Live action shows based on games aren't exactly rare, but those with respectable production values and official licensing are. Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist falls into the latter category, beginning life as a proof of concept video on YouTube before gaining official rights from Capcom and private investment. At one point it was destined for crowdfunding, but the calibre of those involved in the project evidently encouraged private sponsors and backers to step forward.
It's now available to view, too, sporting a Machinima partnership and sponsorship from — somewhat humorously — Honda. It tells an origins story of Ryu and Ken in training together and is split into twelve 12-minute episodes — plus a mini 'Alpha' show — that'll apparently be edited into six parts for a TV series in the future, before a full uncut two hour movie eventually arrives on DVD. It's the real deal, in other words.
You can check it out with the short teaser video below, with each episode following in order; you can hit up the YouTube source link to see the playlist, too. The first episode is family friendly, but we should warn there is occasional swearing throughout the series, so watch at your own discretion.
[source youtube.com, via joystiq.com]
Comments 23
Looks cool, have bookmarked it for later.
Dat hair.
Live action Street Fighter comes off as a bit corny, no matter how good, but the fight choreography is pretty impressive for sure.
I'm on episode 7 and I have to say its actually pretty good. The episode could be longer though but since its on Youtube :/ yeah but other then that I recommend watching it.
Seems better than the live action Dragonball movie or Last Airbender, though I realize that's feint praise.
And it goes w/o saying, better than live action Fist of the North Star, despite the presence of Malcolm McDowell and Costas Mandylor. Though TBH I've never liked anything FotNS after the original ultra-violent anime movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113074/
Awesome indeed, can't wait to see how all the other Street Fighter characters look and act in the rest of the series.
@kensredemption It's up now, you can watch the whole thing. It was pretty good.
But is it as good as THAT scene from Jackie Chan's City Hunter movie? If you don't know what I'm talking about, just search YouTube for City Hunter Street Fighter. You won't look at Chun Li quite the same ever again.
I hope there's going to be more! I really liked it.
It's good because unlike most Hollywood action movies these days, the fights are actually edited in such a way that you can easily follow the action. It's not breaking the line of action constantly for example or blatantly cutting totally separate bits of action together to make it look like the actors are fighting when in reality they're just doing a couple of poses and counting on the editing to make it look like it's a fight. Also, you can clearly see that these guys do actually have some genuine martial arts skills.
I remember they did a live action Mortal Kombat on that channel. I think it was called Mortal Kombat Legacy or something like that and it was really good too.
As a street fighter fan since 1992 I think they have done an incredible job of capturing the spirit of the game and nods to the anime tv series. One of my favourite parts of the show is the old man that continually taunts ken throughout the series. Love the bit when he plays Ryu's song
And the Mega Man 2 bit was great, reminded me of me and my mate when we got a brand new game, cheesy as hell but really fun.
I really hope Joey and Christian go far with this series and make movies and a longer series.
The only negative I have would be ryu and kens acting isn't the best it's not awful but they are stunt men and martial artists at the end of the day, so I can let it slide. That being said the Japanese cast are fantastic and this is easily he best live action street fighter anywhere.
Oh and the soundtrack is excellent, episode 0 is my favourite piece of music from the show. Gonna download the soundtrack off amazon
Wow I liked it. Want some more
This is was just BAD! Who even likes street fighter? There is no story and the games are the same thing with one new character and a new map! PEOPLE need to stop showing that they support a horrible series like this. THIS just makes capcom want to continue to make garbage games like this! WHATEVER though hopefully capcom will continue to make street fighter games and run themselves into the ground! THREE CHEERS FOR THE END OF CAPCOM!!
@MASAHIROSAKURI
Are you serious with this? I think the only way that one could come to that conclusion is if they've never played Street Fighter, or understood its nuances to fully appreciate it.
I get it - they're releasing another Street Fighter IV expansion pack this summer, and it only contains a few new characters. But you have to understand fighting games. Let me make a metaphor. Imagine that a company came out with a new version of soccer (or football, if you prefer) since the old one was boring, people were getting sick of it, or whatever. This might make some people happy, but the majority of people would be upset. After all, why fix something that isn't broken? This philosophy applies to SFIV as well. It's a sublime game engine and I still regularly play the game, attempting to master my character, other players, and every other little nuance that can be imagined. If they "innovated," I'd be a little upset, since that would mean I'd have to relearn everything. Eventually, this will happen, as new technology becomes more prevalent, but trust me, SFIV has at least 5 more years of life yet.
If you truly want to appreciate fighting games, please check out any commentary-backed videos, such as highlights from last year's EVO fighting game tournament. This is precisely what got me into the Street Fighter craze (although I had dabbled in it since SFII waaaaaay back when). The commentators helped me to understand the intricacies and beauty of the game.
Storyline is a matter of opinion, but what Street Fighter has always done very well is have really likable, cool characters. I happen to love the storyline of Street Fighter, particularly the relationship between Ryu, Ken, their master, and Akuma.
For those who are still on the fence, I was blown away by this web series. They nailed it. There were so many awesome moments, and the ending was powerful. If you're a fan of Street Fighter in any way, you will love this. If not, you may not fully get into it.
ok, I'm with the long name guy above, that was bad, it was not trolling. The only place for these so called "production values" was in the costumes and they are as hoaky as ever. No story to speak of and.. slow motion and a jib makes something "production value" now? Hollywood fast cutting is what makes bland material like this watchable and these guys are not that great either so doing some cool street fighter moves doesn't make them great martial arts guys.
Is it so hard to call it what it is? Cheesy fan videos are fun but they are not quality cinema by any stretch. oh it's sponsored? greeeeat. that makes it sooo much better.
It puts most high budget Hollywood series to shame.I watch it till the end and I love it. Now hoping there is a season 2.
I think I'll just let my avatar explain how I feel about the ones complaining in the comments.
Just saw it and it was AMAZING! I can't wait for season 2. One of the best live action translations of a video game period.
Not bad, but I think I like Thousand Pounds Action a tad more:
Forget the haters! This was AWESOME! IT blew me away! They were spot on with the storyline. The backstory of goken was awesome as well. It even had some touching moments. It's worth at least trying to look at. Way better than that crap movie we got with van damme.
@Dreamz Umm... haven't clicked on the vid yet, but judging from the nail, it looks like Naruto and his Shadow Clone Jutsu. Right?! I frickin' LOVE Naruto!
@MadAdam81 Lol just watched the clip,
I've christened Jackie's Chun Lee alter ego as "Jackie Chun"
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