Inside Issue 001:

• 📬 Welcome to The Dispatch

• 📡 EX Signal: July

• 🎮 Featured Match

• 🌐 How to Play EX Online

• 👾 The Player Radar

• 👀 Coming Next

• 🏁 Final Round

  ---

📬 WELCOME TO THE DISPATCH

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first edition of The SFEXOnline Dispatch.

Since launching SFEXOnline in June 2026, the support and interest around this project has been a whirlwind. We have loved the EX series for decades and were lucky enough to play these games when they were first released. (No, we are not telling you our age.)

Seeing people still care about Street Fighter EX almost 30 years later has been genuinely special. The problem is that the scene has been scattered, overlooked and difficult to find.

Games like Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Darkstalkers, Third Strike and Power Stone have all had visible revival scenes built around them. EX never seemed to receive that same love. The EX games stayed on PS1 and PS2, never returned through a modern collection, and picked up a strange reputation along the way.

People praise the music and characters of EX, but the gameplay divides opinion. Some love the movement, combos and hidden depth. Others only see something rough, blocky or dated.

We see the hype, the joy and the amount of tech still waiting to be explored.

Every few years, through a video essay, a Reddit post or simple curiosity, somebody discovers EX again and realises there is far more to these games than they expected.

Then we found out people were playing them online.

That changed everything for us.

We had always dreamed of playing Street Fighter EX with people around the world. Now our mission is to make that possibility easier to find, help connect the scattered parts of the scene and shine a light on the players, uploaders, artists and fans keeping it moving.

That is what SFEXOnline is here to do.

In The Dispatch, expect interviews, scene insight, must-see matches, useful tips, archive discoveries and more from across the world of Street Fighter EX.

Thank you for being here at the beginning.

📡 EX SIGNAL: JULY

EX Plus Alpha turned 29, M. Bison opened our new EX Fighter Guide, OSTs got dragged through a Mega Drive sound chip, and Admin discovered a conspiracy that Legal insists does not exist.

Let’s get into it.

EX Plus Alpha turns 29

On July 17, Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha celebrated 29 years since its Japanese PlayStation release.

This was far more than a straight arcade port. Dhalsim and Sakura joined the roster, new modes were added, every fighter received a CG ending, and Japan got those wonderfully strange text epilogues after defeating Bison. Its bold artwork also looked completely different from the Western release.

We marked the anniversary by thanking the developers, artists, programmers, musicians and performers who made it happen.

Then original composer Takayuki Aihara liked the tribute.

He later followed SFEXOnline.

We remained extremely calm about this.

(Admin note: We did not remain calm about this.)

Explore the full EX Plus Alpha 29th-anniversary thread

The EX Fighter Guide Begins

Street Fighter EX has one of the most interesting casts in the entire franchise.

It also has characters many players barely know beyond a name or one extremely dramatic Meteor Combo.

That is where our EX Fighter Guide comes in.

Each guide gives you a quick read on the character, why they are fun to play, a short gameplay example and a real match where you can see the whole plan come together.

The goal is simple: help more people look at the roster and think:

“Yep. That’s my character.”

M. Bison was chosen first, which felt appropriate. One mistake against him can turn into Scissor pressure, Psycho Crusher follow-ups and a round disappearing before you have even processed what happened.

His basic game plan is easy to understand, but once the momentum starts, he becomes deeply unpleasant to deal with. Building momentum with Bison will make your opponent regret pressing a button.

A new EX Fighter Guide lands every Monday on X, with a quick character breakdown, gameplay example and featured match.

Meet M. Bison in the first EX Fighter Guide

Street Fighter EX Meets the Genesis/Mega Drive

Ask almost any Street Fighter EX fan what the series gets right and the soundtrack will not be far from the top of the list.

Now imagine those tracks rebuilt using sounds from Shinobi III, The Revenge of Shinobi and Shadow Dancer.

Composer TheLegendofRenegade has been doing exactly that with music from EX Plus Alpha and EX2 Plus.

It sounds too good to be true.

It is alarmingly true.

