Guile (Street Fighter)

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Guile
Guile in Capcom vs. SNK 2 (SNK Groove)
Game series	Street Fighter series
First game	Street Fighter II
In-Universe Information
Birthplace	United States of America
Blood type	O
Fighting style	Military Special Forces Training
Likes	American Coffee
Dislikes	Natto (Fermented soybeans) that Ryu forced him to try
Special skill	Sonic Boom
Affiliation	United States Air Force Major

Guile (ガイル, Gairu^?) is a video game character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. Although his role in the Street Fighter story is minimal, he is considered the third leading male character in the series, after Ryu and Ken, largely due to his effectiveness as a character and his popularity. In the live action Street Fighter movie, Guile is given the full name of William F. Guile with the military rank of colonel, although Capcom did not canonize it. However, the name was also used in the US Street Fighter cartoon. In the Udon Street Fighter comic book, Guile is the character's first name.

1 Story
- 1.1 Family
2 Appearance
3 Gameplay
- 3.1 Techniques
4 Actors
5 Trivia
6 Related characters
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Story

When Guile was a Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, he befriended his superior officer, Charlie and asked Charlie to teach him in his unique form of fighting, which Charlie agreed to do. Guile learned the style, but his hot temper caused him to not to be as proficient in the moves as Charlie was.

In Street Fighter continuity, Guile was not introduced to the series until the events of Street Fighter Alpha 3, when he was sent by the United States Air Force to look for his senior teammate and best friend Charlie, who had gone missing during a secret investigation. Guile's search eventually led him to the Interpol investigator Chun-Li, who warned him not to follow Charlie due to the danger involved. Guile demonstrated his fighting ability, and assured Chun-Li that he would not let their friend come to harm. He eventually found the Shadoloo base in Japan along with the missing Charlie. The sinister and powerful M. Bison appeared and attacked the two soldiers, daring them to follow him inside his Shadoloo base. As Chun-Li investigated another area, Charlie and Guile began to set explosives around their mission objective: Bison's source of power, the Psycho Drive. However, Bison surprised them, and a fight ensued. Charlie convinced Guile to escape while he held Bison off, so Guile took Chun-Li and escaped, right before the base exploded, with Charlie and Bison caught in the blast. Standing on the top of a mountain, Guile says he will always believe in Charlie's memory.

Holding Bison responsible for the death of his best friend, he left not only the Air Force but seemingly his whole life to exact revenge on Bison, who had by then somehow survived the explosion. A court case against the Shadaloo dictator failed when Bison bribed all the judges to let him go free. Bison, by this time wanted revenge on Guile, Chun-Li, and many other people who had hindered his syndicate's efforts. To this end, he set up the second World Warrior tournament to trap them.

Although the circumstances on how Guile approached Bison is sketchy, he managed to corner Bison and asked him if he remembered him or his friend Charlie. While Guile threatens the defeated Bison with the intent to kill him, he is stopped.

[edit] Family

His wife Jane, and their daughter Amy, appear and urge him not to kill the psychotic dictator, claiming that such behavior could destroy him. They told Guile that the past was in the past and he had to give up his life of revenge. Realizing they were correct, he left Bison be and retired happily to be with his family.

[edit] Appearance

Early Street Fighter II sketches and notes suggest that Guile was developed specifically to appeal to American fans. His physical appearance is strikingly different from the many Asian characters in the Street Fighter series, with light blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, and a particularly tall flattop haircut. The length of Guile's hair varies greatly from appearance to appearance. It is relatively realistic in Street Fighter II, and impossibly tall in SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom. Capcom sourcebooks suggest that Guile's famous hairdo is styled with a special-order army hair spray to keep it up (though he ends up fixing it quickly after a match).

Another way Guile's image differs from the Asian combatants in the series is his Flag of the United States tattoos. Currently, he has one on each deltoid, which is a retcon from the initial one he had in Street Fighter II artwork (due to sprites in most videogames being forced to be symmetrical).

Finally, Guile's Army fatigues complete his all-American look. The image of the uniformed American soldier is well-known in Japan due to the number of United States Armed Forces bases present in that country.

Guile wears Charlie's dog tag alongside his own, as he searches for Bison.

[edit] Gameplay

Although Guile, when he was first introduced in Street Fighter II, was one of the more popular characters, he also had a tendency to annoy opponents through ticking: the repeated application of a quick and easily blocked move (that produces its namesake sound) such as a light punch, with intermittent applications of unblockable attacks. Because of the nature of charge moves, Guile players also employed a turtling strategy, in part to protect themselves while performing charge moves.

Guile's primary strength is that he suffers minimal lag after throwing a Sonic Boom. He is able to throw a projectile, then follow it shortly thereafter. This is often best used with a slow Sonic Boom. In later revisions of the game, Guile was given several moves that allow him to advance towards his enemy while still charging a Sonic Boom. In the right hands, Guile can be incredibly aggressive, battering his opponent with a series of point blank Sonic Booms in between normal attacks that keep him close while maintaining a charge for his special moves.

Guile's playing style is apparent in the Street Fighter III character Remy, though the characters retain no relationships other than similar gameplay styles.

[edit] Techniques

Guile's Special Forces style is known for its limited number of special moves. When Guile was first introduced to Street Fighter, he was given two moves: the Sonic Boom and the Somersault Kick (unofficially dubbed the Flash Kick by fans), the same two special moves that he has in every game since. However, since his introduction, no new special moves were given to him (except in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, as a consequence of that game's unique style of play), a point of criticism from fans of the series, who repeatedly call for either new moves or a conversion to a more common 'command-input style' character. The attack "Sonic Hurricane" was made known. Besides the limited numbers of special moves, the Special Forces style has many command attacks and super combos-in fact, Guile is one of the few characters to have more super combos than special moves. An infamous Guile player flub-up made occasionally is to not "charge" his Somersault Kick move long enough. When the up button in the down-up+k move is pressed too early, it results in a much less effective vertical jump kick.

[edit] Actors

Jean-Claude Van Damme as Col. William F. Guile

He has had many voice actors in the games he has appeared in, but he is voiced by Tesshō Genda in the majority of them. He is played by Belgian actor Jean Claude Van Damme in the 1994 movie Street Fighter, where he is the main character. Van Damme's line in the movie "Are you man enough to fight with me?" is straight from the game.

[edit] Trivia

In the original Street Fighter II, Guile had a glitch known as "handcuffs" that attached the other enemy's sprite to him. It required a reset on the game, as time would run out and the opponent would be unable to go into a win/lose pose. It was popular enough to be referenced in future Street Fighter games such as Alpha 3, where he says 'No handcuffs? Street fighting isn't what it used to be.'
Jane and Eliza are actually sisters, making Ken and Guile brothers-in-law. However, this is not often discussed because Guile does not think very highly of Ken, believing him to be a spoiled rich kid.