The History of The Four Grand-Masters ! - A Street Fighter Character Documentary (1987 - 2022)

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In this video we look at the history of the Four Grand Masters aka The Heavenly Kings. Let's look at the story of the main members of the Shadaloo syndicate including M.Bison, Vega, Balrog and Sagat
Thumbnail Image Credit Source: Jacob Cruz www.artstation.com/jacobcruz
#StreetFighter #FightingGames #GamingHistory

[@crucob81]

Saw my artwork in the thumbnail, had to watch. Thanks for the credit, awesome video.

[@TopHatGamingManChannel]

Beautiful work!

[@crucob81]

Thank you sir, I appreciate that

[@heldlightning7118]

👍

[@kdaristotle9529]

@@Zetho mad or nah🤣

[@smavi4133]

@@Zetho "blatantly ignorant", "aggravating" - chill tf down man.

[@mchapman2424]

Balrog sitting at the computer typing while wearing his boxing gloves is the best thing ive ever seen

[@Shinmsl]

Hello! Hey that artwork of M.Bison on 53:30 is my fanart! 😁 I'm glad you liked it, I really like your channel! Cheers

[@silvermasked0]

Yo mate, that artwork was boss man.

[@GerardoSantana]

Raul Julia's performance was Bison's best. the entire scene that lead to "For me it was Tuesday" is just too good.

[@rockk9753]

Dont forget Bison dollars

[@GerardoSantana]

@@rockk9753 theyre not even worth the money theyre printed on tho...

[@rockk9753]

@@GerardoSantana youre a madman

[@GerardoSantana]

@@rockk9753 OF COURSE

[@jc-ci3kx]

Gotta love Gomez Addams

[@pixelsncreatures]

What's crazy is that Mike Tyson never heard of any of these characters until Street Fighter 5 was out and because somebody told him about this story

[@omegarugal9283]

he didnt even play his own NES game, really what do iron mike do all day??

[@redwolfe7049]

@@omegarugal9283 Boxing

[@normanl.6891]

@@omegarugal9283 drugs

[@joezar33]

I just comment that lol Tyson did said something he felt honored by it

[@KushInhailer215]

@@omegarugal9283 sing to his pigeons

[@KushInhailer215]

8:17 balrog is an educated scientist who programs all of shadowlou’s computers with boxing gloves on

[@smavi4133]

That's nothing - Dudley drinks his tea with boxing gloves on. And you KNOW that he's sticking his pinky out underneath while doing so.

[@BentoBoxBobbyTV]

Like Strongbad answering e-mails.

[@Monatio79]

Long live Shadaloo ! The four heavenly kings were always my favorite roster of characters to play as.

[@marplatense31]

I personally find Vega (Claw) the hardest of the four. God I hate fighting him!

[@brogoram]

Its like fighting a very healthy cockroach 😆

[@RobsonRoverRepair]

When it was sf2 on his cage it was easy to judge, but when he was bouncing off the walls, it seemed far faster.

[@kaox44]

Being hit by Sagat's Tiger uppercut for the first time at the arcade was so demoralizing. The damage was so unfair...and fear.

[@gentlefistinfinity9780]

As a die hard Street Fighter fan, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Learned quite a bit more about these guys. Very well done bro 👏👏👏

[@mcbfilms22]

FUN FACT: Wes Studi is only 5’10”😬 It doesn’t matter though because it was perfect casting for Sagat at the time.

[@OfficialTruDru]

Patch on wrong eye though!

[@thecunninlynguist]

@@OfficialTruDru I guess M.Bowser didn't SEE THAT did he? Man...Raul was great as Bison.

[@OfficialTruDru]

@@thecunninlynguist I thought M. Bison was White how they casted him in the cartoon and games.

[@theultimatek.i.m.m1504]

@@OfficialTruDru i think in the original SF2 Bison was Thai. You fought him in Thailand right after Sagat and his caption artworks even looked like a really buff Thai guy. They kinda made it more ambiguous as to what race or nationality Bison might be as iterations of the character cropped up over time.

