This one took me over a week to watch and write up. Also factoring the Holiday weekend. But here you go.
STREET FIGHTER CHARACTER STORY TIERLIST - by Chun-Li_Forever
Factors:
importance to main lore,
any ties to current/past lore,
character development,
meaningful interactions
emotional stakes
personal enjoyment
Ryu - Even being Street Fighter's poster boy, Ryu's character story felt dull, uninspired, and safe (much like Ryu's character himself). Though the actualization of the Power of Nothingness wouldn't be seen until ASF, Ryu's story mode does very little to foreshadow any of it.
Ken - Liked the callback to Ken's Alpha ending, and the quick scene before Ken's fight with Ryu. Wished we could see more of what their relationship was like at that time. A little bummed we don't get to see a little more modest Ken at Karin's party. Wished there was some tie-in to ASF, like maybe we see him eating with Mel and Eliza at another table across from Ibuki and Birdie in SFV.
Chun-Li - Will try to keep my Chun-Li bias in check. I loved how this is the starting point of Chun-Li transitioning to a motherly role, you see her concerned, caring, and kind side of her within the first few minutes. Sweet and wholesome interactions with Li-Fen, especially the hair tying bonding them together. I would've loved to see some of Chun-Li's insecurities of being a mom, seeing as this is her first time too. Maybe she's nervous about not only protecting Li-Fen from any leftover danger after Shadaloo's dissolvement. Or maybe she's nervous of wanting to be as good of a mom as her father was to her when she was growing up.
Flashback scene takes place Pre-Alpha, when Chun was still a rookie Interpol Agent. You can hear her more emotional and headstrong than what she is now. And the flashback of her story does stay consistent with her lore. Vega does mention of her father's death, and in Chun's Alpha endings when she beat the final boss: M. Bison, he confirms he was the one who killed him. Really wished she, Guile, and Charlie had more of an "official" introduction. It felt short and impersonal. Guile and Charlie are two of Chun's closes allies, so I feel their first meeting would be a little more important.
Overall, it's a good character story that gives Chun-Li a little more depth in her new role as a mom, and as a rookie. Unlike most character stories with the initial roster, Chun-Li's story is a direct result of ASF, so we only see the significance of her character story AFTER playing ASF. And it sets up beautifully for what's to come in 3rd Strike.
Cammy - I thought it was a decent story mode. It sets up Cammy's main goal of saving the Shadaloo Dolls in ASF. I think my only critique with it is that I wish they made Cammy's motivations a little more personal, rather than have FANG's dialogue serve as exposition. Like maybe a USF4 prologue soliloquy would've served nicely. But Juni and Cammy's scenes were my favorites of her story mode. Loved seeing Juni adjusting to normalcy since Cammy's USF4 ending. And her scenes after her fight with Vega felt much more personal.
Nash - I feel Nash's story did the job it was supposed to. It's been years since he was last playable in an SF game, so reacquainting him through his retconned Alpha story was a safe choice. And it sets him up for ASF consistently. They never explain why Kolin sent Nash on a side-mission to confront Ed and FANG though.
M. Bison - Both of M. Bison's fights are flashback fights: his encounter with Charlie Nash, and FANG failed attempted assassination. While the first fight is an Alpha retcon, the second provides some insight of how FANG was recruited into Shadaloo (more details in FANG's story). Loved the touch how in Lair of the 4 Kings, Sagat's facial monument still resides before FANG became his replacement. The last scene does a great job in giving us a small scope of Operation CHAINS, and what kind of threat we'd be expecting in ASF. Personally, I'd love if they gave M. Bison one more fight, like maybe against Chun-Li in the Alpha days, or maybe against Rashid as an early encounter before ASF. But overall, it was an okay story mode but it did wet the appetite for the ASF main course.
