'Power Rangers: Legacy Wars' Is Doing a Crossover With 'Street Fighter'
A crossover for the ages that no one saw coming is already here.
by Eric FranciscoThe crossover you never knew you wanted is finally happening. Several characters from Capcom’s iconic Street Fighter arcade franchise will be added to the popular Power Rangers mobile game, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, as playable characters in new updates rolling out throughout the summer.
You read that right: the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will finally cross fists and fireballs with Ryu, Chun-Li, Guile, Akuma, and more.
On Wednesday, developer studio nWay announced a collaboration between Saban Brands and Capcom that will bring the Street Fighter universe into Power Rangers: Legacy Wars. The first characters to be added, Ryu, Chun-Li, Akuma, and Guile are playable now, with more Street Fighters following in the coming weeks; Cammy will arrive on June 1, while franchise big bad M. Bison will be added on June 15. All the Street Fighters can be unlocked either through in-app purchase ($4.99 each), or by in-game loot boxes and character shards.
In case you’re wondering, yes, all the Street Fighter characters will come with their signature moves. Ryu isn’t complete with his Hadouken, or his Shoryuken, or his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, all of which are in the game. Chun-Li too has her Spinning Bird Kick, while Guile, has Sonic Boom, Sonic Cross, and his Flash Kick. Rest assured, this is bonafide Street Fighter; the press release says Capcom Japan “directly oversaw” the addition of the characters.
Power Rangers: Legacy Wars launched last year during the release of the 2017 reboot movie from Lionsgate, and has since become a heavyweight in mobile esports. The inclusion of Street Fighter — a titan in the fighting game esports scene — is proof-positive of the game’s legitimacy. But for many ‘90s kids, seeing the Power Rangers square off with Street Fighter is a nostalgic fever dream no one thought possible. Not even the folks at Capcom, who grew up watching the original Super Sentai series in Japan that inspired Power Rangers.
“The collaboration between Power Rangers and Street Fighter feels like a dream to me,” said Yoshinori Ono, executive producer at Capcom in a statement. “The Rangers series that I also grew up watching as a kid have crossed overseas, became Power Rangers, and is now well received by all ages. I can’t contain my excitement just thinking about the idea of our Street Fighter characters moving about in that world.”
While this is the first official crossover between the Power Rangers and Street Fighter franchises, it’s not the first time these characters have met in fandom. In a popular episode of Super Power Beat Down from web filmmakers Bat in the Sun, original Power Rangers star Jason David Frank reprised his iconic Green Ranger in a battle against Street Fighter protagonist, Ryu, played by Peter Jang. The episode currently has over 10 million views on YouTube.
You can download Power Rangers: Legacy Wars now on the App Store and Google Play.