Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | |
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Japanese arcade brochure featuring the original eight main characters. Clockwise from top left: E. Honda, Zangief, Ken, Blanka, Dhalsim, Ryu, and Guile. At the center: Chun-Li. | |
Developer(s) | Capcom |
Publisher(s) | Capcom |
Producer(s) | Yoshiki Okamoto |
Designer(s) | Akira Nishitani Akira Yasuda |
Programmer(s) | Shinichi Ueyama Seiji Okada Yoshihiro Matsui Motohide Eshiro |
Artist(s) | Eri Nakamura Satoru Yamashita |
Composer(s) | Yoko Shimomura Isao Abe |
Series | Street Fighter |
Platform(s) | |
Release | March 1991
|
Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Up to 2 players simultaneously |
Arcade system | CP System (CPS-1) |
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, [lower-alpha 1] also known simply as Street Fighter II, is a competitive fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcade systems in 1991. It is the second installment in the Street Fighter series and the sequel to Street Fighter , released in 1987. It is Capcom's fourteenth title to use the CP System arcade system board. Street Fighter II improved many of the concepts introduced in the first game, including the use of special command-based moves and a six-button configuration, while offering players a wider selection of playable characters, each with their own fighting style, and introducing the combo system.
Street Fighter II became the best-selling title since the golden age of arcade gaming. By 1994, the game had been played by over 25 million people in the United States alone at home and in arcades. Due to its success, a series of updated versions offering additional features and characters were released. All versions of Street Fighter II have sold more than 200,000 arcade cabinets and over 15 million software units worldwide, and they are estimated to have grossed over $10 billion in total revenue, making it one of the top three highest-grossing video games of all time as of 2017 [update] and the best-selling fighting game up until 2019. The SNES version of Street Fighter II sold over 6.3 million cartridges, making it Capcom's best-selling single software title for the next two decades and their best-selling game on a single platform. Street Fighter II is regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, and in particular the most important and influential fighting game ever made. Its launch is seen as a revolutionary moment within its genre, credited with popularizing the fighting genre during the 1990s and inspiring other producers to create their own fighting series. It also sparked a renaissance for the arcade video game industry, and had an impact on competitive video gaming and wider popular culture such as films and music.
Street Fighter II follows several of the conventions and rules already established by its original 1987 predecessor. The player engages opponents in one-on-one close quarter combat in a series of best-two-out-of-three matches. The objective of each round is to deplete the opponent's vitality before the timer runs out. If both opponents knock each other out at the same time or the timer runs out with both fighters having an equal amount of vitality left, a "double KO" or "draw game" is declared and additional rounds will be played until sudden death. In the first Street Fighter II, a match could last up to ten rounds if there was no clear winner; this was reduced to four rounds in Champion Edition and onward. If there is no clear winner by the end of the final round, either the computer-controlled opponent will win by default in a single-player match or both fighters will lose in a 2-player match.
After every third match in the single-player mode, the player will participate in a bonus stage for additional points. The bonus games include (in order) a car-breaking event similar to another bonus round featured in Final Fight ; a barrel breaking bonus game where the barrels are dropped off from a conveyor belt on the top portion of the screen; and a drum-breaking bonus game where drums are flammable and piled over each other.
Between the matches, a Pacific-centered world map is seen, showing the participant's home stages. When the upcoming match and its location have been chosen, an airplane moves across the map.
Like in the original, the game's controls use a configuration of an eight-directional joystick and six attack buttons. The player uses the joystick to jump, crouch and move the character towards or away from the opponent, as well as to guard the character from an opponent's attacks. There are three punch buttons and three kick buttons of differing strength and speed (Light, Medium, and Heavy). The player can perform a variety of basic moves in any position, including grabbing/throwing attacks, which were not featured in the original Street Fighter. Like in the original, the player can perform special moves by inputting a combination of directional and button-based commands.
Street Fighter II differs from its predecessor due to the selection of multiple playable characters, each with distinct fighting styles and special moves. Combos were also possible. According to IGN, "the concept of combinations, linked attacks that can't be blocked when they're timed correctly, came about more or less by accident. Street Fighter II's designers didn't quite mean for it to happen, but players of the original game eventually found out that certain moves naturally flowed into other ones." [3] This "combo" system was later adopted as a standard feature of fighting games and was expanded upon in subsequent Street Fighter installments. [3]
The original Street Fighter II features a roster of eight playable characters that could be selected by the player. The roster initially included Ryu and Ken—the main characters from the original Street Fighter game—plus six new characters of different nationalities. In the single-player tournament, the player faces off against the other seven main fighters, before proceeding to the final opponents, which are four non-selectable CPU-controlled boss opponents, known as the "Shadaloo Bosses", which included Sagat from the original game.
Playable characters:
CPU-exclusive characters, in the order that the player fights them:
A mistranslation which made it into the American arcade release of the game, in Ryu's words to a defeated opponent "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance" (which actually was supposed to be "If you cannot overcome my Dragon Punch you cannot win") led some to incorrectly believe a character named Sheng Long existed in the game. The incorrect translation created a widespread hoax which was published in an April Fool's Day issue of EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly') magazine.
