Street Fighter


Street Fighter, commonly abbreviated as SF or スト, is a fighting video game franchise developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by five other main series games, various spin-offs and crossovers, and numerous appearances in various other media. Its best-selling 1991 release Street Fighter II is credited with establishing many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre.
Street Fighter is one of highest-grossing video game franchises of all time and serves as one of Capcom's flagship series with total sales of 44 million units worldwide as of December 31, 2019.

History

Video games

''Street Fighter'' (1987)

Street Fighter, designed by Takashi Nishiyama and Hiroshi Matsumoto, debuted in arcades in 1987. In this game, the player plays as martial artist Ryu, who competes in a worldwide martial arts tournament spanning five countries and 10 opponents. A second player can join in and plays as Ryu's American rival, Ken. The player can perform three punch and kick attacks, each varying in speed and strength, and three special attacks: the Hadouken, Shoryuken, and Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, performed by executing special button combinations.
Street Fighter was ported to many popular home computer systems of the time, like the PC. In 1987, it was released on the NEC Avenue TurboGrafx-CD console as Fighting Street. Street Fighter was later included in for the PlayStation Portable, and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Most recently, a port was included in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection for Eighth Generation consoles and Windows.

''Street Fighter II'' (1991)

' released in 1991 following an unsuccessful attempt to brand the 1989 beat 'em up game Final Fight as the Street Fighter sequel. It was one of the earliest arcade games for Capcom's CP System hardware and was designed by Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda, who also made Final Fight and Forgotten Worlds.
Street Fighter II was the first one-on-one fighting game to give players a choice from a variety of player characters with different moves, allowing for more varied matches. 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. In the single-player mode, the player 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 original Japanese version of Street Fighter II introduced an African-American boxer boss character that shared the physical characteristics and likeness of real-life boxer Mike Tyson. To avoid a likeness infringement lawsuit, Capcom rotated the names of three of the boss characters for international versions of the game. The final boss, named Vega in the Japanese version, was given the M. Bison name, the talon-wielding Spanish warrior, named Balrog in the Japanese version, was renamed Vega, and the boxer became Balrog.
Street Fighter II eclipsed its predecessor in popularity, eventually turning Street Fighter into a multimedia franchise. The release of the game had an unexpected impact on gaming and was the beginning of a massive phenomenon. Various versions of the game grossed over $10 billion in inflation-adjusted revenue, mostly from arcades, as well as from console ports which sold more than 14 million cartridges for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Sega Genesis/Mega Drive.
The first official update to the series was ', pronounced Street Fighter II Dash in Japan, as noted by the prime notation on the logo. In this game, players can play as the four computer-controlled boss characters and two players can choose the same character, leaving one character with an alternate color pattern. The game also features slightly improved graphics, including differently colored backgrounds and refined gameplay. A second upgrade, ', 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 NES in 1992., the original Super NES game is still Capcom's best-selling game. 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: a Super NES version, Street Fighter II Turbo, and Genesis counterpart, Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition. The following game, Super Street Fighter II, was also ported to the Super NES and Genesis in 1994. That same 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, an updated version of Street Fighter Alpha 2. It was followed by Street Fighter Collection 2, 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 2008. The game, 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.
' is an updated version of 1994's Super Street Fighter II Turbo for the Nintendo Switch. The game features two graphical styles—classic pixel art and updated high-definition art. New gameplay mechanics and modes have been introduced and tweaks have been made to the game's balance. This game also featured two more characters, who were classic alternate evil form of the classic characters Ryu and Ken, Evil Ryu and Violent Ken, while Akuma is now a regular playable character.

