| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Capcom[b] |
| Publishers | |
| Director | Akira Nishitani |
| Producer | Yoshiki Okamoto |
| Designers |
|
| Programmers |
|
| Artists |
|
| Composers |
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| Series | Street Fighter |
| Platform | |
| Release | March 7, 1991 |
| Genre | Fighting |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
| Arcade system | CP System |
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior[c] is a 1991fighting game developed and published byCapcom forarcades. It is the second installment in theStreet Fighter series, and the sequel to 1987'sStreet Fighter. Designed byYoshiki Okamoto andAkira Yasuda, who had previously worked on the gameFinal Fight, it is the fourteenth game to use Capcom'sCP Systemarcade system board.Street Fighter II vastly improved many of the concepts introduced in the first game, including the use ofspecial command-based moves, acombo system, a six-button configuration, and a wider selection ofplayable characters, each with a unique fighting style.
Street Fighter II became the best-selling game since thegolden age of arcade video games. By 1994, it had been played by an estimated 25 million people in the United States alone. More than 200,000arcade cabinets and 15 million software units of every version ofStreet Fighter II have been sold worldwide, earning an estimated$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 until 2019. More than 6.3 millionSNEScartridges ofStreet Fighter II were sold, making it Capcom'sbest-selling single software game for the next two decades, its best-selling game on a single platform, and thehighest-selling third-party game on the SNES.
Unlike its predecessor,Street Fighter II became a pop culture phenomenon, and is frequently regarded asone of the greatest video games ever made. It is also cited as the most important and influential fighting game ever made, with its launch being credited with popularizing the genre during the 1990s and inspiring other producers to create their own fighting series. Additionally, it prolonged the survival of the declining video game arcade business market by stimulating business and driving the fighting game genre.[10][11] It prominently features a popular two-player mode that obligates direct, human-to-human competitive play, inspiring grassroots tournament events, culminating inEvolution Championship Series (EVO).[12][11]Street Fighter II shifted the arcade competitive dynamic from achieving personal-best high scores to head-to-head competition, including large groups.[10] Due to its major success, aseries of updated versions were released with additional features and characters, starting with 1992'sStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition; its major successor wasStreet Fighter III in 1997.
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Street Fighter II follows several conventions and rules established by its 1987 predecessorStreet Fighter. The player engages opponents in a series of timed one-on-one, close-quarters combat matches. In order to win a round, the player must either completely drain the opponent's health bar by landing attacks, or have more health left than the opponent when the timer runs out. Neither fighter wins the round if they have equal health when time expires or if they simultaneously knock each other out. The first fighter to win two rounds is declared the victor of the match.
While a single-player game is in progress, a second player may join at any time, immediately starting a head-to-head match. The winner continues in single-player mode.
The originalStreet Fighter II allowed up to 10 rounds per match; this maximum is reduced to four rounds starting withChampion Edition. 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 two-player match. After every third match in the single-player mode, abonus stage gives a chance to earn additional points by smashing a car, wooden barrels, or metal oil drums. After each match, the location for the next one is selected on aworld map.
Like inStreet Fighter, the controls are an eight-directional joystick and six attack buttons. The joystick can jump, crouch, walk left and right, and block. A tradeoff of strength and speed are given by three punch buttons and three kick buttons, each of light, medium, and heavy. The player can perform a variety of basic moves in any position, including new grabbing and throwing attacks. Special moves are performed by combinations of directional and button-based commands.
Street Fighter II differs from its predecessor due to the selection of multipleplayable characters, each with distinct fighting styles and special moves including combos. According toIGN, "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."[13] Thiscombo system was later adopted as a standard feature of fighting games and was expanded upon in this series.[13]
According to the timeline, the story was set two years after the events ofStreet Fighter Alpha 3 and three years before the events ofStreet Fighter IV.
Sometime after gaining a new body, M. Bison uses his Shadaloo organization to establish a base in a temple in Thailand. Bison also subjugated a nearby village to establish his criminal empire yet still provided the village with essential supplies. To lure out Ryu once more, Bison takes influence from his bodyguard Sagat to announce the Second World Fighting Tournament organized by Shadaloo (Sagat was both the sponsor and final challenger of the First World Fighting Tournament several years prior) with the main intent on retrieving Ryu's body, as well as wanting revenge towards the fighters who had hindered his criminal organization's efforts by luring in the heroes into Shadaloo's Temple Hideout located in Thailand for Bison, Sagat, Vega and Balrog to beat each one of them into submission in order to not have anyone prevent him from starting global domination.