It was revealed by Capcom that the two characters from the intro are named Scott and Max. [4] [5] [6] [7]
With the exception of Sagat, the Shadaloo Bosses have different names in the Japanese version. The African-American boxer known as Balrog in the international versions was designed as a pastiche of real-life boxer Mike Tyson and was originally named M. Bison (short for "Mike Bison"), while Vega and M. Bison were originally named Balrog and Vega, respectively. When Street Fighter II was localized for the overseas market, the names of the bosses were rotated, fearing that the boxer's similarities to Tyson could have led to a likeness infringement lawsuit. [8] This name change was carried over to future games in the series. To avoid confusion in Tournament Play, many players refer to each character by a defining characteristic. The names are "Claw" to refer to the character from Spain, "Boxer" to refer to the African-American boxer, and "Dictator" to refer to the final boss of the game.
The characters in the Japanese version also have more than one win quote [9] and if the player loses a match against the CPU in the Japanese version, a random playing tip will be shown at the bottom of the continue screen. While the ending text for the characters was originally translated literally, a few changes were made due to creative differences from Capcom's U.S. marketing staff. For example, the name of Guile's fallen friend (who later debuted as a playable fighter in Street Fighter Alpha ) was changed from Nash to Charlie, since a staff member from Capcom USA felt that Nash was not a natural sounding English name. [10]
Although the original Street Fighter had not been very popular, Capcom began to make fighting games a priority after Final Fight was commercially successful in the United States. [11] Yoshiki Okamoto recounted, "The basic idea at Capcom was to revive Street Fighter, a good game concept, to make it a better-playing arcade game." [12] About 35 to 40 people worked on Street Fighter II, with Noritaka Funamizu as a producer, and Akira Nishitani and Akira Yasuda in charge of the game and character design, respectively. [10] [11] Funamizu notes that the developers did not particularly prioritize Street Fighter II's balance; he primarily ascribes the game's success to its appealing animation patterns. [11] The quality of animation benefited from the developers' use of the CPS-1 hardware, the advantages of which included the ability for different characters to occupy different amounts of memory; for example, Ryu could take up 8Mbit and Zangief 12Mbit. [11] The game's development took two years. [11]
The game's combo system came about by accident:
While I was making a bug check during the car bonus stage... I noticed something strange, curious. I taped the sequence and we saw that during the punch timing, it was possible to add a second hit and so on. I thought this was something impossible to make useful inside a game, as the timing balance was so hard to catch. So we decided to leave the feature as a hidden one. The most interesting thing is that this became the base for future titles. Later we were able to make the timing more comfortable and the combo into a real feature. In [Street Fighter II] we thought if you got the perfect timing you could place several hits, up to four I think. Then we managed to place eight! A bug? Maybe.
— Noritaka Funamizu [11]
The vast majority of the in-game music was composed by Yoko Shimomura. This was ultimately the only game in the series on which Shimomura worked, as she subsequently left the company for Square two years later. Isao Abe, a Capcom newcomer, handled a few additional tracks ("Versus Screen", "Sagat's Theme", and "Here Comes A New Challenger") for Street Fighter II and subsequently became the main composer on the subsequent versions. The sound programming and sound effects were overseen by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, who had been the composer on the original Street Fighter. The arcade version of Street Fighter II was exhibited at the UK Amusement Trades Exhibition International in 1991. [13]
Release date | Platform | Media | Developer | Publisher | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNES | ROM cartridge | Capcom | Re-released on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console. | ||
1992 | Amiga [15] | 4 floppy disks | Creative Materials | U.S. Gold | Released in Europe. |
Atari ST [16] | 4 floppy disks | ||||
Commodore 64 [17] | Cassette or floppy disk | ||||
Amstrad CPC | Cassette or floppy disk (not released) | ||||
ZX Spectrum [18] | Cassette or floppy disk | Tiertex Design Studios | |||
PC (DOS) [19] | 3 floppy disks | Creative Materials |
| Released in North America and Europe. | |
1994 | CPS Changer [20] | ROM cartridge | Capcom | Capcom | Released exclusively in Japan. |
1995 | Game Boy | ROM cartridge | Sun L | Capcom Nintendo | |
1997 | Master System [21] | ROM cartridge | Tec Toy | Tec Toy | |
1998 | Sega Saturn | CD-ROM | Capcom | Capcom | Included in Capcom Generation 5 . Released exclusively in Japan. |
PlayStation | CD-ROM | Capcom | Capcom | Included in Street Fighter Collection 2 . | |
2004 | Mobile [22] | Online distribution | Capcom | Capcom | |
2006 | PlayStation 2 | DVD-ROM | Digital Eclipse | Capcom | Included in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 . Based on the PS version. |
Xbox | |||||
PlayStation Portable | UMD | Capcom | Capcom | Included in Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded . Based on the PS version. | |
2018 | PlayStation 4 | BD-ROM | Digital Eclipse | Capcom | Included in Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection . |
Xbox One | |||||
Nintendo Switch | Flash based ROM cartridges | ||||
Windows | Online distribution | ||||
Street Fighter II was released for the Super Famicom on June 10, 1992 in Japan, which was followed by a North American release for the SNES in August of the same year and a European release in December. It was the first game released on a 16-Megabit cartridge for the SNES. Many aspects from the arcade versions were either changed or simplified in order to fit into the smaller memory capacity. This version featured a secret code which allowed both players to control the same character in a match, which was not possible in the original arcade version. The second player uses the same alternate color palette introduced in Street Fighter II: Champion Edition . The four Shadaloo Bosses are still non-playable, but they use their Champion Edition color palette if the code is entered.
