sees meta critic link
I’m not sure the original world warriors and bosses are necessary anymore. I actually think the bosses are a good fit for different play styles though, Rog/bison/Sagat/Vega are pretty different and unique characters to all be in the game. And if Bison is in, its pretty easy for the rest to be as well. For the original 8 though, outside of Ryu, Ken, and Chun-li, I think everyone else is replaceable. And not because they aren’t fun or popular, just that there exist equal characters to fill those voids.
I would do this to the original 12:
Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li = Check, these ones should be in.
Guile = Replace with Charlie.
Dhalsim and Blanka = Replace with Necro.
Zangief = Replace with Alex.
E. Honda = Bye bye.
Sagat and Claw = Could be in, but not really necessary.
Boxer = Replace with Dudley and Q.
Dictator = Could be in, but you can replace with Urien.
Everyone could actually be present either as DLC or an update of the game, but I really don’t think they’re a longer a “must” or completely necessary in the first iteration of the game.
Charlie and Guile could feature important differences in gameplay, I’ve always said with Charlie they could tune down the power of his specials and make him perform them by holding a punch/kick button then release it.
As for the New Challengers, I’d vote for them to be completely out of the first iteration and perhaps the whole game.
So, my 16-characters roster could be something like this.
- Ryu
- Ken
- Chun-Li
- Charlie
- Necro
- Alex
- Dudley
- Urien
- Sakura
- Rose
- Karin
- Juri
- C. Viper
- Abel
- NEW
- NEW
Something like that.
I actually really like that list. My issue is that if we only get 16 characters (which seems too small for a brand new game), there should be more than two new characters. I would like at least 25% new to justify the existence of a new game. SF4 was a throwback to a dead genre (SF2) and they needed to play up the nostalgia; now that the fighting game community has grown a lot, I hope Capcom creates some bold new characters (not goofy like hakan/elfuerte/Rufus/Seth), but serious new contenders.
Remove Rose and Viper or Abel and add two more new characters.
The thing that sucks about these issues is character loyalists and mastering that character. Of course after spending so much time with them in a previous or several previous games is that you grow with them a good deal. People want to continue playing that character.
It’s always safe to main Ryu because he is synonymous with Street Fighter. He’s the main character and the story involves him quite a bit. People who main him never have to worry. I feel bad for people who main Twelve, because he’ll probably never be in another SF ever again.
On the other hand, what makes a game fresh isn’t necessarily the characters in it, but how it plays. You can have returning cast members, but still make them fresh and give them new tools to use both on a per character basis and then within the actual game engine itself. Compare SF2 Chun-Li to SF3. Huge difference, outside of the cosmetic appearance they are completely different characters. Even animations are completely new. She’s the one staple character who has drastically changed over the years. She is strong in the games because they made her fit the engines they put her in.
Unlike Vega, who wasn’t changed enough in SF4, he’s still a SF2 character in the SF4 engine and that’s why he’s so weak in it. They did not alter him to work in the game with the tools the engine provides. If they put as much effort into him that they did with Chun, it would be a totally different story. Same with the other 3 of the 4 kings. They’re still basically their SF2 counter parts. They could have been freshened up a lot.
If the roster is 70-80% USF4, I will be 70-80% disappointed.
My second take would be:
- Ryu
- Ken
- Chun-Li
4. Bison - Charlie
- Sakura
- Karin
- Alex
- Dudley
- Necro
- Juri
- C. Viper
13. Rufus - NEW
- NEW
- NEW
Put Bison instead of Urien, to add more from SFII and less from SFIII, I think the balance is better now (4 characters from SFII, 3 from Alpha, 3 from III, 3 from IV and 3 new characters).
Changed Abel for Rufus, since Abel’s kind of the SFIV face, I don’t think he has another chance, also the “chain” gameplay is already represented by Karin, while Rufus’s gameplay adds more variety.
Removed Rose and made space for a third new character, I think that’s enough.
SF3 most definitely tanked because the original 8 weren’t in it. Believe it or not, a lot of people don’t like change. Unfamiliarity causes people to shy away from things that can potentially be good but aren’t given the chance because they are too different. Simply including a few characters does nothing to make a game feel like Street Fighter. You need those iconic characters to be in since they will forever be a piece of what Street Fighter really was.
If you think that some of them are replaceable, again, look at the SF3 roster and the cheap imitations of the originals. Granted, a FEW of them definitely grew into their own shoes to be an amazing standalone character, but they can’t hold a candle to the significance that is the original.
Magegg, you have to understand…everyone hates Rufus! He shouldn’t be in. The Necro replacing Blanka/Dhalsim thing is kind of iffy as well. I don’t know how popular Necro is, but I do know Dhalsim has quite the cult following.
Well, I like him, and I think his gameplay’s one of the best from the new characters, along with Juri and Viper. Fuerte’s too tricky, Abel is not as effective as he could have been, Hakan is shit and Gouken is fine but he’s mostly a bonus character.
That’s the problem: Everyone has a cult following. But not all of them can come back. If we do so, the game would be simply Street Fighter II + Sakura + A couple new characters.
Necro is a great character, he brings new things to the table and his offensive gamestyle can adapt very well into SFV. Dhalsim could come back in an update, but I’d say this is the perfect chance to give Necro a chance.
nice list…
My second favorite fighter after SF is VF, and honestly, they don’t really change up the roster that much, and each fighter feels fresh again with every game. I’m ok with returning characters being a bulk of the game IF they actually change them. Like, make Ken and Ryu older with beards. Put Ken’s son in, kill off Gouki. Settle down Guile etc…Just mix it up and make everyone (returning or otherwise) feel fresh.
Yeah that worked out great for SC5. People loved that and it sold a lot.
I’m okay with a similar roster to 4 because I hate 4’s version of practically everyone, and I can already see 5’s Chun and Ryu are infinitely better. I would actually want to see as many characters as possible get the “V treatment”.
4’s roster is way too big. Would love to see most of them axed, especially the funny but not actually funny characters like Rufus and El Fuerte. Also wouldn’t enjoy such a large roster in SFV unless they actually intend to make the gameplay of the characters different. Everyone in IV has basically the same combos, and for the huge cast, the differences in gameplay aren’t that big. Once you learn one light light medium special combo, it’s all the same. The rest is minor variations in spacing and timing and nuance. That’s fine, but there’s no need for a 50-man cast full of duplicates.
Just don’t forget Fei Long.
Even if 70-80 percent of the cast was rehashed I would get the game just like many others because it will likely be the popular game on the block. I like a decent portion of the sf4 cast and yet at the same time wouldn’t mind seeing some characters get cut out(rose/juri/etc).
with 44 characters in USF4
The odds of SF5’s roster being 3/4 the same is pretty well a given in my book.
It is only smart, plus they’ll all play different anyway.
Edit - I’m sure characters like Rose will no doubt be in it. Her story is highly relevant and she’s always in peoples face at tourney’s (looking at you luffy! haha)
Juri in. Me happy. Juri not…then SF5 is a failure for me. Won’t have much motivation to get it then.
I just hope we don’t get fan service characters like Yun and Yang anymore. We need characters with unique movesets like Alex, Birdie and R. Mika.