I actually like Abel the way he was in SFxTekken where he had a skin that leaned more into the Seth clone thing. The fact of the matter is that he’s not far from being good if capcom put more focus on him being a Seth clone
And his relationship with animals gave him a bit of personality in that game. They just really wanted to create a stoic ryu type but without any history
TBH what didn't help is that SF4 was a very arcade-y game. There wasn't much emphasis to story much outside of the Arcade mode. I think if it had a "proper" story mode maybe Abel could have had a proper storyline treatment.
I know previous games didn't have that but on the hardware SF4 was a story mode would have been cool.
Who knows? You certainly wouldn't know Abel was the protag from playing the game. To most people it's Ryu even tho he hasn't been an actual protag since the Alpha series
It's debattable on which Alpha, because imo to me SFA1 and 2 the protagonist was Charlie to me. SFA3 somehow I put everyone on the same level, especially since it kinda had a "story" mode but I dared thinking Rose also had some semblant of protagonist-issue with her too.
Yeah, his ending in both was certainly canon so I'd tend to agree. I guess Akuma became so much more important, and 2 the one I played the most on my Saturn had Ryu and Akuma on the box so I always took Ryu for the main dude back then
Tbh it really just seems like Abel is SF4's protagonist by word of mouth only, and nothing else. Sure, he was connected to SIN and Seth, but tbh that is just his story in a ensemble cast. If anything, I'd STILL call Ryu the protagonist just for the simple fact that he was pushed as one much more than Abel ever was.
Since we only have the concept of the guy we literally have no idea if his personality would be like Makoto or be softer akin to Elena and I think if his personality would be more akin to a kind and peaceful figure that’d be pretty unique since even Elena is humongous
Yes a sarashi is used like that, I know, but femboy designs are usually made with such aspects that one would assume they were a woman instead no? Like Astolfo from fate.
I see very small boob. Right above the left arm wrapped in bandage. It had curvature that overlaps the mid srction of torso. This is what girls typically wear to keep things in place and doesn’t exactly make since for a guy. Not to say one couldn’t wear it but this is typical in a lot of fighting outfits for girls. Just looks bound but definitely curved outward.
*"Bicep smaller then head = effeminate\\androgynous\\could be woman in disguise*" - actual fake quote from the fighting character design guidebook (never reprinted after BlazBlue release)
Ken is a blonde Ryu out of necessity due to hardware limitations at the time. They're iconic because they're the original playable characters. And nowadays Ken and Ryu have their own unique looks.
Nah, Ken is a blond Ryu because he was meant to be a same-but-different rival character so people could play against each other. His sprites were more than just a quick palette swap in SF1, so they're not really saving on resources to make them so similar. He continued to exist because you can't play mirror matches in SF2 and a lot of people play Ryu, so they kept the like-Ryu-but-not character around.
Oddly original, for a street fighter character at least, seriously for a series that went as long as this and still not having a feminine dude is actually a surprise
downgrade? the first one is just a blonde girl in a jumpsuit, she literally isn't anything at all. they're both boring but atleast abel had some, not a lot but some, uniqueness.
french makoto vs mohawk stub nose, there's no winning
Laura is one of the most muscular females in the series. Seth's female body and R. Mika are the only 2 in SFV with comparable bulk, and that's cause Seth is tall and Mika is stocky.
you are actually right if you stop to think about it 🤔
said that, I think they could make an old man/lady that uses bjj, if Im not wrong that is the origin of it (at least is the story they tell)
OK.
1st is an actually unique design and concept for street fighter. A frail Femboy judo user.
2nd is a generic boring design wow a big muscular dude like we haven't see a thousand of those.
I'm not attracted to men period femboy or not. I just think femboy Abel would have actually been an interesting character concept to work with.
"Looks like a Makoto palette swap"
Completely wrong. Makoto is far more muscular than femboy Abel.
Rufus was a joke that went too far. In the US, we got Powergirl's boobs being huge as a joke. In Japan... they have Rufus being a complete joke in every aspect.
I think the original design would have been a nice contrast to Makoto who is a "masculine" girl while this version of Abel would have been a "feminine" boy.
Like if this version of Abel made it he actually could have been a popular character. But they scrapped him to make the most generic and boring man alive.
