Match-up Categories

I sorted each character's match-up notes into categories based on the games or affiliation in the games they came from. This glossary should make it easier to understand if you're confused about it.

vs. Alpha
Characters: Rose, Gen, Guy, Adon, Cody, Sakura Dan
In 1999-2002, Street Fighter Alpha 1-3 were released. The 6 characters above were either brought in from other games (like Final Fight) and/or created specifically for SF Alpha.

vs. Newcomers
Characters: Abel, Rufus, C.Viper, El Fuerte, Seth, Juri, Hakan
Street Fighter 4 introduced five new characters (Abel, Rufus, C.Viper, El Fuerte and Seth) to the series, with an additional two (Juri and Hakan) being introduced in Super Street Fighter 4 later on.

vs. Shadaloo
Characters: Vega, Balrog, Sagat, M.Bison
In Street Fighter 2, four end-bosses awaited players at the end of the game. These four fighters belonged to the Shadaloo syndicate and were dubbed the Four Kings of Shadaloo, hence the name.

vs. Shotokan
Characters: Ryu, Ken, Gouken, Akuma, Evil Ryu, Oni
The fighters in this category belong to the same fighting style, Ansatsuken Karate. In the US, this style was named the Shotokan fighting art and the term Shoto to describe these fighters has stuck among Street Fighter aficionados.

vs. Street Fighter 3
Characters: Dudley, Ibuki, Makoto, Yun, Yang
The game Street Fighter 3 and its incarnations brought along with it its own cast of new fighters to the Street Fighter universe. Only 3 of them were introduced to the game in Super Street Fighter 4. An extra two characters, the twins Yun and Yang, were introduced in Super Street Fighter 4 Arcade Edition.

vs. Super Street Fighter 2
Characters: Cammy, T.Hawk, Dee Jay, Fei Long
An newer version to Street Fighter 2 was released back in the day with an additional four new characters introduced at the time. Cammy and Fei Long were introduced in the Street Fighter 4 while Dee Jay and T.Hawk were brought in later on in Super Street Fighter 4.

vs. World Warriors
Characters: Guile, E.Honda, Zangief, Chun-Li, Blanka, Dhalsim
Aside from Ken and Ryu, the World Warriors made up the rest of the original cast of playable characters in Street Fighter 2 and are what some call the classic cast.