Vega - I'm pretty sure Vega's first fight with Cammy is a retcon to his Alpha 3 ending, but I'm not 100% sure if that's confirmed. The only relevant things in Vega's story is FANG foreshadowing in using Bison's Psycho Power to power up the dolls that we'd see in the final act of ASF. It also ties in with Cammy's character story as well. But other than that, Vega's story just doesn't feel too important in the grand scheme of things.
Birdie - So much has happened since we last saw Birdie. He was a Shadaloo punk and grunt before, but several years and several hundred pounds later, he's broken free and got himself a more respectable jobber's job as Karin's... punk and grunt? All this because he didn't want to wear a Shadaloo henchmen issued hat... cool.
I do think Birdie's fight with Chun-Li felt a little random, what would've added more is if Chun-Li and/or Birdie recalled their Alpha 3 Fight-Your-Rival dialogue/scene they had. But the SFV encounter felt lacking. I did find his "initiation" into the Kanzuki family very funny though.
While Birdie's story does little in the grand scheme of the overall lore of ASF, this is a good character story for Birdie's character.
Karin - Personally, I would've loved a character story of Karin becoming the head of the Kanzuki Zaibatsu. Last we saw her, she was a high school girl, and now she's a boss lady. I'd love to see how she inherited that title, and if there were any power or personal struggles that came with it. Maybe some of those insecuruties could've lead Karin to be a stronger leader, instead of her being a complete Mary Sue for all ASF.
Karin's character story feels like a "Adventures of Karin and Friends" filler-episode kind of vibe. So it doesn't do anything that adds to the current, previous, or future lore. It's just a showcase to show how Godly Mary Sue of a character Karin is. It's ridiculous, and your entertainment of this might vary with this one. But it's a decent reintroduction to Karin after so many years.
Zangief - If anything Zangief's personality made this much more enjoyable. Its a shame since Zangief was never too important in any of the significant SF stories and plots, most of his stories are gonna feel like side-stories/filler. His character story mode doesn't add any new developments. R. Mika does become his protoge, but I assumed she's always been since he saved her from falling debris in SF Alpha 3. I also wished for Azam to be playable, I'd love to see what kind of new things we can learn from their kinship previously.
R. Mika - I was a little irritated with R. Mika and her voice and enthusiasm when the game first came out. But its grown on me. And to be honest, I feel that Mika's enthusiasm and energy, as well as showing great promise in the art of Muscle Spirit, does enough to carry her story mode to a passing grade, at least everything before her sphat with Ibuki. It gets extra points for showing her and Gief wrestling a bear for a bit, though I would've liked Mika to have held her own against the bear instead of having Zangief toss it away like it was nothing. That way, it would feel like things would come full circle for Mika since her Alpha 3 ending when Zangief saved her. Also, Birdie's dialogue in this made me laugh pretty good.
Dhalsim - Personally, I was bored with Dhalsim's story mode. He's always been a sage person, offering wisdom and advice to fellow fighters in his win quotes. So him teaching a new student in Yoga doesn't feel it adds anything to his character. Plus, there is barely any relation to any ongoing story plots. Dhalsim's story boils down to him teaching the power of Yoga, and he gets interrupted by Rashid, Mika, and Oro.
Rashid - I think his character story was sort of a missed opportunity to set up the more important moments of ASF, which is a shame, considering he's one of the more main characters of the cinematic story anyways. He knows his missing friend (who has yet to be f***ing named) had ties with Shadaloo, and he did get a piece from her. But I wish she'd left behind some clue about its use, or about Operation CHAINS, or something about Shadaloo's grand plan. The info we got in Rashid's cahracter story in regards to the main plot is miniscule at best. It's just a story of Rashid beating up Birdie for info, and then getting his ass beat by Ryu to show he's still not yet strong enough.
Laura - It's a showcase of her personality, and the ending scene does tie into her's, Zaangief's, Mika's and Alex's first appearance in ASF, but that's all her story mode has got going for her. I did like the bit with her and Sean. But Laura's story inclusion is hardly significant, and her character story makes her feel incredibly one-note.