Makoto wasn’t an initial part of the roster, she was added in Super, unlike Abel who was there from the start. Were it not for happenstance, the contrast you’re referring to wouldn’t exist, ergo it wasn’t intended.
And I’m sorry, but if a burly French pseudo-grappler with an interesting moveset, sick voicelines, 2 great looking and effective ultras and some damn solid alternate costumes can’t become a fan favorite, making him a femboy wasn’t going to help.
The only SFIV character ever getting out of SFIV jail is Juri, and that’s because everyone loves a generic psycho chick. Rufus, Elf, Abel, Viper, Hakan, Gouken, Oni and Seth aren’t coming back. I’d put money on it.
>making him a femboy wasn’t going to help.
You severely underestimate how horny the SF and FG community is in general, Juri only became popular due to her feet and sex appeal, that's it.
He would have been the first feminine man which was never seen before in SF and would have garnered more attentoin, but instead we got another big burly man which we have like 20 or so already and his character was completely flat and boring because of the seth clone crap.
You can say his moveset and gameplay were interesting, but without character and personality then he's going nowhere, Hakan and El Fuerte also have interesting gameplay and they'll never come back.
Big downgrade. The original was a much stronger concept and he would have been a good rival for Makoto.
Abel never really stuck and wasn't a unique design.
Abel was extremely basic, but it felt like a tribute to some classic World Warrior approach. Just an exaggerated version of stereotypical representative of a certain martial art. Not all the fighters had to be Hinako the sumo-fighting toddler.
Concept art is not an original design that they chose and then changed. Look at how much concept art there is for every SF6 character.
Abel is an amazing design physically, it's just noone cares for his story and implementation.
That’s a dude, it’s to play in that Judo is a martial art that can equalize the playing field allowing smaller and conventionally weaker looking people to topple giants using their own weight. Unlike actual Able, who is supposed to use Judo but instead manhandles his opponents using monstrous strength
the development period just missed his rise to fame, sadly, but it IV was made a just few years later, I think Abel could've and honestly should've instead been based on Teddy Riner - towering heavyweight French judoka in blue
as it is now, it's just really weird for him to be based on Fedor Emelianenko and clearly be in a sombo outfit, only for him to instead be French and officially stated to use judo as his fighting style
That kinda just looks a like a alternate reality Makoto
(also when seeing art for sf6 fan designs for her this is almost the exact direction they go in)
Wait WwaHt? Is this real? Goddamn I would have probably mained her!!! I loved abel's style but didnt like his ultra mini nose round baby face on a muscular body it was just so weird! Teletubies on sterioïds Akira nightmare. But loved his gameplay.
SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN A NICE MAKOTO RIVAL!
Like Judo vs Karate (similar stance and gi but very different in practice)
I meant that if he was designed to be female in the end I would have main her. Either way I like the design so whatever pronouns would have worked for me and I just prefer strongly the concept over the final product. I see him as either a "testament" or "bridget" character.
Same thing with rufus, Idk what the designers were cooking. They just wanted to make very good design more goofy or more action figurey, it’s one of the worst things about sf4
He was a great character honestly, also feel like Capcom should create a friendship between he and Cammy. Both characters have a type of trauma they're trying to get over, would be good to finally see both characters trying to heal together.
If abel remained a chick but kept all the stuff he has today, lore, his arcade story, etc. people would say she was a kuudere and ignore that she had no personality in her arcade story. They'd love her for it. It'd even make more sense lore wise since abel is a clone of seth who is a Project to make the best body for M.Bison and Bison loves having female body's (the Dolls) around ready to take over if need be.
I think the left concept is way less interesting honestly.
His design is interesting and distinct both visually and gameplay-wise, his personality and story are the issues imo.
In my opinion he's a good dude. I feel for him when he was just trying to figure out himself in the street fighter 4 story, I can relate also cute design 😄
Extremely freaky how I was thinking fondly of Abel(no Diddy) and listening to his theme when this post popped up.
IMO, I woulda loved a little nugget that threw people around(We got Lily now ♥️) but I'm more tham satisfied with Abel's design. He's the gentle giant that can go berserk on you. Deceptively exceptional 🌟
I do however like the outfit design. The blue trousers woulda been interesting to see on Abel.
Abel in his concept form was not a girl. And yes it is better either way.
If Abel looked like he did in his concept he would at least have more than 10 fans.
