A new look for Guile, or correcting a mistake? His update in Street Fighter 6.

Today we’re going to look at the makeover Guile received for Street Fighter 6. I’m a fan of the character, and I ranked him eight on my personal list of the 30 most important Street Fighters. SF6 Designer Yusuke Hashimoto did a great job of capturing the look, proportions, and details that worked for him in Street Fighter II. Guile has always had a bodybuilder physique, even more so than Ken, and Ryu. Bengus did some of the most memorable illustrations of the character some 31 years ago. Mr. Hashimoto essentially worked out a modern interpretation of him, while still giving him some unique touches.

If you look at the size of the character, his hair, and proportions it’s as close to the look of SFII than any other sequel. Mr. Hashimoto added some facial hair, and eyebrows to Guile to show that time had passed since his previous appearance. The biggest change to the character comes in the way of the color of his uniform. You know already that I am a proponent of SF characters being assigned a main solid color, and complimentary secondary color. For Guile his costume went from green camouflage to a dark blue flight suit. I’m fairly certain that the military fans of Street Fighter are jumping for joy. Soldiers are just about universally accepted as being exceptional fighters in the genre. Green is mainly associated with Army soldiers, and not Air Force pilots. Technically Guile had been wearing the wrong colors for a generation. It doesn’t matter though at this point. His clothing maintains its military designation. Heavy boots for stomping on opponents. A weathered flight crew top with a couple of patches on it including Air Combat Command signaling his place in the United States Air Force.

Guile’s first 3D appearance was in Street Fighter EX in 1996. That game was developed by ARIKA. The first time he was presented in 3D by Capcom was with Street Fighter IV in 2008. The version of the characters that appeared in those games were heavy stylized. Artist Daigo Ikeno created the look of the World Warriors for that sequel. Many people noted how bulky the cast looked. Producer Yoshinori Ono said the characters were much thicker than they used to be in order to make them appealing to western audiences. Their reasoning was based on looking at the hyper-masculine heroes in first person shooter games. The cast of Gears of War, Doom, and Duke Nukem were big, muscular stars after all. He didn’t think that the characters appealed to fans on this side of the Pacific because of the Japanese aesthetic. Yes there were some bodybuilder physiques in the original SFII, but there were also fat, skinny, and feminine body types as well. Most of them became bulky across the board in SFIV. Thankfully the distinct body types seem to have returned in SF6.

The other appealing thing about Guile has to do with his story. He entered the SFII Tournament in order to get revenge on the organizer for killing his friend Charlie Nash. The emotionally scarred soldier looking for vengeance made for a very interesting plot point. Audiences could root for a character like that. Guile In the end he doesn’t murder the villain. He is instead dispatched by Ken, and Ryu. Guile comes to his senses, and returns to the wife, and child that he had abandoned. Coming to terms with what happened to his friend, and becoming a family man made for a very satisfying conclusion. Why he would be in SF6 has yet to be revealed, but I’m certain it will make for an interesting story. What do you think about the return of Guile? Do you like the switch in color scheme? Do you wonder how he will be incorporated into the plot of SF6? Give me your takes in the comments section please. If you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!