Street Fighter, designed by
Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto, made its debut in
arcades, in 1987.
[2][3] In this game, the player takes control of martial artist
Ryu, who competes in a worldwide martial arts tournament, spanning five countries and 10 opponents. A second player can join in at any time and take control of Ryu's American rival,
Ken.
The player can perform three types of punch and kick attacks, each varying in speed and strength, and three special attacks: the
Hadouken,
Shoryuken, and
Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. These are performed by executing special button combinations with the controls.
[4]
Street Fighter II series (1991)[edit]
Street Fighter II is the first one-on-one fighting game to give players a choice from a variety of player characters with different moves. The choice of multiple available characters allows for more varied matches. In this game, each player character had a unique fighting style with approximately 30 or more moves, including then-new grappling moves and throws, as well as two or three special attacks per character. In the single-player mode, the player's chosen character is pitted sequentially against the seven other main characters before confronting the final four boss opponents, who consist of
CPU-controlled characters not selectable by the player. As in the original, a second player could join in at any point during single player mode and compete against the other player in competitive matches.
The first official update to the series was
Street Fighter II': Champion Edition, pronounced
Street Fighter II Dash in Japan, as noted by the
prime notation on the logo. In this game, players are allowed to play as the four computer-controlled boss characters and two players are able to choose the same character. In this case, one character wears an alternate color pattern. The game also features slightly improved graphics, including differently colored backgrounds and refined gameplay. A second upgrade, titled
Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting, called
Street Fighter II Dash Turbo in Japan, was produced in response to the various bootleg editions of the game.
Hyper Fighting offers faster gameplay than its predecessors, different character costume colors, and new special techniques.
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, the third revision, gives the game a complete graphical and musical overhaul and introduces four new playable characters. It is also the first game for Capcom’s
CP System II arcade hardware. The fifth arcade installment,
Super Street Fighter II Turbo,
Super Street Fighter II X in Japan, brings back the faster gameplay of
Hyper Fighting, a new type of special techniques known as "Super Combos", and a hidden character,
Akuma.
Numerous home versions of the
Street Fighter II games have been produced following the release of the original game. The original version,
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, was ported to the
Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992. As of 2008, the original SNES game is still Capcom's best-selling game.
[13] It was followed by a Japanese-only port of
Street Fighter II Dash for the
PC Engine in 1993. That year,
Hyper Fighting received two different home versions as well: an SNES version titled
Street Fighter II Turbo and a
Sega Genesis counterpart titled
Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition, titled
Street Fighter II Dash Plusin Japan. The following game,
Super Street Fighter II, was also ported to the SNES and Genesis in 1994. Later that year,
Super Street Fighter II Turbo was released for the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer and also appeared in a PC version for Windows, released by the now defunct
GameTek.
In 1997, Capcom released the
Street Fighter Collection for the
PlayStation and
Sega Saturn. This is a compilation that includes
Super and
Super Turbo as well as
Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, titled
Street Fighter Zero 2′ (Dash) in Japan, an updated version of
Street Fighter Alpha 2. It was followed by
Street Fighter Collection 2, titled
Capcom Generation Vol. 5 in Japan, also released for the PlayStation and Saturn, which includes the original
Street Fighter II,
Champion Edition, and
Hyper Fighting. In 2000, Capcom released
Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service exclusively in Japan for the
Dreamcast. This version of the game features an online two-player versus mode. In 2003, Capcom released
Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition for the arcades in Japan and Asia to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the series. As the final arcade installment, the game is a hybrid version of
Super Turbo, which allows player to select between versions of characters from all five previous
Street Fighter II games.
Hyper was released in North America and the PAL region via its ports for the
PlayStation 2 and the
Xbox, released as part of the
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection along with
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. In 2005, the three games in
Street Fighter Collection 2 were included in
Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. A version of
Super Turbo, along with the original
Street Fighter, was later included in the 2007 compilation
Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2, also released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
Street Fighter II and
Super Street Fighter II are also available as downloadable games for select
cellular phone services.