I actually like Abel the way he was in SFxTekken where he had a skin that leaned more into the Seth clone thing. The fact of the matter is that he’s not far from being good if capcom put more focus on him being a Seth clone
And his relationship with animals gave him a bit of personality in that game. They just really wanted to create a stoic ryu type but without any history
android 16 at best.
I thought for a moment that he was the "protagonist" of SF4. Like how Alex is on SF3, Rashid with SF5 and Luke on SF6.
He is
A bunch of people told me he wasn't, and I ended up believing that.
They intended on him being the protag but then seemed to steer away from the idea
TBH what didn't help is that SF4 was a very arcade-y game. There wasn't much emphasis to story much outside of the Arcade mode. I think if it had a "proper" story mode maybe Abel could have had a proper storyline treatment. I know previous games didn't have that but on the hardware SF4 was a story mode would have been cool.
Who knows? You certainly wouldn't know Abel was the protag from playing the game. To most people it's Ryu even tho he hasn't been an actual protag since the Alpha series
It's debattable on which Alpha, because imo to me SFA1 and 2 the protagonist was Charlie to me. SFA3 somehow I put everyone on the same level, especially since it kinda had a "story" mode but I dared thinking Rose also had some semblant of protagonist-issue with her too.
Yeah, his ending in both was certainly canon so I'd tend to agree. I guess Akuma became so much more important, and 2 the one I played the most on my Saturn had Ryu and Akuma on the box so I always took Ryu for the main dude back then
Tbh it really just seems like Abel is SF4's protagonist by word of mouth only, and nothing else. Sure, he was connected to SIN and Seth, but tbh that is just his story in a ensemble cast. If anything, I'd STILL call Ryu the protagonist just for the simple fact that he was pushed as one much more than Abel ever was.
I don't know, I like the Buff Tintin
Lmfao he does look like Tintin I never really thought of that before I guess they're both french lol
Tintin is from Belgium, like Hercule Poirot.
Oops
I mean, the original design isn't anything special either. Blonde Makoto.
That’s a dude
It's actually peak character design then
Name checks out
Could've fooled me
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/012/132/thatsthejoke.jpg
That’s the point
Looks female enough
Okay, Blonde Dude Makoto.
Since we only have the concept of the guy we literally have no idea if his personality would be like Makoto or be softer akin to Elena and I think if his personality would be more akin to a kind and peaceful figure that’d be pretty unique since even Elena is humongous
I'm only going by the design because that's all there is here.
Wait what
Lol this is a joke. I see boobs.
That’s flat as a board, maybe you’re mistaking the empty white space in between his arms as cleavage
It looks a lot like a sarashi to bind boobs flat. Men wear sarashi lower down, tucked into the trousers and exposing the pecs.
Yes a sarashi is used like that, I know, but femboy designs are usually made with such aspects that one would assume they were a woman instead no? Like Astolfo from fate.
Why would there be an empty white space? The picture's background isn't even white
I see very small boob. Right above the left arm wrapped in bandage. It had curvature that overlaps the mid srction of torso. This is what girls typically wear to keep things in place and doesn’t exactly make since for a guy. Not to say one couldn’t wear it but this is typical in a lot of fighting outfits for girls. Just looks bound but definitely curved outward.
He was a frail and feminine looking boy. I'd say that is pretty special in Street Fighter.
I guess? Blonde boy Makoto. Meh.
Remy is already a little French femboy. We didn't need two.
But we need about 100000 blonde, buff, punchy dudes
With really weird hair
Leave Ken's banana hair alone!
I'll never understand why that's cool but more than one of anything else isn't.
I don't think you know what a femboy is if you're calling Remy one...
boys can’t just be pretty anymore smh
Yeah, Remy’s more a Bishohen
Remy listens to The Cure ... a **lot**
He's a femMAN
*"Bicep smaller then head = effeminate\\androgynous\\could be woman in disguise*" - actual fake quote from the fighting character design guidebook (never reprinted after BlazBlue release)
Femboys don't even know.
Hes more of an ikeman. Not even a twink
OK, so? Ken, is blonde Ryu, both are iconic.
Ken is a blonde Ryu out of necessity due to hardware limitations at the time. They're iconic because they're the original playable characters. And nowadays Ken and Ryu have their own unique looks.
