Since its release in arcades in 1991 and on consoles in 1992,Street Fighter IIhas been one of the most popular games in history, grossing more than $10 billion and launching a franchise that’s still going to this day. For a long time, it was the best-selling fighting game ever, finally beingovertaken bySuper Smash Brothers: Ultimatein 2019.
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Since the game is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, it’s the perfect time to look back on the title that started it all. Yes, it was preceded by 1987’sStreet Fighter, but that game only allowed players to control Ryu and Ken and has mostly been forgotten by gamers.Street Fighter IIhas cemented its place in history, though there are some things even die-hard fans might not remember. Here are just a few cool tidbits you may not have known about the game that took your allowance money all those years ago.
10The Game Isn’t Called What You Think It Is
Most people know the namesStreet Fighter IIandStreet Fighter II: Turbo, but neither of those is the original title. The arcade version was calledStreet Fighter II: The World Warrior.This was followed byStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition, which allowed players to control the four bosses (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison) as playable characters. The third official title in the series wasStreet Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting,featuring altered color palettes and increased speed.
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For the Super Famicom and Super NES, the gamewas incredibly popular, selling over six million copies.Hyper Fightingsold over four million units and was included in the 2017SNES Classic. There have been many sequels and alternate versions, with names likeSpecial Champion Edition, Revival, HD Remix,andUltra.Without going too deep down the rabbit hole, just know that the most common versions wereStreet Fighter II: The World WarriorandStreet Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting.
9Character Names Varied Based On Location
Players in different countries knew the bosses ofStreet Fighter IIby different monikers. In the Japanese original, Balrog was the Spanish fighter with claws, known as Vega in America. In Japan, Vega is the final boss,known stateside as M. Bison. The reason for these changes was because the boxer, known in the U.S. as Balrog, was known in Japan as M. Bison.
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“M. Bison” is a play on the name of boxerMike Tyson, or “Mike Bison.” When the game was localized for the American market, Capcomwished to avoid a lawsuitfrom the famous fighter, so they shuffled the names, which is why the main villain ofStreet Fighter IIhas an unexplained first initial.
8It Was The First Game To Feature Combos
When developers were creatingStreet Fighter II, one of their goals was to make it easier for players to pull off each character’s special moves.However, doing so had unintended consequences.
Whenever a player attacks, following that attack, there are “recovery frames,” and during this time, they’re frozen, giving the opponent a chance to counter. Similarly, when a player is hit, there are “flinch frames” where they are momentarily stunned. By making it easier to pull off special moves, the programmers accidentally made the recovery time for these moves shorter than the opponent’s flinch time. The result is that players could string together these moves into combos.
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Rather than fixing this problem, they left it in, and it became a fighting game staple. Franchises likeTekkenandMortal Kombatcopied the technique, and combos are still used today, showing howStreet Fighter IIwas truly ahead of its time.
7It Is Impossible To Defeat Sheng Long
When a player loses a fight, they are treated to a “win quote,” where the opposing fighter taunts them. In the American version, one of Ryu’s win quotes is: “You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance.” This led many players to believe there was a secret character named Sheng Long that could be unlocked, and there was evenan article inElectronic Gaming Monthlyoffering a complicated method for unlocking Sheng Long.
Alas, it was all a lie. The quote about Sheng Long wasactually a translation error, due to the fact that “Sheng long” is the Chinese version of “Shou Ryuu,” part of Ryu’s “Shou Ryuu Ken,” or “Rising Dragon Fist” technique. It was supposed to say, “If you cannot overcome the Rising Dragon Punch, you cannot win!” TheEGMarticle was an April Fool’s Day hoax, and gamers trying to unlock Sheng Long were ultimately wasting their time.
6The Characters Have Extensive Backstories
Fighting games sometimes get a bad rap for having no story, butStreet Fighter IIhas depth many people don’t realize. Did you know Ryu’s blood type is O? That Guile’s birthday is December 23rd? That Ken’s skills have deteriorated over the last year because he’s spent too much time on the beach with his girlfriend?
It’s all written in the game’sSNES instruction manual, where the characters are given deep histories and specific physical traits. Dhalsim is the oldest (born 1956), while Chun Li (born 3-1-68) is the youngest. Of course, thatchanged withStreet Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, when Balrog (born 9-4-68) became the youngest playable fighter. The original entry for Ryu even contains a reference to the mysterious Sheng Long, though this detail was taken out forHyper Fighting.
5The Movie Was A Hit
Due to the game’s popularity, Universal Pictures greenlight a film version. In 1994,Street Fighterintroduced audiences toJean-Claude Van Dammeas Guile,Ming-Na Wenas Chun Li, andKylie Minogueas themuch-maligned Cammy. It was not a critical darling,registering a 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but madealmost $100 millionat the worldwide box office.Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Liwas released in 2009 and bottomed out at5% on Rotten Tomatoeson its way to a$12 million worldwide gross.
4There Is A Random Element To Fights
One rare occurrence is when two players input their commands at the exact same instant.According to designer Akira Nishitani, he considered it unfair to give priority to one player if the button presses were simultaneous. The solution was to introduce a random element: if two players try to throw one another at the same time, each will have a 50% chance of being successful. For some attacks, such as Blanca’s Bush Buster, this makes them unblockable half the time, something top gamers used as an important strategy.
3They Almost Ran Out Of Memory Designing Chun-Li’s Tights
2Evenly-Matched Players Can Go For A Long Time
The inclusion of Chun-Li as the franchise’s first playable female is commendable, thoughher outfit has led to controversy.According to designer Akira Yusada, she was originally to be wearing pants, but they didn’t look right, so stockings were added.Nishitani remembers it differently, stating they “ended up respriting them about 3 times,” nearly missing the deadline and running out of memory. In the end, other characters had to be altered to fit her in, and the result was a legacy of cosplay andstirred awakenings in young players.
In the game’s best-of-three format, if the players trade victories, the third fight determines the winner. However, if both players have an equal amount of vitality when the timer runs out, or knock one another out simultaneously, this third fight is a draw. There will then be an additional round fought in a sudden-death format. If they tie again? Yet another sudden-death fight. This meantskilled playerscould repeatedly draw, and matches could last up to 10 rounds (reduced to four in later releases). After that, the CPU automatically won, or both human players lost.
1The Two Guys From The Intro Have Names
The game opens with two men fighting in a crowd, gentlemen we’ve never seen before and never see again. Who are these two, and why are they fighting?Two decades later, fans finally received some answers. One is Scott, who dislikes caterpillars, and the other is Max, who likes “sparkly things.” Alas, we may never know the circumstances that brought them to blows.
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