SADLER'S CYBORG versus RYU
Dr. Sadler's Ultimate Weapon (Group TAC/Capcom)
Where: Street Fighter Alpha When: 1999
Why: Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Joe Romersa, Reiko Yoshida, & Kirk Thornton How: Kane Kosugi, Hidenari Ugaki, Reiko Kiuchi, Kazuya Ichijô

The story so far...
Having been approached by a young Brazilian boy claiming to be his long-lost younger brother; Ryu embarks on a journey of self-discovery with his oldest friend; Ken Masters; and new allies, including Interpol agent, Chun-Li.

Struggling to contain the tempting dark hadou energies that represent the evil side of his ki-harnessing martial art, Ryu opts to observe from the sidelines at the street fighting tournament that has lured Ken Masters from his home in the US, back to Japan.

It's whilst fighting the hulking Russian wrestler - Zangief - that Shun suffers over whelming odds and begins to tap into the powers of the dark hadou, forcing Ryu to step into the combative arena and face his own dark energy. Though he is able to resist whilst defeating Zangief, a new opponent presents himself instantly, pulling Ryu once more into his internal battle.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Cyborg 5 (Super Strength)
Intelligence: Ryu 2 (Average)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Cyborg 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Ryu 3 (Explosives)


- The exact nature of the cyber-organic creature created and utilized by Dr. Sadler is unknown, but it's chief purpose is to antagonize the custom attacks of skilled ki fighters in an effort to absorb and gauge them.
To fullfil this role the cyborg was designed to be on the highest level of both resistance and physical strength. It's fighting arsenal includes focused energy beams, as well as simulated fireball attacks. Despite it's incredible size, the cyborg is deceptively fast and agile, which may suggest limited ki control.

Though controlled by Dr. Sadler, the cyborg exhibits limited degrees of independence in it's ability to strategize in combat. It appears capable of speach and emotion, although, this is typically replaced by an unemotive silent smile.

- Ryu is a Japanese fighter who was orphaned and raised by the master of the mysterious unnamed ansatsuken fighting style, Gouken. A life of training would develop Ryu into one of the greatest fighters in the world, utilizing Gouken's fighting techniques and mastery over the hadou ki energies.

Ryu is an incredibly well rounded fighter capable of harnessing his ki for trademark attacks such as; the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku hurricane kick, Hadou-ken fireballs, the Sho-ryu ken dragon uppercut, along with an array of variations of each.

The Math: Sadler's Android Ranking: Ryu (#15)

What went down...
The metaphoric shadow of Akuma looms over him as Ryu probes the battered young boy who claims to be his younger brother. Before he is even able to digest the prospect that Akuma may have fathered them both, a new enemy descends through the dust, to resume the battle that Zangief lost. [Street Fighter Alpha]

The monstrous silver-haired fighter blocks Ryu's knee, but takes an airborne roundhouse kick to the side of the head. The move fails to phase him, allowing the giant to unleash a barrage of heavy swinging punches.

Ryu is nimble enough to dart around each fist and again launches a conversive response with his feet. Another roundhouse, followed by a leaping kick that finishes with a flip over the giant, again highlights his eerie strength.
Ryu gathers his energies for a devestating straight punch to the gut.

Though the punch fails to move the beast, it reveals his secret nature. A green scanning lense pops from the socket of his squinted eyes, recasting the Cyborg's dumb grin and hollow eyes as incidental, rather than any sign of true power.

The Cyborg launches his own offensive, firing off a crackling electric beam of green energy, which Ryu easily side-steps, leaving it to strike another piece of the already crumbling building they fight in.

Interpol agent, Chun-Li, having been but an unwitting spectator through the tournament and destruction, leaps onto the arena platform to join the fray.
She charges at the mechanical beast with her own energy attack, in the form of a kikou ken fireball. Alas, the Cyborg not only defends against the attack, but deflects it straight back to the source!

With Chun-Li skidding to a messy halt, the Cyborg allows itself to be distracted from Ryu, looming over the fallen fighter to deliver a devestating kick that sends her flying across the battlefield into a piece of crumbling wall.

No doubt motivated by both the woman's plight, and the safety of both he and his newfound little "brother", Ryu again waves his pledge to avoid combat, charging the attack that moments ago nearly swallowed him in darkness.

Despite Ryu's impressive powers, his hadou-ken joins Chun-Li's attack in failing to break the Cyborg's defensive capabilities, deflected harmlessly into the dirt.

The smiling Cyborg charges another electrical strike to respond in-kind, but this time the results differe grealty. Presumably fearing for his brother's readiness after the deflected attack, the young Shun leaps to his feet to absorb the impact of the attack.

Blood spatters from the boy's mouth as an ominous chuckle is prompted from the Cyborg's grinning visage. Shun tries to tell Ryu, "Big-- brother-- I'm not...", but before he can finish, slips into unconsciousness.

The injury to the young boy effects Ryu's heroic heart greater than any of the Cyborg's punches or energy blasts. With the boy cradled in his arms, Ryu is swallowed by the abyss of his dark desires.

Wind swirls and a pink hue takes the fight space as the dark hadou begins to grip Ryu's soul. The energies burn the Cyborg's jacket from his cyber-organic body, prompting an unlikely moment of discourse, "I'll give you a taste of that, too."

Charging his hadou, Ryu slowly stalks his way toward his inhuman opponent, who continues to boast his claims of victory. The Cyborg fires off four fireball attacks that are all easily dodged by the slow moving Ryu, who continues to charge his dark hadou powers into his fists.

Ryu edges his way directly infront of the mechanical beast, burning with an intense energy. Despite his non-offensive stance, the Cyborg appears unable to launch any preemptive attack as it's swallowed up by the dark hadou.

Ryu's powers blast through the Cyborg's core, enveloping it in the blue glow of the hadou-ken. Only a dark shadow from within the blast indicates the Cyborg's gradual decay from machine, to melted slag.

The blast destroys the remaining upper levels of the abandoned urban tower, leaving it exposed to a helicopter that soon descends. While an exhausted Ryu is incapacitated totally by the horror of his actions, a concerned Chun-Li is seperated from the wound young Brazilian boy by the Copter's gunfire.

Despite the best efforts of Chun-Li's partner, Wallace; the victory is made hollow by Shun's abduction by an escaping Dr. Sadler. Thus, the remaining heroic powers are left to contemplate their next strategy, freed of the Cyborg menace - for now.

The hammer...
With a welcome assist from Chun-Li (and Shun), (and the dark hadou), Ryu! Those keenly following the track exploits of our Street Fighter Sundays, which approach the opportunity for one of the SF characters to enter our top five rankings, will note that this puts Ryu right on course.

It's amazing, with one more Sunday left in 2007, to reflect not just on the staggering number of Street Fighter entries we've no had, but all the entries still available to us. Though I'll probably take a break to recover from fatigue; the lead-up to Street Fighter IV, and the much talked-about feature film that now boasts Kristin Kreuk in the lead role of Chun-Li, pose a lot of incentive to return to the Street Fighter universe.

Still untouched is the entirety of manga series, including; Street Fighter Alpha, Hang in there Sakura [Sakura Ganbaru], Street Fighter III: Final Ryu, and Versus SNK: Chaos. Also lacking representation is much of UDON's first volume; Malibu's ill-fated licensing product, complete with Sagat's infamous scalping of Ken; the US cartoon series; and last, but not least, the legendary SFII animated movie.

Y'know, coupled with remaining entries from SFA, SFIIV, and SFII, you can almost imagine an entirely seperate blog! That might sound like a subtle hint for 2008, but trust me, it's just the post-Christmas ponderings of someone who should really be catching up on sleep at 2am in the morning [as opposed to polishing off late blog entries -- this now being the 29th, for those just joining us].

With so much to draw upon, it's become a little disheartening, when reading new materials regarding SFIV, to see so much attention toward gameplay. Granted, it's always going to be a major part of the Street Fighter series, but for the most part, very little seems destined to change in the basic mechanics of the SF series. Even in it's darkest hours, Street Fighter has remained, to the unfamiliar picking up a joypad, unmistakable.

It's probably naive, after examining even contents from contemporary outlets like Ken Siu-Chong's work for UDON, to expect a more thorough examination of characters and their motivations and plot. It's this area, despite visually and conceptually brilliant characters, that has probably eluded Street Fighter from it's very beginnings, but in that respect, I thought it might have been the first to change.

