Especially after Capcom shared a piece of artwork featuring Akuma, Street Fighter 6’s promised fourth DLC character, fans have been been wondering where information surrounding the game’s third promised DLC character, Ed, has been.
All that wonder was put to rest as we got a teaser trailer for the Psycho Powered pugilist on Thursday. While it doesn’t show off any real gameplay, it does give us our first look at Ed’s in-game model which… doesn’t look all that great, but that actually might be to Capcom’s credit.
Though technically introduced during Balrog’s ending in Street Fighter 4, Ed made his gameplay debut in Street Fighter 5. As yet another blonde haired, blue eyed Bison clone, he didn’t stand out all that much, and was designed to be especially appealing to newer players as his inputs were simplified relative to most everyone else on the roster.
He didn’t make too much of a splash but also didn’t crash and burn a la Necalli, and Capcom evidently decided he had enough charisma to get players to fork over extra cash to play him in Street Fighter 6. After seeing his trailer, we’re on the fence about how lucrative a decision that’ll end up being.
Ed’s movements in this cinematic clip are pretty slick as he gracefully maneuvers through the subway fight scene. He’s the first character in SF6 to harness Psycho Power, and the Psycho punches and Snatcher special he pulls out all look really good. When he dips and weaves to avoid incoming hits from the Mad Gear baddies and proceeds to whiff punish them with quick but brutal jabs, it’s a satisfying watch.
While his emo-esque haircut (which is longer than it used to be) and propensity to wear open jackets may not be everyone’s cup of tea, we have to admit his design does look a little better than it did in Street Fighter 5, thanks in no small part to the RE Engine SF6 runs on.
That said, Ed doesn’t exactly look like he’s well this time around. The color in his face looks a little off as though he’s losing the fight to a cold, and this is underscored further by puffy eyelids.
If I’m honest, one of the first thoughts I had while watching this teaser was that Ed reminds me of some of the human characters just before they turn into bioweapon bosses in Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise (I’ve noticed a lot of comparisons to Capcom’s Devil May Cry characters as well).
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If this is unintentional then it’s hard to see it as anything but an unfortunate ball drop, however, Capcom might be setting us with an inspired and therefore intriguing bit of story with this incoming fighter.
Ed is one of many clone bodies created for M. Bison by the evil dictator’s scientists. When we first met him in SF4 he was a small child, but we learn as his story unfolds that clones like him rapidly age until they look like they’re about 20 years old.
There isn’t much detail about Bison clone aging beyond this, (Cammy doesn’t look like she’s gotten too much older over the years) and maybe that’s because Capcom is still writing the rules here in modern times, but it very well may be that Ed’s body is heavily stressed under the weight of Psycho Power, and is degrading in front of our eyes.
This would add something of a ticking time bomb element to Ed that naturally raises the stakes for him, and honestly makes him much more interesting. We’re not going to hold our breath on this front as theories surrounding Capcom’s emerging storylines tend to be a lot more enticing than what actually comes to fruition, but it’s at least causing us to reserve judgement on what looks to otherwise be a fairly sickly looking roster addition.
What do you think of what we’ve seen for Ed thus far in SF6? Are you more or less hype for him now that we’ve seen him in action? Chime in with your reactions and thoughts in the comments below as we await his release some time in February.