Other changes are as follows:
The American SNES cartridge was re-released in November 2017 as a limited edition item to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Street Fighter series. [23]
U.S. Gold released versions of Street Fighter II for various home computer platforms in Europe, namely the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64, PC (DOS), and ZX Spectrum. These versions of the game were all developed by Creative Materials, except for the ZX Spectrum version which was developed by Tiertex Design Studios. These versions were not released in any other region, except for the PC version, which also saw a release in North America (where it was published by Hi-Tech Expressions). [19] These versions suffered from numerous inaccuracies, such as missing graphical assets and music tracks, miscolored palettes, and lack of six-button controls (due to these platforms having only one or two-button joysticks as standard at the time). As a result, these versions are filled with unusual peculiarities such as Ryu and Ken's Hadouken (Fireball) sprite being a recolored Yoga Fire and the title theme being used as background music for matches, while move properties are completely different. In the DOS version, in particular, Dhalsim ends up being the strongest fighter in the game due to his basic attacks having high priority over other characters. The DOS version also saw a bootleg version and was actually considered by many, while mediocre, to be still quite superior to the official DOS version. [24] [25] Despite being officially advertised by US Gold along with the C64 and ZX Spectrum conversions and anticipated on magazines, the Amstrad CPC development by Creative Materials was scrapped and the port never materialized. [26]
The Game Boy version of Street Fighter II was released on August 11, 1995 in Japan, and in September 1995 internationally. It is missing three of the original characters (Dhalsim, E. Honda, and Vega). The graphics, character portraits, and stages are based on Super Street Fighter II, although some moves (such as Blanka's Amazon River Run) from Super Street Fighter II Turbo are included as well. Since the Game Boy only features two buttons, the strength of a player's punches and kicks are determined by how long the player holds either button (an input method similar to the one used in Fighting Street, the TurboGrafx CD version of the original Street Fighter ). Same character matches are allowed, but because of the game's lack of color, distinguishing between two characters is not possible even on a Super Game Boy.
The game retains character endings for all 9 playable characters. This is only available by completing the Normal mode or Survival mode on level 4 or level 5 difficulty. Completing the Survival mode on level 5 unlocks a brief video of the sprites and animations of all of the available characters. The Game Boy version remains the only version of Street Fighter 2 that is not a direct port but specifically made for a handheld system.
Additionally, the Game Boy version is notable for not being re-released in any compilation collections later on.
The original Street Fighter II was included along with Champion Edition and Hyper Fighting in the compilation Capcom Generation 5 for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, which was released in North America and Europe as Street Fighter Collection 2. All three games were also included in Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, as well as Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded for the PlayStation Portable.
Street Fighter II was followed by a series of updated versions, each refining the play mechanics, graphics, character roster, and other aspects of the game. The first was Street Fighter II: Champion Edition , released for the arcades in March 1992, which allowed players to control the four Shadaloo Bosses and same character matches. Following the release of Champion Edition, a wave of bootleg ROM chip upgrades for its arcade cabinets added new gameplay, prompting Capcom's official response with Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting during December the same year, increasing the playing speed and giving some of the characters new special moves. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers was released in September 1993, which marked the change to the more advanced CP System II, allowing for updated graphics and audio, while introducing four new characters. Super Street Fighter II Turbo was released in February 1994 and was the last of the Street Fighter II releases for the arcades (until Hyper Street Fighter II ), which introduced powered-up special moves called Super Combos and added a new hidden character.
All six Street Fighter II games have been ported to various platforms, both in individual releases and in compilations. There have also been home versions such as Hyper Street Fighter II (which was retroactively ported to the arcade) and Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix . Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers was released for Nintendo Switch and adds two characters who previously debuted outside Street Fighter II updates and are actually the separate alternate forms of the two main Street Fighter II characters themselves.
