John is a former contributor with a collection of interesting retro gaming recollections.
We consider Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters in a new competition: fashion!
Match-ups and smack-downs. We love them and the tensions between them. Liverpool vs Man. United, The Stones vs The Beatles, Rocky Balboa vs a training montage. Pretty intense stuff, but nothing on the Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters battleground of the mid-nineties.
The stakes were high and the cost of importing them even higher. They were comprehensively compared at the time and for those who find them still relevant today, this has never stopped.
Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters: which one is street?
Through art direction to technical topography, combos to counters, it has all been through the fanaticism of fandom and by my vote King of Fighters takes the title. Just. You may disagree and plenty of people do, but the point is folks have been tooth-combing these two series until there is nothing left to do but say the same old lines… or is there? In all the years we never really got around to dissecting their dress sense.
We love match-ups and smack-downs and the tensions between them: Liverpool vs Man. United, The Stones vs The Beatles, Rocky Balboa vs a training montage.
A terrible missed opportunity considering what the eyes can see. Well, not on my watch. But I am going to need help; a wife called Anna and her best friend, Margaret, armed with notes and an answer to the question, who is the best dressed between selected combatants of Street Fighter Alpha 3 and King of Fighters ‘98 (sure, it’s weird as fighting tournaments go, but stick with it)?
They had ten fighters from each game to go through; five guys and five gals. Ready yourselves for the ultimate Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters contest.
Street Fighter Alpha
We’ll start with those Alpha males and move over to the SNK brigade next time for final summation and judgment.
Street Fighter Alpha males
First down the runway is Rolento; a man of posture, red cap and what appears to the girls to be some kind of nipple tassle’n’bra combination. They are in fact grenades’n’holsters, but you can’t always expect girls to know these things.
‘A beautiful posture though’, notes Margaret, while Anna settles for a summary of ‘big boots, big boobs.’ Rolento also starts off a motif across both games for fingerless glove fashion. I think the girls like them but can’t be sure. Lots more of that to come.
Style? The notes say no.
Brawler turned convict, Cody is up next.
‘He’s just out of bed in a prison camp,’ confirms Anna and Margaret notes his sad expression, wondering if Scooby Doo caught him? More important to them both though is practicality.
‘How does he go to the toilet?’ asks Margaret and Anna considers that he must have a big bum flap around the back. Say no more. Also of contention is whether his bandages are another form of fingerless gloves. Overall, fairly practical but a little sad.
Style? Not an outright no, but not a yes, so a no. Complicated.
Beefcake Birdie is up next and the girls wonder exactly where to begin.
‘Sausage fingers,’ says Anna after the pause and they both note the fingerless gloves. Margaret wonders about his hair, if it isn’t in fact just a slab of Emmental on his head. The pen knife with saw blade enabled is curious to them, as are his winkle picker boots.
‘He’s massive, but… pathetic,’ passes Margaret’s judgement, to the agreement of Anna and games players worldwide.
Style? Goodness, no.
Military man-cake, Charlie is offered up next to a far warmer response.
‘Hot, intellectual glasses,’ says Margaret right off the mark.
‘He’s the thinker of the group,’ confirms Anna and it looks like we might be heading for our first style winner before they notice his hair and wonder just how long he has to stay awake setting it.
‘He’s forgotten his shirt and socks because of it,’ concludes Margaret but both think it represents a timely attitude in the man. No gloves, but his trousers are approved.
Style? Yes with salute.
Finally, from the men is series late comer, Eagle.
‘Run away!’ suggests Anna, but instead they both wonder over the origins of this man and why he looks like he only has one leg.
‘Does he hop?’ asks Margaret before derailing the notes with the Dufflepud’s of Narnia. The position and practical use of his braces confuse them still further until they reckon on Eagle probably being a one-legged member of some Scandinavian mafia sect. Hence only one shoe. He has style, they admit but would still run away.
Style? Still running.
A fair start for the guys of Street Fighter, but how do the girls shape up in our stylistic Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters? Brace for opinion impact…
Knee high boots, sky high kicks
We are going to start with Chun Li because this is Street Fighter and tradition is everything.
‘Little but deadly,’ Margaret offers up and Anna agrees before drawing attention to what appear to be some large and hazardous earrings. Aside from those though, Chun Li scores highly for practical style.
‘I like the short waistcoat,’ says Anna. ‘It shows off her physique, but isn’t immodest.’
‘Yes, a combination of pert and shy going on here. It suits. I’d say that she is like a little angry bluebird.’
A good score there, but nothing for them to get excited about in the fingerless glove department. She has wrist guards, but they impress the girls not enough to mention.
Style? A flighty yes.
Staying with the blue tones, Cammy is next and is also a Street Fighter favourite of mine. Speed and power. Let’s see how she survives this.
