As a teenager in the 1990s I can't help but be a fan of the Street Fighter series, its amazing game play and unique characters were just too much to resist. To this day I consider myself a fan, the type of person that can spend a whole afternoon beating up on computer opponents just to remember how good things were a dozen years ago. Although I tell myself I'm not going to, I find myself buying nearly every version of Street Fighter that is available, feeding that subliminal urge to support Capcom and my World Warriors.

When Street Fighter Alpha 3 Double Impact (Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX over here) was first announced I couldn't be more excited, I've longed for a true Street Fighter game on my PSP and Darkstalkers just isn't cutting it. As the game neared its release Capcom announced a few upgrades to the game, including four new characters to the game. With over three dozen characters, Street Fighter Alpha MAX is already a huge game, but Capcom felt there was enough room for four more. Enter Yun (Street Fighter 3), Eagle (the original Street Fighter), Ingrid (Capcom Fighting Evolution), and Maki (Final Fight 2).

You read that right, Maki is from Final Fight 2. Although this seems obvious to anybody who has been keeping track of Capcom's cast of characters, this might be the first time you're hearing about it. If you've been paying attention to the mainstream media chances are you've heard that she's from Capcom vs. SNK 2, but that isn't the game she's known for and Defunct Games shouldn't be the only ones saying so!

I first noticed this mistake in GamePro, a magazine we've written about in numerous other On Running Feuds. In their February 2006 issue (#209) they write, " in Addition to the original Alpha 3 crew, Max features four new characters: Yun (Street Fighter 3 series), Maki (Capcom vs. SNK 2), Eagle (original Street Fighter), and Ingrid (Capcom Fighting Evolution)."

While factually correct that Maki appeared in Capcom vs. SNK 2, it's certainly not the game she should be connected to. Capcom vs. SNK 2 features dozens of characters, a number of which are not represented in Street Fighter Alpha 3, it was hardly Maki's stepping stone. When you reference Samus Aran you don't say that she's from Super Smash Bros., you say that she's the lead in Metroid. The same thing applies here, Maki is one of the main characters in Final Fight 2, and she should get her due respect.

This is the kind of thing I expected from GamePro, they've always been a little loose when it comes to getting their stories straight (remember, this is the magazine that claimed that "everybody" was disappointed by Soul Calibur II). What surprised me was that other media outlets followed their lead and ignored Final Fight 2.

In one of GameSpot's early previews of the game (posted on January 11, 2006) they reported that, "Eagle, Maki, and Yun have been tapped from Capcom vs. SNK 2, while Ingrid is from the more recent Capcom Fighting Evolution." Not only does GameSpot ignore Final Fight 2, but there's no love for the original Street Fighter or Street Fighter 3 either.

GameSpy had a similar problem, they stated, "all of the characters that appeared in the original Alpha 3 are here, as well as four new fighters, Yun, Maki, and Eagle from Capcom vs. SNK 2, and Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution." If this was some kind of space concern I might understand, but we're talking about a website with unlimited pages. If you're going to mention the terrible Capcom Fighting Evolution, why not go ahead and mention Final Fight 2, Street Fighter, and Street Fighter 3?

Now granted, Final Fight 2 is hardly the best Capcom title. When compared to the great Capcom brawlers - the original Final Fighter, Captain Commando, etc. - it pales in comparison. But all of these sites are ready to mention Capcom Fighting Evolution, a game that almost no critic liked, and ignore Maki's real origins. Perhaps this is why the younger gamers are so clueless about this industry's rich history.

But hang on a second, maybe this isn't the medias fault. After all, Capcom's own Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX press release clearly states, "Yun, Maki and Eagle, from Capcom vs. SNK 2, as well as Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution, enter the arena and are perfectly reproduced with all new original storylines." That's right, not even Capcom is interested in keeping their old games straight. Final Fight 2 is not mentioned anywhere on Capcom's website, a sad fact for those of us who wish more companies would remember the 1990s.

But while GamePro, GameSpy and GameSpot were fed this information from Capcom, it still would have been nice to see some real journalism take place. Simply repeating a press release is not the job of a journalist, we're supposed to get our facts straight and look at all of the facts. Sometimes that means you have to do a few minutes of research (or maybe even play an old game), but that's what you're getting paid for. Don't let Capcom write your articles for you, there's nothing wrong with knowing more about a game than the company publishing it. Defunct Games should not be the first place you hear about Final Fight, that's just not the way it's supposed to work!