Hi fellow gaming friend! Are you excited about the upcoming release of Street Fighter 6? As a hardcore SF fan, I definitely am. This legendary fighting game series has one of the deepest story canons in the genre after 30+ incredible years of titles and updates.
With SF6 coming in 2023, I thought this would be the perfect time to recap all the key events, characters, rivalries and mysteries that make up the Street Fighter storyline thus far. It‘s quite a rich and convoluted saga spanning multiple mainline games and spinoffs. My goal here is to break it all down for you in structured detail so you‘re fully prepped on the lore!
I‘ve analyzed the stats and backgrounds for all major Street Fighter releases. Now let me guide you through the pivotal moments in SF‘s history across 3 decades that every fan should know. Let‘s do this!
Overview of the Core Street Fighter Story Arc
Before diving into the chronological history, I wanted to provide context on the overarching narrative theme that connects the Street Fighter games through time and various protagonists/antagonists.
At its core, the series centers on an internal struggle between light and darkness within the legendary martial art form Ansatsuken. Practitioners of Ansatsuken gain incredible fighting power but must contain the dangerous Satsui no Hadou (Surge of Murderous Intent) inside them. Giving in fully to this dark impulse grants even more strength but consumes one‘s humanity entirely.
The two central characters that represent this dichotomy are:
Ryu – Seeks balance between humanity and destructive impulse. The quintessential SF hero.
Akuma – Has surrendered completely to the Satsui no Hadou. He serves as Ryu‘s dark mirror and nemesis.
This core struggle between power and conscience in Ansatsuken provides the narrative backbone connecting Street Fighter games for 30+ years despite rotating protagonists/villains. It imbues the series with a primal fighting game theme and philosophical undertone. Pretty deep for punching and kicking!
Let‘s explore how this plays out chronologically…
The Key Events of Street Fighter Plot Canon (Chronological Order)
Now let me break down for you the pivotal Street Fighter releases and story beats in timeline order:
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| Release Year | Game | Key Storyline Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Street Fighter | – Ryu defeats Sagat in first World Warrior tournament, scarring Sagat for life – Sagat swears revenge after this brutal loss |
| 1995 | Street Fighter Alpha | – Introduces villain Bison and his Shadaloo crime syndicate – Akuma emerges and kills his brother + Ryu‘s master Gouken -Akuma confronts Ryu to awaken darkness within him |
| 1991 | Street Fighter II Series | – Legendary sequel focuses on World Warrior II tourney organized by Shadaloo – Introduced the series‘s most iconic fighters still popular today like Chun-Li, Guile, Blanka |
| 1996+ | Street Fighter Alpha 2/3 | – Expands on backstories for Charlie, Guile seeking revenge on Bison – Ryu battles Akuma again, steadily succumbing to Satsui no Hadou |
| 2008 | Street Fighter IV | – Resurrects the series on modern systems – World Warrior IV tournament, final boss is Seth – Akuma tries persistently to corrupt Ryu to the dark side |
| 2016 | Street Fighter V | – Bison revived by Illuminati to continue Shadaloo plot for global domination – Introduces fan favorite fighters like Necalli, Rashid, Ed, Falke – Shadaloo crippled but Bison escapes again |
| 1997+ | Street Fighter III Series | – New fighters battle supremely powerful Gill & his secret Illuminati society – Gill seeks to implement twisted new world order enforcing injustice – Heroes unite to defeat Gill in climactic finale |
As you can see, the series has evolved quite a bit over 30+ years! Believe it or not this overview still just scratches the surface of the rich SF storyline and backstories for 50+ iconic fighters!
Now let‘s explore some key enduring narrative threads that Street Fighter 6 may finally tie up…
Unresolved Storylines Leading into Street Fighter 6
SF6 arrives in 2023 with returning World Warriors Ryu, Chun-Li, Luke and Guile. But many story threads linger for Capcom‘s development teams to potentially resolve:
What is the ultimate fate of M. Bison and Shadaloo? Bison has escaped death about 3 times now (talk about tenacity!). But with Shadaloo seemingly gone for good, what fate awaits Bison?
What role will the Illuminati organization play going forward? These global string-pullers helped revive Bison in SFV and have formidable resources.
Can Ryu finally overcome his inner darkness? After confronting ancient evils like Necalli, Ryu remains gripped internally by the Satsui no Hadou. Does balance lie ahead for our hero?
Fans are extremely curious if these lingering narrative beats will play out more in SF6‘s much-anticipated cinematic story mode! Plus there are still unlockable fighters from SF lore like Evil Ryu or Ultra Akuma that would make awesome DLC.
So there you have it. A chronological breakdown of pivotal Street Fighter story events + speculation on what SF6 might reveal in 2023 for hungry fans like us! Let me know if you have any other burning questions. Just a fair warning…if you get me started on SF lore I may not stop 🙂 What aspect of the backstories intrigues you most heading into the next game? Can Ryu be redeemed?! Discuss!
