Street Fighter 5 Debuts Alpha 2 Character Zeku

Game Rant

By Rory Young

Published Oct 15, 2017

Zeku, the 38th master of Bushinryu, joins the Street Fighter 5 roster and completes the second season of six DLC characters. He'll arrive in late October.

The final character joining Street Fighter 5's roster in the 2017 season of DLC has been revealed. Introducing Zeku, the "Ever-Changing Ninja," a previously non-playable character with a history in the franchise going back to Street Fighter Alpha 2. Notorious producer Yoshinori Ono unveiled Zeku at the Asia Regional Finals 2017 event, and the DLC character will be available starting October 24.

Full details regarding Zeku, including his move-set, will likely have to wait until the western Capcom team is back in the office on Monday. For now, Capcom has provided a first-look trailer along with a paragraph of background for the new character:

"First seen in Street Fighter Alpha 2, Zeku was Guy’s former teacher, who taught him to master Bushinryu, a style of ninjutsu. Eventually, Guy was able to obtain the title of 39th Master of Bushinryu. Zeku then disappeared and was never seen again…until now! Zeku has reappeared looking to start his own ninja group and find a new fighting style."

Bushinryu is a fighting style with roots going back to the Final Fight series, where Guy is a protege of the 37th master Genryusai. Zeku ultimately becomes the 38th master after Genryusai passes away prior to Street Fighter Alpha 2, followed by Guy as 39th. Genryusai's daughter Maki, who has also been a character in Street Fighter prior, then contests the role of 39th master.

Zeku isn't the first Final Fight-related character to join Street Fighter 5, Abigail arrived earlier, though technically Zeku was never included in a Final Fight game. He's only closely tied to Final Fight characters Guy and Maki due to Street Fighter Alpha 2's storyline. Zeku's inclusion could hint towards future characters for Street Fighter 5 DLC.

Speaking of DLC, Zeku marks the final character planned for release in 2017 as part of Street Fighter 5's second season. Season three will presumably start in 2018 following this year's Capcom Cup and will feature 6 new characters. Where 2017's focus was mostly on all-new fighters, 2018 will reportedly focus on returning favorites, with rumors claiming Sagat and Sakura are scheduled for next season. Expect big announcements from Capcom during late-2017's big end-of-year tournaments.

Street Fighter 5 is now available on PC and PS4. Zeku will be available to download starting October 24.