Street Fighter 2 was a lot of things to a lot of people.
It was the first truly great fighting game for the Super Nintendo. It showed us that an army guy with gravity defying hair could brawl with a sumo wrestler, or a stretchy guy, or maybe even a green monster whose plane had crashed in a lightning storm years before and gave him the powers of electricity and odd chest hair patterns... and somehow, that was okay. It was our first exposure to the legendary Japanese Panty Fetish, if you paused the game at the exact right moment as Chun Li executed a backward leap to safety. It mangled our delicate thumb meats as we mashed them into the sharp edges of the control pad to perform deadly combos. It taught us the harshness of Mother Russia, as poor Zangief was forced to fight half-naked for his supper in a cold oil field. It showed us that ANY fight could be a 'street fight', even if there were absolutely no streets in sight. But most of all, it taught us to love.
Street Fighter 2 was a game that I played religiously, until a neighbour kid stole it from me. That, and Super Castlevania IV. I hold a tremendous grudge towards him, and to this day I have involved fantasies about taking my vengeance. Video games were a rare commodity in a single parent family, happening only once, or maybe twice per year, so I imagine taking a few things from him that might be considered rare commodities, like his left eye or his ability to breathe, followed up by one of those lightspeed E. Honda bitchslaps. I mean, I could go online and replace these talismans of my youth, but that's 85% less bloody, and who wants that?
SOTA has produced a much talked-about set of five figures from the massive Street Fighter series of characters, complete with multiple variations of each character. I don't know if the collected hordes of toygeeks have ever been more excited about anything in their untouched, Babylon 5 watching lives. SOTA took a very personal approach to the production of these toys, starting with the philosophy behind Marvel Legends and checking in with fans nearly every step of the way during production for approval and discussion of what should be done with each figure. This is a move that could revolutionize the approach that the toy industry takes towards research and development, and it's certainly shown the collectibles fanbase what can be possible if a company chooses to listen. They've tasted power, and it was sweeter than after dinner mints.
This super articulated line of Street Fighter : Round One has seen a sparse and difficult US release, failing to appear in many mainstream retail stores, appearing sparsely at online retailers, and having shipments delayed by reports of destroyed cargo. Still, the fanbase is solid, motivated by a mix of killer articulation, great sculpting and nostalgia for the days of yore, back when a 'Balrog' was just a scary, black boxer and not a Middle Earth demon.
Click below to meet your doom.
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There are at least three planned waves after these guys, Round Two including Ken (aka The White Ryu), Cammy, T. Hawk, Vega, and everyone's favorite, Blanka, and all will be with numerous variants. Said wave is starting to hit stores right about.... now. There's also been talk of Darkstalkers figures interspersed with these, and a Darkstalkers line unto itself, which is perfect for those Marvel Vs. Capcom battles. This means another Morrigan, and I likes me some Morrigan.
