How Good Are YOUR Streetfighter CAWs?

When SF meets the WWE…

A CAW is a customized character using the Create-A-Wrestler function in the WWE Smackdown vs Raw games. As sluggish as the collision detection can be sometimes in this series of sports-entertainment simulators, the Character Customization is detailed and nuanced like few others. With a little creativity you can do a lot of great things with it- like, recreate the Street Fighter roster and have them work their differences out in the ring. Well, that’s what jim784m on Youtube did, with what I think are the best SF CAWs I’ve ever seen- they look like they walked off a SFIV disc, complete with some signature moves and even some Alternate Outfits, to boot! All this vid needs are SF voiceovers to make it look totally convincing.

Well, check the vid above out and marvel at the recreations yourself… just beware you may find yourself wanting to create your own CAW stuff yourself afterwards.

New Update to SFIV iPhone Adds Sagat, Deejay!

Sagat and Deejay are in the house!

The latest download to the iPhone version of Streetfighter IV is available on the appstore. Though previously announced that the update adds Thai boss Sagat, it’s now been revealed that Jamaican whirlwind Deejay is also part of the package. While Sagat is playable off the bat, Deejay has to be unlocked (by playing wirelessly three times). Also available is an ‘Fight Request’ mode so you can take on other players via wifi, Game Center support and the option to play original SF2 music (in-app purchase).
Judging from the pic above, I think there’s at least two more fighters that can be added to the roster after this update. For now though, this should tide us all over.

SFIV iPhone Updated with E.Honda, C.Viper and In-App Store

Two more challengers arrive to fight on-the-go.

Capcom has just posted the update to the iPhone version of Streetfighter IV on the appstore. The 284MB download will add classic world warrior E.Honda and SFIV debutante Crimson Viper to the roster, as well as add an In-App Store where you can purchase Ryu and Chun-Li’s alternate outfits (Ryu’s topless gi, Chun-li’s sexy blue dress). It’s a meaty download and well worth the effort to get for mobile brawlers.

Add a new outfit to Ryu and Chun-li for some spare change.

Taking a peek at the way the Character Select screen is now with the two newbies, I think that there’s a good chance we’ll be seeing four more fighters added in the near future. I’m hoping for at least Juri and Makoto, at least. Anyway, SFIV has so far proven an awesome investment for me with the added content (Cammy and Zangief were added the last time). This is a no-brainer for SF fans who have an iDevice (well, a phone- the app looks pretty bad on the iPad). Now, where’s that Tekken iPhone game?

Streetfighter High: The Musical Rocks!

Not only is Jennifer Zhang pretty hot as Juri, she also nails the mad femme fatale’s crazy eyes.

Cross Capcom’s mega-popular fighting franchise with High School Musical and what do you get? Streetfighter High: The Musical, that’s what! The sequel to the popular Youtube fan film Streetfighter High arrives with a LOT more characters (heck, they even managed to squeeze in freaking Geki), more cool costumes, more teen angst, lots of hot babes and a ton of singing and dancing. It all comes together for about 20 minutes of awesome SF parody and comedy that fans of the game should enjoy and appreciate to no end.

What can I say? The characters look great thanks to spot-on casting and some cool costumes, and the actors are game and having fun. I have to say that the simple fact that they managed to squeeze in so many characters into the show earns it a three thumbs up from me.

This is truly an exceptional work that surely any fan of the iconic fighting game should appreciate and enjoy- regardless of how they may feel about musicals. There’s some groovy fighting action and some pretty hot babes (Juri… wow) along with all the wacky comedy and occasionally cringe-worthy singing, so it’s all a win for me.

GET READY FOR THE NEXT… DANCE NUMBER???

The action in the credits is worth the price of admission (if there was one)!

Seriously- between this and Streetfighter: The Later Years, Capcom shouldn’t find it so hard to make movies or TV shows based on SF. Why are they still putting out crap like Legend of Chun-li? Sigh. Streetfighter fans, just watch it, look for your fave fighter and just enjoy!

Streetfighter X Tekken Trash Talk: Jun Kazama to Return, Release Date Revision?

Gamespot just posted a cool video interview with Yoshinori Ono and Katsuhiro Harada from Gamescom (Ono’s still in his Chun-li getup). As far as the development of the Crossover Fighters, exact details are scarce but the two devs do talk about how their teams are going about making the upcoming fighters, such as listening to fan feedback and suggestions.

It’s really fun to see these two producers from two high profile games spar and interact onscreen via their body language- you can tell they’re very comfortable with each other and are good friends… perhaps the one reason how this whole thing was made possible in the first place.

Anyway, there were two significant things I got from the interview. One, apparently Ono has fixated on the still-MIA Jun Kazama (apparently simply because Harada ‘wants her out of Tekken’) and has stated that he will include her in his game- a point up for Jun loyalists (I’m an Asuka fan, so whatever). Since these Crossovers are non-canon, anything and anyone goes, I guess. Still, I wouldn’t break out any champagne until I see character models and artworks.

The other significant point is the release date- Ono said that his early prognosis of a release after 2 years earned him a scolding from Capcom boss Keiji Inafune, so he and his team will try to get the game out sooner than that. Good to hear. Really, dudes… I mean, we all waited for Tekken 6 for at least that long, but in that case we had the arcade version to tide us over. Let’s hope these much-awaited titles arrive a LOT sooner rather than later.

Check out the whole video interview here.

New Streetfighter X Tekken Screens show Babe Battles

Chun-li takes it to Nina.

