8 Crazy Video Game Urban Legends You Need To Hear
6. Sheng Long Is A Hidden Character In Street Fighter II
The original arcade version of Street Fighter II single-handedly perfected and reinvented the versus brawler. It didn't need any extra hype or fan fare, but the Capcom classic got some nonetheless thanks to a transliteration gaffe.
When the game arrived in the West, Ryu's victory dialogue read "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance". Fans took this as confirmation that there was a secret character hidden somewhere in the game who went by this moniker.
This is understandable, but the truth is that Sheng Long was a translation error which occurred when somebody struggled to convert the word 'Shoryuken' into English.
Once this came to light, you might think the matter would have been laid to rest, but that wasn't the case. One April Fool's Day, Electronic Gaming Monthly published a cheat code for the home console version of Street Fighter II which was said to unlock Sheng Long, and fans fell for it hook, line and sinker.
Although Sheng Long started out as a glitch, he became more than that when Street Fighter II was released for SNES and the game's user manual named him as Ryu and Ken's master. In the years that followed, Capcom was inundated with fan requests to include the enigmatic character in a Street Fighter sequel.
They sort of did that in 2008's Street Fighter IV, as playable character Gouken is loosely based on Sheng Long.