VGR:Quickies Ports of Persia

As you've probably seen on the blog, I've reviewed most Prince of Persia games already. (and comics...and movies..)

But this isn't all of them yet.
During this long running franchises, most episodes have known various releases on several platforms. If most releases nowadays are pretty similar to one another it wasn't always the case "back in the ol' days".

For this occasion, I decided to make this new Quickies installement! 
To have a look at some iterations of the original Prince of Persia games by Jordan Mechner. As well as another bonus quick review.

Originally, the Prince looked like this! True story!

The original Prince of Persia, released on Macintosh and Dos systems, is regarded as a classic nowadays.
It launched a genre of more realistic platformers, sometimes referred to as "cinematic platformers".
Unlike Sonics and Marios it wasn't as surreal and was based around real physics. The acrobatic character of PoP was couldn't jump over enemies. Nor double jump. But he was able to grab ledges, roll under small passages, walk carefully to avoid setting off traps.

It was original designed by Jordan Mechner after a moderately successful Karateka.
Both titles were adapted over all of their current video game systems, countless ports. PoP even ported to this day on most consoles ever released.
Most of those ports were done by the small studio Brøderbund, who alongside Mechner took a great care keeping the games faithful and the experience similar. Yet using each system's specifics whenever the need arose.

The story is a classic now.
You play as the unnamed Prince, trying to get back to your Princess trapped by the evil Vizier.
The Prince gets thrown in the jail caves. The game is a journey, which has to take less than a real life-hour before it's too late and the sands of the giant hourglass ran off.
The directly sequel The Shadow and the Flame sees the Prince expelled from the palace and losing himself in the seas. Now wandering in another island, the Prince is castoff the palace, needs to fight back his inner demons (represented by an evil doppelganger), find his way back to the palace and clean up his name!
The sequel isn't as much puzzle/platforming oriented but a tad bit more combat focused, featuring lots of new various enemies often attacking in groups.

Now, let's dig into these games, shall we?

Title: Prince of Persia Collection
From Brøderbund Software

On PC
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1999

This compilation runs on most modern computers easily.
Sometimes going by the name Prince of Persia Collection, Prince of Persia CD Collection, Prince of Persia: Collector's Edition or even Prince of Persia 1 & 2 (like mine). It was released on 1999, around the release of the 3rd game.
It contains the original Dos versions of both first games. Playing with the settings you can play the original Dos or VGA enabled versions. The music added later on by Brøderbund is available but you can also play it old school with the old chiptunes and no musical ambiance.
All the original levels are present.

Overall: Want to play the real original Prince of Persia games? This release is a must have!
Both games are fluid, fun and huge to explore. PoP2 looks more colorful and complex graphically, it even contains all its cutscenes and voices!
I said in my earlier review of PoP2 I didn't like it as much as the original, wasn't as perfect gameplay-wise, rushed, awful music and wasn't that well adjusted in its platforming sequences...but the original Dos version is far more suited to play.
Since this was released to promote PoP3D, it even contains a preview, making off (in an awfully small resolution quick time video) and a behind the scenes look at Prince of Persia 3D/Arabian Nights!

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On SNES
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

The SNES port of PoP1 was an enhanced version sporting all-new graphics.
It features 20 levels instead of the usual 13. Though some big edits were given to the level design.
It is also the only version were you're given 2 hours instead of the usual one hour to complete the game, making it a bit easier (even counting the extra levels).

Overall: I'm honestly not a big of this version, not because of its quality but because how different the whole game feels.
The music's good. (even if I admit I'm not a big fan of it)
There's some extra plot in this one. The graphics though are the part that suffer the most. It's just so dull and colourless..  I like the new ideas and design, adding wood here and there, putting more designs across the levels. (even splitting screens in 2 to add extra room to run around) But why's everything so brown and mushy? And the Prince looks like Vectorman, like he's composed of smaller parts/spherical objects to mimic the original game's motion capture while they designed new graphics.
Sidenote: It was censored in the US and Europe, thus my Japanese version (picture above)

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Megadrive
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1993

Covered in the main Prince of Persia Review.

Overall: Not playing on the SEGA side against Nintendo above. But this version is a much better and faithful version of the original game.
Like the SNES, but featuring its own original art, it also uses enhanced graphics. It even contains 4 additional levels. (but here the original levels weren't cut down or edited)
The Pal release has its share of own differences, like new kinds of potions, some that can freeze time, others give you additional minutes to complete the game...

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score!

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/Titus Software

On SNES
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1996

Covered in the main Prince of Persia 2 Review.


