Category: Games

Tekken
New series logo first used by Tekken 8
Genre(s)	Fighting
Developer(s)	Bandai Namco Studios Namco
Publisher(s)	Bandai Namco Entertainment Namco Sony Computer Entertainment
Creator(s)	Seiichi Ishii
Platform(s)	Android Arcade Game Boy Advance iOS Microsoft Windows Nintendo 3DS PlayStation PlayStation 2 PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 PlayStation 5 PlayStation Portable Wii U Xbox 360 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
First release	Tekken September 21, 1994 (1994-09-21)
Latest release	Tekken 8 January 26, 2024 (2024-01-26)

Tekken (Japanese: 鉄拳（てつけん）, meaning "Iron Fist") is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.

The main games in the series follow the events of the King of Iron Fist Tournament, hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu, where players control a plethora of characters to win the tournament and gain control of the company; the conflict between the Mishima family serves as the main focus of the series' plot, while players explore other characters' motivations in aiming to control the Zaibatsu.

Gameplay focuses on hand-to-hand combat with an opponent, with the gameplay system including blocks, throws, escapes, and ground fighting. The series later introduced combos and special moves, with characters also able to stage break arenas. Tekken is noted as being one of the first fighting games at the time to use 3D animation.

Japanese video game developer Namco began the series in 1994, with the release of the self-titled first entry. As of 2017, it has nine additional entries, eight spin-off games, and has been adapted into three feature films and other media. Tekken 2, as well as the third game Tekken 3, are considered landmark titles; they received critical acclaim for their gameplay and more immersive experience. Subsequent titles have followed this concept and received generally positive critical responses. It has been mentioned as early as 2015 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running story in video games without reboots, retcons, or revisions. The Mishima saga covering the first ten games until Tekken 8 was described as a story revolving around the Iron Fist Tournament and a family aiming to destroy each other.^[1]

The series has been universally acclaimed and commercially successful, having shipped over 57 million copies by 2024, making it the third best-selling fighting game franchise. The main series has been widely credited by critics and video game publications for raising the standards of fighting games and praised for its gameplay mechanics and replay value.

Games[edit]

All major installments of the series are originally arcade games, and the boards used to run them have traditionally been based on PlayStation hardware. Following their release in arcades, home releases in the series have mainly been for consoles in the PlayStation line.

1994–1997: Original trilogy[edit]

Tekken[edit]

The first game in the series, Tekken, was released in 1994, first as an arcade game and as a port for the PlayStation in 1995.^[3] The game features eight playable characters, each with their own sub-boss. The PlayStation version features remixes of the stage themes and also made the sub-bosses playable for a total of eighteen characters, including a costume swap for Kazuya (Devil Kazuya). In addition, a cutscene is unlocked when the player finishes arcade mode with each of the original eight characters. The canon ending of the game consists of Kazuya exacting revenge on his father Heihachi Mishima, beating him in the tournament and tossing him off the same cliff that he was thrown off by Heihachi.^[4]

Tekken 2[edit]

Tekken 2 was released in 1995 in arcades and in 1996 for the PlayStation. A port was also made several years later for Zeebo. There are ten playable characters as well as fifteen to unlock, for a total of twenty-five characters. The home version features four new modes that would become staples to the series, which were Survival, Team Battle, Time Attack, and Practice. The game features remixes of the arcade versions' characters' themes, and a cutscene unlocked once the player completes the arcade mode. The canon ending of this game consists of Heihachi surviving the fall, entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 and defeating Kazuya, throwing him into an erupting volcano and reclaiming the Mishima Zaibatsu.^[4] During the events of the second King of Iron First Tournament, Kazuya and Jun Kazama were mysteriously drawn to one another and became intimate.

Tekken 3[edit]

Tekken 3 was released in arcades and for the PlayStation in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Due to the 19-year storyline span between the game and its predecessor, the game largely features a new cast of characters, including the debut of staple main character Jin Kazama, the child of Kazuya and Jun, as well as now-staple characters Ling Xiaoyu and Hwoarang, with a total of twenty-three characters. The home version includes a mode called Tekken Force, as well as the bonus Tekken Ball mode, and also includes remixes to the characters' themes from the arcade version.^[5] The canon ending of Tekken 3 consists of Paul Phoenix defeating Ogre and leaving victorious. After its defeat, Ogre transforms into a monstrous creature, "True Ogre". Jin Kazama faces True Ogre and defeats him, avenging his mother. With Ogre out of the way, Jin's grandfather Heihachi shoots him, leaving him for dead. However, Jin survives, being revived by the Devil Gene he inherited from his father.^[4]

1999–2004: Debut of team-battle oriented games[edit]

Tekken Tag Tournament[edit]

Tekken Tag Tournament was released in 1999 in arcades and as a launch title for the PlayStation 2 in 2000. Tekken Tag Tournament features tag battles and includes almost all of the Tekken characters in the series up until that point in time, for a total of 34 characters. The game ran on the same arcade board with an updated Tekken 3 engine, and thus saw major graphical upgrades when ported to the PlayStation 2. The home version features remixes of the characters' themes from the arcade version, and also features a bonus Tekken Bowl mode. A remastered version of the game, Tekken Tag Tournament HD, is included in the 2011 collection Tekken Hybrid,^[6] which also contained a playable demo of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and the film Tekken: Blood Vengeance.^[7]

Tekken 4[edit]

Tekken 4 is the fifth installment of the series, released in 2001 in arcades and 2002 for the PlayStation 2. The home version includes a new Story mode that unlocks cutscenes when played, in contrast to previous installments in which such cutscenes were unlocked from playing the Arcade Mode. Gameplay revisions include the ability for the player to move about before the round begins, as well as walled-stages. For the first time, the themes used in the arcade mode are the same ones put into the home version. There are 23 characters to choose from. The story reveals that Kazuya survived the fall into the volcano from 20 years prior, and enters the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 to take back the Mishima Zaibatsu. In the canonical ending, Kazuya and Heihachi are both defeated by Jin. Jin unwillingly transforms into his Devil form, but after glimpsing a vision of his mother, Jun (whom he had not seen in six years), he refrains from executing Heihachi.^[4]

Tekken 5[edit]

Tekken 5 was released in arcades in 2004 and 2005 for the PlayStation 2, with a short period of time of transition from arcade to PlayStation, of two months in North America and four months in Japan.^[8][9] There are 32 characters to choose from, including staple newcomers Devil Jin and Osaka's Asuka Kazama. Many of the characters who were removed in Tekken 3 returned in Tekken 5. The home version includes a mode known as Devil Within, a variant of the Tekken Force mode introduced in Tekken 3. In the canonical ending, Jin Kazama defeats his great-grandfather Jinpachi Mishima (who took over the Mishima Zaibatsu shortly after the ending events of Tekken 4), and inherits the Mishima Zaibatsu.^[4]

2005–present: Expansion and other projects[edit]

Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection[edit]

Although Tekken games normally saw updates to the arcade versions, Tekken 5 was the first installment in the series that had a revision significant enough that it was rereleased, with the subtitle Dark Resurrection in 2005. The game was ported to the PlayStation Portable in 2006 and features two new characters: Emilie "Lili" De Rochefort and Sergei Dragunov. Armor King was also reintroduced as a playable character in this revision. The game also introduces a ranking system to the series. The home version featured new modes, such as Ghost Mode, Tekken Dojo Mode, and the two bonus modes, Gold Rush mode, and a revised version of the Tekken Bowl mode introduced in Tekken Tag Tournament. The Devil Within mode from the PlayStation 2 version however, was absent. Namco Bandai saw the fan demand for a console version and a port for the PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network was released in 2007, in full 1080p HD.^[10][11] The PlayStation 3 version also saw an update and was retitled Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection ONLINE, marking the first time in the series that online play was featured. The PlayStation 3 version also made Jinpachi Mishima playable (but not online).

Tekken 6[edit]

Tekken 6 was originally released in arcades in 2007, followed by an updated version in 2008 titled Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion.^[12] The home version was based on Bloodline Rebellion and was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, marking the first time in the series that a game was multiplatform.^[13][14] The game features a Scenario Campaign mode, which follows gameplay from previous Tekken Force modes, which was playable online alongside standard versus. In the Scenario Campaign ending, after being defeated by Heihachi's illegitimate son Lars Alexandersson (who suffered amnesia at one point during the Scenario Campaign), Jin Kazama is revealed to have wreaked havoc and waged war on the world to fill it with negative energy and generate a physical manifestation of Azazel, so that he himself can face and kill him, as he believed that killing Azazel may purge Jin himself from the Devil Gene inside his body. After the battle, Jin's body is found by Raven, and the Devil Gene is still intact in his body.^[4]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2[edit]

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was released in Japanese arcades in 2011.^[15] Its console version was released the next year and is based on the updated arcade version called Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited that contained new features.^[16] The Wii U version, which served as a launch title for the console, includes a revised version of the Tekken Ball mode from Tekken 3 and exclusive Nintendo themed costumes for each character, as well as a new mode that makes use of the mushrooms from the Super Mario Bros. franchise. Like the previous iteration, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 includes nearly every character up to that point and a few exclusive characters. Lili's butler Sebastian, Eddy Gordo’s disco-oriented alter ego Tiger Jackson, a new female wrestler character named Jaycee, who is actually Julia Chang in disguise but was made to differentiate the play style of Julia and her mother Michelle Chang, and Slim Bob a slender version of Bob. A demo version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 was released as part of Tekken Hybrid including exclusive designs for Devil and Devil Jin from the film Tekken: Blood Vengeance. American rapper Snoop Dogg was featured in the game with his own stage and an original song by the rapper titled “Knocc ‘em Down”.

Tekken 7[edit]

In early 2014, Katsuhiro Harada expressed interest in continuing the series on PlayStation 4.^[17] Tekken 7 was released in Japanese and Korean arcades in 2015. It is the first game in the series to be powered by the Unreal Engine.^[18] The game received an update, subtitled Fated Retribution and released to arcades on July 5, 2016, and featured the series' second, third, fourth and fifth guest characters, the guest characters appearing are Akuma from the Street Fighter franchise by Capcom, Geese Howard from SNK's fighting game franchises, Noctis Lucis Caelum from the Final Fantasy franchise by Square Enix and Negan Smith from The Walking Dead franchise. The PlayStation 4 version was confirmed at Paris Games Week 2015, and features exclusive content as well as virtual reality support. The Xbox One and Microsoft Windows versions were released on June 2, 2017, alongside the PlayStation 4 version, and are based on the Fated Retribution.^[19] In the canonical ending, considered the conclusion of the Mishima saga, Heihachi takes control of the Zaibatsu, and attempts to expose Kazuya of the Devil Gene, after a failed attempt on capturing a missing Jin, who was found safely by his uncles Lars and Lee. In their final battle, Kazuya permanently kills Heihachi and throws him into an erupting volcano, whereas Jin, who recovered from his coma thanks to Lars and Lee, declares that he must kill Kazuya to end the cursed Mishima bloodline. It was also revealed that Heihachi killed his wife Kazumi in self-defense because of her possession of the Devil Gene and the fact that she had gained a split personality because of it, shortly after Kazuya was born. Few side playable characters’ storylines have their endings from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 ties to this game.^[4]

Tekken 8[edit]

A teaser for a new mainline entry in the series was shown during Tekken 7's tournament at EVO 2022, before being formally announced on September 13, 2022 during Sony's State of Play presentation. It was released on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC through Steam on January 26, 2024. As a continuation from the seventh mainline game, it focuses on a conclusion of Kazuya and Jin's enmity.^[20] In contrast to the seventh mainline game's utility of Unreal Engine 4, Tekken 8 will utilize Unreal Engine 5, making it the first fighting game to do so.^[21] This game was announced on January 6, 2023 to be co-developed with Arika, who also handles the recent patch(es) for Tekken 7.^[22]

Spin-off and crossover games[edit]

Tekken 3 was also ported to the Game Boy Advance as Tekken Advance in 2001.^[23] Tekken 6-based Tekken 3D: Prime Edition was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2012. A free to play version of Tekken was released in 2013 for PSN as Tekken Revolution. Tekken Card Challenge was released on the WonderSwan, a Japan-exclusive handheld, in 1999.^[24] A spin-off action adventure game featuring series' character Nina Williams as the protagonist, Death by Degrees, released for the PS2 in 2005.^[25] Two mobile Tekken spin-off games were released in 2011: a 2D fighting game Tekken Resolute, which was the first game not to include Heihachi Mishima,^[26] and Tekken Bowl, the bowling mini-game from Tekken Tag Tournament, for the iOS operating system. Tekken Bowl was first game not to include Yoshimitsu, Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix, or King.^[27] In 2013, a third mobile game titled Tekken Card Tournament was released by Namco Bandai to the App Store for iOS and Google Play Store on Android.^[28][29] That same year, Namco Bandai also released Tekken Arena to the Google Play Store on Android.^&#

Look up joker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Joker(s) or The Joker(s) may refer to:

Common meanings[edit]

• Joker (playing card)
• Jester, a person employed to tell jokes and provide entertainment during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

Fictional characters[edit]

Print[edit]

• Joker (character), a DC Comics character
  • The Joker (comic book)
  • Joker (graphic novel)
  • Joker (Jack Napier), the character as he appears in the 1989 film Batman
  • Joker (The Dark Knight), the character as he appears in the 2008 film The Dark Knight
  • Joker (Martha Wayne), the character as she appears in the 2011 story arc Flashpoint
  • Joker (DC Extended Universe), the character as he appears in the DC Extended Universe media franchise
• Joker (comic strip), a comic strip in the British anthology comics
• Joker (Flame of Recca), from the Japanese manga series Flame of Recca
• Mr. Joker, or Joe Carpenter, in Read or Die
• Joker (Wild Cards), a person with a harmful mutation in Wild Cards
• Jokers, a race of super-beings in Terry Pratchett's novel The Dark Side of the Sun
• James T. "Joker" Davis, protagonist of the novel The Short-Timers
• Joker, a character from Black Butler: Book of Circus
• Joker, the underground alias of Donquixote Doflamingo, a pirate from One Piece

Film and television[edit]

• Kamen Rider Chalice, or Joker, from Kamen Rider Blade
• Kamen Rider Joker, a rider form of Shotaro Hidari, from Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate
• Joker, from J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai
• James T. "Joker" Davis, in Full Metal Jacket
• Impractical Jokers, also called Jokers, American cringe comedy show
• Joker, from Smile PreCure!

Video games[edit]

• Joker (Persona), from Persona 5
• Joker (Mass Effect), from Mass Effect
• Joker, a character from the Monster Rancher series
• The Joker, from Fighters Destiny
• Joker (Suikoden), from Suikoden III
• The Joker, from SaGa Frontier
• Joker, from Alice in the Country of Hearts
• Joker, a character from Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

People[edit]

• Joker (nickname), a list of people with the nickname
• Joker (musician), English dubstep artist Liam McLean (born 1989)
• Jonas Berggren (born 1967), Swedish musician and record producer also known as Joker
• Jokeren or The Joker, Danish rapper Jesper Dahl (born 1973)
• Joker (wrestler), a ring name of American professional wrestler William Posada (born 1983)

Films[edit]

• The Joker (1928 film), a Danish-German silent drama film
• The Joker (1960 film), a French comedy by Philippe de Broca
• The Jokers, a 1967 British comedy starring Michael Crawford and Oliver Reed
• The Joker (1987 film) or Lethal Obsession, a German crime-thriller film
• Joker (1993 film), an Indian Telugu comedy film produced by P. Pattabhi Rama Rao
• Joker (2000 film), an Indian Malayalam film by A. K. Lohithadas
• Joker (2012 film), an Indian Hindi film starring Akshay Kumar
• The Joker (2014 film) or Poker Night, an American-Canadian crime thriller by Greg Francis
• Joker (2016 film), an Indian Tamil film by Raju Murugan
• Joker (2019 film), an American film starring Joaquin Phoenix

Magazines[edit]

• Joker (American magazine)
• Joker (Slovenian magazine)

Music[edit]

Albums[edit]

• The Joker (album), a 1973 album by the Steve Miller Band
• Joker, an album by Mirkelam

Songs[edit]

• "The Joker (That's What They Call Me)", a 1957 song by Billy Myles
• "The Joker" (Anthony Newley song), from the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1964)
• "Joker" (Anna Rossinelli song) (2011)
• "The Joker" (Steve Miller Band song) (1973)
• "The Joker", a 1988 song by Quiet Riot from QR
• "Joker", a 1991 song by X Japan from Jealousy
• "The Joker", a 2010 song by Zona B

Roller coasters[edit]

• The Joker (Six Flags México)
• The Joker (Six Flags Discovery Kingdom)
• The Joker (S&S Worldwide)

Science[edit]

• Joker butterfly (Byblia ilithyia)
• Common joker butterfly (Byblia anvatara)
  • Byblia or jokers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies
• Joker moth (Feralia jocosa)
• Loureedia phoenixi, the Joker spider

Sports[edit]

• Georgia Joker, a sports fan at Georgia Bulldogs football games
• Helsingin Jokerit or Jokers, a Finnish ice hockey team
  • FC Jokerit, a Finnish association football club
  • Jokerit FC (2012)
• Jokers de Cergy-Pontoise, a French ice hockey team
• KK Joker, a Serbian basketball club
• Team Joker, a Norwegian cycling team

Transportation[edit]

• FreeX Joker, a German paraglider design
• Honda Joker, a scooter made from 1996 to 1999
• Peña Joker, a French amateur-built aircraft design
• Joker, an edition of the Volkswagen Golf Mk3
• Joker, an edition of the Volkswagen Westfalia Camper

Other uses[edit]

• Joker (store), a Norwegian convenience store chain
• Joker, West Virginia, an unincorporated community
• Jokers, nickname of VF-20, a World War II US Navy squadron
• Joker, a pricing game on the game show The Price Is Right

See also[edit]

Search for "joker" on Wikipedia.

• All pages with titles beginning with Joker
• All pages with titles containing Joker
• Joker! Joker!! Joker!!!, a once-a-week version of the American gameshow The Joker's Wild (1979–1981)
• Comedian (disambiguation)
• Comic (disambiguation)
• Dzhokhar (disambiguation)
• Impractical Joker (disambiguation)
• Jokester (disambiguation)
• Jester (disambiguation)
• Joke (disambiguation)
• Practical joker (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Joker.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Street Fighter IV
Promotional poster for the original arcade release featuring Ryu, and the game's first four newcomers: Abel, Rufus, Crimson Viper and El Fuerte
Developer(s)	Dimps Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Takashi Tsukamoto
Producer(s)	Yoshinori Ono
Designer(s)	Hirotoshi Shiozaki
Programmer(s)	Ryosuke Nakano
Artist(s)	Daigo Ikeno
Composer(s)	Hideyuki Fukasawa
Series	Street Fighter
Engine	MT Framework
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android
Release	Arcade JP: July 18, 2008 NA: August 12, 2008 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[1] JP: February 12, 2009 NA: February 17, 2009 EU: February 20, 2009 Microsoft Windows[2] JP: July 2, 2009[3] EU: July 3, 2009[4] NA: July 7, 2009[5] iOS March 10, 2010[6] Android JP: May 2012
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, competitive multiplayer
Arcade system	Taito Type X2[7] Taito Type X3 (Ultra)

Street Fighter IV (ストリートファイター IV, Sutorīto Faitā Fō) is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom.^[8] It was the first original main entry in the series since Street Fighter III in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years.

It was originally released on arcades in Japan in July 2008 and North America in August the same year.^[9] Versions for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were released in February 2009.^[1]A Microsoft Windows version was released on July 2009.^[5] A version for iOS was released on March 10, 2010.^[6] An Android version was launched initially as an exclusive for certain LG devices in May 2012,^[10] and was later made available for all Android devices on the Play Store by December 31, 2012, with a region restriction that made it available only in Japan.^[11] An updated version, Super Street Fighter IV, was released as a standalone title in April 2010.^[12]

Street Fighter IV received universal critical acclaim; receiving universally high scores from many gaming websites and magazines, it has often been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. It was followed by Super Street Fighter IV and Arcade Edition in 2010, 3D Edition in 2011, and Ultra Street Fighter IV in 2014. All versions of Street Fighter IV have sold over 9 million units across all platforms.

Gameplay[edit]

Producer Yoshinori Ono stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. The battles in SFIV begin with a short pre-fight intro, a small cinematic dialogue sequence which varies depending on the player's chosen character. A new system called Focus Attacks (Saving Attack for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra Moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and Special Moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.^[13]

The game arguably has a similar feel to Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but also includes a few features from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.^[14] As in Street Fighter III, throwing is performed by pressing both light attack buttons, while pressing both heavy attack buttons performs the character's personal action or taunt. Pressing both medium attack buttons performs a character's Focus Attack. Dashes and quick standing are also in the game. C. Viper and Dan (with the air taunt) are the only characters who can perform a high jump.^[14]

It was intended that bonus rounds such as the car-smashing stage from earlier Street Fighter games would return. Ono later stated that the bonus stages would not be in the arcade game, citing the reason to be that the time players spend on bonus stages is a time during which they have no chance of losing, which ultimately takes money from arcade operators.^[15][16] The bonus stages were later added in Super Street Fighter IV. There are also Rival Battles which have a cutscene between two characters (which depends on who they are) before the battle starts.

Focus Attacks, known as Saving Attack in the Japanese version,^[17] is a new system introduced in Street Fighter IV. The Focus Attack is a move that allows the player to absorb an attack and launch a counterattack, and it is performed by holding the medium punch and medium kick buttons simultaneously. There are two phases to the attack. In the first phase, the player will shift into a new stance, at which point they are able to absorb a single hit from the opponent. The second phase is the counterattack. The longer the player holds down the medium punch and kick buttons, the more powerful the attack will be. There are three stages to the charge.

• If the Focus Attack is held for a brief moment, no unique effects occur when attacking.
• If held for slightly longer, the character charging the Focus Attack will flash white, indicating that it will crumple the opponent (if they are on the ground).
• When fully charged, the attack will also ignore blocking.

Attacks that were absorbed during the first phase of a Focus Attack still cause damage to the player; however, life lost from the opponent's attack will be quickly regenerated afterward. In addition, during the first and second phase of the Focus Attack, the player may perform a dash either forward or backward to cancel the Focus Attack. Finally, at the cost of two bars of the Super Combo gauge, many Special Moves can be canceled into a Focus Attack. By executing a Focus Attack during the Special Move, the animation of the move will be cut short and go instantly into the Focus Attack animation. This allows players with precise timing to cancel Special Moves into Focus Attacks, and in turn cancel Focus Attacks into the forward dash, resulting in new combo possibilities. If a Special Move is blocked by the opponent, the new system allows players to cancel the blocked move with a Focus Attack, and then cancel the Focus Attack by dashing backward safely away from the opponent. Ono has stated that this system was incorporated in order to shift the emphasis away from combos and toward a more realistic system he has compared to boxing, in which "the skill is in reading your opponent's move before [they start] moving ... We haven't forgotten about combos and linked moves, but focus makes it so that you have to read your opponent."^[18] The system aims to make ground attacks as viable a way of approaching opponents as jumping was in previous games.^[18] The focus system is a core part of Street Fighter IV's gameplay.^[19]

In addition to the powered-up versions of Special Moves introduced in previous Street Fighter games such as Super Combos and EX Special Moves, the game also introduces a new type of powered-up Special Move officially dubbed the Ultra Combo. Ultra Combos are long and cinematic moves featuring a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other fighting techniques. Just as there is a Super Combo gauge, there is also an Ultra Combo gauge (officially known as the Revenge Gauge or Revenge Meter), but whereas the Super Combo gauge fills up when the player hits their opponent or performs a Special Move, the Revenge Gauge fills when one takes damage from their opponent (similar to the K Groove featured in Capcom vs. SNK 2). Along with the Super Combos, Ultra Combos are one of the only times (besides Zangief, E. Honda, Seth and Abel's command throws) the camera breaks from its normal fixed position to show a more dynamic, cinematic view of the gameplay.^[19]

Plot[edit]

Street Fighter IV takes place after the events of Street Fighter II and before the events of Street Fighter V (thus is chronologically set before Street Fighter III which takes place in the future).

After M. Bison's survival following his encounter with Akuma, the S.I.N. corporation began another fighting tournament in order to draw out the most powerful street fighters on Earth to complete the BLECE project. Each World Warrior has their own reasons for entering this tournament, but S.I.N.'s real desire is to lure Ryu to them in order to analyze the Satsui no Hadō, believed to be the last piece of data needed to complete BLECE.

Gouken, having recently awakened from a coma after surviving an attack by Akuma which occurred between the events of Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha about seven years before, knowing of SIN's interest in Ryu, starts looking for him to instruct to stop his Satsui no Hado development. He instructs Ryu and shows him a power known as the Mu no Ken (or Power of Nothingness), which is essentially the opposite of Satsui no Hadō, where calm and tranquility transcend human powers.

Akuma, knowing what Gouken has done to Ryu, has become driven with fury and has a fight to the death with Gouken once again, releasing everything from his Satsui no Hadō against all the power of Gouken's Mu no Ken.

It is revealed that Crimson Viper was a double agent, and she betrayed Seth, in addition to Juri who also wanted to see Shadaloo's total downfall, and set up the fight between M. Bison and Seth. Although Seth took over SIN, M. Bison managed to take on the consciousness of another clone thanks to the scientists at Shadaloo, and ends up with Seth.

M. Bison is behind the SIN, letting the plans go, while everyone thinks he is dead, and the Seth that the players find at the end of the game is revealed to be a clone, as the real Seth was killed by M. Bison.

Abel, who is a fighter with no memory, supposedly was saved by Charlie Nash and joins Chun-Li and Guile to destroy the SIN headquarters, so they manage to end this organization.

Characters[edit]

Chronologically set between the Street Fighter II series and the Street Fighter III series, the playable character roster of the arcade version includes the cast of the original Street Fighter II (all 12 characters, including the four Shadaloo Grand Masters) and four new characters. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo also appears as a hidden playable character, as well as a secret opponent, for a total of 17 playable characters. Additionally, the game includes two more secret characters: Seth as the game's standard final boss, and Gouken as a secret opponent, which makes for a total of 19 characters. The console version includes 6 more characters to the roster making for a total of 25, the returning characters are: Cammy, Dan, Fei Long, Gen, Rose and Sakura.

Newcomers:

• Abel, a French fighter who utilizes full-contact karate, Judo and Russian combat sambo to defeat opponents (note his kurtka). He is described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of Shadaloo. He is later revealed to be a prototype of Seth's model.^[20]
• Crimson Viper, a female American spy wearing sunglasses, leather gloves and a form-fitting suit with weapons she entered the tournament in order to "test" her skills.^[20]
• Rufus, an obese kung fu fighter, who seeks to fight Ken to prove himself as the best fighter in the United States.
• El Fuerte (Spanish for "The Strong One"), a Mexican luchador and aspiring gourmet chef.^[21]
• Seth, also known as "The Puppet Master", is the new boss character. He is the CEO of S.I.N., the weapons division of Shadaloo. His body has been modified using advanced technology. His Special Moves are techniques used by other characters.^[22]
• Gouken, the elder brother of Akuma, and Ryu and Ken's master, appears in the arcade version as a secret computer-controlled challenger in the end of the single-player mode, making his debut as a fighter in the Street Fighter series.^[23]

Development[edit]

Before producer Yoshinori Ono pitched the idea to Capcom R&D head Keiji Inafune, the prevailing attitude around Capcom was that a new numeric entry to the Street Fighter series would not be made. Initially, there was much resistance to Ono's pitch for a new Street Fighter game so many years after the original. The gap from 2000 to 2008, since Street Fighter EX3, the latest Street Fighter game at that point, represented the longest time the series had gone without a sequel. However, in light of fan demand plus the positive reception to Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting on Xbox Live Arcade, Inafune eventually allowed the project to begin.^[19] This was Ono's first take on a new entry for the Street Fighter series as a producer, although he had previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike as a "sound management director" and previously produced Capcom Fighting Jam. The experience provided by Super Street Fighter II Turbo became the main influence for the Street Fighter IV development team.^[24]

The original game concept, titled Street Fighter IV Flashback, imagined in part by David Sirlin, the designer of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, never made it past the proposal stage. Flashback would likewise feature the 2.5D gameplay and a roster made of classic Street Fighter II characters plus Sakura and a few new characters. The game would have also featured a single-player mode with third-person 3D action (similar to this of the God of War series) that focused on Ryu's backstory, as well as all Street Fighter arcade games in their original forms and a 3D version of Super Turbo. Flashback's proposed easy control system was later used in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, minus its titular "flashback" gameplay feature.^[25]

While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect, similar to the Street Fighter EX series Capcom produced with Arika. Initially, the title had been developed to use 3D hitboxes, but the testers felt it did not have the "pixel perfect" precision of a Street Fighter game, and the game was therefore changed to use 2D hitboxes.^[26] Ono has also cited the arcade version of Arc System Works' Battle Fantasia as the inspiration for the game's three-dimensional art style.^[27] Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike,^[28] opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look,^[13] with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.

Street Fighter IV's musical score was primarily composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa. The game's music consisted of new and old material created for it. Several music pieces (such as the themes for the returning SFII characters) were rearranged for SFIV. While previous Street Fighter games contained limited voice work, Street Fighter IV was the first Street Fighter series game to feature extensive voice acting. The game offers a choice between the original Japanese or an English dub.

The game runs on the Taito Type X² arcade board inside a Taito Vewlix cabinet.^[7] It takes advantage of the Type X²'s network capabilities and allows players in separate machines within the same LAN to fight each other.

Home versions[edit]

Street Fighter IV was also released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, featuring additional playable characters and features not found in the arcade game. Capcom later released an iOS version on March 10, 2010.^[6] In March 2017 the Xbox 360 version of Street Fighter IV became compatible with the Xbox One.

Additional characters[edit]

The notable addition in the home versions of Street Fighter IV are eight unlockable and playable characters not available in the arcade version. Seth and Gouken, computer-played characters in the arcade,^[29] and six characters from other Street Fighter games were added, to a total of 25 characters, all of them playable. The introduced characters are Dan, Fei Long, Sakura, Cammy, Gen and Rose.

Additional features[edit]

Home versions also feature online play, six new stages, downloadable content,^[30] a Challenge Mode that acts as a training module for new and experienced players, requiring them to reproduce indicated moves or combos with successive levels of increasing complexity,^[31] as well as selectable English or Japanese voices for the characters (similar to the voice option settings in the Soulcalibur games), making Street Fighter IV the first game in the series since the original Street Fighter to feature English voice acting for all the characters. The game also offers a new opening cinematic scene featuring the theme song "The Next Door", by Exile, in both Japanese and English (as "The Next Door -Indestructible-" which featured Flo Rida in the extended version of that version) (depending on language settings), and animated opening and ending sequences for each character's story in Arcade mode.

The iOS version allows for bluetooth-based multiplayer between devices, but features only eight of the console version's characters and stages. The characters consist of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Abel and M. Bison. In an update, two more characters were added: Zangief and Cammy. The most recent update features Sagat and an unlockable character, Dee Jay.^[32]

Windows version additions[edit]

The Windows version of Street Fighter IV includes all the features found in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and some extras, that Capcom representatives say could make it "the definitive version" of the game.^[2][33] The game features online play via Games for Windows – Live, with built-in voice chat and PC-exclusive achievements, but no cross-platform playability would be available with Xbox 360 players.^[34] Also, the game features higher resolutions, and three new freely selectable visual styles, named "Ink", "Watercolor" and "Posterize".^[35] There are also two bundles of the game: regular (game only, $39.99) and a bundle that includes the Mad Catz FightPad (with the Ryu design) that is currently sold separately for the Xbox 360 version. Those who pre-ordered the game at Best Buy received a DVD with an Eagle One animated comic (this is not the same as The Ties That Bind that comes in the collector's editions of the console versions).^[5] Additionally, Svensson has stated on the Capcom Unity forums that the retail version uses disc-based SecuROM as its main form of copy protection for the North American release. The specifications for the game were released on May 15, 2009, and are considered relatively modest.^[36]

Benchmark version[edit]

There was also a benchmark version of the game that you could download to test whether your computer would be able to run it properly before purchasing the full game. The benchmark version boots into a menu similar to the actual release of the game, but with a few slight changes. The menu has an option called 'Loop Mode'. Which, judging from the name, loops the benchmark over and over again (assuming it's for commercial use). You can turn the mode on or off from the switch next to the option. The 'Start' option is replaced with 'Start Benchmark'. The PC Settings and Quit options are still there for either to change the settings of the game or to quit the program. The background is more stylized and the word 'Benchmark' has been put right next to the game title. At the end of the benchmark, you're given a run down of your test results, and a score to determine if your computer can run it or not. It's extremely similar to the Benchmark option in the Windows version of the game. [2]

Marketing[edit]

For Western markets, three different packages for the game were prepared—the European release, the North American standard package and the North American Collector's Edition. The contents of the Collector's Edition are nearly identical to those featured in the European version, and are the following:^[37]

• A comic book style mini strategy guide by Prima (which also published a full strategy guide for the game in the U.S.), featuring artwork by UDON.
• A disc including the 65-minute animated film titled Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind (新たなる絆, Aratanaru Kizuna), produced by Studio 4°C^[38] as a prologue for the game, and a selection of the game's trailers (a Blu-ray disc for the PS3 version and game disc with the movie in 720p for the Xbox 360).
• A soundtrack CD (not in Europe).
• Crimson Viper and Ryu figurines (in the US release, PS3 owners got a Ryu figurine, while Xbox 360 owners got a Crimson Viper figure. In Europe, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners got both figurines in place of a soundtrack CD.)
• Five downloadable character costumes, which is known as the Brawler Pack that included alternate costumes for: Zangief, E. Honda, Rufus, El Fuerte and Abel.

Mad Catz produced six controllers for the game, two Arcade sticks and a game pad each for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. These products include a basic model joystick, the "Street Fighter IV FightStick"; a heavier and sturdier stick, the "Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition'; and a six-button game pad, the "Street Fighter IV FightPad".^[39] Meanwhile, peripheral manufacturer Hori also produced two joysticks for the game for the Japanese/Asian markets based on previous joystick models produced by the company.^[40]

iOS version[edit]

An iOS version of the game was released on March 10, 2010. This, and subsequent mobile versions, retained many of the console version's features, but contained a simplified combo system and replaced the original game's 3D polygonal fighter models with 2D pre-rendered sprites. Additionally, the game also included Bluetooth multiplayer and Game Center achievements, and was released with eight playable characters, though more have been added through free updates. This version is no longer available to download on the iOS store.

Later a version called Street Fighter IV Volt was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch on June 30, 2011, which enabled online play.^[41] Another version called Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition was released on July 12, 2017, which featured updated graphics and adds Poison, Ibuki and Dudley to the roster, increasing the total number of playable fighters to 25. An additional six fighters (Gouken, Rose, Elena, Juri, Guy and Evil Ryu) were later added into the roster through free updates.

Android version[edit]

On January 5, 2012, a version of the game called Street Fighter IV HD was released for LG's Android-powered Nitro HD and Optimus LTE phones.^[11][42] On December 30, 2012, the exclusivity was dropped and the game was re-released on Google Play, this time titled Street Fighter IV, with a region restriction in place that makes it available only in Japan.^[43] On February 21, 2018, an Android port of Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition was made available worldwide on Google Play. This version contained 32 playable characters, including Dan as a platform exclusive.^[44] This version of the game has had one million installs.^[45]

Downloadable content[edit]

The console versions of Street Fighter IV support downloadable content (DLC), made available for download via Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace and Sony's PlayStation Network.^[46]

The first expansion pack, titled "Championship Mode", was released free of charge on April 24, 2009. It provides players with a replay mode, a new points system and an enhanced tournament matching system.^[47] Championship mode is a game mode where a series of players compete against each other for ranking points. The higher the ranking, the harder the contest the player will participate in. The PlayStation 3 version of the download allows the player to vote on the parts of the recorded match they thought were "funny", "awesome", and "beautiful". The Xbox 360 version allows the player to download their recorded fights to the console.^[48]

Additionally, five alternate costume packs are available for purchase. These costume packs include the alternate costumes already seen in the arcade version, and were released on separate dates following the game's launch. A single package called the "Complete Alternate Costume Pack", containing alternate costumes for all 25 characters was made available for download on May 5, 2009, in North America, and May 8, 2009, in Europe.

• February 17, 2009 (North America); February 20, 2009 (Europe): Brawler Pack including alternate costumes for: Zangief, E. Honda, Rufus, El Fuerte and Abel.
• February 24, 2009 (North America); February 27, 2009 (Europe): Femme Fatale Pack including alternate costumes for: Chun-Li, Cammy, Sakura, Rose and C. Viper.
• March 3, 2009 (North America); March 6, 2009 (Europe): Shoryuken Pack including alternate costumes for: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Gouken and Dan.
• March 10, 2009 (North America); March 13, 2009 (Europe): Shadaloo Pack including alternate costumes for: Seth, M. Bison, Sagat, Balrog and Vega.
• March 17, 2009 (North America); March 20, 2009 (Europe): Classic Pack including alternate costumes for: Guile, Dhalsim, Fei-Long, Blanka and Gen.^[49]

Although initially Capcom stated that there were no plans to add any additional characters to the game, wanting to focus on core gameplay values,^[50] Yoshinori Ono later revealed that unfinished versions of Dee Jay and T. Hawk (the only two missing characters from SSF2T) had been made, and given sufficient fan request for them, they could eventually get added into the game.^[51] These characters eventually found their way into Super Street Fighter IV.

There was an update for the iOS version that added Zangief and Cammy to the roster. A second update added C. Viper and E. Honda whilst a third added Sagat and Dee Jay—the latter having to be unlocked. DLC is also available. So far, Ryu and Chun-Li each have one new costume each. Additional music, "Street Fighter II Arranged BGM", can also be purchased to provide alternate in-game audio.

Related media[edit]

Anime[edit

Street Fighter IV
Promotional poster for the original arcade release featuring Ryu, and the game's first four newcomers: Abel, Rufus, Crimson Viper and El Fuerte
Developer(s)	Dimps Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Director(s)	Takashi Tsukamoto
Producer(s)	Yoshinori Ono
Designer(s)	Hirotoshi Shiozaki
Programmer(s)	Ryosuke Nakano
Artist(s)	Daigo Ikeno
Composer(s)	Hideyuki Fukasawa
Series	Street Fighter
Engine	MT Framework
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android
Release	Arcade JP: July 18, 2008 NA: August 12, 2008 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360[1] JP: February 12, 2009 NA: February 17, 2009 EU: February 20, 2009 Microsoft Windows[2] JP: July 2, 2009[3] EU: July 3, 2009[4] NA: July 7, 2009[5] iOS March 10, 2010[6] Android JP: May 2012
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single-player, competitive multiplayer
Arcade system	Taito Type X2[7] Taito Type X3 (Ultra)

Street Fighter IV (ストリートファイター IV, Sutorīto Faitā Fō) is a fighting game developed by Capcom and Dimps and published by Capcom.^[8] It was the first original main entry in the series since Street Fighter III in 1997, a hiatus of eleven years.

It was originally released on arcades in Japan in July 2008 and North America in August the same year.^[9] Versions for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were released in February 2009.^[1]A Microsoft Windows version was released on July 2009.^[5] A version for iOS was released on March 10, 2010.^[6] An Android version was launched initially as an exclusive for certain LG devices in May 2012,^[10] and was later made available for all Android devices on the Play Store by December 31, 2012, with a region restriction that made it available only in Japan.^[11] An updated version, Super Street Fighter IV, was released as a standalone title in April 2010.^[12]

Street Fighter IV received universal critical acclaim; receiving universally high scores from many gaming websites and magazines, it has often been cited as one of the greatest games of all time. It was followed by Super Street Fighter IV and Arcade Edition in 2010, 3D Edition in 2011, and Ultra Street Fighter IV in 2014. All versions of Street Fighter IV have sold over 9 million units across all platforms.

Gameplay[edit]

Producer Yoshinori Ono stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. The battles in SFIV begin with a short pre-fight intro, a small cinematic dialogue sequence which varies depending on the player's chosen character. A new system called Focus Attacks (Saving Attack for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra Moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and Special Moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.^[13]

The game arguably has a similar feel to Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but also includes a few features from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.^[14] As in Street Fighter III, throwing is performed by pressing both light attack buttons, while pressing both heavy attack buttons performs the character's personal action or taunt. Pressing both medium attack buttons performs a character's Focus Attack. Dashes and quick standing are also in the game. C. Viper and Dan (with the air taunt) are the only characters who can perform a high jump.^[14]

It was intended that bonus rounds such as the car-smashing stage from earlier Street Fighter games would return. Ono later stated that the bonus stages would not be in the arcade game, citing the reason to be that the time players spend on bonus stages is a time during which they have no chance of losing, which ultimately takes money from arcade operators.^[15][16] The bonus stages were later added in Super Street Fighter IV. There are also Rival Battles which have a cutscene between two characters (which depends on who they are) before the battle starts.

Focus Attacks, known as Saving Attack in the Japanese version,^[17] is a new system introduced in Street Fighter IV. The Focus Attack is a move that allows the player to absorb an attack and launch a counterattack, and it is performed by holding the medium punch and medium kick buttons simultaneously. There are two phases to the attack. In the first phase, the player will shift into a new stance, at which point they are able to absorb a single hit from the opponent. The second phase is the counterattack. The longer the player holds down the medium punch and kick buttons, the more powerful the attack will be. There are three stages to the charge.

• If the Focus Attack is held for a brief moment, no unique effects occur when attacking.
• If held for slightly longer, the character charging the Focus Attack will flash white, indicating that it will crumple the opponent (if they are on the ground).
• When fully charged, the attack will also ignore blocking.

Attacks that were absorbed during the first phase of a Focus Attack still cause damage to the player; however, life lost from the opponent's attack will be quickly regenerated afterward. In addition, during the first and second phase of the Focus Attack, the player may perform a dash either forward or backward to cancel the Focus Attack. Finally, at the cost of two bars of the Super Combo gauge, many Special Moves can be canceled into a Focus Attack. By executing a Focus Attack during the Special Move, the animation of the move will be cut short and go instantly into the Focus Attack animation. This allows players with precise timing to cancel Special Moves into Focus Attacks, and in turn cancel Focus Attacks into the forward dash, resulting in new combo possibilities. If a Special Move is blocked by the opponent, the new system allows players to cancel the blocked move with a Focus Attack, and then cancel the Focus Attack by dashing backward safely away from the opponent. Ono has stated that this system was incorporated in order to shift the emphasis away from combos and toward a more realistic system he has compared to boxing, in which "the skill is in reading your opponent's move before [they start] moving ... We haven't forgotten about combos and linked moves, but focus makes it so that you have to read your opponent."^[18] The system aims to make ground attacks as viable a way of approaching opponents as jumping was in previous games.^[18] The focus system is a core part of Street Fighter IV's gameplay.^[19]

In addition to the powered-up versions of Special Moves introduced in previous Street Fighter games such as Super Combos and EX Special Moves, the game also introduces a new type of powered-up Special Move officially dubbed the Ultra Combo. Ultra Combos are long and cinematic moves featuring a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other fighting techniques. Just as there is a Super Combo gauge, there is also an Ultra Combo gauge (officially known as the Revenge Gauge or Revenge Meter), but whereas the Super Combo gauge fills up when the player hits their opponent or performs a Special Move, the Revenge Gauge fills when one takes damage from their opponent (similar to the K Groove featured in Capcom vs. SNK 2). Along with the Super Combos, Ultra Combos are one of the only times (besides Zangief, E. Honda, Seth and Abel's command throws) the camera breaks from its normal fixed position to show a more dynamic, cinematic view of the gameplay.^[19]

Plot[edit]

Street Fighter IV takes place after the events of Street Fighter II and before the events of Street Fighter V (thus is chronologically set before Street Fighter III which takes place in the future).

After M. Bison's survival following his encounter with Akuma, the S.I.N. corporation began another fighting tournament in order to draw out the most powerful street fighters on Earth to complete the BLECE project. Each World Warrior has their own reasons for entering this tournament, but S.I.N.'s real desire is to lure Ryu to them in order to analyze the Satsui no Hadō, believed to be the last piece of data needed to complete BLECE.

Gouken, having recently awakened from a coma after surviving an attack by Akuma which occurred between the events of Street Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha about seven years before, knowing of SIN's interest in Ryu, starts looking for him to instruct to stop his Satsui no Hado development. He instructs Ryu and shows him a power known as the Mu no Ken (or Power of Nothingness), which is essentially the opposite of Satsui no Hadō, where calm and tranquility transcend human powers.

Akuma, knowing what Gouken has done to Ryu, has become driven with fury and has a fight to the death with Gouken once again, releasing everything from his Satsui no Hadō against all the power of Gouken's Mu no Ken.

It is revealed that Crimson Viper was a double agent, and she betrayed Seth, in addition to Juri who also wanted to see Shadaloo's total downfall, and set up the fight between M. Bison and Seth. Although Seth took over SIN, M. Bison managed to take on the consciousness of another clone thanks to the scientists at Shadaloo, and ends up with Seth.

M. Bison is behind the SIN, letting the plans go, while everyone thinks he is dead, and the Seth that the players find at the end of the game is revealed to be a clone, as the real Seth was killed by M. Bison.

Abel, who is a fighter with no memory, supposedly was saved by Charlie Nash and joins Chun-Li and Guile to destroy the SIN headquarters, so they manage to end this organization.

Characters[edit]

Chronologically set between the Street Fighter II series and the Street Fighter III series, the playable character roster of the arcade version includes the cast of the original Street Fighter II (all 12 characters, including the four Shadaloo Grand Masters) and four new characters. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo also appears as a hidden playable character, as well as a secret opponent, for a total of 17 playable characters. Additionally, the game includes two more secret characters: Seth as the game's standard final boss, and Gouken as a secret opponent, which makes for a total of 19 characters. The console version includes 6 more characters to the roster making for a total of 25, the returning characters are: Cammy, Dan, Fei Long, Gen, Rose and Sakura.

Newcomers:

• Abel, a French fighter who utilizes full-contact karate, Judo and Russian combat sambo to defeat opponents (note his kurtka). He is described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of Shadaloo. He is later revealed to be a prototype of Seth's model.^[20]
• Crimson Viper, a female American spy wearing sunglasses, leather gloves and a form-fitting suit with weapons she entered the tournament in order to "test" her skills.^[20]
• Rufus, an obese kung fu fighter, who seeks to fight Ken to prove himself as the best fighter in the United States.
• El Fuerte (Spanish for "The Strong One"), a Mexican luchador and aspiring gourmet chef.^[21]
• Seth, also known as "The Puppet Master", is the new boss character. He is the CEO of S.I.N., the weapons division of Shadaloo. His body has been modified using advanced technology. His Special Moves are techniques used by other characters.^[22]
• Gouken, the elder brother of Akuma, and Ryu and Ken's master, appears in the arcade version as a secret computer-controlled challenger in the end of the single-player mode, making his debut as a fighter in the Street Fighter series.^[23]

Development[edit]

Before producer Yoshinori Ono pitched the idea to Capcom R&D head Keiji Inafune, the prevailing attitude around Capcom was that a new numeric entry to the Street Fighter series would not be made. Initially, there was much resistance to Ono's pitch for a new Street Fighter game so many years after the original. The gap from 2000 to 2008, since Street Fighter EX3, the latest Street Fighter game at that point, represented the longest time the series had gone without a sequel. However, in light of fan demand plus the positive reception to Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting on Xbox Live Arcade, Inafune eventually allowed the project to begin.^[19] This was Ono's first take on a new entry for the Street Fighter series as a producer, although he had previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike as a "sound management director" and previously produced Capcom Fighting Jam. The experience provided by Super Street Fighter II Turbo became the main influence for the Street Fighter IV development team.^[24]

The original game concept, titled Street Fighter IV Flashback, imagined in part by David Sirlin, the designer of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, never made it past the proposal stage. Flashback would likewise feature the 2.5D gameplay and a roster made of classic Street Fighter II characters plus Sakura and a few new characters. The game would have also featured a single-player mode with third-person 3D action (similar to this of the God of War series) that focused on Ryu's backstory, as well as all Street Fighter arcade games in their original forms and a 3D version of Super Turbo. Flashback's proposed easy control system was later used in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, minus its titular "flashback" gameplay feature.^[25]

While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect, similar to the Street Fighter EX series Capcom produced with Arika. Initially, the title had been developed to use 3D hitboxes, but the testers felt it did not have the "pixel perfect" precision of a Street Fighter game, and the game was therefore changed to use 2D hitboxes.^[26] Ono has also cited the arcade version of Arc System Works' Battle Fantasia as the inspiration for the game's three-dimensional art style.^[27] Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike,^[28] opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look,^[13] with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.

Street Fighter IV's musical score was primarily composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa. The game's music consisted of new and old material created for it. Several music pieces (such as the themes for the returning SFII characters) were rearranged for SFIV. While previous Street Fighter games contained limited voice work, Street Fighter IV was the first Street Fighter series game to feature extensive voice acting. The game offers a choice between the original Japanese or an English dub.

The game runs on the Taito Type X² arcade board inside a Taito Vewlix cabinet.^[7] It takes advantage of the Type X²'s network capabilities and allows players in separate machines within the same LAN to fight each other.

Home versions[edit]

Street Fighter IV was also released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, featuring additional playable characters and features not found in the arcade game. Capcom later released an iOS version on March 10, 2010.^[6] In March 2017 the Xbox 360 version of Street Fighter IV became compatible with the Xbox One.

Additional characters[edit]

The notable addition in the home versions of Street Fighter IV are eight unlockable and playable characters not available in the arcade version. Seth and Gouken, computer-played characters in the arcade,^[29] and six characters from other Street Fighter games were added, to a total of 25 characters, all of them playable. The introduced characters are Dan, Fei Long, Sakura, Cammy, Gen and Rose.

Additional features[edit]

Home versions also feature online play, six new stages, downloadable content,^[30] a Challenge Mode that acts as a training module for new and experienced players, requiring them to reproduce indicated moves or combos with successive levels of increasing complexity,^[31] as well as selectable English or Japanese voices for the characters (similar to the voice option settings in the Soulcalibur games), making Street Fighter IV the first game in the series since the original Street Fighter to feature English voice acting for all the characters. The game also offers a new opening cinematic scene featuring the theme song "The Next Door", by Exile, in both Japanese and English (as "The Next Door -Indestructible-" which featured Flo Rida in the extended version of that version) (depending on language settings), and animated opening and ending sequences for each character's story in Arcade mode.

The iOS version allows for bluetooth-based multiplayer between devices, but features only eight of the console version's characters and stages. The characters consist of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Abel and M. Bison. In an update, two more characters were added: Zangief and Cammy. The most recent update features Sagat and an unlockable character, Dee Jay.^[32]

Windows version additions[edit]

The Windows version of Street Fighter IV includes all the features found in the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and some extras, that Capcom representatives say could make it "the definitive version" of the game.^[2][33] The game features online play via Games for Windows – Live, with built-in voice chat and PC-exclusive achievements, but no cross-platform playability would be available with Xbox 360 players.^[34] Also, the game features higher resolutions, and three new freely selectable visual styles, named "Ink", "Watercolor" and "Posterize".^[35] There are also two bundles of the game: regular (game only, $39.99) and a bundle that includes the Mad Catz FightPad (with the Ryu design) that is currently sold separately for the Xbox 360 version. Those who pre-ordered the game at Best Buy received a DVD with an Eagle One animated comic (this is not the same as The Ties That Bind that comes in the collector's editions of the console versions).^[5] Additionally, Svensson has stated on the Capcom Unity forums that the retail version uses disc-based SecuROM as its main form of copy protection for the North American release. The specifications for the game were released on May 15, 2009, and are considered relatively modest.^[36]

Benchmark version[edit]

There was also a benchmark version of the game that you could download to test whether your computer would be able to run it properly before purchasing the full game. The benchmark version boots into a menu similar to the actual release of the game, but with a few slight changes. The menu has an option called 'Loop Mode'. Which, judging from the name, loops the benchmark over and over again (assuming it's for commercial use). You can turn the mode on or off from the switch next to the option. The 'Start' option is replaced with 'Start Benchmark'. The PC Settings and Quit options are still there for either to change the settings of the game or to quit the program. The background is more stylized and the word 'Benchmark' has been put right next to the game title. At the end of the benchmark, you're given a run down of your test results, and a score to determine if your computer can run it or not. It's extremely similar to the Benchmark option in the Windows version of the game. [2]

Marketing[edit]

For Western markets, three different packages for the game were prepared—the European release, the North American standard package and the North American Collector's Edition. The contents of the Collector's Edition are nearly identical to those featured in the European version, and are the following:^[37]

• A comic book style mini strategy guide by Prima (which also published a full strategy guide for the game in the U.S.), featuring artwork by UDON.
• A disc including the 65-minute animated film titled Street Fighter IV: The Ties That Bind (新たなる絆, Aratanaru Kizuna), produced by Studio 4°C^[38] as a prologue for the game, and a selection of the game's trailers (a Blu-ray disc for the PS3 version and game disc with the movie in 720p for the Xbox 360).
• A soundtrack CD (not in Europe).
• Crimson Viper and Ryu figurines (in the US release, PS3 owners got a Ryu figurine, while Xbox 360 owners got a Crimson Viper figure. In Europe, PS3 and Xbox 360 owners got both figurines in place of a soundtrack CD.)
• Five downloadable character costumes, which is known as the Brawler Pack that included alternate costumes for: Zangief, E. Honda, Rufus, El Fuerte and Abel.

Mad Catz produced six controllers for the game, two Arcade sticks and a game pad each for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. These products include a basic model joystick, the "Street Fighter IV FightStick"; a heavier and sturdier stick, the "Street Fighter IV FightStick Tournament Edition'; and a six-button game pad, the "Street Fighter IV FightPad".^[39] Meanwhile, peripheral manufacturer Hori also produced two joysticks for the game for the Japanese/Asian markets based on previous joystick models produced by the company.^[40]

iOS version[edit]

An iOS version of the game was released on March 10, 2010. This, and subsequent mobile versions, retained many of the console version's features, but contained a simplified combo system and replaced the original game's 3D polygonal fighter models with 2D pre-rendered sprites. Additionally, the game also included Bluetooth multiplayer and Game Center achievements, and was released with eight playable characters, though more have been added through free updates. This version is no longer available to download on the iOS store.

Later a version called Street Fighter IV Volt was released for the iPhone and iPod Touch on June 30, 2011, which enabled online play.^[41] Another version called Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition was released on July 12, 2017, which featured updated graphics and adds Poison, Ibuki and Dudley to the roster, increasing the total number of playable fighters to 25. An additional six fighters (Gouken, Rose, Elena, Juri, Guy and Evil Ryu) were later added into the roster through free updates.

Android version[edit]

On January 5, 2012, a version of the game called Street Fighter IV HD was released for LG's Android-powered Nitro HD and Optimus LTE phones.^[11][42] On December 30, 2012, the exclusivity was dropped and the game was re-released on Google Play, this time titled Street Fighter IV, with a region restriction in place that makes it available only in Japan.^[43] On February 21, 2018, an Android port of Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition was made available worldwide on Google Play. This version contained 32 playable characters, including Dan as a platform exclusive.^[44] This version of the game has had one million installs.^[45]

Downloadable content[edit]

The console versions of Street Fighter IV support downloadable content (DLC), made available for download via Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace and Sony's PlayStation Network.^[46]

The first expansion pack, titled "Championship Mode", was released free of charge on April 24, 2009. It provides players with a replay mode, a new points system and an enhanced tournament matching system.^[47] Championship mode is a game mode where a series of players compete against each other for ranking points. The higher the ranking, the harder the contest the player will participate in. The PlayStation 3 version of the download allows the player to vote on the parts of the recorded match they thought were "funny", "awesome", and "beautiful". The Xbox 360 version allows the player to download their recorded fights to the console.^[48]

Additionally, five alternate costume packs are available for purchase. These costume packs include the alternate costumes already seen in the arcade version, and were released on separate dates following the game's launch. A single package called the "Complete Alternate Costume Pack", containing alternate costumes for all 25 characters was made available for download on May 5, 2009, in North America, and May 8, 2009, in Europe.

• February 17, 2009 (North America); February 20, 2009 (Europe): Brawler Pack including alternate costumes for: Zangief, E. Honda, Rufus, El Fuerte and Abel.
• February 24, 2009 (North America); February 27, 2009 (Europe): Femme Fatale Pack including alternate costumes for: Chun-Li, Cammy, Sakura, Rose and C. Viper.
• March 3, 2009 (North America); March 6, 2009 (Europe): Shoryuken Pack including alternate costumes for: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Gouken and Dan.
• March 10, 2009 (North America); March 13, 2009 (Europe): Shadaloo Pack including alternate costumes for: Seth, M. Bison, Sagat, Balrog and Vega.
• March 17, 2009 (North America); March 20, 2009 (Europe): Classic Pack including alternate costumes for: Guile, Dhalsim, Fei-Long, Blanka and Gen.^[49]

Although initially Capcom stated that there were no plans to add any additional characters to the game, wanting to focus on core gameplay values,^[50] Yoshinori Ono later revealed that unfinished versions of Dee Jay and T. Hawk (the only two missing characters from SSF2T) had been made, and given sufficient fan request for them, they could eventually get added into the game.^[51] These characters eventually found their way into Super Street Fighter IV.

There was an update for the iOS version that added Zangief and Cammy to the roster. A second update added C. Viper and E. Honda whilst a third added Sagat and Dee Jay—the latter having to be unlocked. DLC is also available. So far, Ryu and Chun-Li each have one new costume each. Additional music, "Street Fighter II Arranged BGM", can also be purchased to provide alternate in-game audio.

Related media[edit]

Anime[edit