Street Fighter
  

 

Depending on the arcade cabinet's DIP switch settings, you pick between pairs of initial countries and defeat both fighters in a region before moving to the next. In Japan, Retsu (an expelled Shorinji Kempo instructor) and Geki (a claw-wielding ninja who uses shurikens and teleportation) await the plater. In the U.S.A., the player encounters Joe, an underground full-contact kickboxing / Karate champion, along with Mike, a heavyweight boxer (and spiritual predecessor to Balrog). In China, Ryu encounters Lee, an expert in Bajiquan / Chinese boxing, as well as Gen, an elderly assassin who went on to become a staple in Street Fighter Alpha. In England, the player fights Birdie, a towering punk rock bouncer who uses wrestling and boxing moves, along with Eagle, a refined bodyguard who fights with dual Kali / Escrima sticks. The Final Stage is Thailand, where the player first encounters Adon, Sagat's arrogant top Muay Thai pupil, and finally, Sagat (the Final Boss) and "Emperor of Muay Thai".
 

 

Players can perform three basic types of punches and kicks which vary between speed and strength. There are a total 6 attack buttons and 3 special attacks (the Fireball, Rising Dragon Punch and Hurricane Kick) that could be performed only by executing specific motions. A second player can join in any time and take control of Ryu's rival, Ken Masters, during competitive matches and play the rest of the game as Ken if they won.
 
 
The original Street Fighter has been noted by fans of the series for its considerable difficulty in executing special moves in comparison to its more well known sequels. Even when using the traditional arcade buttons, the act of simply performing a special move was a huge achievement for any player at the time!
 

  
While it is universally respected as a foundational historic milestone that birthed the modern fighting genre, SF1's actual gameplay is widely considered clunky, stiff, and incredibly frustrating. The primary reasons the community views the game so critically include: Nightmarish Special Move Inputs, The "Cheat Code" Window: Executing a Hadouken, Shoryuken, or Tatsumaki Senpukyaku requires pixel-perfect, frame-strict motion inputs. The game checks inputs upon the release of a button (an early, unforgiving version of "negative edge"), making special moves feel like a complete crapshoot to trigger. The game also suffers from extreme damage imbalance, as special moves are so difficult to pull off, Capcom made them absurdly overpowered to compensate. Landing just one or two Shoryukens can entirely drain an opponent's life bar and end the round. 
 
 
Furthermore, the rigid and choppy movement, with characters walking and jumping around feels incredibly jerky and definitely not "smooth" to play like SF2. The game suffers from broken hitboxes, inconsistent hitstun, and collision issues. Attacks occasionally phase straight through opponents, and hitboxes rarely align perfectly with the character sprites. The Brutal Cabinet Hardware was another reason for the confusion and frustration behind actually playing this game. Needless to say, it's amazing how rocky SF1's launch was in terms of gameplay and how much the game improved and evolved over time.


The original "deluxe" arcade cabinet didn't use six buttons, instead featuring "pressure-sensitive" pads to measure the three strengths of attack used in the game. The large, rubber mecha-hydraulic pads determined attack strength based on how hard  physically slammed them. This quickly caused player fatigue and constant mechanical breakdowns, forcing Capcom to pivot to the standard 6-button layout we know today. 
 

  FUN FACT:  The director and producer of the original Street Fighter, Takashi Nishiyama, along with planner, Hiroshi Matsumoto, left Capcom after they created SF1 and later joined SNK where they would go on to design Fatal Fury and Art of Fighting.
 
 
There's no denying Street Fighter's impact on the arcade scene. There was simply nothing else like it at the time, and it was definitely one of the best looking and most eye-catching video games in 1987. As someone who personally played on a mint Street Fighter cabinet in the late 80s quite frequently, I can vouch. This little game paved the way for one of the most recognizable video game franchises of all time... and inspired many other companies to venture into the realm of fighting.

 

Page Updated: August 10th, 2026 Developer(s): Capcom Publisher(s): Capcom Designer(s): Takashi Nishiyama        Director / Producer Hiroshi Matsumoto       Planner Artwork by: Bengus (CRMK) Platform(s): Arcade, PC, Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, TurboGrafx CD, PSP, Wii Virtual Console Release Date(s): August 30th, 1987         Arcade Characters:  Ryu, Ken, Joe, Eagle, Lee, Birdie, Geki, Gen, Mike, Retsu, Adon, Sagat Featured Video: Related Games: Street Fighter 2, Fatal Fury, International Karate, Yie Ar Kung Fu, SF2: Champion Edition, SF2: Turbo, Super SF2, Super SF2 Turbo, SSF2 Turbo Revival, SSF2T HD Remix, Ultra SF2, SFIII: New Generation, SFIII: 2nd Impact, SFIII: 3rd Strike, Street Fighter 4, Super SF4, Super SF4: 3D Edition, SSF4: Arcade Edition, Ultra SF4, Street Fighter V, SFV:AE, SFV:CE, Street Fighter 6, Street Fighter Alpha, SFA2, SFA3, SFA3 Upper, SFA3 Max, SFA Anthology, SF: Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter EX, SFEX2, SFEX3, Street Fighter: The Movie, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Pocket Fighter, Art of Fighting, World Heroes, Fighter's History, Street Smart, Mortal Kombat    Gameplay Engine  7.5 / 10 Story / Theme  8.5 / 10 Overall Graphics  9.0 / 10 Animation  8.5 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  8.0 / 10 Innovation  9.5 / 10 Art Direction  8.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation  8.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun  8.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  7.5 / 10 Characters  8.0 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  8.5 / 10  Review based on Arcade version       Final Words: The original Street Fighter holds a special place in my heart... I was 4 years old in 1987 when I first set my eyes on the arcade version of Street Fighter. Little did I know how much of an impact the game would have on me. I was already a fan of Yie Ar Kung Fu and International Karate (as I had the games at home on PC). Upon its debut, Street Fighter (1) took the genre into the next generation with far more polished graphics than any fighting game before it. As an 80's arcade kid... I also remember that my quarters didn't go as far when I played SF1, comparatively to other arcade games. The difficulty was off-the-charts! Gimme a break... I was four (and couldn't practice the game at home). lol. Even if I did well in the early rounds, the later opponents would take my quarters every time. Even so, Street Fighter become one of my favorite games to play at the arcades. SF1 in particular actually contributed to my early interest in actually learning Karate... Thanks to that "Ryu guy," I was dressing up in Karate uniforms before I became an actual martial arts student when I turned seven. (A good age to start, btw.) In case you don't know, I later began a martial arts career teaching for about 25 years. Good times. For the record, I was actually never able to beat Street Fighter 1 at the arcade.  I think I could get to Stage 5 or so... but then my quarters started to run out (gotta conserve), so I probably decided to play another game that would last longer. See, I was learning money management at a young age! Damn, I miss the arcade days. A few years later... the iconic Street Fighter 2 redefined the idea of "competitive fighting game" with a much more playable game. As you could imagine, SF2 was an even bigger deal to someone like me, a returning SF1 veteran (at 7 or 8 years old by then). Needless to say, SF2 immediately became one of my biggest video game obsessions. Later when the internet came out, I learned I wasn't the only one who these amazing games impacted... and I started The Fighters Generation website. Hope you enjoyed this nostalgia trip as much as me. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen    Click Here for all Concept Art / Arcade Flyers! Click Here for all Stages / Backgrounds!                                                Click Here for Official Art / Arcade Cabinet Design! Click Here for all Screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES