Makoto (Street Fighter)
In 1999, Keigo Chimoto designed a character named Makoto for the video game Street Fighter III: Third Strike. The development team had been tasked to create a character based around the karate concept of ikken hissatsu. They summed up this concept as simple, direct and powerful. Feeling other characters like Ryu and Ken used a more American form of karate, they focused on Makoto having a more Japanese style. A secondary focus was to illustrate her determination to fix up her rundown dojo. Developer Hidetoshi Ishizawa noted that due to them running out of time to properly implement her, they were unable to add her to 2nd Impact before release. Instead they added her to its followup title, Street Fighter III: Third Strike. In order to give a hot-blooded tone to her character, her dialogue in-game is spoken with a Japanese Tosa dialect.
During development many designs were proposed with a guideline to include a loose fitting karate gi though the amount of the outfit sometimes varied drastically from one design to the next. Her finalized design consists of a barefoot muscular woman with short black hair wearing a white loose gi. She wears a red halter top underneath her gi resting at her cleavage. A long flowing yellow ribbon appears around her neck. The ribbon in particular was added by 3rd Strikes development team to demonstrate her speed and trajectory. It also telegraphs to the opponent certain moves Makoto performs. Years later she was included in Street Fighter IVs first upgrade, Super Street Fighter IV. While her outfit was carried over to game, so was the behavior of her neck ribbon. This necessitated the development team to create new code to handle the flutter effect. Her dialect also caused issues, causing Capcom to hire a professional in country dialects to oversee the sound recording team.
Described as a rushdown character, Makoto's gameplay revolves around closing the distance between herself and the opponent. According to Capcom developers, unlike other characters in Street Fighter III she lacked the ability to produce large combos. This forced the player to consider each move and made it harder for beginners to use her. Her walking speed is slower than average, however to compensate her dashes are faster and farther. Several of her moves give her forward momentum, specifically her Hayate attack which consists of a high speed dashing punch that allows her to cross a large part of the screen instantly. The Karakusa grab attack is unique, in that unlike other grabs instead of instantly knocking down the opponent it leaves them standing a moment. The development team for Street Fighter IV commented that characters from III were harder to implement due to that game's parry system. Moves such as her Tanden Renki power up super attack had to be modified. It now allows her to block attacks while reducing the increase in the strength of the power up.
Capcom noted Makoto as the most popular character in location tests of 3rd Strike in both North America and Japan. In their 2018 worldwide poll, she was voted second most popular Street Fighter character. Martin Robinson of IGN described her as one of a handful of characters worth salvaging from Street Fighter III. He added that it was not until her introduction that Capcom's bold vision for its prize series found its real star. The staff of 1UP.com heavily emphasized Makoto's inclusion in 3rd Strike as one of the game's best aspects. Ryan Scott stated You have some weird characters, then you have characters like Makoto who are basically like this is pure Street Fighter right here. Jeremy Parish stated it was one of the reasons people preferred the game over the preceding Street Fighter III titles. She has been also featured through many figures and other merchandise items, such as a bust by F-Toys to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Street Fighter series.
Becky Chambers and Amanda LaPergola of The Mary Sue both heavily praised Makoto for her story in light of how other women in the series were often portrayed as obsessed with finding romance. LaPergola stated I will forgive Street Fighter III all its flaws because they introduced Makoto to the world. Chambers complimented her practical outfit, with LaPergola stating she felt that Makoto was an exception to how many female characters in Street Fighter were designed for the male gaze thanks to the masculine aspects of her appearance. In a dissertation given at the SBGames symposium in Brazil, Tiago Oviedo Frosi and Felipe O. Frosi examined how Makoto's character design deviated from how female characters were often depicted in fighting games while portraying karate accurately. They felt Capcom had avoided the athlete's compromise of femininity through her poses and how her karate gi illustrated her developed abdomen and breasts. This presented her in a sensual manner.
Makoto is an available character in Capcom's mobile game Street Fighter Battle Combination as well as TOPJOY's mobile role-playing game Street Fighter: Duel. The latter features an alternate version called Kimono Makoto exclusive to the Chinese version. The SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters series also features her as an available card. GungHo Online Entertainment's mobile game TEPPEN includes her as well. In physical trading card media she appears in Versus TCG, a card game based on Card Fighters' Clash. She is featured in UDON Entertainment's Street Fighter comic series, in which she is first introduced in issue eleven of Street Fighter II Turbo. She later appears in UDON's Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki series, attending a school as a new student. After discovering another student, Ibuki, is a martial artist she challenges her though they later come to an arrangement to postpone the fight. She later appears in a smaller role in the Street Fighter: Back to School Special comic.
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Common questions
Who designed the Street Fighter character Makoto?
Keigo Chimoto designed the Street Fighter character Makoto in 1999 for the video game Street Fighter III: Third Strike.
When was the Street Fighter character Makoto added to the series?
The development team added the Street Fighter character Makoto to its followup title Street Fighter III: Third Strike after running out of time to include her in 2nd Impact before release. She later appeared in Super Street Fighter IV as part of the first upgrade released years after the original game.
What is the fighting style of the Street Fighter character Makoto?
Makoto uses a Japanese style of karate based on the concept ikken hissatsu which means simple direct and powerful. Her gameplay revolves around closing distance quickly using fast dashes and forward momentum attacks like Hayate.
Why did Capcom hire a professional dialect expert for the Street Fighter character Makoto?
Capcom hired a professional in country dialects to oversee the sound recording team because Makoto speaks with a Japanese Tosa dialect to give her a hot-blooded tone. This specific dialect choice caused technical issues that required specialized oversight during production.
How popular is the Street Fighter character Makoto among fans?
Capcom noted Makoto as the most popular character in location tests of 3rd Strike in both North America and Japan. In their 2018 worldwide poll she was voted second most popular Street Fighter character behind only one other fighter.