Overall: Missing some features as well as some levels (including the actual last level!), PoP2 may not have been as good as the original, but on the SNES it's a whole different level altogether!
I blame this on the co-developer, Titus.
The music is really annoying, enduring it through this longer sequel is one heckuva challenge, at least the game features a password system to help out!
The game seems to be on speed compared to the original Apple/Dos version.
Which is quite annoying to avoid some precise traps and segments...


I give this one a: 1.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/Microïds

On Megadrive
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1996

Covered in the main Prince of Persia 2 Review.

Overall: Like I wrote in the original review, this one wasn't actually released originally. But the game was completed anyway!
The game contains its own share of problems though. If Sega prevented its release due to quality concerns (those were the days, right? :P) it's a miracle Nintendo didn't.
Anyway, the graphics are the same as the SNES port and similar to the PC version.
But the game is buggy (around traps, like the released SNES version), the controls aren't as precise as on the computer... Try it or skip it!

I give this one a: 1.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Master System
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

When the home console systems starting picking up in the early 90s, Prince of Persia 1 was converted to almost all systems. If some, like the NES port, were simple copy/past of the original game with lower settings, other were proper adaptations by Brøderbund.

Overall: Strangely good for an 8-bit system.
It is a lot truer to the original game in colors compared to, say, the Atari or NES port.
The game feels also pretty right, the Prince moves well if a tad bit slower. The proper physics were well implemented for such a simple system. Most cutscenes were cut down though.
The Prince was given brown hair for a change! (due to the limited color palette no doubt)
I'd say, try it if you can!
A pretty good port given the circumstances.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score! 

Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software/RIVERHILL SOFT 

On PC Engine
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1991

CD format meant improved graphics and all-new music back then!
It's from this port that the Prince started sporting a turban and colored clothing (a green jacket!).

Overall: Pretty good. The controls feel different but the overall experience is still good.
It was based, from scratch, on the Macintosh release.
The music is pretty impressive and the new redone cutscenes look great! It evens features voice tracks!
It's the most Arabian Nights-ysh version of the game in my eyes.

I give this one a: 3 / 3 Score! 


Title: Prince of Persia
From Brøderbund Software

On Mega-CD
Type Sidescrolling platformer
Year 1992

The Sega CD version, mostly an upgrade version of the PC Engine. Reusing all its assets as basis.

Overall: This one's the one I like to call the "Prince of Persia: ANIME! Edition".
If the PC Engine version was more colorful this one's like a rainbow enhanced version of the previous one.
The Prince who was getting a lot more colorful in the previous iteration (green jacket, blue turban..) is now a fully Japanese anime character. And for good reason, the game features now (slightly) animated cutscenes!
And the worse part is that the boxart doesn't give any hint to its new direction at all.
The cutscenes are funny though. Even if out of place.
This is another one of those "on speed" versions. (like PoP2 on the SNES), even when running on 50 Hrz.
The music doesn't make good use of the Sega CD system that much...but it works in this cracked up ort.
The game itself is good, don't worry. But the over-saturation of colors and animesque Prince makes this one feel either really funny or pretty bad.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score! 


Title: Prince of Persia: Rival Swords 
From Ubisoft Montreal

On Wii also available on PSP
Type Sidescrolling platformed
Year 2007

And finally, you probably didn't expect it, here's the alternate release of a modern Prince of Persia. (something that tends to happen less often these days.. we usually get completely different games, not alternate editions)

I've already did a review of Prince of Persia: Warrior Within here.

Overall: Rival Swords is an upgrade/new edition of Warrior Within which saw the conclusion to the Sands of Time series.
 Rival Swords tweaks some gameplay elements of the original Warrior Within. Mostly in-combat and related to the AI of the enemies. It also fixed and changed some gameplay details and added some zones (nothing that noticeable). Before the recent HD remastered release, it was seen as the definitive version of this game.
It was released on Wii and PSP.
The Wii version doesn't bring new changes from the overall look of the Gamecube version. It could look a bit cleaner I'd say.
Though it adds the brand new motion-sensing functionality. It's all gimmick, I know.
It may be annoying in the gameplay (since the game wasn't designed around it), but the combat gets easier (probably on purpose by Ubisoft) and the instant kills are finally easy to pull off.

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score!


And that is all for this time!
Of course, it's not all the versions of the original games nor all the current alterations of the recent episodes.

The original Prince of Persia as since its release been made available on almost virtually every system ever.
Phones, iPhones, Xbox, PS2, etc..
Often simple re-releases of the original game, other times remakes using the Sands of Time engine. (as the Xbox 360 port on the Xbox Live Arcade)
But most of those, besides the facelift, often uses the original game as basis and frame, keeping either the original level design of physics intact.

