50 Fun Facts About Street Fighter

In which year did the original Street Fighter arrive in arcades?

Street Fighter reached arcades in 1987; director Takashi Nishiyama, who had made Kung-Fu Master at Irem, turned that game's boss fights into a one-on-one format.

The deluxe cabinet of the first Street Fighter replaced buttons with what?

Two pneumatic pressure pads, one for punch and one for kick, read how hard players hit them; players hurt themselves and broke the machines, so a six-button version was made instead.

Under what title was the original Street Fighter ported to the TurboGrafx-CD by Hudson Soft?

Fighting Street was the 1988 PC Engine CD-ROM port published by Hudson Soft, one of the first CD-ROM console games; it was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2009.

Who is the sole boss fight of the original Street Fighter?

Sagat, the eyepatched Muay Thai champion, waits at the end of the world tour as the final opponent; his chest scar, dealt by a Shoryuken, appears from Street Fighter II onward.

Ryu's creator Takashi Nishiyama drew inspiration from which real martial artist?

Mas Oyama, the Korean-born founder of Kyokushin karate, was the model for Ryu's full-contact style; Ryu later spawned the darker variants Evil Ryu and, in Street Fighter V, Kage.

Why was Ken given the surname 'Masters'?

To dodge Mattel's Ken doll trademark, Hasbro's 1993 G.I. Joe Street Fighter II toy line billed him as Ken Masters, and the surname later became canon in the games.

Which Street Fighter II fighter's home stage features a row of elephants?

Dhalsim's stage is set in India, with decorated elephants swaying in the background of the temple-like arena; the yoga master's stretching limbs and fire breath set him apart from the cast.

How many playable characters did the original Street Fighter II: The World Warrior have?

Eight fighters were selectable, each with a home country and stage; the four CPU-only Grand Masters became playable in 1992's Champion Edition, which also added mirror matches.

Street Fighter II's combo mechanic was originally what?

An accident found during a bug check became the combo system: producer Noritaka Funamizu noticed it while testing the car-smashing bonus stage, the timing was made comfortable, and it shipped as a feature.

Roughly how many SNES cartridges of Street Fighter II sold, Capcom's best-selling single game for 20 years?

The SNES port sold 6.3 million cartridges worldwide, the best-selling third-party game on the console and Capcom's best-selling single title for two decades.

The boxer among Street Fighter II's four bosses was designed as a pastiche of whom?

Mike Tyson was the model: the boxer's Japanese name, M. Bison, nods to him, which is why the three boss names were rotated for the international release.

In Japan's Street Fighter II, the claw-wielding Spanish fighter known internationally as Vega is called what?

The dictator known as M. Bison overseas is Vega in Japan; the swap kept the Tyson-alike from being called Bison in the West.

What was the original Japanese name of Guile's fallen friend, renamed Charlie for the West?

Nash was the Japanese name; Western localisation called him Charlie from Guile's Street Fighter II ending onward, he became playable in Street Fighter Alpha, and Street Fighter V restored the Nash name.

Chun-Li works for which organisation?

Interpol is her employer: Chun-Li is an investigator pursuing Shadaloo over her father's death; her name means "beautiful spring".

Which country does the maraca-shaking kickboxer Dee Jay come from?

Jamaica is Dee Jay's home; the musician-kickboxer was designed by Capcom USA's James Goddard, a rarity for a series whose cast was otherwise created in Japan.

Guile's hairstyle is based on characters from which manga?

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure characters Rudol von Stroheim and Jean-Pierre Polnareff supplied the flat-top look; in Street Fighter II Guile has only two special moves, Sonic Boom and Flash Kick.

In his Street Fighter II ending, Blanka's mother reveals his real name to be what?

Jimmy is the name his mother uses when she recognises him in Blanka's Street Fighter II ending; the green-skinned fighter had survived a plane crash in the Brazilian jungle as a child.

Which country does the Street Fighter newcomer T. Hawk fight for?

Mexico is T. Hawk's homeland: the towering Thunderfoot warrior fights to reclaim his people's land from Shadaloo.

Zangief's placeholder name during development was what?

Vodka Gobalsky was the placeholder; the final name came from the real Soviet wrestler Victor Zangiev, and his in-game nickname is the Red Cyclone.

Besides being a sumo wrestler, what business does E. Honda run?

A public bathhouse, the sento that doubles as his Street Fighter II stage, is E. Honda's business; he and Ryu are the two Japanese representatives in the original World Warrior roster.

M. Bison's evil energy is called what, in contrast to Ryu and Ken's Hadou?

His crime syndicate Shadaloo has been spelled Shadoloo, Shadowloo and Shadowlaw in various releases.

Which magazine's 1992 April Fools' article launched the Sheng Long hoax?

Electronic Gaming Monthly ran the hoax in its April 1992 issue, building on Ryu's mistranslated win quote "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance"; publications worldwide reprinted it as fact.

Which secret character, linked to the Sheng Long hoax, debuted in Super Street Fighter II Turbo?

Akuma, known as Gouki in Japan, is the younger brother of the master who trained the series' two original heroes; he debuted as Super Turbo's hidden final boss in 1994 and later guest-starred in Tekken 7.

Cammy debuted in which 1993 release?

Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers added Cammy alongside Fei Long, Dee Jay and T. Hawk in 1993; Noritaka Funamizu wanted a second female character besides Chun-Li.

Street Fighter Alpha (1995) serves as what in the series timeline?

A prequel to II: Alpha sits between the first game and Street Fighter II, featuring younger versions of the cast plus Guy and Sodom from Capcom's earlier beat-'em-up, and introduced the spoof character Dan.

Street Fighter III (1997) initially discarded every previous character except which two?

