Highlights
- Zangief, FANG, R.Mika, Birdie, Hugo, Sean, T. Hawk, and Dan are some of the weakest characters in Street Fighter, often ranking in the lower tiers.
- Zangief is designed for seasoned players who enjoy a challenge, but his lack of fireballs and slower speed make him a low-tier character.
- FANG's unpopularity stems from his cartoonish design and his slow and floaty moves, making him vulnerable up close and more dangerous to his players than his opponents.
In lore, Street Fighter has some of the strongest characters around. Ryu can punch trees down with a single fierce punch. Balrog’s hardest shots can kill an elephant. Akuma can survive thousands of feet underwater and lift shipwrecks all by himself. But in-game, Ryu tends to be average, Balrog below average, and Akuma can die to a few combos if players manage to put him on the defensive.
But this can all change depending on the game. The series has used multiple different gameplay styles over its 35 years of history, and various characters have found themselves sliding up and down the tier list. While some characters tend to be reliable no matter their strengths, others have remained in the doldrums. These are the weakest characters in Street Fighter by tier.
8 Zangief
In real life, getting on the wrong side of a muscle monster like Zangief would be a bad situation. In Street Fighter, they’re just an easy target. The Red Cyclone isn’t really designed for the high tier. He’s more for the seasoned players to test themselves. To see if they can still win matches with no fireballs, harder move commands, and larger hurtboxes to go with his slower speed in general.
Many have managed to do so and have even won tournaments in his weakest games. His strongest showing was likely in the Street Fighter 4 games, where players could close the distance and nullify projectiles with his Banishing Flat punch. Even then he was more mid-to-lower-mid tier. When he lost this green hand move in Street Fighter 5 and 6, he went back to the bottom of the pile.
7 FANG
Shadaloo’s replacement for Sagat in SF5 proved to be unpopular in both looks and gameplay. The series has never really looked realistic, but FANG felt like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon villain in an anime world. He could’ve worked as the dastardly, slimy schemer he was meant to be if he schemed more and shrieked less. As such, most fans aren’t exactly torn up over him being succeeded by AKI in Street Fighter 6.
But that’s just FANG’s design. How about his moves? His poison mechanic made him one of the few characters able to inflict chip damage, and skilled players could use him as an effective trapper. However, his poison didn’t do that much damage in the long run. He also had less health than most of the cast and was too slow and floaty to dodge hits, making him vulnerable up close. Ultimately, he was more poisonous to his players than his opponents.
6 R.Mika
By contrast, Rainbow Mika was one of the strongest characters in SF5 in the game’s early run. Even by its end, she had a comfy spot in the middle of the tier list. Too technical for easy wins, but quick and strong enough to stand out over Zangief and FANG. Even then, this was only because SF5 completely changed her move list from her debut in Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Sure, she still had her fanservice design and flying hip moves. She was also technical, with a variety of different moves to suit different situations. However, most of her attacks left her open for punishment, making controlling stage space hard for her. Her throw range wasn’t very good, and she had a hard time building up super meter, which is just as well as her Sardine Beach Special super was pretty bad.
5 Birdie
It must’ve been a frustrating time for an SF fan in the early 1990s. They waited years for a proper sequel to Street Fighter 2 instead of yet another re-release. Then, once Capcom finally moved past the game, they made a prequel in Street Fighter Alpha instead. Even then, it was a prequel to SF2, not the original Street Fighter, making SF2 the real SF3 all along!
Still, SFA1 brought in newer, bolder anime-inspired graphics, multiple super combos, and new looks for old designs. Birdie returned from SF1 and was playable for the first time. Not that players were missing much. His attacks were too slow, his throws were easy to avoid, and opponents could mash out of his big Level 3 super to punish him. It wasn’t until SF5 that he was improved enough to rise to the dizzying heights of mid-tier.
4 Hugo
Big bodies are traditionally at a disadvantage in fighting games as their giant size makes them easier to catch into combos. Nonetheless, players can learn to handle it and use the archetype to their advantage. For example, Hugo Andore in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike is low tier, but not horribly so. With his hard hits, Hand Slaps, and throw setups, he can be a solid contender. Especially when players get the hang of parrying to leave opponents open.
This wasn’t the case for Hugo’s debut in Street Fighter 3: Second Impact. His attacks and throw range were bad, his defensive game was worse, and nearly everyone could hit him off the ground (OTG) on knockdown with their supers. Hugo returned to the bottom tier in SVC: SNK Vs Capcom Chaos, where his slow speed was so bad that the best tip given for him was to go back to the character select screen and pick someone else instead.
3 Sean
SF3: 3S is arguably the best fighting game ever made, and is certainly one of the most beloved. But it wasn’t rated for its balance. The game practically belongs to Ken, Chun-Li, and Yun, with the occasional Ryu, Yang, and Hugo poking up now and then. Twelve is generally seen as the archetypical Worst SF3 Character™, but the big glop of white goo is more competitive at high levels than Sean Matsuda.
Strangely enough, Sean was supposed to be a joke character from the start. He was initially planned to be a handicap option for experienced players to use when fighting newbies. SF3: New Gen and SI obviously didn’t get that memo as he was actually quite strong in those games. But after SF3: 3S nerfed his attacks, like turning his nifty Dragon Punch variation into a pitifully short-ranged, double-armed uppercut, he was doomed.
2 T. Hawk
Speaking of beloved fighting games, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is generally regarded as the best of the SF2 re-releases. Again, it’s not because it’s fair or balanced either. In fact, it has a bunch of developer oversights players can use to their advantage. For example, T. Hawk’s crouching strong punch has an invisible hurtbox placed above and in front of him that players can hit with standing-high attacks.
T.Hawk was meant to be a more agile grappler option in regular Super Street Fighter 2. But SSF2T broke him. Even without phantom hurtboxes, his attacks are easy to punish and barely build super meter. Still, he has to go on the offensive as he has no defensive options. His only advantage was his throws, which could be dangerous in the right hands. However, even this was nerfed when SFA3 reduced its effective range. The poor guy can't catch a break.
1 Dan
Just because a character’s bottom tier doesn’t mean they’re unpopular or won’t improve. Many people rather like Sean’s design and would like to see him return in SF6 over his more technically-sound big sister Laura. He has made background cameos, and in lore he’s driven to improve, so seeing him become a competent alternative to Ken would be cool. Besides, SF already has an intentionally bad shoto in Dan Hibiki.
Made as a parody of SNK’s Art of Fighting duo Ryo and Robert, his moves had pitiful range and recovery, from his nigh-on useless Gadōken to his unsafe Kōryūken. He’s bottomed out lists for Street Fighter Alpha 2, Ultra Street Fighter 4, Capcom Vs SNK 2, and SF5. As such, it feels anticlimactic to rank Dan as the lowest-tier character as he’s meant to be bad and will likely remain bad. Though if that’s what it takes to get a good Sean, it might be worth it.