AN ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF CHUN-LI IN SUPER SMASH BROS. ULTIMATE
One of the thread ideas I had was for a thread arguing in favor of Chun-Li being in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But because this thread obviously exists, I thought I should just put all that work in here. This would be the first time that I put thread-quality effort into an already-existing thread, so this will be an interesting experience. With that said, here we go.
Making her debut in Street Fighter II: The World Warriors in 1991, the Blue Jade known as Chun-Li burst her way onto the fighting game scene with the claim that she's the Strongest Woman in the World. Chun-Li is a kung-fu partitioner with the mission of avenging the death of her father at the hands of M. Bison (Vega in Japan, so people sometimes say "Dictator" to avoid confusion). And as shown in Street Fighter V, she helped do exactly that, as well as bring about the fall of Shadaloo. So throughout her 28 years of existence, she has more than backed up that claim while also gaining a new title, "The First Lady of Fighting Games". Chun-Li has been a mainstay in almost every Street Fighter game that has released since her debut (with the only mainline exceptions being Street Fighter III: New Generation & Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact). She also has perfect attendance in the Versus series, a record that's only shared with Ryu (Morrigan didn't first show up in the Versus series until Marvel vs. Capcom, but she's stuck around since then). So yeah, Chun-Li is pretty important to gaming & is an icon in her own right.
Another unique newcomer from a franchise that's already decently represented is a bit of a tall order. Not to mention that we have a ton of other fighting games (Tekken, Guilty Gear, Soul Calibur, etc.) waiting in line for potential fighting game representation in Smash. Likewise, there are a ton of Capcom characters waiting in the wings (Jill, Monster Hunter, Dante, Phoenix Wright, Amaterasu, etc.). But in a roster that's starved for more women, Chun-Li would fit the bill perfectly. For one, she's the First Lady of Fighting Games & arguably the 2nd most iconic fighting game character of all time (I say arguably since you could debate that Scorpion is actually in 2nd, though Mortal Kombat's lack of presence in Asian markets would be a deterrent in his case). Likewise, as mentioned in the WHO IS CHUN-LI? section, she's appeared in numerous games & maintained perfect attendance throughout the Versus series. Likewise, she's simply awesome, has a unique design that still holds up to this day, & a fighting style that stands out. If she was the protagonist of her own franchise, Chun-Li would be seeing much more demand. But even despite that, there's enough Street Fighter content missing from Smash where Chun-Li can bring a lot with her in terms of stages, spirits, & especially music.
HOW WOULD CHUN-LI PLAY?
This is something that's been on my mind since Terry's release, & said release was actually what prompted the creation of this comment. We actually have a pretty good idea of how she would play. She'd be pretty good at all ranges, especially on the ground. But while her air game wouldn't be awful, it'd be slightly weaker compared to most characters in the higher tiers. So while she obviously won't be Little Mac levels of bad in the air & you could get some kills while airborne, you'll definitely want to keep your opponent's feet on the ground during combat. And fortunately, Chun-Li would have the options to do so. Likewise, while Chun-Li can clearly dish it out, she wouldn't be the best at taking it in terms of getting hit (I.E. she's a bit lighter, & thus a bit easier to kill). As far as her execution in-game is concerned, it would be a mix of Ryu/Ken & Terry as far as her transition from Street Fighter to Smash is concerned. I won't go into as much detail about her normals, but she'd more resemble Ryu & Ken on this regard in that you press A normally for a weaker attack & hold it for a stronger normal (I.E. her tilts). Her smash attacks would pull from her unique attacks, such as the Hakkei (performed with Back + Hard Punch in Street Fighter) as her side smash. Regarding her specials, here's how I could see things going down...
- SPECIALS
- Note: All True Inputs are for when you're on the left side of the screen facing the opponent
- Standard B: Hyakuretsukyaku
Also known as Lightning Legs, this is Chun-Li's go-to special through her history. The more you mash the B button, the more kicks come out. This also has the effect of delaying Chun-Li's fall in the air, so use this to your advantage for recovery as well as combos.
- Forward B: Spinning Bird Kick
- True Input: ↓...↑ + A (or B)
- A hard-hitting forward-moving attack that dishes damage as much as it closes the distance between Chun-Li & her opponent. Doing the true input would have the move become its stationary EX version, complete with invincibility on start-up & extra damage (as well as knockback).
- Back B: Kikoken
- True Input: ↓↘→ + A (or B)
It's a bit weird to put a projectile on a Side B, but it fits better considering the input that Kikoken has in most games. With that said, Kikoken is a slow-moving fireball that helps Chun-Li with her long-range game. And if you use the true input, you'll get a faster-moving Kikoken that packs more of a punch (before you ask, this is Kikoken's input command in MvCI).
- Up B: Tenshokyaku
- True Input: →↓↘ + A (or B)
This is basically the kick form of a Shoryuken, & it would operate as you would expect. Doing the true input would allow you to go higher as well as get more damage in. The move would not only serve as a great way to recover, but it'd also be a solid anti-air option.
