FIGHTABASE | Street Fighter 2 (Game)

Most know the opening demo of Street Fighter 2 depicts two fighters engaged in a bare knuckle bout decided by a single akwardly thrown blow. Few know that they are none other than Joe and Mike the USA representatives from Street Fighter 1.

Joe

Mike

Released in March 1991, Street Fighter II depicting Zangief as hailing from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.). This made perfect sense, as the U.S.S.R. would not be dissolved until December of that year.

However, Street Fighter Alpha 2, which was released in 1996 but takes place before SFII, indicates that Zangief's country of origin is Russia. The country would still be known as U.S.S.R. during the period in which the game is set.

Street Fighter Alpha 2

Zangief

The car you break in the bonus stage of Street Fighter 2 is a model which actually exists in real life. It's none other than a 1990 Lexus LS 400 (known in Japan as "Toyota Celsior"), which predates the release of SF2 by just one year. This kind of "car break" bonus stage is not new, though. It could previously be seen in Final Fight, although this time with a different car and with no other intention than to annoy a Mad Gear thug, who later would wander into the scene and scream: "Oh! My car".