Street Fighter IV goes up against genre mainstays like longstanding Midway rival, Mortal Kombat; and more recent contenders like Namco's, Tekken. Both share much in common with their founding father, but surpassed their predecessor in an era of 3D graphics, and character development that saw each telling their stories in unique ways.

Tekken, much like SF, struggles to expand it's story beyond it's chief protagonists, but compensates with a layer of self-relevant characterization that is very thin, but particularly enjoyable in high quality CG FMV.
Vivid characters remain key to Tekken's intrigue, and to further solidify it's qualities as inheretor to Street Fighter's throne; characterized fighting styles make even palette swapped character a unique experience to enjoy.

On the other side of the fence, Mortal Kombat has made shakey attempts to improve upon their fighter's individuality. Though not entirely freed of their past, the MK team developed motion capture based fighting techniques for their in-game dial ins. Intially styles exhibited great diversity in Deadly Alliance, but soon became more uniform exchanges in high kicks, high punches, and so on; stripping individuality from the fighter's moves to recall earlier MK outings.

The newest MK games have prospered mostly in their creativity, finally wrenching the colour coded palette swaps of games past, to tailor logic and individuality into it's cast of characters. Though stubborn fans have ensured the lingering presence of the ninja masked swaps, for the most part even characters like Sub-Zero and Scorpion have enjoyed divergence and originality in their new looks.

Likewise, as the appearances of characters has developed, the story surrounding them has gone deeper than ever before. The realm spanning battles of it's martial arts characters saw the development of one of the most involving storylines in video game history, full of character-based agenda, and universal influences of circumstance and convenience.

So; while Street Fighter IV is almost assured of it's place in history as a solid entry into the beat 'em up genre, what of the story? Popular belief currently suggests a return to Street Fighter II, with nothing specific to suggest any kind of elaborative qualities to the story. Then again, there really isn't much of any tangible information to go on right now, without picking apart translated quotes.

Some phrases suggest the incorporation of returning faces from subsequent installments of the series, with one quote said to be indicative of an effort to balance up the sexes. This could mean any number of things, such as; the inclusion of iconic fan-favourite, Sakura; in an SFII revamp, the inclusion of Bison's army of dolls, represented by Juni and Juli; baseless fleshing out with relevant cult characters like R. Mika; or maybe an insurgence of newbies.

Though inclined to be critical, I suppose it's only fair to reserve some hope, with plenty of information yet to come before the game's release in 2008.
Likewise, though not typical of what one would expect, you have to imagine that Kristin Kreuk's involvement with the feature film represents not only a step forward for her career, but a step forward for the movie's status.

While neither Chinese, nor particularly known for her exploits as an action star [I'm not sure a few spin kicks against Michael Rosenbaum counts, fanboy...], I tend to think there's at least a glimmer of hope for a solid story.
Again, I'm unfamiliar with any specific details, although the film is said to be part of a Capcom initiative to revive the series with film, television, and games.

Even with the bad taste of Generations lingering, I say, it's just great to see some effort going into it. And as reluctant as I am to play that card, anything's better than April "Ming-Na" O'Neal.

The Fight: 6 The Film: 5.5

You'd never know it reading through, but one of the delightful things about these reviews is that our accounts focus on the linear events pertinent to each fight. This means while you get a very good taste of the film/comic in question, there's plenty for you to discover upon further investigation, and fewer examples could be truer than Street Fighter Alpha.
Purchasing the film from Amazon not only gives you an opportunity to fill in the many conceptual/story gaps (ie; the unmentioned presence of Ken Masters and Sakura), but also presents the high quality art in it's fullest form, beyond the select few caps used to lure you in.

RYU versus KEN
The Deadly Phantom Faceoff: The Battle Spirit Hidden Between Body and Soul
(Group TAC/Capcom/Manga)
Where: Street Fighter II V Ep. 12 When: July 1995
Why: Gisaburō Sugii How: Kōji Tsujitani/Skip Stellrecht & Banjō Ginga/Peter Spellos

The story so far...
On a journey to hone their fighting capabilities, old friends and martial arts brothers, Ken and Ryu, embark on a journey across the globe to encounter different techniques and practises of the fighting arts.

