Street Fighter: The 14 Most Powerful Characters, Ranked

Street Fighter, as a popular fighting game series, showcases a wide array of powerful characters, so check out this ranked list of the strongest ones.

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Street Fighter is a Capcom flagship series that’s been around for more than 30 years now and is basically a household name thanks to the massive amount of time it’s spent on the EVO main stage, the slew of different media adaptations, and just the general stellar quality of all the SF games. One of the most iconic and recognizable fighting game franchises, Street Fighter features a cast of diverse warriors, all with something to prove or goals to achieve through their strength.

Just how powerful are these warriors though? It’s no secret that just about every Street Fighter character is looking to make their case as the strongest in the world. This list will look at characters’ overall canon presence, accomplishments, feats, and track records to decide who is indeed the most powerful of them all. Now, we won’t be getting too complex with the fighting game lingo, but thankfully, we’ve got a glossary for anyone who isn’t all too familiar with the genre.

Updated July 25, 2021, by Jacob Buchalter: With what feels like another resurgence of the fighting game genre with titles like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Guilty Gear Strive, and potentially even the soon-to-be Nickelodeon All-Stars Brawl, it’s time to take another look at the OG that started it all, Street Fighter. As one of the longest-running fighting franchises of all time, Street Fighter has quite a large cast of fighters and adds more with each new game. In SFV it was characters like G, Menat, and Necali, while in older games like Street Fighter: Third Strike, the cast of new kids was a whole lot bigger.

So, we decided to take another look through all these world warriors and rank them once again on a scale from weakest to strongest, even if there are some of you out there that think the genre peaked long ago. But, a quick Disclaimer: Power levels in fighting game lore is always a rollercoaster ride of climbs and drops. So, keep in mind that these rankings or the “canonical” power level of each of these characters could change at the whim of SNK.

14 Dhalsim

Dhalsim is a hard case to start with, simply because the guy is an enigma. He’s a yoga master and a complete pacifist, yet he’s also said to be one of the strongest fighters in the franchise. But, because unleashing his power is always in conflict with his desire for peace and harmony, Dhalsim rarely exhibits his full abilities in battle. That said, his abilities really are numerous: teleportation, stretching his limbs across the screen, floating in the air, mind-controlling people (to a certain extent), and even breathing fire (though this fire is thought to be sort of illusionary).

To put it simply, Dhalsim’s fighting style is Yoga, plain and simple. Dhalsim travels the world, helping the needy as much as possible, as well as being the spiritual guide for characters in need — such as Ryu whenever he starts falling prey to the Satsui No Hado. Sadly, we can’t put Dhalsim any higher, since his pacifism gets in the way in a fighting situation, but there’s no doubt the guy is a powerhouse in his own right. Now, if only Dhalsim could do some more humanitarian work by traveling to the Capcom offices and telling them to make the next entry free-to-play so that SF6 succeeds as much as possible, that would be great.

13 Juri Han

Juri is a sadistic Taekwondo master with a vendetta against M. Bison and Shadaloo. She’s a talented fighter, but what makes her really scary is that little gadget implanted in her eye: the Feng Shui Engine that increases her already quite powerful martial abilities.

Her first appearance was in Super Street Fighter IV. In a short span of time, she’s managed to accumulate an impressive number of accomplishments. Her feats include single-handedly bopping all 12 of Bison’s dolls in one go, defeating Chun-Li, (though she does manage to get her revenge later), and even taking on the likes of Guile and Cammy simultaneously, holding her own against both and even managing to knock Guile out. A good majority of the Street Fighter roster have their work cut out for them against this crafty and psychotic femme fatale as she’ll do whatever it takes to get a chance at getting her revenge on Bison, and her aggressive fighting style is testament to that.

12 Alex

Alex is the “main” character of Street Fighter 3rd Strike and the game made it seem like he would be the next Ryu, as in the next main character, until Capcom sort of just…kept Ryu around. It’s a real Goku/Gohan situation. In any case, while Alex isn’t quite as strong as Ryu, he is one of the only people to get a legitimate win on Gill, so it’s safe to say the guy is deserving of being on here, especially since he doesn’t use any supernatural powers like Psycho Power, elemental abilities, and so on, yet still manages to hold his own against people who do.

His fighting style is a mix of wrestling-type moves and kickboxing, and he apparently has enough mastery over it to put him on relatively equal footing with other fighters who are masters of their martial arts. And, if you need any more proof, just look at the guy! With pecs like that, who out there is really doubting that he belongs here among the strongest in the franchise?

