Street Fighter is a comic series based on the game series of the same name that ran for three issues from August to November 1993, published by Malibu Comics . Set after the events of the original Street Fighter game, the series focused on M. Bison 's attempts at taking over the world and eliminate those Street Fighters that he sees as a threat to his plans.
62-517: Sheng Long is a character hoax related to the Street Fighter series, created by Electronic Gaming Monthly as an April Fools' prank in 1992. Conceived by editor Ken Williams due to a mistranslation suggesting the existence of a character named Sheng Long in the Capcom fighting game Street Fighter II , the publication released an article describing a method to fight the character in
124-598: A backstory for the character and an appearance designed by editor Mike Vallas. Despite the article trailing off and being incomplete, it resulted in confusion between the North American and Japanese branches of Capcom, with the former calling the latter to ask why they had not been informed about the character. As a character and a hoax, Sheng Long has been described as one of the most famous and well-known legends related to video gaming by publications such as GameDaily and GameSpot . Several publications have attributed
186-533: A best man. A resulting video clip of Chloe and Keith's Wedding was uploaded to YouTube and was viewed by over 30 million people and the couple was interviewed by numerous talk shows. Viewers were deluded into thinking that it was an authentic clip of a real accident at a real wedding; but a story in USA Today in 2009 revealed it was a hoax. Governments sometimes spread false information to facilitate their objectives, such as going to war. These often come under
248-474: A character in Street Fighter IV , with Ono stating in an interview with Play magazine that his inclusion in the title was in response to fans requesting Sheng Long's presence in the game. On the first of April 2008, Capcom announced Sheng Long as a "secret, unlock-able character" in their Japanese development blog for Street Fighter IV and later posted in their official US blog accompanied with
310-417: A fictional story can be communicated: in person, via word of mouth , via words printed on paper, and so on. As communications technology has advanced, the speed at which hoaxes spread has also advanced: a rumour about a ghostly drummer, spread by word of mouth, will affect a relatively small area at first, then grow gradually. However, hoaxes could also be spread via chain letters , which became easier as
372-445: A ground high-low projectile that could be used on the ground, an unblockable "Denjin-Shinryuu-Ken" super attack that would shock the opponent, an air rapid "Hadouken" super attack akin to a move used by Ibuki , and a third super attack intended to be a stronger version of Akuma's "Shun Goku Satsu". In a later issue, the staff reported that despite this being the second Sheng Long joke, it was convincing enough that Capcom of America called
434-693: A joke profile in the Shadaloo Combat Research Institute part of their Capcom Fighters Network website, which showcased artwork and profiles for every character related to the Street Fighter series. Satirizing the Sheng Long rumor, it states that he became a living legend, appears after consecutive draw games, his moves are impossible to counterattack and always register as counter hits and that anyone that sees him will die after 24 hours. Drawn by Shigenori "kiki" Kiwata,
496-399: A long, green, padded/quilted, sleeveless Gi style top which was tied off with a black beltmandarin style, long white braided hair, Fu Manchu moustache , a thick black ribbon over his eyes due to being blinded by Akuma and one hand taking the form of a dragon's claw, described as a result of his power being so advanced, that he began to physically manifest dragon like attributes. Capcom approved
558-524: A married man, has retired from street fighting and acts in commercials for fun, but continues to train and is still very powerful. After hanging out with friends, Ken is unexpectedly confronted by Balrog , M. Bison 's right-hand man (who seemingly joined Shadaloo to repay Bison for getting him off smuggling charges), who fought and lost against Ken in the previous tournament. Although badly beaten by Balrog, Ken overwhelms him with his berserker strength, but armed thugs arrive to help Balrog, who quickly flees from
620-591: A new street fighter tournament that is approaching and believes that they might be training for it. Sheng Long promises Nida to teach her Shotokan karate once he recovers, but she fears that he may never be able to overcome the deadly poison in his body. After leaving Sheng Long to rest, Nida goes into another room to train, and smashes a dummy bearing a photo of Ryu, vowing that once she defeats Ken's killer to restore their master's honor, he will have to face her next. The third and final issue of "Street Fighter" included an epilogue which revealed what would have happened to
682-457: A non-playable character in the "World Tour" mode of Street Fighter 6 whom players fight atop the SiRN building at night after completing the game. Using Ryu's fighting style, he has been described as one of the mode's hardest opponents. Hoax A hoax (plural: hoaxes ) is a widely publicised falsehood created to deceive its audience with false and often astonishing information, with
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#1732776157529744-452: A result, in the April 1992 issue of the video game magazine, a method was "revealed" to reach Sheng Long in the arcade game. The article claimed that the character could be found if a player using Ryu did not let the character suffer any damage during the entire game. Upon reaching the final match against the game's boss M. Bison , the player had to avoid hitting Bison and being hit by him until
