Street Fighter II V: A Strange Correction/Tribute From The 1994 Critically-Panned Street Fighter Live Movie

 

Street Fighter II V is one series that may have only done better because the American cartoon really sank too hard. A rewatch of the Anime series for anyone who saw the SH*TTY Street Fighter American cartoon AND the cult classic movie Street Fighter (1994), which earned Capcom USD 165 million at that time, might notice the movie DNA baked into the series. It seemed like a correction of sorts. But let's think about the pros and cons. Honestly, I felt that Street Fighter II V wasn't exactly faithful to the lore either. Now, let's think of the movie DNA.

Note: I'll be using the international version names instead of the Japanese version, for easier reference.

This is where I can name a lot. I was thinking about how Street Fighter (1994) influenced this series' formula. The series tries to focus on "near-realism," such as how projectiles aren't even used (and they're a PRIVILEGE) and have to be earned by hard work. This series somehow felt that every thing HAD to be earned. In fact, that's what Ryu and Ken learn the hard way.

Ryu and Ken as the main protagonists, as it should be

Ryu and Ken are both presented as reckless youths. Ryu was more of a stoic within the game continuity. It's interesting to see Ryu and Ken somehow copy the DNA from the Street Fighter movie. They had ot learn the power of the Hadou. That meant these guys focused on close combat more often than not. In fact, they had to learn the hard way that greatness doesn't come so easily. In fact, it had to be EARNED one way or another.

The development of the characters starts at base zero. However, along the way, they learn of the power of the Hadou-Ken. I remember my initial frustration that they had to LEARN the Hadou powers. However, the more I think about it, executing special moves back in the 1990s was awfully hard. One had to learn how normal attacks (punches and kicks) worked and how to strategize each attack to really win. Ryu was trying to master the Hadouken while Ken slowly learned to use the Flaming Shoryuken he's known for. Ken's strength in the games is his Shoryuken (he's better than Ryu there), while Ryu was better with his Hadouken.

What gets interesting is how the fight scenes were corrected. Early on, Ryu had an episode where he was framed by Shadaloo for contraband. What gets interesting is that since Street Fighter II V didn't give Sagat the iconic eyepatch or scar. Instead, Street Fighter II V gave Sagat the adaptational heroism treatment. Later on, the games started to put Sagat away from the Shadaloo path and chose to make him a hero from Street Fighter IV onwards. Instead, Ryu and Sagat met first in a Malaysian prison cell where there's that incredibly corrupt warden, Nuchi. Nuchi is an incredibly evil warden that they bot beat. 

Later on, we have Ken fighting against Vega. I felt the scene with Vega vs. Ryu in the film was FLUNK. Instead, I thought this scene where Vega hypnotized Chun Li was one of the best plots ever. Sure, we have an implied romance between Ken and Chun Li -- something the games didn't put. I thought Ken's fight with Vega here was also thrilling given that Bison was watching the fight from a VIP booth. The fight scene had to be one of the best animated fights in the series!

In fact, they're both the ones who actually finish Bison in the series! They both surface from an exploding sight like Guile did in the Street Fighter movie. 

Chun Li's pre-Interpol days can be quite jarring at times IMHO

The Anime series, despite its somewhat dark atmosphere, chose to get rid of Chun Li's trauma. Chun Li's father Dorai survives unlike the video games. I mean, I seriously wanted her to have that experience of Bison telling her the classic movie line. Sure, this Chun Li looks a LOT like Ming Na Wen. However, I thought that Chun Li as a tour guide and de-aged felt off. Maybe, I was too used to her vengeance-crazed side one way or another.

I thought it was disturbing how Chun Li had become Vega's lust object. Chun Li and Ken seemed to be a couple within the Anime. Granted, we must admit that Ken's wife Eliza wasn't adapted into the Anime for some reason. Why did the Anime choose to put Chun Li as Ken's possible love interest? I guess they wanted to explore another possibility. 

Chun Li shows she's not to be messed with. However, Chun Li also had her moment where Bison literally turned her into a puppet for his nefarious purposes. It was interesting to see Possessed Chun Li battle Guile and then break out of the mind control eventually.  

Guile's sidelined role is where he's supposed to be 

The early episodes actually feature Guile as a stepping stone. Yes, the American Street Fighter film made Guile the main protagonist and went for a campy G.I. Joe likeness. That's probably why Guile became the main character. Street Fighter II V fixed the protagonist alignment but didn't go with the martial arts tournament. Instead, it focused on a "coming of age" story while Guile plays the king of the air force. Honestly, it was only normal that Guile could beat Ryu and Ken (at the beginning) due to them being just mere reckless youths. This is Guile showing the kind of character he was meant to be -- the SUPPORT character. 

I thought Guile here was more or less closer to Jean-Claude Van Damme than the Street Fighter American cartoon. Guile beating up Ryu and Ken early on shows he's NOT to be messed with. It was interesting to see him show up early on, sidelined, and then he shows up in the finale. In fact, it gets interesting how he also saw Charlie Nash (who looked nothing like the canon version, due to Nash being just a footnote back then before the Street Fighter Alpha series was released after 1995) die right in front of him.

