When I was a child during the Nintendo Entertainment System era, my family was out at the local mall. Of course, I didn’t want to shop with my parents, so I made my way to the gaming section. I think it was Sears or J.C Penny’s, and I noticed a game called “Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight”. All I needed to read were the words “Street Fighter” and “Ken” before I started begging my dear Father (R.I.P) to buy it for me. Being the great Father he was, he did, and man, I still have so many memories of that game.
Of course, before you ask, no, it was not even related to the Street Fighter series. Like what Nintendo did with Super Mario Bros. 2, by taking another game (Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic) and slapping the Super Mario Bros name on it. Capcom did the same with this game, but what did I know. At that time, Street Fighter 1 and soon after, Street Fighter 2 had started taking the world by storm, and Capcom wanted to cash in on it.
What the hell was Street Fighter 2010?
Back in the 1990s, Capcom had released a game called Street Fighter 2010 in Japan in August 1990 and then in North America the following month. On the front of the box was a cybernetic fighter throwing what appeared to be an energy projectile into the chest of a purple-clad thing. It didn’t look anything like Street Fighter, not at all. There was no Ryu, no Ken (not from the actual Street Fighter game), but one guy had blond hair. That’s all Capcom needed to swap out a few things made this game made its way over to the States. Like so many other games back during that time, the English localization was less than desirable.
The character previously known as Kevin Straker became Ken on our shores, and Capcom wanted everyone to think this was the same Ken from Street Fighter. Of course, you didn’t battle across different stages across the world, but in the universe, as you took to battle a variety of aliens with energy projectiles and backflips and could power up your combat ability. You weren’t out to become the best fighter in the world either; instead, you were a brilliant scientist who was out to avenge the death of your friend, Troy. But before all that, you were the “King of the Street Fighter Circuit.” Now, we all know as great as Ken is in the games, and he is my favorite Street Fighter character; he never won the Street Fighter championship. Sure, he won the U.S. Martial Arts tournaments several times, but never the Street Fighter tournament(s). Hell, I don’t even know who won, thanks to Capcom’s super convoluted timeline.
In some fights, you fought one vs. one, others, you had to fight several enemies until you had enough power to make a jump to the next stage. Others had you navigating a scrolling level that meant certain death if you messed up. Yeah, this was not the Street Fighter that most people were aware of. Again, I’m sure Capcom didn’t care about the numerous localization efforts if it meant the game would sell.
While it wasn’t directly connected to Street Fighter, it wasn’t a bad game. The combat was enjoyable, and there wasn’t any video game out at the time that did what it did. Capcom did try to make this seem like somehow that Street Fighter 2010 was part of the Street Fighter universe. Of course, as I got older, I realized it wasn’t.
It also had a catchy soundtrack, one that I found trying to figure out how to record the music onto cassette tapes. It was much harder back then, with many of us trying to record directly from the TV. All while recording every other sound, such as your family making noises, cars driving by, and more. It even inspired one person to do an arranged soundtrack album; You should check it out.
Fittingly, after reaching the end of the game, you found out that Troy was not dead. Wanting to pull a fast one over on Ken/Kevin, he faked his death. The pair had created some fantastic stuff, and Troy wanted to cash out and make it big. Ken/Kevin, on the other hand, was pissed and wanted to avenge his friend. So, that was a bit awkward at the time. After putting down Troy, you celebrated your victory by….. jumping in front of the Earth? What?
Yeah, I’m not making this stuff up at all. Look for yourself.
What happened to Street Fighter 2010?
In the end, no one knows how well the game did, but Capcom eventually did try to make things right. Ken was ultimately retconned into the original character, Kevin Straker, and was given an official character profile over on Capcom’s Japanese website. It also mentions Street Fighter 2010, stating that it was not a fighting game but a side-scrolling action title. Interestingly enough, it also mentions that while the game doesn’t occur in the Street Fighter universe we all know, it takes place in a parallel world.
It’s a game from my childhood past that I have fond memories of, thanks to hours of game sessions. More importantly, it was one of the games that my amazing Father picked up for me and got me into my obsession with gaming and gaming journalism. Thanks, Dad.