806-415: A second screenshot of the character, with Ray Price suggesting to give the character a flaming fist version of Ryu's "Shoryuken" special attack. Unsure what to do with the screenshots at this point, and with their April issue approaching, they invited founding editor Steve Harris over and proposed using the images for an April Fools' Day prank article. Harris took one look and responded "Make it happen." As
868-479: A silhouette of the character. The post took the tone of a Capcom representative trying to announce a character without giving away too many details, hinting that "Sheng Long is Ryu's..." then holding back and saying to wait for an official character announcement. In a similar fashion to the original joke, the post lists the method to unlock him as requiring the player to win every round as Ryu without taking any damage whatsoever and then perform his "Shoryuken" move during
930-415: A time changed their introductory message for their corporate line to address the hoax, instructing anyone calling about Sheng Long to call Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s offices instead. Though Williams was unconcerned with the reaction due to only being known at the publication as "Sushi-X", the other writers were, and in their December issue of that year revealed that it was a hoax and stated surprise at
992-459: Is a news report containing facts that are either inaccurate or false but which are presented as genuine. A hoax news report conveys a half-truth used deliberately to mislead the public. Hoax may serve the goal of propaganda or disinformation – using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect. Unlike news satire , fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial or political gain. Hoax news
1054-528: Is convinced that he will not be a threat to him for a while, and tells Balrog that Ryu is now their only concern. On the island of Okinawa , where Sheng Long lives, the great martial arts warrior is being nursed back to health by Nida, a street fighter from the Philippines who came to Okinawa to learn the ways of Shotokan karate, Sheng Long's fighting style. Sheng Long is surprised that his pupils Ryu and Ken haven't come to visit him, but Nida tells him of
1116-460: Is disputed. Robert Nares defined the word hoax as meaning "to cheat", dating from Thomas Ady 's 1656 book A candle in the dark, or a treatise on the nature of witches and witchcraft . The term hoax is occasionally used in reference to urban legends and rumours, but the folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand argues that most of them lack evidence of deliberate creations of falsehood and are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes, so
1178-468: Is not necessarily clear. Alex Boese, the creator of the Museum of Hoaxes , states that the only distinction between them is the reaction of the public, because a fraud can be classified as a hoax when its method of acquiring financial gain creates a broad public impact or captures the imagination of the masses. One of the earliest recorded media hoaxes is a fake almanac published by Jonathan Swift under
1240-406: Is often intended as a practical joke or to cause embarrassment, or to provoke social or political change by raising people's awareness of something. It can also emerge from a marketing or advertising purpose. For example, to market a romantic comedy film, a director staged a phony "incident" during a supposed wedding, which showed a bride and preacher getting knocked into a pool by a clumsy fall from
1302-468: Is usually released with the intention of misleading to injure an organisation, individual, or person, and/or benefit financially or politically, sometimes utilising sensationalist, deceptive, or simply invented headlines to maximise readership. Likewise, clickbait reports and articles from this operation gain advertisement revenue. Street Fighter (Malibu Comics) Following the end of the previous Street Fighter World Tournament, in which Ryu defeated
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#17327761575291364-491: The Dihydrogen monoxide hoax . Political hoaxes are sometimes motivated by the desire to ridicule or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions , often before elections. A hoax differs from a magic trick or from fiction (books, film, theatre, radio, television, etc.) in that the audience is unaware of being deceived, whereas in watching a magician perform an illusion the audience expects to be tricked. A hoax
1426-576: The University of Nevada, Reno , some hoaxes – such as the Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814 , labelled as a hoax by contemporary commentators – are financial in nature, and successful hoaxers – such as P. T. Barnum , whose Fiji mermaid contributed to his wealth – often acquire monetary gain or fame through their fabrications, so the distinction between hoax and fraud
1488-499: The "Top Ten Gaming April Fools' Pranks", noting it as having the biggest impact of all of Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s April Fools jokes. UGO.com named it one of video gaming's greatest urban legends , noting its impact upon the series' success. Capcom community manager Seth Killian described the hoax as "a part of gaming history", comparing him to the Konami Code . However, Tom Coulter of GamesRadar+ listed it as one of