Sure, Guile had a sideline role, but let's face it. It's how Guile was meant to be. He was always meant as a background character like a university professor or a high-ranking official. In fact, he also showed the limits of his character. Sure, Guile defeated Ryu and Ken early on, but he showed he couldn't defeat Bison. It's probably because Guile is just somehow not capable of learning the power of Hadou. It was tragic for him to see Charlie Nash die, though. That scene was undeniably excruciating to watch! 

However, Guile has nailed quite a few victories, pun intended. In fact, he was able to outlast Zangief (who's a Shadaloo dumb muscle like the movie, for some reason), and he was also the one who led the rescue mission against Shadaloo. I felt that this Guile carried the Van Damme energy to where it was needed. This Guile is still WAY BETTER than the Guile that was in the Street Fighter cartoon. IMHO, this one makes Guile one of my favorite characters! This version has the Van Damme energy without being the main character. 

Fei Long in the place of the movie OG Sawada (but some characters were downright removed)

Sawada was created for the Street Fighter 1995 film for some reason. Sawada was a Fei Long expy. Street Fighter II V brought in Fei Long from Street Fighter II Turbo. Fei Long here exists as a movie star and a foot note of sorts. It's because after the San Francisco arc (which was two episodes and the duo met Guile) -- they went to Hong Kong. 

Fei Long was a movie star and an ally. The movie added the hired hands of Shadaloo called Ashura. Ashura characters were OG characters for the Anime only. Interestingly, Fei Long would also play an important part in Dorai's plot within the Anime-only continuity. Overall, Sawada was just a screen filler. Fei Long would be playing lots of important parts within with the Anime.In fact, Fei Long even had important battles with Cammy.

Dhalsim becomes an important guest character, talking about the Hadou than a Shadaloo scientist

The producers seriously knew how to jump in between the lore and the movie. Dhalsim exists as a great spiritual mentor. In fact, we had a scene where goons wanted the national treasure. Apparently, it wasn't a Shadaloo operation but more like a regular activity.

What gets interesting is Dhalsim's mention of the powerful HISTORICAL figure known as Bodhidharma, the Buddhist monk who allegedly invented Shaolin Kung Fu for the monks in China. Buddhism originated from INDIA, not from China. I still felt that his short role played a big impact in developing the characters. It's WAY better than what the film did to him.

It was interesting to do an exposition that the power of Hadou is NO simple feat. At first, I laughed until I thought that Son Goku in Dragon Ball had to master even the lower energy versions of Kamehameha. The Hadoken which literally means Surging Wave First is a fireball of incredible destructive energy. 

Honestly, the India episodes remindsed me of HOW MUCH I hated Indian history due to very long names. The name Bodhidharma was just one. The concepts like kundalini, which calls forth swadistana chakra, are really hard to pronounce.

Vega in Street Fighter II V was actually better than the film version

Does this scene make you disgusted? Well, Street Fighter II V's Vega is actually too disturbing. The movie had its constraints. A TV series gives you more room. Honestly, I was amazed Vega even licked his own claws; perhaps he's immune to pain because he's a sadist? Vega happens to be that beauty does't equal goodness character. In fact, I love HOW he's played as an evil character here. It may seem he's not aligned to Shadaloo, but later episodes show that he's part of the evil network -- just like the Anime-only Ashura syndicate!

Vega found Chun Li's beauty "unique". This kinda removes the old idea that Spaniards and Chinese hated each other for too long. What goes on next is how Vega has a jealousy for Ken because of Chun Li. In fact, Ken gets a downright brutal cage fight with Vega. Vega doesn't play it fair but dirty. Come on, Vega even STABBED Ken's foot after wounding Ken many times. Ken was able to win but really needed medical treatment later on. 

I felt the fight with Ken was deliberate fan service mixed into the intense plot. It's two Bishonen characters -- one good and one evil -- fighting for the fate of a girl. Vega's fate was somehow left ambiguous, just like the Street Fighter 1994 film. His uncertain doom here was never addressed after Ken defeated him. 

Balrog effectively filled the role Dee Jay had in the movie, while Dee Jay was actually NOT present within the series

Balrog got the adaptational wimp treatment that Dee Jay had from the Street Fighter movie. For some reason, the 1994 film chose to make Balrog a good guy (presumably to avoid lawsuits from Mike Tyson) and Dee Jay the bad guy (presumably because he was Latin American). But unlike Movie Dee Jay, this version of Balrog was cold and ruthless. This Balrog wasn't the dumb muscle from the game but a legitimate Interpol agent while acting as a Shadaloo mole.

I can't get why the Anime decided to make Balrog the "Movie Dee Jay" here. Dee Jay's absence didn't bother me since I wasn't a big fan. However, turning Balrog from the savage hotheaded boxer that he is felt off. Balrog was someone who was the one who arranged Dorai's assassination. 

