Street Fighter V is out, and if you pre-ordered from certain outlets, you got an additional costume for one of the characters. By a large margin, the bearded “Hot Ryu” was the runaway favorite. Besides being shameless beefcake for those so inclined, Ryu has traditionally been a wandering vagrant who goes around beating people up, so his more rugged appearance makes sense in a weird sort of way! In honor of this fan favorite costume we’re taking a look at some of the more ridiculous costumes from Street Fighter IV.
Sagat – Clown
Ultra Street Fighter IV’s Halloween Costume Pack pulled out all the stops. Zombified characters, Chinese ghosts, demons, skeletons, Shrek; Capcom went all out on this one. Oh, and an incredibly doofy looking hobo clown. And it’s Sagat. Oh.
Rufus – Shrek
As mentioned above, the Halloween pack also included a costume that’s impossible to gloss ogre *gets pelted with garbage*. Rufus is already an outrageous character design to begin with, with his massive undulating belly that asks, “What if we used the boob physics engine on a guy whose body is just basically one big boob?”, but the Shrek costume really takes it to the next level.
BONUS: While it was never officially released, the fan-made Majin Buu costume for Rufus was truly a perfect fit:
Dan – Pumpkin
Meanwhile, Dan, Street Fighter’s perennial punching bag, gets the same pumpkin costume your little sibling had when they were two. It’s kinda perfect.
T. Hawk – Feathered Skull Zombie Thing?
I play a lot of Street Fighter, so the fact that I could only figure out who this character even was by process of elimination says a lot. I’m also not sure what to make of the weird feathered body that’s missing patches of skin. Credit where it’s due though, this one’s actually pretty creepy.
El Fuerte – Skullomania
While fans chattering about why their personal favorite character should be added to the game has never been unusual, the demand for Skullomania to reappear in a Street Fighter game has been vocal and consistent.
Who’s Skullomania you ask? He was introduced in Street Fighter EX, the franchise’s mostly forgotten first foray into 3D. A weird hybrid of Tokusatsu character (Kamen Rider, specifically) and professional wrestler, Skullomania’s goofiness made him a standout in the cast, and fans have been pining for some kind of return ever since.
Problem is, Skullomania is owned by Arika, the company Capcom partnered with for the EX games, meaning he’s caught in a legal X-Zone that’ll likely prevent his return any time soon. So for now, the closest fans can get is the skeleton body suit costume for frantic luchadore El Fuerte.
Squid – Hakan
Second only to the Halloween pack in terms of weirdness, the Wild Costume Pack reimagined the SFIV cast as animals, which I guess someone, somewhere wanted. While there’s a fair amount of duds in this run of costumes, Hakan’s squid costume is extra credit ridiculous. Hakan slathers himself in oil to power up in the game, which gives his character a glossy sheen, add this to the squid outfit and he somehow manages to get even grosser.
Fun fact: Most people are confused by Hakan’s weird green helmet hair, but there’s a reason for it, as detailed on the Street Fighter Wiki:
“The appearance of Hakan’s hair is a pun, as he is Turkish (the Japanese word for Turkey is “Toruko”), his hair resembles stone (the Japanese word for stone is “Ishi”), and his hair color is turquoise (the Japanese word for turquoise is “Toruko Ishi” and, worldwide, the color turquoise is associated with Turkish people).”
So he has green stone hair because of a pun that’s totally lost in translation. There you have it! Next question, is he a kid, or a squid?
M. Bison – Char Aznable
Oh, and if you are wondering why the image above is labeled Vega, the Street Fighter Wiki has an answer for that, as well.
Blanka – Carnival
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