Itsuno: You hired me because I played fighting games, hurled insults at me, and left me such a wreck that I began to hate the word “sense” because you said I had none. Funamizu: I’m sorry, I don’t remember any of it. For you, the day I gave you that job was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.
Okay, but the idea of Sakura having a Raging Demon is hilarious. Not least because the animation has *none* of the Satsui no Hado shadow-float bullshit, so it *completely* looks like she just saw Akuma do it from afar, went "Oh wow, that is *super rad* " and copied the basic concept of 'charge inside their guard and go full ham' without picking up any of the actual intent of the technique. And there is something pure and beautiful about the idea of Sakura accidentally subverting the entire endgoal of the martial art she's kinda half learning, half copying, half mutating into a totally new thing. Like, that is actually an extremely Sakura thing to do.
This sort off fits my headcanon from back in the day that Dark/Sunburn Sakura from the VS series is a what-if version of Sakura who decided to idolize Akuma instead of Ryu.
One of my favourite jokes about Street Fighter was from a UK tech show where they made a joke prediction that a future Street Fighter game's roster would include 'Every human who ever lived...and Dan.'
3. In the Street Fighter universe you can actually beat up random people on the streets at least circa SF6 (Maybe due to Mayor Cody's change in policies?)
4. He also missed that Cody was framed by Eddie E. first before he developed those tendinces. (Even then in the games proper he only breaks out to beat up bad guys) Mike was able to get Cody out of prison by revealing he was framed in V and thats also part of reason he and Lucia have such a close relationship all of the sudden. (As she was also framed in FF3) @OccuredJakub12 Only thing said about Cody in SF6 is that continued all of Mike's polices.
So for the promotional art at 2:04:33, If I had to take an educated guess it is actually a reference to Skullomania's inspiration; the original Kamen Rider series from 1971. In which the main character Takeshi Hongo is abducted by an evil organization and forcibly turned into a cyborg that after breaking out becomes the hero Kamen Rider. The promotional art itself just like the episode has Ryu strapped down in the exact same way Hongo is in the 1st episode with him struggling to break free while in a sparsely lit up laboratory and completely surrounded. If you want to get an idea for yourself of what I am talking about, the first episode of Kamen Rider is available for free on youtube in HD quality. So while I don't know 100% if this was the inspiration, the scenes are so similar that I would say it is near definite.
@@zellaus2649 My only problem with saying 100% is I don't have a source of saying it is the case. That is why I say near definite, but I do think it was the inspo.
Cody was arrested because he was framed by Poison and arrested by Edi E. The Poison part seems to have been retconned because Cody and Poison are pretty friendly in SFV. He always beat up bad guys. His heart was always to help Metro City. Even as mayor, he is literally recruiting old Mad Gear members to try and reform them to help Metro City because he knows you can’t just Street Fight in order to defeat corruption.
Or maybe time has passed and Cody kinda got over that framing stuff. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Cody could have looked past Poison's actions since that was part of Cody's imprisonment.
@@dnmstarsi That’s possible, but I think the more probable idea is that Cody wouldn’t. Considering he was bitter the entire time he was in prison…I don’t see him acting as if Poison didn’t do what he did. It’s an important part of his character growth. It makes more sense that they retconned it (or that it was never canon in the first place 😂)
@@dnmstarsi you don’t think so? His lines continuously had an “I gave up on myself a long time ago” feel. He continuously talks about how he doesn’t care anymore and does his best to hide the fact that all the people he keeps fighting are actually bad guys 😂. He didn’t like his prison time because whenever someone tried to give him hope, he never took it. He even told Guy that he was going back where he belongs.
@@YophiGames I can see Cody not give a damn anymore but grudge or alike is another story which is why I can believe that Poison would get him framed but he'll get over it just as long as you don't upset him or alike.
For context, the picture of Skullomania about to operate on Ryu is a reference to Kamen Rider, who was a motorcycle rider named Hongo Takeshi that got turned into a Cyborn by the evil organization Shocker
Can you imagine what history would have been like if Capcom had halfway decent leadership? I swear it's only because their rank and file was talented and possibly insane (given the development time on Alpha) and also a lot of luck, that they managed to make those games.
From the way you describe it, it weirdly sounds like Nintendo too with this sentence from it's fans "It's Game Developers are godlike, but damn we hate their business and legalese side of their company."
Man, ‘96 and ‘97 must have been great times to be a sax player. * Arashi No Saxophone 2 from SNK * Sakura’s theme from Arika * Bill Clinton won his 2nd term as President of the United States, beating Bob Dole after Mr. Dole fell off a stage.
I remember as a kid I was lowkey traumatized when I lost against Bison in Alpha 3. I couldn't fathom that my favorite was just getting milked and I couldn't do anything about it because I lost.
I like that they're the "representatives" for SF Alpha in the thumbnail, mainly because they're essentially the two characters that are probably synonymous with the Alpha games more than anyone else. (I know Akuma appeared in Super SFII Turbo, but it's the Alpha series where he got further fleshed out.)
I find it also funny that both of them are in the opposite spectrum of fighters with Sakura being the goofy dork fighter and Akuma is the most evil looking fight loving fuck you’ll ever see lol
Honestly it’s my favorite thumbnail. On top of their sick poses, Sakura pretty much is the top representative of the Alpha era due to how much of her character is fleshed out, having her own manga, got the most crossovers and basically being one of the most popular SF characters of all time now. Akuma to an extent as well, since this is when he actually started to get more fleshed out as a character. There is Dan too who also quickly became a fan favorite and him along with Sakura got a number of crossovers in the 90s from Puzzle Fighter to MVC
Part 1: Street Fighter 1 & 2 Series Part 2: Street Fighter Alpha Series & Street Fighter Ex Series Part 3: Street Fighter 3 Series Part 4: Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game & Other Street Fighter Media Part 5: Street Fighter 4 Series & Street Fighter x Tekken Part 6: Street Fighter 5 & All 5 Seasons of DLC
In the street fighter season of the exceed card game, Dan Hibiki’s gimmick was that he gained power and speed on wild swings (drawing from face down). His deck was built around drawing random cards, a lot of which would miss because they weren’t in range. I really liked how they tailored the mechanics for him as a joke character
I got exited when I saw Guy in Alpha. Was hoping Cody would show up, and when he did, I was disappointed he was a prisoner. At least he had a great arch becoming the mayor.
