LogFAQs > #934424265

#44. Street Fighter II (Every Version)


I combined every version of Street Fighter II here for obvious reasons. I know they have different mechanics and movesets (Super Turbo especially, which basically laid the foundation for the series gameplay going forward), but I enjoyed watching the gameplay evolve through the various upgrades, although I havent played any of the more recent versions like Ultra or the HD Remix. I know people got frustrated that they kept releasing so many versions, but I think they were all worthwhile in their own ways and I enjoyed the time I had with all of them. The funny thing is that Capcom sort of stumbled into good fortune with the original Street Fighter II because they didnt deliberately program combos into the game, but players eventually discovered them and completely changed fighting games forever. Its actually kind of a glitchy mess and borderline unplayable after they released the future versions, but its impact is undeniable. Thats why I thought Super Mario RPG > Street Fighter II was an obvious pick in 2004 because why would you vote for the original game when the upgraded versions were so much better!

Now everyone has their favorite Street Fighter II version. I think most people go with Turbo or Super Turbo for the speed, but I was never a fan of the top end speed those games provided. It was a bit TOO fast for me as a little kid. I could probably handle it now, but my reflexes back then couldnt adjust to it. Im also not a fan of Super Turbo either because I think future Street Fighter games just do what it does better, but I absolutely respect the changes it made because it helped make the series what it is now. My personal favorite was Super Street Fighter II because of the four new fighters it added (Cammy especially), and this is where a lot of characters gained signature moves and/or move properties that theyve kept in the series ever since. Most characters gained at least one new move, and this is where Ryu and Ken really started being their own characters instead of clones. Ryu gained the flaming Hadouken and Ken gained the flaming Shoryuken, among other things. I could give a lot more technical details, but I dont really have the space for it!

One of the strange things about Street Fighter II is that Capcom has never definitively stated who canonically won the tournament. I think most assume that either Chun-Li (based on some things Urien says about her in Street Fighter III) or Guile won, but theres no clear answer. However, one thing they have said it that Ryu didnt win it, and the thing in Super Turbo where Akuma dashes in and hits Bison with the Raging Demon did happen. Speaking of Akuma, you can unlock him with a code in Super Turbo and hes incredibly broken because that game wasnt designed to handle air fireballs. Anyway, the point is that Street Fighter canon is weird sometimes. Street Fighter II is still probably the most popular iteration of the series, and we dont even know how it actually played out canonically. Also, the picture I posted at the top there is probably the first comic I ever read. It was an 8-issue mini-series that covered the Street Fighter II tournament, and it was really cool. I think it's part of what cemented Ryu as my favorite character in the series because he's super cool throughout the whole thing. The Street Fighter II anime even borrowed a few story beats from it, too, like brainwashed Ken! I bought the whole series off of Amazon a few years back to re-read it, and it holds up if you're interested in checking it out!

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http://i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/080/145/638.png
https://imgur.com/WqDcNNq