This is a must have for anyone who loves Street Fighter. As the title implies this book showcases some seen and unseen art created over the years. The book covers Street Fighter, Street Fighter II and it's upgrades, Super Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter III. Also included are character bios, interviews with artists & programmers, and articles on each Street Fighter game. The articles are a great read for those who want to know details like why Chun Li was given a fireball attack in SFII: Turbo and other cool trivia like that.
But the fun is in the art. Capcom has some of the greatest character designs in the world and Street Fighter is one of their greatest masterpieces. Who would've thought that a chinese girl with buns in her hair or some military dude with a "brush-cut" would become so iconic. It was also a hoot to see some of the art from the old strategy guides I used to read constantly until I perfected that special move. I could go on and on about Street Fighter but I won't (because there's not enough room). Overall, this is a nice hunk of nostalgia to have around and don't be surprised if you end up playing a Street Fighter game after reading this. I know I did. If the goal of this book was to reignite that spark between the player and the game then it has suceeded.
Good material on the inside but pales in comparison to Japanese version (
C. Okoye)
So I own both this version and the Japanese version, and I must say, I like this book. The art is phenomenal. I only have a couple of complaints, and they wouldn't have really been complaints if I didn't own the Japanese version, too.
Firstly, the paper. They used magazine paper. BLARGH. I hate that kind of paper; it feels way too flimsy. The Japanese version has a nice heavy paper that feels solid (and isn't SEE-THROUGH).
Second, the font and layout used in the US version just seems less professional than the Japanese version. I don't really know how to explain it, but if you see the two, you'll see what I'm talking about. Especially in the titles of the interviews. They're in huge block fonts; some of the words with outlines, some without; in like 10 different colors. It really takes away from the aesthetics. I wish they were simpler and cleaner. To be fair, the Japanese uses big block text in the title of this same area, but the characters aren't outlined - the outlines are really a drawback for the US version, IMHO - and the overall layout of the title is just cleaner.
That being said, as its own book (not in comparison to the Japanese version), this is a great purchase for any Street Fighter fan. I would recommend it without reservation to anyone who likes some good ol' fashioned HA-DOU-KEN.
Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge - The Art Of Street Fighter. By Various
A must have for every SF fan! This book was a really good buy; it's full of stunning artwork, interviews, and full of interesting SF info. It's a must for any SF fan. The only reason I gave this book four and not five stars is because it's not a hardcover book with thick premium quality pages (as you would expect from an artbook) but a softcover book with a thinner kind of pages. In its physical appearance the book is almost identical to your standard $14.99 Brady games strategy guide (quality wise). Apart from that the book is a great buy for everyone who is a fan of the reknown fighting game franchise.
Street Fighter: Eternal Challenge - The Art Of Street Fighter. By Various
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Dont GET THIS VERSION OF THE BOOK (Design is Fun)
Freaking Awesome! (Alexis Munoz)
