Sean Overview - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike [4K]

Sean might not be the worst character in the game next to Twelve, but competitively he's the most redundant. He is very fun though, fills his role as a handicap to a T and can be very troublesome against players unfamiliar with his tricks.
A Complete Starter Guide to Third Strike: bit.ly/ThirdStrikeCompleteOverview
Klaww (main writer): klaww__
Fugo (recorder and co-writer): Fugo3s
Zülfikar (designer): 7ulfikeay
Nick (editor): TKlaus_FGC
Sean (motion graphics): TBS_Sean
Arya (narrator and co-writer): AryaTayebi
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[@LkMrcndz]

Those really were different times, "We designed this character to be worse on purpose so you can have a handicap", that would be hard to maintain in the patchless era of FGs. I mean, 2nd Impact Sean is the example of that not working as intended.

[@masterwoo4359]

Was 2nd impact sean intended tk be weak? Iirc the intentional weak sean design only started in 3rd strike

[@mildsome9713]

@@masterwoo4359 sean had a bug in 2i where he could hold back and whiff s.hp to build twice as much meter than any other character

[@ikedatike2533]

​@@mildsome9713 and he also had that in new generation as well

[@Shiratto]

At the very least there’s just a handicap slider now so we might get good Sean if they remember to put any SF3 characters in 6

[@SomethingWithZ]

@@ikedatike2533he was batshit insane good in ng

[@marveler8994]

They should bring him back, but as a competent fighter who managed to perfect his unorthodox shoto style

[@Jarubimba]

Would be a neat character development for him to create his own style based on Ken and his own family's (Matsuda iirc) martial arts

[@ExE0071]

100 % agreed

[@pdead0624]

That’s the dream

[@sugoi9680]

IMAGINE

[@Scyon13]

Imagine if they mixed in a bit of Laura with him

[@AcroxShadow]

Of all the things they did to Sean between 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike, taking away the dunk from Dragon Smash was the most insulting.

[@NotABotiPromise]

Imagine if they bring back Sean and they make him a Shoto/Grappler Hybrid. It probably fits well with his family's style of BJJ + Ken's training.

[@eddiestilll]

this whole overview series was incredible. it was exactly what the 3rd strike community needed to learn about the diverse and super fun cast in arguably the GOAT fighting game :D can't wait for what's next!!

[@nightwave6963]

Sean shares similar character traits with Sakura; both have self-taught fighting styles stemming from their idols: Ken and Ryu respectively. Sean was self-taught under Ken while at the same time trying to convince him to further his training through tutelage, Sakura was self-taught through imitation of Ryu while also pursuing his tutelage.

[@Hoarseplay]

The key difference is that Sakura is a fighting prodigy while Sean is a scrappy underdog who claws for every L he takes. Sean is actually kind of interesting, in that he's at his best when he's not being a played like a shoto. His adoration of Ken is ironically is what holds back his true potential; he's so focused on imitating Ken's strengths that he can't see his own. While the label of "3S Dan" or "budget Ken" is fitting, it also highlights the point that he's NOT Ken; imitating Ken, both in lore and in gameplay, is what holds him back.

[@Countdownsmiles]

The key difference is that Sakura, a Japanese school girl, is usually pretty good when she appears. while Sean, a black Brazilian boy, was made terrible on purpose for story reasons. Now i'm not saying they're racist per se, but it's interesting that two characters with similar backgrounds can have such different legacies, and i don't think it's a coincidence that the historically stronger one is a school girl, which is basically Japan's mascot lol

[@Hoarseplay]

@@Countdownsmiles Characters getting rebalanced for lore, popularity, and/or marketing reasons was common then and still common now. It ain't that deep.

[@RhythmLP]

​@CountdownSmiles glad I'm not the only one that peeped that

[@triggerpull9275]

@@Countdownsmiles You're overthinking things, specially when sean was outright broken in second impact

[@HalcyonSwift]

Now that this amazing series is over, you should put all the videos into one, longer one. As a single, definitive “go-to” video for new players trying to find a main!

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

That's the plan! Though I want to make a few tweaks to it first and some minor error corrections.

