Capcom’s Street Fighter 2 Turbo is regarded as the turning point in the Street Fighter 2 series, introducing several mechanics and characters that would remain a staple to the series to this day. As Street Fighter remains one of Capcom’s flagship series, the games in the series are often included in compilations offered by Capcom, some of which are dedicated to the Street Fighter games exclusively.
One such recent compilation revealed during last week’s Nintendo Direct was the Capcom Arcade Stadium, featuring 32 entries from Capcom’s vast arcade library released between 1984 and 2001. Street Fighter 2 was released during the mid-90s when various forms of imagery and symbolism which were common at the time have now been modernized for the newest compilation. One of the significant changes over the years was the depiction of the Hong Kong flag.
Originally released in 1994 to arcades, Street Fighter 2 Turbo introduced newcomer Fei Long, a Bruce Lee-inspired martial artist who hailed from Hong Kong. A staple that began in Street Fighter 2 and carried on in subsequent titles was the inclusion of each fighter’s place of origin coupled with their respective country’s flag. In the original arcade release, the British Hong Kong flag was used until the transfer of sovereignty in 1997. From 1997 onward, the current Hong Kong flag was used up to this point, where it was changed to the flag of China following the release of Capcom Arcade Stadium.
The change from the Hong Kong flag to the flag of China is a questionable change from Capcom, considering the ever increased tension between the two regions. In 2019, the Hong Kong protests became a talking point in video games following the ban of Hearthstone player Blitzchung after his comments made during a tournament, fueling the tension between developers and supporters of Hong Kong.
Last year, games such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons were used as an avenue for players to support Hong Kong’s liberation. This was largely due to the freedom players have in creating designs and sharing them to other players for use on their islands. The most recent controversy involving Hong Kong and developers was in October with Genshin Impact‘s censorship, blocking out the words “Taiwan” and “Hong Kong” in chat.
The change to Fei Long’s flag wasn’t the only change made to this version of Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s stage. In Honda’s stage, the graphics of the Rising Sun was removed for stock colors. In the past, the Rising Sun was used in conjunction with Imperial Japan, yet it is unknown if the visual change has any relation to the origins of the flag.
Capcom Arcade Stadium is currently available on the Switch.
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