Introduced in… Super Street Fighter IV
There were only two new characters introduced in Super Street Fighter IV, but in keeping with our rules for this feature, we had to choose one of them as the “best.” It’s a tough call, but when the decision comes down to a slinky-sexy taekwondo combatress and a lava-red Turkish oil wrestler we had to go with… hm, actually that’s still a pretty tough choice. Screw it, let’s pick the deliciously evil femme fatale and call it a day.
Juri’s overall aesthetic appeal is quite strong even if you don’t spend hours a day honing mixups and perfecting your FADCs. Her bare stomach is an obvious center of attention, but we’re more taken in by the violet colors, lens-flaring robo-eyeball and her spiderlike top that slithers across her shoulders. It’s a strong, standout design in a game filled with iconic characters – the fact Juri even remotely sticks out next to people like Guile, Chun Li and Ryu is an accomplishment. That said, Juri is kind of a corporate ploy for cash and boners, as she was specifically designed to appeal to Korean players. Not sure that plan worked, as we’ve yet to see an expert-level Juri player really stomp people at events like EVO, Season’s Beatings or Shadowloo Showdown. But hey, at least she looks nice.
