Street Fighter
Street Fighter (1987)
The first game in the Street Fighter series – Street Fighter – was not as many would expect from the huge reception to the game in modern times as it was not as popular as the sequels, especially Street Fighter II.
The game play consisted of a series of one-on-one matches wherein the player would fight a series of 10 computer controlled opponents. There was three rounds per match and the player was expected to knock out their opponent in 30 seconds and they must have won two rounds in order to win.
There were three special techniques, in the gameplay, which could be used. These were ‘Hadoken’, ‘Shoryuren’ and ‘Tatsumani Senpu Kyaku’. Interestingly, these were not listed on the instruction cards for the game as the developers thought that by allowing the player to discover it by themselves that it would encourage players to play the game more.
A single player would play as Ryu, a young Japanese man and martial artist. With a second player taking on the role of Ken, Ryu’s old training partner and rival. The single player mode consisted of a series of battles facing opponents from various nationals. The player would have been able to choose from where they would like to start with an option of two locations. These would have either been between USA and Japan or England and China. Then the player would have faced two rivals from each nation before advancing to the next nation. As well as this, there was an additional two bonus games.
| REGION | RIVAL 1 | RIVAL 2 |
| JAPAN |
Retsu
Expelled Shorinji instructor |
Geki
Claw-Wielding descendant of a ninja |
| USA |
Joe
Underground Karate Champion |
Mike
Heavyweight boxing champion |
| CHINA |
Lee
Expert in Chinese boxing |
Gen
Elderly professional killer |
| ENGLAND |
Birdie
Bouncer |
Eagle
Bodyguard of a wealthy family |
| THAILAND |
Adon
Muay Thai master |
Sagat
Adon’s mentor and emperor of Muay Thai |
There were two different variants of arcade machine, the first featured pressure pads which the player would hit. If the pad was hit with more force by the player the hit would be harder in the game. Another version was the six button configuration which would then become the standard for its sequel – Street Fighter II. In Japan the game was released as a table top whereas it was a stand-up cabinet elsewhere.
Though the game was successful in arcades, it received many mixed reviews with some calling it a novelty with its effect wearing off quickly. It was by no means as popular as its famed sequel – Street Fighter II.
