Suzaku Castle (朱雀城 Suzakujō?, lit. Vermilion Bird Castle) is a large and (presumably) Feudal-aged castle located in Japan. In all of its appearances in the Street Fighter series, as well as crossover games, it has served as Ryu's home stage.
Description
Not much is known about the abandoned castle itself, with few knowing where it is located, but its dojo is used by Ryu for training since he was a kid.[1]
Street Fighter II
Suzaku Castle as it appears in Street Fighter II.
Ryu's stage is set on the rooftops of the Suzaku Castle, 10 meters above the ground.[1] It has breakable signs on it reading Fūrinkazan (風林火山? "Wind Forest Fire Mountain"), a shortened version of a quote from Sun Tzu's Art of War. The same message is seen written on Ryu's belt in some of his appearances. Bats appear flying in the right side of the stage in some versions.[2]
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Genbugahara
Ryu's stage is set in Genbugahara (玄武ヶ原?), an area near the Suzaku Castle, with the castle visible in the top of the mountains. While training in the area, a painter met Ryu in the plains and they had a short conversation.[3]
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike
Suzaku Castle as it appears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.
The Suzaku Castle reappears in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, where it is once again Ryu's home stage. The castle in Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival appears exactly as it did in 3rd Strike, albeit at night. Revival also has a red-colored version which serves as Akuma's stage, as he didn't have one originally.
Street Fighter V
Suzaku Castle as it appears in Street Fighter V.
The Suzaku Castle appears as a DLC stage based on its Street Fighter II appearance. It was released on July 25th, 2017.
Other appearances
Suzaku Castle as it appears in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS.
The castle is also in SNK vs. Capcom: The Match of the Millennium, where it is used as the background of each characters' rival battle. It is also one of the backgrounds in Street Fighter Online: Mouse Generation.
In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the stage is designed to be used in its Omega Form (a single platform for combat) rather than its normal version; the latter features a number of different platforms, including two smaller ones on the left, and two larger ones on the right. The stage returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Trivia
- According to the Street Fighter II instruction manual, the Suzaku Castle is Ryu's dojo where he lives and trains. The platform built in the outside courtyard serves as a fighting area specifically for the Street Fighter tournament. This would also serve as Ken's secondary stage since he also trained here alongside Ryu under Gouken's teachings. Furthermore, this could also be considered Akuma's stage, since he along with his brother, Gouken, were also taught at or around that area. Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers even lists Suzaku Castle as Akuma's stage. Revival also had a version of Suzaku Castle with red skies as his stage.
Theme
Since any stage set on Suzaku Castle is associated with Ryu, any theme that plays on it is associated with him, as well (primarily the one from Street Fighter II).
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Street Fighter II Complete File
- ↑ Eiga Street Fighter II Memorial Kōshiki Fanbook (translation)
- ↑ All About Street Fighter Zero 3, page 25 (translation)