[@BlackDT]

@@ThatBlastedSalami I’d love if you included a difficulty rating similar to the tekken one. They don’t always tend to be 100% accurate but they’re nice as a point of reference.

[@aaronviaje134]

Sean in New Generation: A strong high tier shoto character, defined by his set of moves and a unique, stylish but strong DP. Sean in 2nd Impact: Like in New Generation but better, definitely in the top tier, if not the strongest character. Sean in 3rd Strike: "I must apologize for Wimp Lo. He is an idiot. I have purposely trained him wrong.... as a joke!'' -- Ken to Ryu

[@faded9581]

Is that a real quote from one of the games?

[@aaronviaje134]

@@faded9581 no.. it's from kung pow movie 😁

[@victuz]

Look how they massacred my boy in 3rd Strike.

[@NotoriousYEETER]

Honestly I think NG Sean is better.

[@Spider-Complexion]

@@faded9581. It’s a real quote from a pretty funny spoof movie

[@Zenondikar]

Mained him for about 12 years now. Ridiculously fun to learn is an understatement, when you start beating up B rank Chuns or Kens unfamiliar with the MU theres no greater feeling in 3rd strike in my opinion. BRING HIM BACK FOR SF6 CAPCOM 🏀

[@rayze174]

I'm guessing you are on Fightcade right ? If so, what's your name on there? It's always neat coming across other Sean mains

[@Zenondikar]

@@rayze174 Zenon96

[@ghostblues2691]

@@Zenondikar can we play

[@FilosophiaxXx]

Ayyy fight me filosophia is my name on their. I hit b rank and my goal is s rank. I'm aspiring to be the best Sean in the multiverse! 🔥🔥🔥🏀

[@Rukiman_no16]

I have huge respect for low tier mains.

[@jackwilde6127]

Thank you so much for this series. Seeing this in my feed every day for most of this month has been an absolute joy. The aesthetics & format of these videos alone deserves commendation, to say nothing of the gameplay insights. No doubt these videos will father a “new generation” of 3rd strike players like my scrub self!

[@1twaswritten]

What's wild is that if this were an overview for 2nd Impact, Sean likely would've been the first overview released.

[@cirro51]

This series was great. Even though New Generation and Second Impact aren't really played much, it would be nice to see how the character tier list changes game to game. Like Sean in Second Impact is actually really strong. His tornado kicks rack up unreal amounts of stun, it's almost broken

[@acey4626]

I adore how the backgrounds and music changes in every video, its such a unique and well thought out touch

[@arktype586]

I'm so sad this series is over. I hope you make another series like this for other fighting games because i loved them

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Glad you liked it! That's definitely the plan. We have a number of these in the works currently.

[@mgc9965]

@@ThatBlastedSalami You could make one for Gill

[@mgc9965]

Doesn't even have to be serious Just post his launcher into lariat 100 combo and call it a day

[@seanmats]

Hey man, who are you calling competitively unplayable?

[@legend0945]

Did they really make a character just to be a handy cap for good players against their friends?!

[@AcroxShadow]

In 3rd Strike, yes. In 2nd Impact he was actually a Top 3 character.

[@Deadlift4chips]

Hyper tornado might be my favorite move from him.

[@vabeachvigilante]

the sean disrespect has been crazy, need him back in sf6

[@unciervoenciervado]

That's an interesting desing choice you don't see nowadays so much: the weak character you pick up so your less experienced friends don't get angry

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Agree, and I don't think developers should always aim to make all characters equally strong. A bit weird when Dan is like a mid-tier in some games.

[@jinpei05]

I remember when Sean debuted in New Generation and how badass he was. My, how the mighty have fallen 😅

[@kennythekid130]

I loved this series so much, I watched each upload the moment it came out! I hope you consider making one for Alpha 2 or Super Turbo as I'd love to see this level of quality put into those games.

