STREET FIGHTER II - 25 YEARS! (Anniversary)

[Otaking]

Street Fighter 2 Arcade game 25 year Anniversary worldwide release 1991 Feb 14th.

If I had to pick one game that summed up that whole time and era this would be it. Such an incredible game, such awesome memories.

[GaijinD]

The first time I encountered SFII was at a restaurant on Cape Cod. I picked Ryu and got destroyed by CPU Dhalsim because I had no idea what I was doing. The series was a big influence on my taste in gaming and I still try to keep up on fighters; I'm not sure I'd still be as into video games today if I hadn't obsessed over SFII in the early '90s.

[Enternal]

I'm still debating about picking up part V or waiting for it to hit 20-30. There was a time where I wouldn't be able to sleep at night waiting for a release of street fighter. For super street fighter 2 on SNES I didn't eat lunch for 2 weeks at school so I could buy the game from a friend.


I got to the point where I beat the #2 guy at one of the EVO/Pre Evo tournaments fairly easy. Problem is the game became a big time sink, I'd spend all my time playing to stay at a good competition level. Then certain guys I would finish wouldn't stop wanting a rematch. Other vs competitive games are probably the same.

I'd like if there was just a casual vs mode online where it wouldn't keep records etc.

[marktheshark]

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't played too much of this game aside from one of the Super NES ports. How good are the SF2 ports on the 1st Capcom Classics Collection?

[Otaking]

I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't played too much of this game aside from one of the Super NES ports.

That's what I played mostly, the Super Famicom port right from when it was released in Japan. It's basically the same game as the arcade, very minor differences.

[SignOfZeta]

Along with Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, R-Type, Tron, and Suoer Mario Bros, one of the greatest games ever made. Honestly, there haven't been many "greatest" since, if any.

[esteban]

For folks who are curious (I would love any corrections/suggestions):

PCE LAUNCH OF SFII'

https://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_07.htm

[CrackTiger]

For folks who are curious (I would love any corrections/suggestions):

PCE LAUNCH OF SFII'

https://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_07.htm

Pure gold.

I have nothing to add.

[Digi.k]

For folks who are curious (I would love any corrections/suggestions):

PCE LAUNCH OF SFII'

https://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_07.htm

NEC'S STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS...

(D) PCE-exclusive SFII' FAN BOOK + Chun-Li Mini-Comic (by Akira Yamashita). The SFII' FAN BOOK fit comfortably inside SFII's double jewel case (there was no need for this jumbo-sized case, but, again, from a marketing perspective, it emphasized SFII's unique status as the first and only 20Mb HuCARD...also, if you are paying ¥9,800 for a HuCARD title, you want to at least feel as if you are getting your money's worth);

Just want to point out that the previous year konami released parodius DA! one of the first 8mbit hucard also for 9800 yen.  20mbits for 9800 is pretty cheap!  I think most snes games of that era also costed about the same price and probably had less bits in their carts.

Still butt hurt NEC didn't follow it up with a Super Street Fighter II X port for the pc engine and an even greater hucard size >__>

[TheClash603]

When my family made me go camping in my youth, the campground arcade was the savior of the experience.  I would go camp site to camp site collecting beer cans and then play this game until I needed to get more cans.  My E Honda skills were legendary amongst the camp kids.

[esteban]

For folks who are curious (I would love any corrections/suggestions):

PCE LAUNCH OF SFII'

https://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_07.htm

NEC'S STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS...

(D) PCE-exclusive SFII' FAN BOOK + Chun-Li Mini-Comic (by Akira Yamashita). The SFII' FAN BOOK fit comfortably inside SFII's double jewel case (there was no need for this jumbo-sized case, but, again, from a marketing perspective, it emphasized SFII's unique status as the first and only 20Mb HuCARD...also, if you are paying ¥9,800 for a HuCARD title, you want to at least feel as if you are getting your money's worth);

Just want to point out that the previous year konami released parodius DA! one of the first 8mbit hucard also for 9800 yen.  20mbits for 9800 is pretty cheap!  I think most snes games of that era also costed about the same price and probably had less bits in their carts.

Still butt hurt NEC didn't follow it up with a Super Street Fighter II X port for the pc engine and an even greater hucard size >__>

Thanks for pointing that out!

