Casual Design/Ideas: Mad Gear for SFV
Sodom: Would almost certainly be reinvented on the level of Birdie/Nash. I can see his weapons being locked behind V-Trigger, with pre-VT Sodom playing as a hybrid grappler. He already had a wrestling background, and his study of Sumo after Alpha 2 would definitely make him even more of a grappler than before. Not sure of a good V-Skill because heās so much of a blank slate at this point. Probably something with armor, because almost every grappler gets that. It needs to be good though, as heās working toward V-Trigger, which lasts the entire round like Necalliās. While in V-Trigger, he gets new/better normals that deal special move chip, and really good hit/blockstun because theyāre god damn swords. Probably some new specials too, as having swords opens up all kinds of options.
Rolento: Wouldnāt be changed as much because he has made more and bigger appearances than Sodom in the Street Fighter series. Mobility would definitely be his focus; think of the most annoying aspects of Vega and Rashid in one character. Normals are pretty much the same, with cr.HP and st.HK as crush counters. Pogo would be a really cool V-Skill; much like Chun-Liās V-Skill, he gains VT by hitting with the move and by landing a normal afterward. Probably need to tweak the ground version into a short hop, which Iām sure Rolento mains will enjoy. Front roll would get moved to command normal status, which gets rid of his infamous EX roll from SF4. Stinger shouldnāt have an ammo bar like Ibukiās kunai, but it will be toned down so it isnāt a better version of that. Rekka will probably be unsafe after the first version, and might have its chip toned down from older games too. V-Reversal should be a weakened grenade super that has him drop a flash/concussion grenade and roll away. It would be convincingly different from Vegaās and not broken because he does give up positioning with it. For a V-Trigger, Iām feeling his CvS2 knife rain super, with input directions changing the landing destination. Similar to R.Mikaās V-Trigger, he can use it to have the opponent stop zoning him or for okizeme set ups.
Hugo: In a game with Zangief and Birdie, what does Hugo offer? Big normals and big damage. That should be the basic premise of Hugo, but heāll probably resemble a mix of and USF4 and SFxT versions. An armored crush counter st.HP sounds absolutely terrifying, and probably does enough to be his only non-sweep crush counter for 2 bars. They could honestly make the SFxT version of his Lariat his V-Skill. Charging it has one point of armor, and the actual attack has another. The LK/MK/HK versions are mapped to back, neutral, and forward V-Skills, respectively. Specials donāt need much tweaking, but Iād give normal Meat Squasher one hit of armor and EX Meat Squasher full armor. He can lose Moonsault (who needs that anyway) and have his classic Hammer Throw into Clap into Backbreaker combo be his staple throw set up. Also, AA st.HP crush counters comboing into Backbreaker would be serious damage for no meter. Make his V-Reversal the Victory Tower DP from Omega. Hammer Mountain would definitely be his super. Giving the giant a V-Trigger is pretty hard because heās never been about utility moves. Maybe a REALLY big clap that expands across the screen, destroying projectiles in its wake? Would be fun in combos for sure.
Poison: Once we get past the issue of assigning her man health or woman health (probably woman health like Guile and Dhalsim), adapting SF4 Poison to this game presents a big issue: Guile pretty much took her projectile game with him into SFV. Donāt believe me? Aside from the wildly varying Sonic Booms, he got a stationary projectile that can be used like Poisonās HP projectile. So Iād scrap that style altogether. She never had projectiles in Final Fight, so itās an acceptable loss. Her amazing normals would almost be too good for SFV, but I wouldāve said that for SFV Karin and Cammy but we got them as is anyway. Donāt remember enough about her heavy normals to assign a good crush counter, but I do remember her basically having Karinās sweep in SF4. The AA heart projectile from Omega would be a solid V-Skill for her, and emphasize that this Poison needs to control the ground with normals and rekkas this time around. Speaking of her rekkas, remove the actual rekka part of it entirely (oxymoron much?). The LP one just does the first (safe) hit, MP does 2 hits and is unsafe, and HP does 3 hits with a gap between hits 2 and 3 to catch people mashing. EX ārekkaā is safe on block by only doing the first hit and auto completes into the launcher when landed properly. Her flip kick remains as a way to get around projectiles ala Birdie/Karinās moves, and would actually be more important once she lacks a horizontal projectile. The DP can remain roughly as is, probably trading meterless invincibility for a godly AA hitbox. Iām torn on calling her V-Reversal for a backflip (too similar to Vega?) or some kind of cheap shot like stepping on toes with her heel or a good olā fashioned kick to the groin. Since most supers are cinematics, I would expect the first hit of hers to resemble a rekka that turns into her Ultra 1 on hit. As for a V-Trigger, calling Roxy on some MvC3 Zero/Darkness Illusion shit would be badass. If Hugoās not playable, maybe have her call him in.