It should be interesting how Cammy was given her Shadaloo past here, unlike the movie

Cammy was turned into an M16 agent again. This is all before Street Fighter Alpha 3 dropped that lame revelation that Cammy was a modified clone of Bison. Ugh, that story really should be retconned away! Cammy here has a move referenced from the Street Fighter The Movie arcade game called the Choke Whip. Yes, that strangling move. What's interesting is that this version of Cammy was framed as an unwitting Shadaloo agent. Cammy even believed the lies Balrog made about Dorai!

It's possible the producers wanted to mix-and-match the movie AND the game canon. However, what's more amazing is that this Cammy is a HUGE CORRECTION. I felt Kylie Minogue as Cammy was defnitely downright wrong. Instead, this Cammy almost looks like BRIGITTE WILSON who was meant to play Sonya Blade in the 1995 Mortal Kombat film. Seriously, this Cammy looks like Sonya in Mortal Kombat.

What makes me amazed is how Sonya would later inherit Cammy's string for the reboot Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat (2011) had Sonya use a string in her second fatality. Mortal Kombat X had Sonya use the string as her throw animation.

Zangief was made into a Shadaloo agent... FOR SOME REASON!

I'm not a fan of Zangief but the adaptational villainy CAN be jarring. He was made a bad guy in the Street Fighter 1994 film and in the Street Fighter cartoon from America that came out later in 1995. Zangief was given that same dumb muscle bad guy treatment. Zangief didn't have much of a role like in the movie. I mean, it would've been funny IF the scene from the movie of the truck running into the space, and he says, "QUICK! CHANGE THE CHANNEL!" with Balrog getting rightfully annoyed! 

Here, Zangief probably got even dumber. I mean, he doesn't even seem to know Bison is really a bad guy or aware of whatever "Pax Bisonica" his boss was planning. However, he had some really cool scenes like fighting Ryu and later, Guile defeating him. Zangief was used as a dumb muscle to capture Ryu and bring him to the truck. It's a possible Easter Egg to the movie without him otherwise becoming overly comedic. Still, I wish Zangief said, "Quick! Change the channel!"

Charlie's death in the Anime was probably why Blanka wasn't even added

What I thought about Street Fighter II V was Blanka's non-inclusion. The movie made Carlos "Charlie" Blanka one and the same person as the Charlie that Guile kept mentioning in his Street Fighter II endings. Here, Charlie looked nothing like the Street Fighter Alpha version because the game came out AFTER the Anime. Charlie remained a footnote for some time. I bet the game decided to remove Blanka entirely in favor of Charlie for some reason. 

Sure, it would've been fun to imagine Charlie here becoming Blanka and going berserk to force him to fight Guile. However, the producers chose to kill Charlie instead in cold blood at Bison's hands. It was probably because of a fixed set of episodes. If there were 29 then we might as well WRAP IT UP ASAP in just 29 episodes. If a wrap-up was due then dropping the Blanka plot felt the most feasible thing to do -- aside from dropping E. Honda, T. Hawk, and Dee Jay for some reason. They probably would've been narrative clutter plus an adaptation usually deviates from canon. 

It's hard not to sympathize with Guile, who went berserk. Honestly, Charlie and Guile were that close. I thought it was that crazy when Bison and Guile fought. Guile beat Ryu and Ken early on but not Bison? Well, Guile doesn't have the counter to Psycho Power. That might explain why the Street Fighter 1994 movie removed the concept of Psycho Power in favor of a power suit. 

General M. Bison exists as sheer terror while carrying the 1994 movie's references

The Street Fighter film often gets hit for being cheesy. However, it's really something to have Street Fighter II V's portrayal of Bison as a hammy megalomaniac. This version of Bison would monologue a lot during battle -- which is certainly using absurdity as entertainment. However, he was the one handling a multinetwork battle of criminals like the Ashura (his drug-dealing ring), and perhaps he was the one who even had the siege in India. However, for Bison here, "For me it was Tuesday!" when it comes to his hired hands getting killed or apprehended. 

Bison here is basically Movie Bison with Psycho Power. However, if there's one thing worth noting is that Bison uses LIGHTNING ENERGY through his Psycho Power. It should be noted that Bison's Psycho Crusher here doesn't have a torpedo effect but the Superman-style dive from the 1994 film. Bison was using lightning bolts like in the movie. It's completely devastating how this guy could make lightning literally fall more often than not.

The final battle felt like what if Ryu and Ken and not Guile fought Movie Bison with Psycho Powers. The monologues somehow mirrored the 1994 film. Bison called himself a god and has a god complex. Bison even promised that the world would be better with him hence the "Pax Bisonica" WITHOUT saying hte word. In fact, the final clash even caused Shadaloo's headquarters to vaporize. However, Bison's fate somewhat remains unknown, almost mirroring the movie. I even wonder if the animators intended a scene where Bison returned but deleted it? Hmmm.