Battle of the Ports - Street Smart (ストリート スマート) Show 504 - 60fps

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Time Code
00:29 - Arcade
03:09 - Mega Drive
05:58 - PSP
07:37 - All versions side by side
Enjoy!
#retrocore
#battleoftheports
#streetsmart

[@Larry]

Street Smart is really _"What if Pit-Fighter was developed by the Japanese?"_ 😅

[@RetroCore]

I'd say this is better simply because it's fun (for the time)

[@ealadubh4800]

Pit Fighter was a 1990 game, so it's really 'what if Street Smart was made by Americans who couldn't draw or animate'.

[@cellphonesmartphone7496]

More fact hunt, please, please ... kudasai .. s'il te plaît... Bitte .... quîng

[@KenMasters.]

Nah, that's more like Taito's Violence Fight.

[@BLKBRDSR71]

Sup Larry!

[@malkmuslistener5459]

i remember being on a family vacation in Las Vegas as a small kid, it must have been around 1990/91 or so based on this being a 1989 game, and being obsessed with this game. as in that era about the only thing to do in Vegas as a kid was find the arcades while your parents were in the casinos, lol. and being relatively obscure game i had to search youtube a bunch to find it, lol. i mainly remember this game for the playable characters being the wrestler guy and the guy in the gi. oh man, lol, kid memories....

[@bashirjohnson4120]

Great video this needs a comeback 😊

[@AndrewAmbrose]

Another connection Street Smart has to Fatal Fury is that one of the game's songs was later used in the original Fatal Fury.

[@RetroCore]

Yes, that's correct 👍

[@figment1988]

Yep. The San Francisco and Washington DC stage theme is used as the 2 player versus theme in Fatal Fury. It is also used there should the player beat the game without continuing in which the special ending shows the characters.

[@GlenLehane]

I used to like this game when it first appeared in the arcades, but when Street Fighter 2 came out it started to become rarer and rarer to see it. I think the last time I saw this in an arcade might have been 1992

[@RetroCore]

That sounds about right.

[@fernandosandoval593]

Yo este juego Street Smart,lo conocí en Arcade,y después jugue la version de Sega Mega Drive,pero lo jugue en emulador,no en la misma consola Sega Mega Drive,pero tampoco sabía que existía esta versión de Street Smart,en PSP(PlayStation Portable),yo me quedo con la version de este juego,la versión de Arcade y la versión de PSP, además como este juego es del año de 1989,yo tenia entre 5 y 6 años de edad,y fue uno de mis primeros juegos de pelea que yo jugué en Arcade,lastima que ahora en este año 2024,este juego ya casi ni se ve en los salones de Arcades,adiós y saludos desde Chile🇨🇱.

[@RetroCore]

Thank you for watching all the way from Chile 👍

[@philmason9653]

The convenience store near me had this one, I quite liked it at the time. I remember when that same store got Fatal Fury a couple of years later, I hit the Sound Beach stage and thought "I know this song!" I don't think Street Smart gets anywhere near the credit it deserves either within the SNK canon or historically as a 1v1 fighter well ahead of SFII and (imo) generally more appealing than SFI. One other probable background character nod is Kim; Kim Kaphwan was a real life fighter who spent a bunch of time in Japan as an assistant to a pro wrestler named Rikidozan. That's where he discovered games and became an arcade businessman who was the guy who ultimately got SNK's games past South Korea's restrictions on Japanese imports. I'd say that's got to be a direct nod to him in the game but for some reason a lot of the people who put history like this online don't seem to think details like years matter. The stuff I've seen just says things like "in the 1980s" but I'd guess it was Ikari's success or something soon after that got him to jump on the SNK train initially.

[@adamh7588]

Just watched i remember playing this back in the day in an Arcade in Brighton

[@luizbeagle]

I have a special affection for street smart, it was the first fighting game I played on my cousin's Sega Genesis in 1991, before SF 1 and SF 2. Then I played the arcade version despite liking the changes in the Genesis version.

[@thegreathadoken6808]

Street Smart has a classic arcade bit of music, the first stage music, it infected my brain back in the day and never let it go. I used it to walk to school at a certain pace, and would slip in a 20p and play just to hear it. Terrible game, good stage one music. A rock remix would be very kind to it, trust me.

[@stuartgreen3081]

I loved this game in the arcade but I didn’t know that it was ever ported to the Mega Drive until now. I just thought it was on of those quite obscure arcade games that just never got ported. Can’t believe I didn’t know about this for over 30 years. 🤷‍♂️😂

[@RetroCore]

It was only ever released in Japan and the States as far as I know.

[@stuartgreen3081]

@@RetroCoreAgh….I’m in the UK, so that explains why I never came across this conversion.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

I adored this game for some reason! Used to swim for Wiltshire and played it before and after practice in the sports centre in Corsham Wiltshire uk Fun fact. Theme tune to this is also in fatal fury!

[@ats2099]

Another great show! I had not heard of this one before, and it was interesting. It kinda reminds me of when they started tacking on multiplayer modes to games that didn't really need them. Like an early FPS on the Playstation with a 1x1 versus mode that was worthless. This feels like that, except for a Streets of Rage type game.

[@sutorippuwebmaster8783]

1:28 Master Roshi clipped his beard, I see...

[@thrillington2008]

I love the realistic portrayal of fighting in Street Smart and it's forward thinking for the time. Had to wait till '93 to see good fighters on the Genesis.

[@BLKBRDSR71]

I used to ply this in the arcades back in the day. Then Street Fighter II came along and it was forgotten. I have the PSP version, I still play every now and then.

[@MrNightshade2010]

yeah i remeber a for couple of years this was the fighting game until SF2 came out also

[@mightyfilm]

I find the use of a Beat 'em Up style live counter and health bar an intriguing twist on a fighting game. And so early on in the genre where things were just being figured out. I'd say something the polar opposite of Monster Maulers, a Beat 'em Up game that uses a fighting game style of combat. Only, of course, years earlier.

[@rrfstream]

There actually were 2 Mega Drive versions. The beta is a direct port of the arcade, of course, with minimal cut content and insanely hard, and the other is this sort of "remake" that was actually released

[@Charlie-Cat.]

This actually was the game that introduced me to SNK Mark. A year before the Neo-Geo and I was quite fond of this title that made me want to find out more about SNK and it's other library of games it had to offer. Still enjoy playing Street Smart even to this day Mark. 8^) Anthony..

[@joseagripino8664]

I clearly remember playing this one in arcades which means... I'm so old...

[@RetroCore]

I do too. I'm going to be 50 in 2 years.

[@thedrunkmonkshow]

Even though it's no Double Dragon and lacks 2 players this game was still dope as hell on the Genesis back in 1991 and I rented it a lot. I love it's betting and attribute system which gave some replay value and reminded me a lot of what Data East did with Ring King with their NES port. This game definitely influenced Fatal Fury and not surprising since SNK tended to share characters or assets across other games like King Of Fighters. Fun little trivia is the sound of the crowd when you win a match on the Genesis port, Treco used is a down sampled snippet from the Arcade version of Fatal Fury's crowd cheering. Also one of the songs in the Arcade version of Street Smart was reused and remixed for Fatal Fury in that games' grudge matches. 😁

[@topofbones]

That Fatal Fury ancestor looks great! Never know about that game. Thanks for the show!

[@RetroCore]

You're welcome 👍

[@xTerrySunderlandx]

i did played this game A LOT on arcades back in the days, and then i rented the genesis version a few times :p

[@dougr.8653]

My favourite brawler before Street Fighter 2.

[@orderofmagnitude-TPATP]

Ditto

[@arioca]

As far as arcade fighting games, I like Street Smart and Karate Champ the most pre Street Fighter II.

[@cryptocsguy9282]

@@arioca in a post street fighter 2 world is street smart worth playing?

[@arioca]

@@cryptocsguy9282 Imo yes, they're very different games.

[@figment1988]

And one urban myth behind Street Smart is that this takes place before the events of Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury since there's plenty of speculation that the Karate master is a young Takuma Sakazaki and that the wrestler is Jeff Bogard who would become the adoptive father of Terry and Andy.

[@subliminalvcr]

I really enjoyed this in the arcades and on my MD bitd. ✌️

[@RetroCore]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@subliminalvcr]

@@RetroCore Thanks for all your great videos over the years mate. ✌️

[@georged7627]

Best battle of ports Chanel ever 🙏🏽

[@THENAMEISQUICKMAN]

Certainly one of the video games ever made. Back when fighting games were more just like beat 'em ups but you skip all the levels and go straight to every boss fight.

[@bit-ishbulldog2089]

POW vibes. Some sounds are from POW. Even a animation or two on sprite. I believe POW was a year before this (may of even been the same year) I know POW was on the same arcade cab as Prehistoric Isle, well it was in my local chippy.

[@ealadubh4800]

POW was one of those games you couldn't help loving and wanting to beat because it was just so RUBBISH.

[@RetroCore]

SNK probably used the same sound engine for this game and P. O. W.

[@ArthurZLN]

Удары чёткие, есть ощущение, что ты реально бьёшь (и получаешь в ответ). Прокачка персонажа - интересная идея, имеет влияние на тактику. Неплохая игра.

[@Idelacio]

Animations already show that SNK strength.

[@RetroCore]

Yeah, the animation is pretty nice for such an early fighter.

[@MarginalSC]

Main advantage in the arcade version is the multiplayer. That's pretty much what made the arcade version entertaining in the first place.

[@dodgykebaab]

Mark! You missed a version. The game actually got released twice to Sony machines. Not only was it on the SNK Collection release, but it got a stand alone release as a “PlayStation Mini” digital game that runs on PS3, PSP and Vita

[@jonraymondchua2388]

Never knew about this one before your vid Mark! Will definitely try one of the versions. Maybe there are even hacks wherein SF fighters are modded hehe. Takecare!

[@RetroCore]

Now that's an idea!

[@SomeOrangeCat]

Yeah, the era of pre-SF2 fighting games was a weird time.

[@RetroCore]

Indeed. So many different takes on the 1 on 1 fighter.

[@matthewnikitas8905]

None of them were any good either

[@davidvfx]

More than a prelude to "Fatal Fury" this Game is a prelude to "Art Of Fighting"; since the main character is called Mr. Karate, which would be a young version of Takuma Sakasaki, and you will wonder where I am giving this information, the truth is that the names of the game do not appear but in the Stickers that were given to stick in the arcade booth where they explain data on the history and mechanics of the Game, the first player with the name of Mr. Karate appears. In addition, within the special techniques the first player has something similar to Ryo Sakasaki's Zan Retsu Ken (multiple blows).

[@SimianScience]

this looks excellent for a fighting game from 1989. hell the genesis version looks great too.

[@KISSbestfan]

Oh yeah a fighting game this time! Just like many said in the comments, before mid 90s when the genre boomed, and we got flooded with dozens of fighting games, the 80s didnt have one recipe for it. Speaking that - Will we get a Botp episode with Foreman for real? :P

[@RetroCore]

Foreman for Real? Man, that's one I never considered doing. I'll add it to the list.

[@KenMasters.]

Both Street Smart and Aggressors of Dark Kombat are more like Double Dragon than the actual two Double Dragon games on the NEO•GEO.

[@pcachu]

Ah, the heady days when arcade games actually experimented with crossbreeding genres (and neither genre was "pachinko" or "ticket machine"). Street Smart goes a long way toward explaining why Fatal Fury held onto the ability to move crossways from the fighting plane, while Capcom (in the first Street Fighter two years prior) had already decided that shouldn't even be an option.

[@GamayObera]

The way how the 2P Start message shows the word *button* on screen makes me unsure if I would play this game with someone else.

[@alexojideagu]

Far better than street fighter 1. The level 2 music is epic with the capoiera fighter

[@groove66]

There's a theory that the main character is a young Takuma Sakazaki, of Art of Fighting fame

[@JudgmentStorm]

I find it easy to believe unless SNK denies outright. This would put Street Smart's timeline in 1950s by AOF's original timeline, or '70s if you go by KOF'94.

