Street Fighter 6 comes jam-packed with a starting roster full of mainline characters and the introduction of new characters. That being said, there are still many more fan favorites that are yet to be seen. DLC for this new fighting game is definitely on the horizon, but only Capcom knows what characters are planned in the pipeline. In the meantime, we have fantastic ideas for 10 classic Street Fighter characters that should come to Street Fighter 6.
R. Mika
Introduced in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Mika became a fun and likable character that saw revived popularity when she was reintroduced in Street Fighter V.
High-level Japanese players used her competitively to win events, and she eventually had to be nerfed, unfortunately, after players in the fighting game community complained she was a bit on the cheap side. Her background as a wrestler makes her one of the few grappler-type characters in the game, and there aren’t many in SF6. And with her signature microphone toss and crowd cheering, she’s sure to be turning heads and getting community reactions– one way or another.
Alex
Alex debuted as the main character in Street Fighter III, and for the first time, Ryu was not at the forefront of the franchise. As a pseudo-grappling character, Alex had some good pokes, albeit a bit slow, and the same slowness plagued his recovery after special moves. On the plus side, he succeeded at being a new type of character who was not a Shotokan-based fighter.
Sadly, Alex never reached prominence in competitive play and became somewhat forgotten after that. Even in Street Fighter V, Alex players were scarce, but hopefully he gets one more chance to prove himself in SF6 with more improvements and new moves. After all, he is putting it down for Team America and NYC!
Ibuki
Also hailing from Street Fighter II 3rd Strike, Ibuki was a welcome surprise to the world of Street Fighter. Ninjas go hand and hand with Japanese culture, and this female ninja had a stylish modern twist to her. She provided a mix of projectiles, fast attacks, good pokes, and confusing special moves, making her fun and relatively competitive at a high level– if you could pull off her complex combos.
Ibuki coming back would be a great idea since there is also an American ninja who can rival her, Kimberly aka Ninjastar. Kimberly is a student of Guy, another classic character that deserves to be on this list (and would have been if not for his student Kimberly), and she would make for a nice match and rival to Ibuki in the same vein as Ken and Ryu. Be on the lookout, she might suddenly appear from out of the leaves and shadows sooner than later…
G
G, the fighting president, was planned to appear in Street Fighter IV, but was delayed and then rejected as a launch character for Street Fighter V. He finally made his inauguration as a DLC character in SFV, and was designed to be the final boss of the arcade story mode. Although this designation never made an impact on the game’s story mode, he is often pictured among previous bosses such as M. Bison/Vega and Gill.
It’s clear that G is inspired by Abraham Lincoln and Uncle Sam, and has similarities to other historic figures and fighting game characters. G brings such a different dynamic to the franchise both in terms of style and gameplay mechanics and was received by the fighting game community. He needs to come back ASAP, after all, who doesn’t want to see the self-proclaimed president of the world back in the game kicking butt?
Q
Q’s only playable appearance has been in Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, and there are fans of the series that want that to change. Although, he can be seen in the background of Ken Masters’ stage, on the boat, in Street Fighter II Championship Edition.
One of the most standout characters of the entire franchise, he has a noir, superhero, robot detective, and horror vibe to him, and that formula has never been repeated. His identity and story remain a mystery to this day and hopefully, Capcom will shed some light on this shady character in SF6.
Yun
One of the most popular characters from Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, Yun is the original Chinese street skater with kung-fu prowess. Both he and his brother Yang added a whole new dimension to the franchise and would be nice additions even though SF6 currently has a new drunken-style kung-fu fighter in the form of Jamie Siu, who is the rival to Luke, the new protagonist of the series from SFV. Jamie is also the cousin to Yun and Yang, so that definitely effects the probability of the original brothers returning to the game.
Either way, both of these brothers are exceptional and fun characters, but Yun gets a slight nod over his brother Yang because Street Fighter player and legend Daigo preferred playing with Yun and wowed crowds with his gameplay using the character. Jamie might end up being the only character representing family of kung-fu fighters, but Yun and Yang are welcome to skate their way back into the game anytime.
Dudley
Dudley’s introduction in Street Fighter III New Generation was a surprise since no one was expecting another boxer to enter the fray, let alone one with British style and gentlemanly class. Nevertheless, Dudley made an impact when he hit the scene and become a favorite of a few FGC competitive players, making him a regular in tournaments.
Currently, there is no boxing-focused character in SF6, and although Ed will be seeing a future release, he might be evolved with more of his shadow clone and psycho power attributes. Dudley had a much more balanced move set when compared to the OG boxer, Balrog/M. Bison, and no doubt that would carried into a new incarnation of the character. Besides, how can you resist his gentleman handlebar mustache and suspenders?
Karin
Ah, we can’t forget about the elitist Karin who debuted in the manga series Street Fighter: Sakura Ganbaru! and became first playable in Street Fighter Alpha 3. As the rival of Sakura, she definitely brought the drama and is the head of the uber-wealthy Kanzuki family. That also explains her pseudo-schoolgirl outfit, reminiscent of Sakura’s original uniform.
In Street Fighter V, Karin made her return and was instantly picked up and played by several of the fighting game community’s most competitive professional players. She remained a mainstay pick for many throughout the game’s lifecycle and has many fans to this day. If Capcom brings her back, they can expect more heated rivalry, which is at the core of the SF franchise.
Zeku
Zeku was revealed in the Street Fighter Alpha 2 story as the former 38th grandmaster of Bushinryu Ninjutsu until he passed on the lineage to his pupil, Guy. His designs are reminiscent of one of Capcom’s oldest platform games, Striker.
In terms of gameplay, Zeku is one of the few to take advantage of a dual-switching fighting style. A two-in-one character, Zeku can switch between his current older self and his younger form. While in his current older form, he uses new moves that developed after Bushinryu, which are best utilized at the medium and far rage. While in his old form, he plays similarly to Guy, with a rushdown and up-close playstyle favored. Zeku is a fantastic character who should be in SF6 due to his dual-style gameplay and unique appearance.
Sakura
In today’s Street Fighter, you can’t have Ryu without Sakura trailing along. Introduced in Street Fighter Alpha 2, Sakura was born from the franchise’s need to have more stylishly appealing characters. Developed to have a fangirl crush and obsession with Ryu, it became easier to justify her Shotokan Karate fighting style.
Her move set did differ drastically from the traditional Shoto-fighters Ryu and Ken and had its share of pros and cons. As a fun and adorable Tomboy, Sakura has grown up into a more serious contender in her own right and is often selected by competitive players in the fighting game community. Bringing her back alongside Karin would be great for more female gender diversity and mirror all of the Ryu-Ken rivalries that run rampant in the franchise’s history. By the way Capcom, it’s time for Ken Masters to get a fangirl too!
That is our list of the 10 classic Street Fighter characters that should come to Street Fighter 6. Honorable mentions go out to Oro, Rose, and Sodom. It should also be noted that Gouki / Akuma is a no-brainer and is almost 100% sure to come along sometime in the future, possibly along with Evil Ryu. Other characters that will most likely become playable with DLC are M. Bison / Vega and Sagat. Now it’s time to hear from you; which SF characters do you want to see become playable in SF6?
Published: Jun 12, 2023 09:00 am