 

That's all for this time's Quickies!

VGR Sparkster

Continuing my way through the Rocket Knight series~

After the success of the first game, there were two more "Rocket Knight" episodes released at the same time.
Both named "Sparkster", both using the same artworks, "title", texts, cover...but both in fact completely different games at heart!

Let's dig in first one, the SNES Sparkster game!

 
VGR: Sparkster
From Konami
Played on Super Nintendo
Also available on /

Type Sidescrolling action platformer
Year 1994

Since the original in '93 was such a success, gaining lots of attention, great reviews and praise, in a 16-bit market overshadowed by tons of other mascots, Konami decided it was best to keep Sparster around for another episode and build a momentum upon that popularity.

Thus in '94 came out two separate sequels.
Most of the original Rocket Knight Adventure staff had already left for Treasure (the classic Rocket Knight feel could still be seen on future non-Konami games such as Gunstar Heroes or Dynamite Headdy), but Konami went on ahead with two "original" sequels.
One, for the Megadrive, was a direct continuation of the first game - starting right away from its climax.
The other, on the Snes, was set "some time later", after the defeat of the spaceship Pigstar from the first adventure.

This is a review of the Snes episode.

This time, Sparky faces Lions!!

Some time has passed since Sparkster's big confrontation against the evil Devotindos Empire. (the pigs from the first game)
The opossum kingdom of Eginasem has known a relative peace for a while...
When one day, out of nowhere, the Lioness's army of Generalissimo Lioness attacks the opossum.
They're lead by former-Rocket Knight renegade Axel Gear. This really really hates our main character!

Once again, it's up to Sparkster to save the day. Sparkster will fight against hordes of Lions, destroy tons of mechanical foes and clash against Axel a couple of times before facing the final boss!

Same ol', same ol'!

The game controls mostly like the original Rocket Knight Adventure on the Megadrive.
One button to jump.
Another for the sword.
Sparkster can cut through his enemies' armour and leave 'em in underwear (ah!).
A small aura is projected along the sword to aim further.
You can charge it to either produce a spinning attack or boost away with the rocket pack.

There's a new gameplay gimmick added to Sparkster!
With the left and right triggers on the Snes pad, you can quickly dash away from one side or the other.
At first it seems unnecessary, but by the end of the game you'll find yourself using it more and more,

This time the enemies are lions, but in the end it's pretty similar to the pigs from the original.
They won't pose much problem by themselves, but in large groups or when you least expect them a the bottom of the screen, they can cause you damage.

Axel Gear, we meet again, traitor!!

Poor lil' opossum, they won't make is life eady at Konami's. :/
Once again, the game has several bosses, though a lotta easier than in the first game.
Sparkster will have to face a lot of giant robots at the end of each act.
Though without Treasure's guys at the head of the project, they require less hits and with easier patterns to learn.

The game's playtime depends on the difficulty you choose in the options.
On easy, the game's 7 level longs and ends with the "final" confrontation against Axel.
On normal, the default setting, there's a level beyond that against Generalissimo.
And on hard and up there's one more true final ending stage.

PIEEEW! PIEEW! Kaaaabloooowaaah! You're dead!

The game's a pretty straightforward sequel to RKA.
They made this one from scratch, with brand new sprites, levels and story. But they did capture the original's gameplay.
Though I find it much slower, nowhere near the fast arcad-ysh tension of the original (who altered the gameplay much frequently).

This time, the gameplay's pretty much the same through and through apart 2 little stages who try to capture the original's magic.
There's a stage, riding a mechanical bird who's pretty fun to play but maybe too short and too easy.
And another one (in the end), were the game will turn into a SHMUP. Again.
But this time, unlike RKA's horizontal shooter, it's a vertical shooter. The level's pretty hardcore, ending in this game's most difficult and cheap boss, a retake on the giant robots fight from Rocket Knight Adventure only from a topview perspective.

Overall, it's a pretty decent and fun sequel!
It might not be as impressive and unique as RKA, but it's a decent enough sequel fans of the series should play!

The game's much shorter and easier, even on harder settings where you'll go through this one pretty fast. Maybe it's because of the shorter levels or lack of real challenge in the bosses (apart the end).