[@arioca]

I played this game a lot in the arcade as a kid and later got if for the Genesis. Since you covered the emulated PSP version, I'm now curious about the emulation quality of Street Smart on SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for the PS4, XB1 and Switch.

[@kathleendelcourt8136]

6 blondes out 8 girls, it seems like the devs had clear preferences.

[@RetroCore]

Lol, I'd say so. Making up for the lack of blonds in their native country.

[@GXSCChater]

Great video! Some interesting fact: The first stage theme of street smart is in the mega drive port of fatal fury. But it's not hard to see that the first player could be a young takuma, and the second player can be Terrys dad. Also weird, the ryo color gi on the mega drive port.

[@WeskerSega]

And it actually sounds much better in the Mega Drive version of Fatal Fury than in the own Mega Drive version of Street Smart, funnily enough.

[@RetroCore]

Funny thing is that the Beta version of Mega drive Street Smart has the main character in white.

[@RgxSnowy]

1:30 call the ambulance call the ambulance 😂😂😂😂😂

[@OM19_MO79]

Maybe the comments about the PSP is for the Minis version released outside Japan. They’re fine but some could present some stutter.

[@RetroCore]

Ah, could be.

[@rebirth2526]

real ground based footsies

[@bildo1977]

The arcade version has some sounds pulled from the P.O.W. Prisoners Of War arcade game.

[@RetroCore]

Wouldn't surprise me at all.

[@jasonmenefield7974]

One of my favorite SNK Pre Neo Geo Titles. You should try the genesis prototype version of this game. Theres 2 difference endings, 1 for Player 1 and for Player 2. The PSP port you can do 2 players on one game. Another opponent character will come out and if you keep player 2 with you during the entire playthrough. The stages will have different pieces in the background.

[@RetroCore]

Yep, played the proto after making this video. I was so surprised to see how close it was to the Arcade in terms of content.

[@internetjunkie5241]

I had this on the md 😃👌

[@malant2719]

Same

[@Nolasco.]

Wasn't there a version of this game in an snk compilation for the PS4?

[@RetroCore]

Yep, but that is just pure emulation. I only featured the PSP version as it was supposed to be poorly emulated but it seemed fine to me.

[@scm64entertainment44]

why does the punching sound effects sound like they come from Double Dragon?

[@pclinuxos_br]

Amazing game, way better than Fighting Masters or the Tongue of the Fatman. It is, as you said, a proto NEO GEO Fighter, and, has some tropes and traits that would come back, first in Fatal Fury, and then, in other later games.

[@RetroCore]

Oh, indeed. Fighting Masters and especially Tounge of the Fatman are awful. Surprisingly, my brother loved Fighting Masters back in the day. He even owned the Japanese import. Then I bought Beast Warrior only to realise it's a million times worse than Fighting Masters.

[@pclinuxos_br]

@@RetroCore Oh, well,and to think that it was Data East the one that started it all, with International Karate... But, yes, they took a long time to get it right.

[@TheHangarHobbit]

Have you done a botp on Space Invaders yet? Because back in the day EVERYBODY got Space Invaders, from first gen to Gameboy it seemed like everything that could play games got a port.

[@RetroCore]

I have not. One day I'll get around to doing it.

[@ravagingwolverine]

It's interesting seeing the trends in fighting games between Street Fighter 1 and 2 with games like this, Pit Fighter and Violence Fight. There's no doubt the MD port could have been much better if it was not stuffed into four megabits. Also, Treco wasn't exactly Treasure(how's that for an understatement?) Street Smart also probably wasn't popular enough to really go the extra mile either. I can't imagine the print runs of either region being high. For all the cutbacks and downsizing, it looks like they prioritized the animation which was probably the right call with the small ROM size as opposed to going bigger but with choppy animation.

[@RetroCore]

The crazy thing is that the MD prototype is almost full screen and follows the Arcade version much closer.

