| Street Fighter | |
|---|---|
 North American arcade flyer | |
| Developer | Capcom[a] |
| Publishers | |
| Director | Takashi Nishiyama |
| Designer | Hiroshi Matsumoto |
| Programmer | Hiroshi Koike |
| Composer | Yoshihiro Sakaguchi |
| Series | Street Fighter |
| Platforms | Arcade,ZX Spectrum,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,Commodore 64,TurboGrafx-CD,MS-DOS |
| Release | August 30, 1987
|
| Genre | Fighting |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Street Fighter[b] is a 1987fighting game developed and published byCapcom forarcades. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in theStreet Fighter series. It was a commercial success in arcades and introducedspecial attacks and some of the conventions made standard in later fighting games, such as the six-button controls and the use of command-based special moves.
Street Fighter was directed byTakashi Nishiyama, who conceived it by adapting theboss battles of his earlierbeat 'em up gameKung-Fu Master (1984), for a one-on-one fighting game, and by drawing influence from popular Japaneseshōnen manga. Aport for theTurboGrafx-CD was released asFighting Street[c] in 1988, and was re-released viaemulation for theWii'sVirtual Console in 2009.
Its sequel,Street Fighter II (1991), evolved its gameplay with phenomenal worldwide success.Street Fighter also spawned two spiritual successors: Capcom'sbeat 'em upFinal Fight (working titleStreet Fighter '89) andSNK's fighting gameFatal Fury: King of Fighters (1991), the latter designed by Nishiyama.
The player competes in one-on-one matches against a series of computer-controlled opponents or in a single match against another player. Each match consists of three rounds in which the player must knock out an opponent in less than 30 seconds. If a match ends before a fighter is knocked out, the fighter with the greater amount of energy left is the round's winner. The player must win two rounds in order to defeat the 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 thesingle-player mode, the losing player can continue against the same opponent. Likewise, a second player can interrupt a single-player match and challenge the first player to a new match.
For thedeluxe version of the arcade game, designed by Ken Hata fromAtari Games[13][14] in a joint venture requested personally by Takashi Nishiyama from Capcom, the player's controls consist of a standard eight-way joystick (made by Atari) and two large, uniquemechatronicpneumatic pads (also designed by Atari, rubber covered pads housed inside pneumatic pistons made bySMC Pneumatics in California , USA), 1 for punches and 1 for kicks, each returning 3 values (light medium or heavy) depending on how hard the player actuated the control. The pneumatic control design revealed to be complicated to service, its durability being reduced as players often abruptly punched the pads, sometimes injuring themselves, so according to Nishiyama, in fear the players would tire prematurely and not continue to add coins to the "deluxe" arcade cabinet,[15] an alternate "regular" version was released that replaces the two relatively stiffly pressurized pads with an array of six regular snap-action microswitch arcade buttons for the attacks. It consisted in dividing the 3 distinct input levels for speed and strength (light, medium, and heavy) detected for each rubber pad in the deluxe pneumatic version and attributing these values to three punch buttons and three kick buttons for the regular 6-button version (seeStreet Fighter (video game)#Arcade variants for exact "Regular" button layout & naming).
The arcade flyers for Street Fighter advise graphically the players to use a closed fist to bash the pneumatic pads with a "Bang!" noise[16] on theDeluxe upright cabs, but both Capcom officials and editors from gaming magazines in Japan explained the correct method was to avoid using a closed fist striking high above said pads, but instead to favor an open palm hovering directly above the pads, with a controlled and much softer touch to actuate the rubber covered pistons.[17]
The player uses the joystick to move left or right, and to jump, crouch, and block. By using the attack buttons and pads in combination with the joystick, the player can perform a variety of attacks from standing, jumping, or crouching positions. Threespecial techniques require a specific series of joystick and button inputs:
This is the first game to use such a concept. Unlike its sequels and otherfighting games, the specific commands for these special moves are not given in the arcade game's instruction card; this encourages the player to discover these techniques on their own.[18]
The single-player mode consists of a series of battles against ten opponents from five different nations.[19] At the beginning of the game, the player can choose Japan or the United States, and China or England depending on the game's configuration. The player fights two fighters from the chosen country and proceeds to the next country. Two types of bonus games give additional points:brick breaking and table breaking. After defeating the initial eight characters, the player travels to Thailand for the last two opponents.
