Hakan, the oily wrestler revealed in Super SFIV
Volcano-red grappler completes the new roster with goofy moves
The final newcomer in Capcom's update to Street Fighter IV was revealed last night during one of the company's underground "Fight Clubs," confirming internet speculation that it was a bright red wrestling maniac who douses himself in oil before each fight. Hakan hails from Turkey, and comes complete with some of the weirdest moves of all time.
Above: Hakan's fighting style is "Turkish Oil Wrestling," which is real!
His bizarre appearance and reliance on silly sqeeze moves suggests Hakan is a "joke" character, more meant for the lulz than serious competition. Members of uber-communityShoryuken.com were on hand to give Hakan a test fight, and decided he was in fact, semi-lame. That's when Street Fighter extraordinaire (and friend to GamesRadar) Seth Killian stepped up and stomped the naysayerswith Hakan's strange repertoire of well-lubricated fisticuffs. So, he's probably pretty good after all.
Above: But yes, he is also very weird
Most of Hakan's moves revolve around grappling (like Zangief) but he has the added benefit of pouring oil over his entire body (activated as a special move). Once oiled, his damage increases and, best of all, his range damn near doubles, meaning you can pull off a 360-degree mega-throw from a huge distance. We're already stoked to see how expert players use this technique to beat down lifelong vets who refuse to give up Ryu.
Above: Hakan's slide hits once moving forward, then slips back around for a second smash
Hakan's reveal completes Super Street Fighter IV's lineup of 10 new challengers, bringing the total number of playable characters to 35. Below we have the trailer reveal, which should further illustrate just how whacked-out Hakan really is.
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Super Street Fighter IV launches on April 27.
A fomer Executive Editor at GamesRadar, Brett also contributed content to many other Future gaming publications including Nintendo Power, PC Gamer and Official Xbox Magazine. Brett has worked at Capcom in several senior roles, is an experienced podcaster, and now works as a Senior Manager of Content Communications at PlayStation SIE.