- Down B: Hazanshu
- True Input: ↓↙← + A (or B)
Initially premiering in Marvel vs. Capcom, this move has been a recurring special move in the mainline Street Fighter games upon Chun-Li's return in Street Fighter III: Third Strike onwards. Now this move is Chun-Li's V-Skill II in Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Anyway, Hazanshu has Chun-Li do an air somersault, followed by an axe kick to the floor with Chun-Li doing a split. Chun-Li is invincible for a good chunk of the move, especially during the somersault part, so this is good if you're expecting a projectile to come your way. It can also do you some good up-close since it's grab-invincible. But be careful, as you're pretty vulnerable if you whiff the move due to it leaving you minus (or at a disadvantage) on block. Though regardless of if you actually land a hit, whiff it, or only hit their shield, you do fill your V-Gauge so you can use Chun-Li's V-Trigger (more on that later). This move being Chun-Li's Down B mirrors Ryu & Ken, who have a game-specific move as their Down B (Focus Attack), though (as mentioned earlier) Chun-Li has had this move in other SF games.
- Final Smash: Hoyukusen
- This attack has Chun-Li dish out a flurry of kicks, ending with one last upper kick to the face. The cinematic would play out like it does in Street Fighter V, as it's already pretty damn cinematic in SFV.
UNIQUE MECHANICS
V-Trigger II: Kikosho
Similar to Street Fighter V, you fill this gauge up by taking damage as well as dishing it out (the former fills up the gauge faster). Likewise, doing your Down B fills it up even faster (as mentioned in the Hazanshu section), as it's Chun-Li's V-Skill in Street Fighter V. Once you activate her V-Trigger, it works much like it does in Street Fighter V. Press Shield + Special to activate the V-Trigger for the initial Kikosho. The longer you charge the move, the stronger the attack becomes. And even if the opponent blocks it, it can break shields if fully charged (much like in SFV). Afterwards, you can use Kikosho 3 times if you do so in rapid succession, but the V-Gauge will slowly deplete if you leave it alone (like in SFV). After it's gone, you can go back to filling it up. This would serve as Chun-Li's primary gimmick in Smash.
Air Grabs
Like in Street Fighter, Chun-Li would have the ability to grab opponents in the air. If she's close enough to the ground, Chun-Li will bring the back down with her. But if it's off-stage, Chun-Li will eventually get to a point where she throws them down. While this does sound dangerous, you can still tech the grab even in the air to get out of it. Likewise, Chun-Li has to be pretty damn close to the opponent to initiate the air grab, giving it a risk/reward balance.
- Always Facing the Opponent
- Like Ryu, Ken, & Terry, Chun-Li will always face the opponent in 1v1 battles.
- True Inputs
- Also like Ryu, Ken, & Terry (& as shown in the SPECIALS section), Chun-Li will have access to inputs that hail from the various fighting games she's appeared in for stronger variations of her attacks.
WHAT WOULD BE CHUN-LI'S STAGE?
Since I'm already borrowing a lot from Street Fighter V, I'd might as well do the same for Chun-Li's stage. The one I'd choose would be Bustling Side Street, one of the stages from Street Fighter V & the one first shown when the game was revealed. Since this stage is set in China, it fits perfectly as Chun-Li's home stage. Obviously this wouldn't be legal since there's no off-stage game, but there would be two main gimmicks regarding Bustling Side Street. For one, you can break down the left wall to open up the restaurant on the left side, thus opening up cave-of-life bullshit. But after you open up the left side, you can initiate a KO by hitting the opponent hard enough (with high enough damage) to bash them in the wall for a knock-out (complete with ramen on their head before they lose a stock), similar to the KoF Arena. As for the right side, you can send your opponent off on the bus if you hit them hard enough to break through the invisible wall on the right side. And also like the KoF Arena, you'd have cameo appearances from other Street Fighter characters from throughout the franchise.
WHAT MUSIC WOULD CHUN-LI BRING WITH HER?
One of the biggest weakness of Street Fighter's representation in Smash as of now has to be the music. With the series being rich with great tracks, it's a shame that Smash Ultimate limits itself to Street Fighter II. If Chun-Li was included, she would bring a rare opportunity to right that wrong. And since Capcom seems pretty damn cooperative when it comes to Smash, there's reason to believe that they could be not far from from SNK or even keep up with them in terms of the amount of songs they provide. With that said, here are some of the tracks I'd like to see.
- Bustling Side Street [Street Fighter V]
- The last stock (or last half of the timer) would initiate the alternate version, with the critical part playing when it's last stock & high damage (or the last 30 seconds).
Chun-Li's Stage [Street Fighter II] (Remix)
This is clearly SFV-heavy. But given that Chun-Li would bring the V-Trigger mechanic with her alongside a SFV stage, the focus on SFV would be justified. That plus I didn't ignore the other entries in the series. As I said earlier, Street Fighter is a music goldmine. And including Chun-Li would give Sakurai a 2nd chance to do right by the series on the music front.
WHAT SPIRITS WOULD BE INCLUDED WITH CHUN-LI?
This one is a bit tricky as I don't want to overlap too much with the spirits already in the game. Fortunately, Street Fighter has a ton of options to choose from.
Chun-Li (Street Fighter V)
Alex
Dudley
Sean Matsuda
Gill
Elena
Urien
Makoto
- Rashid
- Menat
- Ed
- Zeku
- Falke
- G
- Lucia
That's a pretty solid list of spirits if I do say so myself.
In a game filled with legends of the industry, Chun-Li would fit right in. Despite the fact that we have quite a bit of Street Fighter representation already, Chun-Li has enough history, popularity, & missing gaps in Street Fighter's representation in Smash to fill to make a real impact on the game as a whole. And given Smash Ultimate's current lack of female fighters, Chun-Li stands tall with other great options like Jill Valentine & Lara Croft as some of gaming's most iconic women who would be great to have to Smash.