[@theultimatek.i.m.m1504]

Back in '93 I was wanting to see Hakim Alston (WMAC Masters and Mortal Kombat 1996 movie) cast as Sagat. Back then, bald and with an eye patch, Alston would've been a spot on visual match as SF2 series Sagat!

[@JokersVsZombies]

I always had the hardest time against Vega over the other bosses.

[@tavius88]

That’s bc Vega is the GOAT

[@Monatio79]

That's probably because the boxer was relatively easy in comparison. Ryu, hado ken and sweep the leg. Honda, hundred hand slap. Dhalsim, yoga fire. You get the idea. Then suddenly, you get a guy who's jumping around and attacking you from every angel.

[@alainhernandez8767]

You ain't kidding he always gave me the hardest time. How I miss this Era

[@KenMasters.]

For me, it was Sagat. Because of his reach, range, and anti-aerials.

[@ssjup81]

Early Vega (Balrog) was difficult for me back then, especially when he would climb the fence and then slam you and hit and whatever else pretty fast and swiftly. Seems after that, they toned him down and lowered the difficulty level for him. His not climbing on the fence made it easier.

[@Johnnyrose1588]

Alex was Hulk Hogan. That's why if you pair him up against Hugo, they would do the stand off from Wrestlemania. Hugo was Andre the giant

[@CEONYHD]

I respect M.Bison.....diverse work force, he was ahead of his time lol....take notes NFL!

[@pabloXL]

This may actually be the most diverse game series in history

[@obiwanshinobi5098]

@@pabloXL lol. You know the leftist sjws will just say it 'reinforces negative stereotypes about POCs!' Lol.

[@jayday1503]

Comment Is 🔥🔥🔥

[@blaqdiemenz]

Legendary HR status comment 😂...

[@mklightemup3567]

😂😂😂😂 facts

[@realamericannegro977]

I saw the pic of what appears to be Balrog beating Dudley. I can't see that happening

[@Gen965]

Me neither I've seen it too. And no it's not Happening. Lol💯

[@blackenedheart9592]

I give you credit man, you go out of your way to make these videos. I've never my life seen such an in-depth, deep video about fictional arcade video game characters like this before. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's actually quite impressive. Im so old I remember seeing the very first Street Fighter arcade game and was blown away when Street Fighter 2 was released, and I've seen the Street fighter 2 animated movie that had Vega fight Chun-Li, and I've seen the god-awful live action one. And I've played the games up until Street fighter EX plus alpha on the PS1. But even after all of that I still didn't know all the details of these characters as your showing here. Nice job my man!

[@omariwalker1006]

For me, it was Tuesday

[@jhsrt985]

👑👑💪💪

[@jakelam5089]

🤣😂🤣😂

[@nolahahnshouse3389]

I still remember walking into the tilt(name of the arcade back then) back in the early 90's to see this game called mortal kambat that I kept hearing about from my friend's in school but while checking out the mk game I kept hearing from the back of the arcade something that kept yelling out the words that sounded like ha-do-ken!! It was so distracting that I had to go check it out and there it was. Street fighter2.. I was like what is this? I've never even heard of sf1 and after that day my life changed forever.

[@alainhernandez8767]

Lol I have a very similar story 😅 but the day I played it it completely changed my childhood forever

[@similaritiesendhere]

I still have Tilt and Aladdin's Palace tokens.

[@TheKiman2]

There's no question Balrog, aka M. Bison was based on Mike Tyson. That's not up for speculation. Go look at the World Warriors SFII stage select scene and it's literally Mike Tyson's face with the pointy hairline. Capcom changed his face in Champion Edition tho.

[@IKONIKBeats]

Always dropping great content man, definitely enjoying these Street Fighter history vids bro.

[@hazbaska1]

Seriously - he does it often with his often. Talk about power couple with amazing content >.

[@IKONIKBeats]

@@hazbaska1 Most Definitely bro, definitely agree.

[@draegur]

Pete Holmes did some fun Street Fighter comedy skits, and one pokes at the often-overlooked angles about Vega being weird is the fact that he's the first one (I know of, at least) allowed to use a weapon in the street fighting tournament.

