Blanka is bringing his electrifying fighting style to Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition on February 20, Capcom revealed on Monday.
A familiar face in the franchise since Street Fighter II, Blanka (real name Jimmy) survived a plane crash over the Amazon and had to fight off wild animals and develop skills to survive in the harsh environment. As his backstory goes, Blanka eventually found his way to civilization and reunited with his mother, Samantha.
All was well until a suspicious salesman approached and offered to make Blanka famous by mass producing a doll in his likeness. To see how it all turns out, you'll need to play through his character story mode.
Blanka's gameplay remains animalistic in nature, mirroring the style he exhibited in earlier games which involves leaping, pummeling and scratching opponents. He also retains his signature Electric Thunder attack that emits electrical currents around his entire body and multiple rolling attacks.
Gamers will have a new command grab at their disposal called Wild Hunt. In using it, Blanka will leap forward and viciously scratch his opponent before throwing them. This move, according to Capcom's Andy Wong, opens up more opportunities for Blanka to be aggressive.
Blanka can be added individually for $5.99 (or 100,000 Fight Money) or as part of the Season 3 Character Pass which carries an MSRP of $29.99 and unlocks other characters including Sagat, Cody, G, Falke and Sakura.