Street Fighter The Movie

Occasionally,bad movies (and bad movies based on video games) are then sloppily transformed into even worsegames. See where this is going yet? Street Fighter:The Movie (The Game) is possibly the all time best example of this trendthat should be stopped, but probably never will. This game... *twitch twitch* ...this gamewas bad. It's so bad, you wouldn't even want to "insert 2 coins"to play it at an arcade in the 90's, because you'd be overpaying. Ouch!(For your information, in the early days of this website, I purposely neglected adding Street Fighter: The Movie The Game to TFG'slibrary... because... yes, it is indeed that bad. But to fully cover the history of the Street Fighter franchise, thismonstrosity deserves its dark corner of the website. I can't believe I actually decided to finally write a full review on this sorryexcuse for a game, but the the fans demanded it. So I'll try to make this reviewas quick and as painless as possible to keep anyone from killing themselves and/or suddenlycombusting (like the hideous life bars in this game).Street Fighter: The Movie was developed by American companyIncredible Technologies, who were responsible for creating two obscure yetinfamous arcade fighting games: TimeKillers and Bloodstorm. Capcom Japan saw that Mortal Kombatand "digitized" actors in games were positioned to be the next bigthing in arcades, but they didn't know quite how to do it... so they hiredIncredible Technologies... to save the day. Clearly "borrowing" the formula that Mortal Kombat becameknown for and had massive success with, Incredible Technologies useddigitized actors in Street Fighter: The Movie, which consisted of (mostly) the samecast that appeared in the movie. Capcom even flew the Incredible Technologiesteam out to Australia, where the movie was being filmed, to capture the actorsand collect material to make the game. They would then fly all the way back toChicago and design this game from the ground up.

Street Fighter The Movie

Final Words:In case you haven't figured it out yet, StreetFighter: The Movie is one of the worst games Capcom ever put their name on.It's a cringe-worthy masterpiece... just like the movie. The only reason to ever play this game is forhistoric / comic value, but be warned... playing this game is mostly painful. And if you do, be sure toplay the arcade version first to experience the true unadulterated horror and comedic value of this game.(For a more playable-but-still-bad version, check out that Saturn or PS1port.)Worst Street Fighter game ever? Check. Worst fighting game ever? Notreally, but close enough. In fairness, this was really the first"misstep" of the entire Street Fighter series, to date. Moral of the story...stick to your guns and do your thing, and not copy other people'shomework! For Street Fighter fans, it's best not to ever mention this game and justpretend it doesn't exist. However, the history of how thisgame came to be is pretty darn interesting (watch the fantastic YouTube video documentary byMatt Muscles above, and also check out some of the behind-the-scenes photos below).In retrospect, one can't fault Capcom for "trying something new" andattempting to keep up with the times. Seeing Street Fighter "try to do Mortal Kombat" was entertaining in and of itself. And y'know what, they didn't do a terrible jon with their execution of the silly live-actor animations and digitized characters. They're almost more impressive than some of Mortal Kombat's characters, to behonest. lol. The 2D sprites in this game are charming as they are stupid. I'm glad this game exists. It's a crap game, but I'm gladthis game exists.Why the bad rating? C'mon... in '95/'96, so many other (underrated) fighting games were making a huge boom in arcades and on homeconsoles. Both artistically and technically, fighting games were changing at that time and taking huge strides in evolution. SF: The Movie clearly felt like "the past," even at launch. Everybody knew it. For context, X-Men Vs. Street Fighter released less than a year after thi game. Yeah, imagine those 2 games side by side at anarcade. (I don't have to imagine it because I was there.) Due to the fact that the actual Street Fighter: The Movie... Movie (the movie)... wasa total flop at the box office, there weren't many diehards in '95/'96 wasting their time with SF:TMTG. Real popular / fun fighting games in 1995: Killer Instinct 2, Ultimate Mortal Kombat III, Marvel Super Heroes, TEKKEN 2, Darkstalkers2, Samurai Shodown 3, Soul Edge... and even Capcom Japan's own Street Fighter Alpha. Needless to say, all of those games outshined SF:TMTG by quite a lot. Nonetheless, this game was memorable because it actually happened. TFG WEBMASTER @FIGHTERS_GEN

After a career full of awards and critical acclaim, actor Raul Julia made the odd decision to play M. Bison in the infamous Street Fighter movie. At this stage of movie history, it's become a running joke that live-action film adaptations of video games tend to be terrible. This goes right back to the first major instance of that happening, 1993's Super Mario Bros. movie, which bore almost no resemblance to the game world or its characters, and alternated between bafflingly weird and confusingly stupid.