[@andrew_stamps]

Eagle Sf1

[@ItsAVolcano]

6:35 I always took his ending as the explanation for *how* he ran Shadoloo into the ground, he just spent all his time in charge living a ludicrously opulent lifestyle.

[@konstantinkoverchenko9587]

Balrog doesn’t get enough credit for typing whilst wearing boxing gloves.

[@videosurfah]

He is a just that amazing

[@fostxswire1600]

Sagat was always a mystery to me except as the fight before Bison. What a cool story arc he has.

[@Texkimo713]

When i learned balrogs moves i became almost unstoppable with him.underated character

[@NT35000]

Vega/Claw is so misunderstood. You all need to give that man a chance and see his vision.

[@ducklett01god]

He does eugenics but with beauty

[@deucey89]

Awesome stuff, good video for hungover Sunday for me. Thank you!

[@CuckooGames]

Great vid, I watched half and will watch the rest tomorrow

[@brandonmuse5532]

This was so cool to have multiple bosses and is still a great way to do fighting games and action games.

[@KenMasters.]

Playing SFII is like being in Bruce Lee movies. You vs. 8 World Warriors = Enter the Dragon You vs. 3 Grand Masters = Game of Death You vs. M. Bison = The Big Boss

[@HellhammerSS]

There's a reason why Vega and M.Bison's theme songs are PTSD fuel...

[@scarrface28]

Thanks for the amazing content I’ve dreamed of as a youngin

[@Diaz26IV]

Top work mate!

[@gloverdragon6854]

Says balrog and Tyson have the same hairstyle but then shows a picture where the two have different hairlines and haircuts 😂

[@michaelneal7377]

I grew up playing Street Fighter Thanks for uploading this video

[@JBHtown1646]

Why didn't you compare the photo of the original street fighter 2 Balrog? The image was spot on.

[@hiddenkoncept08]

Going to friends to watch this right now! Are we going to get a complete history of the street fighter story soon?

[@davideselvi3906]

Hopefully

[@freedom8480]

So, Sagat was the inspiration for Doppo in the Baki series, right? Just opened my eyes😄

[@bloodblues85]

Great video!!

[@Mitjitsu]

30:30 - Sagat is actually a very defensive fighter. He can spam fireballs forcing opponents to close the distance. Where he can then counter with a tiger uppercut or use his insanely long reach.

[@watchmman3408]

I came for Balrog. He is the first character I ever got really good with. I especially love him on Alpha 3

[@micaiahflores1592]

Sf lore is awesome thanks for this :)

[@pantherhd1]

Long alive Top Hat Gaming guy he is history in himself underground legend of gaming

[@VTKC]

Well I never. I always thought it was Dan's father that severely damaged Sagats eye.

[@Csims89]

I remember it being Go Hibiki that did the deed myself, which led to his death

[@Pabloplays98]

It was????

[@MIghtyEpson]

"A expert who programs all of Shadaloo's computer systems" - while wearing boxing gloves lol

[@peterfairchild258]

I remember as a kid seeing Sagat for the first time,and telling all my mates in the playground... of course no one believed me🤫😃🤣

[@creatingvideostobreakmyspe6049]

I miss the old days of video game rumors.

[@kangurukaiser9395]

Sagat went from stereotypical 80s villian to Ryu's sparing partner and sometime homie

[@MrSeanw263]

I like the content that you & Lady Decade provide.

[@lostinseganet]

Wooofff that was a tall order, but I watched it all. Good Stuff.

[@DaiconV24]

Enjoyed the hell out of this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Heyoka86]

Damn, this guy really hates Alex. Never misses an opportunity to dunk on him.

[@KenMasters.]

I feel the same towards SFIII's "Frenchman" Remy. Capcom could've just put Guile's teen daughter Chris/Amy on the 3rd Strike roster instead of that KOF '99-ripoff of an emo-weeb edgelord with daddy issues.

[@blackboimuzikkingmario9728]

Never heard of the Fire Hydrant handle for Mike Tyson..I heard of Kid Dynamite tho.

