Staying on schedule with their promised character per month DLC model, Guile has been confirmed as the next fighter to join the Street Fighter V roster.
Arriving as the only true “charge” character so far, (with Vega and Chun-Li having their moves either partially or completely changed to quarter circle motions,) the all-American family man returns with some interesting tricks up his rolled up sleeves. Most surprisingly, he will be the only character with a walking crouch. Called the “Faultless Move”, Guile can hold his down charge for his trademark Flash Kick while moving forward, finally giving us the chance to emulate the cheating CPU from Street Fighter II.
In addition, Guile’s V Skill and V Trigger enhance his Sonic Boom projectiles in ways that will let him control the field like never before. His skill is Sonic Blade, allowing him to launch a stationary version of his trademark fireball to either set a trap or keep downed opponents on the offensive. His trigger, called Solid Puncher, gives him the ability to throw out continuous Sonic Booms at varying speeds depending on the button pressed. While limited like all the other V Triggers in the game, this brief period will give Guile a huge space advantage, allowing him to control the field or extend combos at his will, on top of powering up his Critical Art.
Speaking of his Critical Art, the Sonic Hurricane from Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 returns as Guile’s go-to ultimate attack. Launching a large, stationary Sonic Boom directly in front of him, what better way to apply the pressure even further than with a large projectile to bring the opponent closer to you for big damage? Flash Kick fans might be a little disappointed that these new moves are all Sonic Boom heavy, but hey! You get a walking crouch, which sounds amazing!
In addition to Guile, the April update will come with some long awaited enhanced rage quitting penalties that lock frequent abusers out of the game for a set amount of time, and the Air Force Base Stage. At the asking price of 70,000 Fight Money, this throwback stage has all the same soldiers cheering you on, all of which have aged surprisingly well from their SFII appearance 25 years ago, but with a new coat of paint. Season Pass holders will get the stage for free as a thank you from Capcom!
Guile himself will be the standard 100,000 FM for new characters, but like Alex before him, he will be free for all players until Capcom finally gets the Zenny system up and running, which will serve as their exchange system for real money. Including his trials, story content and availability across all modes, you might want to take advantage while you can.
No official date has been announced for the release of the April update, but Capcom is promising it will be available by the end of the month.