I was trying to keep things relative to a "PCE consumer's" perspective, but I totally missed the super-expensive ¥9800 Parodius PCE release!

I should have known better:

https://archives.tg-16.com/Gekkan_PC_Engine_1993_04.htm#konami_powerhouse_of_1992

...but, to be honest, I didn't even realize that Parodius was more expensive than DRACULA X and SNATCHER!

Don't hesitate to share your thoughts again.

[xcrement5x]

When my family made me go camping in my youth, the campground arcade was the savior of the experience.  I would go camp site to camp site collecting beer cans and then play this game until I needed to get more cans.  My E Honda skills were legendary amongst the camp kids.

I was a boy scout and we did lots of camping trips, but there was only one that had an arcade, Eagle Cave.  Every year we went back I would always bring lots of quarters so I could play Dungeons & Dragons Mystaria or whatever it was all the time. 

[Psycho Punch]

beri hado gemu

[DragonmasterDan]

I first played it at Enchanted Castle in Lombard Illinois.

It took a little while for people to get how much more complex it was than earlier one on one fighters, but once magazines started covering special moves and combos, the game took off in popularity. It became THE reason people went to the arcade for well over a year until the SNES port came out.

[TR0N]

First time i played it was at a timeout arcade.There wasn't a huge crowd but enough people to play against.At first i didn't understand how to play it until i learned from another.Who would have thought the series would have lasted this long.Yeah i do have SFV preorder and i got in on the beta and i enjoyed it.Still 25 years damn now i feel really old at this point.

[Nazi NecroPhile]

I never got too excited about vs. fighters.  It didn't help that I sucked at such games (and still do), so I usually plunked my quarters in Tetris, pinball, Final Fight, or whatever else I could play for more than 60 seconds before being handed my ass.

[johnnykonami]

I never got too excited about vs. fighters.  It didn't help that I sucked at such games (and still do), so I usually plunked my quarters in Tetris, pinball, Final Fight, or whatever else I could play for more than 60 seconds before being handed my ass.

I'm with you, I liked checking out anything when it was new (including many fighting games) but the problem with those is some kid could just come over and interrupt your vs. CPU game, proceed to beat your ass, and take over the machine.  So I didn't dare play them in busy arcades, and I definitely didn't have the scratch to "git gud."  Up until this point games were usually co-op or take turns.  Of course you could put in more money and challenge again, but I didn't usually.  Way more money spent in Block Out, Cadash, Knights of the Round, Galaga, and other great machines.

[TheClash603]

Who is picking up SFV tomorrow?

I have to give it a shot, I didn't play the beta at all which a had some mixed reviews.

[TR0N]

Who is picking up SFV tomorrow?

I have to give it a shot, I didn't play the beta at all which a had some mixed reviews.

I'll be getting a copy from amazon problaby a few days before it get's here.

[deubeul]

The first time I saw the SF2 cabinet  was on a ferry boat between France and England. I was shocked.

Second time I saw the SF2 cabinet was later the same day, in the Arcades of the town I spent 1 month attending english summer school. I went crazy . As I spent all the money my parents gave me for the journey on the first day for an Atari Lynx, I spent the entire month searching for 2p coins felt in coins pushers so I could play a credit each time I reched 20p 

25 years already! 

[Otaking]

The first time I saw the SF2 cabinet  was on a ferry boat between France and England. I was shocked.

I remember the little arcades on the ferries between England and France.
Back then (beginning of the 90s) I used to regularly take the ferry between Newhaven and Dieppe to visit my Grandmother in France.
I distinctly remember on one trip for some reason all the acade games on the ferry were all set to freeplay, I finished Street Fighter (1) and I think Operation Wolf (the cabinet with the uzi gun).

[TheClash603]

Who is picking up SFV tomorrow?

I have to give it a shot, I didn't play the beta at all which a had some mixed reviews.

I'll be getting a copy from amazon problaby a few days before it get's here.

I just received Amazon notification that due to weather, my copy will be a day late.  Getting a foot of snow today sucked.