Sparkster sports a brand new look in this adventure, now he has shiny blonde hairs (kinda super sayan-ysh).
The stages aren't as original as in the first game, this time some levels will seem out of place in the story (which the original tried to connect in a lil' in-game universe).
Most stages follow naturally the preceding, but then you'll find yourself in stage 2 in a random factory (when Axel will fly in the sky in the previous boss battle) or in a musical-themed level...

Anyway, apart from some nit-picking, it's a great game.
The music is catchy, the sprites colorful and well animated.

I give it:

2 / 3 Bruces!

My Fighting Games Collection!

Hello folks!
Today, I wanted to post a pic of my fighting game collection, since I've been posting so much about the "fighting genre".
Collection as of today - pic taken July the 1st 2010~

This is here is my current collection of Fighting Games!
I'm a big fan of arcad-ysh games, and the fighting genre is one of my favs.
It's always fun to put on one of these with friends, my bro or just kick the ass of the CPU for a while whenever you want to blow off some steam.

I don't store non-arcady "kiddie" brawlers such games as Smash Bros, the Godzilla fighting games or DBZ games here, no sir! Not dishing those, but they'll be out of place in here!
Only the REAL fighters!

You can't really see everything from this pic :/
But this will give you an idea-
I'm kinda too lazy to list them all... so here goes... (click to see a bigger pic)

On the top shelf:
I have all the Mortal Kombats games (who are a bit underrated nowadays but are still pretty fun), one of the Read2Rumble (probably the best one, since the new one on Wii was so-so...), all Guilty Gears, all the Virtua Fighters+Fighting Vipers+Fighter Megamix (the Sega crossover), the complete Tekken & Soul series, the DoA games.

I have most Fightin' game-adaptations on DVD... (the less said about it the better..)

At the bottom_
Most, if not all, Snk & Capcom fighting games! I'm quite proud of that : P
My great collection^^
The Street fighter series, all the Vampire/Darkstalker games, the other 2D or 3D Capcom games (Rival School, Plasma sword...).
And the SNK ones. I'm a HUGE fan of SNK!
All the KoF games, Garou (that's the Fatal Fury games), the Last Blade games... Samurai Spirits, Art of Fighting & World Heroes games. And even the very underrated awesome SNK-collaborations, the 3 Sunsoft fighting games.

Most of my collection is on Pal format for the Mega Drive/Xbox/X360/Wii/Gamecube. (with excepetions...)
Only on Jap for the PS1/PS2.
And mix Pal/US/Jap for the Saturn & Dreamcast.

That's it!
(I'll try putting some review, comment or views on some of those titles~)

VGR:Quickies My Street Fighter 2 collection

Something a bit different.
Just to try a different format that may come in handy in future comic reviews.

Introducing QUICKIES! - meaning quick review, when I won't take a huge look in depth at comic/movies/games/etc...
(useful for, say, tv show episodes, long running comic series, etc..)

This is a complementary review to my previous Street Fighter 2 VGR.

Here's my whole Street Fighter II collection! (as of today!)
Yeah, I'm pretty proud of that. I'm a huge fightin' game fan!
(heck, this reminds me I should put a pic of the entire collection at some point :P)

Of cours I don't have everything!
I was thinking for a while to add Street Fighter 2 on the PC Engine...but.. it's an iteam a bit too much expensive nowadays and it doesn't bring up anything new (it's a port of Street Fighter II Dash meaning SF2 turbo which I have on the SNES, same game, nothing "original" to it, apart from having to use the PC Engine pad) .
Oh, and there's two others I wanted to have if not just try once.
Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service on the Dreamcast which was one of the latest upgrades to SF2. (I'll take donations! :P hey, a man can dream, right?)
and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix which is the recent upgrade/remake available as a downloadable game on modern system, which explains why I haven't checked it out yet. (yep, I'm a classic gamer, I need my games materials, dammit!)

Other than that, I think I covered all SF2 availables.
Nope, I didn't miss "Pocket Fighters", "Street Fighter 2 Anime" or "Street Fighter the movie"...
This here's just about the Street fighter 2 series, not the entire SF franchise!
(I'll take a look at other SF games later on)

Anyway, let's get to our Quicky-reviews, shall we?

Title: Street Fighter II
From Capcom
On the SNES
Type Fighting game
Year 1992

The original Street Fighter 2, like I said in my original Street Fighter 2 series VGR, it was innovative, marked the entire gamin' industry. But it's far from perfect. The SNES version kept most of the arcade's own bugs and little glitches and added some.

Overall: A great game on the "game collector" aspect, but not that much from a gameplay's point of view.
(maybe you're interested in Guile's various glitches...but you should try it with emulation then, doesn't justify this cartridge's current price!)

