Makoto (Street Fighter)
Karate fighter seeking to restore her father's dojo.
Makoto (Japanese: まこと) is a fighter from Capcom's *Street Fighter* series, created by designer Keigo Chimoto and introduced in 1999's *Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike*. She is a young Japanese woman trained in Rindo-kan karate, the style taught at her family's dojo. Her goal is to revive the dojo's reputation after her father's death. Makoto later appeared in UDON Entertainment's *Street Fighter* comics, and her strong fan support led to her inclusion in *Super Street Fighter IV*, the first major update to *Street Fighter IV*. Her Japanese voice actor is Makoto Tsumura in *Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike* and Yūko Sanpei in *Super Street Fighter IV*, while Jessica D. Stone voiced her in English for *Street Fighter IV*.
Critics and players have responded positively to Makoto. In location tests for her debut game and in a later official fan poll, she ranked second among female characters. The staff of 1UP.com cited her as a major reason they preferred *3rd Strike* over earlier *Street Fighter III* titles. Several publications named her their favorite character in the entire franchise, and many praised her design and personality as a standout compared to other series characters.
**Conception and design**
During work on *Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact*, the development team wanted a character built around the karate concept of *ikken hissatsu*—simple, direct, and powerful. They felt existing characters Ryu and Ken used a more "American" style of karate, so they designed Makoto to embody a distinctly Japanese approach, also emphasizing her determination to fix her rundown dojo. Designer Keigo Chimoto created her, but developer Hidetoshi Ishizawa noted that time constraints prevented her inclusion in *2nd Impact*. She was instead added to the follow-up, *Street Fighter III: Third Strike*. Chimoto later praised Ishizawa's flexibility in adjusting her design, which he felt improved the character. To give her a "hot-blooded" feel, her in-game dialogue uses the Tosa dialect of Japanese.
Makoto stands 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) with measurements of 80-61-87 cm (32-24-34 in). Early design proposals varied widely but all included a loose-fitting karate gi, intended to be oversized because it belonged to her deceased father. According to the book *All About Capcom Fighting Games 1987-2000*, players often mistake her for "Ryu's little sister" due to her behavior and outfit.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Street Fighter
- First
- Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (1999)
- Designer
- Keigo Chimoto
- Voice
- EN: Jessica D. Stone (Street Fighter IV) / JA: Makoto Tsumura
- Origin
- Japan
- Nationality
- Japanese
- Fighting Style
- Rindoukan Karate
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Makoto was introduced in the 1999 video game Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, inheriting her father's Rindōkan karate dojo which has fallen into disrepair and lost students. She enters the game's tournament to showcase and spread word of her fighting style, and by the conclusion of her story many people travel to try and join her dojo, much to the delight of her family. In Street Fighter IV, which is set chronologically between Street Fighter II and Street Fighter III, she discovers the rundown state of the dojo, and after reading about the Worldwide Fighting Tournament, decides to enter to gain fame and restore her dojo. However, Makoto walks away without winning the prize money, and while repairing the dojo she considers making a name for herself.
Reader's Guide
Makoto has been positively received, in both location tests for the original game and a later official poll in which she placed second out of all the characters. Particularly, the staff of 1UP.com declared her as one of the key reasons they prefer 3rd Strike over the preceding Street Fighter III titles. Several outlets have declared her their favorite character in the franchise, and others have praised her design and character heavily in contrast of other series characters. Described as a rushdown character, Makoto's gameplay revolves around closing the distance between herself and the opponent and quickly delivering fast blows. According to Capcom developers, unlike other characters in Street Fighter III she lacked the ability to produce large combos, forcing the player to consider each move and making it harder for beginners to use her. Her walking speed is slower than average, however to compensate her dashes are faster and farther while several of her moves give her forward momentum, specifically her 'Hayate' attack which consists of a high speed dashing punch that allows her to cross a large part of the screen instantly and can be followed up with another attack if it connects. Her 'Karakusa' grab attack is unique, in that unlike other grabs instead of instantly knocking down the opponent it leaves them standing a moment, allowing for a follow up attack. The development team for Street Fighter IV commented that characters from III were harder to implement due to that game's parry system, which is not present in IV. This was particularly problematic in the case of Makoto. Moves such as her 'Tanden Renki', a power up super attack that greatly increases her strength for a short period of time, but prevents her from being able to block attacks when using it had to be modified, allowing her to block attacks while reducing the increase in the strength.
Did You Know?
- Makoto's oversized gi is intended to be her deceased father's.
- Her neck ribbon was added to demonstrate her speed and trajectory, and to telegraph certain moves to the opponent.
- Her dialogue is spoken with a Japanese Tosa dialect to give a 'hot-blooded' tone.
- She is commonly confused by players to be 'Ryu's little sister' due to her behavior and attire.
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