[@JustSoji]

Knowing nothing about Third Strike as a kid I thought Sean looked super cool and he would be my main. Then I found out he's a worse version of himself from Second Impact and I deflated

[@brettdallman3885]

I really hope they give Sean a second chance in 6. I know we already have other characters who deserve to be in 6 first, especially characters from SF3, but if SF6 goes on long enough I feel like we could give him a chance to be usable

[@versatilelord8893]

I feel like out of anyone from sf3 that hasn’t been made playable since Sean is the one most deserving of a 2nd chance Remy kind of but not more than Sean

[@gspeedy619]

​@@versatilelord8893I wouldn't mind at all if Remy made a return but the aesthetics of Street Fighter 6 just fits Sean's entire style perfectly. If Sean does make it to Street Fighter 6 I can see him having a personal rivalry with A.K.I since her master F.A.N.G. almost killed him back in Street Fighter 5's story mode.

[@CrimzonWolf777]

Not gonna lie, this character overview series was absolutely amazing! Can't wait to see what you do more with 3s!

[@BigCreepySleepy]

These 3S are Amazing. I’ve saved the entire roster to my KZbin playlist. Your work is greatly appreciated ✊🏾

[@OnyxeBlade]

I'll never get over the fact that Capcom made Sean intentionally terrible cause he was a beast in Second Impact. Only because they felt Sean was supposed to be the "Dan Hibiki" of the SF3 series

[@terrelltownsend8016]

Someone he HATES being compared to. "Don't call me Dan!"

[@Scorpio7500]

honestly from a design perspective having an intentionally bad shoto for friendlier casuals is kind of brilliant. most of fighting game play is not competitive

[@BubbyBoy]

You say Sean is redundant, but Gojitenks absolutely demolishes everyone online with the character, and I never seen him touch Ken

[@kennethbryant5819]

I'm not a fan of fighting game developers making characters intentionally bad unless it's like bonus add-on like Dr. B from Tekken. But all base roster characters should be somewhat balanced and competitive.

[@vonantonracal8684]

Nice Video! Happy Sunday!

[@vonVile]

Sean from Second Impact to Third Strike. "You massacred my boy!"

[@thechosenone8332]

Thank you so much for these videos, now I know what to send people whenever I want to recommend 3rd Strike! Can't wait for the big one eventually.

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Glad you liked them! We had a lot of fun making them too.

[@gelfeatherweight5335]

Im tired of reviewers calling Sean a flawed character. Since you dont play him probably, I'm sure you didnt notice his moves appear Capoeria styled. After all he IS from Brazil. He IS quick. He actually IS a unique character. His sister IS Laura from SFV. Just because he's dressed like a Shoto doesnt make him one Cool video tho

[@reekhavoc2932]

Didn't know Laura was his sis and didn't know he was Brazilian

[@zechariahcaraballo8765]

I really hope they add Sean to street fighter 6

[@aramondehasashi3324]

Thanks for making this series. I wish you could do overviews for every fighting game lol

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

We'd really love to! These series are quite expensive and time consuming to make though.

[@spookyfungus]

awesome series! thanks for making these, they're fantastic.

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Pleasure!

[@0N3DR3AD]

Just downloaded to main Sean.. Why am I like this?

[@FelixBłocki]

Your like this probably because you are a person that see's everything as it is, doesnt think about pointless stuff.

[@superbro6413]

This was such an excellent series, good work all around! See you in the next one

[@SpectralSound.]

He may be low tier but i've always had fun playing him.something tells me we will se him again in sf6.thanks for the series man,i really enjoyed them.hope in future for garou mark of the wolves series.🔥🐺

[@Bounty2223]

Sean should've been the face of SF 6, fight me. His take of shoto is fun, he's a likable dude and has history with the boys. Would've made much more sense story wise especially with what happens to Ken.

[@TheChilaxicle]

At this point the cover with Luke's ugly mug is about the only thing I don't like about SF6 Man the cover would look sick af with Sean on the front, good call

[@imoj]

He should return in SF6, it's his game!

[@davicpetrovski155]

Thanks a lot for this series, I hope you can return someday. 🙏

[@ezmoney4598]

“Competitively unplayable?” Have you seen Pachikasu?

[@TheGamersState]

This may be a hot take but in my opinion; I hate it when developers create these "Intended to be bad" characters. It takes a long time to design even 1 character so to waste all that time only for the end result to be something people will overlook, especially for a competitive fighting game, just feels like a waste of time and resources. If you ask me; A better solution if you want to level the playing field is to have a sort of "Level Bar" system where the lower you set the bar the less powerful a characters stats are which makes it more fair for casual players. This way not only can the pro still choose whatever character they want and not be forced to use Sean but also it means Sean himself doesn't have to be penalized. Besides, Sean is awesome, he deserves better than this.

