Street Fighter

Street Fighter is the title shared by a popular series of beat 'em ups that pit contestants from around the world against one another. Each fighter has his or her own special moves.

Street Fighter made little impact when it was released at the end of the eighties, despite a novel control system which involved the player actually punching the machine, rather than using a more conventional joystick and button setup.

Street Fighter II was one of the most popular games of the early nineties. It features eight fighters that players can choose from (Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Zangief, Dhalsim, Guile, E.Honda, and Chun Li), plus four "bosses" (Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M.Bison). It was followed by a slew of other games of similar design, some by Capcom, some by other companies. One of the most well-known early competitors to SF II was Mortal Kombat.

The game franchise inspired several films. Street Fighter[?] (with Jean Claude van Damme), Street Fighter II The Movie[?] (Japan, Animated[?]) and Street Fighter Alpha[?] (Japan, Animated). There are also a Street Fighter animated series[?] (USA), and Street Fighter II V[?] (a japanese animated series, considered by fans to be superior to other spin-offs, except, perhaps, Alpha).