F.A.N.G - If there was one character that got the best treatment with both their character story AND cinematic story, it was FANG. With his character story, we got insightful and surprisingly dark backstory: implying that he was kidnapped as a child and forced to undergo rigorous tests and training until the sole survivor becomes the new FANG. And in the same story, FANG goes from lone surviving assassin to Shadaloo's 2nd in command. And its consistent with M. Bison's character story.
I do think 2 of the same Bison fights in a row feels stale, and the 2nd should've been a harder difficulty, have Bison have infinite VT, or have Bison be completly invincible, and the only way to win is to survive until the time runs out.
Other than that, in a mere 5 minutes, we get FANG's backstory on his origins, how he rose to power, and his scummy personality for his own survivability.
Necalli - His character story is more of a narrated prophecy, rather than an origin story. And while ASF certainly disappoints with the Legend of Necalli, what we get in the character story was far more interesting. I feel his absorbing the warriors he defeats should've been something more explored upon in ASF. Unfortunately, despite better treatment in his character story than ASF, Necalli does very little to make an impact on the lore moving forward.
Alex - Despite being the main protag in SF3, Alex's moments in his character story and ASF don't exactly hype him up to be that. However, most of his main lore importance does come from SF3, so everythin in SF5 does feel like filler. FANG never really explains why he kidnapped him. I guess the only thing his story does is set up his scene with Dhalsim in ASF, which feels like a waste.
Guile - Quite a few good things in this story. I liked how Abel has continued his partnership with Guile, as seen in the SF4 endings and SFxT (despite no canon ties to the main story). Guile's flashback with Nash does feel a little short and I wished they could've expanded on that. Maybe show them getting a drink post-fight, so that it could mirror Guile and Luke's story. I also liked how it ties into ASF as sort of a prologue. Guile and Abel fends off FANG before infiltrating an abandoned SIN base. Sadly, all we get is that it's Shadaloo's Grand Plan. No specs, no details, just "Operation Chains". I would've liked at least one visual so us viewers can speculate, and also to see its relation to ASF. Finally, I liked how Vega's trap for Abel and Guile is almost similar to how he trapped Chun-Li in SF4, but the two end up escaping. My last complaint would be to have Abel and Guile part, so him randomly appearing in ASF doesn't feel out of place. Like maybe Abel will volunteer to keep giving Guile inside information from inside the Shadaloo base, while Guile tries to bring together a group of fighters to bring down Shadaloo for good. Overall, decent character story but with some missed opportunities.
Ibuki - Surprisingly more enjoyable than I expected. While it doesn't reveal anything new about Ibuki personally, it's does showher first meeting with Karin, and how she was officially employed by her. Birdie is enjoyably stupid, Karin prefers hand-to-hand over handshakes, and Ibuki is still is hunting for a stud. Also some speculation for ASF that most of the "handsome young men" Ibuki talked to weren't to her liking, and that's why she's sitting bored at the table with Birdie stuffing his face.
Since Karin isn't mentioned in SF3, I'm only going to assume employment with the Kanzukis was a temporary thing. But during her employment with her, she's had a lot of fun adventures in this game, and not just ASF, but as shown in other character stories too. Overall, Ibuki's story serves as a prologue and epilogue to her time in SFV before returning home.
Balrog - Balrog and Vega have always been pretty fickle when it came to serving Lord Bison, FANG is the only obnoxiously loyal one. I feel that with FANG in 2nd in command, Balrog had always been looking for an excuse to leave for good, but as he states in his story "We'll go when we're ready.". So obviously Bison's downfall was the perfect time to seek employment elsewhere. I do think Balrog's character story does more to build up Urien as a power player than it does help Balrog with any kind of character development or any ties to plot. Balrog's story boils down to waiting for my 2 weeks notice to come up before I bounce to the next person who'll pay me da fight monay!