An updated version of
Super Street Fighter II Turbo came to the
PlayStation Network and
Xbox Live Arcade services in November 2008.
[14] The game, titled
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, has fully redrawn artwork, including HD sprites 4.5x the original size, drawn by artists from
UDON. This is the first time the
Street Fighter characters have had new sprites, drawn by Capcom, since
Capcom vs. SNK 2 in 2001. The game has several changes which address character balancing issues, but also features the original arcade version gameplay so that players can choose between the two.
[15]
Street Fighter Alpha series (1995)[edit]
Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, titled
Street Fighter Zero in Japan and Asia, is the next game in the series. The game uses the same art style Capcom previously employed in
Darkstalkers and
X-Men: Children of the Atom with settings and character designs heavily influenced by
Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie.
Alpha expands on the Super Combo system from
Super Turbo by extending Super Combo meter into three levels, allowing for super combos to be stored up, and introducing Alpha Counters and Chain Combos, also from
Darkstalkers. The plot of
Alpha is set between the first two
Street Fighter games and fleshes out the backstories and grudges held by many of the classic
SFII characters.
[16] It features a playable roster of ten immediately playable characters and three unlockable fighters, comprising not only younger versions of established
Street Fighter II characters, but also characters from the original
Street Fighter and
Final Fight, such as
Adon and
Guy.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 features all-new stages, music, and endings for some characters, some of which overlap with those from the original
Alpha.
[17] It also discards the Chain Combo system in favor of Custom Combos, which requires a portion of the Super Combo meter to be used.
Alpha 2 retains all 13 characters from the original and adds five new characters to the roster along with hidden versions of returning characters.
Alpha 2 is followed by a slightly enhanced arcade release titled
Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha and was released in Japan and Brazil, ported to home consoles as
Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, and
Zero 2′ Dash in Japan.
The third and final
Alpha game,
Street Fighter Alpha 3, was released in 1998 following the release of the original
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact and
Street Fighter EX.
Alpha 3 introduces three selectable fighting styles and further expands the playable roster to 28 characters.
[18] Console versions of the three games, including the original
Alpha 2 and the aforementioned
Alpha 2 Gold, were released for the
PlayStation and
Sega Saturn, although versions of specific games in the series were also released for the
Game Boy Color,
Super Nintendo,
Dreamcast, and
Windows. The home console versions of
Alpha 3 further expands the character roster by adding the remaining "New Challengers" from
Super Street Fighter II. The Dreamcast version of the game was backported to the arcades in Japan under the title of
Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper. A version of
Upper, simply titled
Alpha 3 outside Japan, was released for the Game Boy Advance and added three characters from
Capcom vs. SNK 2. A
PlayStation Portable version titled
Alpha 3 MAX, or
'Zero 3 Double Upper in Japan, contains the added characters from the GBA version and Ingrid from
Capcom Fighting Jam.
Street Fighter EX series (1996)[edit]
In 1996, Capcom co-produced a 3D fighting game spinoff titled
Street Fighter EX with
Arika, a company founded by former
Street Fighter II planner
Akira Nishitani. It was developed for the
PlayStation-based ZN-1 hardware.
EX combined the established
Street Fighter cast with original characters created and owned by Arika. It was followed by an upgraded version titled
Street Fighter EX Plus in 1997, which expanded the character roster. A home version with additional features and characters,
Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, was released for the PlayStation during the same year.
A sequel was released in 1998, titled
Street Fighter EX2, developed for the ZN-2 hardware. Custom combos were reintroduced and the character roster was expanded upon even further. In 1999,
EX2 also received an upgraded version,
Street Fighter EX2 Plus. A port of
EX2 Plus was released for the PlayStation in 1999.
The third game in the series,
Street Fighter EX3, was released as a
launch title for the
PlayStation 2 in 2000. This game included a tag team system, a mode that let a single player fight up to three opponents simultaneously, and another mode that allowed players to give the new character, Ace, a selection of special and super moves after purchasing them with experience points. The cast included many characters from the previous game.