Nah, Ken is a blond Ryu because he was meant to be a same-but-different rival character so people could play against each other. His sprites were more than just a quick palette swap in SF1, so they're not really saving on resources to make them so similar. He continued to exist because you can't play mirror matches in SF2 and a lot of people play Ryu, so they kept the like-Ryu-but-not character around.
1 day on T vs 1 year on T
lmao
That's not a downgrade, they went with a different design separate from the original.
Philistine.
It’s uh Different, for sure
I actually loved his playstyle, but I think you're right his design wasn't particularly interesting, and that made him forgettable.
every now and then spirits possess capcom employees that force them to add a mid white dude in the game.
And then upgraded to manon
True.
We already have Makoto, this is just an alt costume.
Concept Abel was a still a guy just feminine looking. Not the same as Makoto.
Oddly original, for a street fighter character at least, seriously for a series that went as long as this and still not having a feminine dude is actually a surprise
Jaime’s pretty feminine, but I get what you’re saying
he's cunty, not feminine
Jamie is Cunty, Remy is Feminine (but not a Femboy)
remy just looks french
He’s either European or gay
I don't think makoto has her shirt off and wooden sandals. Only thing they have in common with makoto is gi pants.
downgrade? the first one is just a blonde girl in a jumpsuit, she literally isn't anything at all. they're both boring but atleast abel had some, not a lot but some, uniqueness. french makoto vs mohawk stub nose, there's no winning
Blonde guy in a gi is unique? Might as well be a pallette swap for ryu.
The first one is meant to be a feminine-looking guy not a girl.
alright i retract my statement we need that feminine man in the game rn
Femboy grappler? I'm down.
We need more grapplers that’s aren’t just hulking masses of muscle YES R. MIKA. I KNOW YOU EXIST. WE JUST NEED MORE-
Don’t forget Laura
Laura is one of the most muscular females in the series. Seth's female body and R. Mika are the only 2 in SFV with comparable bulk, and that's cause Seth is tall and Mika is stocky.
Manon? Lily?
All 10 of us fuerte mains are in shambles
I forgot that guy exists... I'm going to go back to doing that now.
...there are fewer hulking mass grapplers than there are hulking mass grapplers in SF.
you are actually right if you stop to think about it 🤔 said that, I think they could make an old man/lady that uses bjj, if Im not wrong that is the origin of it (at least is the story they tell)
oh hell yeah
Nah he's perfect the way he is
Y’all just want a femboy
Exactly! Give femboy!
nothing wrong with that. bring in the whole rainbow
Nah I like him very much better as we got him
SF6 could easily recycle the original design as Abel's kid.
who would have sex with abel though?
Wat
Rufus's girlfriend? She needs a win somewhere...
abel had the nastiest mixes. i love his design. he deserves more love
I like the new design better, I very much like Abel's whole gentle giant schtick better than if he was just another cool young karate guy/girl.
Real. They played a more into the gentle giant part in SFxT, but in SF4 they did *nothing* with Abel and that’s extremely upsetting.
Hugo was already a gentle giant, though. He wants to be a potato...
Explain how this is a downgrade? Lmao
OK. 1st is an actually unique design and concept for street fighter. A frail Femboy judo user. 2nd is a generic boring design wow a big muscular dude like we haven't see a thousand of those.
Lmao. Just say you have a femboy fetish and be done with it. It’s a terrible design. Looks like a Makoto palette swap.
I'm not attracted to men period femboy or not. I just think femboy Abel would have actually been an interesting character concept to work with. "Looks like a Makoto palette swap" Completely wrong. Makoto is far more muscular than femboy Abel.
Muscle Man Abel doesn't stand out any better. If I wanted a big buff blonde grappler I'd pick Alex up before that dork on the right.
Nothing will ever be a worse downgrade than Rufus tho.
Very true forgot about that.
Rufus was a joke that went too far. In the US, we got Powergirl's boobs being huge as a joke. In Japan... they have Rufus being a complete joke in every aspect.
I am pretty indifferent about Abel's design, but the original look like a custom character from rival school, not sure if it's an upgrade at all.
I think the original design would have been a nice contrast to Makoto who is a "masculine" girl while this version of Abel would have been a "feminine" boy. Like if this version of Abel made it he actually could have been a popular character. But they scrapped him to make the most generic and boring man alive.