At the result of the Second World Fighting Tournament, Ryu becomes the two-time champion and earns the title of The World Warrior. At the Award Ceremony, Sagat has taken third place, and M. Bison second. But the first place champion's spot is empty, much to the wonder of the crowd. As it turns out, Ryu has no need for ceremony, and is already on his way to seek out a new challenge. starting by training his Shoryukens under a waterfall.
The originalStreet Fighter II features a roster of eight playable fighters. This includes Ryu and Ken—the main protagonists fromStreet Fighter—plus six new international newcomers. In the single-player tournament, the player fights the other seven main fighters, then the final opponents—a group of fourCPU-only opponents known as the Grand Masters, which includes Sagat fromStreet Fighter.
Playable characters:
CPU-exclusive characters, in the order of appearance:
Takayuki Nakayama stated in an interview that many character design ideas were trialled and dropped along the development process. Rejected character designs forStreet Fighter II included anotherbullfighter and an American amateur wrestler.[14]
With the exception of Sagat, the Shadaloo Bosses have different names in the Japanese version. The boxer known as Balrog in the international versions was designed as apastiche of real-life boxerMike Tyson and was originally named M. Bison (short for "Mike Bison", with "Mike" being one of the American opponents faced inStreet Fighter). Vega and M. Bison were originally named Balrog and Vega, respectively. WhenStreet Fighter II was localized for the overseas market, the names of the bosses were rotated, out of concern that the boxer's similarities to Tyson could have led to alikeness infringement lawsuit.[15]
The characters in the Japanese version have more than one win quote[16] 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 inStreet Fighter Alpha) was changed from Nash toCharlie, since a staff member from Capcom USA said that Nash is not a natural sounding English name.[17]
Although the original punching-pad cabinet ofStreet Fighter had not been very popular, the alternate six-button version was more successful, which began to generate interest in a sequel.[18] Capcom began to make fighting games a priority afterFinal Fight was commercially successful in the United States.[19]Yoshiki Okamoto recounted: "The basic idea at Capcom was to reviveStreet Fighter, a good game concept, to make it a better-playing arcade game."[20]
Development ofStreet Fighter II took about two years[19] and about 35 to 40 people, withNoritaka Funamizu as a producer, andAkira Nishitani andAkira Yasuda in charge of the game and character design, respectively.[17][19] The budget was estimated at$2,450,000 (equivalent to $5,660,000 in 2024).[17]
Funamizu notes that the developers did not particularly prioritizeStreet Fighter II'sbalance; he primarily ascribes the game's success to its appealing animation patterns. The quality of animation benefited from the developers' use of theCPS-1 hardware, with advantages including allowing different characters to occupy different amounts of memory. For example,Ryu can occupy 8 megabits andZangief 12 megabits.[19]
Thecombo 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[19]
The vast majority of in-game music was composed byYoko Shimomura. This is ultimately the only game in the series on which Shimomura worked, as she left the company forSquare two years later. Isao Abe, a Capcom newcomer, handled a few additional tracks ("Versus Screen", "Sagat's Theme", and "Here Comes A New Challenger") forStreet Fighter II and became the main composer on the subsequent versions. The sound programming and sound effects were overseen by Yoshihiro Sakaguchi, the composer onStreet Fighter.
