While Crimson Viper is the star of Street Fighter 6’s aptly named “C. Viper Arrives!” Fighting Pass, other characters have cosmetics that are either for or themed around them. One of these cosmetics is a new EX color for Guile’s Outfit 2, which is a reference to none other than Jean Pierre Polnareff from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
In a 1998 Weekly Famitsu interview, Street Fighter II producer Noritaka Funamizu revealed that Guile’s almost vertical hair, lack of eyebrows, tank top, and pants were inspired by Polnareff’s appearance in Stardust Crusaders, which is Part 3 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. However, a pixel artist stretched out Guile’s hair to the sides as a joke when creating the sprites for the game, making him look more like the character Rudol von Stroheim from Part 2, Battle Tendency, instead.
William Guile’s surname and Sonic Boom are also based on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. “Guile” was derived from J. Geil, the man who killed Jean Pierre’s sister, Chérie Polnareff. While there is no mention of “Sonic Boom” in writer Hirohiko Araki’s work, Guile’s iconic move was dubbed “Divine Sandstorm” during the development of Street Fighter II. Divine Sandstorm is Wamuu’s signature move in Battle Tendency, where he spins his forearms rapidly to create two tornadoes that devastate his opponents in a manner similar to Guile.
Street Fighter fans were quick to point out the similarities between Jean Pierre Polnareff and Guile’s new EX color. The color scheme turns Guile’s blond hair silver, his green tank top black, and camo cargo pants for blue faded jeans. He still retains the same stretched-out hair of his classic von Stroheim look, which Capcom likely kept so as not to detract from his now-iconic Street Fighter design.
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