Monday, November 9, 2009

I Will not title this "Juri Duty"


Here's the deal. When Capcom teased us with Super Street Fighter IV they did so mainly with promises of new characters. Sure the game would be beefed up graphically, musically and gameplay wise but the one thing you cant get in SFIV that you're gonna really want are new characters. Sure its a money grab but everything is a money grab, right Call of Duty Super Mega Special Collector's Edition? Hence, with money in mind, did Capcom unveil T.Hawk, Dee Jay and Juri.

The first of those two characters we know and don't much care for as that sense of discovery is long gone. But Juri is a different story altogether. She has basically been used as the face of this new iteration, she's the most palpable "new" aspect of this game and as such has been paraded all over the internet. Dee Jay and T. Hawk might make old schoolers happy but Juri is Capcom's promise of excitement to come.

With new images, information and videos being released seemingly on a daily basis I suppose now is the time to make a semi-informed decision as to what kind of character she'll be. So here's what we have so far:

She's the first Korean and Taw Kwon Doe fighter in the series. Ok this means nothing to me, not that I have anything against Korea its just that since they went away from personalized stages she could be from the fucking moon and I wouldn't be able to tell where she's from. She's Korean, that doesn't come through in any of the things she does.
She has great kicks and two somethings in her hair. Hmm dont we already have a character with those characteristics? also those points she has for hair remind me of a pinata.

She has a beef with Bison. Storyline means nothing to me. The whole thing is too
convoluted.
She has a pretty cool fighting style. She does. It looks like she's fast and her kicks seem more powerful than Chun Li's. Yes this is a plus.
I like her design. Yes I do, I've criticized the parachute pants and hair thingies but she looks cool nonetheless. Let's be honest most of SF's designs are out there, from the old (Vega) to the new (Viper), Street Fighter isn't afraid of being out there. Sure Juri might seem a bit too fantasy-y but I'm willing to give her a chance. This isn't King of Fighters.

I could go on. Actually I couldn't but I have a video that makes my point for me. The thing with these new characters is that they're designed in 2009 to blend in with characters from 1989. It's gonna be a mishmash, its gonna be a bit off regardless of whatever design is released. The final verdict will have to wait until the game is released, we know what the rest of the characters look like and I've had a chance to play it.



Here's that video. Also: bonus stages!

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