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.

ST Guile’s Double Somersault Kick super scores the highest number of hits in the game, tied with Chun Li. However, it takes a lot of work to make Guile’s super connect, especially when trying to land all six hits. Any combo involving ST super moves is flashy, but the most advanced applications of Guile’s super are leaps and bounds ahead of other characters’ capabilities. The most impressive Bison and Sagat combos are relatively tame compared to what Guile can do, both in terms of the end results as well as the obstacles crossed along the way.

 

Finally, Guile has to deal with dizzy limits more than any other character in the SF2 series. Most other characters’ special moves either knock down or invariably end combos, so they don’t run into the dizzy limit problem. Guile’s attacks must be chosen wisely to fit three or four Sonic Booms into one combo. Sometimes even redizzy limits aren’t high enough to explore the full potential of a setup.

These traditions continue into more recent games as well. In CvS2, Guile’s lvl3 Sonic Hurricane super provides him with a devastating new option at long range, but the tradeoff is that it adds nothing to the target’s stun counter. Therefore, his Flash Kick retains a limited yet significant purpose. Similarly, all three of his supers have different advantages and disadvantages in terms of versatility, damage, and what it takes to continue the combo after landing one.

With SF4, Capcom has shifted Guile’s focus back to the Sonic Boom, leaving him with only one super. Nonetheless, gilley’s Street Fighter 4 Guile combos proved that his fundamental strengths still make his combo repertoire one of the most diversified in the game.

His original design was so elegantly efficient that in all these years of Street Fighter sequels and revisions, he’s never needed more than two special moves. For such a clear-cut character to get so far on nuance alone, it’s tough to top that feat.

Bottom line: Guile makes you think.
(Can i get away with saying Guile combos require a lot of guile?)