Location testing began in Japan.[17] It was then exhibited in the United Kingdom at London'sAmusement Trades Exhibition International (ATEI) in January 1991.[21] The same month, Capcom held a two-week location test in North America, before unveiling the game at Capcom's distributor conference on February 1, 1991, held atMarriott Harbor Beach,Fort Lauderdale, Florida.[22][23] Capcom introducedStreet Fighter II as its "greatest video game ever".[24]
Street Fighter II spawned a series of revisions that were released in arcades, but were later ported to various platforms, as individual releases and also in compilations. Each entry refined the play mechanics, graphics, character roster, and other aspects of the game:
Later home console ports further reinvented elements from the arcades:
In addition to the official updated versions, numerous counterfeit modified versions ofStreet Fighter II (including theRainbow Edition) were in wide circulation. For example, nine different counterfeit versions were available on the Super Famicom in Japan by December 1992.[25]
| Release date | Platform | Media | Developer | Publisher | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNES |Sega Genesis | ROM cartridge | Capcom | Re-released on theWii andWii UVirtual Console. | ||
| 1992 | Amiga[28] | 4floppy disks | Creative Materials | U.S. Gold | Released in Europe. |
| Atari ST[29] | 4 floppy disks | ||||
| Commodore 64[30] | Cassette or floppy disk | ||||
| PC (DOS)[31] | 3 floppy disks | Creative Materials | Released in North America and Europe. | ||
| Tiger Electronics | Custom LCD hardware (handheld) | Tiger Electronics | Tiger Electronics | ||
| 1993 | ZX Spectrum[32] | Cassette or floppy disk | Tiertex Design Studios | U.S. Gold | Released in Europe. |
| 1994 | CPS Changer[33] | ROM cartridge | Capcom | Capcom | Released exclusively in Japan. |
| 1995 | Game Boy | ROM cartridge | Sun L | Capcom Nintendo | |
| 1998 | Sega Saturn | CD-ROM | Capcom | Capcom | Included inCapcom Generation 5. Released exclusivelyin Japan. |
| PlayStation | Capcom | Capcom | Included inStreet Fighter Collection 2. | ||
| 2004 | Mobile[34] | Online distribution | Capcom | Capcom | |
| 2006 | PlayStation 2 | DVD-ROM | Digital Eclipse | Capcom | Included inCapcom Classics Collection Vol. 1. Based on the PS1 version. |
| Xbox | |||||
| PlayStation Portable | UMD | Capcom | Capcom | Included inCapcom Classics Collection: Reloaded. Based on the PS1 version. | |
| 2018 | PlayStation 4 | BD-ROM | Digital Eclipse | Capcom | Included inStreet Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. |
| Xbox One | |||||
| Nintendo Switch | Flash based ROM cartridges | ||||
| Windows | Online distribution |
Street Fighter II was released for theSuper Famicom on June 10, 1992, in Japan, followed by a North American release for theSNES in August and a European release in December. It is the first game released on a 16-megabit SNES cartridge. Many aspects from the arcade versions were either changed or simplified in order to fit into the smaller memory capacity. This version has a secret code allowing both players to control the same character in a match, which is not possible in the original arcade version. The second player uses the same alternate color palette introduced inStreet Fighter II: Champion Edition. The four Shadaloo Bosses are still non-playable, but the code enables theirChampion Edition color palette. Tatsuya Nishimura, who had recently joined Capcom fromTOSE, arranged the soundtrack with assistance from Shimomura, Abe, and Sakaguchi.
The North American SNES version was re-released in November 2017 as a limited edition item to celebrate the anniversary of theStreet Fighter series.[35]
U.S. Gold released versions ofStreet Fighter II for varioushome computer platforms in Europe, namely theAmiga,Atari ST,Commodore 64,PC (DOS), andZX Spectrum. These were all developed by Creative Materials, except the ZX Spectrum version byTiertex Design Studios. The PC version was also published in North America by Hi-Tech Expressions.[31] These versions suffer 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. Though officially advertised by US Gold along with the C64 and ZX Spectrum conversions and anticipated in magazines, anAmstrad CPC version was never released.[36]
This standalone handheld machine was missing Chun-Li and Dhalsim.[37]
The Game Boy version ofStreet Fighter II was released on August 11, 1995, in Japan, and in September 1995 internationally. It is missing Dhalsim, E. Honda, and Vega. The graphics, character portraits, and stages are based onSuper Street Fighter II, although some moves (ex: Blanka's Amazon River Run) fromSuper Street Fighter II Turbo are included. Because the Game Boy only has two buttons, the strength of punches and kicks is determined by the duration of button presses.
Street Fighter II,Champion Edition, andTurbo are in the compilationCapcom Generation 5 for thePlayStation andSega Saturn, which was released in North America and Europe asStreet Fighter Collection 2. All three games are inCapcom Classics Collection Vol. 1 for thePlayStation 2 andXbox, and inCapcom Classics Collection Reloaded for thePlayStation Portable. In 2011, all three games were released oniOS devices as theStreet Fighter II Collection,[38] though the compilation was later delisted from theApp Store. In 2018,Street Fighter II was one of the many games included in theStreet Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection for thePlayStation 4,Nintendo Switch,Xbox One andWindows.
