| Sagat | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Series |
Street Fighter |
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Debut |
Street Fighter (1987) |
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Console of origin |
Arcade |
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Species |
Human |
|
Gender |
Male |
Sagat (サガット, Sagatto) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He was originally a boss character in the early editions of the series. He was later turned into a regular, playable character. Sagat is also referred to as "The Emperor of Muay Thai", "The King of Muay Thai" or "The God of Muay Thai" in the games. Many Thais believe that Sagat is based on a real-life Muay Thai fighter named Sagat Petchyindee (สกัด เพชรยินดี), but Capcom has never confirmed this.
Description[]
Sagat is characterized by his intimidating appearance, with a towering build, muscularity, eye patch, Muay Thai trunks, hand and feet wraps/bandages, solid white eyes, and a scar across his chest. His natural size drove him to become a powerful fighter. His hands are massive enough to close around the entire head of many of his opponents. He is depicted as being totally bald, except for a particular artwork that shows him with a full head of long reddish-brown hair, which has since become the basis for his third alternate costume in Street Fighter IV.
The massive scar on his chest is a result of a fated fight with Ryu in the original Street Fighter (explained below). Sagat makes no attempt to conceal the disfigurement, and in fact literally draws power from the hateful memory it invokes; in Capcom vs. SNK 2, Sagat's scar glows while he charges energy for his S-Groove super meter. Later games introduce the Angry Charge, which powers up his next Tiger Uppercut.
Sagat's ending in Street Fighter Alpha 2, however, shows him in a white muscle shirt, grey jeans, and grey fingerless gloves. In the same scene, Balrog wears the same clothes (while keeping his boxing gloves on), implying that at the time, it could have been the official Shadaloo uniform.
History[]
Street Fighter[]
Sagat trained Adon, and held the first World Warrior Tournament to prove that he was not only the strongest Muay Thai fighter, but the strongest fighter in the world. Only one fighter managed to reach Sagat: a young martial artist named Ryu. Initially, Sagat was able to pin Ryu, and was sure that he was the winner of the match, even going to help Ryu up. However, Ryu became desperate to win the fight and was accidentally corrupted by the Satsui no Hado and his dark side and executed the Metsu Shoryuken, grievously wounding Sagat and leaving a massive scar across his chest. Sagat swore revenge on Ryu.
Street Fighter Alpha[]
In the retconned events of Street Fighter Alpha, Sagat enters the tournament to exact his revenge on Ryu, and succeeds. Although pleased that he got his revenge, he somewhat felt empty after the fight. Sagat realized that Ryu didn't give it his all, and he believes Ryu held back. Sagat eventually gave up this vendetta, considering it to be foolish and pointless. However, Bison's plane arrives at the scene. Bison comments that Sagat had succeeded in defeating Ryu, but suggests that he must master the Psycho Power if he is to be feared.
Street Fighter Alpha 2[]
Sagat dedicates himself to learning a move to rival the one that scarred him, and developed the Tiger Blow.
Adon mocks his teacher for losing to Ryu and challenged him for the title of God of Muay Thai. Sagat had not recovered from his chest being ripped open, and lost to Adon, but not before beating the younger man so hard that he would be in traction for four months. Consumed with rage and hatred, Sagat eagerly joined the criminal organization known as Shadaloo; M. Bison had offered him Shadaloo resources to find Ryu and provide Sagat with a rematch. Sagat's nearly indomitable power provided him with the position of Bison's personal bodyguard, one of the feared "Four Heavenly Kings" of Shadaloo.
He then immediately set about tracking Ryu down. He soon caught up to his rival and challenged him to a fight, with Ryu protesting that Sagat had not fully recovered from their last one. Sagat persisted, and won. Afterwards, he couldn't help but feel that the victory was hollow somehow, and realized that Ryu had let him win; after the match, Ryu had not said a word, and merely gave him a mysterious look. Sagat determined to train even harder and win cleanly the next time. He worked on honing the Tiger Blow, which would later be perfected as the Tiger Uppercut in his ending.
Sagat also encountered Dan Hibiki, now an adult seeking revenge for his father's death in the fight with Sagat ten years previously. Sagat, his thoughts still lingering on how Ryu had let him win in their last match, felt a sort of kinship with Dan during the match, and he purposely threw the fight, which allowed Dan to satisfy his anger (although he doesn't know that Sagat did so).
Street Fighter Alpha 3[]
Sagat realized that his scar was a result of the Satsui no Hado, which possessed Ryu. He understood that true rivals should not be blinded by rage and hatred, nor be seduced by it, and realized Bison's true intentions.
