I want to be clear, these are not the top ten best Street Fighter characters. I’ve only played a portion of the games, and am by no means an expert in fighting game mechanics. However, I’m grading these on appearance, backstory and uniqueness. Who looks the coolest? Who has a cool name? A cool backstory?  Hell, stage music counts too!  We’re going more for the characters and less about the fighting. Now a character’s unique moves might help them stand out, but it won’t be the definitive reason.

Honorable Mentions:
Area, Garuda, Zangief, Decapre and Laura Matsuda all make the honorable mention list.  Zangief because, pro wrestler; duh.  He’s big, i loved his spinning piledriver as a kid and he’s just awesome, but pretty generic in his design.  I’m always down for anyone who loves rollerblading like I do.  So Area is a clear and obvious choice for me.  Decapre reminds me of any early Mortal Kombat clone from the 90’s but her being an imperfect clone of Cammy sure helped put over most.  Laura Matsuda, the Brazilian with the Japanese name is here for her sheer….aesthetics.  And then finally that big bastard Garuda looks like he’s going to smash an entire building in half with one of his sword strikes.  That dude is tailor made to be a boss of a game.

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10) El Fuerte
– I love me some luchadores. The second of the wrestlers of Street Fighter to make the list, he’s far more conventional in his looks in comparison. He stands out among the rest by having a weird as hell backstory. Not just a Cruiserweight by Lucha Libre standards but he’s also a highly touted chef. Doing my research though, I’ve found that he’s highly disliked. Everyone has their own reasons, like fans who want every character to be played with stock abilities and no differences at all for any reason. Or those who find his look ‘generic’. I’ve seen generic luchadores. He’s not one of them.

The ponytail coming out of his mask is unique among masked Luchadores. usually their hair is tied down or kept short to avoid having something poke out of the back. It’s something that’s highly uncommon and immediately draws your eyes in. Pentagon, Blue Demon, Dr. Wagner, all have standards masks. Usually rudo’s masks may have something more to it, like the Clowns of AAA fame and history. However not his. Which sets him apart. The gold, black and white isn’t great but it does give him a sense or regal appeal that not everyone can pull off.

As for his stage, call it ‘newb-ism’ or just a lack of understanding but I couldn’t find a stage that is distinctly his from Street Fighter IV. For some reason Street Fighter made the dumb decision to detach stages from their characters. Why? Stupidity, mainly. While some like Rashid still have stages that are clearly there’s, I’ve seen nothing about them bringing back character-specific stages as a whole in Street Fighter V.

El Fuerte’s theme is very symbolic of his lucha-libre roots, with a strong emphasis on brass and guitar. However, much like Street Fighter IV forgot about the stages, this theme (while Mexican sounding) almost sounds more like a Mexican ska band than anything else. It has a hopeful and exuberant start, but after that it falls into uninspired melodies. Sure, Fuerte’s look is great but his extra’s don’t do him any favors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

9) Adon
– I’m not as familiar with Adon as I am with some of the people on this list.  Unfortunately that’s going to be a trend here.  If I’ve played any of these characters at all, it’d be for mere moments.   Going through his Adon’s character profile though and watching him fight, it’s no surprise to me why he’s on this list.  The character grew up in Thailand and always wanted to take out the Muay Thai Emperor and  become the greatest fighter of the Muay Thai discipline.   Yet it was Sagat, his eventual teacher that became the new Emperor.  With him as the new top guy, Adon became Sagat’s protege, and set off on his quest to become the best.

His look is simple, yet inspiring.  Like Sagat, he wears a traditional Muay Thai shorts.  His feet and hands are wrapped with tape, in order to keep bones in place upon contact and reduce swelling.   Yet it’s his hair that is the most compelling part of his character.  This franchise lives in a universe where hair products are easy-breezy in their application, as Adon’s hair resembles that of a bird of prey.  The hair parlays into his fighting style, with the swiftness of a Muay Thai fighter, he might often look like a dive bombing raptor.  His name though may shed more light on the characters designed as his name is ‘Lord’ in Hebrew.  That could explain why he wears almost a “golden halo” of sorts around his head.

