The Street Fighter cast is made up of a vast array of freaks and weirdoes, many of which have been forgotten by Capcom at this point (looking at you Q). While a lot of well known characters are considered to be good or at least neutral, a lot of the cast is made up of villains. From Bison to Gill, the franchise is no stranger to fiendish freaks. While almost every character in the series could be considered a ‘boss’ at this point, today I will only be looking at those who tend to fall on the side of evil, whether it be for personal gain or just have a destructive nature.
I will be counting down my personal picks from the series, though I haven’t touched Street Fighter EX or much of Street Fighter III so you won’t be seeing Garuda or Gill (though I would just have ranted about how stupid it is for Gill to have a secretary). While almost everyone is fair game for the number one spot, I am not associating how difficult it is to fight said character in the final battle, as I am primarily focusing on their character and how they fit into the story. Lets get this train rolling with the king of mean, Balrog.
[SPOILER WARNING]
Balrog
Starting off with one of the original world warriors back in Street Fighter II, Balrog has always been one of my favourites of the original cast. The main driving force behind my enjoyment for Balrog is how singleminded he is and how the simplicity of his desires. The only reason he works for the terrorist organisation Shadaloo, is for pure financial gain. Money! Nothing else is the force behind his punishing punches.
While not evil per say, he does do some pretty despicable things, which have even lead to him taking over Shadaloo after Bison’s death in Street Fighter Alpha 3 (though it should be noted that he immediately tanked the organisation). Even after Bison regains his form with a new body in Street Fighter IV, the boxer still runs to his side in order to gain wealth.
I always did enjoy the contrast between Balrog and Vega as well, due to his hatred of the masked fighters pretty boy attitude. This resulted in one of the better story campaigns in Street Fighter X Tekken where the two Shadaloo members were forced to team up.
Balrog has always been a character I struggle to play correctly, but his arrogant charm and fantastic character design have always made me come back for more. While he has yet to be confirmed as a DLC character for Street Fighter V, multiple leaks and rumours have pointed towards the beloved boxer making his return to the ring in season one.
Sagat
If Balrog is the Shadaloo member with no respect, then Sagat is the exact opposite. Yet another Street Fighter II world warrior, Sagat regards himself as an honourable fighter, perceiving fighting as a battle of power, one that should never be disrespected.
This belief of respect and good will to strong fighters has left Sagat with a tormented vengeance against Ryu ever since he momentarily was consumed by darkness and essentially cheated in his victory against Sagat in Street Fighter.
Through this anger and resentment towards Ryu, Sagat vows to fight him once more but this time on fairer ground one way or another. The pursuit of this battle has brought him to join Shadaloo and become Bison’s personal body guard. Through his work with Shadaloo, Sagat has done some pretty horrible things, including the killing of Dan’s father in a duel and even slaying Dhalsim’s elephant in a fit of rage.
While Sagat may feature as a villain and a boss in multiple games, he is one of the only rivals to have a compelling character arch, one that has developed over time. Sagat eventually realises that his obsession with Ryu has destroyed his life, resulting in his pupil, Adon, fighting him and swearing he will become the superior fighter.
With a respect for a fair fight, a super cool design and a flawed personal drive, Sagat remains one of the truly despicable yet endearing Shadaloo members for me.
Juri
Are you surprised? I mean is anyone even surprised that Juri became the fan favourite she is now.
Not only has Juri escalated to top tier character roster with only one appearance, this sultry femme fatal has become more powerful than almost every villain in the franchise.
Not only has Juri outsmarted Bison and Seth at their own games, she did so without barely lifting a finger.
After playing the two at their own game, she leaves Seth to die after destroying his Tanden Engine, walking out of S.I.N. with incredible ki, power and speed. She gained these new powers using the Feng Shui Engine implanted in her eye after her parents were murdered by Shadaloo, causing her to vow revenge against the organisation. By playing both S.I.N and Shadaloo off one other to win, the feisty fighter lands exactly where she wants to be and gets exactly what she wants.
I would also like to point out that she did this effortlessly, and in heels.
Speaking of heels, I actually adore both Juri’s character design and attitude, while initially her appearance comes across as a sexually designed character, she is constantly in control.
With a brash almost twisted sense of humour, Juri adores using every fighter she comes across as a pawn in a much larger game. With her revenge and freedom set, Juri is set to be a major player in the franchise from now on and with fan feedback and a series of plausible leaks, Juri will most likely return to the series in Street Fighter V as one of the season one DLC characters.
Move over Bison, Juri is here to stay, and she’s ready for a fight.
It’s funny that out of the multiple end game bosses of the Street Fighter series, I have always been more interested in those who are the lesser evils, or the true puppet masters. While Bison continues his never ending domination of evil and the perfect bodied gods (Gil, Urin, Seth) parade around and talk about how perfect they are, I would way prefer the series to follow a different route, like what would have happened if Balrog did actually take over Shadaloo.
With rumours of a possible Mortal Kombat X style story mode heading to Street Fighter V, who knows who we will see in terms of villains for the future of the series.
Are you a fan of Street Fighter? Let us know your favourites in the comments.