So fun fact Karin was originally supposed to be playable in marvel superheroes VS SF there is code in the games files that Karin was gonna be a pallet swap of Sakura but due to limitations and a deadline to make she was cut
Oh so my interpretation of Akuma's reaction to Thanos *stealing* the Satsui No Hadou is accurate. (In which he ambushes Thanos and kicks the ever loving shit out of him)
Honestly, if I had to answer which Street Fighter game introduced me to the series it was both Alpha and EX that did that when I was a kid. Never owned the two game entries, but I have played them before. So this part is a treat for me. 1:55:30-1:56:29 *BLESS YOU* Thorgi for mentioning the music of the EX series! I literally have all the entries OST on both my laptop and phone. Shinji Hosoe and the rest of his squad's music should not be overlooked! Especially since these people would be responsible for other banger game OSTs such as MegaMan Network Transmission & Naruto's Clash of Ninja franchise.
I am floored to learn that those Street Fighter 1 portraits are fanart from a magazine. I've been seeing those pictures for like 25 years and I always had just assumed they were the official art for the game.
This video actually made me realize that Kyosuke was the one character on the Capcom side in Capcom vs. SNK 2 who wasn't eventually added into a version of Alpha 3. Damn shame he wasn't, if he had been, he would have been the first playable Rival Schools character in a Street Fighter game before Akira in SF5.
There is a reason why. As you already know, Thorgi mentioned in his Rival Schools retrospective that the series originally takes place in a seperate universe, and because of Sakura's appearance in the first game, people are speculating that Rival Schools is linked to Street Fighter for decades, and it wasn't until Street Fighter 5 with Akira's inclusion that the developers finally confirmed that both series are indeed connected with each other.
@@collaterale1 To be fair,Ingrid was also playable in a version of Alpha 3,and her place in canon is...a bit messy to put it lightly. So I don't think canon was that big of a concern.
Alpha 3's aesthetic might be my favorite of any fighting game ever. The selection screen, round graphics, life bars, over-the-top announcer commenting on your match... it just all clicks.
I would love to see Arcsystem Works involved in a potential Alpha 4 if Capcom ever decided on a new game. With input from both companies, they could create something amazing.
@@Exlayer-pk8hyI think it’s aged well because a lot of that late 90s/ Y2K stuff is cool again, between that and the soundtrack the game feels at home somehow decades later
The one thing that will always come to mind when I think of Street Fighter Alpha 2 is that awesome intro. The visuals combined with that incredible theme music just really draws me to that game for so many years now.
I just got into the Street Fighter series from these retrospectives. Thanks for creating these amazing videos that has gotten me into such a goated franchise. THE HYPE IS REAL! 🎉
1:29:52 I remember once reading that Kyosuke was supposed to be added to the GBA version of SFA3. So I was shocked when they didn't add him. When the PSP version was released, I thought he'd be added then. I was surprised it was Ingrid but I didn't mind. I liked her. But I was also wishing that they added Kyosuke instead or additionally. It would've made more sense.
I still think it’s absolutely hilarious how Capcom gained so much success from SF2 and didn’t go into SF3 afterwards especially considering how many titles they would churn out in the 90’s 🤣
Ayyyyyy, nice job getting this out for EVO weekend :D Sigh. I _adored_ Ingrid and Area when they originally popped up, then got to see them cold-shouldered for the rest of my life. Same as it ever was, I guess.
Glad to see the ex series aside from its amazing sountrack finally getting some love after all those years, the ex games where ahead of its time and with so many hidden secrets.
On the "simpler" thing I remember getting downvoted on Reddit for saying that the simplified and more fluid combo systems in Guilty Gear Strive betas were a work in progress and they'd improve the feel with further dev time. They also insisted that it would be a failure cause it was "losing hardcore fans"... The FGC really needs some reality checks sometimes.
Yeah, the FGC has a _huge_ elitism problem, unfortunately. The community stays afloat because new people join it, not because the top dogs keep coming back. Fighting games developers will cater to the casuals and make their games simpler & more beginner-friendly because _that's where most of the money comes from._ Plus, expert fighting game players _already_ have the perfect games for them with their favorite mechanics: The older titles and mods of the newer titles.
You're telling me every single fighter in Alpha 2 gets their own symbol for finishing an opponent with a Custom Combo!? The Spriters Resource... HERE I COME!
Itsuno went through the "what doesn't break* you, makes you stronger"-school of development and now he's the god among game directors. That payed out huge, now we know his name and I've already forgotten the name of the jerk who insulted him. He did his part though. *small liberties taken in the quote here.
There's a misunderstanding of Ingrid's story in Alpha 3 max mostly because of translation issues, she didn't come to take the psycho power from Bison, she came to take back a shard like the ones she puts on her hair that Bison stole so he can empower his Psycho drive weapon. As for the people who says that she came and squashed Bison and what not, in her story she said that she needs 15 minutes to beat him, that seems like a long fight for me.
Bengus is easily my favorite visual artist of all time, his work on Alpha, Darkstalkers, and Marvel vs Capcom is a big reason I got into fighting games in the first place
Just wanna say thank you for making these awesome videos! Usually when I see longer videos I lose interest, but your videos are always really fun and interesting to watch.
Another excellent retrospective! I love this series and rewatch it almost daily (sleep time playlist, ftw). I appreciate the amount of work and effort put into this channel!! Thank you for the great content!
Me personally i always loved EX Plus Alpha the most out of the EX games, tho that may just be nostalgia because i got that game Christmas of 1998 and played the heck out of it with my little brother. I didn't play EX 2 Plus until years later. Oh yea i agree with Alpha 2>Alpha 3, i've always felt it was the better game. Anyway, absolutely loved this man, excellent work as usual Thorgi. Can't wait for part 3.
Stroheim was the one that Guile's hair is credit for taking inspiration from. Alpha 2 on the PC is the game I credit for taking me from liking fighting games to loving 'em. I'd played SF2 and MK on my Amiga 500, Super and MKs 2 and 3 on a friend's SNES, various games at arcades, but Alpha 2 just somehow hit differently and unlocked a deeper tier of appreciation.
To me, EX3 is like Rise of the TMNT: it's not bad, just misunderstood. However, I don't see it as THAT underrated but it is definitely worth checking out and who knows, maybe you'll appreciate this more.
