Search - Street Fighter II V: The Collection on DVD

AN incredible Series

Ironman | Carmel, IN USA | 07/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If a series can get me to watch all the epsiodes back to back than that definetly says something. Street Fighter II V has definetly done that.The plot behind Street Fighter II V is that Ryu goes to America to visit Ken. While there they get into a fight with a group of Air Force troops. After Ryu and Ken victory they get...handed to them by Guile. They then travel the world to learn new martial arts techniques and later unlock the power of the Hado. Whie traveling they befriend Chun Li, Fei Long, Sagat, Dhalsim, and eventually Guile. However they face deadly opponents such as Vega, Bison, Cammy, Zangief, and more.The story is surprisngly very good, and when an Anime series last up to 30 episodes that says something (considering most barley make it to 10). THe Animation is great, the story is great, and this is hands down the best video game to series (anime and Live) available. Also look for background cameos from Akuma, he appears frequently in the most unusual places."

Don't be completely put off.

B. Massey | London | 09/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When this first starts, you're not exactly sure where it's going to go. You're enjoying it, but can't tell if it's going to get better or just kind of stay the same. What in fact happens, is Ken and Ryu travel to different parts of the world, and before you know it you're hooked and can't believe how good it is. It contains some of the finest moments I've ever seen in anime, and feels like it's going to climax to one of the most amazing final battles ever seen. After the third disk, there is only one more and you are fully pumped and ready for the end. However, everything goes wrong from here. The second episode on disk four has a twelve minute recap, which hints at the fact that the money has run out. Then Ryu takes about four episodes to charge his fireball which gets extremely tedious, unlike the fast pace of the earlier episodes. Before you know it, you're only two episodes away, the animation seems to have dissapeared, and the drawing style has changed. It's not even that the style has turned crap, but the animation is crap too. While earlier on, the series had moments of amazing animation, the end has awful re-used moments, that aren't even that good to begin with. It all feels like money is being saved for the final episode, the final fight, and although money comes back a bit for the final one, there is so much re-hashing of previously seen frames that you're just completely dissapointed. It drops down in quality completely, and is nothing like you expected it to be. Plus, at the end of it all, there are loose ends which are not tied up. But, if this doesn't bother you, seeing as 22 of the 28 episodes are nothing short of brilliant, and there is a final fight at the end of it all which is the ending you want for Street Fighter anyway, then by all means buy it. I would buy it just for the first 22, I just won't be watching the last 6 ever again."

Good enough for the casual fan.

D. Williams | Birmingham, AL United States | 01/31/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Street Fighter 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. I have yet to see an anime that has done it justice. The Animated movie came the closest, this series is second, First of all, having Ryu and Ken (and Chun Li) as teens (completely ripped and skilled at that) was a bit of a put off, but I got over that quick enough. The main problem is that they exhaust most of their good ideas early on and it starts to become a redundant mess towards the end. Guile and Charlie endless running up and down those stairs. Chun Li getting choked and Bison grinning and laughing for like, 3 whole episodes. Ryu needs a whole DVD to charge his fireball. Sagat is a good guy. Cammy's scene takes too long. Etc, etc. They get bogged down and things get stretched out DBZ style for far too long and too many characters get neglected. Ryu, Ken and then later Guile and Fei Long get the best fight scenes. Chun Li only gets one and she's not even in her right mind when it happens. The other characters are only touched upon, and a few, like E. Honda and Blanka are absent. You can tell money was getting tight towards the end, because there is a whole lot of standing around, repeated scenes and recaps. Probably only deserves a 2, but it is Street Fighter after all."

Great Retake On An Anime Classic

Ervin Griffin | Bluefield, WV | 10/10/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On the heels of the success of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie came Street Fighter II V! A series of 30 minute episodes recounting the adventures of a teenage Ken Masters and his friend from Japan Ryu.

While not directly connected to the popular animated film, it could've easily been a prelude to it as many of the things that happen during this series later happened in the film or were recounted in the film (by film I mean the animated movie, not that awful Van Damne live action flick from 1994)!

Anyway, back to the series, Ken and Ryu meet up for the first time in years when Ken invites Ryu to come to America to see him. From there, they embark on a worldwide journey to meet the best fighters and learn from them. Along the way, they learn what it means to be a true martial artist and that it doesn't always mean having the best punch or the fastest kick. I am not much on the moral stuff but some good life lessons are noted here. Nothing preachy but noted.

We also meet a very young but still pretty Chun Li and her childhood friend Fei Long (while I do like the character of Fei Long, no one is going to tell me he ISN'T copy of the late Bruce Lee, abeit a VERY GOOD copy). We also meet Sagat prior to his days of working for Bison and Shadowlaw as well as Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Zangief and Cammie. Guile also makes an appearance and we see why he hates Bison so much in this piece. We've heard the story of why he has it in for the Shadowlaw leader but this is the first time (that I know of) that it is actually shown. I won't give it away for those that haven't seen this version of the series but it is very telling.

As for the action, it is very good! Not quite the level of the animated movie but still very good! Overall, a very good buy!"