Juri - I thought there was too much going on in Juri's character story. And it felt like it was going too fast. One of the good things about it was the first fight with M. Bison. It pretty cool and brutal for M. Bison to just take Juri's Feng Shui from her eye, but felt disappointment when she just got another one from an abandoned SIN base. I felt Juri's interactions with Helen/Kolin and C. Viper were too short for anything meaningful. And Juri just accepted to join Helen's team but what does she get in return? I wasn't sure if I understood or missed that part. And her fights with balrog and FANG feels kinda meh.
Urien - So many great things to say with this. In ASF, Urien's job was not to take too much focus away from the main plot in his brief appearances, but when he did come on screen, he had such a commanding presence, and he left you with a taste for more. And he certainly shows that in his character story.
His R&D and testing of Elevens are a sign of things to come in SF3 when Urien and the Illuminati rise to power. He's contributed to Nash's resurrection (I'm guessing Helen used parts of Eleven to "Frankenstein" Nash's missing bod parts.
With his scene with C. Viper, we just a small taste of how grand Urien's organization can grow. If he could cause a few "suspiscious" deaths, research and experiement on Elevens while he's still rising to power with Sahdaloo still at it's peak, just imagine the power he'll have when Shadaloo crumbles at the end. Plus his dialogue perfectly paints his personality
Overall, Urien has an excellent character story: he sets things up to come, partially contributes to a key point in the Nash's resurrection, stays true to his character (both now and SF3), and does just enough to make a splash without making too much waves.
Akuma - I thought it was awesome that Akuma straight up kills Gen. I'm curious if Chun-Li ever finds out, what would the reaction be? And would she go after Akuma in another plot line? Sadly, and this is no fault to Akuma at all, obliterating Necalli just feels underwhelming because of how bad Necalli was in ASF. Hilarious faces and noises, and Akuma emerge out was pretty cool though.
I did enjoy Akuma's interactions with Ryu, although it feels like it's been going on endlessly now. We always see the moments before and during the fight, but I enjoyed that conversation they had afterwards, even though I felt like I learned nothing from it. The thing I took from this was that wherever Ryu's journey ends, he and Akuma will have one last fight. And the conclusion should be enough to close both of their chapters for good.
Obviously, that's not going to happen any time soon, but its got me imagining what a final climatic battle of two masters would look like, and if we're at the end of Street Fighter's life (god forbid), how would that final battle come out.
Other than that, Akuma's story had some epic moments, but nothing that teaches us anything new or sows any seeds for any more pressing upcoming plot lines.
Kolin - Because we only know Kolin from SF3, and as a significant NPC character in ASF, we don't have that good of an understanding of her full character. And it was imperative that her character story not only give us some insight about her, but also sets up some significance about her. Kolin's character story has everything I could ask for in a short character story: A chilling past, a meaningful fight with Guile (Kolin was hiding and resurrecting Nash, so if Guile won, all the secrets would be out), and it serves as a precursor to ASF as well as her services to Gill in the post-credits and SF3. I also loved the visuals in this story too.
Ed - The only minor complaint I have with Ed's story is that I think it's a bogus explanation how it was Psycho Power that aged and bulked up young Ed in the time from SF4 to SF5. But I really enjoyed his story. The flashes of his past and his moments in ASF were minor reminders of his involvement with them. Menat's first appearence was a nice tease of what to expect of her, and a premonition of Ed and balrog's relationship together. And speaking of, it's him fighting with Balrog that probably has the most meaningful fight possibly out of all the other character stories. Ed leaving to protect balrog, and balrog feeling like he's lost the one thing he's cared about aside from Fight money. And even seeing a side of Balrog that we've never seen before was very refreshing and very good for both Ed and Balrog.
We'll see how important Neo-Shadaloo is in future Street Fighter story plots, it's hard to say which direction they'll go with this. But based on what we got with Ed, his character story helped flushed him and Balrog greatly.
Abigail - In my opinion: Worst Character Story.