In the February 1992 issue of Gamest magazine in Japan, it was revealed that due to low stock the games were selling for seven times the cost (¥15,000 in Japan, equivalent to about $119.19 and £65 at the time, or $217 and £118 in 2020). In Japan, Game Machine listed it on their April 1, 1991 issue as being the second most-successful table arcade unit of the year, outperforming titles such as Detana!! TwinBee and King of the Monsters . [53] The original arcade version of Street Fighter II was awarded Best Game of 1991 in their Fifth Annual Grand Prize, which also won in the genre of Best Action Game (the award for fighting games was not established yet). Street Fighter II also placed No. 1 in Best VGM, Best Direction, and Best Album, and was second place in Best Graphics (below the 3D Namco System 21 game Starblade ). All the characters, with the exception of M. Bison (the character known internationally as Balrog), were featured on the list of Best Characters of 1991, with Chun-Li at No. 1, Ryu at No. 3, Guile at No. 4, Dhalsim at No. 5, Zangief at No. 6, Edmond Honda at No. 8, Ken and Blanka sharing the No. 9 spot, Vega (M. Bison outside Japan) at No. 13, Balrog (Vega outside Japan) at No. 16, and Sagat at No. 22. [54]
In the following year, Street Fighter II Dash was awarded Best Game of 1992 in the Sixth Annual Grand Prize, as published in the February 1993 issue of Gamest, winning once again in the category of Best Action Game. Dash placed No. 3 in Best VGM, No. 6 in Best Graphics, No. 5 in Best Direction. The Street Fighter II Image Album was the No. 1 Best Album in the same issue, with the Drama CD version of Street Fighter II tied for No. 7 with the soundtrack for Star Blade. The List of Best Characters was not dominated by Street Fighter II characters this time, with the only character at the Top Ten being Chun-Li at No. 3. [55]
In the February 1994 issue of Gamest, both Street Fighter II Dash Turbo (Hyper Fighting) and Super Street Fighter II were nominated for Best Game of 1993, but neither won (the first place was given to Samurai Spirits ). Super ranked third place, with Turbo at No. 6. In the category of Best Fighting Games, Super ranked third place again, while Turbo placed fifth. Super won third place in the categories of Best Graphics and Best VGM. Cammy, who was introduced in Super, placed fifth place in the list of Best Characters of 1993, with Dee Jay and T. Hawk at 36 and 37. [56] In the January 30, 1995 issue of Gamest, Super Street Fighter II X (known as Super Turbo internationally) placed fourth place in the award for Best Game of 1994 and Best Fighting Game, but did not rank in any of the other awards. [57]
The Super Famicom (SNES) version was critically acclaimed. Famitsu 's panel of four reviewers gave it scores of 9, 9, 9, and 8, adding up to 35 out of 40. This made it one of their five highest-rated games of 1992, along with Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride , Shin Megami Tensei , World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck , and Mario Paint . They later gave the Turbo update a score of 36 out of 40. This made Street Fighter II′ Turbo their highest-rated game of 1993, and the twelfth game to have received a Famitsu score of 36/40 or above. [38]
The arcade game was well received by English-language critics upon release. The June 1991 issue of Computer and Video Games (CVG) gave it ratings of 94% for graphics, 93% for sound, 95% for playability, and 92% for lastability, with a 93% score overall. The reviewer Julian Rignall criticized the original Street Fighter for being a "run-of-the-mill beat 'em up with little in the way of thrills and spills," but praised this sequel for being "absolutely packed with new ideas and special moves." He noted the "six buttons combining with 8 joystick directions to provide more moves than I've ever seen in a beat 'em up" and praised the "massive, beautifully drawn and animated sprites, tons of speech and the most exciting, action-packed head-to-head conflict yet seen in an arcade game," concluding that it is "one of the best fighting games yet seen in the arcades" and "a brilliant coin-op." [58] The June 1991 issue of Sinclair User gave the arcade game an "addict factor" of 84%. The reviewer John Cook criticized the controls, stating, "You might find the control system a bit daunting at first," noting "a joystick plus six (count 'em!) fire buttons," but said "it's not that bad really" and praised the gameplay as well as "excellent" animation and sound effects, concluding "this is bound to appeal to you if you like the beat 'em up style of game." [44]
The SNES version of Street Fighter II was very well received. In Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), its panel of four reviewers gave it scores of 10, 9, 10, and 9, adding up to 38 out of 40, [2] and their "Game of the Month" award. Sushi X (Ken Williams), who gave it a 10, stated that it is "The best! Street Fighter II is the only game I have ever seen that really deserves a 10!" Martin Alessi, who gave it a 9, described it as "the best cart available anywhere! Incredible game play!" Ed Semrad, who gave it a 10, said "The moves are perfect, the graphics outstanding and the audio exceptional. Get one of the new 6 button sticks and you'll swear you're playing the arcade version." [59] GamePro printed two reviews of the game in its August 1992 issue, both giving it a full score of 5 out of 5; Doctor Dave described it as "Capcom's best arcade conversion yet" while Slasher Quan stated that almost "everything's perfect in the Super NES version" and that it is "a nearly flawless conversion of the arcade original that's made even more enjoyable by new options and the convenience of home fighting." Super Play gave it a 94% score, stating that with "the inclusion of Champion Edition's Character vs. Character select and the extra options, I would even go so far to say that this is actually better than the coin-op." [39] Electronic Games gave it scores of 95% for graphics, 92% for sound, and 93% for playability, with a 94% overall, concluding that it is the best fighting game to date. [49] Nintendo Power gave it 4.075 out of 5, [43] stating that the "hottest arcade game around has been faithfully reproduced for this Super NES conversion" and that it "is just like having the arcade game at home!" [39]
Computer Gaming World in April 1994 said that "Street Fighter II now enters the PC ring rather late and with a touch of weak wrist". The magazine reported that "the atmosphere and the impact of hefty welts and bone-crushing action is just not here. The usual lament of many PC gamers about arcade conversions is once again true: too little and too late". [60]
Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Sure, it's violent (people can be set on fire), but Street Fighter II offers a depth of play (each character has more than 20 different moves) unmatched by any other video-game slugfest." [61]
Street Fighter II was named by Electronic Gaming Monthly as the Game of the Year for 1992. [2] EGM awarded Street Fighter II′ Turbo with Best Super NES Game the next year. [62] Street Fighter II also won the Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year in 1992. [63] Game Informer gave it the "Best Game of the Year" and "Best Playability in a Video Game" awards. [64] It was also one of the three games nominated by Electronic Games magazine's Electronic Gaming Awards for the Video Game of the Year category, along with NHLPA Hockey '93 and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 . [65]
The Mega Drive version of Street Fighter II received 10 out of 10 for both graphics and addiction from Mega , who described it as "a candidate for best game ever and without a doubt the best beat-'em-up of all time" and gave it an overall 92% score. [66] MegaTech scored it 95%, and commented: "the greatest coin-op hits the Megadrive in perfect form". [67] Edge gave the PC Engine version of Champion Edition a score of 8 out of 10. [68] The four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly, while remarking that the control is difficult and the game speed "lethargically slow" on the Game Boy version, agreed it to be an excellent conversion by Game Boy standards. However, they commented on the fact that Street Fighter II was a very old game by this time. [36] The Axe Grinder of GamePro agreed, praising the graphics and Game Boy survival mode, but criticizing the slow controls and concluding that "The real problem here is that the game's just plain old." [69] GameSpot gave the PlayStation 3 version of HD Remix a score of 8.5 out of 10. [70]
Street Fighter II has been listed among the best games of all time. Game Informer ranked it as the 22nd-best game ever made in 2001. The staff praised it for popularizing the one-on-one fighting game genre and noted that its Super NES ports were "near-perfect." [71] They later ranked it the 25th-best game ever made in 2009. [72] Other publications that listed it among the best games of all time include BuzzFeed, [73] Electronic Gaming Monthly , [74] [75] [76] IGN, [77] [78] [79] Edge , [80] Empire , [81] [82] Famitsu , [83] FHM , [84] G4, [85] GameFAQs, [86] [87] [88] [89] GameSpot, [90] GamingBolt, [91] Guinness World Records , [92] Next Generation , [93] [94] NowGamer, [95] Retro Gamer , [96] Stuff , [97] [98] Time , [99] and Yahoo! [100] Guinness World Records awarded Street Fighter II three world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008 . These records are "First Fighting Game to Use Combos", "Most Cloned Fighting Game", and "Biggest-Selling Coin-Operated Fighting Game."
All versions of Street Fighter II are estimated to have grossed a total of $10.61 billion in revenue, mostly from the arcade market. As of 2017 [update] , this makes it one of the top three highest-grossing video games of all time, after Space Invaders (1978) and Pac-Man (1980). [101]
The company sold more than 60,000 video game arcade cabinets of the original version of Street Fighter II. [102] It was followed by Street Fighter II′: Champion Edition, of which 140,000 cabinets were sold in Japan alone, where it cost ¥160,000 ($1300) for each cabinet, amounting to ¥22.4 billion ($182 million) revenue generated from cabinet sales of Champion Edition in Japan, [11] [103] which is equivalent to $342 million in 2020. [104]
The sales for the arcade versions of Street Fighter II in the Western world were similarly successful. [103] In 1992, Street Fighter II captured 60% of the UK coin-op market, with individual machines taking up to £1000 per week, for an estimated total of £260 million per year [105] (equivalent to £542 million or $694.87 million in 2014). In North America, it was at the top of RePlay's May 1992 coin-op-earnings charts, on both the upright cabinets chart and the coin-op software chart [106] (for ROM cartridges and/or upgrade conversion kits). On the July 1992 charts, Champion Edition was number one on the upright cabinets chart (above Midway's Mortal Kombat ) while the original Street Fighter II was number two on the coin-op software chart (below SNK's World Heroes ). [107] On RePlay's April 1993 charts, Champion Edition was number four on the upright cabinets chart and Street Fighter II′ Turbo was number one on the coin-op software chart, [108] while in May 1993, Champion Edition remained number four on the uprights cabinet chart and Turbo dropped to number two on the coin-op software chart (overtaken by SNK's 3 Count Bout ). [109]
The October 1992 issue of Electronic Games noted, "Not since the early 1980s has an arcade game received so much attention and all-out fanatical popularity." [49] According to the March 1995 issue of GameFan magazine, the game had earned "billions of dollars in profit". [110] By 1995, gross revenues of Street Fighter II and Street Fighter II′: Champion Edition arcade machines had exceeded $2.312 billion (9.25 billion quarters), [111] equivalent to over $4.34 billion in 2020. [112]
Title | Cabinet sales | Coin revenue (US$) | RePlay chart position (North America) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No inflation | With inflation | Upright cabinet | Coin-op software | ||
The World Warrior | 60,000+ (as of 2001) [102] | $687 million+ (as of 1995) [111] | $1.29 billion+ | #1 [106] | #1 [106] |
Champion Edition | 140,000+ in Japan (as of 1992) [103] | $1.625 billion+ (as of 1995) [111] | $2.96 billion+ | #1 [107] | — |
Turbo | — | Unknown | Unknown | — | #1 [108] |
Total | 200,000+ | $2.312 billion+ | $4.34 billion+ | #1 | #1 |
The numerous home versions of Street Fighter II are listed among Capcom's Platinum-class games (games which the company has sold more than one million units worldwide). The SNES version of the original Street Fighter II was the company's best-selling single consumer game software, with more than 6.3 million units sold, [113] and it remains their best-selling game software on a single platform through to the present day. [114] [115] 1 million of those sales came in June 1992 within the first two weeks of its release in Japan, [116] where it retailed for ¥10,290 [117] (equivalent to $106 in 2020). Another 750,000 units were sold in the United States between July 15 and September 30, 1992, [2] with a retail price of $74.99 [118] (equivalent to $137 in 2020); according to Electronic Gaming Monthly , "Never has a game taken the country" by "storm as this one has." By the end of 1992, it had sold 4 million cartridges worldwide. [2] In 1993, sales of Street Fighter II exceeded $1.5 billion in gross revenues [119] (equivalent to over $2.82 billion in 2020).