[@emjay9545]

This series is great. I wonder if you'll be doing more with other games

[@NurseLee]

Overall, Competitively Unplayable...Say No More! *Picks Sean*. But jokes aside, I would love to see Sean into SF6. I would love to see that version of him.

[@kbtken]

The fact that one of my friends has always used Sean as his main character now makes me respect his skills more

[@ThaPlaya1994]

I know he's not "viable" but he's still my favorite character in the whole series. He's just so fun to play.

[@yuyu-zs6jb]

Stay tuned for MORE 3S? Hell yeah!

[@SishId]

I had no idea of the actual intent that went into his design! Honestly makes him an even cooler character just because of the novelty

[@Rickenishere]

Sean DOES have a few strengths, even compared to the other shotos (close HK is legitimately really good, dashes are much faster, MP-HK target combo is serviceable) but they aren't nearly enough to make up for the rest of his kit...

[@taylorbee4010]

The funnest low tier Buff ma boi Let’s go pachikasu

[@memebear3347]

If Sean had in interation in SF6, I’d be surprised and pleased since they might give some depth to the character. He reminded me of Lucky from KOF, who I enjoyed playing

[@coal_kusoge]

These are great. Would you ever consider doing video guides for Gundam Extreme Versus Maxiboost ON?

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

We've considered some arena fighters like Gundam. No plans yet, but hopefully someday in the future.

[@KeyshondroFrancis]

I found sean from street fight Alpha .

[@taylorbee4010]

Bring Grown up Sean Back For sf6 Let him coach Luke

[@Supcio6073Clips]

When the Sean is Balling 😮

[@EliTheGleason]

I do think that at the very least he's got cool unique tools. Like yeah, he's worse Ken, but Ken doesn't have a weird hit grab slide or a store brand rose

[@melvinshine9841]

Not that I've ever played SF3, but it still makes me sad what they did to Sean. New Generation and Second Impact Sean was a legit top 6 character, and Third Strike just nerfed him into the Earth's mantle. Not only did they make genuinely good moves like his dp and Hyper Tornado much worse, they even completely removed his "blowing a bubblegum bubble and doing a thumbs up" win pose. That's just excessive if you ask me.

[@thechosenone8332]

Out of curiosity, will you guys ever do a video on Gill? He's technically a hidden character but I think it would be interesting.

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Would like to, but might be a bit of a challenge with our setup since he's not playable in the arcade version.

[@thechosenone8332]

@@ThatBlastedSalami Gotchaa

[@YouSoSpice]

very concise and useful overviews, thank you

[@gundamforreal]

Man, moves that are punishable on hit makes me glad we’re no longer in that era of games.

[@MidWestWolf1985]

Sean may be terrible, but hes also a good, fun character for those looking for a challenge, and playing such a limited character will honestly make you a better player. For those looking to get into sean, check out pachikasu, probably the best sean in japan

[@blackmanta2527]

Sean must be in sf6 or we riot

[@chrisriddle]

Any plans for MvC2 guides in the future?

[@terrelltownsend8016]

"Don't call me Dan!" I hated how they nerfed his Dragon Smash.

[@Wulf_YT]

great series, however, no Gill?

[@olliedaolive]

Hey could you drop the playlist of all the remixed themes from these videos? Banger tutorials btw

[@senhorpresidente9191]

I don't care what tier list says, sean is the most fun and enjoyable character in the game

[@the9mayor_]

How do people now the frame data of every move in these old games??

[@maxownzor2thelawnmower776]

"Competitively unplayable" Pachikasu wants to know your location

[@gregoryngbanda1927]

It's a shame what they did to my guy Sean the master of balls, they even made him a wimp in SFV. They were decided to insult Sean since people were mad at the new gens. I still hope he'll have a place in the new games tho a fix to his set in SF3 would be preferable

[@ajones6899]

Do you plan on doing a gill overview?

