Remember THIS Street Fighter? It Had... GUNS?! (Street Fighter EX)

Alana 14 Apr 2024

Remember that time Street Fighter went 3D and gave everyone guns? No, we're not talking about that Cannon Spike game Capcom seemingly wants to forget. We're talking about Street Fighter EX, a weird, wild, and often wonderful departure from the series' established formula. If those words didn't instantly trigger a rush of nostalgia – maybe even a yearning for polygonal Hadokens and that iconic announcer voice – well, you're about to take a trip back to the arcade days.

Picture this: it's the late '90s, arcades are still the place to be, and 3D gaming is the shiny new toy everyone wants to play with. Enter Street Fighter EX, Capcom's attempt to translate their iconic fighting game franchise into the third dimension. Developed by Arika, the game retained the core mechanics that made Street Fighter a global phenomenon – fireballs, dragon punches, and more spinning piledrivers than you could shake a stick at – but with a polygonal twist. Characters were rendered in early 3D, stages gained depth, and the fighting, while a tad clunkier than its 2D counterparts, had a certain chaotic charm that was hard to resist.

But Street Fighter EX wasn't just about hopping on the 3D bandwagon. Arika, while tasked with staying true to the Street Fighter legacy, also injected a healthy dose of originality into the game. The roster, alongside familiar faces like Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li, boasted a colorful cast of newcomers – the fiery Hokuto, the enigmatic Dhalsim-esque Garuda, and who could forget the gun-toting badass, Doctrine Dark? Yes, you read that right, guns. In a Street Fighter game.

While the addition of firearms might seem like sacrilege to purists, it was undeniably part of Street Fighter EX's unique identity. The game wasn't afraid to experiment, to push the boundaries of what a Street Fighter game could be. And you know what? It worked. Street Fighter EX, for all its quirks and rough edges, was a hit. It spawned a series of sequels, each iterating and refining the formula, introducing even more bizarre and beloved characters like the whip-wielding Pullum Purna and the literally explosive Cracker Jack.

So why revisit Street Fighter EX now? In an age of hyper-realistic graphics and esports-level competition, what can we learn from this polygonal relic of the past? Well, for starters, it's a reminder that sometimes, it's okay to embrace the weird, the wacky, the downright experimental. Street Fighter EX might not have been the most technically sound or balanced fighting game, but it was undeniably fun, full of personality, and it dared to be different in a genre often defined by its adherence to tradition. Plus, who doesn't love a good dose of nostalgia? And trust us, booting up Street Fighter EX again is like stepping back into a time capsule, filled with the sights, sounds, and, yes, even the sometimes clunky gameplay that defined a generation of arcade rats.

While the original arcade cabinets may be relics of the past, you can still experience the frantic fun of Street Fighter EX through various emulators and compilations. So dust off your arcade stick (or, let's be real, your keyboard will do), fire up your preferred method of playing retro games, and get ready to unleash some polygonal fury. You might just find yourself charmed by its unique brand of fighting game chaos.

And hey, if anyone asks you what you're playing, just tell them you're revisiting a classic. Because in a way, despite its quirks and its brief moment in the spotlight, Street Fighter EX is just that: a classic reminder that sometimes, the most memorable games are the ones that aren't afraid to break the mold.

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