Street Fighter V is a dichotomy of old and new. Now, Capcom is ringing in the old with a fan favorite from way back by adding Zangief to it’s roster.
According to IGN , Zangeif was a big reveal, appropriately, at the large Russian gaming expo IngroMir. Zangief’s moveset in Street Fighter V is familiar, but he is coming to the new world warrior tournament with some new tricks up his sleeve. (Actually he doesn’t wear sleeves, he pretty much limits his wardrobe to red wrestling shorts and matching boots. His chest hair, maybe?)
Speaking of his appearance, Capcom seems to be continuing in the Street Fighter V tradition by making Zangief more musclebound. If the trend continues, he will likely just be a bicep with eyeballs that bodyslams people.
If you are tired of the onslaughts of offensive attacks, Zangief is probably the Street Fighter for you. He may be a wrestler by description, but he is definitely more Judo in his methods. Despite his sunny disposition, Zangief is a guy you do not really want to get close to. As usual, if anyone playing Street Fighter V gets too close to the big guy and makes a misstep, they will be punished with a barrage of counterattacks, body slams, and suplexes. That is when the mourning of your health bar becomes appropriate. Zangief has also always been one of the hardest hitters with his normal attacks, and Street Fighter V is no exception.
Zangief is one of the hardiest fighters in Street Fighter V . Most of his moves counter anything that is thrown at him. His spinning lariat takes priority over most normal attacks, and his can headbutt projectiles, seemingly just so he can show how tough he is. Offensively, his critical art chain is repeated series of intense suplexes.
In addition to the devastation of his crushing normals, Zangief, as with all of the fighters in Street Fighter V , comes with some new ultimate moves, Gamespot reports. His V-Skill is “Iron Muscle,” and when this move is activated, there is no stopping him. He is able to absorb one attack free of charge, and Zangief turns into an unstoppable juggernaut. By pressing down plus medium kick and medium punch, Zangief will slowly approach his opponent, leaving them to contemplate their fate. This state allows Zangief to absorb one hit, from which he is will be able to recover health from. Once the walk is released, Zangief will display his impressive mass of muscle by flexing and deliver a devastating blow to his opponent.
Zangief is known to his close personal friends and his formidable opponents in Street Fighter V as “The Red Cyclone.” His V-Trigger makes one suspect how he earned that nickname. When activated, Zangeif turns into a whirlwind of hair and muscles, spinning around with the force of a tornado. This includes sucking his opponents into the cataclysm, and if the player taps the V-Trigger activation buttons, Zangief will continue to spin, beating his opponent down with repeated blows.
Zangief’s reveal in his inclusion to the roster of Street Fighter V should not really surprise anyone. He is a staple of the series, and no other wrestler character is more recognizable in the world of Street Fighter . In any incarnation of the game, it is a smart bet that he will be included. Even so, he was heavily teased on the Twitter of Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono. So far, most of the classic characters revealed have come from Street fighter 2 , but fans are still holding their breath for Alex and Urien from Street Fighter III .
[Images Courtesy of Capcom]