Introduction
Known as the "Red Cyclone" in his home country, Zangief is the paragon of country pride. Trained by fighting grizzly bears in Siberia, Zangief uses his extremely powerful wrestling techniques, including the Spinning Pile Driver (which was said to have been learned when he got caught in a tornado while wrestling bears), fighting for the pride of Russia has become Zangief's main goal in life, especially after being noticed and hired by the Russian government to represent them in the world Street Fighting circuit.
The quintessential grappler. Zangief is a power character designed to take hits and deal that damage right back at the opponent once he gets in close. Grapples, however, are not his only forte. He does not need to get up close to instill fear - just him being Zangief immediately sets off warning signs to the opponent. While the fear of his dreaded Spinning Piledriver is natural, Zangief players must also make their opponents fear his other useful tools, such as the Banishing Flat, which eats up non-EX/Super/Ultra/flaming fireballs and sets him up for a free Jab Piledriver if within range. He can also play footsies surprisingly well with his Lariats and sweeps. As a grappler, his only true weakness is being full-screen distance away from his opponent. Characters with good zoning tools or fireballs, such as Dhalsim and Ryu, especialy pose a major threat to the Red Cyclone.
| Pick if you like: | Avoid if you dislike: |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Players to Watch
Snake Eyez (US), Itabashi Zangief (JP), Hagejin (JP), Zangitan (JP)
