Key Takeaways
- Sodom from the Alpha series hasn’t been a playable fighter since then but is mentioned in
Street Fighter 6
. - Sean Matsuda, from
Street Fighter 3
, hasn’t been playable since
Third Strike
, but his sister Laura is a fighter in
Street Fighter 5. - Eagle, introduced in
Street Fighter
, had a limited appearance in the
Alpha
series and has yet to return in 3D versions.
The long-running Street Fighter franchise has gone through numerous changes in its various iterations. Like many long-running franchises, its most major transition (on a visual level, at least) was the switch from 2D to 3D. Since Street Fighter 4 and its many updated editions, there has been a continued emphasis on adding many characters from previous iterations of the series to this newer medium.
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Frequently, the focus has pivoted towards the Street Fighter 2 era, with a number of characters from other titles thrown in for good measure. That being said, several characters who appeared in the 2D era have yet to become playable fighters in the 3D versions. To qualify for this list, characters have to have been playable before in a 2D format (this means many non-playable enemies in the original Street Fighter do not qualify.)
5 Sodom
Street Fighter Alpha Series
This ex-mobster is an American Japanophile, who previously served as a member of the Mad Gear Gang and a boss in Final Fight. Like many characters in the beat-em-up series, he was added to the Street Fighter Alpha series, being one of the first characters from the series with this distinction, along with Guy. His character is something of a commentary on Americans who glorify and fetishize Japanese culture, as he is well-versed in certain topics and subjects to the point of pretending as though he is Japanese, but he also has a shaky understanding of the language, in both verbal and written forms.
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Unlike the majority of these characters, Sodom has not appeared as a proper fighter since the Alpha era concluded. That said, in Street Fighter 6, he is mentioned by E. Honda, a Japanese sumo wrestler who is a regular fighter in the games. Honda notes that Sodom is a friend of his, who also patronizes his restaurant. Sodom also owns an apparel shop known as Kiss Ache Away, where an employee named Gomorrah mans the storefront.
4 Sean Matsuda
Street Fighter 3 Series
Street Fighter 3: Third Strike
Sean Matsuda is a fan and eventual disciple of Ken Masters, who utilizes a similar fighting style. He is of mixed race, as despite being a native Brazilian with ancestry from the country, his father’s ancestors originate from Japan (hence his surname). Although Sean is not considered as weak as Dan Hibiki, another “shotokan” fighter, his endings in the various Street Fighter 3 games confirm he is not quite on the level of his idol. He notably makes continual negative mentions of Dan, and hates being compared to him.
Although Sean has not been playable since Third Strike, his older sister Laura was one of the first playable characters in Street Fighter 5. Her fighting style varies greatly from Sean’s, deriving from her family’s variation of Jiu-Jitsu. Sean consistently makes appearances and references and was shown to have won a martial arts tournament in Laura’s ending in the Street Fighter 3 route of Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, which director Takayuki Nakayama confirmed was canon via social media. Ironically, Sean’s limited appearances are likely due to his similarities to other fighters. Dan, the traditional “weak shoot,” is notably a fan favorite, as are many others who echo the same style.
3 Eagle
Street Fighter And Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper (GBA)
Eagle was one of two Englishmen to appear as enemies in Street Fighter, alongside the similarly nicknamed Birdie. Eagle’s style was listed as Bojustu, but his usage of two sticks in many of his attacks gives it more of a resemblance to the Filipino art of Eskrima, although the two sticks can form a singular Bo. Eagle eventually notched a playable role in Capcom vs SNK 2, which gave him some mannerisms similar to Freddie Mercury, and in the Japanese version, characterized him as a homosexual.
Birdie was one of a few previous enemy characters to appear in the Alpha series, alongside other fighters from the era. Eagle was added exclusively to certain portable editions of Alpha 3, where he tests his skills against Guile and later aids him in defeating Bison.
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Although the 3D era of Street Fighter introduced a few playable characters to the series implied or confirmed to be LGBTQ+ (such as Poison, Juri, and Marisa), Eagle himself has yet to return. A likely reason behind his lack of further appearances may be that Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper is his only playable appearance in the Street Fighter series to date. Except for Yun (who was already playable in the Street Fighter 3 era), none of the characters added to the portable versions of Alpha 3 have appeared in 3D, nor any other 2D game in the Street Fighter series.
2 Necro
Street Fighter 3 Series
Necro was a Russian man by the name of Illia who was experimented on by Gill’s organization, referred to either as the Secret Society or the Illuminati. He has electrical powers and the ability to physically stretch his body. He is often seen alongside his girlfriend, Effie. The pair is continually on the run from the Society, being hounded by another experiment known as Twelve in Third Strike.
Little else has been noted of Necro, although Street Fighter 5 establishes that the experiments that transformed him were conducted around this time and that he was apparently in contact with Rashid then as well, if not also in the present. It is unclear why exactly Necro has yet to make playable appearances outside the Street Fighter 3 era, as, unlike other 2D-exclusives such as Remy, Q, and Twelve, he was in each game relating to the series.
One likely factor negating further appearances is that several Street Fighter 3 characters were designed to fill niches that others had previously filled consistently in most other iterations. This fact is supported by the series only having four fighters who were playable before Street Fighter 3. This is also likely why Remy, who has special moves similar to Guile and Charlie, has not appeared elsewhere. Necro, while having fundamentally different powers from Dhalsim, another series fixture, still fits the bill of having elongated limbs as a primary aspect of his moveset.
1 Juli & Juni
Street Fighter Alpha 3
The Dolls were brainwashed young women who were forced to serve as assassins and bodyguards to M. Bison. Cammy, one of the most consistently playable characters in the series and a female clone of Bison, was previously a part of this group. Other members were instead kidnapped by Shadaloo and made to serve them.
Two of their number, Juli and Juni, appeared in Alpha 3, acting as sub-bosses that took on the player at the same time. Juli was given some distinction as Julia, Thunder Hawk’s lover prior to her brainwashing, and his wife sometime after it ceased. Juni was notably rescued by Cammy, and protected by Delta Red, the same Special Operations Unit Cammy works for. Although neither Juli nor Juni are playable again, another doll, Decapre, is playable in Ultra Street Fighter 4. After Bison’s “death” in Street Fighter 5, all the surviving dolls seen since then are confirmed to have regained autonomy.
With this recent development, it is unclear why their relative playability is limited. It is likely connected, once again, to the existence of an established character who is similar enough in terms of playstyle and has a more consistent narrative, with Cammy, another ex-doll, being a far more popular character.
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