Guile

Overview

Guile is an American character in the Street Fighter series developed by Capcom. His first game appearance was in Street Fighter II, and has gone on to play a role in all of Street Fighter II's iterations, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter IV, and Super Street Fighter IV, as well as being playable in the spin-off Street Fighter EX games. His character in the games is known for being a stereotypical all-American soldier, contributed by a green military uniform, dog tags, a deep voice, and two tattoos of the American flag on his shoulders.
 
His movelist is also rather unique as he only has two special moves in his arsenal: sonic boom, which is a projectile attack, and flash kick, an anti-air move. Both specials are charge moves, requiring one direction to be held for a short amount of time before the move can be executed.
 

Fighting

Guile is a defensive character. Competitively, he often used as a "turtler", where he crouches and at the same time charges both of his special moves. Guile is also seen as a good "zoning" character - a character that can keep his opponent away and avoid close-quarter confrontations. His array of anti-air attacks (for example, crouching hard punch) and his sonic boom projectile help in this regard.
 

Sonic Boom

Sonic Boom is a projectile move that is an essential part to Guile's game. It can be used for various purposes - for instance, to control space. A light punch Sonic Boom travels at a noticeably slow pace, such that it is possible to follow it to the other side of the screen. Only one Sonic Boom can appear on the screen at any one time.
 

Flash Kick

Flash Kick is seen as an anti-air attack. It has a knockdown property - if a character gets hit by it without blocking, they will be knocked down to the ground. Flash Kick also has a slow recovery time. For these reasons, a Flash Kick is often used as a combo-ending move.
 

Background

Street Fighter Alpha 3

Chronologically, Guile first appears in Street Fighter Alpha 3, where he learns Charlie's style of fighting, though his superior officer remains more proficient than him - for instance, Charlie can shoot a sonic boom with just one hand as opposed to two. A Lieutenant in the United States Air Force, Guile searches for Charlie, who is assumed missing after a top-secret investigation. Accompanied by Interpol agent Chun-Li, Guile discovers M. Bison's Shadaloo base in Japan, where he finds a still-alive Charlie. Guile and Charlie then plant explosives around Bison's Psycho Drive, his main source of power, but as soon as they finish doing so, Bison ambushes them.
 
Intending to set off the explosives himself, Charlie tells Guile to escape with Chun-Li. Moments after Guile follows Charlie's orders, the Shadaloo base is destroyed with both Charlie and Bison still inside - now likely dead. However, Bison somehow survived the blast, despite his plans for world domination shattered.
 

Street Fighter II

In Street Fighter II, Guile is consumed by his need to exact revenge on Bison for Charlie's death. Bison himself wants revenge on Guile as well as on Chun-Li and various others who foiled his sinister plot, and creates a World Warrior tournament in his attempt to bring everyone together. Guile eventually comes face-to-face with Bison once again, and after defeating him in a fight, has the opportunity to deliver the killing blow. However, at this moment, he hesitates and backs off, coming to the realization that he does not want to stoop to his nemesis' low and kill someone in cold blood.

Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV sees Guile having renewed hope that Charlie is still alive. His superiors assign him the task of investigating the activities of S.I.N., the Shadaloo Intimidation Network. His investigation leads to Guile teaming up with Chun-Li and competing in the latest Street Fighter tournament. During the tournament, an amnesiac fighter, Abel, recognizes Guile's sonic boom move. Guile believes Abel might know the whereabouts of Charlie, but the French fighter refuses to reveal any possibly useful information, as he is unwilling to spill anything to a stranger. After besting Abel in a fight, Guile learns that Abel was saved by a man who used a sonic boom.
 
Guile and Chun-Li finally enter S.I.N.'s base, where they succeed obtaining key data. Guile is then forced into a confrontation against Seth, a cyborg in charge of the place. With help from Abel, Seth is defeated and Guile manages to find and rescue Chun-Li before the base is destroyed.

Family

In Street Fighter II, it is established that Guile has a wife (Julia) and daughter (Amy). Julia and Eliza, Ken's wife, are sisters.
 

Alternate Costumes

Street Fighter IV  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Super Street Fighter IV

 
 
 
 
 
 

  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Interesting Facts

• In Super Street Fighter IV / Street Fighter IV Guile's ultra includes three flash kicks, the second flash kick is executed exactly like Charlie's with a turn and front flip instead of a back flip.
• In Super Street Fighter IV / Street Fighter IV Guile can put on his sunglasses while holding down and taunting, which will stay through remaining rounds unless removed by repeating the action. If Guile's Alternate 2 (Manlier Gear) is used the sunglasses are replaced by yellow tinted ballistic goggles.