Street Fighter 3 is my favorite in the franchise. I love they put the "Street" in Street Fighter 3 and most of the newcomers were awesome! Elena, Dudley, Ibuki, Makoto, Necro, Twelve, Q, Oro, Alex, and Sean are cool newcomers imo. Only one I don't care for was Remy. Plus the soundtrack is a banger.
True, but damn, did that game had to go through thick and thin to be recognized as a great game. People only thought of it as Ryu, Ken and a bunch of weirdos.
@@WokioWolfy back in the day I was one of these people. At that time I complained even with Alpha for not having the classic characters of SF2. By the way, during the 90s I thought SF2 was the first in the franchise lol
@@Tungdil_01I find it funny because I'm always bothered that 2 of my go-to's (Yang and Oro) aren't playable in the same game after sf3 and don't care about the sf2 cast all too much.
I share the sentiment I also personally like SF3 New Generation & 2nd Impact more than 3rd Strike. I will give 3rd Strike this the control was better, Makoto was introduced and Alex, Ryu, Elena Ibuki & Urien themes were improvements.
The Street fighter Alpha part of the franchise is easily my favorite. I love the heavy anime asthetic of these games a lot more than the styles of the other games
Love love love your retrospective. Was interesting learning the history behind the games creations especially. However, the earliest Combo Trial mode that I found and was released a year before street fighter ex was Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu on the super nintendo as well as having a Tag battle mode that also pre-dates x-men vs street fighter japanese arcades by a year as well, and having the visual novel story mode gameplay you'd see with a lot of anime fighters today. It's rather obscure though of course having become more associated with SNK over time (with Mizoguchi appearing in KOF Maximum impact Regulation A). You could say the combo trial and tag vs mode's first appearance outside of Japan is indeed Street Fighter EX2
Alpha and KoF made me care about fg stories for the better or for the worst, I wish more fighting game did those type of arcade stories instead of whatever tekken 7 and gg strive tried to do.
She would definitely be the 2nd name to come to mind when I think "Fighting game joke character" (even thought of her when he mentioned it in the video), but I think Melty is still niche enough that Dan still get more recognized.
The Zero/Alpha series was my introduction to Street Fighter when I was a kid. Without those games (specially 3) there's a chance I may have never fully gotten into Street Fighter. So glad that I did.
3 was the first fighting game I really played. I played it on the ps2 as a kid since you could play the ps1 port on there. I genuinely had no idea max existed so when I ran it on emulator my mind blew
Hooked on these videos, thanks for making them. Always liked fighting games but played them more casually...this has sparked something in me that has been missing for years.
One of the ways you used to be able to cheese it was with a well timed shoryuken so the hit wouldn’t register. Took me forever to get the timing right as a kid
2:04:50 here's the answer: it's a Kamen Rider reference, Hongo Takeshi, the 1st Kamen Rider, was operated on by the evil organization Shocker to turn him into one of their cyborg monsters but was saved before being brainwashed thus Becoming Kamen Rider P.S. if you look at Skullomania's design in EX2 he has the same henshin belt as Kamen Rider Ichigo and Niigo
If my memory doesn't betray me, Shin Akuma was playable in alpha 2 on PC (I don't know why this version is reviled, I have dozens of hours in it) but it doesn't have evil Ryu. Also I didn't know you can play the secret characters in alpha 1 and God knows how many hours and quarters I spent on it in the arcades.
The artwork of the Skullmania-fied characters of Street Fighter is obviously a reference to the creation of the first Kamen Rider, as Ichigou and Nigou are both Cyborgs, modified by the evil organization Shocker.
2:04:22 this art is actually in reference to the original Kamen Rider series. The main character, Takeshi Hongo, has his powers given to him against his will by the enemy group Shocker via surgery. The art is in reference to the first episode of the original Kamen Rider series.
After watching through parts of this I kept wondering why I had this image of Shadaloo dealing drugs despite never playing the Alpha games much (much less reading what was in them because it was all in English), but I took the time to rewatch the SF II animated movie the other day and they're doing it there, too. Must've been the times for sure.
How absurd of you to premiere this on day 1 of Evo.... just kidding I'm glad you did... another well.done vid. I feel like everyone in the FGC should be subbed to u
That's assuming Ken is gonna return for the next game. Besides, I prefer mixing Ken's stages into one. Like with Ryu, his stage would be based on his SF2 stage but the boat is modeled after the one from SF3 and 6 but like Alpha 2 and Terry's stage, it'll have its share of cameos spectating the fight on Ken's boat.
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Man, I know they probably wouldn't want to oversaturate the roster with SF characters, and if they did Smash fans would probably get real mad about it, but I've thought to myself many times about how other SF characters would look/play in Smash. Chun, Bison, Akuma, Zangief, Dan, there's so many SF characters who'd probably look stylish af if fully adapted into Smash.
@@gregvs.theworld451 I think it would be funny if future smash entries just add Akuma and Sakura on top of Ryu and Ken. We have 3 Links and 4 Marths so there Is a precedent for that.
@@Exlayer-pk8hy Hear me out: A secret Akuma battle at the end of classic mode where he raging demons Master Hand, and you unlock him upon defeating him.
GREAT VIDEO but another correction. Evil Ryu (Satsui No Hado Ryu) was not available on the original release of Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan along with Champion Edition versions of Dhalsim and Zangief. He did not become playable in Japan until Street Fighter Zero 2' (Dash)
So I'm guessing the remaining parts are like this: Part 3: SFIII series Part 4: Street Fighter - The Movie and associated games Part 5: SFIV series (including SFxT) Part 6: SFV and SF6 (and maybe mentions of miscellaneous games).
Probably more like this imo. Part 3: Street Fighter 3+Fall of Capcom Fighting Games. Part 4: Street Fighter 4 series+Street FighterXTekken Part 5: Street Fighter 5 series+Capcom Fighter Purge. (Referring to how they killed off even Marvel VS Capcom by 2017.) Part 6: Street Fighter 6+films, comics, OVA's, Street Fighter The Movie, etc. Time will tell for the results, of course.
Awesome retrospective, but when you got to Alpha 3, I wish you covered the "SF3: Saikyo Dojo" upgraded port that came out for the Dreamcast and Naomi arcade boards. It introduced online play and some of the extra modes and gameplay elements that you're crediting "MAX" for.
