If you've ever wondered what it takes for a game to become a sport, the answer you were looking for was Street Fighter II.
Video games had been competitive since they day they were born. Literally Space War is a one-on-one PVP multiplayer game. Pong is based on (stolen from) the Magnavox Odyssey's Table Tennis, which is based directly on an existing competitive sport. Arcades were leaderboard galleries, and almost every game in them revolved around the comparing of scores, and yet Street Fighter II was able to change everything.
Before Street Fighter II, if it was deep it was about scoremongering, and if it was actually about two people in direct, contemporaneous competition, it was a shallow thing that one or both contestants could master in no time at all.
Street Fighter II is a game that you and a friend could play every day for months on end and still develop new and interesting techniques. It was something you could study, and your rivals would constantly redefine what mastery means. Even with its many rereleases shifting its meta and smoothing over its cracks, the original release of SF2 is solid enough to remain unbroken, even in current year. It is a genre's bedrock, even if it's not so terribly exciting anymore in this world so populated by its progeny.
Video games had been competitive since they day they were born. Literally Space War is a one-on-one PVP multiplayer game. Pong is based on (stolen from) the Magnavox Odyssey's Table Tennis, which is based directly on an existing competitive sport. Arcades were leaderboard galleries, and almost every game in them revolved around the comparing of scores, and yet Street Fighter II was able to change everything.
Before Street Fighter II, if it was deep it was about scoremongering, and if it was actually about two people in direct, contemporaneous competition, it was a shallow thing that one or both contestants could master in no time at all.
Street Fighter II is a game that you and a friend could play every day for months on end and still develop new and interesting techniques. It was something you could study, and your rivals would constantly redefine what mastery means. Even with its many rereleases shifting its meta and smoothing over its cracks, the original release of SF2 is solid enough to remain unbroken, even in current year. It is a genre's bedrock, even if it's not so terribly exciting anymore in this world so populated by its progeny.
Das erste Fighting Game, das ich gespielt habe. Nicht sehr oft, da es nur ein Freund fürs SNES hatte, aber es hat einen bleibenden Eindruck hinterlassen.
Natürlich haben wir uns nur Buttonmash Duelle geliefert, aber es war wahrscheinlich nach Super Mario Kart eine meiner ersten PvP Erfahrungen überhaupt.
Natürlich haben wir uns nur Buttonmash Duelle geliefert, aber es war wahrscheinlich nach Super Mario Kart eine meiner ersten PvP Erfahrungen überhaupt.
Gave this a quick runthrough in the SF6 Battlehub and it was definitely nostalgic but I'd clearly forgotten how rudimentary it is compared to modern games (it's over 30 years old at this point so par for the course) but still had some fun. Later editions are the way to go but sometimes it's nice to go back to the source.
The coolest moves, the dopest OST, the most iconic roster, arguably the most competitive multiplayer scene... it all started here. Street Fighter II is an all-time classic that will never truly feel outdated no matter which version you're playing, and there's no doubt video games wouldn't be as good as they are today without its influence.
Going back to play Street Fighter II after being properly introduced to the franchise in Street Fighter 6 made it far more palatable for me.
Growing up I didn’t ‘get’ the gameplay. Street Fighter II always felt clunky and slow compared to -try not to laugh- Mortal Kombat. Later Capcom fighting games had the opposite problem for me, where I found it difficult to tell what was going on especially in games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 where the screen is constantly filled with characters and flashy effects.
But I get it now. The jump in quality from the first title is stunning, although it still sputters and chugs any time anything happens. It’s a bit primitive and the AI can be frustrating, which is common for games in this era. Having just dipped my toe into the Alpha series and Third Strike, I can’t say I’m going to be revisiting this entry all that often; from what I’ve played it’s even overshadowed by Super Street Fighter II Turbo. More on those games later.
Still, it’s insane that characters’ designs, special moves, and even normal attacks were so distinctive and iconic that they’ve remained fairly consistent 30+ years down the line. It’s a ludicrously innovative title, even if Vega can suck my dick. Boo Vega. L Vega not good. Almost filtered me fr
Growing up I didn’t ‘get’ the gameplay. Street Fighter II always felt clunky and slow compared to -try not to laugh- Mortal Kombat. Later Capcom fighting games had the opposite problem for me, where I found it difficult to tell what was going on especially in games like Marvel vs Capcom 2 where the screen is constantly filled with characters and flashy effects.
But I get it now. The jump in quality from the first title is stunning, although it still sputters and chugs any time anything happens. It’s a bit primitive and the AI can be frustrating, which is common for games in this era. Having just dipped my toe into the Alpha series and Third Strike, I can’t say I’m going to be revisiting this entry all that often; from what I’ve played it’s even overshadowed by Super Street Fighter II Turbo. More on those games later.
Still, it’s insane that characters’ designs, special moves, and even normal attacks were so distinctive and iconic that they’ve remained fairly consistent 30+ years down the line. It’s a ludicrously innovative title, even if Vega can suck my dick. Boo Vega. L Vega not good. Almost filtered me fr