We learn nothing about him, each fight doesn't feel important, no ties to anything, and I'm left feeling more annoyed than entertained with his character story. With playing through all the character stories, there barely a single one that I didn't find at least a little enjoyment. But Abigail's, it felt like a complete waste of my time.
It isn't until a few character stories later where we learn that Abigail runs a legit autoshop business, and I wish they mentioned that in his character story, other than spending the whole time looking for a car like some idiot.
Menat - I think the best aspect of Menat's character story was that it's a fun showcase of her cute, laid-back, carefree personality, as if her animations and win-quotes don't already do that. Most of her story is just her giving premonitions to Ed and trying to give one to M. Bison (the later which foreshadowing his downfall).
One thing that I did find most interesting was her scene with Oro. I do think she was foreshadowing events outside of ASF to come, while leaving many questions unanswered. While her story doesn't reveal anything new, there's something to enjoy about seeing Menat's attitude in delivering her premonitions to those involved.
Zeku - Sadly, Zeku doesn't contribute to much in the grand scheme of things. But I found it interesting that rather than have his character story be about flashbacks and some Alpha fights that could mention Gen or other Final Fight characters, they have Zeku's character story focused on the future of Bushinryu, and having him branch out his services. The strider tease was pretty cool though. (Granted I'm not well versed in that lore to point out any commonalities)
We'll see if Karin or anyone with $$$ hires Zeku for his services in future SF games and/or plotlines. But as a character by itself, it's nothing special.
Sakura - We see one of the franchise's most beloved characters growing up right in front of us, and it's such a wholesome and wonderful feeling. I'm glad SF5 let her finally move on from not just her school girl phase, but also moving on with new life goals and directions. Sakura's story is probably the most relatable for the people playing it. We all grow up and as things change, so do we. Sometimes we get lost and are unsure what to do or what we want, whether it be for now or the future. And it's that feeling of realness between the audience and Sakura is what makes her character story special.
The Ryu fight had a familial and comforting feeling to it. I won't speak on the shipping wars of Street Fighter, but Sakura's and Ryu's bit at the end was really sweet and cute. And a great way to end it. It feels Sakura can take the next step in her life, whatever that may be. And whether she's still fighting or not the next time we see her, I really hope it wont be long before we find out what Sakura does with her life.
Blanka - Blanka-chan is the best thing to happen to Blanka since his he was reunited with his mama. Like Abigail's, Blanka's story was stupid filler entertainment. But unlike Abigail's it was actually fun and enjoyable (albeit the turn-off-your-brain type). Cracked a smile on my face with Blanka was trying to promote and market his Blanka-chan dolls, and I did like the SF2 plane reference.
Falke - I'm left more underwhelmed with Falke's story. I feel she has most of the problems that Ed lacked. For instance, it's safe to assume Ed learned boxing from Balrog, but where and how did Falke master her psycho-bojitsu? I also know what Ed's motivations are. But I don't know what Falke's is. I feel she's just along for the ride, which doesn't help her character. I would've like to see Falke's backstory before becoming a Shadaloo experiment. Maybe also give her something to fight for? Like does she like Ed? Does she want to protect Ed like he did when he rescued her? I just wished that was clear.
Only reason why Falke's story isn't "garbage" was because it answers some questions on Neo-Shadaloo's motivations, and how Ed recruited her. But I'd like for more exploration with her if she does come back
Cody - Just like Sakura, I'm also very happy that they have Cody break from his delinquent character to a much more respectable and redeemable job as the newly appointed mayor of Metro City. He knows slugging out thugs in the streets isn't going to be enough, so he takes a step above and becomes mayor. Now he's in a much more powerful position to protect the city he loves. If SF ever likes to dive into the thick of it, I'd love to see what his campaign looked like, or what kind of city-wide policies he's drawn up. We don't know if Metro City is going to be a hub for future SF plot lines, but if it does, we can count on Cody to be right in the thick of it, fighting for his city.
