Street Fighter 6/Zangief/Introduction

Introduction

A colossal wrestler nicknamed the Red Cyclone. Zangief is dedicated to physical improvement and instructing his students.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Incredible Mixups: True to his earlier appearances, Zangief inherits a timeless, devastating strike/throw game. Once he's in, Zangief's opponents gamble with their lives. Natural Counter to Parry: Zangief's grab-based gameplan makes universal defensive mechanics such as Drive Parry or Drive Impact noticeably weaker and more risky against him. Great use of Drive: Drive Rush in all its forms closes the gap and makes Zangief a tremendous threat, while Overdrive Command Grabs deal insane damage.

Slow and Limited in Neutral: In trade for his high health, Zangief is slower than other characters. On top of that, he lacks options to outright punish things like fireballs, instead being forced to navigate around them using Lariat and Drive Parry, or use riskier options like jumping or Siberian Express. Limited Okizeme: Altough Zangief's mixups are very rewarding in term of damage, they also create lots of distance between him and his opponent outside the corner, forcing him to play neutral again if he wants to makes the opponent guess again.