1550-574: The SNES and Sega Mega Drive consoles replaced all references to Sheng Long by referring to Ryu and Ken as disciples of the " Shotokan school of karate". Sheng Long would later make an appearance in the 1993 Malibu Comics as Ryu and Ken's master, where he is poisoned by an evil clone of Ryu created by the comic's villain. A character named Gouken was later introduced in Masaomi Kanzaki's 1993 Street Fighter II manga as Ryu and Ken's sensei and
1612-543: The appearance of the character Gouken as both a secret boss and playable character in Street Fighter IV . Capcom has also added in-game achievements referencing Sheng Long in Street Fighter II re-releases, and for the 25th anniversary of the hoax temporarily posted artwork and a profile for the character on their website, this time designed by Shigenori "Kiki" Kiwata. This version of the character
1674-455: The article was indeed a joke, however the felt they needed more to make that clear. Editor Martin Alessi suggested adding an "Honorable Mention" to "W.A. Stokins" ("waste tokens") of "Fuldigen, HA" ("fooled again, ha"). Williams felt that nobody would fall for the joke without being incredibly gullible. However, people did indeed try to find the character, with arcade owners sending complaints to
1736-503: The artwork resembles his appearance in Electronic Gaming Monthly 's Street Fighter III April Fools article, except instead of long hair and a beard this version sports a long mohawk and a mustache forked upwards, while his biography stated he stands 6' 1" (185 cm) tall. A small note at the bottom of the page stated it would be deleted after 48 hours, and shortly after it was completely removed. Sheng Long appears as
1798-428: The chagrin of their editor Dan Amrich. Compounding matters, publications from Europe , Hong Kong and other countries reprinted the trick without verifying it or asking Electronic Gaming Monthly ' s permission causing the hoax to spread worldwide. A Hong Kong manhua based on Street Fighter II by Jademan Comics even altered their story to include the character in response. Capcom's North America branch also for
1860-458: The company's headquarters in Japan asking why they had not been told that the character was in the game. Sheng Long is cited as an influential factor for the Street Fighter series, earning mention in articles such as GameDaily's "Top 20 Street Fighter Characters of All Time" list, in which the character placed nineteenth despite not being an actual character. IGN placed it second on their list of
1922-487: The cost of mailing a letter dropped. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century brought down the cost of a mass-produced books and pamphlets, and the rotary printing press of the 19th century reduced the price even further (see yellow journalism ). During the 20th century, the hoax found a mass market in the form of supermarket tabloids , and by the 21st century there were fake news websites which spread hoaxes via social networking websites (in addition to
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1984-480: The creation of Street Fighter character Akuma , who was added to Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret boss with several similarities to the original joke. Fan appeal for the character affected later Capcom titles, with public requests for the inclusion of Sheng Long in an actual video game leading to the consideration of his inclusion in the Street Fighter: The Movie video game and
2046-543: The decade-long world champion Sagat , Ryu and his friends Ken and Chun-Li have each taken different paths in life. While Ryu continues to train hard and pursue the way of the warrior, Chun-Li has joined Interpol to track down and bring her father's killer to justice and Ken (whom Ryu hasn't seen in a year) has become a celebrity. Sagat, humiliated over his loss to Ryu, has joined the Shadaloo organization to become strong enough to defeat Ryu and reclaim his title. Ken, now
2108-481: The design and Luis Mangubat, an artist from the development team (who would later work at Midway Games ), posed as Sheng Long. However, the character was left unfinished because of time constraints. In an interview in the January 2008 Issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly , Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono stated "Let's just say that [jokes] that your magazine have reported in the past might find their way into
2170-418: The either malicious or humorous intent of causing shock and interest in as many people as possible. Some hoaxers intend to eventually unmask their representations as having been a hoax so as to expose their victims as fools; seeking some form of profit, other hoaxers hope to maintain the hoax indefinitely, so that it is only when skeptical people willing to investigate their claims publish their findings, that
2232-479: The fighters, such as Chun-Li 's "Spinning Bird Kick" and Sagat 's "Tiger Shot", but inflict more damage. In addition, the character was supposedly faster than any other fighter in the game, negating the pause between projectile attacks. Other attacks mentioned included an air-based throw attack and the aforementioned "Shoryuken" covered in flames to represent his greater power. The "ridiculous requirements" to encounter Sheng Long were intended to help cue readers in that
2294-520: The film. As the Sheng Long hoax and Akuma's debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo were fairly recent at the time, the designers asked for Capcom 's permission to add both characters into the game. Capcom approved the addition of Akuma, but denied the inclusion of Sheng Long. However, Capcom later unexpectedly approved the addition of Sheng Long. Noon designed Sheng Long's appearance for the title, giving him black gi pants and