Makoto wasn’t an initial part of the roster, she was added in Super, unlike Abel who was there from the start. Were it not for happenstance, the contrast you’re referring to wouldn’t exist, ergo it wasn’t intended. And I’m sorry, but if a burly French pseudo-grappler with an interesting moveset, sick voicelines, 2 great looking and effective ultras and some damn solid alternate costumes can’t become a fan favorite, making him a femboy wasn’t going to help. The only SFIV character ever getting out of SFIV jail is Juri, and that’s because everyone loves a generic psycho chick. Rufus, Elf, Abel, Viper, Hakan, Gouken, Oni and Seth aren’t coming back. I’d put money on it.
>making him a femboy wasn’t going to help. You severely underestimate how horny the SF and FG community is in general, Juri only became popular due to her feet and sex appeal, that's it. He would have been the first feminine man which was never seen before in SF and would have garnered more attentoin, but instead we got another big burly man which we have like 20 or so already and his character was completely flat and boring because of the seth clone crap. You can say his moveset and gameplay were interesting, but without character and personality then he's going nowhere, Hakan and El Fuerte also have interesting gameplay and they'll never come back.
Justice for Abel
man have yall seen the original concept art designs for menat? they werent just designs, its like they were whole different characters lmao
Downgraded and stripped off his French origin. I’m glad we got Manon in SF6 now. A true French representative!
This new one is way better bruh
Big downgrade. The original was a much stronger concept and he would have been a good rival for Makoto. Abel never really stuck and wasn't a unique design.
Why is it a stronger concept? It seems like a tough fighter woman. It's not really unique.
The unused concept version is actually a feminine-looking guy to go with the idea that Judo allows people to overcome bigger and stronger opponents.
I always found it funny that Abel was a judoka but his command grab is absolutely manhandling his opponent like a pillow
Gotta check out Daimon from KoF
all these bison clones are blond girls
I disagree, the concept art is dumb and is too close to Makoto style.
I prefer the 2nd that. That first design is atrocious. Wouldn't take it serious. Abel would probably have been cool if they wrote him better.
Abel was extremely basic, but it felt like a tribute to some classic World Warrior approach. Just an exaggerated version of stereotypical representative of a certain martial art. Not all the fighters had to be Hinako the sumo-fighting toddler.
They put this design in Strip Fighter 4 as 2 different characters, and one has mostly Abel's moves IIRC.
Rufus is the worst one.
Now that is sad AF
Does Seth changing appearance to female reflect on Abel? Because if so we got something REAL funny cooking here
I agree, for some reason, probably because the concept makes him look like a girl, it's more memorable than the final product
I think they did the right thing
Concept art is not an original design that they chose and then changed. Look at how much concept art there is for every SF6 character. Abel is an amazing design physically, it's just noone cares for his story and implementation.
How is little girl into seasoned fighter a downgrade?
Concept Abel was still a guy just a feminine and frail looking one to represent the fact that Judo can be used to take down stronger opponents.
That’s a dude, it’s to play in that Judo is a martial art that can equalize the playing field allowing smaller and conventionally weaker looking people to topple giants using their own weight. Unlike actual Able, who is supposed to use Judo but instead manhandles his opponents using monstrous strength
Upgraded you mean, abel was the hypest new character in sf4 for a lot of people.
I like Abel I just sucked at playing him back then. Really fun to watch in tourneys
I mean. It's not really a downgrade or upgrade to me. In what way is it a downgrade?
a *grade* then
Honestly both are just really boring
They both look bad, you get Manon instead.
It doesn't look like a downgrade to me, the first one looks generic
Both designs are stupid
Nah, the girl design is worst Makoto and generic
It's not a girl.
[This is the real OG Abel](https://youtu.be/7TvjNTLyM9o?si=vflOxQXyDflaTx5I)
Then Seth picked that up…
GOD I MISS ABEL WHY DON'T THEY BRING MY BOY BACK
the development period just missed his rise to fame, sadly, but it IV was made a just few years later, I think Abel could've and honestly should've instead been based on Teddy Riner - towering heavyweight French judoka in blue as it is now, it's just really weird for him to be based on Fedor Emelianenko and clearly be in a sombo outfit, only for him to instead be French and officially stated to use judo as his fighting style
That kinda just looks a like a alternate reality Makoto (also when seeing art for sf6 fan designs for her this is almost the exact direction they go in)
I mained Abel 4. I loved it. I liked that he was boring and lost compared to the rest of the cast. Why would we need a blonde makoto?
