Sagat

"A strong fighter is not one who always wins, but one who stands after defeat."

- Sagat

Sagat (サガット, Sagatto/สกัด, Sagao) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He was originally a boss character in the early editions of the series. He was later turned into a regular, playable character. According to Street Fighter co-creator Finish Hiroshi, Sagat's style was modeled after dramatic television kickboxing personalities - particularly that of Muay Thai/Thai Kickboxing - as Sagat is also referred to as "The King of Muay Thai" or "The God of Muay Thai" in the games, as well as possessing various attacks similar to that of a Muay Thai kickboxer.

He is characterized by his intimidating and overpowering appearance which consists of a very tall body shape (7.5 ft), muscularity, bald head, eye patch, Muay Thai Kickboxing shorts, Hand and feet wraps/bandages, solid white eyes, and a scar across his chest.

Appearance
Sagat is menacingly tall, a trait he uses to his advantage in his long-reaching attacks. His natural size drove him to become a powerful fighter. His hands are massive enough to close around the entire head of many of his opponents. He is depicted as being totally bald, except in one official artwork that shows him with a full head of long hair, which has since become the basis for his third alternate in Street Fighter IV.

Sagat wears traditional short Muay Thai kickboxing shorts and classic wraps. The trunks have colors varying from purple with yellow trim, to blue with red trim, to blue with yellow trim. He wears tape around his fists and feet to protect his hands and ankles. Sagat also has a black eye-patch over his severely damaged right eye, though the lack of depth perception and loss of peripheral vision do not seriously hamper his ability as a powerful fighter.

The massive scar on his chest is a constant reminder of Ryu's victory. Sagat makes no attempt to conceal the disfigurement, and in fact draws power from the hateful memory it invokes. In Capcom vs. SNK 2, Sagat's scar glows while he charges energy for his S-Groove super meter.

In the Street Fighter II series, Sagat's in-game sprite does not display the highly muscular build of the Street Fighter Alpha series, although even at that time he had been consistently portrayed as such in his Super Street Fighter II Turbo ending, and other Capcom artworks. Later on, the game graphics improved to match those of the comics.

Due to a technical limitation in the Street Fighter series, Sagat's eyepatch will appear to switch from eye to eye when Sagat faces another direction, since the left-facing sprite is a mirror-image of the right. Neither the 3D Street Fighter EX games nor Street Fighter IV feature this limitation. For similar, yet unexplained reasons, in all of Sagat's game appearances (see the sprites below) except for Street Fighter and Street Fighter IV, his eyepatch had always covered up his left eye whenever he faced to the right. All characters in the games are suppose to be shown in their normal appearance when facing to the right, from the Player 1 position. Either this was merely an oversight in all the games, or Sagat's sprite is suppose to be viewed normally when he is facing to the left.

Personality
Sagat encompasses a stereotypical "proud fighter" personality, since he is very powerful and strong-willed as well as hard-working and dedicated in body and spirit to martial arts life. His uncommon physical appearance makes him menacing, hideous and downright unfriendly at first glance. This persona is greatly boosted by the elevated levels of rage and power unleashed during combats - even to the extent of being nearly lethal, should Sagat see himself pinned or threatened with defeat. Since the incident at the first World Warrior Tournament, Sagat feeds on both his hatred towards Ryu and seeking a new chance to challenge and defeat him to recover his title of greatest fighter of all and thus restore his lost "honor".

Despite this violent and sometimes cruel nature in battles, Sagat appreciates worthy opponents and greatly despises taking unfair or dishonest advantages in combat - as seen in his own ending in Street Fighter Alpha 3, Sagat is highly disgusted with M. Bison as he infused Ryu with his malevolent Psycho Power in order to "make Ryu much stronger and thus grant Sagat the rematch he always looked forward to", which instead had the opposite effect: it caused Sagat to try to break Ryu free of Bison's influence. This is a strong proof that Sagat values true martial spirit and strength of character above all when facing those he considers worthy adversaries.

As the former God of Muay Thai, Sagat is quite proud and confident in his abilities, taking his status as a renowned martial arts champion very seriously. Unlike his student, Adon, Sagat actually learns from his own mistakes and improves for the better, as shown when his pride has led to surges of extreme hatred or deep depression; examples include his infamous defeat to Ryu - which originated the scar across his chest - and his fight with a hatred-stricken Dan Hibiki, who had challenged him to avenge his father's death - which caused Sagat to realize in himself the same sadness and emptiness as Dan for his father. After fights, Sagat tends to mock or ironize the "inferiority" of the defeated opponent, such as seen in his win quotes from Street Fighter II and Street Fighter Alpha series. Deep down in his heart and soul, Sagat lives only for fighting and making himself even stronger everyday, and despite enjoying a lot fights in tournaments, he turns most of his attentions towards Ryu, whom he considers "the only man able to defeat him and worthy to be faced in a live-or-die battle".