I give this one a: 1.5 / 3 Score!


Title: Street Fighter II Turbo
From Capcom
On the SNES

Type Fighting game
Year 1993

The very first Street Fighter 2 update. Corrected tons of little details and fixed the gameplay a bit. (like Super Street Fighter 4 did to SF4 recently).
Added playable bosses, increased the speed, which for pal gamers meant a lot of difference!


Overall: Much better than the original game on the arcades as well on SNES. Should you have only one version try this one or Super SF2!

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

Title: Street Fighter II′: Special Champion Edition
From Capcom
On the MD

Type Fighting game
Year 1993

Covered in the main SF2 series Review

Overall: /

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

Title: Super Street Fighter II
From Capcom
On the SNES/MD

Type Fighting game
Year 1994

Covered in the main SF2 series Review

Overall: Pretty similar on both system. A nice upgrade despite the lack of speed of the previous version.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

Title: Capcom Generation Vol. 5

From Capcom
On the Sega Saturn

Type Fighting game
Year 1998

A pretty neat compilation available on PS1 as well. Featuring the original Street Fighter 2, SF2 Dash/Champion and SF2 Hyper Fighting/Turbo. All running exactly like their original arcade versions, which also means no bonus modes present in previous console ports (tournaments, ...).
If you want to try the original SF2 games but can't find an arcade cabinet no more, this is the next best thing you'll find!


Overall: A great compilation. I would almost rate it less just because there's only 3 old Street Fighter 2 games and no Super SF2 game on it...
Anyway, it's perfect ports running at 60Hz (on the Saturn). For collectors and SF fans!

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

Title: Street Fighter Collection
From Capcom
On the Sega Saturn
Type Fighting game
Year 1997

Covered in the main SF2 series Review

Overall: Both Super SF2 games and Street Fighter Zero/Alpha 2. If this was combined with the previous compilation (Capcom generation 5) I would give this a perfect 3/3... Oh well...

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score!


Title: Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival

From Capcom
On the GBA

Type Fighting game
Year 2001

Covered in the main SF2 series Review

Overall: /

I give this one a: 2.5 / 3 Score!

Title: Hyper Street Fighter II The Anniversary Collection

From Capcom
On the PS2

Type Fighting game
Year 2003

We've briefly mentioned this one in the main review. What is Hyper Street Fighter 2? It's the 15th anniversary special SF2 release!
This latest "update" isn't simply a new upgrade in the logical term, but more like a new version running on the previous SF2 engine. This time around no new gimmick or feature nor characters. When you start a fight, you chose your game mode, much like you can in some SNK or VS. titles; Original/Champion/Turbo/Super/Super Turbo. Some characters like Thunderhawk can't be selected if you chose a pre-SSF2 gameplay since they weren't available back then.
And other than that? No change in gameplay or fixes, nothing...
The game also features a brand new remixed soundtrack for the occasion, many artworks and videos to see and the SF2 animated movie as well on the same disc!

Overall: My main problem with this game is that it looks like a mugen game. When selecting a mode, some characters may look a bit odd next to each other since they aren't from the same game (say Ryu in original mode/SF2 next to Ken in Super Turbo/SSF2X will not look normal). Plus this game creates a lot of gameplay issues for having characters with less techniques against others with super charges and counters.
It's fun to try it once but a pretty strange experience in the long run.

I give this one a: 2 / 3 Score!

 

That's all for this time's Quickies!

VGR The Street Fighter 2 series

It's finally time to have a look at the classic Street Fighter 2 games.
I wasn't really planning on doing them while starting this FIGHTING MARATHON. The original plan was to skip SF2 over the more underrated SF3, alpha and ex games... But then, it wouldn't look like a complete marathon review, right?

How to review Street Fighter 2? Should I be reviewing a single or many Street Fighter 2 games?
Here's a part-article, part-review look at SF2 and and some specific SF2 games ones.

Let's dig into this Street Fighter 2 sub-series and its multiple sequels inside the overall larger SF franchises.

Game: Street Fighter 2 series
By Capcom
Originally released on Arcade

Type Fighting game
From March 1991

Finally, some years later, after the not quite successful SF1 (reviewed here!), Ryu and Ken wereback into the arcade scenes!
Street Fighter 2 was finally ready to come and shake all the arcades over the world.
Around the early 90s, fighting games were starting to grow as a gaming genre.
SF1 became the template for most fighting games, it may not have been a huge success commercially but the general ideas and design were perfect as the standard for new entries of the genre.

