Sheng Long is unlockable in Street Fighter 4? *UPDATED*

Master Gouken aka Sheng Long from the Street Fighter series - Image 1“You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance.” Classic words that helped inspire one of the most famous gaming April Fool’s jokes of all time. Lately, however, Capcom has reported that Sheng Long is actually unlockable in Street Fighter 4. History repeating itself? Maybe, maybe not. Turn to the full article after the jump for more Gouken goodness.


*UPDATE* Yes, kids. History has indeed repeated itself, albeit the massive loss of coins to arcade machines. Check out the update in the full article.

The reported Sheng Long in Street Fighter 4 - Image 1Last April 1992, Electronic Gaming Monthly featured “a way” for Street Fighter 2 players to allegedly face off against Ken’s and Ryu’s master. Unfortunately, gamers had to meet a series of ridiculously difficult requirements in order to do so. Countless wasted tokens later, it was revealed that the trick was precisely that – an April Fool’s joke.

The recent word from Capcom regarding Street Fighter 4, however, appears to be the opposite. According to Capcom, Sheng Long (aka Gouken) is an unlockable character in the game.

Capcom project manager Natsumi Shiozawa noted that Street Fighter 4 players must meet certain requirements in order to unlock Gouken.

  1. Select Ryu as your character.
  2. Win every round with a perfect until the last boss fight. (Sound familiar?)
  3. During the last boss fight, perform a shoryuken…

Shiozawa’s instructions mysteriously stopped there. The project manager, however, offered a semi-silhouetted picture of the muscle-bound Shotokan Master. Shiozawa also acknowledged that Sheng Long isn’t the only secret character in Street Fighter 4. Could Shiozawa be referring to Gouken’s evil counterpart?

We’re sorely tempted to take it as face value, since it came straight from Capcom. Thing is, we’ve been burned before. Today’s date has also raised our suspicions further. Nevertheless, time tends to clarify things, so stay tuned for more special updates from Capcom regarding the matter.


*UPDATE* Ha! Capcom has done it again, but if you took yesterday’s news with a sack of salt,  then you probably know this already: Sheng Long is an April Fools’ joke. Click here for  the latest blog entry from Capcom’s Natsumi Shiozawa.

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