I'm going to start this 10's entry off with something I generally try to avoid: a controversial hot take. So let's get right to it. Street Fighter II Turbo/Champion Edition is, objectively, the greatest video game of all time.
It isn't my favorite (though it's obviously up there). It isn't the most groundbreaking or revolutionary. It didn't push the boundaries of what video games could accomplish as a media or art form. Final Fantasy VI, VII and Chrono Trigger may have been more ambitious. Madden and FIFA may be more universal. Halo and The Last of Us may have pushed the boundaries of technology more. But in terms of just straight up video games, I don't think it's ever been equaled or surpassed.
Just for full disclosure, I played SFII Turbo for this review, I am a Nintendo kid at heart after all. Champion Edition was the SFII game that Genesis owners got, actually released before it's SNES counterpart. The two games have a few marginally different gameplay modes and different costumes, but are functionally the same. I chose Turbo as a matter of preference for the SNES sound chip and also because I actually have a copy.
No matter what you call it, SFII Turbo/Champion Edition is, to me, the quintessential definition of what a video game is. Choose from one of 12 fighters, each with their own unique skillset and special moves and face an increasingly difficult lineup of computer opponents. As they progress, you will have to figure out new concepts and strategies to defeat your opponents as they pressure you more and more. Because the order is different each time you play and every character is so different, you need to be on your toes and adapt to each opponent's playstyle.
But most people are playing a game like this for multiplayer. SFII doesn't have many different modes, but it does offer some of the most balanced multiplayer gameplay out there. Two competitors of even skill will almost always have a competitive match, regardless of who they choose. However, a good or great player is always going to crush someone who doesn't know what they are doing. That's a good thing, it's the way fighting games should be. Of course, it's relatively easy to learn, you have weak, medium and strong kick and punch and you hold back to block. The special moves aren't incredibly difficult to pull off and are super responsive. There are combos, but there isn't a memorization-based combo system or anything like that. But it's not at all easy to master these things, especially against top flight players. You and your buddy can have a knock down, drag out good time just popping the game in and playing. But a pro is going to just keep re-dizzying you over and over. At the same time, that pro and his equal are going to have a precise, technical battle when they match up. That's what every fighting game should strive for and almost 30 years later, I don't think any has done this good a job.
The key to it all is balance. The roster is big enough that there's some variety, but it's not overcrowded with useless jank characters. The characters are almost perfectly balanced, anyone has a chance against a anyone and there are no "tiers" or any of that garbage unless you are playing at an elite level. Even then, a great player is going to find a way to win with E. Honda even if they are facing Ryu or Guile. You can spam specials against weak opponents, but even stronger A.I. fighters will crush you if you go that route. You need to come into each battle with a strategy, which isn't always the case even in good fighting games. Good players will quickly start to learn how to string their attacks together while great ones will eventually come to master the bevy of corner traps and combos their character offers. No one gets to skip the line by activating a 200 hit super art with a double assist just by pressing a button.
The perfect balance of simplicity and consistency is really what I'm trying to praise here. There is just enough to do and every playthrough feels unique and different. It's not like World Heroes, which I reviewed last year, that only has three buttons that do anything. That's too simple. But it's not like a lot of modern fighting games, or even older games like Mortal Kombat 3, where you have to memorize dozens of exact combo strings if you want to have any success at all. I love Soul Caliber as much as the next person, It's a 10/10 itself, but when you open up a move list for your character it's like "oh goodness, there is no way I am ever going to be able to remember all that unless I put in 20 hours a day with just this character." Don't even get me started on Marvel Vs. Capcom and its assists. There is none of that crap in SFII, it's all about learning how to actually play the game.
But it's more than just the gameplay that make these games iconic. The graphics were top notch and I still think they stand amongst the best 2D games in terms of presentation. All of the stages have so much to look at and each one perfectly fits its character. The sound is similarly amazing. This is the one are where I do think Turbo outshines Champion Edition, but that could just be me. Either way, these are some of the most recognizable tracks in gaming history. Anyone can here Ryu or Ken's stage theme and know exactly where it's from. The sound effects might even be more recognizable. Hadouken! Sonic Boom! Yoga Fire! You know them by now. The actual sounds of hitting your opponent or breaking background objects are great as well.
