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Man in Background of Ken's SFII StageThere is a persistant rumour that one of the crowd members in Ken's Street Fighter II stage is Q (from Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike) It's not. The resemblance is certainly down to coincidence rather than design, never mind that Ken's stage was drawn eight years before the Q character was conceived. The figure in the crowd is rendered so simplistically that he could be said to resemble anyone in a trenchcoat and hat. Furthermore, the figure is demonstrably more emotive and animated than Q ever would be. Any lingering uncertainty is dissolved by the graphical update that Ken's stage received in Super where the man in question is now wearing a polo shirt and jeans.

SFIII3 Performer InfiniteThe theme music for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is called 'Let's Get it On' composed by Hideki Okugawa and performed by Infinite (real name Desmond Francis), formerly of the group Ghetto Concept. The two also collaborated on the closing track, 'Moving On'. On the subject of music, something very peculiar can be heard in the background of the Options Menu in Capcom Vs. SNK: Millenium Fight 2000. About fifteen seconds in, a voice can be heard saying, 'Kaiser uma grande cerveja, cerveja dos momentos felizes', Portuguese for: 'Kaiser is a great beer, beer of the happy moments.' Kaiser is a Brazilian brand of beer and the whole audio track was apparently ripped from a commercial heard on São Paulo's Jovem Pan FM!

Street Fighter in AvPJust as Linn Kurosawa appears in a couple of Street Fighter backgrounds, the favour is returned in her game, Alien Vs. Predator (1994). A giant Street Fighter advert, showing what appears to be a picture of Ryu, appears in the background of the game's opening scene. Considering the cinema next door and the 'Coming Soon' sign visible the background of the intro, this could have been inserted as a not-so-subtle promotion for the Street Fighter film, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, released during the Christmas period of the same year.

Glade of NinjasIbuki has been trained in the ancient art of ninjutsu since a very young age in the secret village known as the Glade of Ninjas. Her fellow ninjas, visible in her Street Fighter III backgrounds, are from left to right: Enjou (often mistaken for Geki), Sanjou Masayuki, Homura Yuuta (sparring with Ibuki), Genda Kenichi and the muscular Raion Daisuke, who is apparently adept at carpentry. On the far right is Ibuki's pet raccoon, Don. Despite her skills as a trained assassin Ibuki yearns for the normal life of young woman but her circumstances as a ninja seem destined to follow her wherever she turns. Ibuki's backstory and the village is expanded upon in her Udon Legends comic series.

Chun-Li in Final Fight 2Guile and Chun-Li both have cameos in Final Fight 2, a sequel produced by Capcom's consumer division exclusively for SNES. Chun-Li's appearance is indubitable; she appears early in the Hong Kong stage eating a bowl of noodles. Also, the man sat on her right bears an intriguing resemblance to Lee, one of the Chinese opponents from Street Fighter. Worth also mentioning the signs in the background of this stage that clearly read 'RYU' while we're at it. Guile's cameo, in the background during the boss battle in France, is questionable as he's not wearing his traditional uniform and a rationale for him being in France, surrounded by Mad Gear thugs, cheering rather than aiding, isn't immediately forthcoming. Nevertheless, the man bears a similarity; how many other people have that hair after all?!

E. Honda's Bath-HouseE. Honda's bath-house, most famous as his stage background in Street Fighter II is called the Edo Hot Baths. The card that the animated man flashes at the end of a match depicts a kendo expression, 'Shobu Ari' meaning (and signifying) 'Match Won' and the mountain depicted on the mural is, of course, Mount Fuji. Less well known is that the baths are visible in the background of Ryu and Guy's Warriors' Dreams stages; the name above the door on the building on the left is 'Honda' (Japanese here but in English in Sakura's Puzzle Fighter stage). So even though Honda isn't playable in Warriors' Dreams he is still present in spirit. The exterior is used again in Honda's Alpha 3 stage, this time face-on.

Kolin with GillAt the beginning of the encounter with Gill in 3rd Strike an assistant walks into the scene and Gill hands her a book (presumably the Book of Miraha referred to in Gill's 2nd Impact ending. Very little is known about this character other than her name: Kolin and that she is Gill's personal secretary. Like Gill she has an asymmetrical design to display the power of Capcom's CP System III hardware. She appears in Dudley's New Generation and 2nd Impact endings returning the boxer's car keys at Gill's behest. One piece of official art (from All About ... New Generation) shows Kolin and Gill in a more familiar light implying that there might be more to their relationship. Update! Since Kolin appeared in Street Fighter V as a playable character her bio has been expanded considerably making this entry somewhat redundant. One additional nugget for you; her birthday is given as St. Valentine's Day; February 14th. She shares this D.O.B. with Ken Masters.

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"hey, What happened? i'm not through with you yet!"

NAME: Balrog

NATION: U.S.A.

HEIGHT: 198 cm

WEIGHT: 102 kg

B/W/H: 120 89 100

BLOOD_TYPE: A