In celebration of Street Fighter Alpha’s 30th anniversary, let’s take a look at the memorable (and not so memorable) characters that made their fighting game debut in the series, ranked from worst to best.
I have a confession to make: fighting games have and always will have me in a chokehold.
Ever since I first inserted a quarter into a Street Fighter II arcade cabinet, I couldn’t get enough of testing my mettle against the CPU and human players in whatever 2D and 3D fighter I came across. I’ll never forget the day I locked eyes with the first Street Fighter Alpha—my jaw hit the floor in amazement once I got a good look at the massive uptick in visual prowess it displayed in comparison to what came before it. The anime art style, bulkier bodies that accompanied legacy Street Fighter roster members, and remixed rendition of classic series theme songs wowed me then and make me nostalgic for it now that I’m in my mid-30s. Throughout three series entries, Street Fighter Alpha filled out its roster with fresh combatants and even guests hailing from Final Fight’s notorious “Metro City.” Even though I’ve always gravitated toward picking Akuma and Gen, I’ve also grown fond of Street Fighter Alpha’s debuting brawlers.
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the series’ arcade launch, now’s the perfect time to rank all of the “World Warriors” who entered the arena and captivated (or bored) fighting game and Capcom diehards.
Now don’t get me wrong—M. Bison’s army of mind-controlled “Dolls” looks awesome. Hell, some of them even have a slight dosage of charm and a cool signature weapon to remember them by (shout out to the twin hatchet wielder Noembelu and the megaphone user Enero!). But Juni is just…there. She has the personality of a ziplock bag full of sand, plus she stole Cammy’s whole flow. The only standout thing about her is the one super move she has that calls on M. Bison to crush her opponent with a “Psycho Crusher.” But that says a lot, doesn’t it? Juni only gets one cool point just because one of her best moves calls upon someone infinitely cooler than her.
“Juli above Juni? Aren’t they both equally dry?” Listen, I hear you. But I chose to give M. Bison’s other Doll from Street Fighter Alpha 3 a better spot on this list over her sister-in-arms simply because her backstory is more interesting. Juli was captured by “Shadaloo” and taken from her “Thunderfoot Tribe” village (that’s where T. Hawk originates from, by the way). At least she has some sort of tie-in to the world of Street Fighter instead of being a blank slate like Juni, who had no real ties to anyone before becoming a brainwashed Doll. Juli’s moveset is a complete rip of Cammy’s, sure. But I’ll award her some extra kudos for how badass her “Sniping Arrow” special kick is.
A part of me likes this big brute. When I first encountered him in Final Fight, my pre-teen mind was blown by his colorful character design. Then I was even more amazed by his visual glow-up when he popped up in the first Street Fighter Alpha. But there’s another part of me that thinks he’s pretty lame from a personality and gameplay perspective. Sodom is a full-blown weeaboo that goes above and beyond to put his love for Japanese culture on front street. Then there’s his fighting style, which incorporates a reliance on jitte or katana blades. Sodom may look stylish, but his boring moveset and extreme infatuation with everything concerning Japan knock him down a few pegs. I’ll give him this, though—his Street Fighter Alpha 3 stage is pretty sick!
Just like his fellow “Mad Gear” gang comrade Sodom, Rolento originated in Final Fight before he became a playable participant in the Street Fighter Alpha games. What places this dude higher on this list over his ally is Rolento’s striking militaristic character design and tricky moveset that’s equally fun to use and watch in action. The man is capable of wielding his staff while pulling off some sick “Rekka” combos, using a cable to pull his opponent’s head into a world of hurt, launching grenades, and balancing a bunch of knives on his staff before flinging them into the air to land on his latest victim. When you factor in his unwavering desire to establish a military utopian nation and devotion to his loyal followers, you have all the factors needed to point out how undeniably cool Rolento is.
The thing that immediately sticks out when first looking at Rose is her impeccable fashion sense. Her whole fit is god tier—there’s just something about that alluring yellow scarf, red jacket with matching heels, and luxurious violet-colored hair that makes her such a beautiful figure. Playing with her means being exposed to a flamboyant moveset that puts her mastery of “Soul Power” on full display. Rose’s scarf is an unexpectedly dangerous weapon, plus her “Soul Illusion” super move amazes as it gives her two silhouettes that increase her combo output. As a JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fan, I can easily point out Rose’s design being heavily inspired by the manga/anime’s Lisa Lisa. Rose’s maximum drip, dope suite of fighting abilities, and her intense hatred for M. Bison make her one of Street Fighter Alpha’s best-designed characters, who also has immense storyline importance.
The origin story behind this guy is hilarious and so, so petty. If you’ve ever played SNK’s Art of Fighting, I’m sure you’ve looked at Ryo Sakazaki and called him a total Ryu and Ken ripoff (I know I did!). So, in response, Capcom shot back by creating a parody character that combined the character designs of Ryo and Robert Garcia. That joke character became Dan, who's known for being incredibly weak, overconfident, and a total goofball. But as time has passed, Street Fighter fans have taken a liking to the guy. His pink gi looks pretty slick, and his super taunt makes rivals stop whatever they’re doing to watch it in amazement. Even though Dan is presented as a weakling who’s far too arrogant, you can’t help but cheer him on as he puts his “Saikyō-ryū” fighting style on display and vies to avenge his father’s death at the hands of Sagat.