Capcom knew they had something great to work with and shouldn't let this occasion go.
This sequel came some years later, keeping all the rules and the established overall structure but with a whole new graphic engine and gameplay feeling.
The game was now a 16 bit arcade game running on the brand new CP System (which would stay Capcom main hardware for most fighters for a while until it was upgraded around the mid-90s to the CP System 2).

From a distant point of view, the general Street Fighter 2 series might look quite confusing, having spawned so many "sequels" or updates during the 90s (and 2000s). So, let's have a look at the different variations of SF2 first, with some quick explanations:

So many Street fighter 2 games to reach SF3...

It has since then become a inside joke for fighting games!

Now, don't worry, the Street Fighter 2 series isn't that confusing to understand...
The real problem is some confusing titles/variations have been used for occidental or oriental releases.

Ryu and Ken were back. This time, they weren't the only playable characters.

First of all, came  Street Fighter II The World Warrior in 1991.
The original sequel to Street Fighter 1.
It was a very impressive sequel to the original SF, the graphics were all redone, the game used a new and more natural gaming mecanic, the engine was pretty amazing.
You weren't restricted to only play as Ryu (or Ken) this time around, but had access to a total of 8 characters from all over the world (well, from places known for their martial arts).

The playable roster was made of:
- Ryu and Ken. The original street fighters. Re-entering the SF tournament to become great warriors.
- Chun-Li, a chinese martial artist trying to understand and avenge her killed father.
- Representing japanese sumo wrestling, Honda.
- Representing russian pro wrestling, Zangief.
- Blanka, a green-electric-mutant-like Brazilian monster.
- Guile, a military guy in search for the killer of his pal Charlie. Designed to be identified as a hero character for american players.
- And Dhalsim, an indian yoga fighter.

Now, I know plot isn't that important for fighting games.
But SF2 wouldn't be a success without this variety of colorful characters...
All of this isn't meant to be taken as a complex story but it describes a motivation for the player.
It is a competitive arcade game, knowing what/who a character is and why he's in this game is the usual required motivation that will fill the players' imagination (or Udon current comics).

You played until you lost your credits in 2-wins rounds.
The game had the player confront all the other participants until the bosses. Much like SF1 original idea of having Ryu against a boss each country, then a sub boss and finally the ultimate boss, SF2 redesign the concept of fighting bosses.
When the last rival was defeated, came in the boss fights. 3 sub-bosses:
- Balrog, a boxer. (Mike Bison in the original Japanese version, probably the returning Mike from SF1)
- Vega, a spanish fighter using "wolverine-like claws". (Balrog in the Japan)
- The last sub-boss was Sagat. The final boss from SF1 now bearing a scar from Ryu's shôryuken.
- And finally M. Bison. Leader of Shadaloo, who's trying to conquer the world under the guise of a "simple tournament". (called Vega originally)
As you can see, and probably already knew, the names of the bosses were swapped around, probably to avoid a complaint or problems from Mike Tyson due to the parody "Mike Bison". Sagat, being a returning character, kept his name.

The original game was later released on many systems, the most well known being the pretty faithful SNES port.

Shadaloo. Founded in 1991, and trying to conquer the world since then. OF COURSE!

The original game was far from perfect but it's classic and simple gameplay made it an instant classic.
Arcade games lived a second boom in the 90s following the release of SF2. (the first one being during the pacman/donkey kong/space invader era).

Capcom needed to stay competitive and in the market. They kept on releasing various fighting games, original arcade games and console exclusives alongside various upgrades of SF2.

Street Fighter II Dash / Street Fighter II Champion Edition came out in 1992.
This first "upgrade" wasn't a real sequel but more of an update of the original game.
It introduced minimal new features in the gameplay (but corrected various glitches such as Guile's handcuff)

The real new feature was to be able to play with the bosses, play against the same character (Ryu vs Ryu) and use alternate colors depending on the button used for the selection.

Later that same year, came out Street Fighter II Turbo / Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting / Street Fighter II Dash Turbo.
This one was again mostly another update of the same game.
Hyper Fighting, or SF2Turbo as it is known nowadays, offered new techniques to keep SF2 competitive against the other fighting games of 92.
The gameplay was also made a lot faster. (Thus making it one of my favorite SF2 entries to play actually)
New color swaps were created and the default characters used the alternate palette from the go.

