Cody's theme in SSFIV is heavily based off of the intro from Final Fight. The rapper repeats the words "Turn the beat back!" quite often. This is a look into Cody'spsyche; he longs to relive his glory days as a hero and get out of his funk, but sadly has convinced himself that things can never go back to how they were.
In Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Makoto is introduced as a upper-tier, fairly strong (competition-wise) character. When she's added to the roster in Super Street Fighter IV, her tier ranking takes a nosedive and she unfortunately ends up as bottom tier and the only character lower than Dan. However, Super Street Fighter IV takes place prior to 3rd Strike in universe. Makoto at this time would most likely have limited experience battling against different styles of martial arts, having just inherited the dojo. When she realizes just how much she has yet to learn, she returns home to Take a Level in Badass and undergo Training from Hell before making her return in 3rd Strike and becoming a high tier character.