[csgx1]

Wow, 25 years already?  SFII is easily my most played and most memorable game of that era.  Used to play the console ports (unfortunately no PCE then) all day/night with a bunch of friends.  Also a lot of crazy arcade memories of huge crowd of friends and foes hovering around a single cabinet.  Countless quarters lined up on the monitor bezel to keep track of the next challenger. 

There was always arguments due to claims of cheating when using couching short kick and throw type techniques.  I remember one instance a huge brawl ensued because of someone using cheap tactics.  The cops had to break it up and kicked out everyone at the doughnut shop.  Someone got arrested, one friend ended up with a busted nose and another friend hurt his hand when he punched someone. 

Real life fighting because of a fighting video game. Seems crazy in retrospect. Shows just how influential Street Fighter II was back then.

[Duo_R]

Explains why SF V was just released. From feedback sounds like it really is a Beta release as the story mode isn't really included (coming later in June). So it is mainly an online game, but the netcode is garbage. Now I'm debating picking this up. We might be better of player SF II' until Capcop gets it together.

[TR0N]

Explains why SF V was just released. From feedback sounds like it really is a Beta release as the story mode isn't really included (coming later in June). So it is mainly an online game, but the netcode is garbage. Now I'm debating picking this up. We might be better of player SF II' until Capcop gets it together.

From what i've heard it's best to wait this one out.Until all of the dlc and updates are out.

[Duo_R]

My multiple copies of SF IV agrees with you

[ginoscope]

My multiple copies of SF IV agrees with you

My brother and a bunch of friends were all rushing to get this yesterday.  I refused since I figured it would be pretty incomplete and I was right as they have been complaining about it since they got it.

I remember my brother and I being one of the first in our area to get the snes version for a cool $75 in 1992 money.  Was 15 at the time so had to mow some serious lawns and convince the old man to put up the rest.  All the neighborhood kids would come over to play it.  Was cool at first but then got real annoying when door bell rang early.

Good memories that are lost from only online playing of these type of games.  Never really got into the vs fighter after that first SF game but it was a genre defining game.

[datbuta]

wow i heard that SFV for the pc is really bad... not enough compatibility for controllers and such... everyone is complaining on steam.

[RyuHayabusa]

Back when SF2 came out I used to go to Aladdin's Castle and practice. After a while I got pretty damn good and used to take over the machine anywhere I went. Nothing like beating everyone's ass until they'd had enough and the crowd was gone. I remember being threatened by some big dude because I kept throwing his ass with Chun Li, saying he was going to throw me out of the mall. I was like 14 but I just kept beating his ass anyway, lol.

[geise]

Lol.  I've seen so many real fights break out because of this game.  So much fun.

[HuMan]

If it's wrong to be more excited for Street Fighter II on Virtual Boy than SFV, then I don't want to be right.

[o.pwuaioc]

My multiple copies of SF IV agrees with you

I mean, when has it not always been that way? I know it's blasphemy around these parts, but Super and Turbo on the SNES are all I need. Well, except for the arcade version. An arcade down the street actually has the rainbow edition.

[SignOfZeta]

I never got too excited about vs. fighters.  It didn't help that I sucked at such games (and still do), so I usually plunked my quarters in Tetris, pinball, Final Fight, or whatever else I could play for more than 60 seconds before being handed my ass.

I'm with you, I liked checking out anything when it was new (including many fighting games) but the problem with those is some kid could just come over and interrupt your vs. CPU game, proceed to beat your ass, and take over the machine.  So I didn't dare play them in busy arcades, and I definitely didn't have the scratch to "git gud."  Up until this point games were usually co-op or take turns.  Of course you could put in more money and challenge again, but I didn't usually.  Way more money spent in Block Out, Cadash, Knights of the Round, Galaga, and other great machines.

Man, that is a piss poor loser attitude.

Back when SF2 came out I used to go to Aladdin's Castle and practice. After a while I got pretty damn good and used to take over the machine anywhere I went. Nothing like beating everyone's ass until they'd had enough and the crowd was gone. I remember being threatened by some big dude because I kept throwing his ass with Chun Li, saying he was going to throw me out of the mall. I was like 14 but I just kept beating his ass anyway, lol.

This guy gets it.

If you want to play games by yourself, stay home!

Oh, and before some pussy complains about this post, please fuck off in advance.

