When I first heard that fighting game fans would be able to play as Abigail in SFV, I felt both happy and a bit silly. You see, Capcom originally introduced the second season of Street Fighter V DLC by saying that all but one of the characters in the second season would be brand new. I originally thought that this meant they’d be new to the world of gaming in general, but just because a character is brand new to the Street Fighter series, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be an existing character from another Capcom franchise…and so, we can now play as Abigail in SFV. He was originally one of the remaining henchmen that Final Fight players had to face before they reached Belger – after fending off several Slashes, Js and Breds, Abigail would come charging in and hopefully continue to run into the path of your weapon. Of course, we’ve already seen other Final Fight characters join the Street Fighter series (Poison, Andore/Hugo, Guy, Cody, etc) but this was still a bit of a surprise for me.
Abigail in SFV – absurd proportions
When you think of classic games with memorable characters, scrolling fighters probably aren’t in the same league as RPGs, but when I heard that we’d be able to play as Abigail in SFV my first recollection was that he was no midget. He already towered over the Final Fight heroes in 1989, and so when I saw Abigail in SFV I was happy that he had retained his absurd proportions. If he’s standing near the middle of the screen then his head grazes the stun gauges of the players, and in the fictional SFV universe most of the other characters would either be craning their neck up to look at him or fighting whilst staring at his chest. It’s not just a matter of spectacle either – when you’re playing against Abigail in SFV you might have a hard time jumping over to the other side of him. (On the other hand, I guess you can throw out a cross-up attempt as soon as you like because you’ll always be close to the hurtbox…?)
Abigail in SFV – piston guns
Looking at the special moves for Abigail in SFV, they largely consist of motions (quarter-circles, half-circles) and multiple neutral button presses. The Abigail Punch is most reminiscent of Jack-X’s Piston Gun in Street Fighter X Tekken – the opponent receives a flurry of upward blows and gets knocked up and away, making it useful for getting out of corner pressure. Giant Flip is a downward smash after a, well, giant flip… but the EX variant allows for numerous follow-ups if you time your button presses correctly. If command grabs are more your thing, Abigail in SFV comes equipped with a throw called “Abigail Smash” that can be executed with a half-circle motion and sees the opponent being tossed upwards and then smashed down. However, the party piece is Nitro Charge – hit two kicks and Abigail automatically runs towards the opponent, and the player can then follow up with an attack or throw. He can even stop short by cancelling the run with his V.Skill.
Abigail in SFV – armours and counters
As for the V-System, he can puff out his chest to go into a brief counter-state if the V.Skill is used – when an attack connects with this, the opponent is sent reeling backwards and takes damage. Meanwhile, the V.Reversal is a jumping two-footed kick that knocks the opponent away and down and the V.Trigger allows for “charged” fierce attacks if the button is held. In a similar manner to focus, the charge will also grant a hit of armour to Abigail. The Critical Art sees him knock a foe down, lift them up and pummel them before smashing them into the “camera” glass.
Whilst they’re rarely my “main” characters, I really like having a pocket grappler and Abigail in SFV is a lot of fun. His walk is quite slow and he’s a huge target, but I really like the portrayal of the Final Fight character here, and the Nitro Charge and Abigail Punch just feel great. So maybe I’ll put Gief aside in favour of Abigail. We’ll see. As ever, let us know how you’re finding Abigail in SFV by leaving a comment below.
You can try Abigail in SFV right now, as he’ll be available to download by the time you read this.
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