2356-457: The final boss fight. Reception to the joke the third time was negative and included criticism from 1UP.com . The following day, the Japanese website confirmed that it was indeed a joke and explained the origin of Sheng Long while adding "Sheng-Long is still now and always will be, truly a character of legend." In March 2017, 25 years after the original hoax was published, Capcom gave Sheng Long
2418-664: The first letter of the first ten sentences of the article. The character's design was expanded on greatly in the article; Sheng Long was now stated to be the American localization name for the character Gouken. His profile listed in the article paralleled Gouken's, but instead of Akuma killing him he was knocked into a raging river. The result gave him a scar over his eye, and a desire to get revenge on his brother. To this end, he revived several "killing techniques" of his fighting style, which included an air version of Akuma's red " Hadouken " projectile attack that knocked his opponent down,
2480-523: The game as fan service." Executive editor Shane Bettenhausen took this to mean the appearance of Sheng Long in Street Fighter IV , though added that if the character did appear in the game, it would be Gouken. When asked in a later interview by 1UP.com regarding the possibility of Sheng Long's appearance in the title, Ono replied "Are you coming to the Tokyo Game Show ? How about you ask me that question again then." Capcom later revealed Gouken as
2542-441: The game due to his experiences with the first Street Fighter arcade game. Wanting to try the office's newly acquired Adobe Photoshop software, he modified screenshots of the game to "create" a "secret boss" by combining sprites from different characters, using it as a way to let off steam due to the stresses of work. Pleased with the results he invited the other writers over, who enjoyed the humor and encouraged Williams to create
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2604-485: The game. Despite intending it to be an obvious joke, many players took it seriously, and other publications reprinted the details as fact without verifying its legitimacy causing the Sheng Long hoax to spread worldwide. As a result, the magazine later acknowledged it was indeed a hoax, though revisited the concept for a similar joke in 1997. Claiming Sheng Long would appear in Street Fighter III , they provided
2666-552: The heading of black propaganda. There is often a mixture of outright hoax and suppression and management of information to give the desired impression. In wartime and times of international tension rumours abound, some of which may be deliberate hoaxes. Examples of politics-related hoaxes: Psychologist Peter Hancock has identified six steps which characterise a truly successful hoax: Hoaxes vary widely in their processes of creation, propagation, and entrenchment over time. Examples include: Hoax news (also referred to as fake news )
2728-434: The hoax again in 1997 by claiming that Sheng Long was in the game, and provided character artwork depicting his appearance alongside new screenshots which were all photoshopped works by editor Mike Vallas. Unlike the first article, they did not finish their explanation of how to reach him, ending the article with "To reach him, you will need at least six perfects and..." Additionally, the words "April Fools" were spelled out in
2790-489: The hoax, the process of fighting Akuma would require certain achievements met during the game, with Akuma interrupting the final match of the game between the player and M. Bison. "The similarity was nodded at in the high-definition remake of Super Street Fighter II Turbo , in which an Xbox 360 Achievement titled "Sheng Long is in Another Castle" could be earned for defeating Akuma in the game's arcade mode. Despite
2852-548: The hoaxers are finally revealed as such. Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles ( c. 1617), published during the late Ming dynasty , is said to be China's first collection of stories about fraud, swindles, hoaxes, and other forms of deception. Although practical jokes have likely existed for thousands of years, one of the earliest recorded hoaxes in Western history was the drummer of Tedworth in 1661. The communication of hoaxes can be accomplished in almost any manner that
2914-410: The lack of direct confirmation from Capcom, the staff of Electronic Gaming Monthly felt the character was added in response to the hoax, with Williams stating that they were "flabergasted that something we did had an impact on the industry like that." Sheng Long is mentioned four times in the 1995 arcade game Street Fighter: The Movie in the endings for Ryu, Ken, and Akuma. In each, he is stated as
2976-408: The magazine that their machines were being broken: large amounts of quarters were being deposited by players, causing them to eventually get stuck. The magazine also received a large volume of hate mail by players themselves, who were complaining that the requirements were impossible. Rival publication GamePro also received letters from players asking to verify the authenticity of Sheng Long, much to
3038-419: The master of Ryu and Ken and Akuma's brother, but never stated as dead. Despite the repeated mention, Sheng Long does not appear in the game. On January 30, 2007, the game's designer, Alan Noon, appeared on Shoryuken.com's forum and discussed aspects of the game cut during development, among them a playable Sheng Long character. According to Noon, talk had circulated about adding extra characters that were not in
