Street Fighter: 10 Worst Characters EVER (And Why)

Street Fighter II redefined the fighting genre in a way that has never been seen since. Even though there has been tons of great games in the genre, Capcom's magnum opus might have the most balanced roster in any fighting game.

If you want someone nimble, choose Chun-Li. If you want to focus on long range attacks, pick Dhalsim. If you're a spamming jerk who doesn't mind everyone hating you, E. Honda is your man. Because there were only eight playable characters in the original Street Fighter II (and 16 in the final version), it wasn't too hard to give each combatant their own unique look, style, and move set.

But after creating nearly a hundred characters over dozens of games, it becomes pretty tricky to make every combatant distinctive and balanced. By the law of averages, there's bound to be a handful that are, in laymen's terms, pretty rubbish.

And we're not talking about characters that look stupid. Some of the goofiest characters in the series like Skullomania or Rufus have some really nifty moves and stellar combos. We're also not looking at characters that are cheap (We're talking about you, Seth.) We are simply looking at characters that, despite being referred to as "street fighters", kind of suck at fighting.

Birdie is one of the few characters that appeared in the original Street Fighter that didn't vanish into obscurity. (Does anyone remember Joe or Geki? Exactly.) He's best known for his appearances in the Street Fighter Alpha trilogy since it was the first time he served as a playable character.

With his mutton chops, wrist chains, and a Swiss cheese mohawk, this British punk has one of the most striking looks in the franchise. Unfortunately, the developers should've focused more on his moves rather than his appearance.

His fighting technique focuses on charging and swinging his opponent around with his chains. His chain moves are effective but his charge is so weak, there's no point doing it. He telegraphs the move so blatantly, his opponent can easily avoid it by ducking. If Birdie misses, he'll be left completely vulnerable, allowing his rival player to unleash a devastating Super Combo. Speaking of which, its difficult for Birdie's Super Combos to land on the player, giving the player less reason to pick the chain-licking brute.

Street Fighter V brought us a more balanced version of Birdie, but there was no question he was one of the weakest characters in the Alpha trilogy.