''Street Fighter Alpha'' (1995)

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, is the next game in the series. The game uses the same character's designs Capcom previously employed in Darkstalkers and , with settings and character designs heavily influenced by '. 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 Street Fighter II characters. It features a playable roster of ten immediately playable characters and three unlockable fighters, comprising not only younger versions of established 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. 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, Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha, 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 ' and Street Fighter EX. Alpha 3 introduces three selectable fighting styles and further expands the playable roster to 28 characters. 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 NES, 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 as Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper. A version of Upper, 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, 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'' (1996)

In 1996, Capcom co-produced a 3D fighting game Street Fighter EX with Arika, a company founded by 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, 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, 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 game 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 Layer featured Allen Snider and Blair Dame from the original EX, while Skullomania would reappear in the PlayStation game Fighter Maker. A spiritual successor to Fighting Layer, featuring an initial roster consisting entirely of Arika-owned EX characters, Fighting EX Layer, was released in 2018.

Crossover series (1996)

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 ', 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.
Capcom would release a third Marvel-licensed game, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, in 1996, a full-fledged crossover between characters from X-Men and the Street Fighter Alpha games that featured a two-on-two tag team-based system. It was followed by Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter in 1997, which expanded the roster to include characters from Marvel Super Heroes; ' in 1998, which featured not only Street Fighter characters, but also characters from other Capcom properties; and ' in 2000, which was produced from the Dreamcast-based NAOMI hardware.
Capcom also produced a series of similar crossover fighting games with rival fighting game developer SNK Playmore. The games, produced by Capcom, include ' in 2000, which features characters primarily from the Street Fighter and King of Fighters series. It was followed by a minor upgrade, Capcom vs. SNK Pro, and a sequel, Capcom vs. SNK 2, both released in 2001. All three games were produced for the NAOMI hardware as well. The SNK-produced fighting games of this crossover include the Dimps-developed portable fighting game ' for the Neo Geo Pocket Color in 1999 and ' for the Neo Geo in 2003.
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 2 exclusively 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.
', released in 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, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, in 2010 in response to fan demand.
' was released in 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, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.
Street Fighter X Tekken was released in 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 gzme, Tekken X Street Fighter. Additionally, Akuma made a guest appearance in Tekken 7.
Street Fighter X Mega Man is an all-star platform game that was originally supposed to be a fan game developed by Seow Zong Hui, but Capcom distributed and released the game for the PC in 2012. Based on the classic Mega Man games, the free game has players control Mega Man as he battles against various Street Fighter characters and obtain their techniques.
was released in 2017. Infinite features two-on-two fights, as opposed to the three-on-three format used in its preceding games. The series' traditional character assists have been removed; instead, the game incorporates a tag-based combo system, which allows players to instantly switch between their two characters to form continuous combos. It also introduces a new gameplay mechanic in the form of the Infinity Stones, which temporarily bestow players with unique abilities and stat boosts depending on the type of stone selected.
Beyond Street Fighter, Capcom franchises have had guest appearances in the 2014 Nintendo crossover-fighting games Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with protagonist Ryu appearing alongside fellow Capcom representative Mega Man. The Street Fighter content was released as extra in-game downloadable content in 2015 and includes Ryu and Suzaku Castle, a stage inspired by Ryu's stage from the Street Fighter II series. Ryu returned in the following game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with Ken joining the roster as his Echo Fighter.

''Street Fighter III'' (1997)

Street Fighter III: New Generation made its debut in the arcades on the CPS3 hardware in 1997. 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.
Several months after Street Fighter III: New Generations release, it was followed by ', which made adjustments to the gameplay, added two new characters, and featured the return of Akuma as a playable character. , 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, 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. In 2010, Capcom announced Street Fighter III Third Strike: Online Edition''.

