Capcom on SFIV: Sagat and Seth ARE overpowered!

Capcom on SFIV: Sagat and Seth ARE overpowered!
Wesley Yin-Poole Updated on by

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If you’ve played Capcom’s incredible fighter Street Fighter IV, you’ll probably be aware that end boss Seth and giant Thai kickboxer Sagat are more than a little useful. Seth’s got a move-set taken from Guile, Zangief and Dhalsim, and Sagat’s HK to Ultra is pretty much the easiest string of anti-air-to-guaranteed Ultra ever conceived in a fighting game. The verdict? Most fans reckon both characters are overpowered.

Now, for the first time, Capcom has admitted as much. Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Ryota Niitsuma, assistant producer of the arcade version of the critically-acclaimed fighting game, said Seth and Sagat “might have turned out a little bit stronger than we expected”.

When we asked Niitsuma, who is currently producing the western version of Wii-exclusive fighting game Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, if, looking back, he felt any Street Fighter IV characters were overpowered, he replied: “Well first of all I might have to apologise! Does he involve being slightly blinded and scarred [laughs]?”

He added: “Yes, Seth and perhaps Sagat might have turned out a little bit stronger than we expected.”

At the end of June, UK pro Ryan Hart won the official Street Fighter IV European Championship in London. He beat Frenchman Alioune Camara in the grand final. Both players picked Sagat.

Niitsuma, however, told us he thought Sagat and Seth aren’t “too out of proportion”.

“A good player of another character can always beat a good Sagat player or a good Seth player,” he said. “I don’t think it’s too out of proportion, but we do acknowledge that they turned out a bit more powerful than we expected.”

Niitsuma’s comments are backed up by the fact that none of the top three Street Fighter IV players in the world, Poongko (Ryu), the Korean National Champion, Iyo (Dhalsim), the Japanese National Champion, and legendary Street Fighter Daigo Umehara (Ryu), play as either Sagat or Seth.

Be sure to check out the full interview with Ryota Niitsuma right here.

What do you think readers? Are Sagat and Seth overpowered, or can a good player always win? Let us know in the comments section below?