However, Bison presented him with a brainwashed Ryu, and told Sagat he could have the rematch he always wanted. Despite his disappointment at fighting a corrupted opponent, Sagat still fought Ryu, but sought to break Bison's mind control. He implored to Ryu that a true warrior would not give in to such treachery. Ryu awakened from Bison's control and, rejecting the Satsui no Hado, defeated and drove away Bison temporarily. Sagat finally realized that rivalries must have their limits. Sagat tells Ryu that he was almost destroyed by the corruption, and is not yet ready to take him on again. Ryu then leaves Sagat, promising to return when he becomes a true master. Sagat realizes that he must defeat Ryu not for revenge, but for his destiny.
Super Street Fighter II[]
While Sagat's goal in the second World Warrior Tournament was a clean rematch with Ryu, his hopes were eclipsed when Ryu was knocked out of the competition; therefore, he dropped out before his next match, finishing third in the tournament. Afterwards, he resigned from his Shadaloo post. Sagat continued to train his body and mind in Thailand, hoping to become the world's strongest fighter once again before he became too old to do so.
Super Street Fighter IV[]
After the second World Warrior Tournament, Sagat lapses into a depression, "feeling like a loser". Attending one of Adon's matches in search of "something to reignite [his] spirit", he is mocked and challenged to a match by his former pupil. Defeating Adon with his Tiger Destruction as he is cheered on by the fans, Sagat feels reinvigorated, and then enters S.I.N.'s new tournament in the hopes of a rematch with Ryu and discovering the "ultimate purpose of the fight". He eventually finds Ryu and battles him. The outcome of the battle is currently unknown.
After the tournament, Sagat reflects on his obsession with Ryu, realizing that instead of focusing on victory or defeat, what's truly important is communicating one's soul to the opponent through one's fists. Sagat compares his former self to Seth, whose fists Sagat says were "mute", and wonders whether he has changed now. In his ending, as he returns home to his village, he is greeted by Chit, his sister, and a monk (characters who all appear in the second volume of Masaomi Nakahira's Ryu Final manga) who ask how the tournament went. Sagat replies that he "actually had fun" because he "met an old friend" (presumably Ryu). Meanwhile, Adon watches him as he leaves, vowing to dethrone him and become the new God of Muay Thai.
Personality[]
Sagat encompasses a stereotypical "proud fighter" personality, since he is very powerful and strong-willed, as well as hard-working; he is dedicated in body and spirit to martial arts life. His uncommon physical appearance makes him menacing, hideous and downright unfriendly at first glance, which holds true to a certain extent.
In contrast to his initially violent and sometimes cruel nature, Sagat appreciates opponents that are worthy and of strong character, and greatly despises taking unfair or dishonest advantages in combat. His more honorable traits come to the forefront during his storyline development, and his pride gives way to an honesty of sorts similar to Ryu, his purpose now defined by the "heart of battle".
Sagat's win quotes show him to be a proud and belittling man; this has long since given way to a more honest, advisory side, that still contains his characteristic straight-to-the point bluntness, which is present to a fault.
Gameplay and fighting style[]
Sagat's Muay Thai focuses on crushing, hard-hitting blows, and he plays similarly to Ken and Ryu, with some notable differences. Foremost is his attack range; his low attacks and standing horizontal kicks have impressive reach due to his size, though this also makes him a bigger target. In Street Fighter II, producing an array of alternating high and low fireball attacks can confuse and greatly damage an opponent. This technique is less viable in later games where projectiles do less damage, or can otherwise be avoided. In Capcom vs. SNK 2, Sagat's normal attacks, particularly his crouching fierce punch, have unusually high power and priority, making him one of the easiest characters to use effectively in that game.
He is also known for his multiple-hitting Tiger Uppercut (Tiger Blow in the Alpha series) which is similar to Ken and Ryu's Shoryuken. The move initially had low priority, but in Street Fighter IV, it has priority even over Ken's EX Shoryuken.
In SSFIIT, his "Old Sagat" incarnation is soft banned in Japan, because his fireballs combined with the occasional Tiger Uppercut make him overly effective and easy to use. Additionally, while he is not considered as broken as Akuma, his presence in American tournaments has seen certain characters completely ignored due to their almost un-winnable match-ups against Sagat. In Japan, the soft ban, while violated more frequently than the Akuma soft ban, has allowed a larger cast of characters to flourish.