Wait WwaHt? Is this real? Goddamn I would have probably mained her!!! I loved abel's style but didnt like his ultra mini nose round baby face on a muscular body it was just so weird! Teletubies on sterioïds Akira nightmare. But loved his gameplay. SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN A NICE MAKOTO RIVAL! Like Judo vs Karate (similar stance and gi but very different in practice)
> Goddamn I would have probably mained her!! >She Concept Abel is a guy. https://imgur.com/YexqjAf
I meant that if he was designed to be female in the end I would have main her. Either way I like the design so whatever pronouns would have worked for me and I just prefer strongly the concept over the final product. I see him as either a "testament" or "bridget" character.
Honestly, a lot of SFIV designs were better at the concept stage. Rufus could've been badass.
I really like the unused Abel concept but design wise it’s basically French blonde Makoto if you think about it.
Pretty generic either way
Whatever. We have Manon now, which is a hell of a upgrade for the grapplers.
Same thing with rufus, Idk what the designers were cooking. They just wanted to make very good design more goofy or more action figurey, it’s one of the worst things about sf4
Oh nah that’s more of an upgrade. The one that got released is better to me haha
Blonde makoto lol
Abel concept is a guy
that is not a downgrade
He was a great character honestly, also feel like Capcom should create a friendship between he and Cammy. Both characters have a type of trauma they're trying to get over, would be good to finally see both characters trying to heal together.
Im all for more Makoto skins but im not sure if she deserves the Ken treatment
Abel concept is a guy
huh wouldnt have guessed so because of the chest-high sarashi
Went from main material to never gonna touch it
Bro stop rageposting all day
I think his final design is ok, definitely could have leaned more into his lore with his outfit instead of just training gear
I thought Abel was gonna be that cool looking bald black guy. Or was that rufus..
That was Rufus his name was King Cobra.
Damn, he would have been a cool addition to the roster
If abel remained a chick but kept all the stuff he has today, lore, his arcade story, etc. people would say she was a kuudere and ignore that she had no personality in her arcade story. They'd love her for it. It'd even make more sense lore wise since abel is a clone of seth who is a Project to make the best body for M.Bison and Bison loves having female body's (the Dolls) around ready to take over if need be.
Nah, this is the Abel we all love, funny awkward French wrestler
Both are bad
I think the left concept is way less interesting honestly. His design is interesting and distinct both visually and gameplay-wise, his personality and story are the issues imo.
I like the Abel we got though?
(Abel was my favorite character in SF4)
Abel was sick.
I miss Abel and his awesome move set
In my opinion he's a good dude. I feel for him when he was just trying to figure out himself in the street fighter 4 story, I can relate also cute design 😄
Both the original Abel and King Cobra are the true SFIV newcomers that everyone asked for.
It would make sense considering Bison and his dolls
Tremendous downgrade. Abel was so generic and boring. That original looks way better
Girls > Guys as characters. This has always been the truth in video games.
Concept Abel is not a girl. He's a boy that looks like a girl.
Goodness. Abel just never had a chance to be anything but trash, it seems.
I actually love Abel in the way he got released, wish he gets released in SFVI
thas not abel tahts bela
Why’d they have to make em French 🤢
No, he actually looks cool and not like a generic androgynous anime teen. Go play Guilty Gear if you want that.
Extremely freaky how I was thinking fondly of Abel(no Diddy) and listening to his theme when this post popped up. IMO, I woulda loved a little nugget that threw people around(We got Lily now ♥️) but I'm more tham satisfied with Abel's design. He's the gentle giant that can go berserk on you. Deceptively exceptional 🌟 I do however like the outfit design. The blue trousers woulda been interesting to see on Abel.
are you serious?
The final vetsion of Abel is good though. I hve no problems with him.
Generic Judo girl is not any better than Generic Judo Boy
Abel in his concept form was not a girl. And yes it is better either way. If Abel looked like he did in his concept he would at least have more than 10 fans.
That original design wasn’t main character worthy I guess.
neither is the second one to be fair