Long Dingo post incoming:
I think they can still move towards SF3 or even be in SF3 instead of rebooting. You could have the main SF3 story supplemented with a B plot that has the characters that were omitted dealing with another part of the Illuminati or Neo Shadaloo like you mentioned, then certain smaller scope characters can be doing their own thing. Omitting 90% of the cast was something that Capcom regretted and will never do again, but Capcom shouldn’t be extra slow and do another major delay.
Having a new, large level threat pop out of nowhere wont feel natural and Neo- Shadaloo, if they do go bad or anti-hero would work better as roadblocks in a side plot or addition to the main plot. I don’t see them being a potential threat big enough to justify them getting an entire game to themselves that pulls in the majority of the cast.
Yeah, I want that too. I like how KoF did it. Some people go and some people come back depending on the storyline or they’re in the background. Since so many of the characters are friends, rivals, co-workers, there’s always a small tie to bring them back, but then they could also have major story elements to bring them back. I don’t ever want every SF2 character gone, but a rotation of some of them would work fine. As the brand grows, we can do it with a mix of old and new rather than culling every one from a certain game.
Honestly, I think if it’s stylized and dynamic enough with enough crowd pleasing moments, they’ll accept it. I’d hope so, because I do NOT want SF looking hyperrealistic.
BINGO! I just want the next entry in the story. Like okay, SF6 is some magical perfect combo of a summary + retcons of SF3 with side stories and the main story concludes the Illuminati saga. Then you can move on, with a ton of the cast still hanging on, to a new storyline in SF7. Have some actual tournament fun again, but have some bad guys maneuvering in the background. Not end of the world level, but something compelling but not trying to be Bison. KoF does this so well. After the dream match game, the next game is always the newest chapter of a story, I’d like Sf to at least try something like that moving on.
SF6: conclusion to the Illuminati
SF7: Illuminati defeated, more of G focused on, but it spins out into the Alphabet Company trying to take a still-recovering Post-Shadaloo world for a ride, by having certain assassinations of key political figures and something or another. A cause for alarm type of story, but not an extinction level story.
SF8: Chinese Triad + Snake themed assassin/ mercs. Redesigned King Cobra is key figure. Fun, classic Kung Fu action bonanza. Stinger scene + secret character = Setup for the return of Bison in a new angle
I dunno, I’m just throwing out ideas, but basically, after conquering the SF3 issue, let every game be free to move forward and have fun with the insanity that is this series’ full potential. I love SF and I think it has nearly infinite potential, but the refusal to move past SF3 has been causing problems. Once it’s past that and the numbering is no longer an issue, they can keep going forward and pulling along old and new fans alike. They wont have to wonder how to have yet another interquel that suddenly 12 new powerful figures show up, but are completely absent by SF3.
