Street Fighter II Turbo

"Still on top of it's game"

Well this is my first review so bare with me. To start things off let me just say that besides the turbo feature & four playable bosses, this is just SF2 all over again. But that's not exactly a bad thing either as it was one of the best 2d fighter's in it's genre. I remember when a lot of people purchased the snes just to get the SS2 game alone. That's how popular it was. & the snes version of this game looked & played just as well as it's arcade counterparts despite a couple minor control issues.Now let's get down to business shall we.

Graphics: 10/10

The sprites in this game were done pretty well. In some stages(ala Chun Li) You'll notice that the backgrounds are very lifelike & detailed. You can still see the rotisserie chicken moving through the storefront window in the Chun Li stage lol. The characters look pretty good as well. Some of the best looking characters seen in a 2d fighter during it's day.

Sound: 10/10

I still say that capcom had the best videogame music soundtracks back in the day. My favorites are Ken's, Balrog's, Vega's & the opening theme. The character voices are crisp & clear(unlike the genesis versions which sound muffled).

Controls: 8/10

Now here's where the game slacks up a little bit. Pulling off specials are a hit & miss type affair on the snes controller. Especially if your playing on the max turbo setting & you need to pull off that one move at the precise time. Waaaay too many times have I lost rounds due to not being able to pull off a certain move at the right time, leaving me somewhat vulnerable for my opponent to just home in on me with devastating attacks. The dragon punch is incredibly difficult to pull off imo. But other than that the controls are pretty solid.

Overall Enjoyment: 9/10

This game can be endless fun with a friend to play around with. Playing against the cheap AI can prove to be very frustrating at times(trust me, I've broken quite a few controllers playing this game lol). Overall, if you enjoy 2d fighters then you'll definitely appreciate this true classic for what it is.

Lasting Appeal: 10/10

I believe each character you beat the game with has a different ending. & with 12 characters to choose from your in for a lot of playing time if that's your aim. Otherwise this will be a good game to keep around just to show the youngster's of this day & age what fighters were like back in the day, or just to have an old classic around to pull out & reminisce on the memories.

Bottom Line:8/10

Though not a huge upgrade over it's prequel, SS2turbo is definitely one for the ages. If you happen to find this gold mine somewhere at a reasonable price, I'd say go for it. Your best bet would be on ebay. So if you already own SS2, then I'd say get this one just for the turbo feature & the use of the four bosses.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/30/04