‘Looks like a Karen,’ jumps in Anna and they both quickly agree that it is probably because of her strange arm protectors weighing her down.
‘A lot of hair gel,’ spots Margaret and they faintly approve of her airline stewardess cap’n’tie combo. Her lower half seems to confuse them though and they note pained faces over her wedgy and confused ones at what they take to be tattoos down her legs. Marks for the fingerless gloves and her leather boots also pass as reasonably practical.
Style? A no and complaint to management.
Less practical and even heavier with the gel is Rose. My notes suggest the girls don’t know where to begin with her.
‘Are her boobs on a shelf?’ asks Anna, but the matter is unresolved as Margaret spies the size of her waist buckle and wonders if it is a weapon. Both girls are curious about the campness of her posture and push back and forth as to whether she has a past as a pirate or was in the circus.
‘Perhaps she is just a bit of a drag queen?’ asks Anna and they continue to stare, not quite sure about anything. So, a lot like playing as her then. Boom-boom.
Style? My extensive shorthand notes of these Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters discussions say… “no.”
‘But where is her style?’ wonders Anna, zeroing in on the fact that Juli was always a second-tier, bag carrier for Cammy. ‘I think I would be bored to fight her,’ she adds but doesn’t discount Juli being a great flight attendant, so that’s fair.
Next along is Juli and Anna has noticed something similar.
‘Your flight is ready for booking on Cammy Airlines,’ she says of the brunette doppelganger.
‘Yes, the cute tie’n’cap combination is back. And the strange arm pads, with the gloves. It isn’t very practical looking.’
‘But where is her style?’ wonders Anna, zeroing in on the fact that Juli was always a second-tier, bag carrier for Cammy. ‘I think I would be bored to fight her,’ she adds but doesn’t discount Juli being a great flight attendant, so that’s fair.
Style? No, but welcome to carry their bags.
Our final female is the scarlet-skirted Karin and the girls know just what they are seeing here.
‘Like the hair,’ they note first, getting straight to the important stuff. ‘The curly girl method yet also tied back,’ adds Anna as a compliment to practicality. In fact, practicality marks abound for not just hair but also the skirt/short combo and a general sense of ‘moveable room’ in her style.
Margaret draws inevitable attention to the fingerless gloves, but gives extra marks for them looking ‘cool’. ‘Schoolgirl sweet, but a killer,’ she surmises and they go back to talking about her hair.
Style? Yes from a safe distance.
So that’s the Capcom combatants done and put away again.
King of Fighters ’98
This time it’s SNK’s turn for the Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters treatment, and a winners announcement. This is going to get scrappy so let’s get going with the guys first.
Kings of fighting
First down the backstreet runway is Robert Garcia and there is immediately some confusion over his gloves. Are they fingerless gloves like the many previous Capcom fighters have worn, or as Margaret suspects, driving gloves? Normally this sort of detail would have to be sorted by the girls, but with so much else going on their attention to detail struggles.
‘Look at those creases,’ notes Anna. ‘Wow! Just, wow.’
‘It does look like he has raided his Grandad’s wardrobe,’ adds Margaret and there is a general agreement between the girls that Robert is trying to hide his face within his mighty collar.
Style? Almost. Certainly a free bus pass.
Next up and off to a flying start is King of Fighters centrepiece, Kyo.
‘Just so fresh out of theatre school,’ starts Margaret to Anna’s agreement and attention. Then they spy the parted hair and appear to get lost down a pop-hole of favourite 90s boy bands. The fingerless gloves continue and the black’n’white attire is deemed as fine and possibly straight off a photo shoot.
‘Tap shoes…’ are noted by both girls, but further details on these are not noted. A good thing or a bad thing? I simply do not know, but in any Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters real-life combat, they can’t be useful.
Style? I want you back for good.
Chief Kyo rival Iori takes the stage next and continues the 90s boys’ own fashion parade.
‘Clothes with straps!’ says Anna emphatically to the reminiscence of their own fashion choices of the time. His winged lapels cause some confusion and Margaret begins to suspect that most of this outfit has been stolen.
‘Some sort of pirate renaissance going on here,’ she says and from there the attention goes to his hair.
‘Someone has been at Howls hair dye,’ suggests Margaret, which I as the receiver of these notes take as some sleight against one of my favourite animated characters, although I might be being sensitive there. Careful with the insults, Margaret.
Style? Shiver me timbers.
Lanky kick maestro, Bennimaru steps up next and the notes go wild.
‘Where has half of his t-shirt gone?’ asks Anna and Margaret suggests that he is using his hands to hide his embarrassment at this. Less embarrassing, and perhaps even quite sweet to them is that he has clearly gone out with his old school shoes on. His trousers are also described as ‘blinging white,’ whatever that might mean.
