On March 8 1991, Capcom unleashed the Street Fighter II coin-op machine to the arcade world, starved of great 2D one-on-one fighting games. This was the sequel to beat all sequels. The original Street Fighter was released in 1987 with some fan fare, but its successor kick started the franchise and popularity of the 2D fighting genre. The rest, as they say, is history.
Street Fighter II forged ahead and won the 1992 arcade game of the year at the Golden Joystick Awards. Its fighting pedigree was sealed. Many imitators came and went, but this game withstood the onslaught and the test of time.
Street Fighter II is straight forward: the player has the option to choose one of eight warriors, from different nationalities, each with his/her own strengths and weaknesses. The fighter then attempts to defeat the other computer-controlled opponents, including the four grand masters, to go on and become the world champion.
The other option playing this game is to grab a friend and go toe-to-toe against one another – it is lots of fun kicking ten shades out of your buddy !
Street Fighter II truly was the fighting game that revolutionised video games throughout the ’90s. The legacy of this game still lives on. So, to you Street Fighter II, we raise a toast and salute you for giving us the quintessential 2D fighter. A happy 21st birthday !
Manufacturer: Capcom
Year: 1991
Genre: Fighting
Number of Simultaneous Players: 2
Maximum number of Players: 2
Gameplay: Competitive
Joystick: 8-way
Buttons: 6 [Jab Punch, Strong Punch, Fierce Punch, Short Kick, Forward Kick, Roundhouse Kick]
Playable Characters: Ryu, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Ken, Chun-Li and Zangief
Computer-controlled characters: Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison
Bugs, Tricks, Cheats and Easter Eggs:
The Street Fighter II: World Champion coin-op had a few bugs and tricks that could be exploited. Here are some of my favourite bugs / tricks (if you want to know how to do them, drop me a line):
- Guile’s Pose/Statue
- Shutdown
- Dhalsim’s Invisibility
- Guile’s Handcuffs
- Handcuff Release
- Guile’s Four Hit Combo
- Guile’s Invisible Throw