[@MrRedFoxorMrelzorrorojo]

Is that opening theme the same as the Blue's Brothers opening theme?

[@RetroCore]

It's a mix of it.

[@weirddudehi]

I played the megadrive version in a Bootleg version, in my country it was a game that was seen a lot on that type of unofficial cartridges, the truth is that it was not spectacular like the Arcade, as happened with Run Ark, KaGeKi and many conversions of that era, even so it didn't disappoint me as much as Death Brade from Super Famicom.

[@RetroCore]

Death Brade on the SFC is pretty bad. It's a special kind of bad 😂

[@metalcoola]

Played it via SNK 40th anniversary, thank god for unlimited credits 😅

[@javaykirk2688]

Nice! What's the next one going to be?

[@RetroCore]

I've not decided yet. I'm going to be starting it today.

[@AfterBurnerTeirusu]

The very first PSP model has less ram than newer revisions. Maybe the slowdown's limited to PSP-1000 consoles?

[@RetroCore]

Ah, could be. I've never owned a real PSP so I'm unaware of the differences.

[@AfterBurnerTeirusu]

@@RetroCore Yeah they literally doubled the ram.

[@EP-cz1ln]

Any way to do a future episode on Karate Champ?

[@RetroCore]

Maybe. I'm not really a fan of that game but I'll add it yo the list.

[@bananarama6808]

It would be cool if that was takuma and jeff bogard

[@reignick1133]

Actually there is a long running fan theory that Yes, this is Takuma Sakazaki and Jeff Bogard's story.

[@JustPeasant]

Still better than the original Street Fighter (Fighting Street for the PC Engine).

[@RetroCore]

That's true. At least Street Smart is responsive.

[@Valkian24]

Very admirable on what the devs did with the Mega Drive version, even if it is rather disappointing compared to the arcade original.

[@RetroCore]

I think with more memory the Mega Driver version could have been much closer to the Arcade version in terms of looks.

[@Midekai]

Seems like a solid game. I wonder why the arcade version was so desaturated while the mega drive port was almost too vibrant lol

[@RetroCore]

A guess it was a style choice. The prototype Mega Drive version looks much closer to the Arcade than what the final game was.

[@solarflare9078]

Desaturated looks were common for arcade games in the late 80s (see also: Every 80s Konami game ever starting from Twinbee), while more vibrant looking stuff became more common starting from the 90s.

[@solarflare9078]

Here's a suggestion: Punch-Out!!!/Frank Bruno Boxing ports Specifically, Punch-Out!!! on the arcades that was then ported to many Euro home computers as Frank Bruno Boxing

[@RetroCore]

I'll add it yo the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@jessragan6714]

Street Smart suffers from the same problem as the later Genesis port of The Art of Fighting. The game is trivialized in the porting process, so shriveled down for the sake of the hardware that it's hard to take seriously. When people bought 16-bit game systems, they wanted the ripe fruit of arcade quality conversions, not raisins.

[@RetroCore]

What's even more sad is that the Mega Drive prototype actually follows the Arcade closer. Larger screen area, has the ambulance, has the US Map screen and more.

[@Streetfighter1977]

Main character could be early version of takuma sakazaki

[@ealadubh4800]

You can tell from the hardware, visual and character style, GUI, sound design and effects, and the janky physics that Street Smart is by the same SNK team responsible for Datsugoku Prisoners Of War, another belt-scroller released before Capcom redefined the genre. Only POW provided a unique and fun challenge not in spite, but BECAUSE of how unbelievably shite the game design was that they had to hilariously nerf its own mechanics and put player exploits in just to make it the remotest bit playable.

[@京急かまた]

これ後の餓狼伝説に一部流用されてた。西山隆氏は関わってたのかは気になる。

[@RetroCore]

よく分かりませんが、おそらく彼も関与していたのでしょう。

[@afropowa1598]

Finally a realistic fighter for once! He's only fighting for money & to build a harem! He is a true man, not like some weak ass betas like Ryu, Akuma, etc. Honestly the game design sounds awesome but SNK couldn't just pull it off. They need to do a sequel to this game along with Magician Lord.