Then came in late 1993 the first real sequel to SF2, Super Street Fighter II The New Challengers.
SSF2 changed the gaming engine (SF2 was running now on the CP System 2).
The whole feel of the game was redone, being remade from scratch.
The game offered new graphic details, new techniques for characters and a whole new soundtrack (and sounds).
This huge update redefined the SF2 series! You could play a newly introduced tournament mode (with multiple arcade cabinets interconnected).
Finally it introduced new characters to the roster:
- Cammy, a secret agent from England which became a new SF classic for gamers.
- Dee Jay, a Jamaican kick boxer.
- Thunder Hawk, a native american Mexican trying to fight against the invasion of Shadaloo.
- And one of my favorites, Fei Long. An action movie star and homage character to Bruce Lee. (which in itself became a standard for most fighting games)
My only complaint was that the game felt a bit slower than SF2Turbo, and it was. The new engine kinda lost the dynamism from the last entry.

Here comes a new challenger!!

In 1994 came an upgrade/update to SSF2, Super Street Fighter II X / SSF2X Grand Master Challenge / Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
I personally prefer to call this one SSF2X over SSF2 Turbo, to avoid confusion with the original SF2Turbo.
This one was meant to be the ultimate SF2 release. It introduced many little variations of the gameplay, Super Combos, a power gauge, there were new techniques to use...
This release was the closer in gameplay to where the SF franchise would go into in later games (SF Alphas...)
It was possible to juggle the opponent, use air combo ... Playing as Ken started to really feel a bit different from Ryu.
The game was also called Turbo because it reintroduced a speed a lot closer to pre-SSF2 and better than SSF2.
This game also introduced a brand new feature that would later return in the SF series. A secret boss:
- Akuma/Gouki in Japan. Someone using the same kind of martial arts as Ryu and Ken.

In 2003, SF2 add another brand new sequel thanks to Hyper Street Fighter II / SF2 Anniversary Edition.
This version allowed to choose and mix styles a bit (not far from what later games like Marvel VS Capcom or Capcom vs SNK would offer). You could use Ryu and be playing in "normal", "turbo", "champion", etc.. (Newer characters like Thunder Hawk couldn't use older gaming styles!)
Not a full sequel like SSF2 back in its day, but more like another upgrade of SSF2X.

Finally came in 2008 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, mostly based on Super Street Fighter II Turbo.
This new version wasn't released for the arcades like past SF2 entries but only on newer gaming systems.
It used its engine and gameplay mecanics but changed all the art and music. New HD sprites and brand new remixed sountrack.

Let's directly have a look at and review some key SF2 console releases:

Game: Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition
By Capcom
Played on Megadrive
Type Fighting game
From 1993

Let's just skip the original and turbo home releases of SF2 on the SNES, which were good in my book, but not that interesting in reality. To be honest, the SF2 games alwayslost kind of their extra punch while being ported to 16 bit home systems (this includes this SF2 on the Megadrive), since the original arcade cabinet used some extra Ram and more colors.
On the Snes, SNES was pretty much indentical to its original arcade version, including the bugs and glitches the original game had. Then was ported SF2 Turbo to the SNES, which was a lot better in gameplay and visuals.

Don't ne fooled by this MD game title. This Special Champion Edition wasn't a port of the 1992 SF2Dash/Champion Edition, nor a port of SF2Turbo/Hyper Fighting in disguise.
Like the name implies, "Special Champion Edition" was a special edition.
This SF2 game sold a lot of Megadrive systems across Europe back in the day. It was a pretty original pack containing both Champion edition and Turbo in one big cartridge!

Selectable from the menu were a mode called Champ - the original SF2 Dash / champion edition - and Hyper - the SF2 Turbo arcade mode.
The game looked pretty close to the arcade versions (minus details in the visuals and sound part).
Fans of the SNES or the MD always prefered their own sound quality compared to the other system, but with Street fighter 2 ports, the music has alwayy been very close to the arcade and not that different on the SNES nor the MD. Playing the Hyper mode looked very similar to the SNES port of Turbo.
Plus their a brand new Group Battle mode. This one allowed to play some great tournament up to 6 players against 6 others!
The original part of SF2 Special Champ Edition is that it allowed to increase speed a lot more than the arcade version (going from 0 to 11 stars in the speed setting).

A great port, that is, if you have the Megadrive 2 6-buttons pad!
This Megadrive release is a great recommendable home release of the original pre-Super Street Fighter 2 games!

I give it:

 2 / 3 BonusKun!

  
Game: Super Street Fighter II
By Capcom
Played on SNES
Type Fighting game
From 1994

Next up, there's another SF port I recommend you to give a try.
Super Street Fighter II a fantastic port of the arcade going by the same name.
It is available for both SNES and MD, I have a little preference for the SNES version since it was the first SNES game I ever played! (true!)

