The Street Fighter series has been around for 25 years, and Street Fighter II (all versions of it) is responsible for most of the franchise’s success. It got everything right: balanced gameplay, interesting characters, detailed visuals, and tons of replay value.
But 21 years after its release, fighting fans still find themselves scratching their heads over certain aspects of the game that don’t make much sense.
We’ve gathered 15 of the most perplexing mysteries from Capcom’s masterpiece. Maybe you can help us solve them.
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Intro brawl
The intro of the first three versions of Street Fighter II showed a brief fight between two unidentified brawlers.
The guy on the right resembles Final Fight's Cody, but unless this encounter took place in Metro City it is unlikely. The shirtless dude could be Mike from the original Street Fighter.
Strangely, Capcom changed the black guy on the left for a white one in the Genesis port of Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition. Why would they do this?
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Sheng Long
Ryu's victory quote made a reference to Sheng Long. Players assumed he was either Ryu's master, or some kind of legendary fighter. Turns out it was a mistranslation of the word "shoryuken."
The sick bastards at Electronic Gaming Monthly ran a cruel April Fools gag on 1992 with evidence that Sheng Long was real and information on how to face him. Players once again began to obsess over the elusive, fake warrior.
The real mystery here is that Capcom would continue mentioning Sheng Long for years in subsequent versions of SFII and its sequels. Street Fighter IV's Gouken is as close to the mystic warrior as we'll ever get, though.
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Q in Boston
A mysterious loner in a trench coat watches the world warriors battle in Ken's stage. Years later, a strange man in a trench coat, hat, and metallic mask joins the cast of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Could it be the same person?
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Bison’s army
M. Bison's Champion Edition ending states that the "King of Destruction" watches as his armies rise up to take over the world. Hmm...what armies? We're only shown pictures of Bison, Sagat, Balrog, Vega, and a bunch of topless people engulfed in flames. Is that it?
I like to think that those are Monitor Cyborgs from Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. That would really send chills down the world leaders' spines.
Huh? Why is Balrog crying?
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Barf
Certain strong blows cause fighters to hurl. Yes, to vomit. It would make sense if they just ate and got punched in the stomach, but even that wouldn't explain the impossible quantities of puke coming out of their mouths. Apparently, Ryu had lasagna with tomato juice for dinner.
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Sole female fighter
I don't know what the male to female ratio is when it comes to Jeet Kune Do students in Hong Kong, but one female in a crowd of thousands can't be accurate. Or is it?
Some players believe this woman is Makoto from SFIII, but A) Makoto's Japanese, and B) she would NEVER wear a pink bow on her head.
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Photographer
Blanka's stage is a humble, fishing village in the Amazon. One of the people cheering the beast on is a tourist. I know he's not a native because he's the only one wearing shoes, plus he has a camera, and a purse.
The guy takes over 60 snapshots each round, even if the battle moves away from his view, without loading a new roll of film, ever. What exactly is he researching so euphorically?
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Delta Red
Cammy was brainwashed by M. Bison and is confused as hell. Once the drug lord is defeated, a bunch of weirdos (code-named Delta Red) show up claiming to be Cammy's squad mates. Who are they? Can they be trusted?
We only ever see or hear from them during prologues and epilogues. I'd love to know Delta Red's whereabouts when Cammy was being tortured (and who knows what else) by Bison.
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Paranormal
Projectiles made from pure ki energy are common in most fighting games. What's not normal, though, is paranormal activity on the battle arenas.
The painting behind E. Honda's bath house moves, and the animal statues in Fei Long's stage shake and shriek after each round. Get me the Ghostbusters!
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Blanka’s mother
Everything revolving Blanka's origin is a mess. His mother gave him legcuffs as a child for his birthday. Then a plane they were on crashed, separating little Jimmy from his mommy. Blanka was raised by electric wolves or something and his skin turned green, obviously. I honestly don't know what the designers were smoking when they created him.
Anyway, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding Blanka and his mom is their ability to teleport from Thailand to Brazil in the blink of an eye, from one scene to the next.
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Birds
Alfred Hitchcock taught us that birds are not to be trusted. The winged beasts seen in Mexico and England may be bloodthirsty killers, but they just want to watch a good fight. As soon as the bout is over, they flee. What the hell? They must hate Super Street Fighter II's announcer as much as everyone else.
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Concealed accessories
Don't you think it's unfair that no one but Vega gets to wield a weapon? Well, apparently it's a matter of personal choice.
Fei Long hangs around with nunchuks all day long, and Dee Jay has his maracas handy for emergency jamming sessions. They simply choose not to use them as weapons. What I'd like to know is where they store them during the fight.
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Eliza in Thailand
Love is a powerful and beautiful emotion, but it can also make people do crazy shit.
When Ken reaches the finals of the World Warrior tournament in Thailand, the last thing he expects to see is his girlfriend, alone, inside M. Bison's hidden fortress.
How exactly did Eliza find him? I guess it's not such a secret location after all if Blanka's mom, Guile's daughter, and Mikhail Gorbachev know exactly how to get there.
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Sagats
When Dhalsim won the World Warrior tournament, he decorated his house with a giant picture of himself at the winner's podium. But wait, who's that on second AND third place? Sagat.
What happened to M. Bison? Is this what Dhalsim means when he says he'll meditate and then destroy you?
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Ancient One
M. Bison's ending in Super Street Fighter II no longer mentions an evil army. This time, he talks about how the "ancient one" didn't dare challenge him. So, who is the ancient one? Could he be referring to Akuma? Perhaps Gill? The plot thickens....
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