''Street Fighter IV'' (2008)

The original Street Fighter IV game concept, Street Fighter IV Flashback, never made it past the proposal stage. In 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, Street Fighter IV features the return of the original twelve world warriors and recurring hidden character Akuma, along with four new characters 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", 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 in 2008, with a limited release in North America and the United Kingdom. A home version was released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and 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.
Super Street Fighter IV includes ten additional characters including two characters new to the franchise: Juri and 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 in 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at a discounted price point. A portable conversion of Super Street Fighter IV for the Nintendo 3DS, , features 3D stereoscopic technology, multiplayer, and all 35 characters from the original Super Street Fighter IV release. Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was released in 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.
A new update for Street Fighter IV, Ultra Street Fighter IV, 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. The game arrived on next generation consoles with a PlayStation 4 version releasing in 2015.

''Street Fighter V'' (2016)

Street Fighter V was released exclusive to the PlayStation 4 and PC, enabling cross platform gameplay, in 2016. In 2018, the game received a major update, and in 2019, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition was released as downloadable content.

Other games

Various other games based on the Street Fighter franchise have been produced.

Animation

  1. Super Street Fighter II Cammy Gaiden - A manga revolving around Cammy in seven chapters. Originally published in six parts in Japan's Shonen Sunday comic anthology in 1994. Later the same year the six parts were compiled into one volume and in 1997 the compilation was first published in English by Viz Communications as Super Street Fighter II: Cammy. The seventh chapter was printed in September 1994 as a bonus supplement in Takayuki Sakai's comic adaptation of The Animated Movie as Gekijouyou Animation Street Fighter II, but was never officially translated.
  2. Street Fighter III: Ryu Final - A manga adaption to the Street Fighter III series in two volumes. In 2008, a translated version was released by UDON.
  3. ' - The story follows Sakura Kasugano in her quest to become a street fighter and meet Ryu. It has two volumes.
  4. Street Fighter Zero - A manga about the Street Fighter Alpha series. Translated and released in English as Street Fighter Alpha.
The main games have introduced a varied cast of around seventy characters into video game lore, plus around another twenty in spin-off games. The games' playable characters originate from different countries around the world, each with a unique fighting style.

Reception

Achievements

Since the release of the first Street Fighter game in August 1987, the series had total home software sales of 35 million units by 2014, and 44million units as of 2019, in addition to arcade cabinet sales of over 500,000 units generating more than $1 billion in revenue in video game arcade cabinet sales, qualifying it for the list of best-selling video game franchises. Street Fighter has remained Capcom's second-biggest franchise behind Resident Evil as of 2014, and is currently Capcom's third-best-selling software franchise behind Resident Evil and Monster Hunter.
The best-selling game in the series was Street Fighter II. All versions of the game having grossed over $10 billion in total revenue, mostly from arcades, as well as from the video game console ports which include more than 14 million cartridges sold for the Super NES and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis platforms., Street Fighter II is one of the world's top three highest-grossing video games of all time from Japan, after Taito's Space Invaders and Namco's Pac-Man.

Commercial performance

eSports competitors

, known as "Daigo" or "The Beast" in the West and "Umehara" or "Ume" in Japan, is the world's most famous Street Fighter player and is often considered its greatest. He currently holds a world record of "the most successful player in major tournaments of Street Fighter" in the Guinness World Records.
"Evo Moment 37", also known as the "Daigo Parry", refers to a portion of a semi-final match held at Evolution Championship Series 2004 between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. During this match, Umehara made an unexpected comeback by parrying 15 consecutive hits of Wong's "Super Art" move while having only one pixel of vitality. Umehara subsequently won the match. "Evo Moment #37" is frequently described as the most iconic and memorable moment in the history of competitive video gaming. Being at one point the most-watched competitive gaming moment of all time, it has been compared to sports moments such as Babe Ruth's called shot and the Miracle on Ice.
Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi is currently ranked as the #1 Street Fighter V eSports player in the world per SRK Data eSports player rankings. Hailing from Japan, he is a three time EVO champion and generally recognized one of the best fighters that ever played the game.
Mike "Brolylegs" Begum is also a well known "disabled" player who has been ranked as high as 378 in the world and has been featured on ESPN E:60 for his incredible ability to play and win while operating the game controller with only his mouth.