True but MAX is just basically the complete Alpha 3 package while Dreamcast was just Alpha 3 with Online and some changes. It is arguably noteworthy but not enough to give it its own spotlight compared to GBA and PSP that have more noteworthy things to say.
Alpha series was a fine collection of games that perfectly connected Street Fighter 1 and 2. BUT It was also a great in art style. Ex series will always have a special place similar to Godzilla 98, as they blew the world when I was a child. I am glad Arika is doing well it's characters. Looking forward to your coverage of the next installments in this retrospective❤🎉.
FUN FACT: when i was younger i liked Juli for her darker hair but she had less moveset than cammy and juni. There's a Street fighter character history book from udon which states for her, that she couldnt be as efficient in her fighting style due to her "build". I'm guessing she didnt have aerodynamics. :P
Excellent work once again, always interesting to learn more about these games. And on a side note, yeah the hate for Ingrid always felt like the most artificially forced thing. As if it was a joke that people began to take seriously. It's odd.
Yep. Sure, I don't care much for her other than her design but I really don't see the hate for her (though I also don't that much love and demand for her) other than how OPed and mysterious she came off as in Alpha 3 Max. It did make me roll my eyes over her existence but not enough to dislike her.
I love how this video is planned despite being like an 2:30-hours long it was very informative and entertaining, pls keep adding more dev histories they enrich the appreciation of how said games are made.
I still maintain that Alpha 3 MAX has pound-for-pound the best roster in the entire series. If you could magically backport Makoto, Juri, and Poison into the game, it would basically have every Street Fighter character I ever cared about.
the skullomania art wirh the naked ryu is a shoutout to kamen rider, where the titular character is genetically modified to serve the villains, only to rebel against them. that said, seeing naked ryu is pretty hilarious
I gotta be honest I prefer Alpha Series over the SF III because of the art style, the flashing visuals, the music and the less technical gameplay. I do not know if I am in the minority, but the Alpha series were more approchable for me just because I could easily play it on console. Of course that accesibility would change over time, but that first impressions and the feeling of owning a SF game in my home (I played the older games in the arcades or console rent locals) mattered a lot.
I am not saying that SF III sucks, as it achieved its own very important goals for the franchise and its developers. I am just say that as a casual player, Alpha is more appealing for me.@@Ray-c1r
Itsuno: You hired me because I played fighting games, hurled insults at me, and left me such a wreck that I began to hate the word “sense” because you said I had none.
Funamizu: I’m sorry, I don’t remember any of it. For you, the day I gave you that job was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Tuesday.
😄
Funamizu is M. Bison confirmed
I swear Funamizu must’ve had something against Itsuno to keep throwing insults at
Just watched that movie last night. O.o
Ladies and gentlemen
The man who singlehandedly saved Devil May Cry was forged out of spite
"Even within the Street Fighter universe, you can't just go around beating up random people."
Meanwhile in Street Fighter 6...
To be fair this is after Cody become mayor and signed into law that all Metro City citizens can just randomly start brawls with no consequences.
@@Jamester445 True enough lol
Considering Metro city’s history that’s like calling Detroit the norm of the world lol
@@トーキ-g8vor Gary Indiana before that 🤣
@@Jamester445And somehow that spread across the world.
Okay, but the idea of Sakura having a Raging Demon is hilarious. Not least because the animation has *none* of the Satsui no Hado shadow-float bullshit, so it *completely* looks like she just saw Akuma do it from afar, went "Oh wow, that is *super rad* " and copied the basic concept of 'charge inside their guard and go full ham' without picking up any of the actual intent of the technique.
And there is something pure and beautiful about the idea of Sakura accidentally subverting the entire endgoal of the martial art she's kinda half learning, half copying, half mutating into a totally new thing. Like, that is actually an extremely Sakura thing to do.
She did somehow get a photo with Akuma, maybe this is how she got his respect to do so XD
@@369destroyerher and elena are the only ppl i know that managed to get a photo with akuma and survive
This sort off fits my headcanon from back in the day that Dark/Sunburn Sakura from the VS series is a what-if version of Sakura who decided to idolize Akuma instead of Ryu.
What's funny is that this basically makes Sakura the first mimic character in fighting games.
@@GlitchanBlack nah, that would be Reptile and Shang-Tsung in the first Mortal Kombat.
One of my favourite jokes about Street Fighter was from a UK tech show where they made a joke prediction that a future Street Fighter game's roster would include 'Every human who ever lived...and Dan.'
Seth is the nearest thing to "Every human who ever lived...and Dan" because of the whole absorbing someone's fighting techniques
😊@@arran4285
"The only thing Capcom could do was create Street Fighter 3...Capcom proceeded to NOT make Street Fighter 3."
💯% accurate and I'm 💀
You can't trust Capcom. But, you can always trust Capcom to be Capcom.
Honestly, I do not blame them.
The weight of the pressure & expectations to essentially create Street Fighter 2 2 must have been _immense._
Great video, but few lore mistakes:
1. Rose is Italian
2. Eliza is the sister of Guile's wife, not Guile
Thanks. I thought maybe there were some retcons I missed.
3. In the Street Fighter universe you can actually beat up random people on the streets at least circa SF6
(Maybe due to Mayor Cody's change in policies?)
Yeah the way that look like he was running to releases this somethings slip up.
Robe being Italian is another reference to Lisa Lisa
4. He also missed that Cody was framed by Eddie E. first before he developed those tendinces. (Even then in the games proper he only breaks out to beat up bad guys) Mike was able to get Cody out of prison by revealing he was framed in V and thats also part of reason he and Lucia have such a close relationship all of the sudden. (As she was also framed in FF3)
@OccuredJakub12
Only thing said about Cody in SF6 is that continued all of Mike's polices.
"Adon is the Starscream of the Muay Thai world." is perfect.
"SAGAT HAS FALLEN, I, ADON AM YOUR NEW LEADER"
@@Steve.Matheusliterally starscream
Adon: “Call me the Emperor of Muay Thai… and don’t tell Sagat we had this conversation.”
"JAGUAR SLEEPOVER!"
@@Steve.MatheusThat's so perfect lmao
So for the promotional art at 2:04:33, If I had to take an educated guess it is actually a reference to Skullomania's inspiration; the original Kamen Rider series from 1971. In which the main character Takeshi Hongo is abducted by an evil organization and forcibly turned into a cyborg that after breaking out becomes the hero Kamen Rider. The promotional art itself just like the episode has Ryu strapped down in the exact same way Hongo is in the 1st episode with him struggling to break free while in a sparsely lit up laboratory and completely surrounded. If you want to get an idea for yourself of what I am talking about, the first episode of Kamen Rider is available for free on youtube in HD quality. So while I don't know 100% if this was the inspiration, the scenes are so similar that I would say it is near definite.
And it's also a reference to Kamen rider's original "inspiration": skull man
@@negansare4615 Yep
I’d say it probably is 100%, it’s the only logical explanation to why that promotional art even exists
@@zellaus2649 My only problem with saying 100% is I don't have a source of saying it is the case. That is why I say near definite, but I do think it was the inspo.
& Shadow Giest look like the Second Kamen Rider hit the Gym.
"You must withstand my crunch time to stand a chance" - Capcom
"I have the strongest deadline in the world." - Street Fighter Alpha
"Itsuno could beat you- and he has no sense!" -Funumizu Hibiki
Cody was arrested because he was framed by Poison and arrested by Edi E. The Poison part seems to have been retconned because Cody and Poison are pretty friendly in SFV. He always beat up bad guys. His heart was always to help Metro City. Even as mayor, he is literally recruiting old Mad Gear members to try and reform them to help Metro City because he knows you can’t just Street Fight in order to defeat corruption.
Or maybe time has passed and Cody kinda got over that framing stuff. It's not outside the realm of possibility that Cody could have looked past Poison's actions since that was part of Cody's imprisonment.
@@dnmstarsi That’s possible, but I think the more probable idea is that Cody wouldn’t. Considering he was bitter the entire time he was in prison…I don’t see him acting as if Poison didn’t do what he did. It’s an important part of his character growth. It makes more sense that they retconned it (or that it was never canon in the first place 😂)
@@YophiGames I don't think Cody was THAT bitter but that's just me.
@@dnmstarsi you don’t think so? His lines continuously had an “I gave up on myself a long time ago” feel. He continuously talks about how he doesn’t care anymore and does his best to hide the fact that all the people he keeps fighting are actually bad guys 😂. He didn’t like his prison time because whenever someone tried to give him hope, he never took it. He even told Guy that he was going back where he belongs.
@@YophiGames I can see Cody not give a damn anymore but grudge or alike is another story which is why I can believe that Poison would get him framed but he'll get over it just as long as you don't upset him or alike.
For context, the picture of Skullomania about to operate on Ryu is a reference to Kamen Rider, who was a motorcycle rider named Hongo Takeshi that got turned into a Cyborn by the evil organization Shocker
1:09:53 "Even within the Street Fighter universe you can't just go around beating up random people"
Street Fighter 6 World Tour Mode: 👀
Tbf, we are in a previous crime ridden city (that become crime ridden again in the far future) not to mention the mayor.
If there's one thing I like about alpha and ex, it's:
1. The references to the Sf2 movie in alpha 1 and 2
2: *SKULLOMANIA*
Ex is underrated, it's fun
Can you imagine what history would have been like if Capcom had halfway decent leadership? I swear it's only because their rank and file was talented and possibly insane (given the development time on Alpha) and also a lot of luck, that they managed to make those games.
From the way you describe it, it weirdly sounds like Nintendo too with this sentence from it's fans
"It's Game Developers are godlike, but damn we hate their business and legalese side of their company."
Man, ‘96 and ‘97 must have been great times to be a sax player.
* Arashi No Saxophone 2 from SNK
* Sakura’s theme from Arika
* Bill Clinton won his 2nd term as President of the United States, beating Bob Dole after Mr. Dole fell off a stage.
Retrospective on my birthday?
Best gift ever
Is retrospective
I remember as a kid I was lowkey traumatized when I lost against Bison in Alpha 3. I couldn't fathom that my favorite was just getting milked and I couldn't do anything about it because I lost.
Sakura & Akuma are STANCED UP in this thumbnail and I love it.
I like that they're the "representatives" for SF Alpha in the thumbnail, mainly because they're essentially the two characters that are probably synonymous with the Alpha games more than anyone else. (I know Akuma appeared in Super SFII Turbo, but it's the Alpha series where he got further fleshed out.)
Honestly my favorite thumbnail
I find it also funny that both of them are in the opposite spectrum of fighters with Sakura being the goofy dork fighter and Akuma is the most evil looking fight loving fuck you’ll ever see lol
THIS IS THE STANCE!
Honestly it’s my favorite thumbnail. On top of their sick poses, Sakura pretty much is the top representative of the Alpha era due to how much of her character is fleshed out, having her own manga, got the most crossovers and basically being one of the most popular SF characters of all time now.
Akuma to an extent as well, since this is when he actually started to get more fleshed out as a character.
There is Dan too who also quickly became a fan favorite and him along with Sakura got a number of crossovers in the 90s from Puzzle Fighter to MVC
“6-part series.”
CALLED IT.
Part 1: Street Fighter 1 & 2 Series
Part 2: Street Fighter Alpha Series & Street Fighter Ex Series
Part 3: Street Fighter 3 Series
Part 4: Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game & Other Street Fighter Media
Part 5: Street Fighter 4 Series & Street Fighter x Tekken
Part 6: Street Fighter 5 & All 5 Seasons of DLC
@@glacierwolf2155 Looks like YOU called it instead. LOL
This series is legendary. That entire breakdown of Alpha ones development blew my mind.
2:04:20 Oh god, that Skullomania poster is a GIGANTIC reference to the original Kamen Rider.
In the street fighter season of the exceed card game, Dan Hibiki’s gimmick was that he gained power and speed on wild swings (drawing from face down). His deck was built around drawing random cards, a lot of which would miss because they weren’t in range.
I really liked how they tailored the mechanics for him as a joke character
I got exited when I saw Guy in Alpha. Was hoping Cody would show up, and when he did, I was disappointed he was a prisoner. At least he had a great arch becoming the mayor.
So fun fact Karin was originally supposed to be playable in marvel superheroes VS SF there is code in the games files that Karin was gonna be a pallet swap of Sakura but due to limitations and a deadline to make she was cut
Alpha 3 my favorite Street Fighter game love it so much I wish we get Dramatic Battle in the games again that was my favorite mode.
