Street Fighter 2 (SNES Review)

I need to pause for a moment to truly appreciate what has just happened. Okay, I think I’m ready now. OH MY GOD! These are the only three words to describe Street Fighter 2. For all of you who enjoyed the arcade version, why bother spending all your 20 (or 50) pence coins down Clacton pier when you can have this at home on your SNES FOREVER. The caps lock key isn’t broken I promise you. Capcom have converted to 16-bit and how.

Where do I begin…  The graphics and the overall feel of Street Fighter 2 are amazing.  The character select screen is intact with all eight characters, plus the four bosses.  For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, SF2 is a one-on-one fighting game which Capcom developed after the success of Final Fight (using the same team I believe) and has ditched the original Street Fighter’s scrolling beat em up theme.  As you can see from the screenshots the characters and stages are large, detailed and colourful.

Everything operates with a smoothness I’d associate with a Jaguar XJ220 or a secluded waterfall.  Beat all the other characters (and bosses) and you beat the game, every character having to fulfil their own destiny.  Their stages are relevant to their country and background, although Hindus will point out that a temple is NOT a place for fighting or any “Yoga Flames”.  The collision detection is spot-on which means punches, kicks and special moves are a joy to execute.  This is especially true with the lead character Ryu (from the first SF) and his counterpart Ken.

The sound effects and music are also top-drawer and nothing appears to have been lost in the port.  The game also has varying difficulties and a two player mode.  We had a look at the American version which runs a little quicker (due to the NTSC’s 60hz) and is better for it.  As a stand alone game this outstanding, as a port it’s even more impressive.  Don’t deny yourself, get a copy right now!

If you like this…

Why I love Street Fighter 2!