appearences in every Street Fighter anime to date (not to mention the American live-action movie, and even there he managed to look cool).
A long, long time ago, long before Tekken, or Dead or Alive, or King of Fighters, or even (blech) Mortal Kombat, there was a game called Street Fighter II, and it created an entire genre. Oh yeah, there was Street Fighter I and a few other games that some people quote as coming first...but SFII created the fighting game genre as we know it, and that's simply a fact.
Vega was in that first game, the second of four bosses a player had to defeat to finish the game. He wouldn't be playable until the first of the many infamous Street Fighter II upgrades, but even before then he was still cool and different. A bloodthirsty Spanish noble who wore a mask to protect his handsome features in battle and carried a claw to more efficiently butcher his opponents, whom you fought inside an iron cage. An iron cage most players learned to hate, as at any time Vega might climb above you, safe from attack, and then suddenly leap out and launch a devastating aerial assault. Once your hapless karate-ka had been carved to ribbons, he might be favoured with the privilige of finally seeing his opponent, as Vega unmasked himself and gave his then-trademark phrase, "Handsome fighters never lose battles!"
In truth, computer AIs being what they were (and are), more often it'd be your karate-ka beating him senseless, but the fact remains Vega was and is a cool and different character concept who has proved his longevity and long-term popularity, appearing in every incarnation of Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Ex 2 and 3, Capcom VS SNK 1 and 2, Cannon
Spike and sundry other games, as well as
appearences in every Street Fighter anime to date (not to mention the American live-action movie, and even there he managed to look cool).
Over time, his character has evolved and changed for different appearences. At first just a psychotic assasin in the employ of the game's main villain, he later was incarnated as a bored social dilettante who killed for sport, as a sort-of-antihero in search of the perfect fight against a beautiful and strong opponent, and as an insane would-be god. No matter what flavour of his personality was current, though, he always kicks ass and stands out from the crowd.
Oh, and not uncoincidentally, Blade kicks ass with him, and will be happy to suplex into the ground anyone who cares to disagree, then claw their bloody remains into sashimi just to make the point absolutely clear.