This version looked a lot closer to the original arcade version than previous ports, both on the MD and SNES.
Both versions are actually very similar in sound and graphics (let's be honest), the only real difference is the main menu presentation. The SNES version offers you all the options in one single screen, while the MD has a scrolling up-and-down Virtua Fighter-like menu.

My main problem with SSF2 still is its speed decrease, but overall it's a fantastic SF2 game!
The four new characters are a great addition, the engine much better...
The port adds up a Tournament Battle, just like in the arcades, but a bit different also. It takes a bit from the MD SF2 Special Champion Edition.
There's also a neat new feature, Time Battle.

I'm not gonna repeat what I wrote about all the different games above.

I also give it:

 2 / 3 BonusKun!

Game: Super Street Fighter II X (from the Sreet Fighter Collection)
By Capcom 

Played on Saturn

Type Fighting game (compilation)
From 1997

The Street Fighter Collection is actually a compilation available on both the Playstation and Sega Saturn. Though I honestly don't recommend the PSX version since the Play' always lacked the extra punch to run smoothly 2D games the Saturn had. Just check any retro gamer opinion on other websites or forums!

This compilation contains actually two discs. One only has Street Fighter Alpha 2 (but that will be detailed in a future Street Fighter Alpha review).
The other disc has both the original arcade version of Super Street Fighter 2 and Super Street Fighter II X.
Both games runs 100% exactly just like the arcade versions.
SSF2 lacks the tournament mode from the MD and SNES versions, but it isn't that bad overall.

Street Fighter II X, being the ultimate original SF2 upgrade (before anniversary and HD remakes) is just like you imagine it to be.
It runs perfectly smooth, is a lot of fun to control and play.
The new features such as super combos, power gauge, Akuma and improved gameplay simply make this version the ultimate definitive version of SF2!

Since this Saturn port is actually featured in a compilation with both the original SSF2 and a Street Fighter Alpha game I really recommend finding this one! If you have a Saturn, that is.
Almost a must have,
I give it:

 2,5 / 3 BonusKun!

Game: Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival
By Capcom 

Played on Game Boy Advance

Type Fighting game
From 2001

If you don't own a Sega Saturn, the next best thing to have is Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival!
It's not an exact port of Super Street Fighter 2X but actually an original game based on it. It uses its own engine.
The bonus stages, which weren't available no more in later SF2 games are back! (both barrels and car bonus stage).

The game was made to be easily playable on a GBA, so there's only 10 characters to fight in arcade mode, over the original 12 stages.
There's an option to enter "easy commands" for the attacks. Neat feature if you're playing outside.
There's a ton of artworks to unlock this time (much like in SNK fighting games).
The backgrounds aren't taken from the SF2 series, but from the Alpha and SF3 series!

It really is the next best thing to play!
If you have a gamecube with the GBA player and a Hori Gamecube pad, this really is a must have!
Of course the graphics were a bit simplified, but it isn't a bad thing. It actually gives the game a little cartoony look.

I give it:

 2,5 / 3 BonusKun!

Overall, the Street Fighter 2 sub-series is a classic gaming franchise. Over the years, the games have been ported to almost every system ever made!
Xbox, Gamecube, PS2 (Capcom compilations, ports, remakes...), Xbox 360, PS3, Wii (digital download...), IPhone, etc..
SF2 is everywhere!

Above, those are the games I really wanted to talk about, the best ports (Saturn), more easily available in retro stores (the SNES and MD ones) and that one truly underrated original port (GBA).
Of course there's more of those. Like the other older SNES ports, which actually are correct. But the MD port offers a bit more for example.
And Super Street Fighter 2 made those kinda obsolete afterall...


I didn't really talk about the little upgrade called Hyper Street Fighter 2, which is in fact an anniversary remake. But it's a bit gimmick-y (playing as past games styles, crossing over gameplays from various SF2 games).
And I still haven't played Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix as of today.
I'm sorry Capcom, I love Street fighter, but I'm still not really into digital releases... Maybe if Capcom includes it in some compilation someday...
From what I've seen, I'm not missing a lot. It's based on SSF2X, only the sprites have been redone in HD and a new soundtrack added (+the online support).
They haven't remade the engine, gameplay, nor techniques, just remake the sprites in HD over the original ones. No new animation/frame/details... It's probably a fantastic opportunity for younger gamers.

That's all I had to say!
'Hope you liked this article/review of Street Fighter 2!
Next up in our FIGHTING MARATHON will be Street Fighter Alpha, or a little surprise,
but before that some non-Street Fighter reviews! ; )