Last April 1992, Electronic Gaming Monthly featured "a way" for Street Fighter 2 players to allegedly face off against Ken's and Ryu's master. Unfortunately, gamers had to meet a series of ridiculously difficult requirements in order to do so. Countless wasted tokens later, it was revealed that the trick was precisely that - an April Fool's joke.

The recent word from Capcom regarding Street Fighter 4, however, appears to be the opposite. According to Capcom, Sheng Long (aka Gouken) is an unlockable character in the game.

Capcom project manager Natsumi Shiozawa noted that Street Fighter 4 players must meet certain requirements in order to unlock Gouken.

1. Select Ryu as your character.
2. Win every round with a perfect until the last boss fight. (Sound familiar?)
3. During the last boss fight, perform a shoryuken...
   

Shiozawa's instructions mysteriously stopped there. The project manager, however, offered a semi-silhouetted picture of the muscle-bound Shotokan Master. Shiozawa also acknowledged that Sheng Long isn't the only secret character in Street Fighter 4. Could Shiozawa be referring to Gouken's evil counterpart?

We're sorely tempted to take it as face value, since it came straight from Capcom. Thing is, we've been burned before. Today's date has also raised our suspicions further. Nevertheless, time tends to clarify things, so stay tuned for more special updates from Capcom regarding the matter.

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*UPDATE* Ha! Capcom has done it again, but if you took yesterday's news with a sack of salt,  then you probably know this already: Sheng Long is an April Fools' joke. Click here for  the latest blog entry from Capcom's Natsumi Shiozawa.