The player takes control of a young Japanese martial artist namedRyu, who competes in the Street Fighter tournament to prove his strength,[20] and the second player takes control of Ryu's former partner and current rivalKen, who only jumps into the tournament unqualified to challenge Ryu in two-player matches.[21] Normally, the player takes control of Ryu in the single-player mode; however, if the player controlling Ken defeats Ryu in a two-player match, the winning player will play the remainder of the game as Ken. The differences between the two characters are aesthetic, with the same basic moves and special techniques.
The first eight computer-controlled opponents are:
from Japan:
from the United States:
from China:
from Great Britain:
After the first eight challengers are defeated, the player is taken to Thailand for the last two adversaries:
Takashi Nishiyama conceivedStreet Fighter after working onIrem's 1984beat 'em up gameKung-Fu Master (calledSpartan X in Japan), which has a number ofboss fights; Nishiyama considered making a game centered around them.[30] In turn, the boss fights were inspired by theBruce Lee'smartial arts filmGame of Death (1972).[31] Following the success ofKung-Fu Master, Nishiyama was hired by Capcom.[32] He designed an arcade successor for Capcom,Trojan (1986), a brawler which evolved the basic gameplay concepts ofKung-Fu Master; theNESport has a one-on-one fighting mode, for the first time in a Capcom game.[33] Nishiyama later designedStreet Fighter.[32] The game was also influenced by the earlier fighting games from 1984 –Karate Champ andYie Ar Kung-Fu.[32][34] The gameplay ofKarate Champ,Kung-Fu Master andYie Ar Kung Fu provided a basic template forStreet Fighter.[35][30] Nishiyama wanted the game to have a story similar to a film.[36]
Street Fighter was produced and directed by Takashi Nishiyama (who is credited as "Piston Takashi") and planned by Hiroshi Matsumoto (credited as "Finish Hiroshi"), who both previously worked on the overhead beat 'em upAvengers (1987). They would leave Capcom after the production of the game and were employed bySNK, developing most of their fighting game series, includingFatal Fury andArt of Fighting. They would later work forDimps and work onStreet Fighter IV with Capcom.Keiji Inafune, best known for his artwork in Capcom'sMega Man franchise, got his start at the company by designing and illustrating the character portraits inStreet Fighter. Nishiyama drew several inspirations for developing the original gameplay ofStreet Fighter from martial art styles he was practicing,[37][32] and Inafune based several character designs on the mangaKarate Baka Ichidai.[38]
The designers at Capcom took inspiration fromRobert Clouse's 1973Enter the Dragon, also co-starred by Bruce Lee. That andStreet Fighter are similarly centered around an international fighting tournament, with each character having a unique combination of ethnicity, nationality, and fighting style.[39] Nishiyama was also inspired by popular Japaneseshōnen manga andanime, including an energy attack called Hadouho (lit. the "Wave Motion Gun") from the 1970s anime seriesSpace Battleship Yamato as the origin of theHadouken move.[32] The game's title was taken fromSonny Chiba's filmThe Street Fighter (1974).[38]
Two differentarcade cabinets types were sold for the game: the "regular" version (which was sold as a 26" monitorcocktail cabinet in Japan and as anupright overseas) with a partially similar (see below for differences) six-button configuration similar to the one used later inStreet Fighter II, and thedeluxe cabinet with twopressure-sensitive pneumatic rubber pads that determine the strength and speed of attacks.
