Last year Sony decided to launch its own convention of sorts. It was PAX if the event was strictly geared toward Sony games and gaming hardware. There were a few announcements and everyone seemed to have a good time, but this year Sony seemed to up the ante quite a bit. In addition to huge reveals (gameplay for Final Fantasy 7 Remake) and some other surprise announcements, Capcom was on-hand to show off Street Fighter 5.
Capcom Cup, the culmination to a year of stacked tournaments to find the best Street Fighter 4 player in the world was held on the final day of the PlayStation Experience. It was the cap for seven years of Street Fighter dominance in the competitive fighting game scene, but it was the day before that would propel Street Fighter fans into the future. Capcom unveiled the final launch character for the game and the first six DLC characters that will appear in the 12 months that follow the launch.
F.A.N.G
The final new character to grace the Street Fighter universe is a bit odd. He’s the self-proclaimed second in command of the Shadoloo organization, with his power being matched only by M. Bison (Dictator). He is the first character in Street Fighter history to offer poison-based attacks with multiple projectiles that inflict a slow-damaging poison to the opponent. While the poison effect wears off after a short time, hitting F.A.N.G will end it immediately. He’s seen ducking under projectile attacks, showing how evasive he can be, while jumping into the air to perform an aerial super move. He likely won’t be a fan favorite, but any players who can nail down this newcomer are sure to turn a few heads.
Alex
Arguably one of the most requested characters for Street Fighter 5, Capcom has teased Alex almost more than the company has teased the lack of a new Mega Man game. He was spotted in the background of one of the stages, but now he’s officially confirmed to be joining the roster during the first year. Hailing from Street Fighter 3, Alex marks the fourth grappler in a roster that will only feature 22 characters within a year of launch. That’s a great selection for grappler fans, and it’s likely more will come after the first year.
Guile
When Nash was announced many people assumed Guile wouldn’t make the launch lineup, and they were correct. However, to Guile mains Nash is not a good replacement. In the past Nash and Guile were almost one in the same, but the SF5 version of Nash is very different than Guile. It’s no surprise to see Guile among one of the first DLC characters as he’ll likely have a more traditional Flash Kick and his trademark array of normals to go along with a Sonic Boom that could be faster than what Nash has to offer.
Balrog
Boxer enters the ring as Balrog (M. Bison in Japan) will get to take on F.A.N.G who seems to have taken his place by Bison’s side. Granted, we’re still missing Sagat to complete the set of Street Fighter 2 bosses, but seeing M. Bison and Vega without Balrog and Sagat just felt off. We won’t see Sagat next year, but it’s very likely he’ll be one of the first in the next set of DLC.
Ibuki
Another fan favorite character will make her way into Street Fighter 5 next year, but Ibuki has consistently been one of the more difficult characters to learn despite her popularity. With the new systems in place for Street Fighter 5 it should be interesting to see how her vortex works, or if she’ll have a few new tools up her sleeve. Without an invincible backdash or a way to make uppercuts safe, Ibuki could be very powerful. Of course that’s also what many said about her inclusion in Street Fighter 4 without the parry system of Street Fighter 3 to keep her in check.
Juri
There were only a handful of newcomers to Street Fighter 4, but Juri was one of them. She is a unique combatant and should be an interesting addition to Street Fighter 5, especially is she retains her Feng Shui Engine as a super combo. It’s likely only a matter of time before C. Viper follows her to Street Fighter 5, but for now Juri remains the sole character in SF5 who was first introduced in SF4.
Urien
Urien has been long-rumored to make an appearance in Street Fighter 5. We won’t likely see Gill, but Urien was a competitive favorite in Third Strike and he’ll likely be favored once he debuts in Street Fighter 5 as well. As the story of Street Fighter 5 seems to take place between Street Fighter 2 and Street Fighter 3 it should be interesting to see how Urien develops from where he stands here to where he ends up in Street Fighter 3.
For more in-depth coverage of what to expect when SF5 launches or specific strategies for Karin or the other combatants, be sure to check out our Street Fighter 5 game hub!