The SNES versions of Street Fighter II′ Turbo and Super Street Fighter II saw 4.1 million and 2 million units sold, respectively, followed by the Mega Drive/Genesis version of Street Fighter II′: Special Champion Edition with 1.65 million sales. In total, more than 14 million copies were sold for the SNES and Mega Drive/Genesis consoles. [114] The SNES version of Street Fighter II was Capcom's best-selling single game until 2013, when it was surpassed by Resident Evil 5. [120] The game had been played by at least 25 million Americans in homes and arcades. [121] In 2008, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix broke both the first-day and first-week sales records for a download-only game. [122] Street Fighter II has sold 15.5 million units across all versions and platforms, making it the best-selling fighting game up until it was surpassed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2019. [123]
Title | Platform(s) | Worldwide sales | Japan sales |
---|---|---|---|
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Super NES | 6,300,000 [113] | 2,900,000 [124] |
Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition | Mega Drive | 1,650,000 [113] | Unknown |
Street Fighter II Turbo | Super NES | 4,100,000 [113] | 2,100,000 [124] |
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers | Super NES | 2,000,000 [113] | 1,300,000 [124] |
Street Fighter II | Game Boy | 17,038+ | 17,038 [125] |
Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Revival | Game Boy Advance | 45,335+ | 45,335 [125] |
Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition | PlayStation 2 | 53,000+ | 53,000 [125] |
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix | PS3 / Xbox 360 | 250,000+ [122] | Unknown |
Ultra Street Fighter II | Nintendo Switch | 500,000 [126] | 100,000 [127] |
Total sales | 15,500,000 [123] | 6,515,373+ |
The Street Fighter II games were followed by several sub-series of Street Fighter games and spinoffs which include Street Fighter Alpha , Street Fighter EX , Street Fighter III , Pocket Fighter , Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Capcom's Vs. series (which combined Capcom's characters with properties from other companies such as Marvel, SNK, and Tatsunoko). Capcom released Street Fighter IV for the arcades in July 2008, followed by the release for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles in February 2009 and for Microsoft Windows in July 2009. Most recently, Street Fighter V was released for the PlayStation 4 and PC in 2016.
Street Fighter II is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time, [129] [130] [131] and the most important fighting game in particular. [131] [132] [133] The release of Street Fighter II in 1991 is often considered a revolutionary moment in the fighting game genre. It featured the most accurate joystick and button scanning routine in the genre thus far, allowed players to reliably execute multi-button special moves (which had previously required an element of luck), and its graphics took advantage of Capcom's CPS arcade chipset, with highly detailed characters and stages. Whereas previous games allowed players to combat a variety of computer-controlled fighters, Street Fighter II allowed players to play against each other. The popularity of Street Fighter II surprised the gaming industry, as arcade owners bought more machines to keep up with demand. [134] Street Fighter II was also responsible for introducing the combo mechanic, which came about when skilled players learned that they could combine several attacks that left no time for the opponent to recover if they timed them correctly. [11] [130] [135] Its success inspired a wave of other fighting games, which were initially often labeled as "clones", [129] [136] including popular franchises such as Mortal Kombat [137] and Killer Instinct . Street Fighter II also influenced Ancient's Ayano Koshiro and her brother Yuzo Koshiro when they designed the combat mechanics of Sega's beat 'em up game Streets of Rage 2 . [138]
Street Fighter II was responsible for revitalizing the arcade video game industry in the early 1990s, [129] [130] to a level of popularity not seen since the days of Pac-Man in the early 1980s; [130] [133] It was the best-selling arcade video game by far since the golden age of arcade video games, [130] [133] setting off a renaissance for the arcade game industry in the early 1990s. [139] Its impact on home video games was equally important, with its release being a major event that boosted sales of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and became a long-lasting system-seller for the platform. [129] Since then, numerous best-selling home video games have been arcade ports. [140]
The game was responsible for popularizing the concept of direct, tournament-level competition between two players. [129] Previously, video games most often relied on high scores to determine the best player, but this changed with Street Fighter II, where players instead challenged each other directly, "face-to-face", to determine the best player, [129] paving the way for the competitive multiplayer and deathmatch modes found in modern action games. [131] John Romero, for example, cited the competitive multiplayer of Street Fighter II as an influence on the deathmatch mode of seminal first-person shooter Doom . [141]
Another impact it had on the gaming industry was the concept of revisions, with Capcom continuously upgrading and expanding the arcade game instead of releasing a sequel, paving the way for the patches and downloadable content found in modern video games. [129]
