Actually alot of the cast of SF2 and other games from Capcom are just cheap imitaions or just flat out imatations of Hokuto no Ken/Fist of the North, which was a manga then made into an animation series and movie in Japan.
I really don’t see how stereotypes can be original at all.
Ehh…I like’em both but I’d say III
I probably could have said it better in saying all the SF games are based on cliches.
And some cliches can be warped to the point where they seem new (as some people say SF2 did) and are better in their own right.
Personally I don’t think SF2 did that. No doubt it is the originator and one damn near all fighters can be traced back to at least gameplay wise, but the absolute love it gets doesn’t really work for me. Looking back I am actually disapointed in myself that a few of them (mainly the idiotic racial ones)ever did.
Do you care to name a few?
Stereotypes can be original because there is something to them that makes them original for the SF2 cast at least. Here’s an example: Guile has the best looking hair-cut I’ve seen. I don’t see any Americans with that type of hair-cut. He’s one cool-looking dude for a stereotype. His move-sets also make him original. All that adds up to how original he is; the result making him extremely original.
Hmmmm, why don’t you explain to me how the 3s characters are original?
Not bitching here, but I’m surprised it’s even close at all.
Original SF2 cast could be considered national stereotypes or they could be considered archetypes… depends how you look at it. Of course Ryu and Ken pretty much define Street Fighter, but they are in III too.
I actually voted III because it really does push up the standard of designs. They’ve done something great with their approach to female characters in III: as someones avatar points out Elena doesnt look trashy at all and yet wears less clothes than pretty much anyone. Someone with a claim to wearing less is Urien, who is a virtually naked male, but again does not seem trashy at all. Both of these characters show off the artistic abilities of Capcom because they are just raw physical forms. Then you have Makoto, who could not be further from the panty-flashing fanservice in motion that is Sakura.
Sean is cool as the next gen urban future of Street Fighter, although obviously it isnt good that he sucks in 3rd Strike. There is also a nice balance of the supernatural in 3rd strike also… many of the characters have a slightly other-worldly feel to them without being out-and-out cartoonish in appearence.
SFIII’s characters have a dark edge to them I think, and were a great development by Capcom so they get my vote. But to be honest the original cast are obviously better in their own way too.
i really dont like the characters in 3S a lot, but i think the biggest reason i dont like them is because of the art in that game, because even ryu and ken look ugly in it, out of all the games 3S has the worst art imo, so maybe if they were drawn differently like OG style i might like em heh,
but seriously how can u get anything more cooler looking than this!
Excatly, SF3 and SF2 have very different themes, characters are designed accordingly. SF3 is more “futuristic” with a liquid android, robot if thats what Q is, genetic freak in Necro, weird maybe gothic dude in Remy… while SF2 is more cartoonic and caters to a younger audience…
Makoto reminds me a lot of Akane from the Ranma series tho, even their moves are alike.
I really hope this post is sarcasm…
well imo, to me that kind of animation looks cool, and 3s just looks plain ugly but thats my oppinion anyway, if you like 3s cast/art better good for you, i know everyone has different taste and i respect that, you dont see me being a smartarse to someone because they like 3s stuff better.
so dont go posting smartarse things like “i really hope this post is sarcasm…”
Asking which cast is better is akin to asking people what is the best time to shit.
Some say in the morning, some afternoon, some at night and some not at all.
I suppose SF2 is far far far more memorable…
Yeah, Dudley’s nice, but you could claim Hugo is recycled from 1989!
One reason why I find the designs in III better is due to the fact they they are much farther then being cliche then II is. An example is Necro…He’s russian, but but you can’t tell unlike Mr.Zangief and his USSR appeal…Just about everyone in II was a cliche/stereotyped. I mean, they could have made Elena different, seeing as she fights capoeira, it would be obvious to make her from Brazil…but no, Sean is, a person that likes BASKETBALL, not soccer…all stuff that are common stereotypes that the designs in III shoot down…that, in my opinion makes it more original. There are almost no charecter designs in II that are not stereotypes…it’s like they thought “Let’s make a sumo wrestler, a Indian guy, and a the american guy.”
Another thing about Guile…why is it that since he is american, he needs to have US flags on his arm? That’s just downright cheesy…you don’t see Alex doing the same shit and he can be called the “American” guy…I think that II can claim very few as being truly original…Vega(Balrog) for one. Sure, since he’s Spanish, they made him a metador, but he’s also a damn Ninja that’s in love with him-self and makes Bruce LEE-ish noises…Oh, and please note that the above is all my OPINION…none of it is fact, so no need to jump down my throat for having individual thought.
Each cast have their own theme in it, so you can’t really compare them.
I liked SF2 for Guile, he was pretty bad ass.
As to SF3, I liked Yun & Yang’s design, really stood out to me.
II.
Characters like Twelve I don’t find creative. A putty person, sweet.
I guess what it comes down to for me is memorability. I still remember how much I loved SF2, even though I didn’t play it much. The characters became icons rather than a set of fighters. By today’s standards they aren’t as wild, but that’s beacause they set the standard.
^You made a good point. One thing that even I, a person that likes III designs more can admit is that II charecters are more memorable in a icon(like you said) kind if way. They did indeed set a standard that plenty of people would follow(and make more stereotypes out of…)
I like A3 cast the best. Guy(favorite SF character EVAR!!!), Grandmaster Gen, Karin, Sakura…
I loathe the SFIII art design seems so sketchy and unfinished. The characters except for Dudley who seemed be created by Capcom to apologize for creating Balrog.
“I GOT PAID!”
this thread isnt about alpha, but yeah alpha characters are pretty cool i just dont like the look of bison in the alpha series, the rest look cool though , especially ken and charlie 
So then taking bits and pieces from other character designs or famous people in history, some stolen movesets, and whatever random crap suddenly makes them more original? Okay…
It is obvious that Gief is Russian and a stereotype, so what? I find his look original at least. He wrestles with bears! He’s hardcore, though not perfectly original. I’ll admit that. He founded the grappler style mind you. I already explained how unoriginal Necro is…
At least they managed to sneak in some originality to those stereotypes in terms of design. They did a good job for me. Well, except for Honda.
I don’t see what’s wrong with the US flags on his arm. They could have given him an american flag as an outfit. X_X Those tatoos on his shoulder help to make him unique, heh.
Now, I’m not really saying that there aren’t any 3s chars with some originality to them. I think some of them do. I did mention some that were original I think. I can agree with Oro and Elena (sort of) being original. Yun and Yang are okay. Urien is cool. He’s the one of the few that I find original. Necro and Remy could have been better designed. I also wish Necro was a better range fighter. Not necessarily like Sim, but in his own unique way. I prob would have liked Remy more if he wasn’t such a KOF regect (notice the red pants, black jacket, and random colored hair) and without any of Guile’s moves.
Let me tell you that I know that I know how to do a half-assed job with character designs. I could have made some but not all of the 3s characters with about a few minutes of time, pfff. Okay, mabye I would need an hour at the max… Hell, the GG designs are more original than most of the 3s characters.
I already know that. I just wanted to see your real reasons in why you liked the 3s designs in detail because some people . Sorry if I went a little too far. If you like the 3s designs, I find that cool. I have nothin against ya. I just like my original (again, not all the way) and diverse stereotypes. =) In closeing, “SONIC KAPOO!!!”.