Confession time! I’ve always felt Guile’s character design is boring as hell. The super flattop he rocks is the only memorable feature about him. His “AMERICA, F**K YEAH!” attire sucked when it was first unveiled in Street Fighter II and has honestly not gotten any better in the years since. But his man’s Charlie, though? Now that’s my guy right there! Charlie’s over-the-top forelock hairstyle, swaggy glasses, and stylish (and oddly baggy) attire shockingly convinced me to give him a try, even though I was never a huge fan of him adapting Guile’s keepaway playstyle. I have to hand it to Charlie for adding an extra bit of sauce to Guile’s “Flash Kick” by pulling off a slick backflip to land his trademark “Somersault Shell.” I’ve always preferred Charlie over his fellow United States Air Force service member for all the reasons stated above.
I couldn’t believe what I saw on the character select menu when I put my quarter into a Street Fighter Alpha 3 cabinet. “Wait…why is Cody from Final Fight rockin’ a prison uniform?” I picked him out of pure curiosity to see how his beat ‘em up form of combat would translate to a fighting game. To my pleasant surprise, Cody’s recognizable moves and his implementation of less honorable tactics wowed me. Cody went from being a generic do-gooder you’d see in your average beat ‘em up game to a boorish brute who used anything he could pick up off the ground to get the win. The man throws rocks, uses a knife to poke his foes, and flings sand at unsuspecting opponents. I love the fact that his “Final Destruction” super move is a nod to his infinite combo glitch from the original Final Fight! Cody’s turn to the dark side was a massive upgrade over his old self, if you ask me.
I adore Cody, don’t get me wrong. But his best friend, Guy, gets placed higher than him on this list because of several notable factors. His metropolitan ninja outfit is so dope! Plus, the man is a certified sneakerhead as evidenced by the extra crispy pair of 1985 Nike Dynasty kicks he wears. His strong sense of justice and discipline has always inspired me to be a better man (yes, a video game character pushed me to be an upstanding citizen!). His mastery of “Bushin-ryu Ninjutsu” resulted in him adopting some of the coolest-looking moves I’ve ever seen for a Street Fighter character. Watching him leap into the air to land a mid-air elbow to the dome, grab his opponent mid-leap to land a powerbomb, and run at hyperspeed to trip up his rival with a sliding kick has always left me impressed.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is responsible for birthing some of my favorite fighting game characters of all time. One of them is the ultra elitist and head of the “Kanzuki Zaibatsu,” Karin Kanzuki. Her combat garments look so illustrious thanks to their striking red color scheme, brown fingerless gloves, and trademark blue hairbow. Her cocky nature is well-earned since she's a formidable “Kanzuki-ryu” user who’s moveset is varied and quite fancy. Being able to start with a series of palm strikes and transitioning to either a pair of standing kicks, a sliding kick, or a leaping palm smash convinced me to main her back in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom Fighting Evolution, and Street Fighter V. Setting her up as one of Sakura’s biggest rivals was a smart move to make during her appearance in the Sakura Ganbaru! manga, before making her a playable character, I and other Street Fighter fans greatly admire.
“RAINBOW!” Someone at Capcom must have been coming off a major "joshi” (Japanese women's professional wrestling) binge when they brought the great Rainbow Mika to life. It turns out two Capcom legends were responsible for her creation, Akira "Akiman" Yasuda and Daigo Ikeno. Salute to those two gentlemen for giving hardcore wrestling fans someone besides Zangief to play with in Street Fighter Alpha 3. R. Mika’s rambunctious spirit and glitzy wrestling ensemble immediately made me gravitate toward her. Thankfully, she came with a stellar moveset consisting of headbutts, a lethal dropkick, a devastating bulldog, and a sick midair Frankensteiner (shout out to “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner!). Imagine how shocked I was when I activated her super, knocked my opponent to the ground with a running clothesline, and proceeded to jump off the top rope of a ring that appeared out of thin air! R. Mika is fighting game royalty and one of the best video game representations of professional wrestling.
When Street Fighter Alpha 2 arrived, I speak for most fans when I say Sakura instantly caught their eye. The tomboyish high schooler with an infatuation for Ryu stood out then and morphed into a massive fan favorite for Street Fighter and Capcom fans worldwide ever since. Her character design is top-notch thanks to her Japanese school uniform fit, red fingerless gloves that mimic the ones Ryu wears, and the fresh pair of Converse sneakers she uses to land some fierce kicks. Just like her fellow “Shoto” characters across the Street Fighter landscape, Sakura relies on her trusty “Hadoken” (which she can charge for extra damage!), a running version of the “Shoryuken” called the “Shouoken,” and a hopping rendition of the “Tatsumaki” known as the “Shunpukyaku.”
What sets her apart from the likes of Ryu, Ken, and Akuma is her brand of repeated jumping sledgehammer-like punches, and a super move that involves a series of sliding kicks followed up by a devastating final kick to the chest. Sakura’s star power is solidified since she’s been a guest star in numerous Capcom fighters, such as Rival Schools, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, and Street Fighter X Tekken. She even has a manga centered on her journey to meet Ryu, and she’s also a player skin in Fortnite! Sakura is a bona fide superstar who sits near the top of the heap whenever the best Street Fighter characters are discussed. When it comes to the best Street Fighter Alpha characters, she’s undoubtedly the greatest of all time!
