<p>For many years, Hollywood has been unable to crack and exploit the world of video games to a great degree. Sure, Sony&#8217;s made a series of live-action, theatrical Resident Evil movies. But do they measure up to the quality of the games? Video game adaptations for movies have ranged from the laughably bad B-movies of Uwe Boll, such as House of the Dead and Alone in the Dark, to the more high-profile, big budgets disappointment like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. But Hollywood still isn&#8217;t giving up. DreamWorks and Disney released the Need for Speed movie earlier this year, which did make $203 million worldwide. Universal Pictures will release the Legendary Pictures production Warcraft in March 2016. Ubisoft has a number of movie adaptations of their signature game titles developing as movies. The Assassin&#8217;s Creed movie, with Michael Fassbender attached to star, is tentatively due out in August 2015. Tom Hardy is supposed to bring Sam Fisher to life for the Splinter Cell movie.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.99 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135805 " id="quads-ad135805" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p>But there is another reason for some hope. After the Street Fighter franchise had to endure the doldrums of the 1994 movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, another abomination was unleashed in 2009 with Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. Machinima is now streaming a quality live-action digital series based on the classic franchsie, entitled Street Fighter: Assassin&#8217;s Fist. Directed and co-written by actor, martial artist, and stunt choreographer Joey Ansah, Assassin&#8217;s Fist turned out great and is the first piece of live-action Street Fighter media that&#8217;s character driven and faithful to the mythos of the video game franchise.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-59132" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.6em;" src="http://www.explosion.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/sfaf_ryu_-¬afl13_og2a2911a-1024x682.jpg" alt="Street Fighter" width="820" height="546" /></p>
<p>Joey Ansah, who also co-stars in the show as Akuma, keeps the plot of Assassin&#8217;s Fist tight and focused. Rather than trying to cram every character possible like the 1994 film, Assassin&#8217;s Fist focuses on the relationship between Ryu (Mike Moh), Ken Masters (Christian Howard), and their sensei Gouken (Akira Koieyama). Of course, this parallels Gouken&#8217;s relationship with his brother, Gouki (Gaku Space) and their sensei, Goutetsu (Togo Igawa). Over the course of 13 websides, the show has a great overarching plot showing the development of Ryu and Ken as they try to master the secrets of Ansatsuken, while Gouken gradually reveals more of the falling out with Gouki. Unfortunately, Gouki could not resist the dark temptations of &#8220;Satsui no Hado,&#8221; inciting his transition into Akuma.</p>
<!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.99 -->
<div class="quads-location quads-ad135804 " id="quads-ad135804" style="float:none;text-align:center;padding:0px 0 0px 0;" data-lazydelay="3000">

</div>

<p>Ansah makes a lot of interesting choices for the show. It&#8217;s set almost entirely in the 1980&#8217;s, making it a period piece. He embraces 1980&#8217;s movie feel and style, which makes the show a lot more appealing with music training montages. All the characters&#8217; special moves, attacks, and even their stances from the video games have been incorporated into the show. But the key is that all these elements are driven by a story purpose. Entire episodes are dedicated to Gouken training Ken and Ryu on how to do the Hadoken fireball or the Shoryuken uppercut. Nothing from Street Fighter lore that appears in the show is taken for granted. Ansah and co-writer Christian Howard are clearly huge fans of the game and went through painstaking detail to get the show right. The way the history of Ansatsuken and Satsui no Hado are explained in the show provides the show with a lot of texture. These backstory and historic elements give the show a greater sense of mythology.</p>
<p>In these respects, Street Fighter: Assassin&#8217;s Fist has seemingly surpassed Mortal Kombat: Legacy, another popular live-action web series based on a long-running fighting video game franchise. A digital web series presents a much more suitable choice for these properties than going for a big budget Hollywood movie. Ridley Scott is producing a new Halo digital feature that is supposed to be similar to the Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn project. Steven Spielberg is producing a live-action Halo TV series for Xbox Live (though the show is still reportedly in talks to air on Showtime). In this digital age, live-action digital content available online or through video game consoles that&#8217;s based on games makes a lot more sense. Street Fighter: Assassin&#8217;s Fist is a perfect example of this.</p>

