After all, Guile is the quintessential TZW character. What makes him tick?

In a word, (internal) balance.

In any given combo scenario, Guile always has multiple options but there’s always some sort of tradeoff involved. His Flash Kick, although not an exceptional combo tool by any means, is significant in the sense that it connects from well outside the maximum Sonic Boom combo range. It adds another layer to the number of charge moves Guile can fit into a combo. Each of his possibilities comes with built-in limitations, which provide the player with countless challenges to overcome, which in turn result in interesting combos.

For example, take a look at Guile’s light attack arrangement. His jabs have identical range so they’re equally useful in different situations. His standing short does more damage, but it’s a couple of frames slower. His low short has the most range and inflicts the most damage, but it’s the slowest of the four plus it’s not cancelable. There’s always a decision to be made and it always ripples throughout the rest of the combo.

Guile’s excellent F+HP backfist range makes it an everpresent option after any Sonic Boom connects. Yet it’s rarely ideal because it ends combos without much excitement. Instead, Guile can walk up to do something more impressive, but walking is never free for charge characters.

And of course, the Sonic Boom forms the core of Guile’s arsenal. It opens up countless possibilities due to its exceptionally quick recovery, but also presents countless challenges due to charge issues. Most characters don’t have that extra dimension to their gameplay. Even charge characters such as Honda and Blanka rarely utilize charge more than once per combo.

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