The rabbit hole began when music enthusiast and supporter @SpiritxEnergy shared the Phantom Bomb remix on the timeline. One track later, we were digging through years of TheLegendofRenegade’s work.

We picked four of our favourite remixes he has made over the years:

1. Phantom Bomb: Nearly eight minutes long and somehow never loses momentum. The extra PS1 arrangement details were rebuilt by ear, with no MIDI shortcut.

2. Flash Train: A Shadow Dancer voice sample sneaks in and somehow makes the whole thing even better.

3. Stronger: Shinobi III drums give it a filthy amount of crunch. This one hits hard.

4. Sakura Mankai: A bright, punchy Sega-style remix with perfectly placed vox samples.

We had our four. The ranking was settled. The list was finished.

Then More Stronger turned up and made the entire exercise pointless.

EX already has a bright and slightly futuristic sound. Push it through classic Sega hardware and suddenly the two styles lock together perfectly. It becomes timeless.

These remixes do not feel like EX wearing a Mega Drive tribute costume. They feel fast, crunchy and completely natural.

Street Fighter EX and old Sega sound hardware should not fit together this well. Yet they do. And we are extremely glad.

Hear all five remixes in the full X thread

Coincidence? Legal Has Advised Us to Stop Asking Questions

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha released in Japan on July 17.

Street Fighter IV arrived in Japanese arcades on July 18.

Both use 3D fighters on a 2D plane.

EX3 existed before Street Fighter IV.

Four comes after three.

Admin noticed this and opened one browser tab.

Then twelve more.

Legal asked Admin to stop.

Skullomania entered the office with a printed image of KEN.

We cannot confirm why several release dates are circled.

We cannot confirm why Legal has locked the stationery cupboard.

We can confirm that the numbers are suspiciously numerical.

We can confirm the dates are extremely date-shaped.

No mainline 3D Street Fighter appeared between EX3 and Street Fighter IV.

Legal would like us to state clearly that this proves nothing.

Admin would like us to state clearly that Legal looks nervous.

Skullo is no longer answering calls.

The investigation continues.

🎮 FEATURED MATCH

Featured Match is where we pick one standout set from our archive and explain why it deserves your time. For Issue 001, we’re travelling back to 2012 for Justin Wong vs. ShinjiGohan at UFGT8 in Street Fighter EX3.

Before Combo Breaker: Justin Wong Plays EX3 at UFGT8

Back in 2012, Justin Wong and ShinjiGohan were playing Street Fighter EX3 at UFGT8 (Ultimate Fighting Game Tournament 8), and the surviving footage captures something we rarely get to see: competitive EX3.

This video brings together the Finals and Grand Finals, with both players meeting in a classic Ryu and Ken matchup. ShinjiGohan moves through Garuda, Kairi, Bison and even Dhalsim, while Justin sticks to the shotos.

The footage is rougher than our modern uploads and clearly comes from another era, but that is exactly why it deserves to be preserved.

This is Justin Wong playing Street Fighter EX3 in competition, years before UFGT became the event now known as Combo Breaker. It is a small piece of fighting-game history inside a game that rarely gets mentioned when people discuss his tournament career.

ShinjiGohan is no slouch either. A true veteran of the early-2000s EX3 scene, active through forums and personal websites, he remains one of the most valuable sources of early footage and EX tech that people are still discovering today.

Expect two players fighting for space, forcing mistakes and making every opening count.

We cleaned up the surviving footage and combined the available tournament matches into one upload so the set could be watched together.

Watch Justin Wong vs. ShinjiGohan at UFGT8

Original tournament footage from UFGT8, 2012. Credit to Shinjig for the original upload.

🌐 HOW TO PLAY EX ONLINE

The original EX games are being played online today. This section points you towards the current tools, tutorials and people helping make that possible.

One of the best things about discovering Street Fighter EX today is realising that these games are not only something to revisit alone.

You can now play these games online.

Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha and Street Fighter EX2 Plus are being played through Arkadyzja, an online matchmaking platform built around rollback-enabled emulators, including DuckStation Netplay for PlayStation games. Street Fighter EX3 can be played online through PCSX2 Netplay.

