Street Fighter artwork shows what could be the 5th Ultra Street Fighter 4 character, possibly Retsu

Posted by Steven 'Dreamking23' Chavez • November 28, 2013 at 4:49 p.m. PST • Comments: 284

An image is circulating on Twitter today that very well may have showed everyone who the 5th Ultra Street Fighter 4 characters is, roughly a year ago. This piece of Street Fighter artwork comes from the SF 25th anniversary artbook, looks to be by Shinkiro, and features some of the characters included on the USF4 roster. We see that among some of the original playable fighters, new additions like Elena, and Hugo are also in the bunch.

What's most important about this image is that there seems to be a brand new face sitting between Ryu, and Rose, which could be the 5th and final character set to be added to Ultra Street Fighter 4. Some feel this may be Retsu, who made an appearance in the original Street Fighter title, but was not playable.

Note: This is in no way an official confirmation, but is definitely interesting to see a different face among the Ultra Street Fighter 4 cast.

Click image for larger version

This image comes from a Twitter user that wrote a message in Japanese. Below is the English translation, and you can find the original tweet, and a bit more after the jump.

Looking at the artbook cover for Street Fighter's 25th anniversary, you can clearly see Hugo and Elena who are joining Ultra Street Fighter 4, but you can also see Retsu... It can't be, right? Nah, no way.

ストリートファイター25周年記念画集「極」の森気楼氏のイラストをなんとなく眺めてたら、ウル４参戦のエレナとヒューゴがいたんだけど、もう一人「烈」がいるんだよね・・・ないよね？さすがに pic.twitter.com/W5JXpDQbWu
— SAKURA WISH/響鬼 (@hinahibiki2) November 28, 2013

This is all speculation, but why a character who looks like Retsu sits along side characters strictly in Ultra Street Fighter 4 is definitely cause for suspicion.

Did Capcom reveal their hand long ago, and did we all just not realize it? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Thanks to Jason24cf for the tip.