Sakura Kasugano, one of Street Fighter’s leading ladies, has been a staple in the series since her appearance in Alpha 2. Her spunky, upbeat attitude with a tomboyish personality has alit gamers’ hearts everywhere, so perhaps her taste in music could do the same. Here’s what we speculate would be on her Sony Walkman in the 1990s.

90s Pop + Upbeat Music

Based on her appearance in Street Fighter V, we modeled her music to the timeline she is set in: the late 90s. And you can’t make a 90s playlist without featuring The Spice Girls. “Spice Up Your Life” and “Wannabe” were huge cultural hits all over the world. The band actually made trips to Japan for the press, so the Japanese public would be aware of them. As Sakura loves to dance, she’d hear this at her hangout spots and really get into it.

As she’s on the dance floor, she’d also listen and work out to “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C & C Music Factory, “The Rhythm of the Night” by Corona, and “Around The World” by Daft Punk. All of these tracks are super upbeat and would pump up Sakura during her training.

She loves gaming!

Yeah, she works out to become a top fighter, and she’s a big gamer! That’s the ultimate combo! Sakura works at the local arcade, and we’ve found out she loves to game. And when you think of the 90s, Final Fantasy VII comes up. It may take her a long time to finish FF7, due to her training, but that game’s battle theme “Let The Battles Begin!” is the ultimate work out song. Heck, even the Final Fantasy VII Remake proves that when a remix of it plays while Cloud and the gang do pull-ups. We chose Ferdk’s version as he nails the intensity of the track.

We also picked Experience Points’ version of “Mute City” as Street Fighter has a lot of jazzy influences in its soundtracks, and Mute City is another rocking song from F-Zero that Sakura would enjoy listening to. 

Sakura Loves Ryu

The age difference is a bit odd, but Sakura has always looked up to Ryu and pretty much confesses how she feels in Street Fighter V. Her dream is to be able to match Ryu in strength and find a way to be with him; That’s why she copies a lot of his fighting style. She even insinuates she wants to have a kid with Ryu to his face, which is very strange and forward-thinking at the same time!

She would listen to a few romantic songs like “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” by Aerosmith. The Japanese song, “My Revolution” by Misato Watanabe, according to this translation by Anime Lyrics, perfectly shows her will to chase her dream and be with the man she loves. She also barely sees Ryu so these lines would really connect with Sakura:

“Feel my heart ache.

The nights I’m alone become more painful the more smiles there are.

I want to share them with you.

The words I wrote in the corner of my textbook begin to move.”