In simple terms, DuckStation handles the PlayStation emulation, while Arkadyzja helps players find opponents and get into matches.

That means the matches in this issue are not just archive footage. There is a real scene you can step into, with players still learning characters, sharing sets and pushing the games further.

We have collected useful tutorials into one playlist to help people understand the current online methods and see how players are getting started.

Watch the Street Fighter EX online tutorial playlist

As we learn more and gather clearer information from the people already playing, we plan to build a fuller written guide.

If you are already playing, uploading matches or know of useful resources we should add, reply and let us know. The scene becomes easier to find when people share what they know.

🎮 THE PLAYER RADAR

What did the Street Fighter EX online scene actually look like in July 2026?

We went through Arkadyzja session records for EX Plus Alpha and EX2 Plus because apparently normal people do not spend their evenings wondering which country was playing the most Street Fighter EX in July.

Anyways.

🔥 JULY WAS BUSY

1,262 SESSION RECORDS

817 EX Plus Alpha
445 EX2 Plus

That is a lot of EX.

Admin reviewed the figures.

Admin then asked why there are this many figures.

No answer was provided.

🌍 EX WENT EVERYWHERE

27 COUNTRIES / REGIONS

Player handles appeared under 27 different displayed countries and regions during July.

🥇 🇩🇿 Algeria — 320
🥈 🇵🇪 Peru — 203
🥉 🇺🇸 USA — 115

And the split gets better.

Algeria leaned heavily toward EX Plus Alpha.
USA leaned heavily toward EX2 Plus.
Peru basically said: why not both?

112 EX+α.

91 EX2+.

Peru declined to elaborate when questioned.

🔄 PICK ONE? ABSOLUTELY NOT.

35 HANDLES PLAYED BOTH

35 exact player handles appeared in both EX Plus Alpha and EX2 Plus during July.

This was reviewed by Skullomania.

He has since approved it.

We are still unclear who gave Skullomania approval authority.

Nobody seems willing to challenge it.

🏆 WHO KEPT SHOWING UP?

UltimatOuss — 72

The most frequently appearing raw handle in July’s records was UltimatOuss, with 72 session records.

🥈 brave — 58
🥉 ShinBison — 49

This is not a skill ranking.

Please do not fight us.

Archive is simply reporting who kept turning up.

Please direct all complaints to Legal.

💡 DID YOU KNOW?

28 / 31 DAYS 👀

Street Fighter EX activity appeared in the Arkadyzja records on 28 days in July.

The only quiet stretch?

July 4, 5 and 6.

Then EX came straight back on July 7 like nothing happened.

KEN entered the room during the preparation of this statistic.

He said nothing.

Everyone was confused.

He has since left.

👀 SEE YOU IN NEXT MONTH’S DATA

We’ll check the Ark records again next month and see what August did.

Maybe your country climbs. Maybe your handle suddenly appears everywhere.

Maybe Skullomania promotes himself again.

Maybe KEN.

Keep playing EX. You might end up in the next Player Radar.

👀 COMING NEXT

Next month, we speak with Fred Oliveira about his work recompiling Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, how the project began and what it could mean for the future accessibility of the game.

Also, Marvel’s Deadpool referenced Street Fighter EX. WAIT WHAT? Yes, really. We have evidence (and questions).

🏁 FINAL ROUND

The first issue of The Dispatch has taken us from EX Plus Alpha’s 29th anniversary to rare EX3 tournament footage, Mega Drive remixes and an investigation Legal would prefer we quietly forget.

More importantly, it has shown how much Street Fighter EX is still giving people to discover.

The games are being played online. Old footage is resurfacing. Artists, musicians, players and uploaders are still adding something new to the scene.

And thanks to The Player Radar, we now know just how much EX was being played, where it was happening and which names kept appearing in the records.

We want The Dispatch to be a place where those pieces can sit together without disappearing into the timeline.

Thank you for reading Issue 001, and thank you to everyone who has played, uploaded, created, preserved or simply kept caring about EX.

The scene is growing. We’ll be here to help you follow it.

See you next month. 🫡

SFEXOnline

Know someone who still loves Street Fighter EX? Send them this issue and bring them into the scene.