Nintendojo Toy Box: Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Ryu Statue

Nothing brings friends and family together like a shot at beating the stuffing out of one another.

Not in real life, of course (well, I’d like to hope not), but in a round of Street Fighter! The legendary fighting series made quite a splash when its second installment was ported to SNES. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was a huge hit in arcades, but when it came to Nintendo’s home console, the series’ popularity ballooned into the stratosphere. In the years following, Street Fighter saw an almost unreasonable number of updates and sequels, to the point that the franchise took a nine year nap before being revitalized in 2008 with Street Fighter IV. Nintendo hasn’t played host to Street Fighter as much in recent years (Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition on 3DS remains the latest game in the series to reach Nintendo fans), but the series’ ties to the company are indelible.

When Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collection landed on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it came with Street Fighter II and a whole smattering of other Street Fighter games in tow. Sold in an enormous box, the 25th Anniversary Collection is a must-have for series fans. Along with games, the 25th Anniversary Collection also came toting 11 soundtrack CDs (Street Fighter III‘s soundtrack is one of the best), an art book, and a handsome replica of Ryu’s belt from his gi. Most importantly, though? This beast of a statue of Ryu. Clocking in around eight inches tall, the statue is stunningly detailed. Ryu is portrayed mid-Shoryuken, with waves of energy radiating around the base (which lights up!). The statue is only available in this collection, but with all the goodies I mentioned, it’s worth the price of admission to get hold of.

Ryu has always been a favorite of mine. He’s the quintessential hero, and his friendly rivalry with Ken, along with the endless conflict between him and Akuma, makes Street Fighter that much more fascinating to me. I’m not very good at Street Fighter at all (a friend of mine can wipe the floor with me ten, fifteen matches in a row before I can even muster a win), but with such an engaging cast of characters, and the series’ signature cutting-edge graphics and tight gameplay, I always want to give the games a go. I think the most basic way I can explain my love of Street Fighter is that there’s something undeniably cool about it. The fighters are cool, the games are cool, and playing other people at it, well, feels cool.

Like Pokémon, Street Fighter is the sort of series that unites people and eradicates the notion that video games are exclusively insular experiences. Street Fighter II is actually more of a benchmark for the industry than a lot of people give it credit for. The most obvious achievement was that the game cemented Street Fighter as a flagship franchise for Capcom. What was more important, though, was how Street Fighter II induced a sense of competitiveness that no other game really had. Titles like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man had people shooting to topple high scores, certainly, but direct, face-to-face competition was something different. Removing the computer as an opponent and swapping it with a live person created a level of challenge that was intoxicating. People mastered each character’s unique array of moves and developed techniques and stratagems for winning. The formula has been replicated and expounded upon many times over the years, but Street Fighter remains one of the very best in the business.

Another achievement of Street Fighter II was its eclectic, diverse cast of fighters. From the Indian Yoga-master Dhalsim, to the Chinese, female brawler Chun-Li (who is right up there with Samus Aran as a strong woman of the gaming world), a new standard of characters was set with Capcom’s sequel. It’s arguable that some of the cast pandered to stereotype, but I personally find them all fun and creative. While the video game industry still struggles with diversifying its offerings, companies like Capcom have been finding ways to include people of all types in its games for a long time. Street Fighter is a remarkable franchise, and statues like this one of Ryu are excellent, tangible connections to them.

Another Toy Box in the books. What do you think about Street Fighter? Do you have any fond memories of the series? Or any Street Fighter memorabilia that stands out in your own collection? Sound off in the comments!