11 Ryu

The guy, the legend, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series, Ryu is a wandering world warrior, always looking for his next challenge. Trained by Gouken along with his best friend Ken, Ryu aims to become as strong as he possibly can. While on this constant journey for strength, he’s achieved plenty of accomplishments such as winning the first World Warrior tournament against the tiger king Sagat, defeating M. Bison twice, and even being able to harness the Power of Nothingness.

While Ryu is clearly no one to fool around with, some of his achievements are a little questionable. His biggest issue is the multiple run-ins he has with his dark side, the Satsui No Hado. In order to win against Sagat in their first fight, Ryu unknowingly released his dark powers on the Muay Thai Emperor after the fight had already been decided. His victories against Bison were often products of his allies weakening him before he delivered the final blow. And it isn’t like he hasn’t also taken his fair share of boppings, or been shown up by some of his peers or teachers. Ryu is strong, for sure, but he still has a long way to go and is really quite easy to mess with given his simplistic nature.

10 Sagat

The Emperor of Muay Thai himself, Sagat is probably one of the more formidable-looking characters on this list. Standing at a whopping 7’5”, Sagat is a warrior in every sense of the word and has the battle scars to prove it. He’s undoubtedly the strongest person to have ever worked under Bison.

While Sagat’s track record mostly consists of fights with Ryu in which circumstances were either not fair for either fighter or one was not truly giving it their all, the development of his own skills and techniques that rival and maybe even surpass Ryu’s speaks for itself. It’s also worth mentioning that, while it took Ryu quite some time to tap into the Power of Nothingness and control his Satsui No Hado, Sagat did it unknowingly in almost no time at all, albeit on a smaller scale. To be honest, Sagat and Ryu are basically at the same level or are at least very close, but Sagat’s expertise, dedication, and drive seem to beat out Ryu’s by just the tiniest margin.

9 Urien

Urien, like many of the other big villains of the Street Fighter series, is absolutely superhuman. Since the young age of six, he and his brother Gill were experimented on by the Illuminati, a secret society run by some of the top minds in the world. While most of Urien’s stories are focused around him trying to take GIll’s position or beating him in a fight, Urien is an incredibly intelligent character and one of the strongest fighters in the franchise.

Like Gill, Urien’s fighting style is heavily based on the ancient Greek art of Pankration, but unlike Gill, Urien can manipulate lightning and make his own body metallic. These superpowers, combined with his overall physique and his Aegis Reflector (one of the Secret Society’s Sixty-Six Secret Arts), easily put Urien in the upper echelons of Street Fighter warriors. That said, the guy has lost to people other than Gill, but the circumstances for the fights are always less than optimal. In any case, because of his supernatural powers, Urien is by default a bit stronger than regular humans like Sagat, Ken, or Ryu, but can still be beaten by them if the situation really demands it.

8 G

G is such an absurdly weird character. He looks like a blond Abraham Lincoln, has obvious connections to fan-favorite character Q, has gold patterns all over his body, and can manipulate both earth and magma for some reason. Oh, and he’s also apparently the self-proclaimed “President of the Earth.” Most of what G spouts during his battles or throughout his story mode seems like nonsense, but there’s always a grain of truth in it.

As for his fighting style, it’s hard to say. G himself has said that he’s a practitioner of all of Earth’s fighting styles, but it’s anyone’s guess how true of a statement that actually is. Regardless, G is not a character to be underestimated as some “crazy guy,” as he has gone head to head with Gill, easily defeated Menat, and Rose herself even is quoted as saying he is one of the only people who can stand against Bison. But, because he’s so new and because his full power is still completely unclear, this is the highest we can put him in the ranking while prefacing that he could fluctuate from lower than Juri to higher than Gill based on the next game in the franchise to include him.

7 Gill

Secret Society emperor and messiah of the world, Gill is the older brother of Urien and the main antagonist of Street Fighter III. From a young age, he and his brother were trained in the Secret Society’s fighting techniques and given genetic enhancements that allowed them to access the power of certain elements. While Urien did garner some big accomplishments at an early age, Gill’s were always greater.

The reason why Gill is so low on this list though is largely due to his unimpressive track record. Even though he boasts great power — enough to even be able to resurrect himself — his only recorded wins against anyone significant in the series are with his brother and the minor character Tom, Alex’s teacher. With an appearance this absurd, you would think he’d boast the power of a god, but Gill tends to rarely exhibit his true abilities when people think he should.

6 Rose

Rose is an Italian fortune-teller who is basically a manifestation of all the good energy that M. Bison expelled from his being. This also makes Rose, more or less, a direct counter to Bison himself as she holds the power to stop him.

Rose has fought Bison on more than one occasion, though never managing to fully kill him for good. These are still respectable accomplishments though, as Bison has proven himself to be quite the slippery and crafty villain. What really takes the cake, though, is her run-in with Akuma. She didn’t exactly win against him, but it’s a big feather in her cap for having managed to fight him and come out alive. Usually, Akuma will kill anyone he thinks is worthy of death in a fight with him, so if he was actually ready to kill Rose and she managed to escape, it probably means that Akuma at least thought she put up a good fight. Now, like most other fighting games, fans will always be desperately fighting for their favorite classic character to make a return in the newest game. And, thankfully she was added to the playable cast of SFV in the fifth season of DLC fighters, though this is definitely a version of her past her peak in terms of power levels.

5 Gen

Though he may not be the most physically imposing character on this list, Gen is an example of why you should never judge one by their looks. In his heyday, Gen was a martial arts master and assassin of legendary status. He even taught Chun-Li in her youth.

After contracting a terminal illness, this guy thought it’d be better to die in battle than in bed. So, he willingly put himself in harm’s way, looking for the fight to end his life. While seeking his ultimate death, Gen fought Akuma multiple times. The two of them have brought each other to near-death on occasion. His advanced age and illness certainly aren’t doing anything to enhance his power, but it seems as though neither do much to hamper it either. Even while coughing up blood, this guy will still bop you. Basically, think of him as a slightly less powerful Gouken with nothing to lose.

4 M. Bison

The main antagonist of Street Fighter, Bison is a megalomaniac who would love nothing more than complete and utter world domination. Bison learned Psycho Power from an unknown master before killing him. He then traveled the world, seeking more power before finally founding the evil organization Shadaloo. Honestly, the guy is pretty overpowered as far as fighting game characters go.

Bison has taken his fair share of boppings from many others in the cast, but he’s also served up his own share of them as well, as it often takes a group of fighters to take him down. Plus, he’s always managed to come back, even from the dead, thanks to his creepy ability to take over people’s bodies and make them his own. That said, Bison’s biggest weakness is his dependency on science and amplification. His power is so great that his own body can barely contain it, so he’s constantly in the market for replacements. On top of that, he does get a huge power increase from the black moons in Street Fighter V, but it isn’t really him genuinely getting stronger. It’s just a product of something he needs to amplify his power, effectively making it a huge Achilles heel. And, it seems like with every new body he shows up in, Bison is just a bit weaker than he used to be. If Bison found and actually possessed the perfect vessel, it would be cataclysmic trouble, but he never seems to get his way.

3 Gouken

The master of Ryu and Ken, and Akuma’s older brother, Gouken was a student of Goutetsu along with his younger brother. Growing apart as they trained together, Gouken wanted to master the good aspects of the fighting techniques they were learning while Akuma only wished to master the dark aspects. This led to their never-ending grudge and subsequent confrontations.

Gouken and Akuma have fought tooth and nail numerous times with Gouken even coming out on top on occasion. However, Gouken’s biggest feat comes from a battle he had with Akuma in which he lost but managed to cheat death through a special technique that just left him in a coma. His mastery over the Power of Nothingness is great, using it to seal away Ryu’s dark side, even if just for a little while. It’s pretty clear that Gouken is just on another level.

2 Oro

By far the oldest character on this list at the tender age of around 130 to 140 years old, Oro is a hermit who just wants to pass down his knowledge to a worthy student. During his time as a recluse, he spent every waking moment of his life mastering his art, proving that dedication and hard work do pay off even if it takes you 100+ years.

Oro’s biggest claim to fame is the fact that he never feels the need to fight anyone with both of his arms — not even against the likes of Karin Kanzuki’s grandfather or Akuma, the former of which he supposedly fought for three days straight and the latter had actually matched him in battle. Nothing more needs to be said about an old guy who can give you a bopping with a hand-tied behind his back.

1 Akuma

If you’ve been paying attention, you could probably guess who was going to be number one. The undisputed supreme master of the fist — his name literally means Devil or Demon — Akuma is almost in a class by himself. The younger brother of Gouken, he killed his master after learning his techniques and is focused on mastering the dark aspects of them. Oddly enough, Akuma even shows up in the Tekken 7 storyline (no, not confirming Tekken X Street Fighter, that project is dead and buried) and gets to brawl it out with some of the strongest characters in that universe, too. His inclusion in this game still has to take the cake as one of the most well-executed crossovers of all time.

His resume speaks for itself. This guy has fought and bopped or at the very least matched almost everyone he’s come in contact with, including half of the people on this list with an extra two in which the canon is at least debatable, and all that does is just raise him to mythical beast status. He’s got a ton of experience under his belt, the most accomplishments, some of the biggest feats, an almost flawless track record, and on top of all that, he has one the most devastating and iconic moves in Street Fighter with the Shun Goku Satsu, otherwise known as the Raging Demon. Akuma is pretty much the man.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/street-fighter-characters-powerful-ranked/