These world warriors encounter and study men from China, Hong Kong, and the United States, but it's the advice of the fallen emperor of Muay Thai; Sagat; that leads the pair to jump aboard Ken's private jet to seek a secluded village in India. There, they hope to learn the teachings of the mysterious yoga master, Dhalsim; master of hadou.

Their arrival proves expected as Dhalsim denies the prophecized beasts the teachings he bestowed upon Sagat. Determined to prove themselves as more than mindless brutes, Ken and Ryu remain in the village despite Dhalsim's distance, and endear themselves to the villagers and children.

When bandits arrive at the village seeking the fabled treasure of the forbidden Cave of Ancients, Ken and Ryu rush to their rescue. It is here they face their greatest test as Dhalsim emplores them to not endanger the lives of the villagers unnecessarily. At the order of the surviving bandits, Ken and Ryu enter the tample that claimed the lives of other tomb raiders, walking in with Dhalsim's warning that the monster hidden within is merely a reflection.

Previous Form:
Ryu (#15): High rating victories over Balrog, Sagat, Zangief, & Vega.
Ken (#31): Victories over Sodom & Sagat; with ties against Fei-Long and Ryu.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Ryu 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Ken 3 (Straight A)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Draw 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting Ability: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Draw 3 (Explosives)


- Ryu is a Japanese fighter who was orphaned and raised by the master of the mysterious unnamed ansatsuken fighting style, Gouken. A life of training would develop Ryu into one of the greatest fighters in the world, utilizing Gouken's fighting techniques and mastery over the hadou ki energies.

Ryu is an incredibly well rounded fighter capable of harnessing his ki for trademark attacks such as; the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku hurricane kick, Hadou-ken fireballs, the Sho-ryu ken dragon uppercut, along with an array of variations of each.

- Ken Masters is a practitioner of the same unnamed ansatsuken martial arts technique mastered by Gouken, Akuma and Ryu.

The style is heavily identified with the mastery over ones ki energy, allowing them to summon powers by methods of hadou. Ken has mastered the hadou-ken fireball and sho-ryu ken rising dragon punch, with a particular flair for the latter.

Ken is a well respected United States tournament champion, having won many tournaments and gained many accolades in his native America. It is this encompassing success that drives him to seek new challenges across the world.

Additonal: Essentially identical in their earliest fighting appearances; Ken and Ryu have been the subject of fan-debate for decades. In previous encounters on the Infinite Wars, they have only ever tied against one and other, representing the continued struggle for superiority that traditionally is said to favour Ryu's power and dedication, despite Ken's highly regarded skill.

History: Draw (0-0-2)
The Math: Ken Masters The Pick: Draw

What went down...
Reluctantly Ken and Ryu enter the Cave of Ancients under the order of the ruthless armed bandit, who already witnessed the effects of the temple's "monster" when it claimed the lives of his two fellows.

With Dhalsim's warnings ringing in their ears, they wander into the darkness where they find themselves engulfed in smoke. Without warning the two are seemingly yanked from their physical bodies, experiencing an astral projection that sees their spirits careening out of control toward a cliff face.

When they awaken, each fighter believes himself to be alone. That is, until a beam of light ushers the entrance of the legendary guardian monster, who protects the treasures contained within the Cave.

The monster appears to both as a hulking, ancient clay warrior who towers over them phsycially and asthetically. Even so, Ken and Ryu both confront the demon with wanton regard for their own safety, concerned only for the fate of the villagers, and the lure of combat.

Ryu verbally assaults the monster with accusations of murder, before taking a ready stance that provokes the monster to break it's silence. The clay warrior sends a thundering echo through the ill-defined space as it charges toward it's prey, letting loose the roar of a warrior.

Elsewhere; Ken suffers the jab of his own monstrous opponent, who puts a halt to his charge with a stiff jab. Ken charges once more at the monster, leaping into the air with a flying kick, ultimately dodged by the surprisingly spry giant.

Ken follows with a barrage of secondary attacks that connect, while Ryu finds himself on the painful end of a combination of blows from the clay warrior.

The monster winds up, connecting with a harsh, direct punch to Ryu's face!
Wiping the blood from his mouth, Ryu refuses to back down, despite noting the guardian's speed and strength, surprising for his size. Likewise; Ken makes his own pledge with the commitment of his fist, which strikes at his foe.

