Collection essentials #253: Street Fighter II (SNES)

Say hello to a home console port of the third-best-selling arcade game of all time, higher on the list than any game released after the year 1980. It’s tough to decide on which single game is the most significant release of the 1990s, but this game definitely has to be in the top 5 and is definitely a contender for the top spot.

One-on-one fighting games existed before Street Fighter II. And that’s probably obvious given the fact that, you know, there’s a number in the title. Indeed, it’s not even the first fighting game in its own series. However, Street Fighter II polished and advanced the genre so incredibly far in one entry that it’s seen as a pioneer on the same level of games that invented a genre out of thin air. Virtually every one-on-one fighter released since, especially 2D fighters, clearly borrows elements from Street Fighter II in some way. After its release, for years there was a flood of imitators, fighting games by other companies that blatantly and shamelessly ripped it off hoping to capitalize on the new popularity of the genre. It’s comparable to Super Mario Bros. and the platforming genre in that way, a level of influence that not many games reach.

The basic gameplay and controls, on a surface level, resembles the original Street Fighter. I haven’t talked about that game, so allow me to explain. You have the joystick of course, plus six attack buttons. There are three punch buttons and three kick buttons, with one being light, one medium, and one heavy. Obviously heavy attacks are the strongest, but they’re also the slowest. Pushing the joystick upward makes the character jump, which can be straight up, left or right, and it can be held down for a crouch. And pressing the attacking buttons when crouching or jumping triggers a slightly different punch or kick. Finally, every character has multiple “special moves” by moving the joystick in a particular series of directions and then pressing a button or combination of buttons. These are the coolest and most memorable attacks in the game. 

One thing that Street Fighter II really nailed is the controls. The thing about Street Fighter 1 was…it wasn’t a very good game because of the poor controls. Movement was sluggish and sometimes unresponsive. It seemed almost random whether or not the input for a special move would actually work. But Street Fighter II controls like a dream, with everything feeling tight and responsive in a way that makes for a fun experience. And, famously, Street Fighter II introduced “combos”, something that fighting games are known for, and it was by accident. The developers realized that they had unintentionally designed the game so that some attacks can be “chained” together in a sequence that couldn’t be broken by the other player, but they decided not to correct it, and indeed players found this aspect of the gameplay very enjoyable. Mastering combos is something that takes skill and adds depth to a fighting game, and practically every fighting game since Street Fighter II has them.

The other thing that Street Fighter II really nailed was its cast of characters. There are eight characters to choose from, plus four non-playable boss characters that are fought in a single-player campaign. Previously, fighting games generally just featured one character, like most other video games. But this game was the first that made people realize that a good fighting game is one with a diverse cast of many playable characters, with many distinct moves and fighting styles, something that is now absolutely foundational to the genre. The story of the game involves the best fighters from all around the world competing in a tournament, and this gave an opportunity for a diverse cast, such as the Japanese shotokan fighter Ryu, to the burly Russian wrestler Zangief, to the American military officer Guile, and more. The characters are not only a boon for providing gameplay variety, but fans were also endeared to their quality designs which quickly became iconic among gamers. A highly notable character is Chun Li, a female Chinese martial artist whose design does not cater to the male gaze (something that is a little too common in video games), and having such a female character who could kick butt was a really big deal at the time.

How enjoyable is it going back to Street Fighter II in modern times? Well, actually, that question is not quite as straightforward as it sounds. You see, after the game’s release and popularity, the developers decided to release updates to the game instead of going for a full-fledged sequel. For example, the first major update was called “Special Champion Edition”, and it made the four boss characters playable, made it so that both players could fight each other using the same character, and also had some rebalancing tweaks to try and make the cast more equally viable in terms of performance. There have been several updates to Street Fighter II, and playing the newest one almost does feel like playing a different game when compared to the original version. You generally wouldn’t want to go back to the original version of Street Fighter II for any reason other than the novelty of it, but it is still certainly an enjoyable fighting game.

It’s almost impossible to overstate what a huge deal Street Fighter II was. The game captivated gamers around the world, and practically anyone with any interest in the hobby was familiar with it on a base level even if the genre didn’t appeal to them personally. This particular SNES version was the first home console port, which was a huge deal, and gave Nintendo an important leg up against its console competitors, and it quickly became one of the top-selling SNES games. As more versions of Street Fighter II came out, other consoles received their own ports, but getting the first one still mattered a great deal. There are updated versions of this game on SNES too, but this is the one that makes the list for being the first.

As for my personal experience, of course I played and liked Street Fighter II when I was young. I know my cousins Kevin and Peter had a version of it, though I can’t remember if it was this particular release or a different one. It took quite a while before I got my own Street Fighter II, though, and it was actually the Sega Genesis version of the Special Champion Edition which I got in the early 2000s, though I didn’t spend a ton of time with it and it didn’t make my list. I actually got the copy shown in the photo quite recently, and I was happy to get one with the box after having just a loose cartridge for a while. Since it’s the most significant port of one of the most famous classic games ever, it’s an obvious essential. 

SHORYUKEN! ➡️⬇️↘️🤜