Sagat
Sagat (สกั" in
Thai) is a
boss character from the early editions of
Capcom's
Street Fighter fighting game series. He was later turned into a regular,
playable character.
Sagat won the title of
Emperor/God of Muay Thai from Nuah Kahn as a teenager, and became a national
hero in
Thailand. He defended his title from a fighter named Go Hibiki, in a match that cost Sagat the use of his right eye, and cost Go his life. Go's son,
Dan, swore revenge on Sagat.
Sagat trained
Adon, and held the first World Warrior tournament to prove that he was not only the strongest Muay Thai kickboxer, but the strongest fighter in the world. Only one fighter managed to reach Sagat: a young
ansatsuken practitioner named
Ryu. Initially, Sagat was able to defeat all of Ryu's attacks, and was sure that he was the winner of the match. However, Ryu became desperate to win the fight and was consumed by a powerful "killing intent" and executed the
Metsu Shoryuken, grievously wounding Sagat and leaving a massive scar across his chest. (This is a
retcon from the earlier version, which had Ryu scarring Sagat with a single
Shoryuken.)
|
Sagat vs. Ryu in Street Fighter. |
Adon mocked his teacher for losing to Ryu and challenged him for the title of God of Muay Thai. His rage blinded him, and Sagat 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 Shadoloo.
M. Bison had offered him Shadoloo resources to find Ryu and provide Sagat with a rematch. Sagat's nearly indomitable power provided him with the position of Bison's personal guard, one of the feared
Shi-Ten-Nou (四天王) or
Four Devas of Shadoloo.
During his tenure in Shadoloo, Sagat encountered Dan, now an adult seeking revenge for his father's death in the fight with Sagat. Sagat realized how anger can make people do things they regret, so he purposely lost the fight (Although Dan doesn't believe that he did), which allowed Dan to defeat him and satisfy his anger.
Sagat realized that his scar was a result of the killing intent which possessed Ryu called the
Satsui no Hadou. Finally understanding that true rivals should not be blinded by rage and hatred, nor be seduced by it, and realizing Bison's real intentions, Sagat left Shadaloo.
However, when Sagat tendered his resignation, Bison presented him with a
brainwashed Ryu, and told Sagat he could have the rematch he always wanted. Despite Sagat's disappointment with fighting a corrupted opponent, Sagat still fought Ryu. 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, rejected the
Satsui no Hadou, and drove Bison off. Sagat finally realized that rivalries must have their limits.
While Sagat's goal in the second World Warrior tournament was a
clean rematch with Ryu, his hopes were eclipsed when
Akuma beat Bison with the
Shun Goku Satsu, the only official outcome in
Street Fighter II. Sagat continues to train his body and mind in Thailand, hoping to become the world's strongest fighter before he becomes too old to do so.
Alternate Storylines
In
Street Fighter II V, Sagat was "The Champ of Muay Thai", but a drug syndicate known as Ashura told Sagat to throw a match, but he refused. As a result, the Ashura secretly put illegal drugs in his house, and he was arrested. Unlike in the game, Sagat has no eyepatch nor scar on his chest.
Sagat is menacingly tall, a trait he uses to his advantage in his long-reaching attacks. His natural enormity 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 in one official artwork that shows him with a full head of long hair. In the
Street Fighter II series, Sagat's in-game
sprite does not display the highly muscular build of the
Street Fighter Alpha series, although even at that time he had been consistently portrayed so in his
Super Street Fighter II Turbo ending, and other Capcom artworks.
Sagat wears a black
eyepatch over his severely damaged right eye, though the lack of
depth perception and loss of
peripheral vision do not seriously hamper his ability as a powerful fighter.Due to a technical limitation in the
Street Fighter series, Sagat's eyepatch will appear to switch from eye to eye when Sagat faces another direction, since the left-facting sprite is a mirror-image of the right. The 3D
Street Fighter EX games do not feature this limitation.
The massive
scar on his chest is a constant reminder of Ryu's victory. Sagat makes no attempt to conceal the disfigurement, and in fact 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.
Sagat wears
boxing trunks that appear to be
Everlast brand, with the "Everlast" label missing from the front of the shorts for
copyright reasons. He also wears tape around his fists and feet to protect his knuckles and the soles of his feet. Otherwise, he has no other clothing that signifies him as being a Muay Thai kickboxer, which is unusual for one who holds such a high ranking in that martial art.
Sagat plays similarly to
Ken and Ryu, with some notable differences. Foremost is his attack range: his low attacks and standing horizontal kicks have impressive range. 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 hard punch, have unusually high power and priority, making him one of the easiest characters to use effectively in that game.
Techniques
Tiger Shot - A projectile fired from two closed fists and can be done in high or low variations. It's known for being incredibly fast, and Sagat can combo two
Tiger Shots under the right conditions.
Tiger Blow - His initial anti-air attack, created to match the
Shoryuken. It hits six to eight times.
Tiger Uppercut - The much-stronger evolution of the
Tiger Blow. Initially, it was a one-hit attack, but in
Super Street Fighter II Turbo and the
Capcom vs. SNK games, it appears to match the
Tiger Blow in hits, although it continues to do the same amount of damage.
Tiger Crush - The name of Sagat's quick-thrusting knee attack, which he can use to pass through projectiles in its initial phases. It's sometimes known as the
Tiger Knee.
Rage Charge - Sagat's scar glows, and the next
Tiger Uppercut does much more damage. This is a super move and can only be done in
Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Tiger Genocide - Sagat's first super move, he does a
Tiger Crush followed by a multi-hitting
Tiger Uppercut. In higher levels, he does two
Tiger Uppercuts.
Tiger Raid - Several powerful kicks followed by a flaming jumpkick, all done while moving straight forward.
Tiger Cannon - A super powered version of the
Tiger Shot. Initially, he could only do a high variation of the move, but in
Capcom vs. SNK 2, he was given a low variation as well.
Since
Street Fighter Alpha, Sagat has been voiced by Shinichirou Miki. In
SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, Sagat was voiced by Kouji Suizu.
In the
Street Fighter movie, he was given the first name Victor. However, Capcom hasn't officially recognized it. In this movie, he was portrayed by well-known
Native American actor Wes Studi.
*In the
Street Fighter II series, the audio sample used for Sagat's laughing win pose was borrowed from
Zangief, giving Sagat's gloating an unusual sound.
*Sagat went from wanting to have a fight to death with Ryu, to having a fair one-on-one match.
*In the
SOTA Toys action figure of Sagat, the fist-tape does not cover his knuckles. This does NOT actually defeat the purpose of that tape, as it is meant as support for the wrist and hand to lessen the chance of breaking bones when striking.
*In one of Sagat's win poses in the
Capcom vs. SNK series, he says "Try again, kid." This is a reference to the original
Street Fighter where if you lost to the CPU-controlled opponents, they would tell you "You've got a lot to learn before you beat me. Try again, kiddo."
*Many (if not all) of Sagat's techniques make a sound similar to that of a tiger's roar.
*Many of Sagat's stages involve the
Buddha,
buddhism being the national religion in
Thailand.
*
Muay Thai*
Satsui no Hadou