3100-531: The pseudonym of Isaac Bickerstaff in 1708. Swift predicted the death of John Partridge , one of the leading astrologers in England at that time, in the almanac and later issued an elegy on the day Partridge was supposed to have died. Partridge's reputation was damaged as a result and his astrological almanac was not published for the next six years. It is possible to perpetrate a hoax by making only true statements using unfamiliar wording or context, such as in
3162-416: The scene. Ken is relieved that the fight seems to be over, but is soon confronted by a menacing-looking Sagat, who defeats Ken after a long fight and stabs him with a knife, seemingly killing him. Sometime later, a driverless car crashes through Ryu's garden at his home in Japan, and he cries in anguish when he finds Ken's scalp and pieces of his bloodied clothes in the car, in a box marked "for Ryu". All over
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#17327761575293224-443: The term should be used for only those with a probable conscious attempt to deceive. As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank , Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively complex and large-scale fabrications" and includes deceptions that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or harm to the victim." According to Professor Lynda Walsh of
3286-402: The time limit expired, thus ending the round in a draw. After repeating this for ten consecutive rounds Sheng Long would then appear out of nowhere and throw Bison off of the edge screen and out of the way. The game's on-screen timer would then stop at 99 seconds, resulting in a "fight to the death" between Ryu and Sheng Long. As a character Sheng Long was stated to feature the special moves of all
3348-415: The use of email for a modern type of chain letter ). The English philologist Robert Nares (1753–1829) says that the word hoax was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb hocus , which means "to cheat", "to impose upon" or (according to Merriam-Webster ) "to befuddle often with drugged liquor." Hocus is a shortening of the magic incantation hocus pocus , whose origin
3410-445: The various characters had the comic continued. Amongst other developments, Ken would have been revealed to have survived, Ryu and Chun-Li (who were shown to have romantic feelings for each other in the first issue, but had not gone beyond kissing) would have finally ended up together, Sagat would have redeemed himself for siding with Bison, and it would have been revealed that Bison had conspired with "dark forces" to create evil doubles of
3472-407: The video game legends he never wanted to hear about again, stating that while it was a good prank at first, it had gone from "sly wink to the fans" to " Borat t-shirt." The rumor is often credited with inspiring the creation of Akuma, a character who debuted as a hidden final boss in Super Street Fighter II Turbo , due to their similarities, although Capcom has never confirmed nor denied this. As in
3534-516: The world, various fighters from the previous tournament learn of Ken's apparent death, and vow to avenge him. Meanwhile, Bison continues to train Sagat, keeping his mind occupied on improving his fighting abilities to keep his mind off his guilt for Ken's apparent death and turn him into a killing machine. Bison also has one of his agents poison Ryu and Ken's former master Sheng Long , leaving him paralyzed. Although Bison doubts that Sheng Long will die, he
3596-425: The worldwide coverage the joke received. During the development of Street Fighter III , fans discussed the prospect of the character's inclusion in the new title. By this point in time Capcom had introduced the backstory character Gouken , who had been killed by his brother Akuma , a playable character added to later iterations of Street Fighter II . Taking advantage of this, Electronic Gaming Monthly perpetuated
3658-441: Was adapted into the series' backstory in Super Street Fighter II Turbo . The mistranslation spawned rumors about the existence of a Sheng Long character in the game, and players sent letters to video game publications attempting to confirm the character's existence. Electronic Gaming Monthly editor Ken Williams, who was an avid Street Fighter II player, also took an interest in the rumor, feeling there had to be some secrets in
3720-580: Was carried into one of Ryu's quotes to defeated opponents in the English localization of the 1991 arcade game Street Fighter II , changing the Japanese quote "If you cannot overcome the Shoryuken, you cannot win!" ( 昇龍拳を破らぬ限り、お前に勝ち目はない！ , Shōryūken o yaburanu kagiri, omae ni kachime wa nai! ) to "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." As a result, players were given the impression that Ryu
3782-548: Was later reused for his appearance as a non-player character in the World Tour mode of Street Fighter 6 , acting as a high-difficulty optional boss . The name Sheng Long comes from a mistranslated portion of the name of a special move performed by the series' main character, Ryu ; the characters shō ryū ( 昇 龍 , rising dragon ) from Shōryūken (昇龍拳), Ryu's flying uppercut, are shēng lóng in Chinese pinyin . This
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#17327761575293844-621: Was referring to a person instead of the attack. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) port of Street Fighter II , released shortly after the April Fools' prank, changed the translation to " You must defeat my Dragon Punch to stand a chance. " However, the English instruction manual for the SNES Street Fighter II referred to "Master Sheng Long" as Ryu and Ken 's teacher. Instruction manuals for later ports to
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