Welcome to the article that is desperately trying to not make a Street Fighter pun in this intro, Go For Broke!
Now that I'm back to a way more normal schedule (at least until finals next semester), I'm back to my old weekly schedule. Should nothing catastrophic occur, Go For Broke will appear Sundays, to make you savor what little time remains of your weekend. With that out of the way, back to your regularly scheduled program!
Let me tell you a simple tale of boy and his controller. This boy decided one weekend back in the 90s that he wanted to rent a game from his local Blockbuster (retail gods rest its soul). After a half hour of begging his mother, the boy made it into the Blockbuster and ran up to the SNES section. Perusing the area for a couple of minutes, the boy chose a funky-looking box with a green dude leaping at what looked to be a Chinese chick with spiky bracelets.
That fateful choice lead to a life-long addiction to fighting games of all kinds that continues to this day for that boy (and this writer). If you couldn't tell, that game was Street Fighter II, and the Street Fighter series is the subject for this weeks article.
Follow me after the jump to get a peek at some bad ass Street Fighter merch.
PansonWorks Street Fighter series
Known for their unique designs and whimsical take on Shounen Jump's leading characters, PansonWorks brings to you their take on four of Street Fighter's popular characters. Nothing is quite as amusing as taking certified bad asses like Ryu, Sagat, and Guile and making them into smaller, uber cute versions of themselves. One of the things that I like about these figures is that they resemble American vinyl toys rather than your typical anime statue. It makes them stand out more than a normal PVC statue, especially in the world of Go For Broke!
Company: Kotobukiya
Release Date: Late December 2008, Eary Janurary 2009
Is it available? Preorders are open at a couple of places.
Price: Between $22 and $35
Excellent Model CAPCOMANIAX Ibuki 1/8 Scale PVC
It's tough being a teenager, what with acne, social drama, and puberty. However, Ibuki here isn't like most teens; most teens aren't ninjas who fight big, burly men in tournaments. That sets Street Fighter's resident ninja apart from the rest of her peers. Much like her sprite form, Ibuki is posed ready to fight, or perhaps ready to switch clothes and run off to the mall. We'll never know. The must we can do is just pick up this delicious statue of the (apparently pantyless) ninja!
Company: Megahouse
Release Date: She came out in July of 2008
Is it available? She's relatively easy to find
Price: You're looking at a range of $58 to $80
Excellent Model CAPCOMANIAX Rainbow Mika 1/8 Scale PVC
Street Fighter Alpha 3, R. Mika is an aspiring female wrestler who is better herself by kicking ass where ever she can find them. She also wishes to meet her idol, Zangief. While I've always liked R. Mika because of her sheer silliness and pretty decent move set, this statue isn't quite up to snuff. A lot has to do with the way Megahouse posed her. While it does show off her curves, it does it in a way that is garish and lacking in subtlety. It's a damn shame too.
Released along side Ibuki, Rainbow Mika's buxom figure has also been immortalized in PVC. First introduced in
Company: Megahouse
Release Date: Late July of 2008
Is it available? Yep, she's pretty easy to locate.
Price: Between $57 and $75
Chun-Li Street Fighter II (Original, Pink, and Black [20th Aniversary Version])
Next up is a younger (and not quite as fierce) looking version of Chun-Li from Street Fighter II. This figure is of note to me because I could've bought the original Blue costume when it originally came out nearly three years ago at my local anime shop. Due to bad judgement and an addiction to Magic: The Gathering, I didn't buy her. Sigh, little did I know that she would be so damn hard to get at a decent price. Well, if I did decide to pick her up now, I would have more options in the color besides her normal blue costume. By now they've added a pink variant and a special edition black variant celebrating 20 years of gamers bashing each other via hadoukens and dragon punches.
Company: Organic
Release Date: Janurary 2006 for the blue costume, June 2006 for the alternate pink color, and November 2008 for the latest black costume.
Is it available? You can find her at several places, but the color selection available is a bit chancey. Blue and pink are much harder to find due to their age, yet the recently released black variant is also a limited release. Basically, if you have interest in any of these babies, you're going to want to pick them up ASAP.
Price: Between $33 and $50
Cammy Kaiyodo Ver. 1/6 Scale PVC (Blue and Pink)
Finally, Kaiyodo brings to you my character of choice for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, the delicious Cammy. Originally offered in a white or black variant at the beginning of 2006, Kaiyodo decided to release Cammy in her original blue and pink colors in August 2007. What I like so much about this statue is the dedication to making Cammy look realistic rather than making her look cartoony. The effect is stunning and makes this statue a must have in any Street Fighter fan's collection.
Release Date: Both versions came out August 2007
Is it available? You can find the pink version pretty easily. Her original blue suit is getting getting hard to find, so you might want to snatch it up while you still can.
Price: Quite a range, between $32 and $76
That's all for this week. Have a great holiday and I hope it's a broke one for you all!
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