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Street Fighter (ストリートファイター, Sutorīto Faitā) is a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the inaugural game in the Street Fighter series. While it did not achieve the same popularity as its sequels (particularly Street Fighter II) when it was first released, the original Street Fighter introduced some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as six attack buttons (only found on some versions of the game) and special command based techniques. Character art was drawn by Bengus.

Gameplay[]

The original Street Fighter features a cast of twelve fighters: two playable characters and ten CPU-controlled opponents.

The player takes control of a Japanese martial artist named Ryu, who competes in an international martial arts tournament to prove his strength. The second player takes control of Ryu's former training partner and rival Ken Masters, who challenges Ryu in the game's 2-player matches. Normally the player takes control of Ryu in the single-player mode, however if the player controlling Ken defeats Ryu in a 2-player match, then the winning player will play the remainder of the game as Ken. The differences between the characters are mainly aesthetic, as both of them have the same moves and techniques.

Unlike subsequent Street Fighter games, the player cannot choose his or her own character. Instead, the first player is assigned to play as Ryu, while a second player can join in and play as Ken in competitive matches. The player can perform all three of Ryu and Ken's signature special moves, but the timing is very difficult. Also unlike later games, doing 1 or 3 of these moves could easily defeat an opponent in a matter of seconds.

The single-player mode consists of a series of battles against ten opponents from five different nations. At the beginning of the game, the player can choose the country where their first match will take place, with available choices of Japan or the United States, as well as China or England, depending on the DIP switch setting. The player will then proceed to fight against the nation's two representing opponents before proceeding to the next country. In addition to the regular battles, there also two types of bonus games which player can compete for additional points, including a table breaking and brick breaking bonus games. After defeating the initial eight, the player will travel to Thailand to fight against the final two opponents.

Each match is a series rounds in which the player must defeat their opponent in less than 30 seconds. If a match ends before a fighter is knocked out, then the fighter with the greater amount of hit points left will be declared the round's winner. The player must win two rounds in order to defeat their opponent and proceed to the next battle. If the third round ends in a tie, then the computer-controlled opponent will win by default or both players will lose. During the single-player mode, the player can continue after losing and fight against the opponent they lost the match with. Likewise, a second player can interrupt a single-player match and challenge the other player to a match.

The game controls consists of an eight-directional joystick and depending on the cabinet: six attack buttons, three punch buttons and three kick buttons of differing speed and strength; or two mechatronic pads for punches and kicks that determined the strength level of the player's attacks. The player uses the joystick to move towards or away from an opponent, as well to jump, crouch and defend against an opponent's attacks. By using the attack buttons/pads in combination with the joystick, the player can perform a variety of attacks from a standing, jumping or crouching positions. There were also three special techniques, performed by inputting a specific directional-based command and button combination. These techniques were the Hadoken, the Shoryuken and the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. Unlike the subsequent Street Fighter sequels and other later fighting games, the specific commands for these special moves were not given in the arcade game's instruction card, which instead encouraged the player to discover these techniques on their own.

Characters[]

SF Original Art

Key artwork.

Playable characters
Ryu
Ken Masters
Non-playable characters
Gen
Birdie
Eagle
Adon
Sagat (Final boss)
Geki
Joe
Lee
Mike
Retsu

Development[]

Street Fighter was produced and directed by Takashi Nishiyama (who is credited as "Piston Takashi" in the game) and planned by Hiroshi Matsumoto (credited as "Finish Hiroshi"), who both previously worked on the overhead beat 'em up Avengers. The two men would leave Capcom after the production of the game and were employed by SNK, developing most of their fighting game series (including Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting). The duo would later work for Dimps and work on Street Fighter IV with Capcom. Keiji Inafune, best known for his artwork in Capcom's Mega Man franchise, got his start at the company by designing and illustrating the character portraits in Street Fighter. Nishiyama drew several inspirations for developing the original gameplay of Street Fighter from martial art styles he was practicing at the time.[1][2]

Release[]

Arcade variants[]

Two different arcade cabinets were sold for the game: a "Regular" version (which was sold as a tabletop cabinet in Japan and as an upright overseas) that featured the same six button configuration later used in Street Fighter II and a "Deluxe" cabinet that featured two pressure-sensitive rubber pads. The pressure-sensitive pads determine the strength and speed of the player's attacks based on how hard they were pressed.

In the worldwide versions of the game, Ryu's and Ken's voices were dubbed so that they yelled the names of their moves in English (i.e.: Psycho Fire, Dragon Punch, Hurricane Kick). Subsequent localized releases left the Japanese voices intact.

Home versions[]

  • Street Fighter was ported under the title Fighting Street in 1988 for the PC Engine CD-ROM² System in Japan[3] and 1989 for the TurboGrafx-CD in North America. This version features a remastered soundtrack. As there was no six-button controller for the TurboGrafx-CD at the time this version was released, the strength level of the attacks is determined by how long either of the action buttons are held, akin to the "Deluxe" version of the arcade game. This version was published by NEC Avenue in North America and Hudson Soft in Japan and was developed by Alfa System. The cover artwork featured Mount Rushmore, which was one of the locations in the game. This version was released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan on October 6, 2009, in North America on November 2, 2009 and in the PAL regions on November 6, 2009.
  • Versions of Street Fighter for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Amiga and Atari ST were published by U.S. Gold in 1988 in Europe. These ports were developed by Tiertex. A DOS version was developed my Micro Talent and published by Capcom USA. The Commodore 64 actually got two versions, released on the same tape/disk format - the NTSC (U.S.) version developed by Pacific Dataworks and published by Capcom USA, and the PAL (UK) version by Tiertex and U.S. Gold. Shortly afterward, Tiertex developed its own unofficial sequel titled Human Killing Machine, which was entirely unrelated to the subsequent official sequel or indeed any other game in the series. This edition of Street Fighter was featured in two compilations: Arcade Muscle and Multimixx 3, both of which featured other U.S. Gold-published ports of Capcom games such as Bionic Commando and 1943: The Battle of Midway.
  • Hi-Tech Expressions ported the game to MS-DOS computers.[4] Hi-Tech also re-released the game as part of the Street Fighter Series CD-ROM collection.[5]
  • An emulation of the original arcade version is featured in Capcom Arcade Hits Volume 1 (along with Street Fighter II': Champion Edition) for Windows, Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for the PlayStation Portable and Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2 (along with Super Street Fighter II Turbo) for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

