For a show that seems set on sending Ryu and Ken around
the world (not quite so in 80 days…ok ill stop now), Street Fighter II V gave
them a bit of an extended stay in Hong Kong.
Though I was hoping theyd be going at a swifter pace with the story, the
Hong Kong adventures haven’t been a bad thing.
Things improved from a strong beginning and only got better right up
until the plane right to the next destination.
In short: not a bad second week for Street Fighter II V.
After not getting his shot at a one on one with Guile,
Ken got to step in and battle Martial Arts legend turned Action Star Fei
Long. Definitely a much more hot headed
Bruce Lee, Fei Long was a great addition to the cast and his fight with Ken was
amazing. I like how the director of Fei
Long’s film wanted to catch it all on film and edit it for the final movie he
was putting together. This lead to great
back and forth battle moments between Ken and Fei Long while the film crew
tried to keep up (and also keep Ryu from talking during filming which was funny). Best yet, Chun Li finally got in on the
action and managed to throw down with a group of assassins sent to kill her and
her father, Dorai. Sure Ryu, Ken and Fei
Long helped settle things down but Chun Li was given a good chance to shine at
last and reminded us why she’s one of the best, and sexiest, characters in
video game history.
Ryu also got to begin his journey to the move we all know
him best for: the Hadouken. Much like
Goku with his Kamehameha Wave in OG Dragon Ball, it’s def not a technique that
can be mastered overnight. But Ryu got
the basics down from aged Master Yo, who I wonder if we’ll see again (Ryu’s
gotta learn the rest at somepoint, somehow right?). It was a rather cheery encounter, bookended
with this weeks climax that saw Ryu thrown in a Bangkok prison thanks to the
assassins he and Ken encountered in Hong Kong.
Here, Ryu went through a torture scene that was unnecessarily brutal and
extensive. The continuous bloody
whipping our poor dude got is probably a reason this series never found its way
to a Toonami broadcast (Ive been wondering why this never came to be during the
late 90’s early 2000’s period of Toonami history). Still, Ryu got his payback in with some of
the inmates and set the stage for what’s sure to be an epic fight against
another Street Fighter regular: Sagat.
Speaking of fights, the Streets of Rage like battles I
mentioned in the Kowloon City arc last week carried over this week too. By now though, I was alright with battles
being group based rather than one on one.
We still got our typical Street Fighter duels like Ken vs. Fei
Long. But seeing Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Fei
Long and Dorai facing Ashura assassins together was a treat and everyone got to
show off fine. That said, it does suck
that Chun Li wont be continuing her adventures with Ken and Ryu to Thailand and
beyond, at least for the moment. I feel
like we waited a bit to see her in action and only got a glimpse of what she’s
truly capable of. Eh, I’m sure she’ll be
back. After all, Chun Li is probably as
famous, if not more, than Ryu and Ken or franchise baddie M. Bison (who’s
organization was alluded to be in cahoots with the Ashura). It’d feel wrong not to include her in more of
the action.
Some needlessly darker moments aside, Street Fighter II V
gave us a very strong second round after lasts weeks stellar debut. Hong Kong was a great place to kick off the
action packed grand tour of Ken and Ryu and Bangkok promises even more
ferocious violence when Ryu steps into the prison ring with Sagat. What can I say, so far this series has more
than earned the “V” in its title. See ya
next week for more travels and fist fights.
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