Oh so my interpretation of Akuma's reaction to Thanos *stealing* the Satsui No Hadou is accurate. (In which he ambushes Thanos and kicks the ever loving shit out of him)
Honestly, if I had to answer which Street Fighter game introduced me to the series it was both Alpha and EX that did that when I was a kid. Never owned the two game entries, but I have played them before. So this part is a treat for me.
1:55:30-1:56:29 *BLESS YOU* Thorgi for mentioning the music of the EX series! I literally have all the entries OST on both my laptop and phone. Shinji Hosoe and the rest of his squad's music should not be overlooked! Especially since these people would be responsible for other banger game OSTs such as MegaMan Network Transmission & Naruto's Clash of Ninja franchise.
I am floored to learn that those Street Fighter 1 portraits are fanart from a magazine. I've been seeing those pictures for like 25 years and I always had just assumed they were the official art for the game.
I knew of Dan but I’d never seen his animations before. The flying kickS and short range one hand fireball are SO Ryo/SNK
"If M.Bison is so great, why isn't there an M.Bison 2?"
Arika: 🤔
The alpha series is my favorite and im so excited to check this out! Your retrospectives are the best in the biz
Thorgi forgot to highlight that many of the Alpha sprites of the classic characters were traced over the SF2 versions.
I played alpha 2 more than I ever played sf2 so I agree
This video actually made me realize that Kyosuke was the one character on the Capcom side in Capcom vs. SNK 2 who wasn't eventually added into a version of Alpha 3.
Damn shame he wasn't, if he had been, he would have been the first playable Rival Schools character in a Street Fighter game before Akira in SF5.
There is a reason why. As you already know, Thorgi mentioned in his Rival Schools retrospective that the series originally takes place in a seperate universe, and because of Sakura's appearance in the first game, people are speculating that Rival Schools is linked to Street Fighter for decades, and it wasn't until Street Fighter 5 with Akira's inclusion that the developers finally confirmed that both series are indeed connected with each other.
@@collaterale1 To be fair,Ingrid was also playable in a version of Alpha 3,and her place in canon is...a bit messy to put it lightly. So I don't think canon was that big of a concern.
Batsu in tvc
Actually, Dhalsim's stretchy limbs were based on a villain from the movie master of the flying guillotine
Yoga Toga Tsung
Zantetsu from Last Blade was inspired by that movie as well. "Win Without A Knife" Y Akuma
Alpha 3's aesthetic might be my favorite of any fighting game ever. The selection screen, round graphics, life bars, over-the-top announcer commenting on your match... it just all clicks.
It's got such a "90's on it's death bed" asthetic, i love it.
I would love to see Arcsystem Works involved in a potential Alpha 4 if Capcom ever decided on a new game. With input from both companies, they could create something amazing.
@@Exlayer-pk8hyI think it’s aged well because a lot of that late 90s/ Y2K stuff is cool again, between that and the soundtrack the game feels at home somehow decades later
GO FOR BROKE!!!!!
The one thing that will always come to mind when I think of Street Fighter Alpha 2 is that awesome intro. The visuals combined with that incredible theme music just really draws me to that game for so many years now.
I just got into the Street Fighter series from these retrospectives. Thanks for creating these amazing videos that has gotten me into such a goated franchise. THE HYPE IS REAL! 🎉
Pfp checks out
1:29:52 I remember once reading that Kyosuke was supposed to be added to the GBA version of SFA3. So I was shocked when they didn't add him. When the PSP version was released, I thought he'd be added then. I was surprised it was Ingrid but I didn't mind. I liked her. But I was also wishing that they added Kyosuke instead or additionally. It would've made more sense.
I still think it’s absolutely hilarious how Capcom gained so much success from SF2 and didn’t go into SF3 afterwards especially considering how many titles they would churn out in the 90’s 🤣
Ayyyyyy, nice job getting this out for EVO weekend :D
Sigh. I _adored_ Ingrid and Area when they originally popped up, then got to see them cold-shouldered for the rest of my life. Same as it ever was, I guess.
Then in 6 Ingrid trolls us all.
Glad to see the ex series aside from its amazing sountrack finally getting some love after all those years, the ex games where ahead of its time and with so many hidden secrets.
On the "simpler" thing
I remember getting downvoted on Reddit for saying that the simplified and more fluid combo systems in Guilty Gear Strive betas were a work in progress and they'd improve the feel with further dev time. They also insisted that it would be a failure cause it was "losing hardcore fans"...
The FGC really needs some reality checks sometimes.
Yeah, the FGC has a _huge_ elitism problem, unfortunately.
The community stays afloat because new people join it, not because the top dogs keep coming back.
Fighting games developers will cater to the casuals and make their games simpler & more beginner-friendly because _that's where most of the money comes from._
Plus, expert fighting game players _already_ have the perfect games for them with their favorite mechanics: The older titles and mods of the newer titles.
You're telling me every single fighter in Alpha 2 gets their own symbol for finishing an opponent with a Custom Combo!? The Spriters Resource... HERE I COME!
Itsuno went through the "what doesn't break* you, makes you stronger"-school of development and now he's the god among game directors.
That payed out huge, now we know his name and I've already forgotten the name of the jerk who insulted him. He did his part though.
*small liberties taken in the quote here.
I love Eagle so much. He's legit a badass
I'm so excited for the EX series to get covered
??? He already covered it here
@@harrylane4 I was saying that I was excited about that.
There's a misunderstanding of Ingrid's story in Alpha 3 max mostly because of translation issues, she didn't come to take the psycho power from Bison, she came to take back a shard like the ones she puts on her hair that Bison stole so he can empower his Psycho drive weapon.
As for the people who says that she came and squashed Bison and what not, in her story she said that she needs 15 minutes to beat him, that seems like a long fight for me.
You mean 15 shards.
@@therussianwanderer4851 No, 15 minutes.
Oops I forgot to put the word "minutes" in there.
SF co-creator Hiroshi Matsumoto was the main guy behind Art of Fighting though Nishiyama head produce the development.
Bengus is easily my favorite visual artist of all time, his work on Alpha, Darkstalkers, and Marvel vs Capcom is a big reason I got into fighting games in the first place
Just wanna say thank you for making these awesome videos!
Usually when I see longer videos I lose interest, but your videos are always really fun and interesting to watch.
Another excellent retrospective! I love this series and rewatch it almost daily (sleep time playlist, ftw). I appreciate the amount of work and effort put into this channel!! Thank you for the great content!