Street Fighter II has been influential in hip hop culture, as the video game most frequently sampled and referenced in hip hop music. It has been referenced in the lyrics of songs by rappers such as Nicki Minaj, Lupe Fiasco, Dizzee Rascal, Lil B, Sean Price, and Madlib, for example. The connection between Street Fighter and hip hop dates back to Hi-C's "Swing'n" (1993) and DJ Qbert's "Track 10" (1994) which sampled Street Fighter II, and the Street Fighter film soundtrack (1994) which was the first major film soundtrack to consist almost entirely of hip hop music. According to DJ Qbert, "I think hip-hop is a cool thing, I think Street Fighter is a cool thing". According to Vice magazine, "Street Fighter's mixture of competition, bravado, and individualism easily translate into the trials and travails of a rapper." [142]
Street Fighter II has been similarly influential in UK rap culture, frequently referenced and sampled in grime music. According to grime DJ Logan Sama, "Street Fighter is just a huge cultural thing that everyone experienced growing up, the characters are hugely recognisable as well as the moves", and it "had such a huge impact that it has just stayed in everyone’s consciousness." According to Jake Hawkes of Soapbox, "grime was built around lyrical clashes" and "the 1v1 setup of these clashes was easily equated with Street Fighter's 1 on 1 battles." Grime MCs such as Dizzee Rascal were sampling Street Fighter II as early as 2002, and Street Fighter II has been sampled "by almost every grime MC at one time or another". Street Fighter II became established in grime culture to the point of becoming an integral part of BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Charlie Sloth's Fire in the Booth freestyle segments, using samples such as "Hadouken", "Shoryuken" and the "Perfect" announcer sound. [143] The "Perfect" announcer sample has been used to tag verses by North American rappers, such as Kanye West and Drake in The Life of Pablo (2016). [144] [145]
WhoSampled lists about 80 songs that have sampled Street Fighter II, including songs by artists such as Kanye West, Jay-Z, Drake, Psy, Dizzee Rascal, Lupe Fiasco, Bryson Tiller, and A Guy Called Gerald, among many others. [146] Hadouken! was also the name of a British grindie band. [143] The diss track "Mia Khalifa" by iLOVEFRiDAY uses sound effects from Street Fighter II, including the Capcom logo jingle and the "Fight!" announcer clip. [147]
Noritaka Funamizu: We made Street Fighter 2 Dash, and sales were so high. I mean the game cost around ¥150,000 or ¥160,000 [£820] and we sold about 140,000 of them. I can't even imagine such numbers now.
Capcom will not release the final numbers, but some outsiders have estimated that more than 60,000 Street Fighter II arcade machines were sold worldwide.
When Street Fighter II′ (pronounced street fighter two dash) was released just a short time later, it sold around 140,000 units, at ¥160.000 (c. US $1300 / £820) each. The figures were beyond massive — they were simply unheard of. Capcom's Titanic wasn't sinking. Anything but. The game was a runaway success in its territory of choice, bringing Western gamers as much joy as it had in the East.
In 1993, sales of the violent fighting video game Street Fighter II exceeded $1.5 billion.
Japan's Capcom Co. has sold 12 million copies of its Street Fighter games worldwide and figures that 25 million Americans have played the games at home or in arcades.
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(help)It is not the first 2-D one-on-one fighter, but it was leaps and bounds over the competition in terms of graphics, sounds and most importantly, gameplay. Because of this success, countless clones were produced, including many by Capcom themselves.
A fighting game is a video game genre based around close combat between a limited number of characters, in a stage in which the boundaries are fixed. The characters fight each other's until they defeat their opponents or the time expires. The matches typically consist of several rounds, in an arena, with each player character having different abilities but each is relatively viable to choose. Players must master techniques such as blocking, counter-attacking, and chaining attacks together into "combos". Starting in the early 1990s, most fighting games allowed the player to execute special attacks by performing specific input combinations. The fighting game genre is related to but distinct from beat 'em ups, which involve large numbers of enemies against the human player.
Final Fight is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up video game produced by Capcom. Originally released as an arcade game in 1989, it was the seventh title released for the CP System hardware. Set in the non-fictional United States of the fictional Metro City, the player controls one of three street fighters: former pro wrestler and city mayor Mike Haggar, his daughter's boyfriend Cody, as well as his daughter's best friend and Cody's worthy rival Guy, as they set out to clash with the Mad Gear Gang and rescue Haggar's young daughter Jessica, who the gang has kidnapped.
Akuma, known in Japan as Gouki, is a fictional character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games by Capcom. Akuma made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and hidden Boss. In the storyline of the Street Fighter video games, he is the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu's and Ken's master. In some games he also has an enhanced version named Shin Akuma or Shin Gouki in Japanese. Since his debut, Akuma has appeared in several subsequent titles and has been well received by both fans and critics.
Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting. In addition to refining and balancing the existing character roster from the previous versions, Super Street Fighter II introduced four new characters. It was also the first game to be developed on Capcom's CP System II hardware, which permitted more sophisticated graphics and audio over the original CP System hardware used in previous versions of Street Fighter II.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 is a 1996 fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is both a sequel and a remake to the previous year's Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is itself a prequel to the Street Fighter II series in terms of plot and setting. The game features a number of improvements over the original, such as new attacks, stages, endings, and gameplay features. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a competitive fighting game released for the arcades by Capcom in Japan on February 23, 1994, in North America on February 23 and March 26, 1994 (beta) and in Europe in March 1994 (beta). It is the fifth installment in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. Like its predecessor, it ran on the CP System II hardware.
X-Men: Children of the Atom is an arcade game that was produced by Capcom and released on the CP System II arcade hardware in 1994 in Japan and in 1995 in North America and Europe.
Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, released in Japan as Super Puzzle Fighter II X, is a one or two player tile-matching puzzle video game first released in 1996 by the Capcom Coin-Op division of Capcom on the CPS II arcade system. The game's title is a parody of Super Street Fighter II Turbo, as there were no other Puzzle Fighter games at the time, and the game includes music and interface elements spoofing the Street Fighter Alpha and Darkstalkers games. It was a response to Sega's Puyo Puyo 2 that had been sweeping the Japanese arcade scene.
Sheng Long is a character hoax related to the Street Fighter series, created by Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) as an April Fools' prank in 1992. The joke, based upon a mistranslation that suggested the existence of a character named Sheng Long in the Capcom fighting game Street Fighter II, described a method to fight the character in the game. After other publications reprinted the details as fact without verifying the authenticity, the Sheng Long hoax spread worldwide. As a result of discussion revolving around the possibility of the character's appearance in Street Fighter III during the game's development, EGM revisited the joke in 1997, printing an updated version of the hoax for the title while establishing a backstory and appearance for the character in the process.
Street Fighter is a 1987 arcade game developed by Capcom. It is the first competitive fighting game produced by the company and the first installment in the Street Fighter series. While it did not achieve the same worldwide popularity as its sequel Street Fighter II when it was first released, the original Street Fighter introduced some of the conventions made standard in later games, such as the six button controls and the use of command-based special techniques.
Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting is a competitive fighting game released for the arcade by Capcom in 1992. It is the third game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games following Street Fighter II': Champion Edition. Released less than a year after the previous installment, Hyper Fighting introduced a faster playing speed and new special moves for certain characters, as well as further refinement to the character balance.
Street Fighter Collection is a fighting game compilation developed and published by Capcom for Sega Saturn and PlayStation. It contains the original Super Street Fighter II, its follow-up Super Street Fighter II Turbo, and an enhanced version of Street Fighter Alpha 2 titled Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, which is exclusive to this compilation.
Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams is a 2D 1995 fighting game by Capcom originally released for the arcade for the CP System II hardware. It was the first all new Street Fighter game produced by Capcom since the release of Street Fighter II in 1991. The working title for the game was Street Fighter Legends.
Street Fighter, commonly abbreviated as SF or スト (Suto), is a fighting video game franchise developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by five other main series games, various spin-offs and crossovers and numerous appearances in various other media. Its best-selling 1991 release Street Fighter II is credited with establishing many of the conventions of the one-on-one fighting genre.
Street Fighter: The Movie is a head-to-head fighting game released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1995, with the game serving as a North American launch title for the PlayStation. The game is based on the 1994 live-action Street Fighter movie, itself based on the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and uses digitized images of the film's cast as the characters. While it shares its title with the arcade game Street Fighter: The Movie, the home version is not a port but a similar game developed on the same premise. The home version was developed and published by Capcom in Japan and released in North America and Europe by Acclaim Entertainment.
Street Fighter: The Movie is a 1995 head-to-head fighting game released as a coin-operated arcade game. The game is based on the 1994 live-action Street Fighter movie, itself based on the Street Fighter series of fighting games, and uses digitized images of the film's cast. While a titled home video game of the same name was also released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, it is not a port but a separately produced game based on the same premise. The arcade version was developed by Chicago-based Incredible Technologies and distributed to the arcades by Capcom.
Street Fighter II': Champion Edition is a fighting game released for the arcades by Capcom in 1992. It was the first of several updated versions of Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, part of the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games. The main changes were the addition of the Shadaloo Bosses as playable characters and mirror matches. The fighting techniques of the eight main characters from the original game were also further refined to allow for more-balanced competitive play.
Street Fighter EX is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in 1996. It is a spin-off of the Street Fighter series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first game in the series to feature 3D polygon graphics. It was followed by an updated arcade version titled Street Fighter EX Plus, as well as a PlayStation-exclusive home console version titled Street Fighter EX Plus α, both released in 1997. A Nintendo 64 version was also announced for release in 1997, but later cancelled.
Fighter's History is a 1993 arcade fighting game developed and published by Data East. It's the inaugural game in the Fighter's History series. The main unique feature of the Fighter's History is its weak point system, which allows the player to temporarily stun an opponent by repeatedly hitting their weak point.