Mai Yaozu inserted a coin, entered the game, and immediately spotted Chun-Li on the character selection screen.
A female character!
"Hiss—"
Mai Yaozu gasped, the sound echoing like a thousand bees humming in a hive, a wave of excitement sweeping through the crowd.
After a moment's hesitation, he bypassed her and chose M. Bison, a character he was more familiar with. The moment he selected him, he noticed Bison's outfit was different from the first game.
In the first game, Bison wore a military greatcoat, exuding the aura of a high-ranking officer.
In this second game, he had shed the coat for a combat suit, complete with a chest rig and armor that accentuated his muscular physique.
Kobayashi Tetsu continued his explanation from behind as Mai Yaozu followed his instructions step by step.
"Street Fighter II adds a new feature: the Burst Dash. While the first game had a forward dash, it relied on the player's timing. In the second game, you can use a Burst to dash, quickly closing the distance to the enemy. The characters also have an additional gauge."
Kobayashi Tetsu pointed to the bottom of the screen.
Mai Yaozu noticed an extra bar displayed beneath the health bar.
"In the development plan, this feature is called 'Toughness,' but you could also call it a Stamina Gauge or a Stun Meter. While you can block most attacks, if you don't counterattack for a long period, the Stamina Gauge will be depleted. Once empty, the character will enter a brief stunned state, unable to move or attack."
Mai Yaozu looked up sharply, instantly grasping the profound change this design introduced.
The most important part was that characters could no longer just huddle in the corner.
Staying near the edge of the screen was no longer a viable tactic.
At the same time, the Burst Dash's ability to quickly close the gap meant that characters with long-reach attacks could no longer keep their opponents at a distance indefinitely.
Although it required burning a full gauge just to close the distance, in a high-stakes genre like fighting games, the ability to engage quickly meant landing damage before the opponent could even react.
Mai Yaozu selected his character and entered the game, beginning to experience these new features.
The venue fell utterly silent. The crowd held their breath, watching M. Bison throw punches and kicks on the screen.
The moves were largely unchanged from the first game, but the visuals were a pleasant surprise, and the special effects were far more pronounced.
More importantly...
This installment actually had a story!
"Street Fighter II takes place several years after the events of Street Fighter I. M. Bison, once a Lieutenant General, has broken away from the US military. He has independently established his own power base in Myanmar and, under his own name, is hosting this No-Holds-Barred Fighting Tournament. In reality, his goal is to round up the world's greatest fighters in one fell swoop."
"The game features two modes. It's no longer just a simple choice of fighting a CPU opponent like in the first game. Instead, there is a complete storyline. The character controlled by the player participates in the tournament, defeats opponents, and ultimately fights M. Bison."
"Completing the game with different characters will lead to different endings. Even defeating M. Bison with M. Bison himself will yield a unique story."
Kobayashi Tetsu spoke eloquently, detailing the changes in Street Fighter II.
This aspect directly borrowed from the King of Fighters series, which featured a story mode specifically for fighting against the computer.
The balance in the King of Fighters series was atrocious, yet that didn't stop the game from becoming a massive trend.
As Kobayashi Tetsu spoke, he let Mai Yaozu play for a while before tapping the large screen.
"Finally, we have the new characters added in the second installment. While we removed some old ones, we also introduced new faces. We kept Ryu and Ken as the main protagonists, so you'll know you're playing Street Fighter."
"Chun-Li, a female fighter and Interpol agent, joins the tournament to investigate her father's murder."
"Cammy, another female fighter from the British SAS Special Forces, enters the tournament to recover her lost memories."
These were the only two female characters in this game, and they would likely remain the only female characters in the next few installments.
"It will be a while before we see another female character who sparks the imagination—we'll have to wait for Juri Han."
"Besides that, there's a very special hidden character. To unlock them, you'll need to complete at least one playthrough of the Story Mode before you even have a chance to select them."
Kobayashi Tetsu smiled cryptically as he took over the arcade machine from Mai Yaozu.
"This machine has been specially modified, so you can select them right now."
With a few quick inputs, a character appeared on the screen. Their style was completely different from the others—they looked similar to Ryu, but their gi was the opposite color.
Once he finished his explanation, someone in the audience immediately raised their hand.
"President Kobayashi, why are there two female characters in this game? Fighting games should be a man's domain!"
"These female characters have their own stories, and they're not just beautiful—they possess incredible fighting skills of their own." Kobayashi Tetsu gestured casually. "Next question."
"President Kobayashi, that hidden character you just showed looks a lot like Ryu. Is he Ryu's brother?"
"No, that's Evil Ryu. You can call him Evil Ryu," Kobayashi Tetsu explained. "If you beat the game with him, you'll face a final boss other than M. Bison."
Kobayashi answered each player's question, but the crowd never quite settled down. He had to raise his hand and make a downward gesture to restore order.
"I'd love to keep talking with all of you, but our time here is running short. This October, Street Fighter II arcade machines will be released in game centers everywhere. I'll leave it to you all to experience the game for yourselves. Also, there are Street Fighter II arcade machines available for trial play here in the exhibition hall today and tomorrow. A quick reminder: please don't hog a machine for too long!"
After finishing, Kobayashi bowed deeply before stepping off the stage.
Judging by the atmosphere, however, the crowd would likely continue chatting for a while before dispersing.
As the fighting game tournament concluded, the audience and players were guided out in an orderly fashion by the staff. From his vantage point on the second floor, Kobayashi looked down to see players already gathering around the temporary Street Fighter II arcade machines.
From his vantage point, he couldn't see the screens clearly. But judging by the blue and green outlines of the characters, it seemed the players who had been complaining about female characters were actually hypocrites, choosing Chun-Li or Cammy after all.
"You can't blame me for this," Kobayashi Tetsu murmured, lowering his eyelids with a hint of melancholy.
He didn't have a thing for Chun-Li, but Cammy's abs and her deadly Cannon Spike—who wouldn't be captivated by that? Kobayashi Tetsu simply loved that stuff!
The original Street Fighter II had only eight characters, and the Super Famicom port also featured just eight. Other characters were gradually added in later versions. Kobayashi Tetsu had simply taken the liberty of adding Evil Ryu, Akuma, and Cammy into the main Street Fighter II game.
After all, this wasn't the internet era. You couldn't just add DLC characters at will, and updating the game wasn't that easy.
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced at his wristwatch, then looked up through the venue's glass dome at the sky.
The sky remained gloomy, and the stifling heat felt like being in a steamer, yet it still hadn't rained.
Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head silently. I hope this doesn't mess things up
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