[@wilsvgaddiction4456]

I actually enjoyed Street Smart quite a bit back in the day. I remember when it came out on the Sega Genesis, I had gone to a Babbages with my old man and tried to get him to buy it but he went with Spider-Man instead. I was bummed at the time but wound up being a much better game. Street Smart on the Genesis is not remotely fun.

[@RetroCore]

I remember saving a lot of money for Spiderman on the Mega Drive. Never did like it though. Something just didn't click with me.

[@eelfim]

Enemies hit in very demoralizing ways in this game.

[@BryanWhite-zr5mq]

imho the main characters are takuma sakazaki and jeff bogard

[@RetroCore]

Could well be or Ryo Sazaki in the Mega Drive version.

[@BryanWhite-zr5mq]

@@RetroCore good point there

[@D3KadaNS]

Guess it's time for another BOTP Remastered show?

[@RetroCore]

Hmm, could be. But which one?

[@jps6704]

The punch sound seems the same as in P.O.W

[@shenglongisback4688]

Lol it is SNK made that game too

[@RetroCore]

It most likely is.

[@justanothercommenter6763]

1:29 is that master roshi?

[@RetroCore]

it could well be.

[@RedRanger2001]

I think RetroCore might know him as either "the Turtle Hermit" or "Muten Roshi"...

[@RedHotMaki]

Played both versions, prefer the arcade version. I played the prototype of this game, looks nowhere near as the final version. Why the change before Treco redesigned it? I have no idea, Also, I prefer the music from the arcade version over the Genesis/Megadrive Version.

[@RetroCore]

The proto of the Mega Drive version looks quite different? I need to check that out.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

I put exactly one quarter in Street Smart and could tell the game was going to steal all my coins. It's kind of fun but the game cheats like crazy.

[@RetroCore]

It sure does. I hate how the CPU can throw you with ease.

[@PlasticCogLiquid]

@@RetroCore And it picks and chooses when your punches land. "Nice punch....nah that one doesn't count, maybe next time buddy."

[@jbmaru]

Mega Drive wins the actual ports

[@jbmaru]

I would have preferred a Prehistoric Isle on the console though!

[@syxx573]

Instead of explaining what the different endings look like, you should show them in the video.

[@RetroCore]

Bollocks to that. I don't want to complete this game 3 times.

[@sebastianbattaglia6330]

awful "slippery" effect when you do some pseudo combo

[@RetroCore]

Yep. Kind of lazy programming right there.

[@ronaldbooher9622]

5:38 Sagat?

[@RetroCore]

That's a very beefed up Sega if it is.

[@RetroArcadeGuy]

This is just Karate Champ with better sprites. One of the odd games released along with "the one by capcom you should never name" before SFII, Fatal Fury and all that came out. You should've added the MD/Gen prototype, it's closer to Arcade release graphically, but plays much worse.

[@RetroCore]

I didn't know about the difference with the proto until someone in the comments mentioned it yesterday. Since then I have seen it. Very different.

[@johns6265]

This is available for current platforms in SNK 40th Anniversary collection, sadly it's a woeful collection that strips away the gems and leaves just dross and mostly filler. Samurai Shodown? Metal Slug? KOF? Fatal Fury? All moved off to their own collections that you have to pay separately for.

[@RetroCore]

Sounds about right. Milk the consumer for as much as possible.

[@UnknownGalaxy]

i really didnt like this game as a kid lol

[@BrockMace-y3c]

First guy watching

[@RetroCore]

lucky!

[@JorgeAraujo97]

Treco in Portuguese means something crappy that you don't even care to give a real name. 😅

[@RetroCore]

Lol, how appropriate to most of Treco's output.

[@JorgeAraujo97]

@@RetroCore Indeed lol

[@Lampiono69]

MD can do a better job than that. Very poor and lazy conversion for the Sega 16Bits console.

[@Angellmbrr]

1 port is better than no port... Mmmhhh... The game was so mediocre that not even computers or other consoles made a port of this game, and boy! There were a lot of mediocre games that got lots of ports!