"I'm in the middle of a chain reaction..."

Once upon a time, Street Fighter revolutionized the gaming world. Its beginnings were humble: two palette-swapped characters with only a couple of moves, beating down generic martial artists that supposedly represented different countries. It sucked. Badly. Its sequel, on the other hand, laid the foundation for everything the fighting genre would become. A selection of different warriors, with incredibly varied move sets and abilities. Pressing buttons and directional pads in a specific order to unleash special attacks and set up combos. Learning basic strategies and adapting them to your playing style. The thrill of challenging a fellow gamer in direct competition, in which only the most skilled could possibly survive. It was a simple, but it was good…and it kept getting better. Each version built upon its predecessor; additional characters, faster animations, new moves, finer-tuned controls, and more refined strategies. It spawned so many updates, sequels, movies, and merchandise that only the most dedicated of fans could keep up. Eventually, Capcom decided that Street Fighter shouldn't be constrained by the limitations of its original genre.

It wasn't just a question of what to do next, but how. They started off with something typical of any fighting game franchise: a crossover with another series. The roster in looks like something out of a Capcom VS title: Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and Chun Li from Street Fighter II, Dan Hibiki and Sakura from Alpha, Morrigan and Felicia from Darkstalkers, and Donovan and Hsien-Ko from Night Warriors. Aside from an unlockable Devilot a la Cyberbots, the rest of cast looks like the typical lineup for anyone moderately familiar with the various series. At a glance, you wouldn't think the lineup is particularly impressive; three of the characters are basically clones of each other, and the Alpha and Darkstalkers series could have used a bit more representation. The lack of diversity is a nasty flaw…

At least, if this were a fighting game.

Not content with doing just another crossover, Capcom figured out a way to feature their characters without having them battle each other. Oh sure, they're all there - Ryu and Ken still trade Hadokens and Shorykens in the middle of the screen - but they‘re hardly relevant. It doesn't really matter who you choose; there won't be any fancy inputs and playing styles to learn. All you've got to do is line up the blocks that'll fall from above. If you group them together by color (there are four total), they're mold together into larger blocks, lines, and whatever structures you'll unintentionally create. A glowing orb will occasionally drop down; attach it to whatever color it matches, and it'll destroy every block in the link. There's also a rare crystal that destroys every block of a certain color - regardless if it's connected - which is a godsend when you're about to run out of space. With the blocks gone, more room is left onscreen, new links and orbs can connect, and additional chain reactions might be triggered. The bigger links you destroy, the more damage you'll inflict on your enemy. Small links might only give a taunt, while a half-screen sized chunk of blocks could set off a supermove.

It's all for show, though. You're not whittling down a lifebar like you would in a fighting game. Instead, both you and your opponent are dropping extra blocks into each others' screens. These serve as obstacles; they only turn into their given colors after a set number of turns, which means they're cramming up the screen, utterly useless, as you desperately try to figure out how to get rid of them. Since you know which colors will eventually show up, you can drop the corresponding blocks and orbs to set up another. The problem is timing; if you focus too much of your effort into setting up a large attack, you'll quickly find yourself having to deal with a screen full of obstacles. The computer will have no trouble sending whole walls of extra blocks to crush your best-laid plans. It's a brilliant twist on the combat mechanics of fighting games; do you take the time to play defensively and unleash a more powerful move, or do you do something quick and weak for an easy escape? The trick is learning how to plan the links in advance; depending on where you place everything, it's possible to set off lengthy combos and turn the match in your favor.

That doesn't mean you'll always win. The AI in this game is good. If you're not paying attention, the computer will kick your ass even on the normal settings. Not to mention the stunning combos and tricks you'll see on the Hard and Master Arcade modes. Be prepared to lose and retry often. It's worth the effort, though. If you endure the Street Puzzle challenges, you'll be able to access dozens of unlockables and extras. Alternate costume colors, concept art, different win icons, and brief cut scenes make up most of it. There's also an extensive audio menu; sound effects, voice acting demos, and character music themes make for a great selection. There's even a revamped version of Sakura's theme, complete with Japanese vocals. The sheer amount of stuff Capcom managed to cram into this tiny cart is impressive.

It's not perfect, though. The GBA doesn't have the capability to handle this level of audio quality, and it shows. That Sakura theme with the Japanese vocals would be great, had everything not seemed scratchy and garbled. That goes for all the voice acting, too; given the amount of times the characters call out their attacks, it's probably better to keep the volume low. The songs are recognizable remixes of older tunes (Ken's theme is particularly awesome) but they're nowhere near as good as the stuff you'd find on a console. The graphics aren't exactly top-notch either. Aside from the bland color scheme for the blocks, the characters are drawn as cartoonish, super-deformed sprites. It might take you a few seconds of squinting to recognize the fighters; Devilot looks like a blob of white and monstrous blue eyes, and Felicia's face is horribly oversized. The animations are choppy and lack detail. When there are a lot of things happening on onscreen, the game tends to slow down and leave the sprites in the agonized throes of whatever attack they're currently enduring. Those animations might be little more than an afterthought compared to the puzzles, but they still could have been done better.

That doesn't make this a bad game. Far from it. If anything, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo is one of the best puzzle games on the GBA. Its formula is simple, but it's incredibly addictive. Rather than having you throw punches with button inputs, you just have to arrange blocks in certain ways, set off chain reactions, and watch your cleverly-designed plans utterly annihilate the opposition. The trick is learning how to balance timing and placement; can you afford to take the time to set up some epic combo, or do you go for something quick and easy? If you're good at puzzle games, you'll have no trouble figuring it out. But if you're not careful, this game will devour you in no time. But if you take the time and effort, you'll be rewarded with an impressive amount of content. This was Capcom's attempt to take their best series beyond the limits of its genre, and they definitely succeeded.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/10

Game Release: Super Puzzle Fighter II (US, 03/31/03)