Adon’s level is a bit empty in it’s presentation.  Instead the focus is on ruins in the background, which is aptly placed.  Adon’s desire to be a Muay Thai master, would mean that he’d be around ancient temples where Muay Thai is practiced and performed by many.  It’s also the sight of the first fight he ever witnessed.  It also hearkens back to the very first ‘Street Fighter’ game, that Adon was apart of.  The stage is slightly different but the emphasis on Thailand’s culture is still front and center.

It’s not that surprising that his theme is the perfect thing for him.  His head reminds you of a rejected cartoon character – turned video game mascot.  So his theme is almost straight out of that.  In a song that would easily make it into most “Mega Man” games, you can hear the quick tones, the dramatic note pauses, the constant change in tempo.  It’s almost as if you’re fighting him without ever lifting a finger.

 

 

 

 

 

8) Q
– I love me a good mystery and that’s exactly what Q is, a mystery.  Not known to be man or machine, Q represents a bit of a running myth in the Street Fighter lore.  Suspected to have been seen all the way back in Street Fighter II on the boat in the harbor of where Ken Masters is fighting, Q seems to follow a trend of murders and disasters.  Having been seen in photos after unsolved murders, there’s a belief that he either causes them, or investigates them.  There’s no sign that he has any allegiances whatsoever.

His look is pretty unique, looking like a combination of Rorschach or The Question from DC’s comics history.  Which falls in line with the mystery motif that the character embodies.  While his history isn’t known and it seems unlikely that he’s been a character they’ve been hiding in the shadows for almost 30 years, it is possible they adapt his history similar to how Mortal Kombat did for the character Blaze.

The Sherlock-ian character that he is, it’s not a surprise to know what his stage is.  While officially he has no stage to his name (yet), Q’s stage is shared with the character Dudley.  A sprawling London cityscape.  While the connection to Dudley seems superficial, there might be something to the location.  London, England.  could the unknown man be the Street Fighter’s very won version of Sherlock Holmes?   But perhaps he’s more machine than man, driven by his quest to solve the hardest to solve mysteries.  It’s also possible they through a dart at one of the maps and said, “…eh, good enough.”

Q’s music is also another hint to his heritage possibly.  The opening strikes a sharp and memorable tone similar to the “Doctor Who” intro.  The show’s mysterious and haunting melody is very reminiscent of Q’s.  As the song develops, a subtle bass line, and almost 70’s era vibe illuminates from the track as if to draw inspiration from a bygone era.   Surely the character’s 70’s inspired, British stylized melody, and his connection to London, England can’t be overlooked.  Will the Q ever have an A?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Rainbow Mika
– Rainbow Mika has a beyond revealing costume, that’s pretty obvious.  Yet, that isn’t why she’s on this list.  No, she’s on this list because she closely resembles that of a Luchadora.  Mika, a pro wrestler by trait began her training in middle-school and sought out Yoko Harmageddon of the Iwashigahama Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling company.   While there she became a great grappler before moving on in order to gain name recognition by fighting Street Fighters.

Her attire leaves very little to the imagination, but then again, Zangief wears red bathing trunks to fight, so are we really going to squabble over cleavage?  The blue and light blue color scheme elicits a sense of joyful optimism.   Her hair comes in as if they’re wings, possibly another biblical reference like with Adon.  The grappler’s style and personality seems to take us back to a time in the 1990’s where this type of apparel for women was the norm.  While it’s a bit dated, it still gets a cross ‘pro wrestler’ even if it’s not the most ‘PG’ thing.

Her stage is wildly different than what you’d expect a pro wrestler to fight at regularly.  Her stage looks to be on the oceanfront with what looks like a small arena (possibly) to the right.  A crowd that barely earns the name is seen in the middle, cheering on their favorite no-body wrestler, while the rest of the world seemingly passes by.