Streetfighter producer Yoshinori Ono just posted a bunch of screenshots from his upcoming brawler, Streetfighter X Tekken. The 9 screens show off some new hit effects and action not seen in the previous trailer. This includes the female fighters also getting in on the fighting directly, with Chun-li giving Nina Williams a taste of her kicks. Actually, all of the screens have the World Warriors kicking the Iron Fist Fighters’ butts, leading me to believe that this is a bit of a gauntlet to the face from Ono to his rival, Harada-san over at Namco-Bandai. So, Tekken… where’s your answer?

Check out all the posted new screens over at Fighter’s Generation.

Crimson Viper to join iPhone SFIV as DLC!

Another challenger has entered the ring!

Capcom is going to continue supporting its portable Streetfighter IV on the iPhone, with at least one more DLC character on the way. Apple fans have already inserted Russian grappler Zangief and British special forces babe Cammy into their games… eventually they’ll be able to add in the tech-heavy secret agent Crimson Viper as well.

Viper made her first appearance in the original Streetfighter IV, a newcomer whose design was described by many a gamer as something from King of Fighters. Since then, the gadget-using femme fatale (her suit gives her most of her offensive abilities) has been though some changes. Originally evil S.I.N. mastermind Seth’s henchwoman in SFIV, she left his organization prior to Super Streetfighter IV, upon which she was replaced by Juri Han. Revealed to be an American C.I.A. agent working deep undercover, Viper’s goal is to wipe out S.I.N., Seth and his brethren.

What does that all mean for SFIV iPhone? Nothing much… just that when we finally get this kick-ass agent on our iToys later this year, we can appreciate her story more. C.V. will arrive as free DLC, though exact release dates are as yet unrevealed. More as we get it.

Harada VS Ono at Gamescom! UPDATED

Katsuhiro Harada’s and Yoshinori Ono’s twitter accounts revealed recently that both of these fighting game creators will be attending Germany’s gaming expo, Gamescom, this coming August 19.

This early, the two producers have already begun a WWE-style exchange of trash talk, hyping up the confrontation that will see them both facing off in Streetfighter X Tekken. Afterwards, gamers at the event will be invited to try the game out themselves in a tournament, with various game goodies at stake.

UPDATED: Contrary to earlier articles, apparently we will not be seeing Namco’s Tekken X Streetfighter at Gamescon, as later articles are mentioning the game to be featured as SF X Tekken, the Capcom-created crossover which was featured at SDCC. Unless Harada decides to wow us with his stuff, this may be just something we’ve all seen before already. Still, who knows? More as we get it. Read this article for this disappointing bit of news.

Streetfighter X Tekken, Tekken X Streetfighter Announced at SDCC!

Fighting fans, rejoice!

This just in- Yoshinori Ono, over at the SF panel in SDCC, has just confirmed the latest crossover fighters coming: Streetfighter X Tekken AND Tekken X Streetfighter. This collaboration between Capcom and Namco-Bandai was let out of the bag finally as Ono-san was interrupted during his panel talk by Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada. The two then went on the announce this holy hardcore fighting alliance.

A teaser trailer and playable SFXT demo was reportedly shown and available (I’ll post if once it’s available) with Ryu and Chun-li facing off against Kazuya and Nina, in 2D, with SFIV-style EX moves and tag-team combat! Harada also said that on his side, Tekken X SF is also being developed, but in Tekken 6-style 3D arenas and fighting. Check out this article at Kotaku for the original info. More as I get it then!

Streetfighter Legends: Ibuki#3 Review

Finally, some action!

After quite a bit of a gap since the last issue’s release, Udon’s Streetfighter Legends: Ibuki #3 finally hit store shelves this week. Though consistent with eye-catchingly colorful art and fun panels, I have my reservations with this first comic feature starring the Streetfighter III girls. Much of it though has to do with the small amount of pages this mini-series has, leading to a distinct shortage of actual action. Issue one could have had at least a bit of a confrontation between Ibuki and her karate rival/friend Makoto, but the fight never happened. Issue 2 was a bit of a disappointment, glossing over action once again more in favor of character relationship moments between Ibuki and girl-buddy Sarai. Really, a Streetfighter comic should have AT LEAST one solid fight or skirmish in every issue, somehow, someway.

Finally though, Issue 3 throws in the action we should have been treated to in the previous issues. At the beginning of the comic we see Ibuki sparring with African princess Elena, who made her debut last issue. It was short, but at least things happened. After some drama (which lets Ibuki show off more of the little girl inside as well as the tough ninja warrior), the ninja heroine and company then moves on to meet her final ninja test- a confrontation with Oro, the ancient martial arts master (and fellow fighter from SF3). There’s some bits of action, nice fight scenes from artist Omar Dogan, and your all’s well that ends well resolution. Really though- more pages devoted to the fighting and someone actually getting HIT would have made this TONS better.

A nice touch here though was a bit of drama on the part of Makoto, whose father and dojo were defeated by Oro years ago. The exchange between her and Oro was a nice bit of angst and emotion from the somewhat testy karate kid, and a good way to show off her true character in a more sympathetic light. I really don’t mind seeing Streetfighter Legends: Makoto someday, seriously!

This is far and away the best issue yet of this arc, and I really hope writer Jim Zubkavich wrote a suitably strong, action-filled finale to cap off this mini-series. The cliffhanger ending certainly looks forward to some butt-kicking from our three SF3 babes, so I’ll be hoping for a lot more fight next time.