Street Fighter: The Movie (arcade game)

Last updated
Street Fighter: The Movie
Street Fighter The Movie game flyer.png
Promotional artwork featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile
Developer(s) Incredible Technologies
Publisher(s) Capcom
Designer(s) Leif Pran Marwede
Alan Noon
Programmer(s) Jane Siegrist
Artist(s) Ralph Melgosa
Composer(s) Kyle Johnson
Platform(s) Arcade
ReleaseJune 1995
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer
Arcade system Incredible Technologies 32-bit

Street Fighter: The Movie is a 1995 fighting game released as an arcade game. The game is based on the 1994 live-action Street Fighter film, itself based on the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and uses digitized images of the film's cast. The game was developed by Chicago-based Incredible Technologies and distributed to the arcades by Capcom. [1]

Contents

While a home console video game titled Street Fighter: The Movie was released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, it is not a port but a separately produced game based on the same premise. [2]

Gameplay

Ryu faces Akuma. AC SF Movie Gameplay.png
Ryu faces Akuma.

Street Fighter: The Movie differs from the previous Street Fighter II games in several ways. The game gives a greater emphasis towards air combos or "juggling" than previous games: the player can continuously attack their opponent while they are falling in the air with a series of attacks. Additionally, players can cancel any Special Move while performing it into another Special Move. This can even be done with projectile attacks.

Many of the returning Street Fighter characters feature new Special Moves exclusive to the game, such as Bison's "Electric Arc", Cammy's "Whip Choke", and Guile's "Handcuff" (a Special Move based on a glitch in the original Street Fighter II). Characters such as Zangief and Balrog now have the ability to deflect projectile attacks back to their opponent. Many of these new Special Moves require the player to hold down a specific attack button, input a directional-based command on the joystick and then release the button.

The method for grappling attacks was reversed for the game: performing the throw command while holding the joystick towards an opponent will throw the opponent to the opposite direction and vice versa. Player has the option of inputting a specific command to "escape" a throw with no damage or perform a "counter throw". However, a character can counterattack a "counter throw" by performing a "reverse", while reversing a counter throw can ultimately be countered with a "slam master" technique.

Other techniques exclusive to this game include "interrupt moves", which are performed after blocking an opponent's attacks, and "comeback moves", which are special moves that can only be used when the player's life gauge is on the "danger" level. These would later return in Street Fighter Alpha as Alpha Counters and in Street Fighter IV as Ultra Combos. The Super Combo gauge from Super Street Fighter II Turbo is featured in the game. Most of the characters in the game have at least two Super Combo moves: one that leaves a trail of blue shadows and another that leaves a trail of red shadows. In addition to Super Combos, the players can also perform a "Regeneration" move when their Super Combo gauge is full to restore a portion of their vitality gauge. This would later be seen in Street Fighter EX3 and Street Fighter III .

The standard single-player mode consists of a series of 14 matches (including a clone match), ending with a final match against M. Bison. There are also several secret game modes, including a Tag Team Mode. In a Tag Team match, the player gets to choose two characters and fight against other tag teams in single-round matches, switching to the second character only after the first one has been defeated.

Each fighter's ending sequence consists of a promotional still or two from the movie with accompanying text describing the character's fate after the events of the tournament, followed by the staff roll.

Characters

The game's cast contains most of the characters from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, with the exceptions of Fei Long (who was not used for the movie), Dee Jay, T. Hawk, Blanka (although he appears quite rarely in Dhalsim's lab by jumping into the stage and doing his electric ability) and Dhalsim. Akuma, who was a hidden character in Super Turbo and X-Men: Children of the Atom , is a regular character for the first time in any game. Two new characters were also introduced: Sawada, an original character from the film, and Blade, a member of Bison's shock troops from the film. Arkane, F7 and Khyber, who are all palette swaps of Blade, appear as secret characters. A powered-up version of Bison (called S. Bison) appears as a final computer-controlled opponent exclusive to the game's Tag-Team Mode and can be selected via codes like the other secret characters. While Blanka and Dee Jay would be added to the selectable cast of the home versions, there is leftover data in the arcade game indicating that Blanka was meant to be a playable character in this version as well, as there is an ending for him accessed by playing as S. Bison in the arcade mode.