Some of the Arika-owned characters from the series were later featured in other games developed by the company. The
Namco-distributed arcade game
Fighting Layerfeatured
Allen Snider and
Blair Dame from the original
EX, while Skullomania would reappear in the PlayStation game
Fighter Maker and the PlayStation 2 music game
Technictix.
Capcom Crossover series (1996)[edit]
Capcom has also produced fighting games involving licensed characters from other companies and their own properties. In 1994, Capcom released the
Marvel-licensed fighting game
X-Men: Children of the Atom, which featured Akuma from
Super Turbo as a hidden character. It was followed by
Marvel Super Heroes in 1995, which featured Anita from
Night Warriors.
From 2003 to 2008, the
Versus series of Capcom fighting games saw no new releases, though Capcom and
Namco produced the crossover tactical role-playing game
Namco × Capcom for the
PlayStation 2exclusively in Japan in 2005. Ryu and Ken are also among the characters playable in 2012's
Project X Zone, a tactical role-playing game that draws characters from various
Sega, Namco-Bandai, and Capcom franchises.
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes, released on December 11, 2008, features characters from both
Tatsunoko Production and Capcom properties, including Street Fighter characters Ryu, Chun-Li, and Alex as well as characters like Ken the Eagle of
Gatchaman and Casshern of
Neo-Human Casshern on Tatsunoko's side. Initially released only in Japan, the game received an updated international release entitled
Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars on January 26, 2010 in response to fan demand.
Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds was released on February 15, 2011 and includes Akuma, Chun-Li, Crimson Viper, and Ryu. The game features completely new visuals and audio, three-on-three gameplay, and online play. The game was also intended to have downloadable content, but the content was disrupted due to an earthquake and tsunami in
Tōhoku and was released along with additional new content in a separate game titled
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Street Fighter X Tekken was released on March 6, 2012, featuring over 50 playable characters from both the
Street Fighter and
Tekken fighting franchises. While
Street Fighter X Tekken was developed by Capcom, Namco is currently developing their own crossover title,
Tekken X Street Fighter.
[19] Additionally, Akuma will make a guest appearance in
Tekken 7.
[20]
Street Fighter X Mega Man is a crossover platform game that was originally supposed to be a fan game developed by Seo Zong Hui, but Capcom distributed and released the game for the PC on December 17, 2012. Based on the classic
Mega Man games, the free title has players control
Mega Man as he battles against various
Street Fighter characters and obtain their techniques.
Ryu appears as a playable DLC character in the Nintendo fighting game
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, alongside fellow Capcom representative Mega Man. His DLC includes Suzaku Castle, a stage inspired by Ryu's stage from
Street Fighter II.
Street Fighter III series (1997)[edit]
Street Fighter III: New Generation made its debut in the arcades on the
CPS3 hardware in 1997.
[21] Street Fighter III discards most of the character roster from previous games, keeping only Ryu and Ken, introducing several new characters in their place. The most notable of these is the grappler
Alex, who was designed to be the new lead character of the game, and
Gill, who replaced
Bison as the game's main antagonist.
Street Fighter III introduced the "Super Arts" selection system and the ability to parry an opponent's attack.
[22]
Several months after
Street Fighter III: New Generation's release, it was followed by
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, which made adjustments to the gameplay, added two new characters, and featured the return of Akuma as a playable character.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, released in 1999 as the third and last iteration of
Street Fighter III, brings back
Chun-Li and adds four new characters.
The first two
Street Fighter III games were ported to the
Dreamcast as a compilation titled
Double Impact. Ports of
3rd Strike were released for the Dreamcast as a standalone game, then included in the compilation
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Gill also became a playable secret character in the console versions, although he can still be played on the arcade version by using Twelve's X.C.O.P.Y. super art. In 2010, Capcom announced
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Online Edition.
