Fighting games are a constantly evolving platform whose tendencies to progress we seem to collectively ignore. Tier lists are constantly changing due to metagame and new discoveries (was it not less than a year ago that Dee Jay was promoted to near top tier status in ST?) which keep the games fresh and hotly debated year after year. There’s a reason many of us still see fit to play “Theory Fighter” when we aren’t around a setup.

Keeping in this line of thinking, Brugalkonsoda has been trying to shout out his support for Hakan as loud as he can by uploading match after match of highly skilled players using the character at his best. Hakan for the most part, and I’d not like to offend anyone with this comment, has gotten a somewhat negative reputation amongst SFIV players for being a “weak” or “joke” character. Traditionally most new characters in fighting games (at least in the beginning) skew lower on tier lists and popular opinion, due to an unfamiliar playstyle and lack of knowledge about how to approach them. While the concept is there, many have faced the idea that Hakan simply doesn’t have what it takes to compete effectively with derision. I think we’re getting to the point where we can put that ideology aside, as a lot of these videos show some solid fundamentals and creative strategies to taking on match-ups that are weighted heavily against the weary grappler.

Below you’ll find some slick replays from top players on PlayStation Network, and at the top we have a match from Infiltration taken just recently from Season’s Beatings Ascension. I’ve always been attracted to fighting games for that concept of infinite possibility, telling me “anything can happen in a match, and there’s always a way to throw it in your favor.” I think it’s time, if we haven’t already, to give Hakan the benefit of the doubt.

Source: Brugalkonsoda