A reader explains his 30 years of love for Street Fighter, with the lone exception of the Street Fighter: The Movie tie-in…
Very few fighting games have managed to earn my interest or have convinced me to buy a copy, however there is one that has always managed to impress me and has drawn my interest in the franchise.
This is the Street Fighter series and the reason I am a fan of this is because the very first game I played of this series isnt actually the first game but a very specific version of the second game. The second game was the first game that got me into Street Fighter and was actually bought for me as a Christmas present. This was of course Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition on the Sega Mega Drive.
The game offered a better selection of characters from the earlier versions of Street Fighter II, which were the four main bosses Balrog, Vega, Sagat and the main boss M. Bison. This was the first time you could play as bosses and this made this game so much fun. On top of the other characters you had the challenge of playing through the game with each character to see the endings, which kept the game interesting and ensured great playability.
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It also had some excellent modes like being able to learn special moves that each character had and how to do them. One gift I remember getting was a full guide book that would explain each characters strength, weakness, and how to perform each special move as well as each stage. I have forgotten the title of this book but it was huge and came out in the early 90s, which helped me get a lot better and helped me really enjoy this game.
The next version of Street Fighter II expanded with four more newer characters T. Hawk, Deejay, Cammy, and Fei Long. This also vastly increased the number of features in the game, like additional music, stages, and endings.
A few years later however there is one game in this franchise that did disappoint me and did let me down. Its well known that Street Fighter: The Movie for the PlayStation wasnt Capcoms greatest Street Fighter game and although it did have its problems it didnt do as bad as other fighting games released at the time.
The story in Street Fighter: The Movie is completely different to the one from the previous games before it. Some characters were in a different situation and their backgrounds were different. For example you had Chun-Li, Balrog, and E. Honda all in the same group; Dhalsim working for Bison and T. Hawk; Cammy working for Guile, as well as DJ and Zangief. In the games this never happened which is what I felt had let this game down as it contradicted the events from previous Street Fighter games. As well as the game lacking in some other things this is one title that did not do the series any justice.
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Fortunately, newer titles were developed and created which helped keep me a fan of this series. The Street Fighter Alpha games, all three of them, offered a vastly significant upgrade to the previous 2D games on the PlayStation 1 format. There were also newer characters which kept the games fresh and exciting and added great replayability, this was also fun to play with friends as well.
We were then given three more newer titles in the series which were three versions of Street Fighter III. Along with these three new games were newer characters, which demonstrated that the franchise would go from strength to strength. One good feature of Street Fighter III was the parrying feature which players could use to block attacks with specific timing. There were even special stages made for this, that the player could reach, to enjoy practicing this move.
Street Fighter IV was the first game to be in HD and offered online gameplay as well as rival story scenes with their own endings and some newer characters. Currently, Street Fighter V is released for the PlayStation 4 and PC and there is also a 30th Anniversary Edition which has nine of the 2D Street Fighter games, which is a great tribute to fans and which I have also bought. The 30th Anniversary also treats fans to a huge museum of music and art designs which is what fans really appreciate.
Street Fighter has even had crossover games with other popular fighting franchises, with Street Fighter X Tekken and Marvel Vs. Capcom demonstrating just how very expansive and popular it has been. It is for these reasons that I will always remain a Street Fighter fan and will enjoy more of these games coming out in the future.
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By reader gaz be rotten (gamertag)
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