Dan Hibiki

"I'm not tougher than you, just better than you!"

Article by: Polo
Pictured from: Street Fighter Alpha 3
Created by: Capcom
First appearance: 1995

Bio

"Wow! How does Street Fighter beat other arcade fighters? It must be Capcom's Ryu formula!" thought rival company SNK. Like Doctor Frankensteins, they pieced together Ryo Sakazaki, a gi-toting, uppercut-flaring, fireball-tossing Ryu shotoclone in SNK's Art of Fighting and King of Fighters series. Did Capcom file a lawsuit? No, they simply ripped off the knock-off, inadvertently adding to Street Fighter's already soaring popularity. They crafted... Dan Hibiki.

In Street Fighter Alpha, Muay Thai kickboxer Sagat is seen tossing aside a defeated warrior. Look closely and you'll spot Ryo's bright orange gi — and the head of Robert Garcia, Ryo's friend and rival. Two of Capcom's taunts in one heralds Dan's first appearance, his status as both a parody and a weak character exploited in later games. For instance, like Ryo and Robert, Dan throws a fireball with one hand, not two, but the distance covered is considerably short. His uppercut flies no farther, and his airborne triple-kick can be blocked easily. Dan's redeeming skill, ironically, is taunting. From in-battle poses to conceited catch phrases to SNK fighter-mocking family ties, the bumbling clown of Saikyo karate has no shortage of tauntage, which immortalizes him as a fan favorite.

Selected game appearances

Arcade

• Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams (1995)
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)
• Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (1997)

PlayStation

• Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)

Neo Geo Pocket Color

• SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium (1999)

Dreamcast

• Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 (2001)

Neo Geo

• SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom (2003)

PlayStation 3

• Street Fighter IV (2009)

Xbox 360

• Super Street Fighter IV (2010)

References

• Wikipedia - "Dan Hibiki"
• The Fighter's Generation - "Dan Hibiki"
• Street Fighter Alpha 2 instruction manual