The "regular"Street Fighter cabinets for both Japanese and overseas versions had their six-button layout arranged in decreasing "strength" order, with strong, medium then light inputs ranging from left to right on the layout (both for punches and kicks), rather than in increasing order as withStreet Fighter II. In the official arcade flyers forStreet Fighter, punch inputs were named from left to right, "fierce, hook, jab", and kicks (in the same order) "fierce, low, block". ForStreet Fighter II cabinets, the flyers show from left to right "light, middle, heavy" button layout for punches and kicks, soon to be set in stone as an industry standard for Capcom's 2D fighting games.[40][41]
In Japan, in terms of commercial success, the "deluxe" pneumatic control cabinet version ranked number three in the upright and cockpit list of arcades in October 1987, while the "regular" six-button cheaper cocktail version managed to peak at first place on the table arcade chart; however, all versions dropped suddenly out of favor from their respective charts as soon as mid-1988. In the US, surveys related to both deluxe and regular upright types showed that the decline was more progressive, ranging from number 10 in the charts (December 1987) to falling out of the top 25 in mid-1989.[42]
In the worldwide versions, Ryu's and Ken's voices were dubbed so that they yell the names of their moves in English, such asPsycho Fire,Dragon Punch, andHurricane Kick. Subsequent localized releases untilStreet Fighter IV left the Japanese voices intact; sinceStreet Fighter IV, the series contains English voice acting, and Asian characters use Japanese names for certain special moves and supercombos among otherwise English dialogue.
The hardware built inside the arcade cabinets consists of a customarcade system board that is based on aMotorola 68000 CPU clocked at 8 MHz with twoZilog Z80 sound coprocessors clocked at 3.579 MHz. Sound is provided by theYamaha YM2151FM sound chip and twoOki MSM5205ADPCM sound chips and outputs stereo sound. The display resolution is 384×224 at 60 Hz. The "deluxe" pneumatic cabinet has a specific PCB with sensors plugged to their respective rubber tubings and thus a specific ROM set as well.[43]
Street Fighter was ported asFighting Street in 1988 for thePC Engine CD-ROM2 System in Japan[44] and 1989 for the TurboGrafx-CD in North America. There was no six-button controller for the TurboGrafx-CD at the time, so the attack strength is determined by the duration of the button-press, akin to the deluxe arcade version. It has a remastered soundtrack and covers artwork ofMount Rushmore, an in-game location. It was developed byAlfa System and published byNEC Avenue in North America andHudson Soft in Japan. This version was re-released viaemulation for theWii'sVirtual Console on October 6, 2009, in Japan, November 2, 2009, in North America and November 6, 2009, inPAL regions.[45]
Versions for theCommodore 64,ZX Spectrum,Amstrad CPC,Amiga, andAtari ST were developed byTiertex and published byU.S. Gold in 1988 in Europe. A different Commodore 64 version was developed by Pacific Dataworks and published by Capcom USA. Capcom also published an MS-DOS version in 1989, developed by Hi Tech Expressions.[46] Hi-Tech re-released the game as part of theStreet Fighter Series CD-ROM collection.[47]
An emulated arcade version is included inCapcom Arcade Hits Volume 1 forWindows,Capcom Classics Collection Remixed for thePlayStation Portable,Capcom Classics Collection Volume 2 for thePlayStation 2 andXbox, andStreet Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection forPlayStation 4,Xbox One,Nintendo Switch, and Windows.[48]
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer and Video Games | Positive (Arcade)[49] 89% (PC Engine)[50] 2/10 (Amiga & Atari ST)[51] |
| Génération 4 | 83% (Amiga & Atari ST)[52] |
| Joystick | 79% (PC Engine)[11] |
| PC Engine Fan | 24.4/30 (PC Engine)[53] |
| Sinclair User | 10/10 (ZX Spectrum)[5] |
| Your Sinclair | 8/10 (ZX Spectrum)[54] |
| Zzap!64 | 36% (Commodore 64)[55] |
| Commodore User | 6/10 (Arcade)[1] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Sinclair User | SU Classic |
The original punching-pad cabinet was not successful as Capcom had planned, with only around 1,000 units sold. However, the alternate six-button version was more successful, selling in the tens of thousands, with estimates ranging from between 10,000 and 50,000 units sold.[30] In Japan,Game Machine listedStreet Fighter as the fifth most successful upright arcade unit of September 1987,[56] before reaching number three in October 1987 and then number one in January 1988.[30] It became Japan'sfifth highest-grossing large arcade game of 1987,[57] and the country'seighth highest-grossing arcade game of 1988.[58] In the United Kingdom, theCoinslot charts ofSinclair User magazine listedStreet Fighter as the top-grossing dedicated arcade game of August 1988.[59] It was not as successful in the United States, where it peaked at number 10 on theRePlay upright cabinet chart in December 1987.[30]
