Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Street Fighter 5 is preparing to conclude its character DLC. After four years on the market, Capcom is bringing out the last of the game's fighters. While there's no EVO this year (for a variety of reasons), that's not stopping the publisher from getting its biggest announcements out there. That includes a majority of the Street Fighter 5 'Season V' reveals, with the biggest surprise being saved for last.
While some might have expected every character revealed today to come from another corner of the Street Fighter universe, Capcom is tapping into some of its other franchises for this surprise character. Akira Kazama is making her Street Fighter debut from sister series Rival Schools. Capcom is taking her signature style from the 2.5D arcade fighter and seeking to adapt them for Street Fighter, though the team notes that they'll also look to integrate a few unique Rival Schools gimmicks to help Akira stand out.
Today's stream started with Dan, who's making his return from the Street Fighter 4 generation after initially making his debut in Street Fighter Alpha. He brings along a number of his signature moves, many of which are different takes on the Shoto style. Long-time Street Fighter fans know that it takes a special kind of player to succeed with Dan, but for all of his shortcomings in the arena, he more than makes up for it with his signature taunts and charisma.
AEW World Tag Team Champion Kenny Omega then took to the stream to reveal the next character. Rose is making her return from the Street Fighter 4 generation and, like Dan, also originated in the Street Fighter Alpha series. She fights with her signature scarf, able to wrap opponents up with command grabs and also fire projectiles. Street Fighter 5 players will also recall that Rose shares a tie with new character Menat and we'll likely learn more about their relationship whenever Rose arrives.
The third character is the mighty hermit Oro, making his return from the Street Fighter 3 generation. Oro has made various cameos across the Street Fighter 5 character stories, but this will mark his official return in a playable capacity. SF3 veterans will remember terrorizing opponents with his single-arm style and his quirky movements.
While some players may have expected the Season V characters to all come at once, similar to last year's batch of fighters, it looks like Capcom is going to need a lot more time to get everybody prepared. In fact, there were no official trailer reveals for today's presentation, so it looks like more time in the kitchen is needed. The roadmap for SFV's Season V characters will take the game all the way through Winter 2021, culminating with one final mystery character who will be revealed at a later date.
The Season V DLC train for Street Fighter 5 will officially begin later this year with the arrival of Dan. Rose is set to arrive in Spring 2021, while Oro and Akira Kazama arrive in Summer 2021. In the meantime, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is getting a free trial with all 40 characters playable, starting today. The game is also going on sale for the next few days, so check out the discounted rate on Steam and the PlayStation Store.