Street Fighter II Turbo

"the game atop the 2-D fighting genre..."

What does it say that I personally believe that this game, well, is the best 2d fighter there has ever been. It is from the series that really kicked everything off, Street Fighter, and yet even this game took that series a step further, into greatness. While SFII always was incredible for the fact that it revolutionized the fighting genre and brought its incredibly addicting style of play to America at large, it always lacked a little something, and even a little bit of challenge. Well, as soon as you turn this game on and turn the stars up just a little, say, to 5, you will learn what a real challenge can be. Then, using a certain cheat, turn it up again to the real max, 10 stars, and watch the fun begin.

Any schmuck could play SFII after a while, especially if they learned that everything revolved around the semi-circle, but as soon as you introduced Turbo, the game took off, as did the competition. Not only testing your reflexes any more, but also how FAST you could think of a way to defeat your opponent, and then measuring how quickly you could adapt when they realized what you were doing, SFII: Turbo was, and is, my favorite fighter... ever.

Gameplay: 10/10 Building on top of the already revolutionary Street Fighter 2 engine, this game just took everything a step further. As soon as you could adjust the speed of the battles, everything changed, and for the better. You could literally train your skills, and hone them, to a level never imagined before. Possibly the most amazing aspect of this, though, was the fact that the hardware kept up with the gameplay, seamlessly and smoothly, and never hinted that it was stressed in the slightest. Every action seemed quick, and most importantly, responsive. This was one of the best features of the original game, but when everything was accelerated as this game did, it was nothing short of phenomenal how well the entire game handled. The only real challenge was to actually adjust to the increased speeds of everything, but it all works, and I will now play nothing less. Also, do not forget that this game allowed you to play as not only all the original characters, but also all of the bosses, as well as to double up on characters, a trait never seen before in the SF series. All this thrown together made this game just incredibly addictive, and outrageously fun, despite the fact that oh so many people got incredibly competitive... or was that another good thing, hehe.

Graphics: 9/10 Again, just wow. If you thought the fluidity of the graphics on the original SFII were good then you obviously haven’t played this game yet. Not only did this game smooth everything out, but it also did a little graphical overhaul. From taking the character models and cleaning them up, or retouching them slightly, to making the backgrounds even more detailed and enthralling, this game was a step before its predecessor, and again, it did all this at a much faster pace. It is just incredible how well the game performed, and how good it all looked the whole while. This game has without a doubt some of the best animation for a 16-bit fighting game, only surpassed slightly by the later, yet slower, Super Street Fighter II. What does it say that I still prefer this game? Interpret as you will...

Sound: 9/10 How many gamers can honestly say that they have never heard the famous utterances of any of the SFII characters? Well, this game follows in that fine line and even redoes a few. The (in)famous lines of every character are here, and flawlessly delivered, from the “Ooooh Aaahhhhs” of a knockout to the “Tiger Knee!” that catches you under your chin, or even the “Yoga Fire” which, I am convinced, will never ever connect with anyone. Heh. In fact, the game has even gone so far as to update a few of the background tracks, which by now everyone can probably hum along with, and even make them sound a bit less outdated. Still, the sounds of this game are excellent, and nothing less was expected.

Overall: 9/10 What further proof would you like that this game is outstanding? If it would help, I might even consider standing outside and yelling at you if that would help... But really, this game is just beyond compare. The idea for Turbo was based on the amazing, and incredibly solid idea of the original Street Fighter II, but it added an extra dimension, and that just catapulted this game to greatness. I know of no other way to say it. True, this game does not have the graphical beauty of some of the later installments, like SFIII or even Super SFII, but it is so much improved over the original that it isn’t even funny. This game takes the original concept of a great game and makes it even better, when few thought it possible. But enough praise, since this game is not perfect... Heh, who am I kidding? This game is about as close as you will find in ANY 2d fighter. I am sorry, but this game is so far beyond great that I will just leave you with one thought: if this game were re-released, no matter what system it was for, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I am utterly in love with it, from its simple and responsive controls to the wonderful and lightning-quick timings required to master a character. Get this game now if you don’t already have it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/15/01, Updated 10/15/01