Has the latest 'dark' Sakura video from Bornfree been discussed yet?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neaydiu-eMM
Dark Sakura figure from EVO:
He did a similar one about Oro some time ago, I think he makes a valid point about merchandising, it could be serious hints.
Regarding recent leaks, the only source I trust for now is Ken Bogard, the guy litterally announced V Trigger months ago. He definitely knows most of the roster, if not all.
To sum up his claims/hints/'enlightened' suppositions
(to take with a grain of salt of course):
- 16 characters, including 4 new (Zen, Laura, Rachid and ?).
- one unique flagship title, game will be updated through seasons/DLC
- SF5 takes place after SF4, but before SF3. Deals with the fall of Shadaloo and rise of the Illuminati, storywise it's a transition to SF3 era.
- Only 'Shadaloo member' remaining is Dictator, implying no Boxer, Sagat or Claw.
- efforts will be made on story mode, characters will make sense story wise.
So educated guess / crazy theory based on leaks, hints and what we know so far :
Ryu
Chunli
Dictator
Nash
Cammy
Birdie
IMO 90% sure:
Alex: people tends to forget he is the main SF3 protagonist, and he's a fan favourite.
Urien: would be the new bad guy, and his presence would make a logical transition to SF3 plot.
Juri : they need at least one original SF4 character, and she is by far the most popular one, has an original playstyle and would fit nicely with SF5 mechanics (fengshui engine as VTrigger, charged fireball as VSkill, counter/teleport move as VReversal), and since she's basically all what remains of SIN she would make sense for a transition between SF4 and SF5 plot.
!Speculations/crazy theory!:
'Dark' Sakura :
Bornfree video point, and it would actually be a logical evolution of the character.
As a reminder she was hit by Seth machine in her SF4 ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9yEw5L5xY4
It could have awoken her satsui no hado. Seeing as they made Ryu the heavy bulky shoto, they could make her the fast/exotic one, could use a mix of her former style and Akuma moves. Could be the missing left character on OP image, with dark aura.
And most importantly, a Sakura overtaken by the satsui no hado would be the perfect excuse to bring Karin back.
Karin:
one of the most requested character (n°1 by Japan, above Ryu), not seen for a long time and would fill the rekka character archetype. Could be the missing right character on OP image, with red aura. Story wise she could return to bring Sakura back to her senses.
Oro:
according to Bornfree video, he could be part of the cast. It would add an exotic fighting style and an 'elder' character type to the roster.
4 new characters
Rachid
Zen
Laura
Unknown (Santamu?) : I always found strange that the last character was not leaked with the other, it could be because it's an existing character in SF lore who was not playable yet. Contrary to the other three, giving his name would totally give away the character. So I'd bet on Santamu since she was already rumoured to be added to USF4 by KB, I think Capcom was indeed working on Santamu at that time, but for SF5.
She's also from Vietnam, a country yet to be represented in SF. Bringing back a doll to backup Cammy in their last fight against Dictator would also make sense story-wise. And lastly she's a spear user accompanied by a monkey so she wouldnt play like Cammy at all .