While the pair of wandering fighters face their respective demons, Dhalsim grows despondent. Sensing their progress from outside the cave, he telepathically sends an echo of his cryptic warning, "Beasts, do not forget! The cave is only a mirror which reflects your own hearts!"

Too concerned with fighting, the pair of martial artists fail to ponder on the master's words, instead resorting again to the exchange of blows, over ideas.
To Dhalsim's dismay, the pair launch into another all-out attack.

The guardian(s) continue to show considerable fighting prowess, evading the competent strikes of both fighters, only to deliver it's own with devestating precision! Each fighter suffers a succesion of punches and kicks, culiminating in two seperate uppercuts that rock both Ken and Ryu, respectively.

Ryu unleashes a violent spray of retaliatory punches, finishing with a roundhouse kick that puts the guardian on the back foot, but fails to topple it. The monster comes back strong with a spinning combination of back handed fists that finishes with a diving kick that sends the Japanese fighter airborne!

Exhausted, Ryu pauses on his knee for a moment, digesting the severity of his situation. Strategizing leads only to thoughts of the monster's incredible power, and his skilled fighting style which almost resembles that of his best friend, Ken. Recalling his absent friend, Ryu summons a second-wind to attack once more, demanding to know what the monster did with Ken!

Meanwhile, Ken finds his front blocked, only to be sent through the air with a stiff punch that takes the wind out of him. On the floor, Ken nurses ribs that are broken, and has his own moment of thought, recognising determination in the guardian that mirrors that of his friend, Ryu.

After another explosive exchange of blows, Ken and Ryu each seek a finishing blow with the last of their energies. Alas, both fighter is struck down simultaneously by their guardian opponent with comparable force, leaving them both down for the count, and severely injured.

The pause gives both fighters opportunity to further consider their positions.
As they both lie injured and exhausted, they notice the same unlikely reactions in their seemingly inexhaustible monster opponent.

Though unable to stand and blinded in his left eye by the monster's powerful kicks, Ryu begins to see clearer than before. Likewise, Ken begins to ponder the words of Dhalsim, and the predicament his astral trip has placed him in.
Considering the keys to victory, Ken notices the monster adopt a meditative position similar to that which he and Ryu had imitated from Dhalsim when they sought to prove patience to the Yoga monk.

It is this finally beat that breaks the illusion, and reveals to Ken and Ryu both, the identity of their monster: Each other!

With the test over, the two injured fighters struggle to travel to their goal. Nursing broken ribs, blinded eyes, and severe exhaustian; the two badly beaten fighters retrieved the statuette they were to sent to find, and gingerly stumble their way back to the villagers whose lives are threatened.

The hammer...
Y'know, one of the things I find really fun about a site like this is the accumulation of data. Drawing upon that sports league connection, we get a scenario like this, where two characters have met in combat three times, and each has resulted in a draw!

Some might call that a little tedious, but not only does it provide a wonderful comparison between two characters, but also makes the next confrontation all the more dramatic! Because, really, what we do here isn't much different, in many ways, to what you find in any professional fighting sport card around the world. Which is but one of the many charms to our little experiment here.

Much like the Sagat/Ryu encounter [Street Fighter II V Ep. 9]; this entry comes with an append-fix. After emerging from the Cave with their trophee; Ken and Ryu are met with a double cross by the raider who doesn't want to be identified by two city-slickers.

Having proven themselves worthy by surviving the test of the guardian; Ken and Ryu finally get a chance to witness the pacifist monk in action. Having stemmed the flow of ki in the bandit's last living cohort, Dhalsim goes about quietly disabling the armed men.

When the head bandit turns his guns away from the exhausted fighters to the meddlesome Dhalsim, he finds the Yoga monk holding his ammunition magazine with an eerie smirk. This precedes another pressure-point attack that paralyzes the bandit by restricting the flow of life energy through his body.

Much like the defeat of Nuchitt, we're going to tack this on as a bonus victory for Dhalsim. This may be a little generous, but heck, I have a real soft spot for the Yoga flamer, and it seems fitting, given that he has been announced along with screenshots of Ken and Ryu, for Street Fighter IV.

Despite noting the long standing unliklihood of a sequel, the Infinite Wars featured [apparently logical] speculation that a fourth instalment might finally arrive [The New Challengers!] came good. In October Capcom confirmed Street Fighter IV, accompanied by a brilliantly visual trailer for the game.

It was this week that the eager fanbase was finally privy to screenshots, answering many questions about visual direction, and the nature of the new generation's gameplay.

If anyone ever tries to tell you gamers are any different from [comics] fanboys, you can pretty comprehensively laugh in their face. The same kind of negatives exist in both realms, and they were out in full force with the release of images [like the above], which depict the new direction for the series.
Of course, as much as I'd love to act smug and superior, I'm not without my own minor qualms about recent developments.

First, I just have to say; the only thing more disturbing than Street Fighter fans desperately barking about keeping the games in the pixel arena of 2D fighters -- is the fact that a good many of them whole heartedly mean it!

Comics fans know all too well the perils of fanbases obsessively reluctant to progress. It's an attitude that can potentially render a company's attempts to move forward impotent, and given the odds that were put against SFIV ever happening, that's a concerning prospect. More so, considering that SFIV has revealed itself to be something many-a-fan, myself included, dreaded: another retread of the now classic (and devestatingly recycled) Street Fighter II.

Placing it in this era presumably gives makers not only a familiar place to start with, but also a cast of characters already well exposed to much of the purchasing portion of the public. If one was to read between the lines, SFIV's tagline, A New Beginning, mind indicate that this will at least mark the definitive account of SFII, paving the way for regular sequels that pay more attention to progession of story, and satisfaction of experience. [Yes, that's setting myself up for disappointment, but I can dream!]

Still, for a negative, getting the opportunity to play as characters like the confirmed Dhalsim and Chun-Li, is anything but a punishment. Sure, it raises a lot of mathematical questions, but it gives us a chance to reexperience these characters in the ever-popular domain of cell-shaded polygons, which in this instance, carry a more detailed render than many cartoony predecessors.
It's a textured look that seems to be becoming something of a hallmark of next gen games, but really, it's both unlikely, and far too soon to consider this the status quo. For Street Fighter IV, it's the happy medium between progress, and the classic depiction of characters.

Not wanting to delve into the mire of more negatives, I close with a few notes. I would agree with some fans that there's work to be done in better identifying the characters, particularly in facial structure. That said, for all the iffy artwork, it was kind of interesting to see a pseudo-realistic depiction of Ryu that actually made me think Japanese! This pastiche of grimey realism and manga sensibility is just further indicative of it's SFII origins, which a good many newbies probably won't recognise.

The Fight: 4.5 The Episode: 6

And just in case the SFIV made you forget what brought us all here, maybe you want to do some last minute Christmas shopping on Amazon! You'll again note the many episodes between each feature from SFIIV, making it an ideal series to explore further, if you've enjoyed these reviews!

RYU versus SAGAT
The Superstar of Muay Thai: The Grand Prison Battle Symphony (Group TAC/Capcom/Manga)
Where: Street Fighter II V Ep. 9 When: June 1995
Why: Gisaburō Sugii How: Kōji Tsujitani/Skip Stellrecht & Banjō Ginga/Peter Spellos

The story so far...
After years apart, the martial arts brothers Ken Masters and Ryu are reunited when the wealthy Ken invites his Japanese friend to stay with him in the United States.

Together the two embark on a journey to hone and develop their fighting skills by making the uncontrolled environment of the world their dojo.
With the help of their tour guide, Chun-Li; Hong Kong delivers the pair gang violence at the underground fight club, Kowloon Palace, and a clash with martial arts actor Fei Long on the set of his newest action picture.

Ken and Ryu join forces with Fei Long at Chun-Li's father's dojo, where Thai mercenaries, hired by the Ashura, attack to assassinate the dojo master, police Captain Dorai, who has been assigned to take them down.

Though the Muay Thai mercenaries are comprehensively defeated, Ken and Ryu are excited by the unique qualities of the powerful joint-driven fighting style.
They soon take leave for Thailand to get a firsthand experience, but things go wrong when the Ashura seek revenge by planting drugs on Ryu. While Ken seeks out evidence for the masked man who framed him, Ryu is forced to face prison life, and the wrath of Sagat -- fallen Emperor of Muay Thai!

Previous Form:
Ryu (#27): Ranking victories over Balrog, Sagat, and Zangief.
Sagat (#180): Defeated at the hands of Dhalsim and Ryu, with a victory over Ryu also.

Tale of the tape...
Strength: Sagat 4 (Steroid Popper)
Intelligence: Sagat 2 (Average)
Speed: Ryu 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Ryu 4 (Athlete)
Agility: Ryu 2 (Average)
Fighting Ability: Draw 5 (Martial Artist)
Energy Powers: Ryu 3 (Explosives)


- Ryu is a Japanese fighter who was orphaned and raised by the master of the mysterious unnamed ansatsuken fighting style, Gouken. A life of training would develop Ryu into one of the greatest fighters in the world, utilizing Gouken's fighting techniques and mastery over the hadou ki energies.

Ryu is an incredibly well rounded fighter capable of harnessing his ki for trademark attacks such as; the Tatsumaki Senpuu Kyaku hurricane kick, Hadou-ken fireballs, the Sho-ryu ken dragon uppercut, along with an array of variations of each.

- Known as the Emperor of Muay Thai, Sagat is supremely skilled in the fighting style often referred to as the "science of the eight-limbs."
Revolving mostly around elbows, knees, fists, and kicks; Sagat's Muay Thai takes full advantage of his height and physical strength. Complimenting his furious style is the development of various ki attacks that stem from a fierce rivalry with hadou practitioner, Ryu. Many of these energy attacks not only rival the Japanese fighter's weapons, but also imitate them, ie; the tiger uppercut, and tiger fireballs.

Though he spent much time with the criminal element Shadaloo, Sagat's character is not traditionally evil. After a lengthy period seeking vengeance against Ryu, Sagat even came to regret impulsive violence, and found some degree of peace.
- Additional: Ryu and Sagat have a fierce rivalry dating back to the first Street Fighter, where Ryu's defeat of the Muay Thai master left him humiliated, and baring the scars of their battle. It was this result, along with an unexpected rematch, that has set the pair up with a record of 1-1-0 (a win each).

The Math: Draw The Pick: Ryu

What went down...
Having defended himself against prison toughs, Ryu garners the attentions of greatly respected and pampered prisoner, Sagat. A former Muay Thai fighting champion, Sagat's honor is seemingly replaced by the inevitability of a lengthy sentence and the traditions of inmate social politics.

Sagat rises from his extravagant corner of the prison, sending a wave of betting through prisoner and guardsman alike. One of the prisoners brings Sagat his ceremonial Mongkon head circlet, and gloves for each of the fighters, adding a touch of ceremony to the occasion.

Delighted by the prospect of a genuine one-on-one with a greater Muay Thai fighter, Ryu straps the gloves on and takes a Thai stance. Sagat is amused by the Japanese upstart's intentions to meet him on his own terms. He quickly introduces Ryu to his style, throwing a kick to knock him off balance, before hitting a devestating diving blow!

The blow leaves Ryu in a spin and sends a brief hushed awe through the crowd of inmates. Sagat follows it with another stiff kick to the head that makes good use of his reach advantage, before connecting with another string bone-shattering blows - kicks, elbows and knees all included!

Struggling desperately against the barrage of Sagat's explosive attacks, Ryu desperately launches his own counter effort. Though he forces Sagat into defensive blocks, it's not long before the master reasserts himself with yet another knock-out blow, this time an uppercut!

As Ryu continues to get knocked around by the much larger fighter, the action finally draws the attentions of corrupt prison warden, Nuchitt.

The warden watches on with sadistic delight as Ryu again makes an attempt to fight back. He displays a basic mastery of Muay Thai fundamentals that shocks even Sagat! With Ryu's skill level advancing, Sagat unleashes his fully fury with a string of blows that culminate in the legendary tiger knee crush!

The move sends Ryu hurtling back into the prison wall, where he leaves a smearing blood stain as his body slumps lifelessly to the ground.

Believing the Japanese fighter defeated, Sagat walks away to the cheers of the inmates, only to hear a shocking voice from behind! Sagat turns to find his opponent standing and at the ready, showing strength and determination far beyond the young fighter's years.