The arcade game received positive to mixed reviews, with critics praising the combat and graphics but criticizing the pressure-pad controls. Upon release in August 1987,Commodore User magazine said it has some of the "most unusual features which make it worthy of note" such as the experimental rubber pad controls and the large 24-inch screen displaying large detailed sprite graphics. However, the review said "the fairly repetitive nature of the game, and the large amount of physical effort needed to play it, will preventStreet Fighter from being much more than a novel experiment in coin-op technology" but that only "time will tell".[1] In September, Tony Thompson ofCrash said it "breathes new life" intomartial arts games, with a "huge" cabinet, "big" characters, pads where "the harder you hit the pads the harder your character hits" and "secret techniques" but criticized it for making his "hands hurt".[60] In December 1987,Julian Rignall and Daniel Gilbert ofCrash said "it adds a new dimension withpneumatic 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.[61]
Clare Edgeley ofComputer and Video Games said in December 1987 that the arcade game 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".[49]Computer and Video Games said in May 1988 that the arcade game was "one of the most realistic martial arts combat games, a sort of street Olympics" with international opponents.[62]
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The ZX Spectrum version received positive reviews. While reviewing the Spectrum version,Sinclair User awarded the game a maximum rating and called it "one of the games of the year".[5]
The Amiga and Atari ST versions received mixed reviews.Génération 4 gave them a positive review.[52] Julian Rignall ofComputer and Video Games reviewed the Amiga and Atari ST versions, stating that the game had "no lasting appeal whatsoever".[51]
Street Fighter's niche evolved,[35] partly because many arcadegame developers in the 1980s focused more on producing beat 'em up andshoot 'em up games.[63] Part of the appeal was the use of special moves that can only be discovered by experimenting with controls, which created a sense of mystique and invited players to practice the game.[64] FollowingStreet Fighter's lead, the use of command-based hidden moves began to pervade other games in the rising fighting game genre.[64]Street Fighter introduced other staples of the genre, including theblocking technique and the ability for a challenger to spontaneously initiate a match against a player. The game introduced pressure-sensitive controls that determine the strength of an attack. However, due to this encouraging damage, Capcom soon replaced it with a six-button control scheme offering light, medium, and hard punches and kicks, which became another staple of the genre.[65]Yoshinori Ono considersStreet Fighter to be "the first modern-day fighting game".[34]
Capcom's brawlerFinal Fight (1989) began development as a sequel calledStreet Fighter '89.[66] According to the developers, they were originally planning to have Ryu and Ken as the main protagonists, but changed to a new plot and setting.[67]SNK's fighting gameFatal Fury: King of Fighters (1991) was designed by Takashi Nishiyama, the director ofStreet Fighter. Nishiyama envisionedFatal Fury as a spiritual successor toStreet Fighter, developed around the same time asStreet Fighter II (1991).Street Fighter II focuses on combos, andFatal Fury focuses on special move timing andstorytelling.[68]Street Fighter also influencedSega AM1's Makoto Uchida as lead designer ofhack and slash beat 'em upGolden Axe (1989), particularly with combo moves.[69]
西山 1対1での戦いを、 実在の格闘技に置き換えてもエンターテインメント性に欠 けると思うんですよ。 より映画的な、 アニメ的な、 小説的な物語性が必要だし、 それ にはハプニング的に勃発する闘いが不可欠だった。 だから 「ストリートファイター(I)」 という名前にしたんです。 ゲームで表現できることって限られているけれど、 どこかド キドキするような物語性を感じ取れるようにしたかったんです。[Nishiyama: I think that even if one-on-one fights were replaced with actual martial arts, it would lack entertainment. A more cinematic, anime-like, novel-like narrative was necessary, and a battle that broke out in a happening way was indispensable for that. That's why I named it "Street Fighter (I)". The things that can be expressed in a game are limited, but I wanted to make it so that you could feel a story that would make your heart skip a beat.]
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