Birdie (Street Fighter)

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Birdie
Street Fighter character
Birdie in Street Fighter Alpha 2
First gameStreet Fighter (1987)
Designed byNaoto "Bengus" Kuroshima (Alpha)[1]
Takayuki Nakamura (SFV)[1]
Voiced by
  • Paul Dobson (Street Fighter animated series)
    Michael Devon (Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation)
    T.J. Storm (Street Fighter V)[1]
In-universe information
OriginLondon, England, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish

Birdie (Japanese: バーディー, Hepburn: Bādī) is a character in the Street Fighter series. He first appeared in the original Street Fighter game in 1987 as a non-playable opponent before becoming playable in Street Fighter Alpha and the subsequent Alpha games. He was originally depicted with light skin in the original game, but is depicted with dark skin in Alpha, with the explanation being that he was pale due to an illness. He later appeared in Street Fighter V, though his design was made more fat compared to his Alpha design.

Concept and creation

A punk representing the United Kingdom in the first Street Fighter game, Birdie originally was depicted with light skin and a simplistic design. When development began on Street Fighter Alpha, a game set between the events of the first Street Fighter and Street Fighter II, they wanted to show more of the series' character diversity without relying too deeply on II's cast.[2] To this end, several characters from the first Street Fighter were included, one of which was Birdie. Artist Naoto "Bengus" Kuroshima handled the character's redesign, seeking advice from colleagues on how to proceed and figure out what would and wouldn't work.[1] The design took a very different direction, with Bengus making light of the contrast between the designs by suggesting the character had been "kidnapped by aliens" in concept art notes. Though originally white even in early sprite line art, he was changed to be black as development progressed.[3] Capcom later added an official explanation for this change in ethnicity by stating that he was paler in the first game due to an illness.[4]

Towards the end of

tsukkomi" role in the game's storyline better than regular characters, and included him more actively in its presentation.[1]

Design

He has multiple alternative costumes in Street Fighter V, including one that puts him in his original Street Fighter Alpha costume, getting rid of his gut and replacing it with abs.[7]

Appearances

Birdie first appeared in the original

Karin Kanzuki's house, becoming one of her allies to fight Shadaloo.[11] Street Fighter V received digital trading cards, one of which being Birdie, which at one time was the most valuable of the cards.[12] He appears as a card in SNK vs. Capcom: Card Fighters Clash, and as a non-playable character in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix.[citation needed
]

Birdie appeared in a cameo role in the Street Fighter TV series.[13] He also appeared in the anime adaptation Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation.[13] Birdie appeared in the manga adaptation of Street Fighter Alpha, where he and Ryu are good friends.[13]

Gameplay

When designing his moveset in Street Fighter V, Ono noted his chain as a standout element of Birdie's design, and thus made a point of incorporating it more into his moveset. They included moves that focus on manipulating the opponent's movement more than Birdie's, which Ono felt made him a more "reactive" character.[14] He was a difficult opponent online due in part to one of his moves, EX Bull Revenger, which lead to nerfs.[4][citation needed]

Reception

Birdie has been cited in particular as an example of how some perceive the Street Fighter series' poor handling of race, with

Balrog and Dee Jay as "hulking figures over six feet tall with extremely huge muscles and brash personalities."[17] The paper "Contours of virtual enfreakment in fighting game characters", in the journal Technological Forecasting and Social Change, noted that while Birdie was an egregious example of negative portrayal, they questioned if his origin from the United Kingdom represented hesitance on the developers to not portray "too negative a stereotype for any specific group" by avoiding a "non-token" country.[18]

His depiction in Street Fighter V has received mixed reception, with

Balrog and Zangief and describing him as "incredibly mobile for a grappler designed character." Despite enjoying his character mechanically and having positive impressions of his depiction in Street Fighter V, he did not enjoy his visual change, calling it "lazy and disappointing." He contrasted visual depiction in Alpha, which he described as "large, yet lean and muscular" and "mysterious, calculative, and intelligent" with what he felt was "yet another obese, comedy relief oaf." This made him feel bittersweet over the announcement of his inclusion.[21] Comic Book Resources writer Sage Ashford felt that while Birdie's design in Street Fighter Alpha was already unusual, citing his height and punk style, they found the changes made in Street Fighter V made him a negative stereotype of larger people, criticizing the fact that his only goal is unlimited food.[22]

Some outlets however also offered praise.

Jeffrey Lebowski." He also appreciated the character's portrayal in the Alpha manga, which showed him being grateful to Ryu despite his loss and displaying friendship, an aspect that carried on to his Street Fighter V appearance that made Gavin appreciate both characters more. He felt this made Birdie's turn as a "good guy" in V also make more sense, even if his character was driven by gluttony. He closed with "if you’ve never thrown around an opponent by strangling them with chains while growling that they should go to Hell, then you haven’t lived."[24]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1772941364
    .
  2. ^ All About Street Fighter Zero. All About (in Japanese). Vol. 11. Studio Bent Stuff. September 1995. p. 259.
  3. ^ All About Street Fighter Zero. All About (in Japanese). Vol. 11. Studio Bent Stuff. September 1995. p. 304.
  4. ^ a b Regge, Matthias (December 28, 2021). "Street Fighters Pro Tipps: So spielt ihr Birdie". Red Bull. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  5. ^
    ISBN 9781524104696
    .
  6. ^ Kleckner, Stephen (January 30, 2016). "Street Fighter V round 3: Yoshinori Ono dishes on the comeback mechanic". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "Street Fighter V Holiday and Nostalgia Costumes". IGN. November 20, 2017. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  8. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (June 15, 2015). "Street Fighter 5 Gets New Characters, Beta Details Announced at E3 2015". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (February 16, 2016). "Tips for playing Street Fighter 5". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  10. GamesRadar. Archived
    from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  11. ^ Bosso, Alex (October 12, 2023). "How to Play the Street Fighter Games in Chronological Order". IGN. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  12. ^ Lada, Jenni (March 9, 2016). "Steam Trading Cards Added To Street Fighter V". Siliconera. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c Jasper, Gavin (June 5, 2020). "The Legacy of Street Fighter Alpha". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Shea, Brian (February 11, 2016). "The New World Warriors: Street Fighter V's Familiar Cast Is More Different Than You Think". Game Informer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  15. Wired. Archived
    from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  16. ^ Sims, Christ; Uzumeri, David (2010-04-29). "ComicsAlliance vs. Super Street Fighter IV". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on 2024-01-12. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  17. ^ Harris, Kyle A. (Spring 2016). "The New Black Face: The Transition of Black One-Dimensional Characters from Film to Video Games" (PDF). Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 20, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Şengün, Sercan; Mawhorter, Peter; Bowie-Wilson, James; Audeh, Yusef; Kwak, Haewoon; Harrell, D. Fox (July 2022). "Contours of virtual enfreakment in fighting game characters". Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 180: 121707.
  19. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 19, 2018). "Street Fighter 5 Arcade Edition review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  20. ^ Hall, Alexandra; Shepard, Kenneth (July 22, 2023). "2. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996)". Kotaku. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  21. ^ Kleckner, Stephen (June 15, 2015). "What I think of Street Fighter V's characters: Cammy and Birdie". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  22. ^ Ashford, Sage (February 2, 2023). "10 Worst Characters In Great Fighting Games". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  23. ^ Vazquez, Suriel; Van Allen, Eric (2016-03-21). "Ranking Every Street Fighter Character Part 3". Paste. Archived from the original on 2021-12-07. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
  24. ^ Jasper, Gavin (February 22, 2019). "Street Fighter Characters Ranked". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
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