Sheng Long
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Sheng Long is a nonexistent character in the Street Fighter series.
[edit] History
The name Sheng Long means "mystical dragon". It is closely related to the onyomi pronunciation of 昇龍 (shôryû in Japanese) which means "rising dragon".
Ryu's win quote in all English arcade versions of Street Fighter II was "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." At the time, many fans thought that Sheng Long referred to a person (the supposed master of Ryu and Ken), instead of simply being the name of one of Ryu's moves (the Shoryuken). Some console versions of the game offered a less ambiguous translation: "You must defeat my Dragon Punch to stand a chance," but the home versions' instruction manuals make reference to him as Ryu and Ken's master (this is also the origin of Charlie's death while escaping a prison).
Sheng Long appeared as an April Fools joke on April 1992 issue of the video game magazine Electronic Gaming Monthly. The fake reporter, named W.A. Stokins (Waste Tokens) of Fuldigan, HA (Fooled Again, HA!), claimed that he could be found if the player, only as Ryu, did not suffer any damage during the entire game; then, once he reached M. Bison (the final boss of Street Fighter II), he had neither to touch him nor let him inflict any damage until the time limit expires, thus ending the fight in a draw. This had to be repeated for ten consecutive fights with Bison. Sheng Long would then come out of nowhere and throw Bison off of the screen and out of the way, and the clock would stick at 99 seconds, resulting in a "fight to the death".
Sheng Long was supposed to have the special moves of all the fighters (including Chun-Li's Spinning Bird Kick), but did much more damage and was also faster, and his Dragon Punch was 'revealed' to consume his fist in flames to show his greater power. To make him more believable, fake screenshots were made. Many fans thought this was true, and flocked to Street Fighter II machines hoping to find him. When asked whether or not Sheng Long was a real character, Capcom neither confirmed nor denied it, as he was making Street Fighter II even more popular. Capcom USA was taken in by the gag, and actually called Capcom of Japan to ask if Sheng Long was a legitimate character. EGM later revealed that Sheng Long was a hoax.
EGM's April Fools joke became an international sensation when questionable publications from Europe and Hong Kong reprinted the trick without EGM's permission, to which EGM replied, "That should teach them to reprint our material without permission."
Ironically, the hoax would lead to the creation of Akuma, a hidden character in Super Street Fighter II Turbo. To find him, players had to reach the final stage on a single credit (no continues). Akuma would then jump in and kill Bison. The player then had to fight him instead. Like the hoax, Akuma had the same moves as Ken and Ryu, but is faster and does more damage. Furthermore, Sheng Long's appearance and abilities in the original hoax were subsequently transferred officially to Ken, who gained a Flaming Dragon Punch in Super Street Fighter II, and later went on to receive a ponytail similar to Sheng Long's when the Street Fighter Alpha series was created.
However, this wasn't the end of Sheng Long. EGM perpetuated the hoax again by claiming that he was in Street Fighter III. But this time, they didn't finish their explanation of how to reach him: "To reach him, you will need at least six perfects and..." were the last words of the article (EGM 93, April 1997).
[edit] Trivia
The creators of the short lived Street Fighter comic, published by Malibu Comics, used Sheng Long as Ryu and Ken's master.
Sheng Long made a cameo in Street Fighter Alpha Generations as an old monk.
Fans of the Street Fighter series have created a version of Sheng Long to be used in M.U.G.E.N.
An ad suggesting gamers look for the April Fool's joke in the issue of EGM was placed on the same page as the Sheng Long trick. Despite this, readers didn't catch on to the gag.
[edit] See also
| Adon – Akuma – Alex – Balrog – Birdie – Blanka – Cammy – Charlie – Chun-Li – Dan – Dee Jay – Dhalsim – Dudley – Eagle – E. Honda – Elena – Fei Long – Gen – Geki – Gill – Gouken – Goutetsu – Guile – Hugo – Ibuki – Ingrid - Joe – Karin – Ken – Lee – M. Bison – Makoto – Mike – Necro – Oro – Q – Rainbow Mika – Remy – Retsu – Rose – Ryu – Sagat – Sakura – Sean – The Dolls - T. Hawk – Twelve – Urien – Vega – Yang – Yun – Zangief |
| Carlos – Cody – Dean – Guy – Kyle – Lucia – Maki – Mike Haggar – Poison – Rolento – Sodom – Other Final Fight Characters |
| Blade – Kevin Striker – Sawada – Sheng Long |