Her music isn’t anything over dynamic or fitting.  It feels like generic, stock music that any federation would give someone, and not the amazing triumphant music pro wrestlers typically get.  The best example as to the musical musing could be traced back to a generic dance track that the Nitro Girls would dance to back in the day.  She gets credit her combat style, (most) of her costume and her ever present optimism but the theme an level selection leaves something to be desire.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) Doctrine Dark
– Without even knowing the Street Fighter fandom all that well, I bet they hate Doctrine Dark.  I don’t know, just a feeling.  They’re not keen on generic swat types (fighter games in general), and he seems too ‘edgelord’ for many of them to take seriously but in a game with so many goofy-ass characters (Gill, anyone?), someone like Dark really tickles my fancy. A skilled soldier, he’s damaged by Rolento in battle that cripples his chin (yup) and has to wear a respiratory to help him breath.  Because of this, he now has PTSD, and is showcased by his chaotic looks and wide-eyed expressions.  Serious and homicidal, this character is one of the darker and more abstract versions of the Street Fighter catalog.  He’s mostly relegated to the often forgotten about Street Fighter EX series, which was CAPCOM’s attempt to “modernize” the franchise by making it look more akin to Tekken.

Physically speaking his look appeals to me, but then again I like Stryker from Mortal Kombat so clearly I have a thing.  The blue pants and top are powerful in their simplicity.  The look of law and order.  combine that with the sharp contrast of the black vest and aesthetically it becomes one of the more impactful looks.  However you had the wide-eyes, angered fueled looks, and it gives the look a more morbid feeling.  However, the blond locks which at times covers his eyes, pulls you away from his steely expression.  Hiding the true depth of his depravity.

His level is often the sewers apparently.  Bleak, baron and devoid of any warmth, must like the character at hand.  It’s as dangerous, and disgusting as the actions of Dark.  The lack of light mirrors not juts Dark’s name, but also what’s left of the characters souls as well.  Though like Dark’s subterranean fighting spot, he’s devoid of anything good, or optimistic.  A character that exists solely to kill.  No surprise he desires to be a place no normal person would be found in, unless they were dead.

His stage theme is as perfect for him as it is obscure.  It starts off almost uncertain of where it wants to be.  A slow jazz infused monstrosity, it hops around and injects a foreboding tone into the chorus, with what could only be described as aches.  Slowly, a clear and overpowering melody arises to take over the song, almost like Dark’s own single minded desire to kill.

 

 

 

 

 

5) Rashid
– A character from the Street Fighter V, Rashid is someone that really intrigued me.  The flowing and elegant  movements of his character appeal to me but his look is also extremely interesting. The character is a fun loving one, more interested in being laid back than anything, but he has a selfishness that I appreciate.  He’s known to jump into fights to help those whom he believe may need it.  On top of that, he’s one of the more modern characters I found, often being referred to by Ryu as “that guy from Twitter”.  That alone makes him at least worth a mention.   His entire purpose for fighting revolves around him wanting to find a kidnapped friend who was taken by Shadaloo.  Yet despite his serious quest, he still has time to joke around, often times calling Zangief by the wrong name.  That’s a funny and potentially life threatening joke to play.

His stage has a unique tone all it’s own, much like Rashid.  The obviously rich Rashid fights his opponents on the wing of his very own plane, as it flies across the Dubai skyline.  It takes you through a sweeping tour of the city, being almost as fun to watch as the game is to play.  It’s gorgeous and unique, and adequately encompasses the gameplay style of Rashid, which is a more graceful and flowing style.  The game and it’s ability to recreate the essence of their characters is their stage and music is impressive.

Speaking of which, his music is very good.  It captures the essence of the region with it’s oud-like sounding instrumentals to begin the song.  Like windstorms in the region, it starts off slow, before the full gust of the song rips through the speakers.  It’s high energy, something you could imagine hopping from one wing of a plane, Mission Impossible style.  It incorporates lyrics, a rarity I’ve found (but maybe not for the series), and the blend of them with the rest of the musical fusion adds an extra layer of depth to the song, much like Rashid himself.  The aloof and humorous hero, who’s not afraid to stand in or step up for those that need him.