Street Fighter: The Movie is the only game in the series where the boss characters Balrog, Vega and Bison, as well as Akuma, are addressed by their western names in the Japanese release. The Japanese instruction card features the original Japanese names of the characters written next to the western names in parentheses to avoid confusion.

The actors in the film are credited with reprising their roles for the game, with some of the actors dressed differently so as to more closely resemble their video game counterparts. While Raul Julia is credited as Bison, his likeness only appears in archive footage from the film. Julia's stunt double, Darko Tuscan, was used to digitize the character in the game instead. Additionally, Guile is simultaneously played by stuntman Mark Stefanich, due to Van Damme only being available for four hours.

Characters each had between 600–800 digitized frames of animation, for a total of 32 megabytes of graphics. Each character had a 256 colour palette, compared with 16 colors in previous CPS-based Street Fighter games, and 64 colors in Mortal Kombat. [3]

Development

Capcom, owner of the Street Fighter franchise and financier of the Street Fighter movie, contracted Incredible Technologies to develop Street Fighter: The Movie because it had experience with both fighting games and digitized graphics. [4] As Incredible Technologies was a small company which had only handled low budget releases before, the staff were not sure they could do justice to a high-profile project like Street Fighter: The Movie, but accepted the job so that they could keep themselves financially afloat and finance their own independent projects. [4]

To get the footage needed for the digitized character graphics, a five-person team consisting of Incredible Technologies president and CEO Elaine Hodgson, co-owner Richard Ditton, game designer Alan Noon, project manager Leif Marwede, and art director Ralph Melgosa went to the film set in Australia with rented camera equipment. [4] The shoot was planned to take less than two weeks, but after the team arrived the actors demanded that they get a share of the game's royalties, so the Incredible Technologies team had to stay in Australia several more weeks while the actors negotiated with Capcom, with Capcom footing the bill for their room and board. [4]

Marwede and Noon handled all the choreography. [4] Many of the actors lacked the agility to perform all of the required moves, so Marwede would often hold them in position for a shot, and the team erased Marwede from the footage in post-production. [4]

For the most part Incredible Technologies received no input or oversight from Capcom, but towards the end of development a group from Capcom Japan visited Incredible Technologies' offices in Chicago to check up on the game. The visit was tense, as the Capcom Japan staff were less than happy with the game, and Akira Yasuda and Katsuya Akitomo both recalled that Yoshiki Okamoto seemed angry much of the time. [4] It was too late to make any major changes, so the Capcom Japan group simply offered some suggestions and made small adjustments to the graphics. [4]

Reception

In Japan, Game Machine listed Street Fighter: The Movie on their July 15, 1995 issue as being the thirteenth most-successful arcade game of the month. [6] In North America, RePlay reported it was the ninth most-popular arcade game at the time. [7] According to Maximum, the game "was reasonably successful in the arcades." [8]

Next Generation reviewed the arcade version of the game, rating it two stars out of five, and stated that "Despite this digital crossover – neither brilliantly conceived nor sleepily dull – this game features the former fighting moves from Super Street Fighter II Turbo and excellent new ones [...] which adds to the growing Street Fighter series' depth." [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987–2000, pg. 179.
  2. ↑ All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Game 1987–2000, pg. 288.
  3. 1 2 Interview with Art Director Alan Noon, February 12, 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Leone, Matt (March 1, 2021). "Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game: An Oral History". Polygon . Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Finals, Street Fighter the Movie". Next Generation . No. 9. Imagine Media. September 1995. p. 108.
  6. ↑ "Game Machine's Best Hit Games 25 – TVゲーム機ーソフトウェア (Video Game Software)". Game Machine (in Japanese). No. 499. Amusement Press, Inc. 15 July 1995. p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Player's Choice – Top Games Now in Operation, Based on Earnings-Opinion Poll of Operators: Best Location Videos". RePlay. Vol. 20, no. 10. RePlay Publishing, Inc. July 1995. p. 4.
  8. ↑ "Street Fighter Real Battle on Film". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. Emap International Limited (1): 119. October 1995.

