Zangief wrestles his way into Street Fighter V

By Albert Khoury October 3, 2015

Street Fighter V - Zangief Trailer | PS4

The Red Cyclone will return in the next installment of Capcom’s bestselling beat ’em up series. Zangief was revealed in the latest trailer for Street Fighter V, set for release in the first quarter of 2016 for the PlayStation 4 and PC platforms. The video debuted at Russian gaming expo Igomir, according to the official PlayStation blog.

The Russian bear wrestler has added some flair to his signature moves and introduced some new ones to boot, and in this teaser, the villainous M. Bison takes those big-booted kicks to the face. He is also subjected to suplexes, back breakers, body slams, and spinning piledrivers. You can’t argue with the classics, right?

Street Fighter V introduces a new fighting mechanic in the form of the V-Gauge, similar to the Focus Attack from the previous installment. The gauge fills up as a character takes damage or performs moves known as V-Skills. Zangief’s Iron Muscle V-Skill allows him to absorb an attack and grab an opponent if they are within range. When his gauge is full, Zangief can break out his V-Trigger attack, the Cyclone Lariat. This is a powerful spinning attack that pulls in an opponent and strikes them multiple times.

Critical Arts are part of a new feature similar to Super Moves from previous Street Fighter games. Zangief’s CA employs the use of a chain of suplexes, which can knock out his opponent. And here’s something we haven’t seen before: Zangief headbutting a projectile.

While this marks Zangief’s official return to the series, there have been subtle hints leading up to it. Sharp-eyed fans spotted him when Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono tweeted a photo of SF mainstay Blanka hanging out by Zangief’s belt.

Shortly after Zangief’s debut, Japanese video game publication Famitsu leaked photos of a new character named Laura (via Eventhubs). This Brazilian brawler’s style combines jiu-jitsu and electricty. With this latest addition, there are two characters left to reveal.

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