That isn't to say SFII isn't without its flaws. But here's the thing...most of it's flaws aren't actually that relevant. That's what landed me on my aforementioned hot take. The biggest flaw is that it lacks any sort of meaningful plot or story. But honestly, who cares? It's a fighting game. It would have been nice to have more background on all these fighters, but it doesn't really do anything to reduce my enjoyment of the game. Some of the hit detection rules, especially when it comes to cross ups, seem a little weird at first. But that is nullified by the game being so consistent. Even if something looks like its not supposed to work a certain way, it behaves in that way every single time. It's tough to explain, but basically it eliminates the frustration factor that a lot of games have. SFII does throw one fighting game trope after another at you. But that's because it's the game that established these tropes. All of those things are flaws, but they don't really do anything to take away from the game. Even looking at the other 10's I covered, they all have flaws like that. Madden has ridiculous catch-up AI, Final Fantasy VII has bad translation, Doom has enemy AI issues and WCW Vs. NWO has character balance problems. Those things fundamentally impact the way in which you experience those games. Not having detailed background on why Blanka is green or why Dhalsim can stretch his arms isn't going to impact the way I enjoy SFII.
I could go on and on about how SFII revolutionized the gaming industry. It was in every arcade and it seemed like everyone had it for their home console. It established most, if not all, of the fighting game tropes we have come to associate with the genre today. It had revolutionary character design and though Chun-Li was the lone female member of the roster, she was presented in a way that women in video games just weren't at the time. It, along with its much gorier contemporary Mortal Kombat, launched an avalanche of imitators I'm not sure the gaming industry will ever experience again. I know I complain about open world games and FPS now, but the 90's were just as bad with 2D fighters. And modern developers at least try to differentiate their games (though I don't think they do a particularly good job). A lot of this stuff was just straight up rip-offs of SF or MK. But anyway, onto:
Wouldn't you rather play?:
Mortal Kombat - Simply put, MK just isn't as good a game. It was always more about the spectacle than actual gameplay, which is totally fine, but I don't think any of the 16-bit MKs can touch SFII. The first game, definitely not, it just doesn't stack up to it's sequels or its rival. I'm honestly not a big fan of MK3 or Ultimate MK3, I hate the combo system with a passion. MK2 is probably the closest, it's a great game that offers a strong cast of characters and fun multiplayer. But it just can't match the depth, breadth and balance of SFII, even though it's a classic itself. Over time, the MK series has caught up to its T-rated rival. Street Fighter hasn't matched it's high from 30 years ago, while Mortal Kombat has improved. I think the reboot from the previous gen is the best game in the series. Even still, SFII is the better game.
Super Street Fighter II/SSFII Turbo - SFII was so popular it spawned its own series of sequels with these two games. SSFII added four new characters and provided an update to the graphics and sound. Unfortunately, three out of the four new characters are terrible, with Cammy being the only one worth playing. I hate the new character portraits and especially dislike the new soundtrack. They tried to do too much and it just comes off as boring and sterile. Oh, they also made slight tweaks to the fighting engine, which were completely unnecessary. SSFII Turbo added more modes and super moves to the equation. Sorry, but once you throw in super moves, I'm out. Save those for the Street Fighter Alpha series, just let me fight one on one without any of that stuff. Even if I wanted to, I will probably never be able to play SSFII Turbo again because its only home console release was for the 3DO and I'm not dropping $800+ for one any time soon.
Marvel vs. Capcom - These games just have too much going on for me to really enjoy. Every round is like an assault on your senses, there's lasers going off, other characters jumping in and out of screen, random assist characters popping up, constant team member switching and, just when you thought things would calm down, billion hit super moves that take up the entirety of the arena. Sometimes all that chaos is fun, but I could never play these as my primary fighting game series. There is too much arbitrary crap to keep track of and the characters are completely unbalanced. I don't blame them for that, it would be impossible to balance all 100 characters or whatever, but its still annoying. Part of the fun of these games is being able to play as a very specific favorite character and if that character is "low tier" you don't stand a chance.
So, that's it for SFII, but for the next few posts I am going to do something a little different. I am going to take a look at some of those aforementioned Street Fighter clones, for better or for worse. Will they all be bad? Probably. But who knows, maybe I'll find a hidden gem. Stay tuned.
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