<div class="essb_links essb_counter_modern_right essb_displayed_bottom essb_share essb_template_default4-retina essb_853733843 print-no" id="essb_displayed_bottom_853733843" data-essb-postid="59128" data-essb-position="bottom" data-essb-button-style="button" data-essb-template="default4-retina" data-essb-counter-pos="right" data-essb-url="https://www.explosion.com/59128/street-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this/" data-essb-fullurl="https://www.explosion.com/59128/street-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this/" data-essb-instance="853733843"><ul class="essb_links_list"><li class="essb_item essb_link_facebook nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F59128%2Fstreet-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this%2F&t=Street+Fighter%3A+Assassin%5C%26%23039%3Bs+Fist+%E2%80%93+Why+We+Need+More+Video+Game+Adaptations+Like+This" title="Share on Share" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F59128%2Fstreet-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this%2F&t=Street+Fighter%3A+Assassin%5C%26%23039%3Bs+Fist+%E2%80%93+Why+We+Need+More+Video+Game+Adaptations+Like+This&#39;,&#39;facebook&#39;,&#39;853733843&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-facebook essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_facebook"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-facebook" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="16" height="16" viewBox="0 0 16 16"><path d="M16 8.049c0-4.446-3.582-8.05-8-8.05C3.58 0-.002 3.603-.002 8.05c0 4.017 2.926 7.347 6.75 7.951v-5.625h-2.03V8.05H6.75V6.275c0-2.017 1.195-3.131 3.022-3.131.876 0 1.791.157 1.791.157v1.98h-1.009c-.993 0-1.303.621-1.303 1.258v1.51h2.218l-.354 2.326H9.25V16c3.824-.604 6.75-3.934 6.75-7.951"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Share</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_twitter nolightbox essb_link_twitter_x essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="https://x.com/intent/post?text=Street%20Fighter%3A%20Assassin%27s%20Fist%20–%20Why%20We%20Need%20More%20Video%20Game%20Adaptations%20Like%20This&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F59128%2Fstreet-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this%2F" title="Share on Tweet" onclick="essb.window(&#39;https://x.com/intent/post?text=Street%20Fighter%3A%20Assassin%27s%20Fist%20–%20Why%20We%20Need%20More%20Video%20Game%20Adaptations%20Like%20This&;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.explosion.com%2F59128%2Fstreet-fighter-assassins-fist-why-we-need-more-video-game-adaptations-like-this%2F&#39;,&#39;twitter&#39;,&#39;853733843&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-twitter essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_twitter_x"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-twitter_x" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Tweet</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_pinterest nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Pin It" onclick="essb.pinterest_picker(&#39;853733843&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-pinterest essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_pinterest"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-pinterest" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" viewBox="0 0 32 32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"><path d="M10.625 12.25c0-1.375 0.313-2.5 1.063-3.438 0.688-0.938 1.563-1.438 2.563-1.438 0.813 0 1.438 0.25 1.875 0.813s0.688 1.25 0.688 2.063c0 0.5-0.125 1.125-0.313 1.813-0.188 0.75-0.375 1.625-0.688 2.563-0.313 1-0.563 1.75-0.688 2.313-0.25 1-0.063 1.875 0.563 2.625 0.625 0.688 1.438 1.063 2.438 1.063 1.75 0 3.188-1 4.313-2.938 1.125-2 1.688-4.375 1.688-7.188 0-2.125-0.688-3.875-2.063-5.25-1.375-1.313-3.313-2-5.813-2-2.813 0-5.063 0.875-6.75 2.688-1.75 1.75-2.625 3.875-2.625 6.375 0 1.5 0.438 2.75 1.25 3.75 0.313 0.313 0.375 0.688 0.313 1.063-0.125 0.313-0.25 0.813-0.375 1.5-0.063 0.25-0.188 0.438-0.375 0.5s-0.375 0.063-0.563 0c-1.313-0.563-2.25-1.438-2.938-2.75s-1-2.813-1-4.5c0-1.125 0.188-2.188 0.563-3.313s0.875-2.188 1.625-3.188c0.75-1.063 1.688-1.938 2.688-2.75 1.063-0.813 2.313-1.438 3.875-1.938 1.5-0.438 3.125-0.688 4.813-0.688 1.813 0 3.438 0.313 4.938 0.938 1.5 0.563 2.813 1.375 3.813 2.375 1.063 1.063 1.813 2.188 2.438 3.5 0.563 1.313 0.875 2.688 0.875 4.063 0 3.75-0.938 6.875-2.875 9.313-1.938 2.5-4.375 3.688-7.375 3.688-1 0-1.938-0.188-2.813-0.688-0.875-0.438-1.5-1-1.875-1.688-0.688 2.938-1.125 4.688-1.313 5.25-0.375 1.438-1.25 3.188-2.688 5.25h-1.313c-0.25-2.563-0.188-4.688 0.188-6.375l2.438-10.313c-0.375-0.813-0.563-1.813-0.563-3.063z"></path></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Pin It</span></a></li><li class="essb_item essb_link_mail nolightbox essb_link_svg_icon"> <a href="#" title="Share on Email" onclick="essb_open_mailform(&#39;853733843&#39;); return false;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" class="nolightbox essb-s-bg-mail essb-s-c-light essb-s-ch-light essb-s-bgh-dark essb-s-bg-network" ><span class="essb_icon essb_icon_mail"><svg class="essb-svg-icon essb-svg-icon-mail" aria-hidden="true" role="img" focusable="false" width="32" height="32" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 60 60"><polygon points="60,50.234 60,9.944 39.482,30.536 " /><polygon points="0,9.941 0,50.234 20.519,30.535 " /><path d="M1.387,8.5l21.002,21.08c0.121,0.051,0.471,0.415,0.517,0.519l5.941,5.963c0.635,0.591,1.672,0.59,2.333-0.025l5.911-5.933c0.046-0.105,0.4-0.473,0.522-0.524L58.615,8.5H1.387z" /><path d="M38.07,31.954l-5.5,5.52c-0.73,0.68-1.657,1.019-2.58,1.019c-0.914,0-1.823-0.332-2.533-0.993l-5.526-5.546L1.569,51.5h56.862L38.07,31.954z" /></svg></span><span class="essb_network_name">Email</span></a></li></ul></div>
0 Comments