 

 

 

 

 

4) Shadow Geist
– Shadow Geist (Shadowgeist) is right up my bowling lane sized alley.  He’s straight out of a superhero comic, channeling some really unique indy blended-superhero styles.  His sharp yet, twisting gold feather lends you to think he’s not as traditional as most.  His character is also born of comic-origins.  He rose from a dictatorship, and watched as the regime murdered his wife and caused the disappearance of his daughter.  Seeking revenge, he took up arms against the regime and fought to get his family back.  There appears to be a natural animosity with Skullomania, whom he believes is a supervillain.

His look is straight out of an early 90’s Power Rangers series.  He’s adorned by a red cloak, that covers a chaotic and erratically designed suit.  It’s covered in random symbols, that bleed into stretches of black.  The ends are covered by gold boots and gloves respectively.    A blaring sun appears to be his symbol of choice that can be seen twice in most iterations, on his chest and belt.  His face is seemingly covered by two masks, or at least two distinctively different parts of it.  One that covers his mouth, which actually may be more likely to be makeup and one that covers his head, keeping his identity and ethnicity a mystery.  While it may seem stupid and even counter intuitive, the suit itself is very inline with the character’s over the top style.  When you break down the name of him, giest is known to be a form of spirit of a group or entity.  When you see his stage (coming soon), and hear his name, he seems to embody some reality that bends space and time, and doesn’t make sense.  Ergo his suit doesn’t make sense either.  So it works, because it doesn’t.

His stage is…It’s fucking bonkers is the only true way to describe it.  It’s like Salvador Dali had sexually driven explosion all over the design of his stage, though he never could of dropped as much acid to ever get close to this.  A set of tracks appear to lead straight into oblivion, with random pieces of art appear in the foreground.  The Ferris Wheel is dragged under the sands while the fighters appear on a chessboard like battle field.  Perhaps symbolizing Shadow Geists’ ability to play characters against their better judgement?  Is he a master manipulator or a poor interior decorator?  Either way, his whole gimmick works.

As for his theme, it’s just like the rest of him, it makes no sense.   It’s all over the place, making you think you’re going from a fight, to a wild ride through the sands of the middle east.  It’s mix and blend of several different styles is extremely confounding and it’s far from any one thing.  Going from a daunting and aggressive beat to something you’d hear on the streets of any early 00’s era racing game.  What a weird and somehow fitting song.

 

 

 

 

3) Skullomania
– Oh what fresh hell is this thing?  This is my list of the best looking gimmicks so obviously La Parka’ illegitimate son is going to make this list.  It’s claimed that he’s supposed to be inspired by Japan’s Masked Rider or Kamen Raida, yet he bares no resemblance to him at all.  Instead he looks and features more like a pro wrestler, and takes after his look from the iconic L.A. Park and LA Parka characters of Mexico.  His character bio is as over the top as he is.  A down on his luck salesman, he takes part in a showcase in his department store, designed to increase foot traffic.  In doing so he puts on a superhero out and becomes overwhelmed with the desire to fight crime.  So he does.  It’s literally that simple and that stupid.  Which is why I love it so much.

His look is easy and unmistakable.  The simple black background with white bones adorned across the suit is  instantly recognizable.    His mouth is often designed in a way to make him look smiling, a tactic I’m sure he’s done to prevent children from running away.  In a lot of ways his outfit and bone design looks more akin to something you may find in Mexico for the Day of the Dead celebrations.

His stage is apparently some sort of circus.  As a performer, something like this would make sense, though it resembles less of a store and more of a standard tent.  Perhaps it was built in the parking lot?  A giant devils’ head overlooks the combatants, perhaps being the the embodiment of the evil in which Skullomania seeks to end.  A clown is in the back area, being freaky because fuck clowns.

His stage theme mirrors the stage a bit more than I’d imagine it does the character design.  It’s sharp, yet brings in more of a circus vibe at times as the song progresses.  Each sharp note almost brings about the feeling of a classic Batman ’66 combat scene.  With the music telling the story of the fight.  While it ties into his superhero/performer vibe really well, it’s the realization that it sounds like music more akin to the Streets of Rage series of games than anything else when it starts.  So the combination of all this seem to make a pretty well done composite.

