Street Fighter Game

Street Fighter (1987) – The Beginning of a Legend

Street Fighter (ストリートファイター) is a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. It is the first game in the legendary Street Fighter series and Capcom’s inaugural competitive fighting title. Although it didn’t achieve the popularity of its successors (especially Street Fighter II), the original laid the groundwork for many features that became standard in fighting games, including a six-button attack system (available in certain versions) and command-based special moves.

Gameplay

At the beginning of the game, players select one of two (or four, depending on dip switch settings) starting locations. There are four countries to choose from: USA, Japan, England, and China. Each country has two fighters, and players must defeat both in best two-out-of-three matches. After defeating both opponents, a bonus round appears before proceeding to the next country.

Once all four countries are cleared, the player travels to Thailand to face the final two opponents.

Bonus Rounds

There are two types of bonus stages:

Breaking wooden boards held by multiple men.
Breaking stacked roof tiles with precise timing.

Characters

Street Fighter features twelve characters: two playable and ten CPU-controlled. Players cannot select their fighter—Player 1 always plays as Ryu, while Player 2 controls Ken in versus mode.

Both Ryu and Ken can perform signature special moves (Hadouken, Shoryuken, etc.), but executing them is challenging due to the primitive input system.

Playable Characters

Ryu – A Japanese martial artist seeking to test his strength in the global tournament.
Ken – Ryu’s rival and former sparring partner, available only in multiplayer mode.

CPU Opponents

Retsu – A Shorinji Kempo master who fights in front of a temple.
Geki – A clawed ninja who uses shurikens and teleportation.
Joe – An American kickboxer fighting in a train station.
Mike – A heavyweight boxer battling near Mount Rushmore. Possibly the inspiration for Balrog (M. Bison in Japan).
Lee – A Chinese martial artist; uncle of Yun and Yang from Street Fighter III.
Gen – A deadly Chinese assassin, later reappeared in Street Fighter Alpha 2.
Birdie – A British punk, redesigned and featured again in the Alpha series.
Eagle – An Englishman wielding twin kali sticks; returned in Capcom vs. SNK 2.
Adon – A Muay Thai student of Sagat; returned in the Alpha series.
Sagat – The final boss and “King of Street Fighters.” Later reappears in Street Fighter II with a signature scar from his battle with Ryu.

Legacy

Though primitive by modern standards, the original Street Fighter introduced critical concepts that would shape the genre. Several characters like Ryu, Ken, and Sagat would go on to become mainstays in later titles, while others reemerged in spin-offs like the Alpha series. This game marked the humble beginnings of one of the most iconic franchises in fighting game history.