30 years of Street Fighter: 30 years of Characters #9

Vega / The Dictator, maniacal tyrant, master of the mysterious Psycho Power and leader of the military nation Shadowlaw might just about be the perfect fighting game villain. Think about it for a moment. When Street Fighter came out in 1987 it made sense that just about every opponent the main characters came across were martial arts masters. This was a straight-forward story of Ken and Ryu trying to prove their worth by traveling the globe and fighting the best of the best. It could have been the plot for a comic book, or a movie. It was just a traditional story. The sequel worked because it was more or less the same exact setup. Only now we could play as a bunch of other fighters with their own unique styles. The constant was different masters. The thing was in canon Ryu had already become the strongest fighter in the world. Who could he possibly fight that was more imposing than Sagat? It turned out that the series had someone very unique in mind.

Go back in time and imagine what it was like for audiences the very first time they got to the final boss in Street Fighter II. After beating all of the World Warriors, then fighting a massive boxer, a Spanish assassin and the previous world champ Sagat there was one person left. This character was standing in front of a Thai temple, wearing a cape that he tossed aside in dramatic fashion. What was he all about? He was more than a foot shorter than Sagat. Actually Vega wasn't even 6-foot-tall in canon. He also didn't dress like a martial artist, but instead like a militaristic cartoon villain. This look was interesting. The things he did as soon as round started made him unforgettable. He didn't fight like any other character and his style didn't fit any school of martial art. He could leap across the screen, stomp on the head of players or slide along the ground and trip his opponents. His special ability, the Psycho Crusher, allowed him to fly across the screen while engulfed in a weird blue flame. It was obvious that players were now dealing with a super villain. There was a reason why even Sagat was now a subordinate.

If you were trying to figure out how Street Fighter II became a smash hit just look at Vega. He demonstrated the dramatic change that had to happen between the first and second games. It wasn't enough to expand the library of playable characters and bosses. The final villain had to be more powerful than any other character, and not by a little bit but instead by a wide margin. He had to be so powerful that he could have easily served as the boss in other fighting games. You were never going to forget the Dictator, his glowing eyes, or armored costume. He was a villain that you could celebrate, like Darth Vader. His inclusion meant that Street Fighter was now a game with a deeper plot. Characters could grow and change. They could build relationships and evolve. Vega was the measuring stick that all following bosses would try to beat. I'm happy to bring him up on the 30th anniversary of Street Fighter and I look forward to seeing if his final days are upon us. As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!