Summary
It’s unlikely fighting games would’ve remained a male space-only forever, even without Capcom adding Chun-Li toStreet Fighter 2. She wasn’t even the first woman in the genre. But she’s certainly the first one that counts as a properly playable character. Nicki Minaj didn’t do a song about the Fan and Shuriken-wielding foes inYie Ar Kung Fu.
Since then,Street Fighterhas featured a wide range of women, withStreet Fighter 6having the most fatal femmes on its default roster in the series’ history. The likes of Juri, Rose, R. Mika, and Kimberly are no slouches, but who are the strongest female characters inStreet Fighter? Based on gameplay, these are some standout examples.
9Makoto
The Rindōkan Karate Heir
The karateka from Shikoku,Makoto, is one of the trickier characters to master inStreet Fighter 3: Third Strike.To beginners, she’s got neat dash punches, but a dodgy anti-air attack that only hits aerial opponents, and a weak throw where she throttles her opponent before putting them back down. However, with practice, these become some of her strongest assets.
Her Fukiage stuffs jumping attacks and sets opponents up for her juggling attacks, while the Karakusa throw stuns them long enough for her target combos and super arts. One of which, the Abare Tosanami, also knocks her foes into the air for more juggles. Makoto isn’t easy to master, but she becomes deadly in a trained player’s hands. She lost her mojo inUltra Street Fighter 4, but fans are still hoping she’ll make a comeback inSF6.
8Elena
Warrior Of The Savannah
Despite first appearing inStreet Fighter 3: New Generation,Elenawasn’t the most menacing figure on the roster. In fact, she was mid-tier in all theSF3games. She wasn’t a struggle to play like Remy or Sean, but not an OP monster like Ken or Yun. Then, after a less-than-average return as DLC forStreet Fighter X Tekken, Elena wasn’t expected to be anything special when she made the leap toUSF4.
However, something happened in that game. The reach of her attacks, while always long, had more advantages. Her overheads were more oppressive. Then, in a game where taking damage charged up the meter for Ultra Combos,her Healing Ultracould undo her opponent’s hard work and prolong the match. Even if they tried to hit her out of it, she could cancel it partway to stop them in their tracks with a combo and still get a little health boost.
7Juri
Dark Spider
Out of all the new characters that popped up duringStreet Fighter 4’s different versions, the one that caught fans’ hearts wasJuri. She was a femme fatale that put more emphasis on the “fatale” part. In lore, she’s strong enough to hold Chun-Li, Cammy, and Guile back at the same time. So, the player’s avatar and Bosch inSF6’s World Tour Mode stood no chance. She was pretty tough in gameplay too.
Juri was quick on her feet, had plenty of options for catching opponents unaware on getting up, and her Feng Shui Engine was one of the best install Ultras in the game. It was enough to put her above Elena’s Healing tactics inUSF4, though her combos were harder to learn.SF5toned her down a lot, but (as of this writing)SF6brought her back into the game’s top ten competitors with her chaining combos and juggles.
6Poison
The Rose’s Thorn
Yes,Poisoncounts.Final Fightcharacters haveessentially beenSFcharacters toosince Guy and Sodom turned up inStreet Fighter Alpha. That said, she spent most of her time in the series as an NPC. She either hung out in the background of stages or popped up during Hugo’s intros and win poses as his manager. ButSFxTneeded tag teams, and she and Hugo made a natural duo, even if they weren’t particularly strong in that game.
Yet once they made the jump toUSF4, Hugo went to the bottom of the card, and Poison rose close to the top. She was one of the strongest women in the game. Then, inSF5: CE, she was the strongest woman in the game! She had the best anti-airs, and her whip gave her the best range in the game. Only the likes of Luke and Rashid had advantages over her, and skilled Poison players could still show them the business end of her crop.
5Ibuki
Ninja-In-Training
Before Kimberly raced onto the scene,IbukiwasSF’s premier ninja girl. She’s the archetypal quick and nimble character, with combos for days to make up for her lack of power. Her skills were enough to put her just behind Poison inUSF4, butSF5sent her down to lower-mid status behindperennial jobber Birdie. So, why is she placed so highly?
It’s because of her debut inSF3: NG. Ibuki was outright broken in that game due to an oversight where she could infinitely juggle her opponents. It wasn’t hard to do either. Once they were airborne, players just had to hit their heavy kick at the right time each time until they won. Even when this was fixed forSF3: Second Impact, her Hashinshō super art could still set her foes up for some deadly juggles. No wonder it was taken out forSF3: Third Strike.
4Karin
Rich Schoolgirl
Tiers forStreet Fighter Alpha 3can be tricky to determine, as it introduced the ISM system. LikeCapcom Vs SNK’s Grooves, a character could be better or worse depending on what ISM they used. Most of the time, V-ISM characters were superior as they essentially gave everyone install supers via its Custom Combos. If players knew their character’s normal attacks well, they could chain them together into a more powerful combo than any super move.
Case in point:Karin, the Ken to Sakura’s Ryu. She was a tricky character already, with chaining specials that kept opponents guessing, and counters that set them up for midair strikes. With V-ISM, she could catch her foes in looping throws and strikes that they could do nothing about. These weren’t easy to learn, but once mastered, they made her one ofSFA3’s deadliest fighters.
3Sakura
Blossoming Flower
It’s interesting how people learn martial arts in theSFuniverse. Sean spent most of his time around Ken and still needed a full super bar to pull off one Hadōken.Sakuraspars a few times with Ryu, gets some sage advice from him, and ends up as one of the best shotos in the series. Her debut inStreet Fighter Alpha 2put her around A-Tier, and she’s inSFA3’s top ten.
Her weakest outings have been her last few 3D appearances, where she went from mid inUSF4to a much lower tier inSF5: CE. For some, this is unfortunate, but for those with long memories, it’s a fitting punishment. InCapcom Vs SNK 2, if Sakura players chose A-Groove (i.e.SFA3’s V-ISM), they could chain her Shououkens in a constant barrage until they popped their opponent’s defense. Don’t be fooled by her looks: Sakura can be a menace.
2Cammy
Killer Bee
That said, despite those tactics, Sakura isn’tCvS2’s strongest female character. According to top player BAS,Cammyhas the edge over her, and she doesn’t even need Custom Combos. Just her long, poking normal attacks, strong overheads, mix-up game, and her usual super moves. Not bad for someone who, back inSSF2andSSF2T, ranked pretty low. Gameplay-wise, this was the start ofCammy’s rise to power.
She was already one of the series’ most iconic women. The 3D games just gave her more strength, as she stood out inSFxT, became a tough competitor inSF5and became the strongest woman inUSF4. As of this writing, she’s also the strongest woman inSF6, which gave her one of the best Level 3 supers in the game on top of her deadly variety of attacks.
1Chun-Li
The First Lady Of Fighting Games
Ultimately, as predictable as it sounds,Chun-Liis arguablySF’s strongest woman overall. She called her shot in her debut (“I’m the strongest woman in the world!"), where she was top-tier with her keep-away game. Then she rose to the top again inSuper Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Her fast walk and chargeable super meant she could break it out at any time she got up close. She stood strong inSFA2,SFxT, andSF5: CE.
But her entry wouldn’t be complete without talking about her appearance inSF3: Third Strike. The hard work players put into Makoto and Ibuki could be all for naught if they were left open for her Hoyokusen super art. It could travel across half the screen, do heavy damage with its pummeling kick barrage, and launch foes into the air ready for some deadly juggles. If players can’t avoid it or dosome Daigo-level parrying, they’ll fall to Chun-Li.
