Big Brain Theory Time.
Just to further solidify that Strider is indeed canon now:
- According to the character setting written for Zeku, he is established to be the "1st generation Strider Hiryu" (初代ストライダー飛竜)[6], with the Strider Hiryu from the 1989 Arcade Strider established to be "The 3rd generation" (三代目) as well as "the second generation of Zeku" (是空の二代))[6], seemingly implying there's a generation between them.
That information comes directly from this book:
This means that the original Hiryu's timeline completely lines up with Street Fighter V's timeline and Zeku's goals. As of the first game, Hiryu is 19-20 years old in 2048 when he brings about the downfall of Grandmaster Meio. This means that he would have been born in 2028-2029. The first generation of Strider's would have been during the early 2000's/2010's. Second generation would be between 2020's/2030's. Third generation would be 2040's/2050's.
Meio suddenly appeared on Earth in the year 2042, while the world was engulfed in war and chaos prior to the events of the first game. Rose's/Oro's stories in Street Fighter V suggest that Bison's influence has fucked the world via corruption. His influence has now spread throughout the world. So, this could be the events that are leading to when Meio appears to take over.
Sidebar: The prophecy of the Illuminati says that the end of the world is supposed to take place in 2200 AD. The "boy who controls the elements" is supposed to be humanities savior. Gill says fuck waiting to save the world then and starts gathering people to create the utopia that is promised under his power. He describes the world ending and its occurrence as two opposing forces become imbalanced. His perfect balance and the ability to instill that in others will guarantee that his chosen will survive the apocalypse. Not saying that Capcom big brained this or anything, but I believe they are harkening back to SFIII with the current Bison plot in SFV.
Following up on this Strider theme becoming a more concrete thing and going with the theme that the other crossover title that gets the most love (Final Fight) usually occupies substantial roster slots, I believe that Maki will be returning in Street Fighter 6.
However, I believe that she will be a 1st Generation Strider wielding a bladed tonfa as an actual weapon. This lines up with the fact that she was a disciple of Zeku already and she wields a tonfa as a weapon in Street Fighter Alpha 3/CvS 2. Additionally, she had the desire to "surpass" Guy during those games, but realized that she was way far behind him in power/skill. Would make sense that she eventually reconnects with Zeku after he starts building the Striders to learn from him once again.
This update to her character would satisfy a number of tick points for the roster.
1.) Final Fight rep
2.) Strider rep
3.) Tightening the cohesiveness of the timeline
4.) Ninja fighting style
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.