While I do feel Abigail's fight felt like a great introduction to the new Cody, his fight with Zeku just feels... forgetable.
G - G is easily the most interesting and most intriguing newcomer Street Fighter character. However, I did come away from his character story learning absolutely nothing, and having more questions than answers. the most intriguing part of his story was the Tarot reading Rose and Menat on G. He got the Fool arcana, which doesn't nessecarily mean "stupid". If you play any of the Persona games, you'll know that the Fool arcana is one with endless possibilities, and of unlimited power. So going off of that, I say that we're in for some big things with G for the future of SF (Rose's story mode may also confirm this). But as a character story by itself, it feels like it matches G's arcana, The Fool: Dumb but untapped with possibilities.
Sagat - While I do believe Sagat and the Satsui no Hado is a compelling direction to take Sagat's story, I feel that SF5 is a little too late for that. Perhaps (and this is just my opinion), if Sagat were to have a taste of the dark power while he was still bent on having a rematch with Ryu, maybe it would make more sense. But I feel Sagat has already moved past the vengeful side of him against Ryu. So having him struggle with the Satsui no Hado doesn't make any sense unless he had some connection with Ryu (which I didn't feel at any point in his character story). It was a strong choice for him to have a taste of it, but I felt that it was just the wrong choice at this point in the lore. And it's better for them to have a direction to go in (even if I disagree with it), than to have him stagnate for another story arc.
Kage - Unfortunately, Kage's character story doesn't do much, if anything at all, to build him up as his own entity, even if he wins all the fights in his story. Hell, he doesn't even survive his own character story, which makes Kage seem even more foolish and laughable (on top of his lazy design). However, the best thing to come out of Kage's story is that it seemingly closes the chapter of Ryu and the Satsui no Hado struggle. Ryu's already grasped the Power of Nothingness in ASF. And now with Ryu unaffected by the temptation of the Satsui no Hado, it feels that Kage has lost any and all control or influence he had on Ryu. And while his sendoff isn't anything memorable, seeing how Ryu's darkside doesn't appear in SF3, we can only assume that the Satsui no Hado arc for Ryu ends with Kage.
E. Honda - It's meant to entertain, and for many Street Fighter fans, and those of real culture, it does exactly that. While it fails on all the other aspects with regards to lore importance or character development, it more than makes up for it with its entertainment and hilarity (and fanservice) factor. Honda would make a good manager in whatever business venture he so chooses when he isn't street fighting. Plus "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE" should totally be one of his "parry" or "command grab" dialogues if he appears in another SF game.
Lucia - Unlike Abigail, Lucia's felt like a proper reintroduction. There were references to Final Fight, but at the same time, with all the changes that Cody and Lucia (and Abigail) have gone through, it feels like seeing an old friend for the first time in years. Plus, I love the humor bits in this: her shakedown of Abigail's business + reactions, and her RIP noodles at the end.
As said in Cody's, I would love to see what kind of political drama Metro City and it's city council members would be involved in. Not just petty offenders like Mad Gear, but also potential future organizations. If we can count on Cody to be there to protect his city, we can count on Lucia to do the same.
Poison - My favorite part of Poison's story was seeing her softer side. She's always had a dominating personality, so after her and Hugo had a falling out, it was awesome to see this side of her that we don't see. Which is always good for Poison's character, even though we don't learn anything new about her. We never even got the reason why she and Hugo had a fight to begin with. Despite that, it's a decent story with both funny and softer moments.
Gill - Gill's story is excellent. SF Producers have mentioned some of the character stories takes place after ASF and some even venturing into SF3 territory. Gill's story is his revealment to the world and thus spearheading the rise of the Illuminati that would be seen in SF3. I also loved how Gill's story also builds up G's character into something possibly more powerful (and potentially more dangerous) than what he seems to be right now. And finally, as powerful and menacing as Urien was in his story and in ASF (in spite of limited screentime), Gill makes him feel 2nd rate, as Urien is practically begging his brother to acknowledge him.