[@TokenDrew]

Great documentary

[@armyofninjas9055]

2:50 - Ali was old (and probably showing some signs of Parkinsons) by the time Spinks fought him. Long-time boxing fan, here.

[@realamericannegro977]

M. Bison needs his own game

[@videosurfah]

Vega

[@odakidakida9193]

Punch out?

[@realamericannegro977]

I'm still trying to figure out the style of boxing Balrog does

[@brogoram]

Just a straight powerful fist. No dempsey roll...no peek a boo..no nothing. Dudley is more stylish than him. But that guy from tekken is the best boxer in a fighting game (in term of style)

[@realamericannegro977]

@@brogoram nope he is doing a specific style

[@TrueDarkAce]

okay what is that song at 3:19 I have heard this song years ago, but the video that originally had it was deleted so I couldn't find out what it was called. If anyone can help me that'll be swell.

[@gameplayer1980]

With respect to SF, first time mind blown: being able to play mirror matches. Second time mind blown: being able to play as these 4.

[@jjjsalang]

Were you playing SF Champion Edition on Sega when your mind blew?

[@favelaboy9401]

What’s that balrog theme version I hear in the background sounds amazing

[@vaynerebelle84]

I broke controllers trying to beat Sagat. Good times

[@euphotix]

I loled at your intro

[@carloscatarino7890]

Back then these 4 grand masters cost me quite a few quarters at the arcade. Those were the times...

[@prawnstar502]

2:33 “the fire hydrant” im a tyson fan and ive never heard of him being called that lol

[@jrc765b]

@6:03 " My fith have your blood of them." 🤣🤣 I know you read it like that, too.

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

Vega/ Claw was a very frustrating character to fight against. Imagine you are both leveled for about 10% energy left. Vega takes to the fence and then goes for the Izuna drop, sometimes the arcade would literally pull you mid-flight out if a dragon punch or flash kick. Now bear in mind you just lost with your last 50p credit 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@t.b.g.animation6185]

This Guy is my 90s History teacher...in fighting game

[@Speed202]

good stuff

[@DanielCanalesLlera]

Great job with this documental!!! (as usual) 👍 I have a question; I heard and read from many sources that the first appearance of Balrog (M.Bison) was the very first Street Fighter, as “Mike” (the original name is Mike Bison… that made the similitude with Tyson even more obvious). Is this information correct or they are different characters? Also, I must admit as Spanish that “Vega” makes WAY MUCH MORE sense as Spanish name instead of Balrog 😅 it’s a common surname in Spain. Keep rocking 👊👏👏

[@odakidakida9193]

The Vega name logic is kinda flawed tho... why should they name a Spanish underground fighter guy a with a very common Spanish surname?.. Are Spanish not allowed to have non-Spanish alias/codenames?

[@TherealRNOwwfpooh]

@@odakidakida9193 The thing is, Vega wasn't just a cage fighter. He was former bullfighter, hence his matador moves (he wears the Jason Voorhees mask to cover his pretty boy face to avoid having it hit due to his vanity, but he wields the Wolverine like claws on account of his viciousness in combat when not showing off his aerial agility), but turned to cage fighting.

[@michelvanderlinden8363]

Vega was known as the Spanish Ninja? Weird, I vaguely remember the game manual of turbo describing him as "the demon of the cage" (which hints at his original name, Balrog).

[@LowellLucasJr.]

Always thought they were referred to as 'The Four Heaven Kings' but 👌!

[@gentlemanmob]

Lol. Nobody ever knew Tyson as "the fire hydrant" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@syxxwilliams]

can u do a video on gen

[@Dampfdidas]

After hearing Rayu and Chan Li instead of Ryu and Chun Li I could not go on...still thumbs up for your work and passion mate.

[@ShockerTopper]

LOL I’ll never forget Sagat in SF2. There was a different name we had for him I remember but it still rhymes 😏. Hint it had to do with him liking it in the back door LOL

[@edaniels240]

When I first saw Sagat, I was thinking of Tong Po from Kickboxer

[@TMBales]

When I was a kid Vega was the hardest to fight against and was my favorite to play as

[@JustRichGates]

i love this

[@xcaluhbration]

8:18 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 HE GOT ON BOXING GLOVES WHILE UPDATING THE NORTON SECURITY SETTINGS OF THE 'EVIL COMPUTER'

[@realamericannegro977]

Bison's Pyscho Crusher appears to have came from Hokuto no Ken.

