Street Fighter, A Post-Sephiroth Analysis

[GolisoPower]

During the transition between Smash 4 and Ultimate, Street Fighter’s representation in Smash had skyrocketed, not only including Ryu, Suzaku Castle and the four tracks that came with them, but also Ken, an Assist Trophy in the form of Guile, even MORE music tracks and a plethora of Spirits for the franchise. Now I write this because for a long time, only one fighter has represented a singular franchise, though two of these franchises, Castlevania and Street Fighter, have an Echo Fighter to come with them. At the time, most of the Smash community seems to have focused on adding more, thinking no unique fighter can join an existing third-party franchise.

Then Sephiroth happened.

With the release of no doubt one of the most famous video game villains in the franchise, the floodgates have been opened wide. While maintaining the desire for more franchises, we also acquired the desire to expand the third-parties we already have. Sonic fans advocating for Dr. Eggman and Tails, Mega Man fans calling for Mega Man X and Proto Man, suddenly surges of requests for characters from the 3rd party franchises we have have occurred. I myself wouldn’t be surprised if we got an Illager from Minecraft.

So this brings us to our topic: Street Fighter. SF representation is healthy and strong, yes, but there are two candidates that I see so far that could improve it further.

Chun-Li

The first woman in fighting games, Chun-Li has been a very popular request for Smash since Ryu himself was released. Ever since her inception in the perpetually-released Street Fighter II, Chun-Li has garnered a following bigger than her thigh muscles, spawning a trail of cosplay, fan-art and fan animations dedicated to the character.

Thus begs the question: what does Chun-Li have going for her? Well, as mentioned before, Chun-Li is the first woman in fighting games, and a popular FG gal at that. There’s also the fact that her Charge inputs, made easy to use in Smash thanks to Terry, can give her a more unique and pronounced playstyle compared to Ryu and Ken. She also has the virtue of being the first female third-party since Bayonetta, making her appeal to Smash fans even greater.

Akuma:

Sephiroth was the first third-party villain to be in Smash Bros, and this has spawned an outpouring of requests for other third-party villains like Eggman, Gruntilda or Sigma to join Smash. And while M. Bison is a villain and has been popular with the FGC, I feel there’s no other character that can fill that role better than Akuma.

Akuma has a bigger shot at Smash then Bison and arguably Chun-Li even because he represents a tradition that stands in the FGC: the Secret Boss. A bonus challenge that can only be encountered through achieving specific conditions, the secret boss is a total rule-breaking avatar of difficulty that is sought after by masochists seeking to watch them in action at the cost of a win, or seasoned veterans seeking to surpass the greatest of challenges. While secret bosses are a tradition started by Mortal Kombat, Akuma seems to be the one that stands out to FGC fans as THE definitive secret boss.

While he does have similar moves to Ryu and Ken, Akuma is different by virtue of violence: he has the power of both those fighters combined with Ridley’s visceral brutality. He has a downwards-angled fireball, a jumping attack known as the Demon Flip, and his all-too-famous Shun Goku Satsu, or Raging Demon. Especially after SF5, Akuma has been made a character that’s more unique than the two, and Akuma is a character I personally would love to see in Smash. And after Sephiroth, I’m sure Sakurai would make Akuma feel like the all-mighty secret boss he is.

So now, you guys’ thoughts. Do either sound fun? Do you have another SF character that’s just as good a candidate? Sound off.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

My most wanted Street Fighter character is Chun-Li, but M. Bison would come 2nd for me. Why isn't he in the opening post or poll?

 

[Otoad64]

isn't all the street fighter content from street fighter 2?

 

[GolisoPower]

My most wanted Street Fighter character is Chun-Li, but M. Bison would come 2nd for me. Why isn't he in the opening post or poll?

Well, as I’ve said before, while Bison is a crucial villain in the franchise, Akuma seems to fit the bill of FGC villain a bit more. Though, you MAY have a point about him not being in the poll...I think I’ll fix that.

isn't all the street fighter content from street fighter 2?

