Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street FighterStreet Fighter Alpha 2Street Fighter Alpha 3Street Fighter Alpha 3 [Arcade]Street Fighter 4
Street Fighter II, though. Street Fighter II stuck around. Aside from being one of the most all-around successful arcade games ever made, not to mention it created a whole new genre almost single-handedly, SF II gave the gaming world some of its most enduring, recognizable, memorable characters. Stick those first eight World Warriors in a lineup together, and most serious gamers would still be able to name them all, even ones that weren't even born back in 1989.
As always, everyone has their favorites, especially now that those original eight have been joined by...well, count them all up if you like, but we lost track a long time ago. Here, however, is what the IGN staff considers the 25 greatest World Warriors to ever stand and trade fierce punches. We based our list on character popularity, skillset, franchise impact and editor's preference.
Check back throughout the week to see where your personal favorites happened to land in the rankings.
25. Dudley (Street Fighter III)
"The manly art of Boxing has infused that true heroic courage, blending with humanity, into the hearts of Britons, which have made them so renowned, terrific, and triumphant in all parts of the world." A little high-flown when you're talking about a videogame character, maybe, but Pierce Egan summed up Dudley fairly well there.
There have been more effective, more popular characters in Street Fighters new and old, but Dudley has them all beat for sheer simple class. He'll pummel you stupid, sure, but he'll be unfailingly polite about it, and his faithful butler will offer you a reviving cup of tea afterwards.
Dudley's also famous for having what might be the weirdest motivation of any World Warrior tournament entrant. He's not out for revenge, he's not training to get stronger, he's not searching for a long-lost family member or anything serious like that. No, he just wants to get his car back.
Gill, the boss from the first Street Fighter III, apparently made off with the antique auto that belonged to Dudley's father, and he would like his inheritance returned, thank you, kindly.
IGN Stars ranks the 25 finest World Warriors from the Street Fighter franchise. As always, everyone has their favorites, especially now that the original eight have been joined by...well, count them all up if you like, but we lost track a long time ago.
Here, however, is what we consider to be the 25 greatest Fighters to ever stand and trade fierce punches. We based our list on character popularity, skillset, franchise impact and editor's preference. Day 1 kicks off today, and stay tuned as we roll out the rest of our list all week? Share your picks in the Comments, and don't forget to vote for your favorite in the almighty poll.
24. Guy (Street Fighter Alpha)
Guy is appropriately named. He's not an especially distinctive character. Red gi, sneakers, dark hair, forgettable face…he kind of just looks like this guy, you know? Capcom's programmers even paid him the ultimate insult, kicking him out of the console version of Final Fight when they needed to cut a character to save on cartridge space.
To give him his due, though, he made quite the comeback in the Street Fighter Alpha series. He's a chain-combo specialist with wicked speed and a couple of dangerous close-in maneuvers – playing Guy, you can swap back and forth between using stick-and-move tactics and dropping your opponent with a powerful throw.
When you think about it, maybe those dull, unassuming looks work in his favor. He doesn't look especially dangerous until it's too late.
IGN Stars ranks the 25 finest World Warriors from the Street Fighter franchise. As always, everyone has their favorites, especially now that the original eight have been joined by...well, count them all up if you like, but we lost track a long time ago.
Here, however, is what we consider to be the 25 greatest Fighters to ever stand and trade fierce punches. We based our list on character popularity, skillset, franchise impact and editor's preference. Day 1 kicks off today, and stay tuned as we roll out the rest of our list all week? Share your picks in the Comments, and don't forget to vote for your favorite in the almighty poll.
23. Makoto (Street Fighter III 3rd Impact: Fight for the Future)
Powered by the beefy CPS3 arcade hardware, the character animation in the Street Fighter III series went the extra mile. Makoto is the perfect example. On the surface, she's a dead-simple character design, a girl in a simple white karate/judo gi with a plain-colored headband. Watch her in motion, though, and everything changes.
Nearly every part of her outfit never stops moving. It's not just the obvious details, like her headband's fluttering tails, or the ends of her black belt. Her hair, the cuffs and sleeves of her gi, the shading everywhere subtly shifts back and forth, making the character come alive even when it seems like she's standing still.
The Street Fighter III games had a few more obvious examples of fancy animation. Necro's rubbery limbs got a lot of attention, and so did Elena's capoeira-like moves. Makoto has subtlety going for her, though, which is also a mark of fine artistry in action.
IGN Stars ranks the 25 finest World Warriors from the Street Fighter franchise. As always, everyone has their favorites, especially now that the original eight have been joined by...well, count them all up if you like, but we lost track a long time ago.
Here, however, is what we consider to be the 25 greatest Fighters to ever stand and trade fierce punches. We based our list on character popularity, skillset, franchise impact and editor's preference. Day 1 kicks off today, and stay tuned as we roll out the rest of our list all week? Share your picks in the Comments, and don't forget to vote for your favorite in the almighty poll.
22. Ibuki (Street Fighter III)
Ninjas have always been popular fodder for fighting games. Honestly, it's kind of surprising that it took until Street Fighter III for ninjutsu to finally get a playable representative entered in the series. Look at Mortal Kombat – it had two ninjas just for starters, and by Mortal Kombat III there must have been at least a baker's dozen in the lineup.
You only need one ninja, though, as long as it's the right ninja, and Ibuki's a pretty sharp one as far as ninja go. She's deadly at long range, and fast enough to play a good game of keep-away against all but a very clever opponent.
The funny part is that, no matter how talented she might be, Ibuki doesn't actually want to be a ninja at all. The only reason she enters the third World Warrior tournament is to finish her training and get on with having a real life. Despite that, though, she came back to fight in Second Impact and Third Strike anyway – maybe she just developed a taste for it.
IGN Stars ranks the 25 finest World Warriors from the Street Fighter franchise. As always, everyone has their favorites, especially now that the original eight have been joined by...well, count them all up if you like, but we lost track a long time ago.
Here, however, is what we consider to be the 25 greatest Fighters to ever stand and trade fierce punches. We based our list on character popularity, skillset, franchise impact and editor's preference. Day 1 kicks off today, and stay tuned as we roll out the rest of our list all week? Share your picks in the Comments, and don't forget to vote for your favorite in the almighty poll.
21. Sakura (Street Fighter Alpha 2)
By the mid-'90s, Street Fighter was a multimedia phenomenon. It wasn't just about games anymore – it spawned cartoons, comics, books, a movie, and floods of spin-off merchandise. Sakura herself was never just a video game character. While she was making her debut in Street Fighter Alpha 2, she was also fronting the popular Sakura Ganbaru! comic strip, which was just lately published over here in America.
- CAPCOM Depending on how you look at her, Sakura might be a little too...perhaps "obvious" might be the word to describe her as a character design. She's a teenage girl in a sailor uniform with a skirt that's a whole lot shorter than normal. No prizes for guessing who that's meant to appeal to.
She works, though, because she doesn't play up the cutie-pie angle any more than she absolutely has to. Her look might be a little silly, but her attitude is all business, except when she takes the occasional short break for a touch of comic relief. If you read up on her backstory, Sakura's good for a couple of extra chuckles, too – she's Ryu's biggest fan, but she has to settle for training under the mighty Dan Hibiki instead.
Who's your favorite of today's five Street Fighters? | ||