Examining "Street Fighter II V" With Its Possible "Street Fighter" Movie References
However, it seemed that Street Fighter II V decided to follow the movie DNA in some way. The American version made Guile spam Sonic Booms as the main character and use projectiles. However, here, we don't see any projectiles and it took AN ENTIRE SEASON before Ryu and Ken performed Hadou energy moves -- such as the Hadouken (Ryu) and Ken later learning to use Hadou energy into his Shoryuken. In fact, several characters here DON'T even use projectile moves while referencing some of their NON-PROJECTILE GAMEPLAY.
Note that I'll be using the AMERICAN names here for easier reference.
The series went back to its roots with Ryu Hoshi and Ken Masters as the main protagonists. So yeah, these two are basically youngsters who couldn't stay out of trouble. These two don't even know how to use a Hadouken or the fancy moves of the game. In fact, Ryu even had to learn the power of the Hadouken as a very dangerous move. Talk about tons of "realism" there since special moves were PRETTY DIFFICULT to pull off or even strategize back in the 1990s. I remember how I often lost arcade matches playing this game.
It was interesting these two had swapped fight. Ryu was framed for drugs, and he got arrested. Ryu had a fight with Sagat who in here was a disgraced Muay Thai boxer but never a former Shadaloo agent. I felt that the Anime series corrected the fight by having Ken have an intense cage match with Claw instead of Ryu in the movie. Here, Balrog is strangely enough become an adaptational wimp as he was more of the Dictator's personal secretary than enforcer.
What becomes more interesting is the "corrected fight" IMHO. The Street Fighter movie was that Ken is the one who fights Vega. Ryu had a fight with Sagat, who was wrongfully framed inside the jail. Sagat also lacked the iconic eyepatch for some reason. Vega was
When your Chun Li can't fire a fireball but she can kick you hard
Maybe I could also Guile here. Guile was turned into an extra character here because it's the Japanese version. I always felt Guile wasn't fit for main protagonist material compared to playing the sidekick role like Commissioner Gordon or Chief O' Hara. This version of Guile did a flash kick WITHOUT the Ki energy. Guile did that painful flip kick on Ryu and later defeated Ken.
He was basically a plot kicker. He was a military man, so it was only normal that he beat Ryu and Ken at first. This seems to refer to the Street Fighter America film. This was almost a correction of the Movie Guile by putting him where he belongs -- the important sidekick department. Might not look like Jean Claude Van Damme, but carried THAT SAME DYNAMIC.
It was amazing to see the Van Damme Energy put into the professional staller. He was seen fighting Bison as much as he could. He also fought Zangief, who was a Shadaloo dummy. His final fight was to free Chun Li from mind control.
Charlie Nash... before the Street Fighter Alpha series was most likely a reference to Carlos Blanka
Perhaps the reason why Blanka was totally removed was this. The Street Fighter movie trie to make Nash and Blanka one and the same person. However, the Street Fighter Alpha prequel series chose NOT TO for some reason. Instead, Charlie Nash was given artistic liberty because his appearance was a blank slate. It's like Jerrod in Mortal Kombat never had an appearance in-canon and the non-canon materials (the Malibu Comics) were the ones who gave the NPC an appearance.
Sure, it could've been cool of Bison had Charlie turned into Blanka to torture Guile, have Charlie as Blanka try and kill Ryu and Ken, etc. Instead, the writers chose a route to kill Nash instead of turning him into Blanka like the movie. It also resulted in the downright brutal confrontation where Guile goes "Van Damme style" with Bison. Bison was making bone-chilling monologues.
Balrog effectively here becomes the Movie Dee Jay stand-in
Balrog in the Street Fighter movie was an Adaptational Heroism. It was probably done to safely or evade possible lawsuits from Mike Tyson's camp. Ironically, Street Fighter II V while returning to Balrog to HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE as a villain, turned him into a standard Interpol mole. In fact, this Balrog wasn't even a fighter. This Balrog was a darker version of Dee Jay from the 1994 film! Dee Jay never showed up in the Anime for some reason, while Fei Long did. E. Honda was also absent for some reason.
What made this guy sinister was that he arranged Dorai's assassination. Sure, it's WTF why the writers decided to spare Dorai when he was DEAD in the games. Balrog was the one who hired Cammy to try and murder Dorai. Though this never stops...
The reference is just too hard to ignore. Sure, Balrog in the Anime was given a darker version of Movie Dee Jay. But that hasn't changed the fact that his name was renamed BISON in the original Anime dub. In fact, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that since the Boxer was named BISON, the moves he has are usually BULL-BASED, like the Charging Buffalo attack.
Zangief's role as a Shadaloo dummy
It's unknown why the Anime chose this route. Zangief here still exists as the unwitting pawn of Bison's schemes. Zangief isn't known to be particularly intelligent, so he may think Bison's a good guy. The games always portrayed him as a good guy, though.
My minor disappointment was that I wish Zangief had said in the Anime, "QUICK! CHANGE THE CHANNEL!" to a scene where a truck is heading there. I suspect that the writers planned that funny scene. However, it was probably deleted since it might've disrupted the serialized storytelling.
Vega somehow gets properly aligned despite lacking Sagat's involvement
Vega was presented as the champion of a champion ring. Apparently, he's NOT a direct Shadaloo agent, or is he? After all, Bison was seen watching the cage fight between him and Ken. The Ken vs. Vega here was a deviation from the games. Canonically, Ken is married to Eliza, whose sister is married to GUILE. Street Fighter II V chose a different path by having Ken have an implied romance with Chun Li and Vega lusting after her.
The whole Ken vs. Vega cage fight may be the "huge fix" that the studio did. The movie had a Ryu vs. Vega fight. The Ken match was far more appropriate. Also, it was truly a brutal version where Vega got to STAB Ken's foot. Ken later defeated Vega with a desperate Shoryuken. Vega's fate was left ambiguous.
General M. Bison was a sadist with theatrical gloating
Bison here retains the role of the main antagonist. However, this version tends to mix sadism with theatrical flair when he faces his opponents. Sure, he's smart enough to have his mole Balrog do the dirty work. His relationship with Vega seems more transactional, as Vega wasn't in his payroll. Apparently, Bison sponsored Vega (and yeesh, take note that Bison's OG name as VEGA) as he viewed the rather F*CKING EPIC KEN VS. VEGA FIGHT.
The games portray Bison was less talkative. However, this Bison was fond of monologues and chewing the scenery. It's a HUGE disappointment that Raul Julia died of stomach cancer before this version of Bison was ever shown. This version is what if Raul Julia's portrayal had the advantage of Psycho power. Bison was always making grandiose speeches in combat such as when he he attacked Chun Li (and managed to rip some of her clothes in the process), Guile, and the final battle with Ryu and Ken. Bison obsesses over godhood one way or another. Those monologues are just hammy.
The finale referenced Pax Bisonica (Peace Through Bison) as he monologued to Ryu and Ken. This guy was certainly stealing the scenery when he arrived. It's also amazing how the voicing SEEMED to mimic Raul in the process. Sadly, Kenji Utsumi joined Raul in the afterlife in 2013 -- also dying from CANCER. UGH!
_________
Basically, the whole series was what I'd call better than the American Street Fighter cartoon that came out that same year. This one probably gets more credit than it deserves because the American version just sucks!
Comments
Post a Comment