Retro Revival: Street Fighter II

First Released: 1991

Original System(s): Arcade

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

First Impressions

Street Fighter II was one of the first SNES games I ever played and as such it does hold a special place in my heart. I used to play it a lot back in '94/'95 – my best friend at school had a SNES and we would spend hours playing all the games I could never afford (I didn't have my own SNES until many years later). Street Fighter II was perfect for head-to-head action and as kids we revelled in the healthy competition. Neither of us were any good at the game, though we hardly noticed at the time, too focused were we on mashing buttons as quickly as possible - an approach I still take to fighting games, sadly.

I remember being thrilled by the visuals: the graphics were just so much more advanced from the NES games I was used to, and of course there wasn't really any good one-on-one fighters on the NES, so it was all new to me. Later on I'm sure we played Street Fighter II Turbo as well, I definitely remember ramping up the speed in single-player mode and getting whumped in the first fight. I was chuffed when I finally got my own SNES on a carboot a few years back and Street Fighter II was one of the first games I tracked down.

Why Is It Great?

Now, I'm not a huge fan of fighting games, but I know a good one when I play it. I'm pretty sure Street Fighter II was instrumental in popularising the fighting genre in the early '90s. Before Street Fighter II, most fighting games were simplistic affairs with a minimum of characters and rather basic moves. I never played the true arcade versions, so I can't comment much on the accuracy of the home ports, but the SNES version is fantastic regardless. It did everything to near perfection: slick controls and cool combos made possible due to the six-button control pad. Each character has three punch and three kick moves and some killer special moves. Maybe not as flashy as in other fighters, but deadly and effective.

The graphics were excellent for a SNES game. Large, detailed sprites, layered backgrounds giving the impression of three dimensions and some great animation touches really made Street Fighter II stand out from the pack. The sound isn't too bad either – the music is punchy and upbeat and nothing screams "1992!" more than a heavily-accented, sampled voice shouting at you when you suck.

The only thing I never really cared for much were the mini-games that appeared after every few fights. They don't add anything to the game and only seem to detract from the flow of combat – nothing knocks you off your game more than a random car level in the midst of your undefeated run.

Some fighting games can be very off-putting to newcomers, yet even as a youngster I never felt overwhelmed by Street Fighter II. I loved it because it made me feel less like an idiot than Mortal Kombat! I was able to comfortably pick it up years later and begin playing like I had never left off. I was still pretty bad at the game, but Street Fighter II has a way of allowing even the worst player to have fun.

Best Moment

For me, I would choose Chun-Li doing her whirlwind kick, specifically the very first time I unleashed the special attack on my unsuspecting friend. I always played as Chun-Li as I feel obligated to choose the female character in these sort of games – and why not? She's the best! Even Jackie Chan thought so when he dressed up as Chun-Li for the movie City Hunter. That's just weird!

Best Version

Now, there are a heck of a lot of versions of Street Fighter II out there – half a dozen in the arcades alone! So before I make a selection for best version I'll quickly run-through the options.

First, the original coin-ops, as illustrated by the original title screens above. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was released in 1991 as the first, basic release, with eight playable characters and a simple tournament mode. The Championship Edition was released one year later in 1992 and added the four boss characters to the selectable player line-up. Hyper Fighting was released late in 1992 and increased the game speed and added a few new moves. Super Street Fighter II was the first major update, released on CPSII hardware in 1993 and featured four new characters and revamped the scoring system. Super Street Fighter II Turbo was released in 1994 and featured a new feature (super combos), one new character, increased speed and the ability to 'juggle' characters in the air with successive combos. Finally, in 2003 a special anniversary edition was released entitled Hyper Street Fighter II, which featured gameplay based on Super Turbo but featuring characters from all five previous releases.

Next, the home console ports, of which there were plenty (as you can see!). The SNES received three Street Fighter II releases: a straight port of The World Warrior in 1992, Turbo (based on the Hyper Fighting arcade release) in 1993 and Super Street Fighter II in 1994. A version of the Championship Edition arcade was released for the PC Engine in 1993, entitled Street Fighter II Dash. The Mega Drive saw two releases: the Special Championship Edition (a mash-up of The World Warrior and Hyper Fighting) in 1993 and a port of Super Street Fighter II in 1994. Super Street Fighter II Turbo was ported to the 3DO system in 1994. 1995 saw a Game Boy release of The World Warrior and an update of Super Turbo was released for Game Boy Advance in 2001. Street Fighter II can also be found on most home computer formats.

Most versions of Street Fighter II can also be found in different compilations released over the years, such as 'The Street Fighter Collection' 1 & 2 (PS1, Saturn), 'Street Fighter Anniversary Collection' (PS2, Xbox) and 'Capcom CIassics Collection' 1 & 2 (PS2, Xbox). Downloadable releases (including updated remakes) are also available on Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Wii Virtual Console.

Phew. That's a lot of Street Fighter II. Of those, I can say that I have played the SNES versions of The World Warrior and Turbo, the Mega Drive Special Championship Edition and, much more recently, the arcade versions of The World Warrior, Championship Edition, Hyper Fighting and Super Turbo through the ports included in the Capcom CIassics Collections.

So which to choose? I'm going to have to plump for the original SNES games that I played. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, simply because I had so much fun with it as a child, and Turbo, because it improved upon the original while still retaining the core gameplay. Turbo was just plain awesome if you ramped up the speed to the top setting. I would have liked to choose one of the original arcade versions, but sadly I never played any of them in a real arcade and despite featuring 'arcade-perfect' ports, the Capcom compilations just don't do them justice. The PS2 controller isn't really designed for fighters anyhow, especially that unforgiving D-pad.

Further Play

The main series is only up to Street Fighter IV, which might seem as though not a lot has happened in the twenty-three years since the original Street Fighter first hit the arcades, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Street Fighter series has a long and rich history, with dozens of arcade releases, upgrades, spin-offs and ports to keep fighting fans happy. I've personally encountered only a fraction of this series, but I did a little research to once more, and I'll attempt to present all the options.

The original Street Fighter was released to the arcades in 1987 and was but a shadow of future greatness. Featuring just two playable characters and a limited palette of moves, the game hardly made the splash Capcom was hoping for. Stripped-down ports were released for most home computers of the era, with a much more accurate port appearing on the TurboGrafx-CD in 1988. After Street Fighter II, the next main series game would not be released until 1997, with Street Fighter III: Double Impact hitting the arcades. Two main updates were released for Street Fighter III, as well as home ports for Dreamcast and PS2. Gamers had an even longer wait for Street Fighter IV, released to the arcades in 2008, with home ports for PS3, X360 and PC. Super Street Fighter IV has also just hit home consoles.

The first spin-off series debuted in 1995 with Street Fighter Alpha (Arcade, PS1, Saturn, GBC), followed by Alpha 2 in 1996 (Arcade, PS1, Saturn, SNES) and Alpha 3 in 1998 (Arcade, PS1, Saturn, Dreamcast, GBA, PSP). The EX Series is comprised of EX Plus, released in 1996 (Arcade, PS1), 1998's EX 2 Plus (Arcade, PS1) and the PS2 exclusive EX 3, released in 2000.

There is also the stand-alone spin-off Street Fighter 2010, released in 1990 for NES, although this is not a true Street Fighter game and was simply marketed as such for commercial reasons. The film-tie in game, Street Fighter: The Movie, was released in 1995 for PS1 and Saturn. Fighter mash-ups featuring Street Fighter characters going head-to-head with those from other licenses are also available, including X-Men vs. Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom, Capcom vs. SNK and Tatsunoko vs. Capcom.

Overall, a considerable legacy and one I have only briefly sampled. I have recently played the original Street Fighter arcade via the Capcom CIassics Collection. I found it extremely lacking after being exposed to the more refined fighters of the '90s (especially Street Fighter II). In fact, I would say that it had more in common with the 8-bit fighters commonly found on '80s home computers – simplistic gameplay and a lack of variety, with the emphasis more on continuously beating on your opponent till he goes down than the skilful utilisation of special moves or combos required in later games. In fact, it's nearly impossible to even pull off a special move in Street Fighter.

I have also played Street Fighter IV on Xbox 360. Since I don't own the game I've only had the chance to play it at my friend's house – a nostalgic throwback to how I used to enjoy Street Fighter II way back when, but hardly ideal for forming a concrete impression of a game. What I do like is how it has kept some of the feel of the old games instead of whoring out completely to new gimmicks like some cIassic series. The gameplay has thankfully retained the easy to pick up nature of Street Fighter II and overall it plays and feels like a retro game while still making full use of the available technology. A fine line to tread, and one that Street Fighter IV appears to walk admirably. The visuals are sublime, too. I love the art styIe.

Of the spin-offs, the only one I've played is Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which I only recently acquired for my collection. From the short time I have spent with it I am quite impressed, and I do like the Marvel mash-up. Marvel always had my favourite superheroes.

CIassic Game? You Must Be Joking!

So, that's my take on Street Fighter II. I originally only intended this to be a brief retrospective on a game I loved as a child. It turned out to be a lot longer than I thought; when I decided to do a bit of background research for the blog I had no idea quite how much ground I had to cover! Obviously I've literally only covered the bare bones for the different Street Fighter variations and sequels – I would suggest checking out the following sites for much more detailed information: Street Fighter Wiki and Street Fighter Devotion. Thanks to Moby Games too for a couple of box shots.

Feel free to post your take on the game in the comments section. Whether you love it or loathe it, I'd love to hear your views.