Another early entry in the bad video game movie race was 1994's Street Fighter, based on the legendary fighting game Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior, which spawned one of the most well-known franchises in all of gaming. Poorly written, haphazardly plotted, and also having little in common with its source material outside of the most basic character traits, Street Fighter was a mild box office success, although critics ripped it apart. A funny thing happened in the ensuing decades though, with Street Fighter crossing over into "so bad it's good" territory for many.

Today, Street Fighter is a cult favorite, and perhaps the biggest reason for that is the legitimately great and highly entertaining performance given by Julia as M. Bison. While he's over the top and chews the scenery with abandon, his performance is a perfect match for the wacky tone of the movie as a whole, and he commands attention every second he's onscreen. Sadly, Street Fighter ended up being Julia's final film, as he passed away after a battle with cancer not long before its release. An actor of notable renown, here's why Julia chose to sign on to the project.

Considering just how poor Julia's health had become by Street Fighter's production, it's a minor miracle that his Bison performance turned out so well. Even mainstream critics who otherwise bashed the video game movie as a whole offered praise to Julia's work. The final cut also included a dedication to Julia, since he passed on before release day at age 54. In more recent years, his "But for me, it was Tuesday" speech to Chun-Li has also become a classic meme. While Street Fighter isn't a great movie by any means, Julia is definitely the best part, and raises it from bad to fun almost single-handedly. It's a shining example of the actor he was, and what the world lost upon his death.

Michael Kennedy is an avid movie and TV fan that's been working for Screen Rant in various capacities since 2014. In that time, Michael has written over 2000 articles for the site, first working solely as a news writer, then later as a senior writer and associate news editor. Most recently, Michael helped launch Screen Rant's new horror section, and is now the lead staff writer when it comes to all things frightening. A FL native, Michael is passionate about pop culture, and earned an AS degree in film production in 2012. He also loves both Marvel and DC movies, and wishes every superhero fan could just get along. When not writing, Michael enjoys going to concerts, taking in live professional wrestling, and debating pop culture. A long-term member of the Screen Rant family, Michael looks forward to continuing on creating new content for the site for many more years to come.

As a result, a slew of multimedia adaptations, offshoots, and tie-ins have been produced over the last 25 years. Street Fighter continues to be a popular commodity among gaming consoles, in print, and on the big and small screen. Since 1994, numerous movies and TV series based on the game have been produced.

Once the four street fighters reach the ancient city of Fujiwara, Ken gives Ryu a tour of the place while providing historical factoids about their ancestors and time travel. E. Honda attempts to show them his new sumo move, but he and Chun-Li become separated from Ken and Ryu in Fujiwara, prompting a citywide search.

When Col. Guile and Chun-Li catch wind of Bison's plot, they seek to assist Ryu any way they can. The 68-minute movie is directed by Joe Whiteaker and functions more like an animated comic adaptation than a dynamic feature film. Fans of the film are quick to note the superb artwork as one of the main reasons for its appeal.

Critics, gamers, and moviegoers alike agree that Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie is among the best cartoon adaptations of the Capcom title. Released ahead of the 1994 live-action feature film, the story concerns M Bison's attempt to locate the best fighter in the world.

A Senior List Writer covering a wide array of topics who has been with Screen Rant since September of 2019, Jake Dee has written movie news and reviews since 2008, working primarily with OMG Horror (IGN), JoBlo.com, and Arrow in the Head as a freelance reporter based in Los Angeles. A hopeless cinephile, social media Luddite, certified Nic Cage doppelganger, and a big Weekend At Bernie's fan, Jake can often be found tucked away in a dark corner watching an old horror movie. Born and raised in California, Jake has a Bachelor's Degree in Film & Digital Media from the University of California Santa Cruz with an emphasis on theory and criticism, is the author of several "WTF Happened To This Movie" and "WTF Really Happened To This Movie" videos on YouTube, and has covered everything in the entertainment industry from set visits, studio luncheons, and red carpet interviews to wrap parties, movie premieres, private screenings, talent interviews, and more. 041b061a72