By 1994,Street Fighter II had been played by an estimated 25 million people in the United States alone, across arcades and homes.[39] All versions ofStreet Fighter II are estimated to have grossed a total of$10.61 billion in revenue, mostly from the arcade market. As of 2017[update], it is one of the top three highest-grossing video games of all time, along withSpace Invaders (1978) andPac-Man (1980).[40]
Street Fighter II was not immediately successful in Japan, as most arcade players were initially playing it solo, rather than multiplayer as originally intended. Yoshiki Okamoto was disappointed with its initial performance, and was told he should have produced another solo beat 'em up likeFinal Fight instead. After Japanese arcade magazineGamest began publishing articles informing readers about the "battle play" feature, the game began gaining considerable popularity in Japanese arcades.[17] In Japan,Game Machine magazine listed the game as the second most successfultable arcade cabinet of March 1991, outperforming games such asDetana!! TwinBee andKing of the Monsters,[41] beforeStreet Fighter II topped the charts two weeks later.[42] It went on to become the highest-grossingarcade game of 1991 in Japan,[43][44] and then became the highest-grossingarcade game of 1992.[45][3]Street Fighter II Turbo became the highest-grossingarcade game of 1993, withStreet Fighter II Dash (Champion Edition) at number four andThe World Warrior at number nine.[46]
Street Fighter II was similarly successful in theWestern world.[47] In the United States, the game was more immediately successful as it exceeded expectations in test markets,[17][22] with individual machines earning$1,300–1,400 per week,[17] Capcom USA sales representative Jeff Walker predicted it would "become the kit of 1991", andRePlay magazine said the game showed there was "plenty of life" left in the then-struggling arcade business.[22] By March, it had become a blockbuster[48] and the top-grossing game in the United States,[49][50] giving a substantial boost in earnings for street operators.[51] It topped theRePlay arcade software charts from May 1991 through August 1992, for a total of 16 months.[e] On thePlay Meter arcade charts, it was the top-grossing video game during January–February 1992[68][69] and May 1992.[70]Street Fighter II was the highest-grossing arcade game of 1991 in the United States,[71][72] and one of the top five highest-grossing arcade conversion kits of 1992[73][74] (belowChampion Edition).[75] Its success was considered phenomenal; by 1992, it had turned around the convenience store segment of the coin-op industry[76] and become the best-selling arcade game in ten years.[77]Electronic Games noted in its October 1992 issue, "Not since theearly 1980s has an arcade game received so much attention and all-out fanatical popularity."[78] It was similarly successful in Australia, where it was performing strongly after 16 months on the market, withLeisure Line magazine noting in 1992 that not "since the days ofSpace Invaders (1978) has a game had such longevity".[79]
In 1991, 50,000 arcade units were sold worldwide, including 17,000 in Japan, with Capcom reporting continued production of arcade units due to repeat orders.[44] In the United Kingdom,Your Commodore reported in July 1991 that spectators were betting on players atLondon West End arcades.[80] Between early 1991 and early 1993,Street Fighter II had captured about 60% of the global coin-op market, including 10,000 units installed in the United Kingdom by mid-1991, with individual machines in the UK estimated to be taking between£70–1,000 per week over the next two years.[81]Street Fighter II generated an estimated annual revenue of£260 million in the UK alone for the two years between mid-1991 and mid-1993,[81] totaling£520 million ($913 million at the time, equivalent to $2.05 billion in 2024).
Capcom sold more than 60,000arcade machines of the originalStreet Fighter II,[82] including about 20,000 to 25,000 units in the United States.[17] It was followed byStreet Fighter II′ (Dash orChampion Edition), of which 140,000 arcade units were sold in Japan alone, where it cost¥160,000 ($1300) for each unit, amounting to ¥22.4 billion ($182 million) revenue generated from hardware sales in Japan[83][47] (equivalent to $420 million in 2024),[84] in addition to about 20,000 to 25,000 units sold in the United States.[17] On the USRePlay arcade charts for July 1992,Champion Edition was number one on the upright cabinets chart (aboveMidway'sMortal Kombat), while the originalStreet Fighter II was number two on the coin-op software chart (belowSNK'sWorld Heroes).[85]Street Fighter II generated$1.5 billion (equivalent to $3.36 billion in 2024) annually in 1993, making it the year's highest-grossing entertainment product, above the filmJurassic Park.[86][87] In January 1994, Capcom referred toStreet Fighter II as "the most successful video game series of the decade" while promotingSuper Street Fighter II.[88] In early 1994, Capcom projected sales ofSuper Street Fighter II to reach 100,000 arcade units.[89] According to the March 1995 issue ofGameFan, the game had earned "billions of dollars in profit".[90]