Gill's character story checks off every box and was really enjoyable to see the seeds of the Illuminati organization start to rise to the surface. While I do think a viral video with G to spread the word is something a little out of left field, it still works. And we're left ponding for more as we are only given a taste of Gill's Harmony.
Seth - Much like how I feel about Seth, their character story can be boiled down to Wasted Potential that will go nowhere. Seth is revived, and I loved the surprise that Seth gets revived into a female body. But even with an uptake in insanity, I feel their hatred for M. Bison and Shadaloo just won't go anywhere. With M. Bison fallen, and Shadaloo in shambles, where is Seth going to go with this? How long are they going to be chasing ghosts until they gets reprogrammed with another purpose? Potentially, if Neo-Shadaloo has any influence in future plotlines, Seth could show up and be a derailer of things, much like Necalli was in ASF, but to go from Final Boss of SF4, to this, I can't help but feel bad for Seth.
Dan - Entertaining and dumb. Dan's story and Dan's character in a nutshell. Very fitting, fun, and stupid. I love it. It has the same feel as Blanka's: Stupid-turn off your brain filler-episode kind of fun, the same SFII plane travel reference, and enjoyable. Fun moments his his two closest confidants: Sakura and Blanka. And Blanka-Chan vs Saikyo-boy: Let the marketing battle begin!
Rose - I don't think there was a character story mode that got me and possibly the SF community more excited about the future of SF lore than with Rose's story mode. She does a lot more than the supposed future of SF protag Luke does: Foreshadowing of a great force of nature, the end of the world, and the hint of restarting back at Alpha. (There were also some rumors that Rose already has started back at Zero when it the story leading up to it all began in SF Alpha). Plus more of building up of G to be someone more significant, some cute banters with Menat, and the famous bath ending scene.
We'll see where the story goes from here, and if we'll get ala Mortal Kombat and retcon everything all over again, or dive more into potential end-of-the-world drama. But Rose has sparked interest in SF Lore and story once again.
Oro - I love how Oro has an established relation with two of the oldest SF characters: Rose (who is more than likely immortal), and Dhalsim. Even getting his japanese shirt from Rose was a wholesome touch. Oro is another great character story that does a fine job in building up the future of SF potential plot lines. Just like with Rose and Gill, Oro's character story builds up more potential with G. And we learn that despite Bison's fall, his influence and power is still felt upon the world, which if left unchecked, could lead down the path of another apocalypse, very much as Rose predicted in her character story.
I love Oro talking in Confucius/Uncle Iroh manner, and also planting the idea of how such an apocalypse can be prevented. Possibly something to explore in future SF games.
Akira - If SFV character stories were like anime episodes, Akira's is essentially the Friendship and Beach trope episode, which is something I greatly enjoy. No long-term implications to lore. But maybe Akira ends up joining Karin's entourage, and we'll see more "Adventures of Karin and Friends" with Ibuki, Sakura, Karin, and Akira. I loved the flashback to Rival Schools, and giving us more insight of what happened during that time.
Overall, it's fun, cheerful, wholesome, and building bonds between the four ladies. At the end of it all, I felt very happy experiencing this short character story.
Luke - The last one is simple and short. Lots to unpack and definitely doing it's job of setting him up as the future of SF. Luke's backstory of seeing his father died is a good catalyst for inspiration. And after serving his time in the military, Luke has lost his reason to fight, but a quick spar and some beers with Guile makes him realize he can do more afterwards. I wished that Luke's Story mode gave us more to it, like motivations or some groundwork to get excited for him as the next protag of the franchise. But i loved seeing him and Guile going out for beers after their only fight.
If any of the "end of the world" prophecies that the previous characters have predicted shall come to pass, we can assume that Luke will be at the forefront defending the future. But his story feels more of an introduction than an actual tie-in with any future plotlines.
I think Ton Pooh was the early inspiration for Chun-Li back in her early design stages
