Street Fighter 5 didn’t have the best of plot threads spread throughout the game, however a key exception was Sagat’s story and arcade mode, as they actually furthered his story line and took it somewhere interesting.
Sagat was infused with the Satsui no Hado when Ryu hit him with a Shoryuken in the first Street Fighter game, which may have been a sucker punch.
The Satsui no Hado laid dormant in Sagat for the years after, finally manifesting itself by the time Street Fighter 5 takes place. Sagat’s story primarily deals with him overcoming this dark intent, however it doesn’t seem like he’s totally conquered it.
Ryu had been struggling with the Satsui no Hado for a long time, finally overcoming it by tapping into the Power of Nothingness, which results in him being able to throw Denjin Hadokens in Street Fighter 6.
Ryu defeats M. Bison in Street Fighter 5 by throwing a Power of Nothingness fireball, and finally putting the Satsui no Hado behind him after all this time.
While it seems like Sagat is able to tap into the Power of Nothingness to ward off the Satsui no Hado in Street Fighter 5, in the character’s arcade mode ending, it’s stated that he may not have conquered it after all.
“Having overcome the Satsui within and becoming the true king, Sagat set his aim even higher… Evil, however, does not loosen it [sic] grip so easily…” reads his arcade mode ending for SF5.
It’s clear the development team of Street Fighter 5 was hinting that Sagat may have a larger journey in front of him to overcome the Satsui no Hado that Ryu placed there when he received his chest scar.
Sagat is no longer the former disgraced martial arts champion, as he’s come a long ways since he joined Shadaloo back in the Street Fighter 2 days. It’s possible that Ryu, or potentially even Gouken, can teach him to tap into the Power of Nothingness to overcome the Dark Hado.
Ryu teaching Sagat to control this would help the franchise come full circle, as Ryu is directly responsible for giving Sagat the Satsui no Hado in the first place.
Sagat is set to be released in the summer time of this year, so we won’t have to wait a long time to see what the former champion is up to now.
If Sagat has already fully tapped into the Power of Nothingness at this point in the timeline, it’s possible his Tiger Shots may receive some Denjin-like properties as well, which should make for some very compelling gameplay in Street Fighter 6.