By now, the fact Street Fighter V will feature a Brazilian newcomer by the name of Laura is common knowledge courtesy of Famitsu early publishing of official assets. You know it, I know it.
While exciting for fans eagerly awaiting any scrap of information to drop about the upcoming title, one person was obviously upset by the outcome: Yoshinori Ono. A notorious troll when it comes to character reveals, the executive producer was apparently prepared to step up his game before Laura’s official reveal.
As many of you may remember, Ono’s past few hints have pointed seemingly towards one character before revealing another one entirely. For example, these screenshots had many convinced that Cody would be bringing his Criminal Upper to the world of Street Fighter V, but Rashid was revealed instead; a similar red herring pointed towards Dudley before Karin was confirmed.
Teasing for the upcoming Brazil Game Show reveal, however, got started much earlier. When first revealing Street Fighter V’s Brazil stage, Ono made sure to hint at a character announcement by donning a signature costume and adorning his work desk with numerous figures of the series’ resident electrical beast. The conclusion that everyone came to, naturally, was that Blanka was going to be featured in the launch roster.
Despite the aforementioned Famitsu leaks, Ono has soldiered on, releasing suspicious screenshots that, if we didn’t know any better, would have led us further down the Blanka path due to the shocking attacks they depict.
Not only that, but Ono was also planning to break out the Blanka costume at some point during his visit to Brazil, likely continuing the farce all the way up to Laura’s unveiling.
How folks in the community feel about this likely differs wildly. Some may like the speculation leading up to a character reveal, while others may want information as soon and as fast as they can get it. No one is entirely correct, obviously, but it speaks to the love fans have for Street Fighter that these kinds of tactics garner so much attention.
Fortunately, there might still be some hope for Ono’s missed trolling opportunities. Earlier today, he dropped a picture of a mysterious item hidden beneath a sheet, teasing that we can expect a “surprise gift” during the Street Fighter V stage show. Keep an eye out around 12 PM PDT, 3 PM EDT when the presentation begins for more details.
Source: Yoshinori Ono
