Platform: Sega Genesis

Release Date:  September 10, 1993

Developer:  Capcom

Publisher: Capcom

Genre:  Fighting

Nerd Rating: 7 out of 10

Ah, Street Fighter. It’s been so long since we last heard of your hard hitting, action packed, punches and kicks, as each player fights to the top among friends. How long has it been, anyway? 8 years, since Street Fighter IV, was it? Well, now that the fifth one is out now, let’s talk a little about some history. Let us talk about Super Street Fighter II.

Prepare your anus!!

Super Street Fighter II was released to the masses in September of 1993. At around that time, there was a new game every couple of months! It was the “Golden Age of Gaming,” so to speak. With nearly every game made in that time between 1990 to about 2000 being the hot spot for nostalgic gaming, Street Fighter II stood out to me as one of those games were it’s like, “Oh! I remember this game! It was awesome!” and then when you go to play it to relive your childhood only to remember why you never could beat it in the first place, making you question your own gaming abilities.

Player select screen. Nice and simple…?

That’s my Blanka!

The game has a ton of wonky characters to choose from. You could play as a Ryu and Ken, for starters. Their fighting styles are very similar. You got Blanka (I loved this one), which was a beast-like dude. E. Honda is a playable sumo wrestler. You can play as Guile, from the USA military. Dee Jay, a boxer looking dude, and many more characters, as you fight your way to the top. By “the top,” I mean, beating the last game’s champion, M. Bison.

I gotta hand it to Capcom. They put a lot of love into some of these characters (laughing uncontrollably). Where in the hell did Blanka even come from, anyway?! According to the character’s biography, he’s apparently from Brazil. What happened, really? Was he just a normal guy that took a bath in a vat of nuclear waste or something?! All joking aside, Blanka helped me to get at least halfway through the game, at least. Which leads to my first bone to pick with the game.

Think I have a chance?

This game is way too hard! No matter what I did or what I tried, I was beaten to a bloody pulp by the end of the fourth level, on average. It was embarrassing to say the least. If others were ever watching me play, I’d blame the controller. But that isn’t far from the truth as I get into my other bone I have with this game.

The gameplay is a bit weird and makes it hard to time attacks just right. When I say, “weird” I mean, the enemy can hit you even if he missed you by a few bits (out of 16… ha ha). Yes, that was a console joke at the Sega Genesis. This annoyance caught me several times as I played, though sometimes, it worked to my benefit. So I guess at least it’s fair?

“ROUND 1 FIGHT!” – Big Bird

One thing I find funny about this game is that the announcer in the game kind of sounds like Big Bird from Sesame Street. Though, I’m pretty sure that’s not on purpose. The music complements the game well, as it is fitting with each level. It isn’t distracting at all and pleasing to the ears. There is a feature that allows to to plug in a second controller and fight one on one with a friend or sibling. My older sister always made me player two, but in retrospect, I had the bigger controller. To me, that meant “more important” anyway. The game is short, not overly bloody like some games we know (I’m looking at you, Mortal Kombat), and right to the point.

I would recommend this game to more competitive individuals, rather than casual and story-seeking gamers. My reason is that Street Fighter II requires more skill and provides very little story. Basically, it doesn’t feel like a story of any kind is being pushed much. I feel like it’s mostly just a game where you can fight as stereotypes across the world (with exception to Blanka, I really can’t explain him!) with the only goal to be the best fighter. Don’t get me wrong, this game has many great traits that make it a classic. I guess I was hoping for more story than just ‘kick the hell out of your opponent’ every level. There’s nothing wrong with a little “reasoning” as to why you have to kick the hell out of an opponent.

Super Street fighter II will always be, to me, the one game I could never beat. It will also be known to me as the humble pie. It’s nostalgic charm keeps making me plug back in to keep trying every now and then though.