[johnnykonami]

Hey, plenty of (mostly, in fact) co-op fun was had in arcades, you seem to forget!  Not that I don't enjoy playing with myself at home. 

As for competitive stuff, I'd rather play for hi-scores in Galaga or for the best time in Quick & Crash.  But I am not here to piss on the SF2 fans parade, so go ahead and punch each other to your hearts content!

[TR0N]

Hey, plenty of (mostly, in fact) co-op fun was had in arcades, you seem to forget!  Not that I don't enjoy playing with myself at home. 

As for competitive stuff, I'd rather play for hi-scores in Galaga or for the best time in Quick & Crash.  But I am not here to piss on the SF2 fans parade, so go ahead and punch each other to your hearts content!

Going back to SF2 now seems more of a simpler fighter while modern fighters are more complex.By the way,every thing go's with the guile theme 

[Enternal]

I did end up getting the game with a gift card from Christmas.

As I mentioned early in the thread I've played Street Fighter II enough to have been at a high competition level before the distractions of having responsibilities, a job, life. I own a lot of copies of this game and its derivatives.

Street Fighter II SNES
Street Fighter II Turbo SNES
Super Street Fighter II SNES
Super Street Fighter II SNES/Famicom Variant
Street Fighter II Super Famicom

Street Fighter II Championship ED Sega Genesis
Super Street Fighter II Sega Genesis
Super Street Fighter II CPS 2 Board

Capcom Coin-OP Classics Series 1 PC
Capcom Classics Collection XBOX

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Xbox 360
Street Fighter Anniversary Collection

But talking about my history with the game and all the redundant copies I have doesn't really matter. Because Street Fighter II is a game that a whole generation of arcade rats and 16-bit junkies grew up playing. Although the series has been criticized for all its iterations, it has aged fairly well, and the main series has been solid since the original Street Fighter II. Nostalgia had me pull my visa gift card from a box of stuff that I got for Christmas and pre-order Street Fighter V Collectors's Edition off of from Amazon. With the prime discount knocking it down to 79.99 it was not much more than the 69.99 early copy of Street Fighter II that my mom bought me from Sears in 92. Unfortunately a delay would cause the game to arrive a few days late.

Amazon never said how long the delay would be, from reading different reports I was expecting a week or more, so when the game arrived on the 20th, I was pleasantly surprised. Because the shipping box was huge I was expecting the CE to be about the same size inside. However inside the Amazon box was a much smaller Capcom shipping box that said do not open before 2/16/2016. It would take me 3 box openings to get the game I was waiting to play and inside the last box was the top half of my friend Ryu looking back at me.



This was the guy I wanted to be when I grew up, I used to practice his fight moves out in the streets while walking home from the arcade. I would hit my friends with Hadokens in the swimming pool. And although I didn't grow up to be a karate master challenging people around the world. I do have the privilege of taking on other players all around the world online.

The game itself feels like street fighter. If you skipped III and IV the game will feel a little loose this is do in part from using the 3D models on a 2D plane, and having a more varied, flowing, move set. It will likely feel more familiar than not and overall feels like a solid framework for the 5th series. However outside of the characters and the play mechanics. The game feels very empty. Missing is an arcade mode, the store is inactive, and the story mode feels like something tossed together and incomplete. Going further, online play has been so shoddy that I decided to wait a few weeks to hop on after experiencing sluggish then super fast moves, teleporting, and dropped matches. The description of the release of Street Fighter V being a Beta is an accurate one.

I would say that this has left me feeling greatly disappointed but I've become somewhat tempered to playing incomplete and buggy games. This has become a trend for modern gaming. Fortunately there news that arcade mode is being looked into, the store is being added in march, and the kinks of online play should get sorted out. With the gameplay being solid, late adopters should have a respectful entry in the series to play. Us early adopters will just have to rough it out.

[Duo_R]

It needs some work but picked this up recently.

[TheClash603]

It needs some work but picked this up recently.

One of the only arcade games a person with a normal size house can reasonably own, due to the endless replayable nature.  Awesome!

[CrackTiger]

I had a cab exactly like that. It looks extra narrow and everything.

[seieienbu]

That artwork on the cab is 90s as hell.  It makes me want to grab my books, give myself a look, and then by the time I reach the corner see the bus fly by.