| Title | Region | Hardware sales | Coin drop revenue (est.US$) | Peak chart position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No inflation | With inflation | ||||
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Japan | 60,000+[82] | Unknown | Unknown | #1[43][45][44][3] |
| Australia | Unknown | Unknown | #1[79] | ||
| Hong Kong | Unknown | Unknown | #1[42] | ||
| United Kingdom | $913 million(as of 1993[update])[81] | $2 billion | #1[81] | ||
| United States | Unknown | Unknown | #1[91][71][72] | ||
| Street Fighter II: Champion Edition | Japan | 140,000[47][83] | $2.312 billion(as of 1995)[92] | $5.18 billion | #1[93] |
| United States | 20,000+[17] | #1[85][75] | |||
| Australia | Unknown | #1[94] | |||
| Street Fighter II Turbo | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | #1[95][46] |
| United States | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | #1[96] | |
| Super Street Fighter II | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | #1[97] |
| United States | 1,000+[98][89] | Unknown | Unknown | #1[99] | |
| Super Street Fighter II Turbo | Japan | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | #1[100] |
| United States | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | #1[101] | |
| Total | Worldwide | 221,000+ | $5.31 billion+[40] | $12.26 billion+ | #1 |
In addition to Capcom's official arcade units, many pirated counterfeitStreet Fighter II arcade clone units were sold across the world.[17][102]RePlay noted in January 1993 thatStreet Fighter II had "single-handedly re-ignited the worldwide black market in counterfeitPCBs and speed-up kits".[102] Many counterfeit arcade units often outsold officialStreet Fighter IIarcade cabinets in various markets. For example, about 200,000 counterfeits were inMexico alone, where Capcom did not officially sell the game.[17] Bondeal fromHong Kong produced 3,000 copied arcade units per month for markets likeLatin America, and aTaiwanese firm produced 20,000 copied arcade units in 1991;[103] in Taiwan, up to 150,000 clone units were manufactured by 1992.[104] Many counterfeit units were inSouth Korea, such as a trader selling about 100Street Fighter II PCBs by 1992.[105] Seven different versions of the game claimed to be sequels in 1992, mostly from Hong Kong, and one namedChampion of Champion Editions reportedly was in British arcades.[106] Capcom and its partners took legal action against counterfeit arcade units in regions such asSoutheast Asia,[44]North America,[102] South Korea,[105] andPuerto Rico.[103]
The numerous home conversions ofStreet Fighter II are listed among Capcom's Platinum-class games, with more than one million units sold worldwide.[107] In Japan, 1 million copies of the Super Famicom version were sold in June 1992 within the first two weeks of its release,[108] at a retail price of¥10,780[109] (equivalent to $85.12 then, or $191 in 2024). The February 1992 issue ofGamest in Japan said that, due to low stock, the console versions were selling for much higher at ¥15,000 (equivalent to about$119.19 at the time, or $267 in 2024). It topped the JapaneseFamitsu sales charts from June[110] through July[111][112][113] to August 1992.[114][115] It was a multi-million seller in Japan by December 1992.[116][117]
In the United States, 750,000 units of the SNES version were sold between July 15 and September 30, 1992,[4] with a retail price of$74.99 (equivalent to $170 in 2024).[118] According toElectronic Gaming Monthly: "Never has a game taken the country [by] storm as this one has."[4] It remained America's top-selling Super NES game for much of late 1992, in August[119] and then October,[120][121] November,[122] and December.[123] In 1992 in North America,2 million units were sold.[124] In the United Kingdom,Street Fighter II replacedSuper Mario World as the bundled game for the SNES,[125] and the SNES and Amiga versions made it the second best-selling home video game of 1992, belowSonic the Hedgehog 2 for the Mega Drive.[6] Worldwide, four millionStreet Fighter II cartridges had been sold by September 1992,[4]5 million units by the end of 1992,[126] and over6 million by 1993.[127][128] The SNES version became the company'sbest-selling single consumer game software, at more than 6.3 million units,[129] and it remains its best-selling game software on a single platform.[107][130] By 1993,10 million units of all home software versions had been sold,[131] and11.9 million units for Nintendo and Sega consoles by March 1994.[132]
