Jan 7, 2008

Every family's got one. The drunken brother-in-law. The cousin with a criminal record. The perverted uncle who hasn't been invited to reunions or holidays since his incident with the goat. Whatever the name and whatever the shame, we all know that one relative we're just not supposed to talk about.

Every videogame franchise has one of these regrettable members as well. Fans and developers may try to ignore, forget or even erase its existence, but the stain will always remain. Here are the seven most surprising... and most humiliating.

Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight
(1990, NES)

Capcom's legendary series is loaded with seminal moments. Remember when Chun Li defeated M. Bison in honor of her father's death? Remember when Ryu scarred Sagat's chest with a mystical uppercut? Remember when Ken traveled to the future, became a cyborg scientist cop, donned sunglasses and a robot suit, invented immortality serum and used his super powered bionic energy bullets to shoot parasitic aliens, open dimensional gateways and avenge his lab partner Troy?

No? Not so much on the last bit? Well, sorry Street Fighter devotees, because that ridiculousness is just as much a part of the franchise's history as anything else. While this 8-bit side scroller has no real connection to the main games, Capcom did choose that title, did stick an official Street Fighter logo on the Japanese box and did change the protagonist from Kevin to Ken in the US version. Thanks, marketing team. Thanks a lot.