Reception[]

The game was commercially successful in arcades. On the Coinslot charts, printed in the August 1988 issue of Sinclair User, Street Fighter was the top dedicated arcade game.[6]

The arcade version was well received. Tony Thompson of Crash, in its October 1987 issue, said it "breathes new life" into martial arts games, with a "huge" cabinet, "big" characters, pads where "the harder you hit the pads the harder your character hits", and "secret techniques".[7] In its January 1988 issue, Julian Rignall and Daniel Gilbert said "it adds a new dimension with pneumatic punch buttons" and the action is "gratifying" with "great feedback from the buttons" but "there's very little to draw you back" after the novelty wears off.[8] Clare Edgeley of Computer and Video Games, in its December 1987 issue, said it had "huge" sprites, "among the most realistic" characters, and "intense" action, but requires mastering the controls, including punches, kicks, stoop kicks, flip kicks and backward flips. She said "the competition is intense" and the deluxe version "is much more fun."[9] Sinclair User awarded the game a maximum and claiming it was "one of the games of the year",[10] while Computer and Video Games said it had "no lasting appeal whatsoever".[11]

Trivia[]

  • While Joe, Mike, Lee, Geki and Retsu are to date the only characters who never returned and appeared playable in later games, they have appeared in other Street Fighter related media.
    • Joe and Mike were given updated designs in the Shadaloo C.R.I. website.
    • Lee appeared in the Street Fighter manga Sakura Ganbaru!, in the second comic of Udon's comic book miniseries Street Fighter Legends, and as a card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash.
    • The original Geki appeared in the third comic of Udon's Street Fighter Legends series (where in UDON's Street Fighter continuity, Geki is not an individual, but an entire clan of ninjas known as the Geki Clan). In Street Fighter X Tekken, Geki's costume appears as a alternate costume (refered in-game as "Swap Costume") for Tekken character Lars Alexandersson.
      • The Street Fighter V website implies that Geki has been killed during his activities in Asia, and that a second generation, Geki II, has followed his footsteps.
    • Retsu appeared in Udon's Street Fighter comics as well as in their Street Fighter Origins: Akuma comic. Retsu also plays a role in a pair of Japan-exclusive Street Fighter II Drama CDs. He also appeared as a card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash.
  • It should be noted that Mike and Joe look-alikes were seen in the Street Fighter II arcade intro, but were never playable or seen in-game. According to the Street Fighter V website, the Mike and Joe look-alike characters are different persons named Max and Scott respectively.[12][13]
  • This is the only Street Fighter game where win quotes are spoken.

Credits[]

Arcade Version [Staff][]

Direction: Piston Takash
Planning: Finish Hiroshi
Programming: FZ 2151
Character Design: Crusher Ichi, Dabada Atsushi, Bonsoir Yuko, Ocan Miyuki, Bravo Oyu, Innocent Saicho
Sound and Music: Yuukichyans Papa
Hard Planning: Punch Kubozo
Mechatronics: Strong Take, Radish Kamin
Special Thanks: Short Arm Seigo, Melanin Kazu, Puttun Midori, James Nyama, Seinto Sinn

Additionally, Street Fighter, like many other games during this era of gaming, credited its staff in its default Score Ranking Table, which is as follows:

  • 1st 101800 HRO
  • 2nd 95400 RYO
  • 3rd 90000 NAT
  • 4th 86000 MIM
  • 5th 83200 TAR
  • 6th 78000 WAK
  • 7th 63100 KTU
  • 8th 60400 TOR
  • 9th 59800 BAB
  • 10th 50000 KEI

TurboGrafx-CD Version [Fighting Street][]

Original Game Staff
 

Direction: Piston Takashi
Planning: Finish Hiroshi
Programming: FZ 2151
Character Design: Crusher Ichi, Dabada Atsushi, Bonsoir Yuko, Ocan Miyuki, Bravo Oyu, Innocent Saicho
Sound & Music: Yuukichyans Papa
Hard Planning: Punch Kubozo
Mechatronics: Strong Take, Radish Kamin
Special Thanks: Short Arm Seigo, Melanin Kazu, Puttun Midori, James Nyama, Seinto Sinn

PC-Engine CD-ROM Staff
 

Programmers: 68K‑62Conv. Hahi, Kouji Yamamoto, Hiroto Sasaki, Takeshi Takamine, Tetsuya Sasaki, Yav, Yoshinozui
Designers: Lovely Okada, Cutie Itoh, Honey Kakutani, Fancy Motoko
Sound Director: Toshi Sasagawa
Music Producer: N.Nakagami
Arranged by: Shofuku
Sound Effect: AX‑1 Iwabuchi, Lu.Takahashi
Technical Adviser: Takaki Kobayashi, Yoshio Motosako, Sexy Nonchan
Special Thanks: Hiromasa Iwasaki, Capcom, Musical Plan Ltd
Produce: Alfa System
Schedule Manager: Katsuhiro Nozawa
Superviser: Shin Nakamoto
Executive Producer: Yukio Ohsato
©1988 Hudson Soft
©1987 Capcom

Gallery[]

Box art and merchandise[]

References[]


External links[]

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