 

 

2) Guile
– Before the ” ‘MERICA!” jokes became a thing, nothing screamed more ‘Merica’ than Colonel Guile.  His sonic boom blas was one of the sweetest moves in Street Fighter II and it’s not just because we thought it was a hair blast at first.  The character was always one of the first that we’d try and play as, because kids loved army-men back then. What’s even better than the army-man motif is the way his personality influenced his design (or vise versa).  Guile’s entire backstory reads like a 1990 Marvel Comic Fanfic.  A man who idolized his commanding officer, Charlie Nash, Guile asked Nash to teach him Nash’s signature style.  However, Guile’s attitude and temper caused Guile to never master the style, thus becoming more unpredictable and undisciplined along the way in his technique.

The character design is so poignant when you think of his temperament .  When you realize that his fighting style is loose and undisciplined, and look at his actual look, it is too striking not to see the similarities.  Guile is rarely if ever seen in his full uniform, something you’d expect to see him in from time to time as a military man.  His hair is the most obvious component to it, overflowing and unkempt.   It rushes from his head and forms the most bizarre high top I’ve ever seen . The amount of gel one must use a day to keep his hair up like that has to be Kardashian level annoying.

When you first see Guile, he’s at his airbase.  A crew of motley airmen and airladies are seen lounging about, in the middle of what could be an all day drinking contest.  The loose and obvious relaxing stances of each of the military members shows you this is as unsanctioned and unofficial as it got.  With what looks like an F-16 behind them, the plane adds an auspicious backdrop for a tournament fight.

What Guile is most known for though has to be his music.  It’s become a meme in it’s own right, “Guile’s Theme Goes With Everything”.  And they may not be wrong.  The music is upbeat, almost mirroring the ‘over-come-the-odds’ style of 80’s cinematic experiences.   A feeling of Rocky running up the stairs in Philadelphia is emoted with the initial opening , before effortlessly moving into a chorus that makes one feel like they hopped from Rocky IV to Top Gun in a seamless transition.   If the U.S. defined 80’s culture with it’s raucous anthems blaring within their action flicks; then Guile is the last hurrah to a bygone era, ushering in the 90’s with peak 80’s attitude and music.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Vega
– Of course Vega’s on this list. Why the hell wouldn’t he be? Vega goes back to my first ever time playing this game. It was a Block Party that was winding down for the night. I went to my friends house across the street and we loaded up Street Fighter II: Champions Edition and what would you know? Vega was playable. Trying to beat this bastard was a ripe task all in it’s own but trying to get good at him was even harder. The look of him though instantly drew me in.  His character bio is one of legend.  A nobleman who’s mother had to re-marry to man he did not like, and to whom he saw as ugly.  After training an becoming a master fighter, Vega finds out his step-father killed his mother.  Seeking his revenge he takes the life of the man he always resented but in doing so he became a man of two distinct personalities.  The honorable noblemen by day and a serial killer level murderer by night.

As fan of the X-Men at the time he had the cool Wolverine-like claw on his wrist, a great piece of weapon lore in the world of mutant and street fighting respectively. He was colorful, with the purple and gold trim running down his legs. The mask covered up his ‘perfect’ face, keeping it safe from damage. And let us not forget the giant serpent tattoo that’s visible all over his chest.  The design alone told a cold story  about this man.  Why someone so “beautiful” would be so willing to scar his body, acquire permanent ink and risk mortal danger all for a fight is telling.  All for the sake of proving he’s the best.  Seeing his fighting style on display, it’s not hard to see that he leads into all of his attacks with a move that, had this been real life, would almost certainly of been a killing blow.  That’s not a character oversight I think.    The character stood out like a sore thumb and his fighting style was so cool. He was fast, athletic and his ability to climb the cage in his level was the most stellar thing we’d ever seen.

Oh and that stage. Thrown into a metaphorical lion’s den, one that only Ken Shamrock would like. Sealed in via a cage, and forced to fight in front of paying spectators, there was few levels ever quite like this in game history. The music that accompanies it fits so well with the Spaniard infused fighter. The sound of what could be the Flamenco guitar is heard strumming around to an incredibly upbeat tune. It does it’s job to teleport you to not only the country but also the venue in which the battle takes place. It makes you feel as if you’re really apart of the proceedings.