Street Fighter II #4

Dec 1994. Cover price 95p.
40 pages. Full colour.
Manga Publishing Ltd.

Edited by Cefn Ridout.

Cover by Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.
r: UNKNOWN.

Contents:

 2 Surf's Up Dude! competition to win Street Fighter II skateboards.

 3 Street Fighter II Battle 04 w: Masaomi Kanzaki, translated by William Flanagan; a: Masaomi Kanzaki, lettering and finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color. / Indicia

r: UNKNOWN.

 4 Ryu (one fifth page) fact file.

 6 Ken (one fifth page) fact file.

 8 Guile (one fifth page) fact file.

10 Zangief (one fifth page) fact file.

12 Dhalsim (one fifth page) fact file.

14 Blanka (one fifth page) fact file.

16 E. Honda (one fifth page) fact file.

18 Chun-Li (one fifth page) fact file.

20 Street Fighter II poster 4 (of 8); a: Masaomi Kanzaki, finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color.

r: UNKNOWN.

23 Street Fighter II Battle 05: Friend w: Masaomi Kanzaki, translated by William Flanagan; a: Masaomi Kanzaki, lettering and finished art by Lea Hernandez, colouring by Koto Color. / Indicia

r: UNKNOWN.

24 Balrog (one fifth page) fact file.

26 Vega (one fifth page) fact file.

28 Sagat (one fifth page) fact file.

30 M. Bison (one fifth page) fact file.

32 Po-Lin (one fifth page) fact file.

34 Wong-Mei (one fifth page) fact file.

36 Gouken (one fifth page) fact file.

38 Contenders advance towards the Grand Fight as Law of Nature separates the strong from the weak (one fifth page)

39 Street Fighter II Subscribe in-house advertisement.

40 Masamune Shirow's Appleseed in-house advertisement for videocassette.

The maze of highways and byways that make up the island of Shad are hazardous and difficult to navigate. So how do you think Ryu, Chun-Li and the rest of the gang zip around from one contest to another without completely wearing themselves out? By using the surfboard of the streets is how!

One has to admire the tortuous reasoning employed in rationalising competition offerings, and Street Fighter II's explanation is a real treat to read. While the competition would have made more sense had skateboarding been featured in the title previously, the design seems appropriate to the franchise.

In the comic strip Dhalsim and Ryu are still beating on each other, with increasingly violent repercussions. Ryu hits Dhalsim so had that his skull necklace shatters, and would have killed him had they not cushioned the blow. Guile defeats Zangief with a wrestling move, while Chun-Li wins her fight with E. Honda after he angers her into delivering a Lightning Kick. An extremely fast-paced start to the issue, with the multiple battles concluding in quick succession, though with little progression in uncovering mysteries which have been presented.

A last-minute reveal of Ken is rather good, promising much.

The highly-stylised depictions of characters in the posters is likely to polarise the title's audience - the love-it-or-hate-it images this issue include Dhalsim with arms seemingly able to stretch a-la Mr. Fantastic, and E. Honda rippling with muscles upon his muscles like a pink Hulk. The background colours are as hopeless here as before, with the orange and purple being something of an eye strain.

They aren't, despite being named as such, really posters.

Featuring far too much writing (birthdate, height, weight, blood type, likes and dislikes, and biographical detail) to make them appropriate wall-hanging material, and are more suited to being described as fact files. But who am I to argue with Manga Publishing? Fine, they are posters. Simply not very good ones.

The Grand Fight. The greatest event on Shad. The Phenomenal event that decides the most powerful being on Earth. It is a single-elimination tournament where the three challengers fight the second, third, and fourth place finishers of the previous year's tournament. The one who survives all the matches fights the reigning champion.

With the set-up delivered in appropriately dry fashion, we go back to Dhalsim telling Ryu about Ken, and his reaction is impetus for a flashback to Japan in the mid-80s. Frustratingly, the origin of the drug is mentioned, but not why - surely a narcotic which induces violent reactions in those who consume it is ripe for exploration, yet there is so little we ae told in this installment that it feels as if the material has been badly padded.

It took me a while to warm up to the title, and the drawbacks, while still present, aren't as bothersome once this title is accepted on its own terms - it isn't attempting to develop into something greater, merely fulfilling a need for a comic tie-in to a popular game. It can't be faulted for following such thinking through. Still, a little original content would be nice...

#03

Street Fighter II

#05