Street Fighter V: F.A.N.G. devastates with poison in starting roster

PlayStation Experience 2015 (PSX) opened its doors to the delight of expectant gamers Saturday, December 5th with a slew of fresh news and announcements, including the final character trailer for Street Fighter V. F.A.N.G. sauntered on stage to show off a series first battle mechanic enhanced with a contagious brand of confidence. If his purple-clad entrance wasn’t enough, the 2016 Season Pass officially went up for pre-purchase in North America the same day.

Shadaloo’s newest assassin packs an insidious punch.

F.A.N.G. graces the battle stage as an original character, second to M. Bison as overseer of Shadaloo’s operations. He enjoys the delightfully evil experiments hidden with Shadaloo’s research facilities, noxious gases, and of course, witnessing the tactfully pain-ridden demise of his enemies.

For the first time in Street Fighter‘s franchise history, poison comes knocking. F.A.N.G. wields poisonous attacks that deal continuous damage upon connection. The poisons last until F.A.N.G.’s opponent deals some counter damage or it naturally runs its course. The assassin utilizes long-ranged attacks paired with an infuriatingly slippery set of movements.

Check out F.A.N.G. in action below: 

This new character brings the sixteen count roster to a close: Ryu, Chun-Li, Nash, M. Bison, Cammy, Birdie, Ken, Necalli, Vega, R. Mika, Rashid, Karin, Zangief, Laura, Dhalsim, F.A.N.G..

F.A.N.G.’s V-Skill and V-Trigger follow his noxious motif.

PSX brought specific details on two of F.A.N.G.’s attacks, ideal for tricky strategies that thrive on outsmarting opponents with misleading mix-ups:

• Nishodoku (V-Skill): F.A.N.G releases a slow moving, poisonous projectile. 

• Dokunomu (V-Trigger): F.A.N.G emits a poisonous cloud around his body that constantly deals damage to the opponent as long as they’re near him in a serious case of an offensive defense.

Here’s some bonus info on in-game currency.

When Paris Games Week announced the addition of Dhalsim, I touched on Street Fighter V‘s in-game currency. Fight Money comes with the considerably attractive FREE descriptor, earned entirely through gameplay. Kick butt, get free stuff. Beautifully simple, no?

Players unlock Zenny, on the otherhand, with a hard cash purchase. PSX elaborated on the dollar conversion rate. Buying in bulk ensures bonus Zenny. The game will offer the following denominations :

• 100 Zenny = $0.99
• 550 Zenny = $4.99 (50 Zenny bonus)
• 1200 Zenny = $9.90 (200 Zenny bonus)
• 4000 Zenny = $29.99 (1000 Zenny bonus)

Sony filled the 2016 Season Pass with bonus incentives.

Since they were first teased in shadow during Paris Games Week, the 6 mystery DLC characters have all been revealed. In case you missed it, those joining the ranks of Street Fighter V are Alex, Guile, Ibuki, Balrog, Juri, and Urien.

There are three ways to unlock the additional characters:

1. Fight Money
2. Zenny
3. The Season Pass

The Season Pass comes with a separate price tag at $29.99 to guarantee immediate access. This option went up for pre-sale December 5th in North America, while Europeans will have to wait until the day of launch to nab this little extra.

In addition to the characters, the Season Pass includes:

• A premium costume for each of the six fighters
• An exclusive PS4 theme
• 3 PS4 avatars: Ryu, Chun-Li, and M. Bison (if purchased prior to launch)

You gotta dress your roster up nice, let them know you appreciate their gut-wrenching work.

To justify the Season Pass for those who don’t plan on taking full advantage of the Fight Money option, PSX broke down its exclusive savings. Each character will cost 600 Zenny individually while their premium costumes add on another 400 Zenny each. Altogether, this could run you a whopping $60, making the Season Pass a smoking half-priced deal.

Keep in mind that this only covers 2016 – later years will feature separate DLC.

And so ends the Street Fighter V PSX announcement! Are you excited for F.A.N.G.? Would you rather utilize his unique skill set or wreck his face? Will you be taking advantage of 2016 Season Pass, or stick to trying out free Fight Money? Share your battle strategies below!