Story
Sagat won the title of Emperor/God of Muay Thai from Nuah Kahn as a teenager, and became a national hero in Thailand. He defended his title from a fighter named Go Hibiki, in a match where Go destroyed Sagat's his right eye (explaining his eye patch), causing the ominous former Muay-Thai Emperor to violently beat Go Hibiki to death in a fit of uncontrolled rage. Go's son, Dan, swore revenge on Sagat.

Street Fighter
Sagat trained Adon, and held the first World Warrior tournament to prove that he was not only the strongest Muay Thai fighter, but the strongest fighter in the world. Only one fighter managed to reach Sagat: a young martial artist named Ryu. Initially, Sagat was able to pin Ryu, and was sure that he was the winner of the match, even going to help Ryu up. However, Ryu became desperate to win the fight and was consumed by the Satsui no Hadou and his "Evil Ryu" side and executed the Metsu Shoryuken, grievously wounding Sagat and leaving a massive scar across his chest. Sagat swore revenge on Ryu.

Street Fighter Alpha 2
Sagat dedicated himself to learning a move to rival the one that scarred him, and developed the Tiger Blow.

Adon mocked his teacher for losing to Ryu and challenged him for the title of God of Muay Thai. Sagat had not recovered from his chest being ripped open, and lost to Adon, but not before beating the younger man so hard that he would be in traction for four months. Consumed with rage and hatred, Sagat eagerly joined the criminal organization known as Shadaloo. M. Bison had offered him Shadaloo resources to find Ryu and provide Sagat with a rematch. Sagat's nearly indomitable power provided him with the position of Bison's personal bodyguard, one of the feared Four Heavenly Kings (四天王(してんのう)) of Shadoloo.

He then immediately set about tracking Ryu down. He soon caught up to his rival and challenged him to a fight, with Ryu protesting that Sagat had not fully recovered from their last one. Sagat persisted, and won. Afterwards, he couldn't help but feel that the victory was hollow somehow, and realized that Ryu had let him win, noting that after the match, Ryu had not said a word and merely looked at him with a mysterious look in his eye. Sagat determined to train even harder and win cleanly the next time. He worked on honing the Tiger Blow, which would later be perfected as the Tiger Uppercut.

Sagat encountered Dan, now an adult seeking revenge for his father's death in the fight with Sagat ten years previously. Sagat, his thoughts still lingering on how Ryu had let him win in their last match, purposely lost the fight (although Dan doesn't believe that he did), which allowed Dan to satisfy his anger.

Street Fighter Alpha 3
"Sagat is known as the "Emperor of Muay Thai." The scar upon his chest serves as a reminder of his defeat... ...to Ryu and his Shoryuken! He fights for vengeance alone... But, he's begun to realize that the power of hatred is limited."

- Sagat's Profile in Street Fighter 3

Sagat realized that his scar was a result of the Satsui no Hadou, which possessed Ryu. Finally, he understood that true rivals should not be blinded by rage and hatred, nor be seduced by it, and realized Bison's true intentions.

However, Bison presented him with a brainwashed Ryu, and told Sagat he could have the rematch he always wanted. Despite Sagat's disappointment with fighting a corrupted opponent, Sagat still fought Ryu. To break Bison's mind control, he implored to Ryu that a true warrior would not give in to such treachery. Ryu awakened from Bison's control and, rejecting the Satsui no Hadou, Ryu defeated and destroyed Bison temporarily. Sagat finally realized that rivalries must have their limits. He tells Ryu that he was almost destroyed by the corruption. Sagat then tells Ryu that he is not yet ready to take him on again. Ryu then leaves Sagat, promising to return when he becomes a true master. Sagat realizes that he must defeat Ryu not for revenge, but as his destiny.

Street Fighter II
While Sagat's goal in the second World Warrior tournament was a clean rematch with Ryu, his hopes were eclipsed when Ryu was knocked out of the competition; therefore, he dropped out of the tournament before his next match, finishing third in the tournament. Sagat continued to train his body and mind in Thailand, hoping to become the world's strongest fighter once again before he became too old to do so.