Fingerless gloves are noted as a go, and the girls wonder if his hair could be trying to leave his head. There’s a heavy Jonny Bravo vibe suddenly added to Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters. What next, Dexter’s Laboratory?
‘All round, lots of bleach,’ says Margaret of his appearance.
Style? Extrovert in hiding.
Denim-packing Terry strides in last for the men and causes confusion right from the off.
‘Oh my goodness!’ comes in Margaret, checking out his hair. ‘Is that a ponytail or an actual tail he is sporting?’ Anna cannot seem to answer this, but I can. It is a ponytail. End of.
‘His sleeves have been eaten by moths,’ notes Anna and Margaret agrees, but suggests this is a young man clearly living the American dream.
‘But he’s remembered to iron his jeans,’ spies Anna and they spend the rest of their time listing the things he probably gets up to; gym, fast food worker, helping old ladies cross the street.
And of course they spot the gloves. Fingerless, no less.
Style? Born in the USA.
Fighting queens drop into Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters
And so on to those fighting females. Kicking off with the First Lady of SNK, Mai…
‘Huh?’ asks Margaret of what looks like a weight tied to the lower part of her outfit.
‘That’s just going to bash her legs,’ adds Anna although neither can work out if it is tied at the back or front. Further up and the appearance of Mai’s legendary fan is also throwing them a curve ball.
‘Is that for checking temperatures?’ wonders Margaret and Anna scribbles lots of question marks around it. There is further confusion around exactly what type of gloves she is sporting and an overall impression that she might be off to a local rave, which the notes suggest they might almost approve of.
Style? All night long.
Second up is pop gal, Yuri, and this time the girls know what they are seeing.
‘Sensible, functional,’ kicks off Anna and Margaret agrees that it is a high-function, fighty outfit. The gloves are not entirely on show, but the girls take them as fingerless (correct). Tied-back hair is another tick for functional, as are her trainers. The Headband goes unnoticed in the notes, but surely a thumbs up for function, too.
‘Airy not hairy,’ concludes Anna, which is bordering on not taking it seriously, something which Yuri herself obviously does.
Style? Function over fashion.
Arriving next by the cover of darkness is Mature.
‘Funky lady Dracula,’ says Margaret at first sight which meets Anna’s keen approval and then it is straight on with the hair and some confused notes about how long it takes to style. I think they like it, but I file it under Don’t Know.
‘Tights for fights!?’ frowns Anna, before suggesting that they might be subtle, secret leggings. It is not resolved by either of them.
‘Black and white outfit is good,’ Margaret admits before inevitably; ‘How difficult is that going to be to wash!?’
Style in this Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters contest? Bite me.
Tip-tapping her way in next is another round of confusion courtesy of King.
‘This is a girl?’ asks Anna.
‘Late nineties androgyne. Never mind that. Tap shoes.’
The shoes are then taken as practical and having a sense of style about them.
‘More fingerless,’ adds Anna, keeping that check high. The girls keep checking with King generally and settle that the best they can guess about her is that she is a tap dancing waitress. Not a bad guess at all.
Otherwise practical and with well-parted hair.
Style? Yes, but. Complicated.
Rounding out the girls is Vice and incoming is a word we haven’t heard used on either side of this smackdown.
‘Beautiful,’ says Anna of the outfit and there is agreement from Margaret.
‘Beautiful, but not practical,’ she adds and there is a sense that they want to count Vice’s long cuffs as fingerless gloves, but I won’t let them.
‘Not so keen on the hair,’ Anna notes, but there are points from them both that it wouldn’t get in the way of the fighting. It certainly seems to be the most practical thing about her from their probing.
Style? Style!
Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters: the final judgement
Lots of notes in summation of all of this, as we deliberate on our fashionista Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters contest.
We’ll start with the Street Fighter Alpha series first, where the girls suggest there is in some way a nod towards edgy realism. Margaret draws attention to the muted, moody colours of those on display and Anna counts up a total of six fingerless gloves between them, which sounds about right.
King of Fighters comes in stronger with the actual style by their eyes though. More capes and more coordination they agree. Also, that the SNK guys and girls are much better at posing, with legs at every hour of the clock according to Margaret. Quite the description. Better contrasting colours too. Anna totals another six fingerless and we are heading for a solid win for these guys.
So there you have it. Street Fighter Alpha vs. King of Fighters is the ultimate in Capcom vs SNK contests, and it has been decided. Very well done King of Fighters artist and style maestro, Toshiaki Mori! Thank you, Anna and Margaret, too; you may retreat back to your own conversation again now.
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John is a former contributor with a collection of interesting retro gaming recollections.