[23]
Street Fighter IV series (2008)[edit]
The original
Street Fighter IV game concept,
Street Fighter IV Flashback, never made it past the proposal stage.
[24] On October 17, 2007, more than eight years since the release of
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike for the arcades, Capcom unveiled
Street Fighter IV at a Capcom Gamers Day event in London. Conceived as a direct sequel to the early
Street Fighter II games (particularly
Super Street Fighter II Turbo),
Street Fighter IV features the return of the original twelve world warriors and recurring hidden character Akuma, along with four new characters (as well as a new
boss character) in a storyline chronologically set between
Street Fighter II and
Street Fighter III. The gameplay, while still 2D, features cel-shaded 3D graphics inspired by
Japanese sumi-e paintings. The Super Combo system, a
Street Fighter mainstay since
Super Turbo, returns along with new counter-attacking techniques called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attacks" in Japan), as well as new "Ultra Combo" moves, similar to the
Rage Gauge seen in games from
SNK Playmore.
The arcade version, which runs on the
Taito Type X2 hardware, was distributed in Japan on July 2008, with a limited release in North America and the United Kingdom in select arcades in August. A home version was released in North America and Europe in February 2009 on the
PlayStation 3 and
Xbox 360, and in July 2009 for
Windows PC. This features an expanded character roster, as well as all-new animated segments that show each character's backstory, and a training mode similar to the Expert Challenges in
Street Fighter EX. The cast includes six characters new to the
Street Fighter series. Yoshinori Ono had hinted that the only two
Street Fighter II characters absent from the game, Dee Jay and T. Hawk, could be available in the game at a later date. Instead, they were to be included in a whole new version of the game.
[25]
On September 28, 2009, Capcom announced
Super Street Fighter IV. The game includes ten additional characters including two characters new to the franchise: Korean taekwondo fighter Juri and Turkish oil wrestler Hakan. Capcom implemented character balance adjustments and added second Ultra moves for each character. The game features an improved online experience with new modes of play. The game was released on April 27,
[26] 2010 for the
PlayStation 3 and
Xbox 360 at a discounted price point. If a
Street Fighter IV savefile is detected on the system of play, two additional character colors (ink and sketch effect) are available.
[27]
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was released on December 16, 2010, containing all of the content from the console release, and featuring four additional characters: Yun and Yang from
Street Fighter III, as well as Evil Ryu and Oni, an alternate version of Ryu and Akuma, respectively.
[28] Seth Killian of Capcom said
Arcade Edition was to be the last update to the
IV series.
[29] On June 15, at
E3 2010, a portable conversion of
Super Street Fighter IV was confirmed for the
Nintendo 3DS.
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition features 3D stereoscopic technology, multiplayer, and all thirty-five characters from the original
Super Street Fighter IV release.
[30] At Evo 2011, Ono announced that a balance patch for
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition had been approved by Capcom. The patch was free of charge.
[31]
On July 14, 2013, a new update for
Street Fighter IV titled
Ultra Street Fighter IV was announced at the 2013
Evolution Championship Series. The new edition was released in 2014 as an arcade game, a
DLC add-on for existing console versions of
Super Street Fighter IV, and as a standalone game containing DLC from previous iterations. Along with various tweaks and additional modes and stages, the update adds five additional characters, consisting of
Rolento,
Elena,
Poison and
Hugo, who previously appeared in
Street Fighter x Tekken, plus an all-new character, Decapre.
[32] Many of the gameplay changes are based on feedback from fans and Capcom community employee Peter Rosas, best known in the fighting game tournament scene as
ComboFiend. On December 6, 2014, the game was confirmed to arrive on next generation consoles with a
PlayStation 4 version releasing in Spring 2015.
[33]
Street Fighter V (2016)[edit]
In 2011, former Capcom employee Seth Killian suggested that
Street Fighter V would arrive before 2019, saying "If I have anything to say about it, and I do, you will not have to wait ten years for
Street Fighter 5."
