Street Fighter EX

This page details pre-release information and/or media for Street Fighter EX.

Early Development#

On January 21st 2016, the Youtube channel ARIKAFGC uploaded this video, which appears to depict Street Fighter EX during several stages of its development cycle. Naturally, a multitude of differences to the final game can be gleamed from this. Each stage of development depicted in the video will be detailed separately.

Stage 1#

From 0:00 to 1:30, a stage of development is depicted that appears to be the earliest we've seen so far. It showcases several early 3D models displayed in what seems to be an already finalized version of Ryu's stage. It circles around the models in their idle stance for a while before showing them performing some basic attack actions. It's difficult to determine based on the footage, but this could either be an early showcase of gameplay or a tech demo that lacks proper control and is simply cycling through actions of its own accord.

In any case, the following differences can be properly identified:

• The audio playing is an earlier version of Garuda's theme, Stronger. This version seems to be close to the final version, already having a more or less finished melody but having notably different instrumentation.
• A very early in-game HUD can be seen, with placeholder character names listing "Arika" and some strange unidentifiable icons appearing next to them.
• The characters all have early 3D models, consisting purely of flat-shaded polygons and no textures.
• The characters all use the same idle animation. Some characters in the final game still use this idle animation, such as Guile and Kairi.
• A character with spiky red hair and a sleeveless top can be seen who is not in the final game. Given that the character is paired with Hokuto in the video, it may be an early design for Kairi.
• Hokuto can be seen performing a move where she does two spinning kicks in the air that doesn't resemble any normal attack in the final game. It somewhat resembles the Rising Sun move used by Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima in Tekken.

Stage 2#

From 1:31 to 3:06, a later stage of development is depicted. It shows an early character select before transitioning into gameplay with a Ryu vs. Ken match.

Some notable differences include:

• The audio playing on the character select screen is a remix of Street Fighter II's character select theme. A unique theme plays for this screen in the final game.
• Aside from having a very different appearance, the character select's roster layout is also different. Only the characters unique to the EX series are featured prominently, while the Capcom characters Ryu and Ken are hidden off to the sides. This, plus the prior stage, seems to indicate that the game was initially intended to be an original IP at first, that then happened to include Ryu and Ken as secret bonus characters before it was ultimately decided to make the game a wholesale Street Fighter entry.
• Some of the EX characters have different names compared to the final, including; Shujinkou [Kairi], Kobudo Onna [Hokuto], Cashew Snider [Allen Snider], Brise Dame [Blair Dame]. Notably, Kairi is listed under the similar "Syujinkou" in the final game's hidden "High Speed Sensei" menu.
• Two slots are listed for blacked-out boss characters on the character select, one listed among the main roster and another hidden alongside the Capcom characters. While one of these can be presumed to be Garuda, a prominent sub-boss in the final game, the other may have been intended to be an original boss character whose role was superseded by M. Bison in the final game.
• The music playing in gameplay is a remix of Ryu's theme from Street Fighter II. While seemingly an original arrangement, it bears remarkable similarity to the rendition from Street Fighter Alpha.
• The announcer sounds different and has voice clips that don't match up with anything from the final game.
• Ryu and Ken's models are close to the final's but differ in some details, such as having more desaturated colour palettes and disjointed legs.
• The characters, or at least Ryu and Ken, lack any voice clips in gameplay.
• The sound effects consist primarily of hit sounds, which are louder and crunchier than the final game. No sound effects are seemingly present for anything else, such as whiffing an attack or getting knocked down.
• The Hadoken lacks any sort of visual effects, instead displaying a wireframe of their hitbox.
• The Shoryuken has a different animation, and Ken's lacks the fire visual effect.
• The meter system does not seem to be implemented yet, as none of the actions the characters do cause it to drain at all.
• Ken's Shoryureppa lacks the fire visuals, and does not cause the super flash commonly seen in the final game.

Rare Prototype#

Another video released by ARIKAFGC uploaded on September 4th 2025 depicts another early version of Street Fighter EX, with the following noticeable differences:

• The character select resembles the one mentioned in the "Stage 2" section above, but with some visual differences. Moreover, the roster layout has been revised, now being populated by Street Fighter characters. The layout in question matches up with the final game, with the exception of two blacked-out spaces where Cracker Jack and Guile should be respectively. This may be a result of the characters not being finished, or Arika still deciding which characters to put on the main roster at this point.
• The renders used for Ryu and the other characters differ from both the "Stage 2" character select and the final's.
• Skullomania's stage has a different background than the final game, seemingly depicting an amusement park called "Destroy Land".