Super Street Fighter IV
After the second World Warrior Tournament, Sagat lapses into a depression, "feeling like a loser". Attending one of Adon's matches in search of "something to reignite [his] spirit", he is mocked and challenged to a match by his former pupil. Defeating Adon with his Tiger Destruction, Sagat is cheered on by the fans. Reinvigorated, he then enters S.I.N.'s new tournament in the hopes of a rematch with Ryu and discovering the "ultimate purpose of the fight". After the tournament, Sagat reflects on his obsession with Ryu, realizing that instead of focusing on victory or defeat, what's truly important is communicating one's soul to the opponent through one's fists. Sagat compares his former self to Seth, whose fists Sagat says were "mute", and wonders whether he has changed now. Returning home to his village, he is greeted by Chit, his older brother, and a monk (characters who all appear in the second volume of Masahiko Nakahira's Ryu Final manga) who ask how the tournament went. Sagat replies that he "actually had fun" because he "met an old friend" (presumably Ryu). His win quotes are usually about giving advice to the other fighters on how they can better themselves, although he goes straight to the points on several faults with some characters in the game.

Non-canon games
Street Fighter Alpha: Sagat makes an appearance in the first game of the Street Fighter Alpha series. He enters to exact his revenge on Ryu. Sagat managed to defeat Ryu, and in turn avenging his previous defeat. Although pleased that he got his revenge, he somewhat felt empty after the fight. Sagat realized that Ryu didn't give it his all and he believes Ryu held back. Sagat eventually gave up this vendetta, considering it to be foolish and pointless. However, Bison's plane arrives at the scene. Bison comments that Sagat had succeeded in defeating Ryu, but suggests that he must master the Psycho Power if he is to be feared. The canonicity of the game itself is debatable, as Sagat didn't fight Ryu again until Ryu was brainwashed by Bison in Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Street Fighter: The Movie
In the live action movie, Victor Sagat is depicted as an underground mob boss in Shadaloo City and the bodyguard for the insane dictator General Bison. In contrast to his rivalry with Ryu in the games, the film version of Sagat was depicted as Ken's rival instead. He was a cage fighter named Iron Fist before retiring to head the Shadaloo Tong, which controlled the city's criminal operations. Ryu and Ken (a couple of con artists) attempt to sell him fake guns, but Sagat uncovers the plot and orders them killed. Ryu and Ken manage to beat Sagat's men to a pulp until they are stopped by Sagat's bodyguards with real guns. Impressed, Sagat plans for Ryu and Ken to be the next opponents of his cage-fighting champion and best friend, Vega. But just before Ryu and Vega can fight, Colonel Guile crashes into the arena with his tank and arrests them all, including Sagat, Vega, Ryu and Ken, taking them to the AN (Allied Nations) headquarters.

In prison, Sagat once again orders Ryu and Ken beaten up by his men, but Ryu and Ken hold off for a good while until Guile, Cammy and T. Hawk spot them apparently fighting against Sagat as possible allies to the AN. Guile makes a plan with Ryu and Ken to "escape" from prison and "kill" him in the process, while carrying a homing device which Guile and the AN will use to track Sagat to Bison's lair. The plan goes well, and Sagat accepts Ryu and Ken as his allies, unaware that they are actually spying on him.

Sagat and his men all flee to the AN headquarters and seek refuge with Bison at the black market, where they all watch a magic show by the Benbelli Brothers (in reality Chun-Li, Balrog and Honda, all bent on revenge on Sagat and Bison). Here, Sagat shows Bison a sample of the weapons he will be supplying him with, and the crafty Bison attempts to pay him with a trunk of Bison Dollars which he will establish after taking the Earth over. An enraged Sagat refuses, and calls Bison a conniving lunatic, prompting them to terminate their partnership until Ryu and Ken (in a desperate attempt to get the homing device to Bison's fortress and call Guile) inform them of a lorry filled with explosives (by Chun-Li, Balrog and Honda) heading straight for them. Allied once again, Bison, Sagat, Vega, Ryu, Ken and the two armies flee the tent just before the explosion.

Sagat and his men then go with Bison to the hidden base, where they are "welcome to stay". Sagat is also present at Bison's attempt to blow Guile's stealth boat up with mines (Sagat is horrified to see Guile alive, and Bison taunts his eyepatch as the cause of his not knowing of Ryu and Ken's escape plan with Guile), and at the execution of the fifty-three relief workers Bison had taken hostage. After Guile and his army finally arrive just before the execution, Sagat and Vega deduce Ryu and Ken to have led them there, and plan to ambush and kill them in revenge.