[@desfile21]

Blarog was based on mike tyson. In the japanese version, he is actually m bison. They changed it to balrog is the us version to avoid being sued.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

WOW! THANK YOU FOR THIS NEW INFORMATION THAT DEFINITELY WASN'T ALREADY COVERED IN THE VIDEO! SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 WAS ORIGINALLY YUME KOJO DOKI DOKI PANIC!

[@desfile21]

@@KasumiKenshirou Ha! Now you make me wonder if I missed them explaining balrog and bison. And I guess bison was vega. Vega was balrog, and balrog was bison. And Super Mario Lost Levels is Super Mario 2 in japan😁

[@MK-lk7nc]

8:18 - Yes, that's Balrog operating a computer terminal with boxing gloves on. Science.

[@Psiros]

Vega (claw) usually ruined my perfect runs in SNES's SF2 Turbo. Finally got passed him without getting hit then got hit by M. Bison (dictator).

[@timothylewis2527]

I did not know the SF movie was a success!! All this time, I thought it was a Super Mario Bros. level box office bomb!

[@nazishhussain2712]

I find didn’t know Ming na wen was chun li

[@rebelsoy9795]

R.I.P Raul Julia He played. M,bison In the street fighter movie. That was the last movie he did.he really died at the end of that movie.

[@miggypeso909]

I never noticed how much SF V “borrowed” from the Orochi/NEST saga. Bison basically became a SNK boss. He moved like Rugal. Crazy.

[@nidhogg6344]

Balrog is mike tyson. He was called M.Bison at the base. Vega was called Balrog and Bison was called Vega. Iirc, tyson wanted to sue capcom for it.

[@DolFunTheDolhpinVtuber]

They are still great to fight against. Let's all forget about the 94 live action movie.

[@kelz4020]

legend says that balrog go toe to toe with gandalf for 3 days ,before meeting his end

[@emailchrismoll]

did anybody else notice that the graphics on the arcade cabinet (and also the arcade1up cabinet ) have a type that reads "Barlog" ?

[@KasumiKenshirou]

The announcer on the SNES version of Super Street Fighter II also says "Barlog". (Possibly the arcade one does, too, but I've just played the SNES one a lot more.)

[@randomplushproductions]

28:49, I always thought Sagat was named after Bob Sagat

[@jamesguglielmucci2001]

I Love M.Bison!!!!! He will always Outshine everybody for me!!!!!

[@digitaltooanalog]

What music comes in at 3:10?

[@TheRealBruceWayne01]

I still want to know what happens to sagat in the street fighter 2 anime. Bison tells him to deal with cammy and that is the last you see or hear about him.

[@elonmartin3294]

I always love the skull in the sky in alpha

[@apoena-allnitemusic7203]

Imagine a retired veteran shaved hair Badr Hari interpretatig Sagat in a movie

[@darkescrima28able]

Ryu: kennnnnn Ken: yuuuuuu Ryu: aye, some nigga name Vega said he want smoke. Ken: who dat? Ryu: ion know, go handle that for me. Ken: aight.......

[@wongfeihung6759]

All these years I always wanted to know why the boxing gloves to o no holds fight lol

[@jeyrascall2062]

What theme is that at 4:13?

[@hazelgoodshepherd9315]

This was the heyday of the truly varied Street Fighter character roster. Nowadays Capcom has kinda taken on this low key fetish for blonde blue-eyed characters. For instance, even characters who were formerly brunette were changed to blonde, such as Cody and even the Asian master of Guy named Zeku. In like manner, only one of the New Challengers from Super Street Fighter II was retained. So Cammy the blonde blue-eyed white girl is in Street Fighter 5 but the Asian, the indigenous American Indian and the black Jamaican were all unceremoniously excluded.