Ryu and Ken were the only holdovers in 1997's New Generation; the new roster was led by Alex, and a new antagonist, Gill, replaced M. Bison.

Which defensive mechanic was Street Fighter III's headline addition?

Parrying, called Blocking in Japan, deflects an attack with no damage when you tap toward or down at the exact moment of impact.

In Evo Moment #37, how many straight hits of Justin Wong's Chun-Li Super Art did Daigo parry?

15 hits: Daigo parried every strike of the Houyoku-sen with a sliver of health left, then finished Wong; it happened at Evo 2004 in Pomona, California, before Daigo lost the Grand Final to Kenji "KO" Obata.

Street Fighter IV's Focus Attack is performed by pressing which two buttons together?

Medium punch and medium kick together trigger the Focus Attack, called the Saving Attack in Japan; it absorbs one hit and, if held long enough, crumples the opponent.

Which fan-requested character, born of the Sheng Long legend, is a secret boss in Street Fighter IV?

Gouken, the master who trained the series' two original heroes, was finally made real after years of Sheng Long rumours; he appears as a hidden boss after beating Seth under special conditions, then became playable.

Street Fighter V (2016) launched as a console exclusive for which platform?

PlayStation 4 and Windows were the only platforms, under a Sony partnership; built in Unreal Engine 4, it added the V-Gauge with V-Skills, V-Reversals and V-Triggers, and later V-Shifts.

What was Street Fighter V's free cinematic story expansion, released in mid-2016, called?

A Shadow Falls arrived as a free cinematic story update in mid-2016, months after launch; it pits the cast against Shadaloo's Black Moons satellites and ends with Bison's defeat.

Street Fighter 6's main new mechanic is called what?

The Drive Gauge powers Drive Impacts, Parries and Rushes; empty it and your fighter enters Burnout, taking chip damage on block. The game also added live tournament-style commentary.

Street Fighter 6's simplified four-button control scheme is called what?

Modern maps specials to a single button plus a direction and trims the layout to four attack buttons; Classic keeps six buttons, while the offline-only Dynamic scheme picks moves automatically.

Which fighter appears on the cover of Street Fighter 6?

Luke, the young American brawler introduced as Street Fighter V's last DLC fighter, fronts the cover; the game shipped worldwide on June 2, 2023, with a Japanese arcade version following that December.

Which actor played M. Bison in the 1994 Street Fighter film, his final theatrical role?

Raul Julia, already ill with cancer, took the role because his children loved the game; he died in October 1994, two months before release, and the film is dedicated to him.

Which pop star played Cammy in the 1994 Street Fighter movie?

Kylie Minogue played Cammy, a lieutenant in the Allied Nations force; the $35 million film grossed about $99 million and became a cult classic despite its critical mauling.

Jean-Claude Van Damme played which character in the 1994 film?

Colonel Guile, leading Allied Nations forces against Bison's Shadaloo City, was Jean-Claude Van Damme's role; the film recasts the two young heroes as con-men recruited to infiltrate the city.

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (1994) opens with which fight?

Ryu vs Sagat opens the film in a night-time downpour, with Ryu scarring Sagat's chest via a Shoryuken; the same studio, Group TAC, later made the looser TV series Street Fighter II V.

Who composed the soundtrack of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior?

Yoko Shimomura wrote most of Street Fighter II's stage themes before leaving Capcom for Square in 1993, where she went on to score Kingdom Hearts.

Street Fighter II ran on which arcade system board?

CP System, Capcom's 1988 arcade board, hosted Street Fighter II in 1991; Super Street Fighter II went on to be the first game on the follow-up CP System II hardware in 1993.

Which earlier Capcom beat-'em-up had Street Fighter II's designers Okamoto and Yasuda worked on?

Final Fight (1989), originally titled Street Fighter '89, was produced by Yoshiki Okamoto with Akira Yasuda on design; its success in the US persuaded Capcom to make fighting games a priority.

Roughly how many arcade cabinets of Street Fighter II were sold worldwide?

200,000 arcade cabinets is the usual worldwide estimate, making it one of the best-selling arcade games ever; across all versions the game is estimated to have grossed about $10 billion, mostly from arcades.

What was the estimated development budget of Street Fighter II?

Development took about two years and 35 to 40 people, with Noritaka Funamizu producing.

How many rounds could a match last in the original Street Fighter II before Champion Edition cut it?

Ten rounds was the ceiling in The World Warrior, since draws extended a match; Champion Edition trimmed the maximum and made the four bosses playable.

In Street Fighter II, M. Bison's Shadaloo base is a temple in which country?

Thailand hosts Bison's Street Fighter II stage, a temple at his Shadaloo base; the lore has him staging a Second World Fighting Tournament to lure out Ryu.

Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting was Capcom's answer to what?

Unauthorised 'Rainbow Edition' cabinet hacks, bootleg Champion Edition boards with mid-air fireballs and instant character switches, spread through arcades in 1992; Hyper Fighting's faster official speed was Capcom's answer.

Street Fighter II was the first game released on an SNES cartridge of what size?

16 megabits made it the first Super NES cartridge of that size; the Super Famicom version came out in Japan on June 10, 1992, months before the West.

Which publisher released the flawed European Amiga, ST and Spectrum ports of Street Fighter II?

U.S. Gold published the Amiga, Atari ST, Spectrum and Commodore 64 ports, developed by Creative Materials; the one- or two-button joysticks of those machines meant the six-button controls were lost.

How did the Game Boy version, with only two inputs, decide whether a punch or kick was weak or strong?

By how long you held the press: a tap gave a weak attack and a longer hold a strong one on the Game Boy's two buttons; its graphics were based on Super Street Fighter II in 1995.