Me personally i always loved EX Plus Alpha the most out of the EX games, tho that may just be nostalgia because i got that game Christmas of 1998 and played the heck out of it with my little brother. I didn't play EX 2 Plus until years later. Oh yea i agree with Alpha 2>Alpha 3, i've always felt it was the better game. Anyway, absolutely loved this man, excellent work as usual Thorgi. Can't wait for part 3.
Stroheim was the one that Guile's hair is credit for taking inspiration from. Alpha 2 on the PC is the game I credit for taking me from liking fighting games to loving 'em. I'd played SF2 and MK on my Amiga 500, Super and MKs 2 and 3 on a friend's SNES, various games at arcades, but Alpha 2 just somehow hit differently and unlocked a deeper tier of appreciation.
To me, EX3 is like Rise of the TMNT: it's not bad, just misunderstood. However, I don't see it as THAT underrated but it is definitely worth checking out and who knows, maybe you'll appreciate this more.
Street Fighter 3 is my favorite in the franchise. I love they put the "Street" in Street Fighter 3 and most of the newcomers were awesome! Elena, Dudley, Ibuki, Makoto, Necro, Twelve, Q, Oro, Alex, and Sean are cool newcomers imo. Only one I don't care for was Remy. Plus the soundtrack is a banger.
True, but damn, did that game had to go through thick and thin to be recognized as a great game. People only thought of it as Ryu, Ken and a bunch of weirdos.
@@WokioWolfy back in the day I was one of these people. At that time I complained even with Alpha for not having the classic characters of SF2. By the way, during the 90s I thought SF2 was the first in the franchise lol
@@Tungdil_01I find it funny because I'm always bothered that 2 of my go-to's (Yang and Oro) aren't playable in the same game after sf3 and don't care about the sf2 cast all too much.
@@WokioWolfyRight?
I share the sentiment I also personally like SF3 New Generation & 2nd Impact more than 3rd Strike. I will give 3rd Strike this the control was better, Makoto was introduced and Alex, Ryu, Elena Ibuki & Urien themes were improvements.
The Street fighter Alpha part of the franchise is easily my favorite.
I love the heavy anime asthetic of these games a lot more than the styles of the other games
Same though I want that hd remix one so bad 😆
Zack's Note: The 1 frame recycle message is the "Recycle It, Don't Trash It" screen, it's a extra in the xbox ports of the KI arcade games.
Love love love your retrospective. Was interesting learning the history behind the games creations especially. However, the earliest Combo Trial mode that I found and was released a year before street fighter ex was Fighter's History: Mizoguchi Kiki Ippatsu on the super nintendo as well as having a Tag battle mode that also pre-dates x-men vs street fighter japanese arcades by a year as well, and having the visual novel story mode gameplay you'd see with a lot of anime fighters today. It's rather obscure though of course having become more associated with SNK over time (with Mizoguchi appearing in KOF Maximum impact Regulation A).
You could say the combo trial and tag vs mode's first appearance outside of Japan is indeed Street Fighter EX2
Alpha and KoF made me care about fg stories for the better or for the worst, I wish more fighting game did those type of arcade stories instead of whatever tekken 7 and gg strive tried to do.
Dan Hibiki's popularity may have been overtaken by Neko Arc over the past few years
She would definitely be the 2nd name to come to mind when I think "Fighting game joke character" (even thought of her when he mentioned it in the video), but I think Melty is still niche enough that Dan still get more recognized.
The Zero/Alpha series was my introduction to Street Fighter when I was a kid. Without those games (specially 3) there's a chance I may have never fully gotten into Street Fighter. So glad that I did.
3 was the first fighting game I really played. I played it on the ps2 as a kid since you could play the ps1 port on there. I genuinely had no idea max existed so when I ran it on emulator my mind blew
Holy crap I checked back randomly to see if part 2 was uploaded and what do you know, 4 hours ago! So excited to watch
dude this channel is underrated you deserve way more subs
Hooked on these videos, thanks for making them. Always liked fighting games but played them more casually...this has sparked something in me that has been missing for years.
1:14:14
Bison's Psycho Drive Crusher is unblockable in the air, no matter which ISM is chosen.
One of the ways you used to be able to cheese it was with a well timed shoryuken so the hit wouldn’t register. Took me forever to get the timing right as a kid
Sometimes, it really is just a knowledge check.
2:04:50 here's the answer: it's a Kamen Rider reference, Hongo Takeshi, the 1st Kamen Rider, was operated on by the evil organization Shocker to turn him into one of their cyborg monsters but was saved before being brainwashed thus Becoming Kamen Rider
P.S. if you look at Skullomania's design in EX2 he has the same henshin belt as Kamen Rider Ichigo and Niigo
Never forget from that SF2 Animated Movie, we got "Chief Running Mouth" from Ken. I'll never forget that line and I laugh at it more as I get older.
That pickles on the burger line was a chef's kiss
u made the best retrospectives I've seen PERIOD!!!
I've been watching these on repeat...
I totally love your humor!!!
If my memory doesn't betray me, Shin Akuma was playable in alpha 2 on PC (I don't know why this version is reviled, I have dozens of hours in it) but it doesn't have evil Ryu. Also I didn't know you can play the secret characters in alpha 1 and God knows how many hours and quarters I spent on it in the arcades.
The artwork of the Skullmania-fied characters of Street Fighter is obviously a reference to the creation of the first Kamen Rider, as Ichigou and Nigou are both Cyborgs, modified by the evil organization Shocker.
Insane detail and dedication to research with these videos. You really do go above and beyond with these. Great work man.
Evo day + SF Thorgi = Fighting Bliss!!!❤
Now begs the real question:
Can Cracker Jack stop the Train in GTA 5????
2:04:22 this art is actually in reference to the original Kamen Rider series.
The main character, Takeshi Hongo, has his powers given to him against his will by the enemy group Shocker via surgery. The art is in reference to the first episode of the original Kamen Rider series.
Bruh, I literally just watched part 1 yesterday just for this to be released today. 😆 Lucky me I guess!
I love the alpha series
Me too
The only time you can say the prequels matched or surpassed the original
Same
After watching through parts of this I kept wondering why I had this image of Shadaloo dealing drugs despite never playing the Alpha games much (much less reading what was in them because it was all in English), but I took the time to rewatch the SF II animated movie the other day and they're doing it there, too. Must've been the times for sure.
