Street Fighter: Wooden Boards of Fury


It's that time of year again, a time when Defunct Games celebrates the holidays by posting a daily theme article that should inform and delight gamers all over the world. This year we're taking a look at 31 of the best-known bonus stages in all of video games. Each day we're going to look at a different level and review it, while also trying to figure out what makes it tick. Join us as we post a new episode of the 31 Bonus Levels of Christmas every day leading up to the biggest holiday of the year!
Street Fighter: Wooden Boards of Fury
[ Console: Arcade | Year: 1987 | Grade: D- ]

Capcom really pulled out all of the stops when coming up with this Street Fighter bonus stage!
The Context: Long before M. Bison had to defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance, Ryu and Ken were knocking out fools in the original Street Fighter arcade game. With its two GIANT buttons (later converted to the more familiar six-button layout of Street Fighter II, III and IV), Street Fighter was an easy game to spot. Unfortunately, few gamers played this clunky fighting game longer than a match or two. If they stuck with the game they would have discovered a fun mini-game where they could rack up big points for very little work.

The Rules: For this mini game you need three brave interns, a few blocks of wood, a kickass tiger painting, a room with checkered floors and enough space to safely assemble all these pieces. On one side of the room a man will stand holding a block of wood. Across the

Forget Street Fighter X Tekken, I want Sesame Street vs. Capcom!
room are two men, one ducking and another standing on his shoulders. The two are holding blocks of wood. It's the contestant's job to break all three blocks of wood before time runs out. Don't worry about smacking the interns around; their job comes with a good medical plan.

The Verdict: The original Street Fighter is the furthest thing from a great game, so it shouldn't surprise me that this half-assed bonus stage is also a huge disappointment. This stage makes no logical sense. If I was hosting a bonus stage that is to challenge a mighty karate

To Capcom's credit, there is another (better) bonus stage in Street Fighter. But it's a little too similar to Mortal Kombat's stage to warrant a second article!
champ who has kicked butt all around the world; I would probably go for something more elaborate. He's a master of his craft, how challenging can kicking three pieces of wood be? This is the kind of boring exercise Ryu can do in his sleep. I would have gone big. Ryu wouldn't have exited that bonus stage without first battling a pair of massive tigers. Now that's what I call a bonus stage!

Completely Missing the Point: There's something a little odd about Ryu's personal style choices. No, it's not his radical change of hair color. I can accept a natural redhead experimenting with darker hair; Ryu certainly wouldn't be the first person to pick up a box of L'Oreal hair color. No, my problem has to do with those red slippers he's sporting in this 1987 Street Fighter. Fans of the series will note that in all subsequent installments, Ryu went barefoot. But in this first game he appears to be wearing sparkling ruby slippers. Just keep repeating: "There's no place like home, there's no place like home ..."