[NightWolve]

I remember how many times I used to pass up "Street Fighter II: Championship Edition" and dismissed it as an unappealing concept, "It's just 2 characters fighting in front of a background, lame..." I thought - I couldn't for the life of me understand others who were wanting to play it... Arcade games were meant to be racing, action, adventure, concepts like Double Dragon made more sense to me, or Rygar, as well as shooters, etc.

So after passing it up for so many times, but watching how others kept playing it when I went to play other games, I finally stopped resisting and gave it a shot in a what the hell fashion... It's funny, maybe I should've maintained opposition, but I pumped a ridiculous amount of quarters into it and then some Mortal Kombat games for many years thereafter... The replay value turned out to be incredible against other players, even by yourself against the CPU. Gotta hand it to Capcom after that crummy Fighting Street, they sure found a winning formula (albeit they milked it endlessly thereafter).

Happy anniversary SFII!

[TheClash603]

https://www.amazon.com/Street-Fighter-V-Collectors-PlayStation-4/dp/B014PCUKJO/ref=sr_1_sc_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470591231&sr=8-2-spell&keywords=Street+foghter+v+ps4

For anyone that didn't buy SFV at launch, it is now down to budget game price.  I wish I bought the standard at launch and got the collectors now, because it is actually a really nice edition of the game and well worth picking up if you have held out until now.

[ClodBusted]

I got SF Vs Tekken at birthday from a good friend this year. Fun game even if it is strange at first sight controlling Tekken characters the Street Fighter way.
There was also a Tekken Vs SF announced years ago, where the controls for all characters are Tekken-like. Where did that game ended up?

[GaijinD]

There was also a Tekken Vs SF announced years ago, where the controls for all characters are Tekken-like. Where did that game ended up?

http://shoryuken.com/2016/08/02/bandai-namco-addresses-tekken-x-street-fighter-status-possible-new-tekken-7-fated-retribution-characters/

Apparently it's on hold and they're currently focused on Tekken 7. I'm not convinced it's ever coming out at this point.

[seieienbu]

It's worth mentioning that Akuma is in Tekken 7 and there are rumors of more SF characters once the console release comes out.

[Duo_R]

Little progress report - fixed marquee light, wired up an adapter for quick kick harness swaps, replaced power supply, cleaned the whole system up and fixed a bunch wiring issues. This started out as a non working system. Now I'm playing SF2 and a ton of CPS2 games in this!  The marquee graphics need to be replaced now.

Oh and I bought SF V collectors edition, the statue rocks but story mode sucks. Oh well old school street fighter is keeping me more entertained.

.

[sanjo]

I remember the first time seeing it.

it was the first game in the arcade that consistently had a long line.
I was a kid, and all the guys in line were teenagers, so I couldn't see over them.

I decided to stand in line and eventually tried it out (although there were lines of quarters on there too, which I didn't understand yet.

I got my arse kicked quickly..but I never experienced such a game like it.
Sure there were other head to head martial arts games and I remember SF1 with its big mashing buttons..but they sucked.  SF2 was so awesome.

It was the only arcade game where I spent so much money, and kept whining to my dad to take me to any place that had the unit. I didn't care if it was normal or CE, I just wanted to play. Hell I even played it in shady areas against gangster guys, who'd always beat me and tell me to stop wasting my quarters and learn the moves. Eventually I learned the hadouken but could never do the Shoryuken.
There were no gamefaqs back then so when I asked people, they'd give some weird explanation like (do 1/8th of a circle).

one day, I got my Nintendo Power in the mail..I think it was a March or April issue..and I saw the previews for SF2 for the SNES.  I was so excited..but that wait to summer was too agonizing. I'd  look at that preview picture for days.  Since I lived in an area with a lot of Japanese-Americans, we had import stores and they had the SFC version. A lot of my friends were buying it along side with an adapter. But those stores knew how popular it was and demanded $100 for it! my parents refused to pay that much and told me to wait.

Eventually I got it and played the hell out of it. I accidentally did shoryuken by doing two haduokens..but finally figured out it was f,d,f punch.  However I had a taste for the arcade and wanted to play the bosses so badly. Ended up buying a game genie which the store said I could play as the bosses. it sucked so bad.