How absurd of you to premiere this on day 1 of Evo.... just kidding I'm glad you did... another well.done vid. I feel like everyone in the FGC should be subbed to u
The intro to this series is hype as hell
The next Super Smash Brothers needs to have Ken's stage from Alpha 2 as his home stage. It's such a cool stage.
That's assuming Ken is gonna return for the next game. Besides, I prefer mixing Ken's stages into one. Like with Ryu, his stage would be based on his SF2 stage but the boat is modeled after the one from SF3 and 6 but like Alpha 2 and Terry's stage, it'll have its share of cameos spectating the fight on Ken's boat.
Throw in Chun Li while we’re at it
@@thedapperdolphin1590 Man, I know they probably wouldn't want to oversaturate the roster with SF characters, and if they did Smash fans would probably get real mad about it, but I've thought to myself many times about how other SF characters would look/play in Smash. Chun, Bison, Akuma, Zangief, Dan, there's so many SF characters who'd probably look stylish af if fully adapted into Smash.
@@gregvs.theworld451 I think it would be funny if future smash entries just add Akuma and Sakura on top of Ryu and Ken.
We have 3 Links and 4 Marths so there Is a precedent for that.
@@Exlayer-pk8hy Hear me out: A secret Akuma battle at the end of classic mode where he raging demons Master Hand, and you unlock him upon defeating him.
GREAT VIDEO but another correction. Evil Ryu (Satsui No Hado Ryu) was not available on the original release of Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan along with Champion Edition versions of Dhalsim and Zangief. He did not become playable in Japan until Street Fighter Zero 2' (Dash)
Was looking forward to this! Thanks mr Thorgi! Looking forward to the next parts
So I'm guessing the remaining parts are like this:
Part 3: SFIII series
Part 4: Street Fighter - The Movie and associated games
Part 5: SFIV series (including SFxT)
Part 6: SFV and SF6 (and maybe mentions of miscellaneous games).
Probably more like this imo.
Part 3: Street Fighter 3+Fall of Capcom Fighting Games.
Part 4: Street Fighter 4 series+Street FighterXTekken
Part 5: Street Fighter 5 series+Capcom Fighter Purge. (Referring to how they killed off even Marvel VS Capcom by 2017.)
Part 6: Street Fighter 6+films, comics, OVA's, Street Fighter The Movie, etc.
Time will tell for the results, of course.
Actually, I think it’s gonna be
Part 3: Street Fighter 3
Part 4: Movie/ Movie Game
Part 5: Street Fighter 4, SF X T, 5
Part 6: Spin-Offs and 6
well you got it right so far
Awesome retrospective, but when you got to Alpha 3, I wish you covered the "SF3: Saikyo Dojo" upgraded port that came out for the Dreamcast and Naomi arcade boards. It introduced online play and some of the extra modes and gameplay elements that you're crediting "MAX" for.
True but MAX is just basically the complete Alpha 3 package while Dreamcast was just Alpha 3 with Online and some changes. It is arguably noteworthy but not enough to give it its own spotlight compared to GBA and PSP that have more noteworthy things to say.
Crawfish Interactive’s time developing Alpha 3 Upper sounds like it was a nightmare, hot dang.
Street Fighter Alpha 3’s announcer has the exact same energy that BattleTech/MechWarrior’s Solaris VII announcer Duncan Fisher has and I love it
Loving your personal input on this history and the gameplay. Thanks so much for the great content!
Alpha series was a fine collection of games that perfectly connected Street Fighter 1 and 2. BUT It was also a great in art style. Ex series will always have a special place similar to Godzilla 98, as they blew the world when I was a child. I am glad Arika is doing well it's characters. Looking forward to your coverage of the next installments in this retrospective❤🎉.
FUN FACT: when i was younger i liked Juli for her darker hair but she had less moveset than cammy and juni. There's a Street fighter character history book from udon which states for her, that she couldnt be as efficient in her fighting style due to her "build". I'm guessing she didnt have aerodynamics. :P
Excellent work once again, always interesting to learn more about these games.
And on a side note, yeah the hate for Ingrid always felt like the most artificially forced thing. As if it was a joke that people began to take seriously. It's odd.
Yep. Sure, I don't care much for her other than her design but I really don't see the hate for her (though I also don't that much love and demand for her) other than how OPed and mysterious she came off as in Alpha 3 Max. It did make me roll my eyes over her existence but not enough to dislike her.
I love how this video is planned despite being like an 2:30-hours long it was very informative and entertaining, pls keep adding more dev histories they enrich the appreciation of how said games are made.
I can’t get enough of your work. I’ve spent so many hours listening to your voice, It’s basically hypnotizing now.
I still maintain that Alpha 3 MAX has pound-for-pound the best roster in the entire series. If you could magically backport Makoto, Juri, and Poison into the game, it would basically have every Street Fighter character I ever cared about.
the skullomania art wirh the naked ryu is a shoutout to kamen rider, where the titular character is genetically modified to serve the villains, only to rebel against them.
that said, seeing naked ryu is pretty hilarious
I gotta be honest I prefer Alpha Series over the SF III because of the art style, the flashing visuals, the music and the less technical gameplay.
I do not know if I am in the minority, but the Alpha series were more approchable for me just because I could easily play it on console. Of course that accesibility would change over time, but that first impressions and the feeling of owning a SF game in my home (I played the older games in the arcades or console rent locals) mattered a lot.
Most people do
Agreed. SF III sucks
@@Ray-c1r i wouldn’t say it sucks but people saying third strike is the best sf game just because everyone else says it is laughable to me
@@stevesteve0521 lol 3rd strike? Best sf game? Hell no
I am not saying that SF III sucks, as it achieved its own very important goals for the franchise and its developers.
I am just say that as a casual player, Alpha is more appealing for me.@@Ray-c1r
Love the thumbnail, intro was killa! Great video!.
The anime movie was nutz back in the day
Awesome video!
One reference you missed in SF alpha, the colosseum fight has cats in it as a nod to the Bruce Lee- Chuck Norris fight
I play a lot of fighting games like Street Fighter, I really enjoy these videos you make.
I love the PSP SFA3 which is the first time I heard of it as I used to owned and love the PSP. Good memories
That Skullamania poster is a reference to how Kamen Rider was surgically altered to gain his powers.