger-selves, therefore possibly connecting the Strider series to the Street Fighter shared universe. Streamline Studios, based in Malaysia, was responsible for modeling and rigging of his model.
A.K.I. is a white haired Chinese woman who trained under F.A.N.G. Like her master, she fights with poison techniques. However, in contrast to her master's crane kung fu, she uses a snake kung fu which involves flexibility. She was revealed to be one of the Season 1 Pass DLC characters of Street Fighter 6, with her brief gameplay shown during EVO 2023, and was announced at the end of August 2023 to be released after Tokyo Game Show event on September 27, 2023.
She is later revealed to be formerly known as Phantom (鬼, Ki), who first appeared in Street Fighter V side-story Toxicity, where she was a teenager who was adopted by F.A.N.G and has since developed an unhealthy obsession towards him. Her pale appearance, particularly her white hair came from a regimen training result to gain resistance to poison. During Street Fighter 6, she was sent to give JP a warning not to leave her master behind, so as to revive Shadaloo's legacy.
Jamie Siu (ジェイミー・ショウ, Jeimī Shou)[251] was revealed in the PlayStation's State of Play trailer on June 2, 2022. He is a Hong Kong Chinese drunken kung fu break dancer who is a rival of Luke since childhood, and idolizes the Lee brothers, Yun and Yang, who saved his life from being killed by group of thugs. Afterwards, Jamie was sent by his parents to be trained by his kind grandmother, and thanked her for disciplining him. After growing up as a seasoned fighter, he lives in the Metro City Chinatown where Yun and Yang's acquaintances, Chun-Li and Li Fen are. The drink jug he uses in battle boosts his fighting skill, but contains Yakuyu (薬湯), a herbal tea, instead of alcohol.[252]
JP (ジェイピー, Jeipī) is a mysterious Bartitsu fighter, head of the NGO Terra Network Partners (Geo Plan (ジオ・プラン, Jio Puran) in the Japanese version) at Nayshall (ナイシャール, Naishāru). In reality, he is a greedy leader of a terrorist group known as Amnesia (アムネジア, Amunejia) and the main antagonist of Street Fighter 6, having been responsible for the many conspiracies and incidents in the past, with the current ones surrounding Luke, Kimberly and Ken's lives, as Kimberly's uncle, Albert was involved in Nayshall incident where he accompanied Ken. Aside from having a pet cat named Cybele (シベール, Shibēru), he is secretly revealed to be a former finance officer for Shadaloo, having been gifted with a Psycho power by its leader, M. Bison prior to his death in Street Fighter V, and can hide his true intentions from the public view far better than his proclaimed predecessor. To cover his illegal activities to manipulate government systems and steal their finances behind the scenes, he uses different front businessman aliases such as Jean-Philippe (ジャン・フィリップ, Jan Firippu), and currently at Nayshall as a Russian individual named Johann Petrovich (ヨハン・ペトロビッチ, Yohan Petorobitchi). During a near end chapters of World Tour's base storyline, JP begins to infect the Avatar with his Psycho power to be his potential vessels like M. Bison did before him, as well as when learning Amnesia's other opposing group, Neo Shadaloo infect Bosch Waraya.[242]
Lily Hawk (リリー・ホーク, Rirī Hōku) is the youngest member of the Thunderfoot tribe, and has a close relationship with T. Hawk and Juli, the former being Lily's inspiration for leaving the tribe to explore the world. She speaks with the spirits of nature, primarily wind, trusting in their guidance as she travels the globe, while carrying an old era camera around her. In the battle, she wields two pairs of ball-headed war clubs known as "Pogamoggans". She is also a friend of a fellow spirit shaman, Elena, and helps Blanka to be himself under the guidance of spirit of jungle during his tour guiding job.
Manon Legrand (マノン・ルグラン, Manon Ruguran) is an idealistic French ballerina, judoka champion, and celebrity who joined the competitive world fighting circuits to pursue true beauty through self-improvement. She is a friend of her own fan, Dee Jay, and has strong distaste towards JP. Manon was responsible for suggesting that E. Honda should open his chanko restaurant-sumo arena hybrid place, Chanko House Edomon, in Metro City instead of at Paris' traveling carnival area, which then proves to be successful.
Marisa Rossetti (マリーザ・ロセッティ, Marīza Rosetti) is a giant muscular Italian jewelry designer and an MMA-pankratiast of Greek-descent, whose medium-length red hair resembles a gladiator helmet, and owns a pet lion named Lucius (ルキウス, Rukiusu). Inspired by Greco-Roman gladiator culture of her ancestors' ancient lineage, she enters competitive fighting to seek both glorious beauty and strength. While hinted to be bisexual, she develops a friendly rivalry with Manon and falls in love with a fellow wrestler, Zangief. She was briefly seen in the first full trailer of PlayStation's State of Play 2022 in summer before being fully revealed in Tokyo Game Show 2022.
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