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Can't record Gill on our set-up using the arcade board, so likely not

[@ajones6899]

@@ThatBlastedSalami Thanks for clarifying I think there is a glitch but it's hard to follow and takes a while

[@LunaticReason]

Playing sf3 again on my switch. I enjoy playing Sean and see a lot of potential. My favourite move is ground and pound attack just wished it was more safe. Seems like his specialty is his kicks and grappling whereas his weakness is his fireballs and uppercuts. If they brought him into six i hope they upgrade his takedowns to rep his Matsudo style

[@markj3169]

RIP Sean. They buried you after 2nd Impact when you were at your peak because...reasons?

[@edo27]

this was an awesome series to watch til the end! its crazy to think that sean was top tier in 2nd impact and then the worst character in 3s. Can you do a video comparing how strong he was in 2nd impact to how shit he is now? lol

[@patrickg5648]

“Sean is fun to learn and fills his role well” “COMPLETELY UNPLAYABLE”

[@druggyisaiah3125]

I dont buy the "we nerfed sean so this one character can be the game's handicap more" narative cons8dering the fact that the old street fighter games actually have a normal and better emplimented handicap feature

[@GrandDadGaming]

"we have trained him wrong on purpose, as a joke"

[@xyzen9673]

Sean is the 3rd strike Dan tldr.

[@terrelltownsend8016]

To think Sean hates being compared to him. "Don't call me Dan!"

[@liamnguyen2819]

So, I guess this was the last character to be covered from the 3rd Strike Series?? Unless he does Gil next but I don't know. Anyway, hope he covers the SFII series next!

[@rooster3752]

Bravo!

[@CacaFartin]

what about Gill?

[@boxatron8010]

You think you could do a similar series for Garou Mark of the Wolves?

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Haven't started working on it yet but in the planning stages

[@boxatron8010]

@@ThatBlastedSalami Can't wait

[@dforman4770]

I really need my boy to return in Sf6!!!

[@weallgonnadie6737]

"Competitively unplayable". Pachikasu watching the vid: 🤨🤨

[@azechase6597]

I wish they'd bring him back and give him the sfv Dan treatment and make him actually good and unique. I don't like like Luke at all and think literally anybody else should be the main character of 6.

[@ninjahedgehog5]

It's crazy they made sean weak in third strike to be lore accurate when he was busted in 2nd impact

[@AidanMclaren]

Imagine making a character punishable on hit. *PUNISHABLE ON HIT!*

[@MTdaBlacking]

I can't decide if making a character punishable on hit is either bold as Hell, stupid, or hilarious. Even if you do everything right, you still get punished! 🤣

[@gspeedy619]

​@@MTdaBlackingI'd say it just wastes unnecessary dev time to make a character deliberately weak since no one would bother to play as them, although it wouldn't be a problem if it was a joke character Sean wasn't developed as a joke character at all and was forced to essentially take up that joke character role by Capcom heavily nerfing him from Street Fighter 3 to 3rd Strike.

[@TheFDream]

Hope you guys tackle street fighter 4

[@settmother6515]

so... no more 3rd Strike videos?

[@microblast3700]

There is one single use i can think for sean, as a nishe counter pick to denjin ryu if you can't parry the super you can roll under it every time

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

Poor Sean. He was really good at 2nd Impact but for 3rdS Capcom just said “Nope! This Brazilian boy needs to be nerf and weaker than Ken, Ryu, and Akuma!” 😅

[@ignaciojohnjoy]

Wait, you HAVE to review Gill in 3rd Strike too. You can post it on April Fool's too since he is an unplayable Character

[@Yousuf889]

I know it’s weird but I prefer his play style in 3s it just works better he feels much more idk the word, I guess ‘fluid’ and it suits his character for sure even tho he does have his disadvantages. I feel like once you learn how to utilise him properly in 3s he’s a threat to any character

[@kentrader2489]

didnt show us how to throw the basketball haha

[@eastwestminds]

call the fire department baby, cause i'm on fire!

[@yeetkunedo]

I still think it’s wild how much they radically detuned Sean in 3S compared to 2I.

[@h2_]

Sean, aka the reason your friend wants to play 2nd Impact with you

[@matiasmorales073]

I hope he is in 6 More like a brawler and less of a shoto