STREET FIGHTER REVIEW

 

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: Arcade, TurboGrafix CD

Release Date: August 12, 1987

A VIDEO GAME REVIEW?!?!? HOLY SHIT THIS WAS UNEXPECTED!!!

Anyhow, it's good to be back doing my writings. Exams are over and now I can go back to doing my reports, poems, stories, and yes, VIDEO GAME REVIEWS!!! Pretty awesome, isn't it?

It's been a short while since my last game review, which was about Race Driver GRID. A fantastic simcade where you race for your team in all sorts of events. But after that review was done, my blood started to boil and seek some fresh meat to fight. I trained long and hard for a martial arts tournament organized by some Thai bloke with an eyepatch (who is not related by the eccentric Yakuza character Goro Majima) who wanted to test the might of the competitors who entered his tournament. The winner would end up becoming "King of the Hill" or "The World Warrior"... In the end, I did it! I won it all. Became the best of the best...

BUT THE JOURNEY TO GET THERE WAS A PAIN IN THE ASS!!!

This is "How Street Fighter functions and plays and exists I suppose" writing...

The game that started it all...

Brief Background

Capcom is a name in the gaming industry that needs no introduction. But for the sake of convenience: They are a Japanese company that has been making video games since the 1980s. Founded in 1979, the company has produced classics, such as: Street Fighter, Resident Evil, Mega Man, Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter and many more. They made games for the arcades, home consoles and home computers. Most notably the NES, SNES, SEGA Genesis, the Amiga line of computers, MS-DOS, and other consoles that I am too lazy to mention here. And Street Fighter is without a doubt their biggest franchise, going strong 35 years after its launch in 1987.

Gameplay

Street Fighter is a 1 on 1 fighting game, where the aim of the game is simple: Win the fight by reducing your opponent's health to 0%, or by chance, let the timer out and the player with most health wins the round. 
Each fight contains two rounds (three if a double K.O. occurs) and a timer that lasts 100 seconds. For some reason however, the timer doesn't really last for actual 100 seconds, but rather, lasts for 45 seconds at best. 

Once a credit or two is inserted into the coin slot, you have the opportunity to play the game versus the computer or a friend. The single player mode allows to select up to 2 (4 countries in some versions) where your journey begins. Japan, USA, China and UK are the stages where you'll be travelling and beat up assholes. There's a 5th country that's accessible once you clear out the main 4 places.

The player takes control of tw martial artists who utilize the same fighting style of Ansatsuken, Ryu & Ken. Left player controls Ryu, and Right player controls Ken. They are controlled with a joystick and attack buttons. Earlier versions of the game had 2 attack buttons (for punching and kicking), which depending on how hard they were hit, would produce and attack that's either light or heavy. The updated version of the game would utilize 6 attack buttons (3 for punching and 3 for kicking). This updated version would become the basis for future Street Fighter games.

On top of having normal attacks, both Ryu & Ken have 3 special moves they can do during a fight:

• "Psycho Fire" (波動拳, Hadōken, "Wave Motion Fist")
• "Dragon Punch" (昇龍拳, Shoryūken, "Rising Dragon Fist")
• "Hurricane Kick" (竜巻旋風脚, Tatsumaki Senpū Kyaku, "Tornado Whirlwind Leg")

The specials do a lot of damage and can sometimes end the fight quickly. So you better start practicing them if you want to win...

5 locations, with each having 2 opponents to fight. Seems like a fair deal...

The golden boys of Street Fighter: Ryu and Ken

Forgot to mention: Should you lose a fight, you will have 10 seconds to insert more credits to continue. Well? START INSERTING MONEY!!!

Story

The game could've been bland if story wasn't included. But it's here, and it's rather straightforward.

Ryu, a 23 year old Japanese martial arts warrior, upon the instruction of his master, enters the First World Warrior tournament to test his skill. During his travels, he enters the fights and wins them all too easily. Among Ryu's list of victims include Gen, a Chinese martial arts expert who is a former assassin who suffers from Leukemia; Birdie, a former pro wrestler turned thug, and Adon, a Muay Thai fighter and a former disciple of the organizer of the tournament. The organizer, Sagat, is regarded as the King of Muay Thai. A man who lost his eye during a fight, and killed his opponent as a result of that, now has organized the tournament to see who can best him.

Kean meanwhile, has no role in the story, but is instead participating in the US Martial Arts tournament, and wins it.

The opponents can be humble and full of wisdom...

Or taunting to make you feel pissed off about your loss.

Closing remarks and things that I forgot to mention

One of the thing I forgot to say is that the game's controls are sluggish and clunky. And that special moves can kill the momentum of the game at any given moment. On top of that, the game's music (the arcade version at least) is beyond terrible. Makes your ears bleed.
But at the end of the day, the game is important not just for Capcom itself, but for gaming in general. As this game was actually praised for its graphics and control scheme (not the movement, but the overlay of the 6 attack buttons was praised). Alongside gaming importance, it's very important to the lore of this franchise, as it is the origin story of many characters that would appear in future titles.
Ryu and Ken would end up becoming the series' poster children (until a certain someone would steal their spotlight) and even beyond that.
The game may have been rough, but remember, diamonds are rough as well. Yet, we see an important value in them. That's how the first Street Fighter is, a rough diamond.

Images and Videos

Video uploaded by: Game Archive - No Commentary Gameplay

Tomorrow is a report from matchweek 24. As for the Street Fighter reviews, they will be happening. So this is just the beginning of my journey on becoming "The World Warrior"...

Thanks for reading
Presented by

Lord Slayer