Oh come on... You seriously want a tier list for this version of SF4? Just pick a damn character that you like and use them. Are you planning on going to any iPhone SF4 Tourneys? No? How often do you even play other people, because that is the only instance in which a tier list is needed. If you only play the computer, every character is equal. Just pick one.
Hehe... If you prefer a more subtle version of the above, here it is: Play with which character you like, whether it be based upon their appearance, special moves or combos. A person using Dhalsim can either fail miserably or wreck havoc - it's how you use the character that matters more than the character itself.
SF4 Tier List: S: Sagat (his knee is so much more powerful than in SSF4) A: Ken (shoryuken has more horizontal range, shinrep. allows you to recover before counter) B: All else
Street Fighter games are actually incredibly balanced it's one of the things makes the game so great, I usually go the ken/ryu route and I used to play everyday for hours just practising combos and taking on everyone else but while I could easily beat almost everyone I played occasionally I have had times I got majorily owned by players using characters like Zangief. What that says to me is with enough practise and skill you can beat anyone with any character and I believe every character has a way of countering every others characters moves it's just a matter of figuring it out and making it instinct.
What we need is not a tier list, but a combo list. The training mode only reveals like 1 or 2 combos for each character, when there are in fact many more. For example, Dhalsim's teleport + jump kick + low punch + Yoga Flame was not revealed in the training mode but always used by the AI and player. Youtube videos don't help that much either, as they only reveal a few combos for Ryu and Ken. I was so sure I saw that the AI connected an EX Flash Kick with a normal Flash Kick for Guile... no idea how to do that still even with FADC.
Definitely joining the calls for a combo list- since special moves are limited to two 'strengths', so to speak (i.e. normal and EX) the distance you travel, or recovery time etc. is more fixed than on 'real' SFIV, where you were able to do light, medium or fierce techniques, so combos would need to be worked out accordingly. Has anybody seen any good vids of people performing combos? This one on youtube is pretty nice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46QvcOLFkI Oh, and this one showing a nice FADC ultra, without using the cheesy 'touch the ultra guage' method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly0M0wbr_NU&NR=1
Anyone of all the characters can be chosen for playing for a while. It matters more that how you use the character than the character itself
Is the Shadaloo arena background for the M. Bison fight an unlockable or a $0.99 IAP? Doesn't he usually fight in that volcanic island?