Related Research Articles

Akuma (<i>Street Fighter</i>) Street Fighter character

Akuma, known in Japan as Gouki, is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist of the Street Fighter series of fighting games created by Capcom. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu's and Ken's master. In some games, he also has an alternate version named Shin Akuma or Shin Gouki in Japanese and Oni Akuma in Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. Since his debut, Akuma has appeared in several subsequent titles and has been praised by both fans and critics.

Ryu (<i>Street Fighter</i>) Street Fighter character

Ryu is a fictional character and the protagonist of Capcom's Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the game's lead character alongside his best friend and friendly rival Ken Masters. Other games in the series show Ryu to be highly focused on his training, aiming to become the strongest he can. Unable to control his dark nature, Ryu developed two alter egos: Evil Ryu, and Kage-naru mono or simply Kage.

Major Guile is a fictional character from Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. He debuted as one of the original eight World Warriors in 1991's Street Fighter II and appeared in the game's subsequent updates. In the games he is portrayed as a major in the United States Air Force who is seeking to avenge the death of his Air Force buddy Charlie at the hands of the villainous dictator M. Bison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. Bison</span> Fictional character in the Street Fighter video game series

M. Bison, also known as Vega, is a fictional character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior as the final boss of the game, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as one of the series' main antagonists.

<i>Street Fighter Alpha 2</i> 1996 video game

Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is a remake to the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams. The game features a number of improvements over the original, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3.

<i>Super Street Fighter II Turbo</i> 1994 video game

Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a fighting game released for the arcades by Capcom in Japan on February 23, 1994, in North America on February 23 and March 26, 1994 (beta) and in Europe in March 1994 (beta). It is the fifth installment in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. Like its predecessor, it ran on the CP System II hardware.

<i>Street Fighter Alpha 3</i> 1998 arcade video game

Street Fighter Alpha 3, released as Street Fighter Zero 3 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D fighting game originally released by Capcom for the arcade in 1998. It is the third and final installment in the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series, which serves as a sequel to Street Fighter Alpha 2, and ran on the same CP System II hardware as previous Alpha games. The game was produced after the Street Fighter III sub-series has started, being released after 2nd Impact, but before 3rd Strike. Alpha 3 further expanded the playable fighter roster from Street Fighter Alpha 2 and added new features such as selectable fighting styles called "isms".

The main titles of the Street Fighter fighting game series have introduced a varied cast of 87 characters from the main series, and 34 from several spin-offs, for a total of 121 playable characters who originate from 24 different countries around the world, each with his or her unique fighting style. This is a list of playable characters and non-playable opponents from the whole franchise. They are categorized based on the game in which they first became playable, including the original Street Fighter game, the Street Fighter II series, the Street Fighter Alpha series, the Street Fighter III series, the Street Fighter IV series, Street Fighter V, Street Fighter 6 and other related games.

<i>Street Fighter</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Steven E. de Souza

Street Fighter is a 1994 action film written and directed by Steven E. de Souza, based on the video game series of the same name produced by Capcom. It was one of two films released in 1994 specifically adapting Street Fighter II, following Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. Distributed by Universal Pictures in the United States and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International internationally, the film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia along with supporting performances by Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Ming-Na Wen and Wes Studi. The adaptation focuses on the efforts by Colonel Guile to bring down General M. Bison (Julia), the military dictator and drug kingpin of Shadaloo City who aspires to conquer the world with an army of genetic supersoldiers, while enlisting the aid of street fighters Ryu (Mann) and Ken (Chapa) to infiltrate Bison's empire and help destroy it from within.