[34] In July 2013, Ono commented that while he desired to make a
Street Fighter V for an eighth-generation console, such as the
PlayStation 4 and
Xbox One, a next-generation game would require a large staff and a large budget. He also stated that making the game a free-to-play title was an option, though he was not fully open to it, and confirmed that the game was currently not in development.
[35] In June 2014, Ono refuted claims that
Street Fighter V would include a "pay to win option", stating that
Street Fighter V is still in the early planning stages.
[36]
On December 5, 2014, a teaser trailer for
Street Fighter V was unintentionally released by Capcom to the public before being taken down again. The trailer mentioned that the game would be exclusive to
PlayStation 4 and
PC,
[37] and will enable cross platform gameplay.
[38][39] The official announcement was made at Sony's PlayStation Experience event on December 6.
[40] It was released on February 16 2016.
[41]
Other games[edit]
Other media[edit]
Animation[edit]
- The first animation based on the Street Fighter franchise was an unofficial animation released in South Korea in 1992, titled simply Street Fighter. It follows the characters Soryong and Saeng as they travel into the world of Street Fighter to defeat M. Bison.
- An anime film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie by Group TAC was released theatrically in Japan in 1994. The English adaptation, produced by Manga Entertainment, was released on home video in 1995.
- Group TAC also produced an animated TV series Street Fighter II V, which first aired on Yomiuri TV in 1995, and a two-episode original video animation (OVA) series, Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie, which was released in 1999. English adaptations of both productions were produced by Manga Entertainment as well, though ADV Films did produce an early English adaptation of Street Fighter II V for the UK in the 90's.
- An American-produced animated television series based on the games, titled simply Street Fighter, was produced by InVision Entertainment and aired in North America between 1995 and 1997. The series focused on Guile as he leads a group of "Street Fighters" to battle against Bison and his minions.
- A second OVA based on Street Fighter Alpha, titled Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, was produced specifically for the English market by Studio A.P.P.P. in 2005.
- With the publication of Street Fighter II manga complete edition, a 26-minute educational animation film Street Fighter Yomigaeru Fujiwara-Kyou was also released in 2004. In it, Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and E.Honda travel back through time and learn about Japanese history. This film contains no fighting scenes and was released only in Japan.
- OVA Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind was released by Studio 4 °C in 2009. Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind is an animated movie directed by Jirō Kanai that was featured in a bonus disc included in the Collector's Edition of Street Fighter IV for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[42] The film adaptation was part of Capcom's multi-platform launch for 2008 that also launched video games and a potential TV series in 2008.[43]
- In Asia, a downloadable voucher for a Super Street Fighter IV movie featuring Juri was given in the Collector's Edition of the Xbox 360 version. The 35-minute feature serves as an origin story to Juri and a canonical precursor to the game. Although having been fully dubbed in English, the film was not released outside of Asia until its inclusion as part of the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector's Set in 2012.[44]
- There are four original animated trailers for Street Fighter IV that serve as prequels for its story.[citation needed]
Live-action[edit]
- An American-produced live-action film, titled simply Street Fighter, was released in 1994, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile as well as Kylie Minogue, this version's main character, opposite the late Raúl Juliá as General M. Bison. This film inspired an arcade game and console game both titled Street Fighter: The Movie. The film also inspired an American-produced animated TV series Street Fighter, which lasted two seasons with 13-episodes each from 1995 to 1997.
- In 2006, Hyde Park Entertainment and Capcom announced its intention to produce a film adaptation of the game series in a joint venture, with the storyline to focus on the Street Fighter character Chun-Li. Screenwriter Justin Marks was attached to write a script for the adaptation. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was released on February 27, 2009 starring Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li.
