Teh S [SSFIV Roster]

Teh S is coming to Street Fighter IV; specifically the silver emblem of superiority. Super.

Super Street Fighter IV has been announced as a standalone title, and the webz are humming with the possibilities that brings. Most prominently, the roster of characters is the target of so much speculation it could make your head spin. Here's what we got:

The twenty-five returning from SFIV are Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, Bison, Abel, Viper, Rufus, Fuerte, Akuma, Gouken, Seth, Fei Long, Cammy, Sakura, Rose, Dan, and Gen.

Confirmed as new additions are T.Hawk and Dee Jay, who complete the entire Super Street Fighter II Turbo crew.

Juri is the other so far confirmed addition, and the only new character confirmed so far. The South Korean TKD practitioner with the wacky eye implant, she likely has a connection to Seth and S.I.N. (Any tie to the Alpha Dolls is conjecture, but, for the record, I said it.)

Next up is Hakan the Arab grappler. A real scarcity of information on this fellow. No images, no official data, but since he's new and being mentioned in every list, it seems a safe bet.

The rough number eight was thrown out as the sum of the new entrants. So, after Juri, Dee Jay, T.Hawk, and Hakan, we've got possibly as few as four spots left. The top contenders from the rumor mill are:

Adon, Sagat's Starscream, was the penultimate opponent in the OG Street Fighter. Popped back up in Alpha with his Jaguar style involving many Muay Thai normals, the very familiar Jaguar Knee, and a lot of off-the-wall antics reminiscent of Vega(Claw). Though I did use him a lot in SFA3, I'm not a big admirer, and I'd love to see him left on the modeling room floor in lieu of some other additions.

Guy and Cody, the Final Fight crew that sprang up in Alpha. I was never big on them, but they are quite popular. I'm more of a Cody man myself, but I think the knife and rock shtick is pretty tired. Again, I could take them or leave them.

Ibuki, Makoto, and Dudley from SFIII round out the short list of popular assumptions. Of the three, Ibuki is the only one I'd really like to see in SSFIV. A lot of really fun EX specials and a cool character design FTW. Makoto feels too derivative to me, personally, as she is too similar to both Ryu and Sakura, even if this super tough karate girl's fighting style is significantly distinct. I like Dud as well, but I do not think another boxer is necessary, let alone another black boxer.

"Well, Killa, who would you like to see in SSFIV?"

Now that you ask, my picks beyond Juri, T.Hawk, Dee Jay, and Hakan, would be Ibuki, Birdie, Charlie, and Yun. Ibuki I have already expressed my desire for, so let me explain the other three.

Birdie is another SF1 throwback who reappeared in Alpha. The chain wielding Brit hoodlum is a great hybrid character with 360 throws and charge attacks, plus he has a distinctive character design and a mean brawling style, which, oddly enough, is a nice contrast to the recognized disciplines in SFIV.

Charlie was one of my Alpha faves, and I'd like to see him return, whether as Charlie or as his Marvel crossover alter-ego Shadow. There is some suggestion in the dialogue of SFIV that Abel knows him, and I'd love to see him come out of retirement. Just as you can differentiate Ryu, Ken, and Akuma with the subtleties of tatsumaki senpukyaku juggling or shoryuken priority, there is plenty of room to tweak the Sonic-Flash military moveset to provide a different experience than Guile. This one's a longshot, though. (Mayhap Shadow will be a secret boss?)

And finally, Yun. Yun is just a great character, and the best thing to come out Street Fighter III. Oh, and Genei Jin is the sweetest Super Art, like, eva.

But, you know, meh. Can't always get what you want.