<i>Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie</i> 1994 anime film

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, known as Street Fighter II Movie in Japan and Australia, is a 1994 anime film adaptation of the Street Fighter II fighting game written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisaburō Sugii and animated by Group TAC. The film, originally released in Japan on August 6, 1994, was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain, and was adapted into English in dubbed and subtitled format by Animaze for Manga Entertainment. It was distributed by Toei Company in Japan, while 20th Century Fox also distributed in other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gouken</span> Street Fighter character

Gouken is a fictional character in the Street Fighter video game series. He is the martial arts master who trained Ryu and Ken, as well as his younger brother and former training partner, Akuma. Gouken is usually depicted as a bearded man who wears Japamala prayer beads on his neck and a karate gi with the kanji mu or "void" sewn to the back. Although Gouken has been a supporting character in the Street Fighter series since Super Street Fighter II Turbo, he did not make his first full-fledged appearance in the video game until his appearance as a hidden character in Street Fighter IV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheng Long</span> Video game character hoax

Sheng Long is a character hoax related to the Street Fighter series, created by Electronic Gaming Monthly as an April Fools' prank in 1992. Conceived by editor Ken Williams due to a mistranslation suggesting the existence of a character named Sheng Long in the Capcom fighting game Street Fighter II, the publication released an article describing a method to fight the character in the game. Despite intending it to be an obvious joke, many players took it seriously, and other publications reprinted the details as fact without verifying its legitimacy causing the Sheng Long hoax spread worldwide. As a result, the magazine later acknowledged it was indeed a hoax, though revisited the concept for a similar joke in 1997. Claiming Sheng Long would appear in Street Fighter III, they provided a backstory for the character and an appearance designed by editor Mike Vallas. Despite the article trailing off and incomplete, it resulted in confusion between the North American and Japanese branches of Capcom, with the former calling the latter to ask why they had not been informed about the character.

<i>Street Fighter Anniversary Collection</i> 2004 video game

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is a bundle of two Street Fighter games: Hyper Street Fighter II, and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. It was released for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Both versions are nearly identical, but the latter version offered online competitive play. The PlayStation 2 version of the bundle was only released in North America, since the PS2 versions of Hyper Street Fighter II and 3rd Strike were released as separate stand-alone games in Japan, with the PAL region only receiving a separate release of Hyper Street Fighter II on the PS2. The Xbox version of the bundle was released in all three regions.

<i>Street Fighter EX2</i> 1998 video game

Street Fighter EX2 is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics co-produced by Capcom and Arika and originally released in 1998 as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is the sequel to the original Street Fighter EX, a 3D spin-off of the Street Fighter series. An updated version of the game titled Street Fighter EX2 Plus was released in 1999 in arcades as well and subsequently ported to the PlayStation the same year.

<i>Street Fighter IV</i> 2008 video game

Street Fighter IV is a 2.5D fighting game published by Capcom, who also co-developed the game with Dimps. It was the first original main entry in the series since Street Fighter III in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years.

<i>Street Fighter Alpha</i> 1995 video game

Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, known as Street Fighter Zero in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 2D arcade fighting game by Capcom originally released in 1995 for the CP System II hardware. It was the first all new Street Fighter game produced by Capcom since the release of Street Fighter II in 1991. The working title for the game was Street Fighter Legends.

<i>Street Fighter</i> Japanese media franchise

Street Fighter, is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six other main series games, various spin-offs and crossovers, and numerous appearances in other media. Its best-selling 1991 release Street Fighter II established many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre.

<i>Street Fighter: The Movie</i> (console video game) 1995 video game

Street Fighter: The Movie is a head-to-head fighting game released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1995, with the game serving as a North American launch title for the PlayStation. The game is based on the 1994 live-action Street Fighter movie, itself based on the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and uses digitized images of the film's cast as the characters. While it shares its title with the arcade game Street Fighter: The Movie, the home version is not a port but a similar game developed on the same premise. The home version was developed and published by Capcom in Japan and released in North America and Europe by Acclaim Entertainment.

<i>Capcom Fighting Evolution</i> 2004 video game

Capcom Fighting Evolution, released in Japan and Europe as Capcom Fighting Jam, is a 2004 head-to-head fighting game from Capcom. It was originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Namco System 246 hardware and ported to the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The game features characters from three different incarnations of the Street Fighter series, as well as characters from the Darkstalkers series and the CPS III arcade game Red Earth, with each character employing the fighting system from the game which they represent.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.