Not entirely. There has been some stuff from 3 and Alpha as well.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Well, as I’ve said before, while Bison is a crucial villain in the franchise, Akuma seems to fit the bill of FGC villain a bit more. Though, you MAY have a point about him not being in the poll...I think I’ll fix that.

I mean, the whole idea in 2 was everyone trying to get to Bison and fight him. Chun-Li wouldn't have turned out the way she did without Bison killing her father and gracing her village.

 

[GolisoPower]

I mean, the whole idea in 2 was everyone trying to get to Bison and fight him. Chun-Li wouldn't have turned out the way she did without Bison killing her father and gracing her village.

...okay, that’s fair. M. Bison does seem to be another good candidate now that I think about it.

 

[RetrogamerMax]

...okay, that’s fair. M. Bison does seem to be another good candidate now that I think about it.

Plus he was in Wreck-It Ralph at the villains meeting:

It's weird Zangief was also here instead of Akuma. But yeah, Bison is there.

 

[toonito]

so besides Ken I like the following characters to represent SF in Smash alongside Ryu (limited to 2 SF reps)

Chun-Li: pretty self explanatory

Guile: Ryu's is a pure motion inputs character; Guile is probably the most popular pure charge inputs character. Even though they're both FG characters they're commands are different offering options for people who are uncomfortable with one type of input method.

Sakura: both shotos but Sakura repping SF in Smash alongside her idol and crush has grown on me

Bison: I admit for me my interest in Bison in Smash increased upon Sephiroth's inclusion. I've grown to like seeing classic matchups between protagonists and antagonists and seeing Cloud vs Sephiroth in Smash made me think of Ryu vs Bison in Smash also. It's not really rocket science that another classic villain in Dr. Eggman also gained renewed interest upon Sephiroth's arrival.

I still don't see another SF character making it in Ultimate but I think Sephiroth reminded everyone that it's not always about reps from different franchises but the popularity and resilience of a character may help boost their chances

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

In regards to SF, I would like to see the following:

Chun-Li: Essentially the first lady of fighting games (after Yie-Ar Kung Fu's Star and Fan, but not many would remember them), is among the most frequently reoccurring members of the SF cast, is an analogue to her...do I need to say anything more?

M. Bison: One of the most iconic villains in the series and the source of many, many in-jokes. Plus Smash can always use more villains.
Zangief: He is THE grappler within SF, and his dynamic style would help make him stand out even with around.

Rainbow Mika: A rather fun character to compare Peach's Bomber and the de facto face of Joshi Puroresu in video games. Yes, I know that her chances aren't great, but if fan popularity can eventually convince CERO to allow Mai Shiranui in here, why not?

 

[RetrogamerMax]

Zangief: He is THE grappler within SF, and is dynamic style would help make him stand out even with around.

Imagine all the Soviet Russia memes that would spread if Zangief got in lol! It would be hilarious. "In PlayStation All stars, you fight Fat Princess. In Smash, Zangief fights you!"

 

[Gengar84]

My favorite Street Fighter characters are Guile and Vega. Unfortunately, I don’t see either of these being chosen over more important characters. I’m honestly really surprised Guile got an assist trophy over Chun-Li. That makes me think they may have planned to add Chun-Li from the start. I’ve only really played the SNES games, but, based on that, Akuma seems like he would just be another Ryu echo. He may have been drastically changed since but I would go with Chun-Li over Akuma because she is completely different from Ryu.

 

[Oddball]

M. Bison is far more important to the franchise and a more recognizable character than Akuma. Plus he has a completely different look and fighting style.

Akuma is slightly different Ryu. The game already has slightly different Ryu. I wouldn't even put Akuma in the list of top ten SF characters I'd want to see.

As for my top choice for a second Street Fighter character ... I don't really have one. Chun-li, M. Bison, and Guile all tie for top spot.