- Actor and filmmaker Joey Ansah co-directed Owen Trevor's 2010 live-action short film Street Fighter: Legacy, starring John Foo as Ryu and Christian Howard as Ken who co-wrote it with Ansah.[45][46] That same year, Capcom’s vice president of strategic planning and business development Christian Svensson has confirmed that there will be more Street Fighter films in development.[47]
- At the San Diego Comic Con 2012, Ansah and Howard announced they are working on a TV series Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist, which was released on Machinima's YouTube channel in May 2014.[48]
- At the San Diego Comic Con 2014, Ansah announced a second season titled Street Fighter: World Warrior for a late 2015 or early 2016 release date.[49]
- A Street Fighter web miniseries was announced to air on Machinima exclusively on go90 in March 2016 titled Street Fighter: Resurrection.[50][51]
Manga and manhua[edit]
- Masaomi Kanzaki's Street Fighter II manga was one of the few Street Fighter manga titles to be translated into English.
- Masahiko Nakahira did four different Street Fighter manga series: Cammy Gaiden (translated and released in English as Super Street Fighter II: Cammy by Viz Media), Street Fighter Zero (translated and released in English as Street Fighter Alpha), Street Fighter: Sakura Ganbaru!, and Street Fighter III: Ryu Final. Street Fighter Alpha, Sakura Ganbaru, and Street Fighter III: Ryu Final have all been released in English byUDON. Two characters created by Nakahira, Evil Ryu (introduced in Street Fighter Alpha)[52] and Karin Kanzuki (from Sakura Ganbaru), have been integrated into the Street Fighter video games.
- There is a broad selection of Street Fighter manhuas published in Hong Kong and Taiwan in booklet format. The first one, based on Street Fighter II, was released on August 2, 1991 by Jade Dynasty.[53]
- Malibu Comics launched a Street Fighter comic series in 1993, but Capcom did not like the adaptation, and the series was canceled after only three issues.[54]
- UDON was licensed by Capcom to produce an American comic book based on the Street Fighter franchise, in addition to the comic adaptations of Darkstalkers and Rival Schools. This series draws not only on the established Street Fighter canon, but also occasionally addresses various continuity retcons, and even draws from fanon and non-official sources as well. In 2005, UDON released Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge, the first Capcom series history and art book to be translated into English. Later, UDON continued from its original Street Fighter series (based on Street Fighter Alpha and Super Street Fighter II Turbo) with Street Fighter II and Street Fighter II: Turbo. Three separate Street Fighter Legends mini-series and a Street Fighter IV mini-series were also released.
- IDW announces a crossover between Street Fighter and G.I. Joe titled Street Fighter X GI Joe for February 2016.[55]
Card games[edit]
- In 2006, Sabertooth Games released a Street Fighter set for its Universal Fighting System (UFS) game along with a set for Soulcalibur III. This was not the gaming company's first release for UFS, that being abattle box for Penny Arcade. Later added licenses were based on SNK's King of Fighters and Samurai Shodown series. The first set for Street Fighter featured cards for Chun-Li, Dhalsim, Ken, Ryu, Sagat, and Zangief. A later expansion, Street Fighter: World Warriors, included the remaining characters from the original Street Fighter II arcade series: Blanka, Balrog, E. Honda, Guile, M. Bison, and Vega. Another set,Street Fighter: The Next Level, was released parallel with the SNK release, featuring the characters of Akuma, Fei Long, Dudley, and Cammy. A new expansion, Street Fighter: The Dark Path was released in 2007 along with the next Soulcalibur III set, Soul Arena, featuring a new version of Chun-Li and Evil Ryu, along with Adon, Charlie, Rose, Sakura, T.Hawk, and Twelve. A new set,Street Fighter: Extreme Rivals, which was also released in 2007, features Cody, Dee Jay, Ibuki, R. Mika, and a new version of Ken. That same year, Sabertooth Games released an exclusive battle pack featuring a battle between Ryu and Akuma; these two 60-card decks are fully compatible with the UFS and contain 36 unique cards.
- Another trading card game, the now-discontinued Epic Battles (released by Score Entertainment), also features Street Fighter characters, as well as characters from other fighting game franchises, such as Mortal Kombat.
Miscellaneous[edit]
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