10 Most Popular Street Fighter Characters

First Appearance: Street Fighter II: The World Warrior

While technically not the first female fighting game character, Chun-Li was the first female in the Street Fighter series. She is also colloquially referred to as the “First Lady of Fighting Games”. Since debuting in the Street Fighter II series, Chun-Li, along with Akuma, have appeared in all subsequent Street Fighter series, making them the only characters to do so.

Chun-Li is an expert martial artist, as well as being an Interpol Officer. She holds great resentment towards M. Bison and Shadaloo as they are responsible for the death of her father. She was trained by Chinese martial arts master, Gen, who was a friend of Chun-Li’s father before his death. She is also friends with Guile, who lost his close friend Charlie Nash to M. Bison in the same way she lost her father. Together with Guile, Chun-Li continues to track down both Shadaloo and S.I.N.

Chun-Li has long been the most popular female fighter in the Street Fighter franchise, and is probably the most iconic female fighting game character full stop. She has numerous recognisable attacks, such as the ‘Lightning Kick’, the ‘Spinning Bird Kick’ and the ‘Kikoken’.

Chun-Li has often been very strong competitively, specifically in 1999’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike in which she is widely regarded as the strongest character. Chun-Li’s popularity with Street Fighter fans is undeniable and she is one of the most recognisable female characters in video game history.