There was plenty of salty tears cried over Capcom missing their June update release window with Ibuki for Street Fighter V. However, they have responded with a fantastic counter blow to the jaw with the July 1 release. Not only are we getting Ibuki, and the long delayed and highly anticipated Cinematic Story Mode, but we are also getting Boxer as well as several other additions. Known as Balrog in the US, and M. Bison in Japan (for obvious reasons he was not allowed to be called that in the States), he is now affectionately known as Boxer and was the originator of the term “Fight Money”, with which you may pay for him to join the roster even without the season pass. The character is truly one of the OGs, premiering as the first boss of Street Fighter II: The World Warriors, and subsequently playable in Street Fighter II: Championship Edition. Here is the skill breakdown from the Official Playstation Blog.
Meter Skills
V-Skill: KKB
A unique move that twirls his body while moving forward. While activated, you can dodge projectiles as well as string together attacks. You can even activate KKB before a special hits you, allowing you to be a technical inside fighter.
V-Trigger: Crazy Rush
A chance to be the aggressor when activated! Steam rises from his body and allows you to string together specials like Charging Buffalo and Bursting Buffalo.
Critical Art: Gigaton Blow
Unleash the fury from your fist with this simple, yet destructive critical art. It can be connected with various moves. Make sure to include it in your combos.
New Stages
There are also two new stages being added to the game with this update. The first one is the classic Las Vegas stage that Boxer has always been known for. With Fight Money being such an integral part of this game, to not have a Vegas stage would be very out of place.
Another surprise addition is that there is a second stage being added. It is the Kanzuki Family Private Beach stage. The update also features the inclusion of a themed outfit for the current Kanzuki Family Matriarch, Karin, which you can see in the stage screenshot.
Balrog Reveal Trailer
Keep watching until the very end of this reveal trailer to see more than one upcoming additions to the SFV roster.
We have just seen our first look of the Street Fighter V iterations of Juri (from Super Street Fighter IV) and Urien (from Street Fighter III). They are both going to be appearing in the Cinematic Story Mode being added this week. But you will have to wait a little longer to play as them in Versus Mode. Check out my SFIV waifu in her new outfit.
It probably says something about me that she was my waifu for that game. Probably something that you should have already known with Sadie, but I digress. It’s also nice to see the addition of another classic Street Fighter III character with Urien, especially since this game spans the time between the events of Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter III.
CEO 2016
The trailer was revealed during the final event of CEO 2016, the Street Fighter V Top 8. So the hype was already high even before they dropped that bombshell of a trailer. But nothing could compare to seeing Tokido (Japan) finally take out RZR Infiltration (Korea) in a major tournament. Tokido has been amazing at this game already, even more than expected considering his Street Fighter IV history. But Infiltration has been the bane of his existence and we have seen him consistently get 2nd and 3rd place, not that it isn’t absurdly amazing that he has been so consistently good. But by finally taking first in an Official Capcom Pro Tour Tournament, he has now automatically qualified for the Pro Cup Tournament. And CEO is a great venue for that to happen, it is one of the largest Majors and it is the final one before EVO 2016. You can check out the historical footage here.
