I think this concept of the Shadaloo base might add evidence to my theory about the base being located in China. The site lists the country of origin as ???, but it states that the base is designed around an Oriental temple, which wouldn’t be that dissimilar to Thailand Base. The thing is that the general outline of the stage is reminiscent of the stage in Fang’s character art background.
In the concept you can make out different screens showing cities like New York, Paris, London, and Sydney, although in the description they mention that the redesigned style of the stage is to make it less like a temple and more focused on world domination (hence, why we now have a giant statue of Bison clutching the globe).
I agree with you guys, Sagat definitely reigns at the top of the development field. Chun has been moving forward as Doctrine Dark said, I feel her conversation with Guile in SSF4 really moves her forward closer to SF3 Chun and beyond. It’s part of why I’m so against bringing back her father as Q or otherwise. She’s accepted that she’s lost her father and is fighting the good fight, for everyone and not doing this for revenge. She’s no longer living in the shadow of her father’s passing, but moving forward and now taking on a daughter in SF5 is another great step. I want her to keep moving forward and growing as she encounters new and old foes and not return to “gotta find out what happened to father!”
Ken I usually overlook, but yeah, he’s grown so much. He was just flashier, non-monk Ryu, but then he really embraced his family and it became a key aspect to his character. I hope for some equivalent of Ryu final where they really show off how much the love of his family empowers him.
Bison: 'nuff said. Dude’s gone the distance.
In terms of potential:
Alex, he only ever got a minor focus in comparison to the heavy hitters that have spanned Alpha and 2, but even as brief as his SF5 story was so far, it did drop little hints that there’s more to him than meets the eye. I mean all Fang’s data was outdated to Alpha/SF2 era stuff, and he BEAT that Ryu! I feel that Fang freaked out and sent Alex back so that he could reestablish proper monitoring of him and evaluation before proceeding. After all a SECOND meeting may be sweeter than the first!
Charlie- usually I’m not a fan of fallen hero becomes angry slouching anime guy, but with Nash’s storymode there seems to be a certain bit of projecting. He’s certainly angry, but he’s shown he’s a lot more rounded than his early battle quotes would have had us believing. I think he’s believing so much that he’s a monster that he feels the need to push all away to keep them safe or not slow him down in his mission. I honestly don’t want Charlie to die after this. As I’ve said a bunch, I’d love for him to move on after the events of this and either become a Big Boss-like anti-hero trying to “fix the system” or something else, maybe not so tragic. I dunno, loads of potential here.
Dhalsim has always been criminally underused. Now with his connection to Oro and Retsu, it’d be cool to see more from him, also the fact that he helped Cammy and in SF II:V instructed Ryu shows that he can be utilized as a great guru. Whether or not he stays playable, I feel he should have a lot more plot involvement from here.
I think Dhalsim and Ryu are going to fight off Necalli for the first part of the story. Necalli then heads toward the Shadowloo base to devour Bison, and Ryu gets advice from Dhalsim (maybe Oro too) that helps him to fight and defeat Necalli.
I wonder what it is that draws Necalli to those 3 in particular? Perhaps a specific Chi they emit? It makes sense that he would choose them out of the entire cast. They all possess special powers compared to the others. Well, there’s Nash, but we still don’t know the deal with his new powers.
All 3 probably have the highest “potential” of the launch roster. I can’t imagine anyone else being on their level without a LOT of training (excluding Karin “Mary Sue” Kanzuki, who will be 3S Akuma by SF6). Nash is likely augmented and does not register to Necalli, and Ken’s approaching his upper limit. The 3 characters Necalli pursues are either S tier already (Dhalsim, Bison) or likely to become S tier after some self-discovery (Ryu once he chooses to accept SNH or Mu permanently).
Ryu- he’s the anime hero, the dude with highest potential, unbreakable will/spirit blah blah blah. Also SnH, even if at some point normal Ryu will be strong as (likely stronger) than Evil Ryu
Dhalsim- he’s the most spiritual enlighted current char, probably the one that worked more on his interior energy after Oro.
M.Bison- he’s the most powerful current cast char, and if truly it’s in his best version ever, he’s on general one of the most powerful char of the entire SF universe.
In the intro he basically play with Ken, Chun and Cammy and even Nash (who was very powerful BEFORE getting improved by illuminati) can’t do shit until he use the teleport trick to trade at least a strike (exchange that likely end bad for him)
Notice how in story mode in the “dream” Necalli did’nt face Bison before having absorbed Ryu and Dhalsim powers
So about the character development - I guess it makes sense to go through as much of the cast is possible. Let’s start with the basics:
Ryu - started out as a simple fighter, then became an actual world warrior, and finally was developed into an individual with an inner struggle against an evil spirit AKA SnH, and since then Capcom just rehashes same old shit about Ryu trying to not become Evil
Ken - started out the same way as Ryu, then was revealed to be an owner of a multibillion corporation, then became a family man, and developed into one who balances business life, family life, and a master life (by adopting Sean as his student)
Chun-Li - started out as a strong female fighter, later revealed to have a plot of revenge against the main antagonist of the series (Bison), and finally developed into a motherly figure to lead and teach the next generation of fighters
Zangief - started out as a random Russian huge-ass fighter, later revealed to be dancing the Kozak dance with Gorbachev, and later developed into a hero figure for R. Mika, to the point he basically is in a wrestling tag team with her as a mentor and a comrade