Here Comes A New Challenger, will detail the origins of the gaming phenomena that is Street Fighter II and how it impacted the lives of kids and teenagers worldwide.  It will explore not just the tournament aspect of the series, but what made it special to players who didn’t have the opportunity to play it in the arcades but in the comfort of their own home. Bedrooms and living rooms became the arcade as children challenged their friends to become champions of the playground. 

The documentary will look at how we, the players, became better at the game through reading the players guides religiously, learning tricks from gaming magazines as we saw the series take over the world as merchandise and toys appeared across supermarket isles and the hype surrounding a live-action film starring action superstar Jean Claude Van Damme had us giddy with excitement!

The story will be a nostalgic trip back to the early 90s as we saw arcades come to the home through the new 16-bit consoles and discuss why the game has lasted all these years and why 30 years on, its legend still burns brightly.

Poster by artist Micah Brooks

Poster by artist Doug Hills

The original Street Fighter from 1987 and other fighting games during the 80s will be discussed as the groundwork establishing what Street Fighter introduced and its failure to make an impact as Capcom went back to the drawing board to think of new ideas to improve upon their new franchise with their sequel - Street Fighter II.  Will explore its success, its cultural impact, and why it changed the face of the fighting game genre, and how it rejuvenated the arcade scene. 

We will also look at the upgrades to Street Fighter 2 that kept gobbling up our pocket money and loose change with Champion Edition, Hyper Fighting, Super: The New Challengers, Super Turbo and explore why were these important to us, how did these updates improve the game and why were they implemented.  Plus will highlight the sneaky bootleg versions that popped up in local shops and arcades.

Other aspects of the franchise that we’ll explore will include:

•  Toys & Merchandise - how did the success of Street Fighter II drive the endless amounts of merchandise, what toys and merch we loved as fans and ones that left us disappointed.  
•  Strategy Guides – the importance of them and which ones provided the best source of information on how to become a better player. Plus will cover explore the extensive coverage by video game magazines during the 90s. 
•  The Music - The incredible theme tunes provided to the game and the soundtracks that become part of youth. 
•  The conversions to the home consoles with ports to the Super Nintendo, PC Engine, Gameboy, Mega Drive & 3DO, and the creaky ports to the home computers for the Spectrum, Commodore 64, AMIGA, and PC-DOS. 
•  Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie – why it worked for the fans and its faithfulness to the video game. Will explore the differences between the various cuts and change of music for western audiences plus the strange FMV game for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn.
•  Street Fighter: The Movie – The hype surrounding the live-action film, the cast, its success at the box office, and its failure with critics & fans and of course cover the arcade game and ports to the PlayStation and Sega Saturn!
•  Re-releases and 30 years on - the compilations of SF2 released over the years and why the game is still played and adored by gamers today! 

IMAGES OF MATERIAL ALREADY SHOT

From the director of 'In Search of the Last Action Heroes', Oliver Harper has brought back his colleagues for this new production and collaborated with the talented guys at FINAL-FILM who have worked for BMG Records, 20th Century Fox and New Retro Wave to help bring a very cinematic look to the documentary. 

Oliver Harper - Director, Producer and Writer.

Christopher Stratton - Cinematography and Motion Graphics.

Timon Singh - Writer and Producer.

Christopher Stratton & Robert James - Editors.

Audi Sorlie - Producer.

Simon Begg & The Deadly Avenger - Original score.

Daniel Wallulis, Jim Kunz, Matt Marzulo, Nathan Claridge, Robert James and Vanessa Vann - Additional Cinematography.

Witt Reese - Associate Producer and Copywriting.

Peter Bruce, Micah Brooks and Doug Hills - Art Director.

Craig Mastrototaro, Damien Jackson, Napoleon Dozier, Stuart Ashen, Tanner Beard - Executive Producers.

Risks and Challenges

As with any documentary, there are risks and challenges that may arise over the course of the production of this film and unforeseen delays are possible due to COVID 19 and extended lockdowns. We will keep backers fully updated regarding the situation and they will know well in advance if there is likely to be a delay.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

We have accurately portrayed our project as it stands at this point in time, however, creative projects are subject to change and ours is no exception. By making a pledge you acknowledge that elements of the project, including but not limited to the artwork, cast, and content, is subject to change and that the final project may differ from what is presented while the Indiegogo campaign is active.