The Capcom Cup 2018 finished with an intense Grand Finals on Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition between Gachikun and Itabashi Zangief, with Gachikun taking to top prize. However, the real buzz going around the event was the leaked image of the new fighter for the 2019 Season, demonic warrior by the name of Kage. Once the Grand Finals ended, with Gachikun claiming his trophy and the $250,000 price money, Capcom officially unveiled Kage as the next fighter in the game, and the reactions are a bit mixed to say the least.
Alongside the announcement came a reveal trailer, showcasing Kage’s fighting style and abilities. Spoiler Alert: they are all exactly like Evil Ryu’s, which are also just like normal Ryu’s. At first glance we mistook Kage for Evil Ryu as an alternate costume in the game. According to the trailer, Kage is the result of Ryu successfully containing the Satsui No Hado (Surge of Murderous Intent) aka, The Dark Hado, which is a manifestation of Ryu’s fighting powers being used for more malevolent purposes. However, due to him forcefully suppressing it, the Satsui No Hado becomes self aware and begins to take over Ryu’s body from within, so much so that Ryu sprouts horns akin to Devil Kazuya from the Tekken series.
Admittedly, there are a couple of differences in they way he fights. For instance, his Hadouken isn’t the traditional blue fireball that Ryu uses, and his Air Hadouken goes straight as opposed to the downward angle that Evil Ryu’s does. In addition, his V Triggers I allows him to move while in mid-air, continuing a seemingly endless juggle combo for maximum effect. His Critical Art is the Shin Shoryuken, but with a touch of evil to it, and of course he has the Raging Demon Ultimate, which can only be done while in his V Trigger II state.
Kage is available today on Street Fighter V for the PlayStation 4, and PC. He costs $5.99 or 100,000 Fight Money, the in-game currency.
You can check out the reveal trailer here:
You can also check out the Grand Finals of the Capcom Cup 2018 here: