I am getting so sick and tired about talking about this fucking game. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it even after all that I have said about it, but there is something called too much of a good thing, and that is what we got here with Street Fighter II. Capcom was just so determined to make this game better and better and better AND BETTER to where they just kept releasing updates for it, and somehow, nobody back then caught onto how repetitive this was getting. Thankfully though, there is one more update that they had released after Super Street Fighter II, and it would be the last update that the game would ever get… at least, it would be for the next 7 years or so, but we may as well just pretend that this is the last one for now. This final version would be released in 1994, 3 years after the game initially came out, and it would be known as Super Street Fighter II Turbo.

If you all remember the base version of Super Street Fighter II, you would know that, in terms of an update, it added quite a lot of new features to the game, including quite a few new characters to play as, the new moves you can pull off, and the visual overhaul that the game got, making it the best version of the game at that time. As for this update though, it doesn’t really add too much more to the experience as a whole, but what it does add does make it stand out from the rest, and makes it a noteworthy experience. So, I don’t wanna sound like a broken record, but naturally, this would end up being the best version of Street Fighter II that we would have access to at this time, but as an update, it just barely misses the mark of quality that SSFII had. With that being said though, it is still pretty good.

For starters, if you all remember back to SSFII, one of the biggest complaints that that update has was when it reverted the game back to the fighting speed of the original SFII and the Champion Edition. Yes, it still SFII at its core, and it was still fun to play, but people had gotten so used to the increased fighting speed that SFII Turbo gave them, that this change made it seem like a bit of a downgrade. So, not only did we get the Turbo speed back for this game, but we also got so much more. Now, the fighting speed of the game was completely customizable, with four different options available to switch between, allowing the player to be able to set up their optimal SFII experience. It isn’t that much to write home about, but the fact that players are given an option to do this is pretty admirable for the devs to include.

Secondly, of course, we have the updates to the game itself. The intro was changed up to where you could see bits of fights interspersed with Ryu throwing a hadoken at you, which is pretty neat, new animations were made for a lot of the characters, and the HUD for the fights had gotten an updated look. Out of all the changes though, the biggest definitely had to be with the Super Meter, where while fighting, you can build up this meter all the way, and when it was full, you could unleash a devastating combo which could turn the tide of a match in seconds, deciding who the true winner will be. Of course, this wasn’t the first instance of a fighting game having a super meter or super moves of any kind, but naturally, this game would be the one to coin the terms and popularize them in the first place, to where they would be featured in MANY different fighting games all the way to this day. Not to mention, they are incredibly satisfying to pull off, even if I do have trouble getting it to work because I suck.

Disregarding all that though, without a doubt, the biggest change made in the entire game would be with the addition of one final new character, Akuma, and for those of you who have played this version of SFII, then you know that he is the best character in the game. Not only does he have an awesome design, looking incredibly menacing and tough to take on, but he is also extremely powerful, being faster and stronger than every character in the game, to the point where he is banned from being used in official tournaments of the game, which is quite an honor, if you ask me. Unfortunately though, he is a secret character, meaning that in order to actually play as him in this version, you have to input a series of commands at the character select screen before choosing your character… which I never figured out how to properly do, because again, I suck. But hey, even if you can’t play as him, you can fight him for yourself if you reach the final fight of the game without losing a single match, so good luck with that, and have fun getting your ass kicked.

If I were to compare this to the other versions of SFII that we had gotten before this, I would say that this one is probably the second best out of the bunch. Sure, it didn’t off too many new changes to the formula as a whole, and at this point, this game was so over bloated that fans were probably begging for something new to jump into at some point, but it did introduce plenty of changes that would not only become a staple of the Street Fighter series, but also with the fighting genre as a whole once again, such as with the introduction of secret characters. Not to mention, despite being almost 30 years old, this version of Street Fighter II has managed to retain an active competitive scene, with tournaments often being held to this very day. That is pretty damn impressive, and it just goes to show how strong the longevity of this game really is at the end of the day.

Overall, despite not introducing as much content as SSFII, this is still the best version of SFII that had been released at this point in the game’s history, bringing about new changes that would become series staples, as well as still being a blast to play, whether competitively, or even just for having fun with your friends. I would definitely recommend it for those of you who enjoyed the previous versions of the game, or for those who are just fans of fighting games in general, because despite not being the absolute best version of the game we would end up getting, it still manages to hold a legacy that not much else could truly match. But anyways, now that we got this version out of the way, I am happy to say that I am FREE! I no longer have to cover any more versions of this game!........... at least for now anyway, but I don’t care, I will rejoice anyway!

Update #6

Nearly flawless. The first of the home ports of the brilliant one-on-one fighter. First impressions are really high, but dig a little and you'll see a few questionable bumps. While the sprites are reproduced faithfully from their arcade counterparts, there appears to be a few missing frames of animation, as well as the more obvious lack of parallax. While controls are incredibly responsive, there are some nasty loading issues during play, which is unforgivable. The remixed music is nice though, and perhaps the biggest draw.

Simplesmente o jogo que mudou tudo, foi paixão a primeira vista, além de que me fez encher o saco dos meus pais para comprar meu primeiro console(snes) em 1995, já que eles não gostavam da ideia de uma criança de 5 anos frequentar arcades onde as pessoas bebiam e fumavam dentro do estabelecimento(spoiler: não adiantou, segui os passos deles).

Quando finalmente consegui o console, acorda todos os dias de manhã e ficava tentando executar os especiais(hadouken, shoryuken e outros infinitos golpes).

Hoje com um conhecimento mais aprofundado em jogos de luta consigo ainda sentir uma coisa "mágica" relacionada a esse jogo e entender a magnitude do mesmo, influenciando não só jogadores, mas também a cultura pop, além do quanto revolucionário em questão de gameplay ele foi pra sua época.

10/10

The definitive version. This game has everything you might want from a Street Fighter II game.
Despite the age, this is the Street Fighter II that remains relevant to this day, still being played casually and in tournaments.

The Street Fighter game that added Supers, thus changing fighting games forever (AoF did it first but it wasn't popular).
Akuma/Gouki was added as a secret new character. Also, added an option to choose older versions of every character.

New moves, new colors, balance changes. The Street Fighter II GOAT.

(I'll review this version and not the 4 thousand re-releases it got before this one)

This is really fun to play with a friend casually, the Arcade can suck my balls though. Huge upgrade from every version that came before it in many ways. From graphics, extra moves and added characters. But the solo Arcade mode is the cheapest most difficult shit I've ever had the displeasure to play in a fighting game ever. There's literal tons evidence that this game cheats by reading your inputs and countering frame 1. Also hilarious that there's a glitch that scales the difficulty to max even if you drop it to the lowest level. It's so insane lmfao