Sagat and Vega corner Ryu in the locker room and start to beat him up, until Ryu knocks Vega aside and Sagat himself is punched aside by Ken, who found Ryu after getting separated from him. Ken and Sagat then fight their own battle in the base's gym while Ryu and Vega fight. At first, Sagat appears to have the upper hand, until Ken manages to use some of the gym equipment to hurt Sagat and finally score a knockout, hitting Sagat into a nearby wall. But just before leaving with Ryu, who knocked Vega out, Ken gives Sagat a "thank-you" present in the form of a golden figurine (he supposedly made him what he now is).

With the base collapsing, Sagat abandons Vega and escapes with Dee Jay through a secret passage to avoid being arrested by the AN. They make it out just before the explosion, and swim through a river to shore with a trunk full of Bison's money. But in the end, Sagat and Dee Jay both get their comeuppance when they open the trunk and see that it's actually filled with the useless Bison Dollars (Bison is presumed killed in the explosion, thus ending the war).

Gameplay/Fighting Style
Sagat plays similarly to Ken and Ryu, with some notable differences. Foremost is his attack range: his low attacks and standing horizontal kicks have impressive range. In Street Fighter II, producing an array of alternating high and low fireball attacks can confuse and greatly damage an opponent. This technique is less viable in later games where projectiles do less damage, or can otherwise be avoided. In Capcom vs. SNK 2, Sagat's normal attacks, particularly his crouching fierce punch, have unusually high power and priority, making him one of the easiest characters to use effectively in that game. He is also known for his multiple-hitting Tiger Uppercut (Tiger Blow in the Alpha series) which is similar to Ken and Ryu's Shoryuken/Dragon Punch. The Tiger Blow had low priority against Shoryuken. In Street Fighter IV, the Tiger Uppercut has priority even over Ken's EX Shoryuken. Sagat's attacks do much more damage than Ryu or Ken. Sagat's Super moves such as Tiger Genocide have great priority.

In SSF2T, his "Old Sagat" incarnation is soft banned in Japan, because his fireballs combined with the occasional Tiger Uppercut make him overly effective and easy to use. Additionally, while he is not as broken as Akuma, his presence in American tournaments has seen certain characters completely ignored due to their almost un-winnable match-ups against Sagat. In Japan, the soft ban, while violated more frequently than the Akuma soft ban, has allowed a larger cast of characters to flourish.

Actors
Since Street Fighter Alpha, Sagat has been voiced by Shinichirou Miki. In SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, Sagat was voiced by Kouji Suizu.

In the live-action Street Fighter movie, he was portrayed by well-known Native American actor Wes Studi.

Stage Theme
      

Trivia

 * Sagat's ending in Street Fighter Alpha seems to suggest Bison has enhanced him with Psycho power.
 * In the Capcom vs. SNK series when Sagat defeats an enemy he sometimes makes a reference to the original Street Fighter by saying "Try again kid".
 * Many Thais believe that Sagat is based on a real-life Muay Thai fighter named Sagat Petchyindee (สกัด เพชรยินดี), but Capcom has never confirm this.
 * The Thai word, Sagat (สกัด), means to intercept or to stop something from advancing.
 * Concept Art for Sagat's new alt in SSF4 reveals that Sagat hair is reddish-brown, nearly similar to Adon's hair color.
 * In Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4, he starts giving advice to the opponents he defeats, much like what Ryu and Gouken do. However, some advice has a blunt tone to them and he can be straight to the point on several faults with the characters in the game.
 * In Street Fighter 2, the position of Sagat's eyepatch changes as he switches sides with his opponent. The eyepatch is covering his left eye when he is at the left side of the screen, and covers his right eye when he is at the right side of the screen.
 * In a recent patch, Sagat has been added to Street Fighter 4 for iPod Touch and iPhone.
 * The central theme of Sagat's moveset is "tiger." This is a likely reference to an old Muay Thai tale about the nicknamed Siamese Tiger King, who loved competing in Muay Thai and gained Burmese respect for his country after defeating multiple Burmese soldiers in back to back fights.
 * In Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, one of Sagat's winning quotes is the winning quote of the cpu controlled fighter that beats the player in the original Street Fighter.
 * Sagat bears a heavy resemblance to fellow Capcom villain Sigma of the Mega Man X series, especially his facial features.