Like a Hurricane: An Unofficial Oral History of Street Fighter II

by Matt Leone

This oral history of  Street Fighter II  is an intimate look at the creation of the iconic game and its impact on the videogame industry. Like a Hurricane tells the story of the creation of one of the most important and beloved videogames of all time, Street Fighter II , and its subsequent impact on the industry, its creators, and the game-playing public that enthusiastically embraced it. The culmination of years of research by gaming writer Matt Leone, Like a Hurricane gathers together more than sixty voices, spread across continents, disciplines, and companies, speaking candidly on the vision, fearlessness, and bold ambition that made Street Fighter II a household name. A collaboration between Read-Only Memory and Polygon, Like a Hurricane is an extended and enhanced print adaptation of Matt Leone’s series of in-depth oral histories, published online in serial form by Polygon. This physical version has been extended and enhanced for print, featuring over fifty specially commissioned illustrations and extra research content. Printed in multiple Pantone inks throughout

Genres: Video Games, Games

480 pages, Hardcover

Published January 17, 2023

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting to read Matt Leone’s oral history of Street Fighter 2 since it was published on Polygon in 2014. I’d read quite a bit of it, along with his other Street Fighter oral histories published on the website, but I much prefer sitting down with a book, physical or digital, to read long-form stories.

LIKE A HURRICANE was several years in the making, but worth the wait. Leone covers topics such as the accidental creation of SF2’s combo system and other topics that have been touched on here and there over the decades, but never in the depth and detail of Leone’s interviews. He spoke with several developers from Capcom USA and Capcom Japan, and not just about SF2. All the game’s updates, plus the original Street Fighter, the Alpha series, SF3 and its updates, and more games are covered.

Every chapter delves into discussion of game design and influence on fighting game and arcade culture. More than that, Leone effectively goes behind closed doors to provide more insight into the culture, collaboration, and conflicts of Capcom USA and Capcom Japan than I’ve ever found anywhere. And believe me, I’ve looked.

LIKE A HURRICANE is essential reading for fans of the Street Fighter series, and for fans of fighting games, and for fans of video game development and culture. If you like video games, or if you make them, grab this book.

[Chris Valentine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kind of thought there would be more pictures.

[Rodrigo García Carmona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este podría haber sido un libro de cinco estrellas, pero tiene varios defectos graves que lo echan para atrás.

En primer lugar, su horrible presentación: a pesar de ser un libro en formato de lujo y tener una portada muy llamativa (tengo la edición del Kickstarter), el interior es un despropósito. La maqueta intenta ser moderna y rompedora, pero en esencia no es más que un texto enorme con sangrías inconsistentes, que a veces dificultan incluso saber quién está diciendo qué. Además, este texto no está acompañado ni por una sola imagen, con la excepción de unos pequeños retratos al final del libro. Esto me parece una falta imperdonable si se tiene en cuenta que se está hablando de videojuegos (¡de muchos videojuegos!) y se hace referencia constante a los estilos gráficos de los mismos y las portadas que los acompañaron, o a las capturas de pantalla que aparecieron en una revista o formaron parte de situaciones curiosas. No puedes tener secciones enteras hablando de estos temas sin una sola imagen. Imagino que quienes escribieron Like a Hurricane tenían miedo de recibir una demanda, pero este es el primer libro de este tipo que me encuentro que no tiene ni una sola imagen; creo que se podían haber acogido al "uso justo" y haber empleado capturas o escaneos de cajas sin problema alguno. Además, ya que tenían los retratos de los entrevistados, podrían haberlos usado para acompañar al texto, en lugar de ponerlos todos al final, así hubiera sido más fácil seguir quién dice qué en cada momento. Como decía, la maqueta y la presentación luchan activamente contra lo que el libro quiere conseguir.

El segundo gran problema es la selección de entrevistados: como suele suceder con los libros de origen americano, se da un peso enorme a la perspectiva estadounidense en comparación a la japonesa, cuando debería ser al revés, siendo estos los que desarrollaron los juegos, a pesar de que luego estos se convirtieran en un fenómeno mundial. De nuevo, entiendo las limitaciones que rodearon la creación de la obra: algunos de los japoneses a entrevistar aún trabajan en Capcom y, cuando no es así, las personas de esta cultura son conocidas por ser más reservadas; menos prolijas en entrevistas y más cuidadosas con lo que dicen. Además, el libro sigue dando un peso excesivo a las experiencias y opiniones de los equipos de márketing y ventas frente a las de los creadores de los juegos, otro gran problema.

