Street Fighter II

"The classic fighting game stepping stone to the cash cow legacy!"

Capcom has always been known for it’s awesome fighting games, and even though the series has taken on several different forms, twists and overhauls, there is nothing like returning back to the old days of old school fighting. Doing so on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, you are transported into a world where fighting is your only way out and the choice of characters, although nothing like what we have now, is limited to your particular style! Take Ryu, Ken, E. Honda, Chun Li and several others on during the one on one battles to face off against the evil M. Bison and meet your destiny as the worlds greatest Street Fighter! What the game offers you, is some truly old school fighting without all of the Super Moves, custom combinations while keeping and retaining the original idea of the Street Fighter universe to the simplicity that the series was meant to be. If you can find a copy, this would make the first of three Street Fighter games on the SNES, and worthy of extending out your SNES library.

Featuring the tried and true Street Fighter system of special moves and combinations ranging from simple to insane, Street Fighter did right in all the aspects that made the series such a hit! Featuring twelve playable characters across several locations all over the world, the story remained the same, in which you took control of a fighter and fought your way through a succession of one on one battles in a best two out of three situation. Veterans of the series will find a familiar comfort in playing this version, with all of the characters that were available in the arcade Street Fighter 2! Combinations and special moves as well as the different combos are recreated for your pleasure and for the most part, can easily be learned with just a few minutes on the new control interface.

Different game modes include your standard Arcade Mode in which you follow a story line through the many battles, and the ever present Vs. Mode that allows you to go head to head with a friend! Now, you only have eight characters to choose from, and you’ll find that if you’re really not into the lack of choices, that the game really doesn’t have too much to offer you, other than the nostalgic feeling of the original Street Fighter 2. The challenge that you’ll find within the game is simply limited to your ability to learn just what every character is capable of, and if you’re a veteran of the series, then this game is more or less a refresher course in the Street Fighter series!

If you have the use of a Super Advantage, then you’ll find that the control setup can be made to give you a true to arcade feel with the three and three strength combinations. Otherwise, you’ll be left with the regular interface of the SNES controller and you may find that using all of the punches and kicks through this is harder to do than necessary. If you do have the Super Advantage, then you'll find that the control interface can be set up rather easily, although some of the combinations and more difficult special moves will require you to do plenty of practicing. Some of the harder moves will be the charge moves, as the directional pad is still a little stiff, and in the middle of a heavy combo, can be slightly unresponsive!

The visuals that you find here in Street Fighter 2 are directly ported over from the original in the arcade, and you’ll find that there are hardly any frames of animation that are left out. What you’ll find though, is that this version of the game doesn’t have the speed that the Hyper Fighting version does, so everything looks and moves in a slightly slow motion effect! The characters themselves are wonderfully drawn and faithfully reproduced from the throwing of Ken’s fireball to Guile’s sonic boom. The combinations that you may throw off do not include the Super Moves this time around, and although you may be looking at a game that is relatively dated, this is where the rest of the series really took its current look from. Once you’re into the game and you’ve found your way through the different characters, you’ll find that the game doesn’t miss a step and there are no instances of image break up or even game slow down.

All of your favorite tunes are back, and they keep the pace and speed of the game at full throttle. Every stage has had its music reproduced and ported over for a truly immersing experience. Most of the stages, such as Ken’s water stage have some of the most toe tapping, memorable music that you’ll find in any of the Street Fighter games. If you’re really into the nostalgic audio that can be found in different video games, you’ll find that the same theme and mood that was injected into the arcade version is placed back in this one as well. The sound effects are your standard Street Fighter fare, with special moves being yelled out in some cases, and the yells, grunts, groans and screams of someone getting their virtual ass whipped all blends together for a pretty decent sounding audio track!

Street Fighter 2 is one of those fighting games that continues to transcend time and never gives up the theme of all out battle. Even though the game series has taken about fifteen different turns and made several different sequels that have spanned several different systems, you’ll find that this version of Street Fighter is about as close to the old school gaming as you’re going to get! With the familiar control, the original cast of characters and several improvements that were made in the later Street Fighter games, you’ll find that the first stepping stone of the SNES Street Fighter games started here and did nothing but went up from this point.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/27/01, Updated 12/27/01