Street Fighter 5 – Balrog Details

Many Street Fighter fans were saddened to hear that Ibuki was delayed from her original May release to the end of June. However, Capcom cheered them up last night when it was announced that Balrog would be joining Ibuki with the big Street Fighter 5 update coming this Friday. We’ve already taken a look at what Ibuki has to offer, but in advance of Balrog’s release we’re going to take a quick look at what he’s bringing to the table in Street Fighter 5.

Special Moves

We don’t have a lot of information on Balrog’s special moves, but what we do know is that he retains most of his punching specials. While nothing is set in stone until the character hits on Friday, from the footage released thus far Balrog retains his Dash Straight, Dash Low Straight and Dash Upper. Unfortunately, he has lost the Buffalo Head as a normal special move. Instead, it’s not his V-Reversal that can be used with at least one stock of V-Gauge after blocking an attack.

V-Skill – KKB

Most characters in Street Fighter 5 has some way to deal with projectile attacks. Balrog’s V-Skill is a forward moving spin that allows him to go through projectile attacks and link special moves as well. You can use the spin to avoid projectile attacks, and if you’re close enough you can then link a special move on the end of the V-Skill to punish the projectile attack and possibly start a combo. This will be a key aspect of Balrog’s game and should allow him to deal with projectile characters better than he’s been able to do in previous Street Fighter titles.

V-Trigger – Crazy Rush

Steam rising from Balrog’s body when you activate his V-Trigger. While it’s active Balrog can chain together various special moves for devastating results. Balrog already hits very hard with his special moves and short combos, but once you activate Crazy Rush, one hit could easily end the round. Start a combo, then chain together multiple special moves for some crazy damage from Crazy Rush.

Critical Art – Gigaton Blow

Like most Critical Arts in Street Fighter 5, Balrog can use Gigaton Blow to end combos for maximum damage. Looking at how much damage Balrog already inflicts, if you activate V-Trigger, then end a combo with a series of chained special moves followed by a Gigaton Blow, it could offer some serious comeback potential.

We don’t yet know how fast or safe any of Balrog’s attacks are, but at the moment he’s looking like the boxer most fans of the series know and love. Stay tuned to Prima Games as we offer more insight on Balrog and his abilities once he becomes available on Friday.