Street Fighter Week: The evolution of Chun-Li and Blanka

Table of Contents
Street Fighter II|Alpha series|Street Fighter III|EX series|Marvel vs. Capcom series|SNK vs. Capcom series|SF: The Movie and Gem Fighter|Sprite comparison|SSFIITHDR and Street Fighter IV|Comics and cosplay|Film, figures, and more

X-Men vs. Street Fighter - 1996

Now we're fully into spin-off land. X-Men vs. Street Fighter introduced Capcom's crew to Marvel's cast of angsty mutants, as well as tag-team combat. Chun-Li appears as she does in the Alpha series, except in her alternate, pre-SF II costume (not that crazy unitard).

A quirk of X-Men vs. Street Fighter is that, due to insufficient testing and balancing, each character can performat least oneinfinite combo. Chun-Li is seen executing a bizarre 99+ hit combo from hell below.

Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter - 1997

There isn't much new here, but it's worth pointing out because, though Blanka is not a playable character in any of the Marvel vs. Capcom games, he does appear in The Hulk's MSH vs. SF ending. The game is not part of the official Street Fighter storyline, but the idea that Blanka was affected by Gamma radiation like Bruce Banner is nevertheless amusing.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes - 1998

Once again, these sprites are recycled from Alpha, and the character art doesn't stand out in any noteworthy ways. For the sake of completeness, however, check out Chun-Li's expression in this screen.

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes - 2000

New Age of Heroes is the final crowd-pleasing game in the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Console ports of game are slightly more difficult to obtain than most, as production was limited by Capcom's loss of the Marvel license. While we don't see any new sprites in the series, we can still enjoy some of the quality concept art.