Street Fighter 5: Introducing Necalli

For the past few months, Capcom’s been showing off more and more fighters for Street Fighter V. It started with Ryu vs. Chun-Li. Then a patchwork version of Charlie was introduced. After him was a white-haired M. Bison. Then an overweight Birdie and a more-top-heavy-than-usual Cammy joined in. Predictably, Ken Masters was confirmed. That was all well and good, but fans started to wonder:

When are we going to get some new blood?

Enter Necalli, which appears to be an Aztec word for “battle.” Right before the insane Ultra Street Fighter IVTop 8 at the Evolution Championship Series, they gave this wild man his own trailer. Behold!

Man, look at that. It’s like they decided to see what it would be like if they reintroduced Blanka with a straight face instead of being a comedy character. He’s got a bit of Wolverine and Urien in him with a dash of some neat command throws.

Not really sure what this guy’s deal is, but he certainly doesn’t look like much of a good guy. If anything, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s going to be some kind of possible rival for Akuma. Regardless, I can’t wait to try him out.

In other news, Capcom made a promising announcement about Street Fighter V’s existence. No longer will they be going the physical upgrade route. There will be no Super Street Fighter V or Ultra Street Fighter V. From now on, all upgrades will be downloadable. But what’s nice is that you don’t have to do that. Let’s say someone like Dudley eventually becomes DLC in the future. Rather than just pay for him, you are given the option to unlock him via gameplay. You know, like the good old days.

Street Fighter V will be released in 2016.

Gavin Jasper wishes he had hair that luxurious. Follow him and his mundane mane on Twitter!