Street fighter 2

  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Developer: Capcom
  • Genre: Fighter
  • Release Date: December 1992
  • Console: Super Nintendo

Introduction

Street Fighter 2  most gamers and critics would agree, the best improved game of all time over the original street fighter. There are many different versions of street fighter 2 so I am going to review the version I know the best which is street fighter 2: hyper edition. At first street fighter 2 was just for arcades but when capcom saw the popularity of street fighter they decided to release it to consoles, where it became a worldwide success it started the fighting game boom for the 90's and proved that fighting games could be very popular. The thing that made street fighter 2 popular was many things, but the thing that really made it stand out was the ability to be able to string combos together and the ability to execute special moves specific to the character you were using. But im going to tell you in depth why this fighting game is still loved and played by millions today!

Story

There isn't exactly a story to street fighter 2 but each fighter has his or her own reason for fighting. The plot to street fighter 2 goes like this: There is a fighting tournament called the street fighter tournament, where brilliant and master fighters all over the world come to show the abilitys and strengths to fight against there opponents to become crowned the world warrior. Most fighters who have entered the tournament have there own reasons to fight, and when you win the tournament with one of the characters you choose you will see each character will have an ending and tells a bit about why they entered the tournament in the first place and what it means to them winning it.

Overall there are twelve fighters entered in the tournament and all have there own personal why they entered. The twelve characters are:
  • Ryu (A lone wolf street fighter and a Japanese martial artist seeking to become the worlds strongest fighter)
  • Ken (A long time friend and rival of ryu they trained together and learnt the same fighting style)
  • E Honda (a sumo wrestler from japan and wants to prove that sumo wrestling is the best form of fighting)
  • Chun Li (A chinese interpol agent and a martial artist she is fighting to avenge her missing father)
  • Blanka (a orphan who was raised in the jungles of Brazil and is a beast like creature)
  • Zangief (A pro russian wrestler who wants to prove he is the worlds strongest)
  • Guile (A former member of the U.S.A special forces guile fights to defeat the man who killed his best friend and partner)
  • Dhalsim (A mysterious man from India who has perfected the art of yoga)
  • Balrog (A american boxer whos only goal is to fight and make sure he is paid for it)
  • Vega (A spanish cage fighter and a master of the art of ninjitsu)
  • Sagat (A muay thai fighter who was the final boss in the original street fighter and bears a massive scar on his chest from ryu)
  • M.Bison (The leader of an evil corporation shadaloo and uses a mysterious power known as physco power)

Gameplay

The Gameplay in street fighter 2 was ultimately the main reason it sold so well. Unlike other fighters at the time, in street fighter 2 you could string together combos which ment you could damage your opponent furthur rather than press a button your opponent takes damage and thats it. Each Character had there individual combos and special moves they could perform making each character unique and it was the case on which fighter suited you the best (the only characters which were simular were Ryu and Ken, because they learnt the same fighting style but even though they used the same techniques, they still had there different ways of portraying them.

The way street fighter 2 worked was you had a selection of characters to choose from and once you choose your character, your objective was to fight your way through your opponents to win the street fighter tournament. Once you choose your character a plane would take you to a specific place on the map and then you would fight your opponent over the best of three rounds. To win a round you would either have to KO an opponent by attacking him and landing moves so his health bar would deplete completely, or by letting the match timer run down to zero and the fighter with the most health would win the round. If you won the match you simply then advanced to the next opponent, however if you lost the match you would have a chance to continue and defeat your opponent again (you also would have a chance to select a different character before fighting your opponent again, just in case the character you choose in the first place wasn't your cup of tea!) Eventually when you deafeated all the fighters on the map you were crowned champion and then had a chance to view the character's ending showing you why the fought in the tournament in the first place.

Each fighter would have six normal moves they could all perform, they were: a weak punch, a medium punch and a strong punch and the same for kicks so a weak kick, a medium kick and a strong kick. Each character would also have unique special moves they could perform to help them win their fights. There are two types of how special moves were executed either by pressing a combination of buttons or holding down a specific button for a few seconds then letting go and then the character would perform the special move. The special could be used as part of a combo, and street fighter 2 invented many iconic special moves that most fighting games copy today, for example ryu's iconic fireball or hadoken move and chun li's spinning bird kick. Each fighter in street fighter 2 felt different to play as in one way or another, they felt different and unique (again except Ryu and Ken who because of their same fighting style play basically the same) But thats what made street fighter 2 so hugely playable to everyone how each fighter had their own special moves and there own stage they would fight on, even the music is very enjoyable and classic.

How it played then

Street fighter 2 maybe didn't create the fighting game genre but it defiantly perfected it. When street fighter 2 came out it was massive with its perfectly created characters the fighting combo system the iconic special moves and even the music was very enjoyable. No one played a fighting game like this before with the speed the game played, the brillant graphics everything about this game ozzed brillance and proved that fighting games could be not only popular but the best! Street fighter 2 really was something special and sold extremly well.

How it plays now

For a game to truly be great it has to stand the biggest test of all........TIME! And street fighter passes that test with flying colours, this is why street fighter 2 is such a great game the mechanics of the game still work great, the characters have become legends (especially Ryu who you could say is the game's main character) Street fighter 2 works so well that nearly everyone who has played it wouldn't change anything about especially how the game plays and the characters oh and the music.......in fact most people who would want a new street fighter game would want it to play exactly like street fighter 2 but with better graphics, and thats exactly what they did with street fighter 4. This proves how popular street fighter was and is quite simply this is the best fighting game and franchise ever created!!

Overall score

Street fighter 2 is a brillant game and timeless classic, most people who have played it reckon its the best fighting game and I wouldn't disagree it has everything a fighting game should have and set the agenda on how fighing games should play. Without this game fighting games of today would be half as good.

9/10


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