This one began life as a silly mistranslation in an era of gaming when it was perfectly acceptable for English localisations of Japanese games to make no sense at all. However, it was exploited beautifully by the famously mischievous magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), to become one of the greatest video game myths ever. The myth stems from Ryu's victory gloat, in which he says "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance". Now, shenglong was actually the name of Ryu's Dragon Uppercut attack, but this wasn't translated in the English-language version. Ignorant that we in the west are in the ways of Chinese pinyin dialogue, we assumed that Sheng Long referred to Ryu's master, and so began speculation about the mysterious character. In April 1992 (yes, the same April during which April Fools' Day happens), EGM claimed that Sheng Long could be unlocked by playing through the whole game without taking damage, then letting the round timer run out without dealing any damage to or taking damage from M. Bison. Sheng Long would then replace Bison, and players had to defeat him to unlock him. Just imagine how annoyed you'd be if you went through all that hassle? EGM elaborated on the prank in 1997, creating new artwork and screenshots for the mythical character. Eventually however, myth merged with reality, and due to fan demand Capcom introduced a hidden character called Gouken in Street Fighter IV - who was Ryu's master and bore a striking resemblance to EGM's original take.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
