How old is Chun-Li in Street Fighter 6? There’s a short answer, a long answer, and an introspective answer…
We’ll be honest: This one is trying to answer a question everyone’s typing into a search engine. And that question is “How old is Chun Li in Street Fighter 6?” We can only hazard a guess at why this is such a fascinating question. One that regularly tops the list of SF6 searches, alongside some other lurid questions about Cammy and Juri… Still the masses have asked, and we’re here to answer — here’s how old Chun Li is in Street Fighter 6:
How old is Chun-Li in SF6? The “official” Chun-Li age
According to in-game details from Street Fighter II, Chun-Li was born on March 1, 1968, which would make her 55 years old in Street Fighter 6. Wow! Chun-Li looks pretty good for her age, if we say so ourselves. We hope we’re kicking as much ass at 55!
This is based on the assumption that SF6 is set in the modern day. But what about if SF6’s timeline is a little different?
Just when are the Street Fighter Games set?
Street Fighter 6 seemingly takes place in a time period roughly similar to the modern day (So around 2023), albeit with some more advanced robotics here and there.
But, the Street Fighter timeline is incredibly messy. Chronologically, Street Fighter 6 takes place after the events of Street Fighter III, which notionally took place in the 90s. This would mean events of IV and V apparently took place in the early 90s. For help visualizing that, here’s the Street Fighter game chronology:
- Street Fighter (1987)
- Street Fighter Alpha 1-3 (1995 - 1998)
- Street Fighter II (1991 - 1994)
- Street Fighter IV (2009 - 2014)
- Street Fighter V (2016 - 2020)
- Street Fighter III (1997 - 1999)
- Street Fighter 6 (2023)
Additionally, SF6 is filled with Final Fight references, which according to those games, took place in the mid 80s. So, essentially, Street Fighter seems to take place in a “squished” and compacted timeline, where the first game and Alpha took place in the 80s, the next four took place in the 90’s and early 2000s, and SF6 is effectively in the mid 2010s, but a more advanced version.
How does this affect Chun-Li’s age?
Well that means Chun-Li is likely in her late 30s to early 40s, along with the rest of the original cast, such as Ken, Ryu, and others. This would match up with her general appearance and agility, and video games tendency to treat anyone over a certain age as ancient.
Generally, there’s no solid answer to this question. The trouble with setting in stone the age of your characters is that when you’re making a game series, you don’t want to effectively age-out characters. And while the world of Street Fighter is one where old people can beat up people a quarter their age, school girls compete in international death matches, and yogi masters can fly, there’s only so much suspension of disbelief that can go on.
How old is Chun-Li then? We’d say she’s as old as you want her to be. Don’t worry too much about it! She’s still the same martial artist we’ve grown to love over many years!
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