Ryu acknowledges that Muay Thai has many further levels to be mastered, and removes his gloves to display a more familiar technique. Sagat charges him, and gets an immediate taste of the finesse of Ryu's trained feet.



Ryu unleashes his own flurry of kicks and punches, evening the scores by spraying the champion's blood. Despite the impressive power of his attack, Sagat remains standing, and impressed by his opponent's skill and honor, he reveals the predicament that brought him to be imprisoned.

Sagat reveals common themes beyond their fighting spirits.
Having refused to throw a fight to end his dominance as champion, Sagat found himself at the centre of an Ashura plot to frame him for drug possession. His passion rekindled, Sagat calls an end to the fight, and promises Ryu protection.

With the intentions of taking half the kitty from betting, the warden steps in to demand the fight continue. Despite the threat of reprieve, Sagat defiantly throws down his gloves and walks away. The corrupt warden draws a chain and intends to attack Sagat from behind, but Ryu intervenes.

Disrespected, the warden draws a pistol, eager to take revenge on the only two inmates to have resisted his tortures without a scream.

As the warden prods the gun barrel at Sagat's stomach, he hatches a scheme to disguise the murder as the result of a riot attempt. Ryu obliges the claims, leaping into the air before Nuchitt can pull the trigger. He kicks the gun from his hand, giving Sagat an opening to pound his powerful fist against the warden's face.

The pair double team the podgy warden, putting an end to his threats.
Ryu and Sagat salute each other in triumph as the crowd of inmates cheers the decimation of their torturous warden.

The hammer...
Well, I guess you could call this one a double feature.
It was a tough call to make, but while the expected battle of Sagat/Ryu ends in a draw, I think we could call their battle with Warden Nuchitt a seperate, and victorious affair.

So, if by now you haven't figured it out: I like Street Fighter.
Truth be told, I may very well love Street Fighter, in a strictly non-prison movie fashion, which sort of brings things awkwardly full circle, eh?
Shades of Midnight Express collide with the martial arts standard of learning fighting techniques from wrongly accused inmates, but the influences of this particular episode of Street Fighter II V aren't one-way.

It's interesting to note that Sagat, learning of Ryu's contemplations of hadou, sends him in the direction of India to seek out the wisdom of the yoga master, Dhalsim. Eagle-eyed fight watchers will recall a similar scenario in the previously featured Street Fighter II #2, where Sagat and Ryu meet up on that same path.

To the best of my knowledge there's nothing in the games to connect these events, so it does lead one to wonder if this might be another case of UDON absorbing various influences from the Street Fighter medias.

It's interesting to observe Sagat as a purely heroic figure.
Certainly in the tradition of the games he has served the role of inadvertant villain as boss and sub-boss in the first two installments. A menacing appearance and association with Shadaloo and Bison further defined a dark path for the character, but ultimately his arc in the games represents much the same philosophies as Ryu's struggle with dark hadou.

A serious of obstacles delays the purity of Sagat's vengeful confrontations with Ryu, and ultimately he comes to renounce such a bitter goal. Even so, sins of the past continue to dog him as Dan Hibiki, in a parody of common SNK themes, seeks revenge for the death of his father, who was responsible for Sagat's eye damage. Like the recent Wizard debacle, this parody proves all too feasible in the Street Fighter world, and may be lost on many.

As we roll on to Street Fighter IV in 2008, a lot of fans are clamouring for the return of their favourite characters. I myself would delight at the opportunity to play Sagat in what is expected to be a technological revolution for the series, but at the same time, regret the potential shift in character that might incur.

We're still running considerably behind on updates, so I might leave the pondering to you, the reader. If you've got any thoughts on Sagat, or anything else Street Fighter, feel encouraged to drop a comment. Otherwise, stay tuned!

The Fight: 5.5 The Episode: 5.5

It can be surprising how often a fanbase can completely miss something as prominent as a thirty episode series. If you're among the uninitiated and are enjoying getting a sneaky look at "Street Fighter II V", stay tuned as it maintains a backbone to our Saturday Street Fights. Though as thorough as possible, note that our episode reviews leave plenty of gaps, so if you're looking for DVD set this Christmas, head over to Amazon and think about checking it out!