One of the most prominent entries in Capcom's long running Street Fighter series just turned 25 this weekend, as Super Street Fighter II Turbo (also known as Super Street Fighter II X - Grand Master Challenge) was released back in arcades in Japan and North America on February 23, 1994. The game - one of the last real updates of Street Fighter II before it made its evolutionary jump to the Alpha/ Zero and Street Fighter III, was the first to introduce several mainstay concepts and changes in the series - including the "Super Meter", new character animations, and the debut of Akuma/ Gouki - the master of the Satsui No Hadou and the brother of Ryu and Ken's master, Gouken .
Super Street Fighter II Turbo Arcade Intro HD
Despite getting successors and newer titles, SSF2T is still going strong in conventions, tournaments, and other events that host fighting games - with many pro fighting game players still preferring to play this game for the sake of nostalgia and other reasons. In fact, a couple of tournaments were held in different parts of the world by fans to honor the game's 25th Anniversary, as well as other upcoming events which you can read details at ST Revival.com.
If you're a fan of Street Fighter like I am, chances are that you may be aware that today's a pretty special day... As not only does February 23 commemorate the 20th anniversary release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo (aka SSFII X: Grand Master Challenge in Japan), but also the very first appearance of a certain... Hidden Character.
And here's the classic arcade intro to start things with nostalgia.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo Arcade Intro HD
As the fifth version/ update of Street Fighter II to hit arcades then eventually consoles of the time, SSFII Turbo introduced "Super Combos" into the franchise, forever introducing the concept of building meter and finishing off opponents in a flashy way. This game was pretty much the pinnacle of the series, and was revived again more than a decade later with the release of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, which introduced new hand drawn sprites and graphics based on UDON's popular Street Fighter comic book series.
And of course, there's the introduction of Akuma/ Gouki... Aka the brother AND man who killed Ryu and Ken's master, Gouken. Fast, wily, and almost impossible to beat at the time, this hidden boss character only appeared and was fought against after the player fulfilled certain requirements. He then appears, defeats M. Bison/ Vega, and challenges your character to a fight. He has faster moves than the Shoto brothers, and also used an air fireball and the "Raging Demon" finisher to boot. He was also a playable character via a secret code, but was largely toned down compared to the CPU version. Eventually, the character became so popular than he appeared in succeeding Street Fighter games as a playable or secret character to use, and the legacy has continued on since.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo - Shin Akuma Boss Fight (Arcade)
Happy 20th Anniversary Super Street Fighter II Turbo... And Happy 20 years, Akuma/ Gouki!
Now that another Street Fighter game has been confirmed, let's take a spin back to 1993, during the time when people inserted quarters and tokens to play some of the most awesome video games.
The 90's... Arguably considered to be the Golden Age of arcade gaming, this era boasted some of the best fighting games the world has ever seen. Of course, none would be more dominant than Capcom's signature 2D brawler, Street Fighter II, which amassed quite a following after introducing players to the world of Hadoukens, Sonic Booms, and Spinning Bird Kicks. The game, however, underwent several modifications in response to commentary and feedback from the fans and developers. Over time, SF II had two major updates: The first being SF II: Championship Edition - which allowed users to play as the 4 bosses and duke it out in mirror matches, and then finally SF II: Hyper Fighting - a faster version of the game that kicked things into turbo and saw characters getting additional moves and balancing tweaks. After everything was said and done, Street Fighter fans were expecting Capcom to count to III and produce a true sequel. Alas, the next game would, yet again, be another update... but this time, there would be major changes incorporated that would take many players by surprise.
On October 1993, Capcom unleashed Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers to the gaming public, and much to the amusement and disappointment of players around the world, it was STILL the same Street Fighter II many have played and bashed each other over. However, the developers made it a point to introduce new changes, and with that, a new hardware system, the CPS II, was used to add more sophisticated audio and graphics to the game. Old favorites like Ryu and Zangief returned of course, sporting some new moves, voice actors, and redesigned stages. Their stories were relatively the same though, and the last boss was still the infamous dictator and leader from Shadaloo, M.Bison. The big addition in Super, however, was the introduction of four new characters: Cammy - A British female agent from Delta Red whose past has ties to Bison; Dee Jay - A Jamaican musician and kickboxing fighter; T.Hawk - A Native American from Mexico with a personal mission against Shadaloo; and Fei Long - a Hong Kong martial artist and actor modeled after Bruce Lee. Each of these guys were brand new characters for players to use and mess around with, so replay value in Super was fresh. Scoring evolved in a way, and first attacks, counters, combos, and reversals were added to your top score. Gaming speed, however, was reverted back to the way it was in Championship Edition.
Super Street Fighter II Intro
While it wasn't the sequel players were expecting, Super Street Fighter II still managed to sway fighters from the competition and give them something to brawl over once more. There was a single elimination tournament battle mode that allowed players to compete professionally, so there was more than enough reason to try this baby out. For its time, it was the new game to play in the arcades, and nobody complained about it.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Eventually, it got itself another update, this time in the form of Super Street Fighter II Turbo... a game that brought back game speed selection and introduced the super combo system to the SF Universe. It was also the first game in the series to introduce a hidden character, namely Akuma/ Gouki - the evil brother of Ryu and Ken's master, Gouken. He was a wicked and wily Ansatsuken practitioner with more powerful moves than the two, including a teleport and the ability to throw air fireballs. Unlike the other characters, he doesn't have a super combo... but trust me, he didn't need it.
After this, the game never saw another update again... that was until a few years ago, with Super Street Fighter II HD Remix, which again rebalanced the game and replaced the old sprites with new, high-definition looking ones courtesy of the comic book folks from UDON Entertainment, who publish the current SF Comic series. Technically, was still the same SSFIIT that we knew back in the 90's, but it was a pretty looking fighter, and people still went mad over it.
We learn from history and take lessons from it, and Capcom has been using this as a dogma to sustain one of the most lovable fighting game franchises in gaming history. Back then, SSFII was a big deal. Now that Street Fighter IV's going "Super", it's going to be deja vu all over again. Haven't heard of Super Street Fighter IV yet? Take a look at this trailer below:
