Anyone new to Capcom’s flagship fighting-game series may enjoy ogling at Ultra Street Fighter IV’s sexy, curvy graphics, but to truly appreciate the game’s visuals you need to take a look back a couple of decades to the glory days of 2D sprites.
Enjoy the following side-by-side comparisons between 35 brawlers in their original, blocky form next to the shapely polygonal models from Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Click here for more pixels to polygons examples from many other franchises.
Ryu
Street Fighter (1987)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Ken
Street Fighter (1987)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Sagat
Street Fighter (1987)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Gen
Street Fighter (1987)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Adon
Street Fighter (1987)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Cody
Final Fight (1989)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Guy
Final Fight (1989)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Poison
Final Fight (1989)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Rolento
Final Fight (1989)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Chun-Li
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Guile
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
E. Honda
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Blanka
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Dhalsim
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Zangief
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Balrog
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Vega
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
M. Bison
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (1991)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Cammy
Super Street Fighter II (1993)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Fei Long
Super Street Fighter II (1993)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Dee Jay
Super Street Fighter II (1993)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
T. Hawk
Super Street Fighter II (1993)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Akuma
Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Rose
Street Fighter Alpha (1995)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Dan
Street Fighter Alpha (1995)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Sakura
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Evil Ryu
Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Dudley
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Ibuki
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Yun
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Yang
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Elena
Street Fighter III: New Generation (1997)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Decapre
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Hugo
Street Fighter III 2nd Impact (1998)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
Makoto
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (1999)/Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)