Y es una pena, porque Like a Hurricane es, hasta la fecha, la narración definitiva de las circunstancias que rodearon la creación de los juegos de lucha de Capcom en 2D, desde el Street Fighter hasta el Street Fighter III, pasando por el X-Men: Children of the Atom y el Darkstalkers. Además, las entrevistas son interesantes y están muy bien hiladas, cruzando comentarios de unos y otros con gran habilidad. El entrevistador se abstiene de dar su opinión y deja que los protagonistas muestren su auténtica personalidad y den su perspectiva sin cortapisas. Esto hace que, a veces, los recuerdos sobre qué pasó realmente no estén claros, lo cual es, en mi opinión, bueno. Like a Hurricane se abstiene de contar una historia de "lo que sucedió", como intentan otros libros de historia de los videojuegos (con escaso éxito), sino que se limita a dejar a los protagonistas hablar. Así, al acabar el libro tengo una imagen muy buena de las personalidades de Goddard, Okamoto, Funamizu, Nishitani, etc..., y sé de cuáles testimonios me puedo fiar y de cuáles no, como si hubiera estado en una conversación directa con ellos, formándome mi propia opinión a partir de sus narrativas.

Como digo, Like a Hurricane podría haber sido un gran libro, pero en lugar de eso es un experimento fallido que, además, probablemente evite que alguien se atreva con un segundo intento de contar lo que hay detrás de Street Fighter. Con todo, es muy recomendable para quien esté interesado en la historia de los juegos de lucha.

[Ross Bonaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up playing Street Fighter II incessantly, and it's still a series I love to revisit whenever I get a chance. Street Fighter is one of those franchises that is just ingrained in me, a video game that I love deep in my bones. I even decided to play my way through Capcom's fighting games chronologically for the first time as I read "Like a Hurricane," Matt Leone's oral history of Street Fighter.

This was a great opportunity to dive a bit deeper into this world and these games that I've loved my entire life, and Leone does some fantastic reporting here to explore the different games that defined Capcom throughout the '90s. I was particularly sucked in by the parts that discuss just how wild the arcade days of SFII were, and how it felt like this train couldn't ever slow down. But then it's also interesting to compare that to Capcom's fear of ever making Street Fighter III, a title that almost felt too large to ever do justice. As someone who has played these games for likely entire months of my life, this is a treasure trove of information that I loved to learn.

My only problem with the book is that I wish it included images throughout, as reading 400 pages of block text is a lot, especially when I think some visual elements from these games could've really added something to this book. But regardless, as someone who loves this series, this is an essential resource.

[Patrick Lum (Jintor) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the breadth and scope of the journalistic aspects of the work is impressive, it is really not helped by the book's general feel and layout. I understand as an unofficial work it is difficult if not impossible to style the book in the manner you'd really want - surrounded by concept art or screenshots etc - but even in some basic typographical points (and extending to the front cover and indeed the side cover) it really is just a radically unattractive book. Thankfully the quality of the interviews and the overall story of Street Fighter, Capcom and the heyday of the arcades is incredibly fascinating regardless, though it can be at times difficult to follow who is talking about what, etc. Still, a great dive into the era as told by the people who were there in a mostly intuitive way - you can't ask for too much more from an oral history.

[TheManSG · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book that covers all you need to know about Street Fighter 2 including the spinoffs, and even the movie! Lotsa tidbits and due to being unofficial, it is not beholden to IP owner of Street Fighter so there is some tensions underneath it all particularly who gets credit for what. The writing style is just a dictation of people's interview with some editing and the narrative is based on each game. No great prose or even quotable quotes, so a minus there. If you have memories of Street Fighter or love fighting games, get this book

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love oral history books, and this one is amazing.
It becomes a bit chaotic as you progress in it, as there are more and more people appearing, but overall it provides a really good overview at the development of one of the most important game series of all time!

[Matt Whan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funniest font I’ve ever seen in a book, it’s gigantic. great read