The SNES versions ofStreet Fighter II Turbo andSuper Street Fighter II had 4.1 million and two million unit sales, respectively, followed by the Mega Drive/Genesis version ofStreet 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.[107] The SNES version ofStreet Fighter II was Capcom's best-selling single game until 2013, when it was surpassed byResident Evil 5.[133] The Amiga version was successful in the United Kingdom, where it became the best-selling home computer software of 1992, though only being available for the last 16 days of the year.[6]Street Fighter II also topped the UK's Amiga sales chart in January 1993,[134] and the UK's Atari ST chart in March 1993.[135] In 2008,Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix broke both the first-day and first-week sales records for a download-only game.[136]Street Fighter II was the best-selling fighting game with 15.5 million units sold across all versions and platforms, until it was surpassed bySuper Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2019.[137]
| Title | Platform(s) | Worldwide sales | Japan sales | Revenue | Inflation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter II: The World Warrior | Super NES | 6,300,000[129][138] | 2,900,000[139] | $1.5 billion+[87] | $3.36 billion+ |
| Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition | Mega Drive | 1,665,000[138] | Unknown | ||
| Street Fighter II Turbo | Super NES | 4,100,000[129][138] | 2,100,000[139] | ||
| Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers | Super NES | 2,000,000[129][138] | 1,300,000[139] | Unknown | Unknown |
| Street Fighter II | Game Boy | 17,038+ | 17,038[140] | Unknown | Unknown |
| Super Street Fighter II Turbo: Revival | Game Boy Advance | 45,335+ | 45,335[140] | Unknown | Unknown |
| Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition | PlayStation 2 | 53,000+ | 53,000[140] | Unknown | Unknown |
| Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix | PS3 /Xbox 360 | 250,000+[136] | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Ultra Street Fighter II | Nintendo Switch | 500,000[141] | 100,000[142] | Unknown | Unknown |
| Total sales | 15,500,000[137] | 6,515,373+ |
Like the arcades, the home conversions were impacted bycopyright infringement. Upon release of the SNES version in 1992, thirteen different unauthorized versions were reportedly available for the Super Famicom.[106]
| Publication | Score | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amiga | Arcade | Atari ST | C64 | Game Boy | Sega Genesis | SNES | ZX | |
| Computer and Video Games | 78%[144] | 93%[143] | ||||||
| Edge | 9/10[145] | |||||||
| Electronic Gaming Monthly | 29/40[147] | 38/40[146][4] | ||||||
| Famitsu | 21/40[149] | 7/10, 8/10, 8/10, 8/10[8] | 35/40[148] | |||||
| GamePro | 5/5[150] | |||||||
| Mean Machines | 98%[156] | |||||||
| Nintendo Power | 16.2/20[151] | |||||||
| Sinclair User | 84%[152] | 89%[153] | ||||||
| Your Sinclair | 62%[154] | |||||||
| Bad Influence! | 96%[155] | |||||||
| Electronic Games | 94%[78] | |||||||
| Mega Zone | 84%[158] | 95%[157] | ||||||
| Play Meter | 94%[159] | |||||||
| RePlay | Positive[22] | |||||||
| SNES Force | 92%[160] | |||||||
| ST Format | 91%[161] | |||||||
| Super Play | 94%[162] | |||||||
| Your Commodore | Positive[80] | |||||||
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| GamestGrand Prize | Game of the Year, Best Action Game,Best Album,Best VGM, Best Direction, Best Characters, Best Graphics (Runner-Up) |
| Electronic Gaming Awards | Video Game of the Year, Best Action Video Game[163] |
| Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) | Game of the Year, Best Game of the Year (Super Nintendo), Best Video Game Ending, Hottest Video Game Babe (Chun-Li) |
| European Computer Trade Show (ECTS) | Overall Game of the Year, Best Action Game, Italian Game of the Year[164] |
| Golden Joystick Awards | Game of the Year,[165] Console Game of the Year, Best Licensed Console Game[166] |
| GameFan Golden Megawards | Best Game, Best Arcade Translation, Best One-on-One Fighting Game, Best Character (Dhalsim &Guile)[167] |
| Game Informer | Game of the Year, Best Playability in a Video Game |
| Chicago Tribune | Game of the Year[168] |
| GamePro | 16-bit Game of the Year |
| Nintendo Power | Game of the Year (SNES), Theme and Fun (SNES), Play Control (SNES), Best/Worst Villain (Bison)[169] |
The original arcade version ofStreet Fighter II was awardedBest Game of 1991 inGamest's 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 placed No. 1 in Best VGM, Best Direction, and Best Album, and was second place in Best Graphics below the3DNamco System 21 gameStarblade. All the characters except M. Bison (known internationally as Balrog) are on the list of Best Characters of 1991.[170]
Street Fighter II Dash was awarded Best Game of 1992 in the Sixth Annual Grand Prize, as published in the February 1993 issue ofGamest, winning again as Best Action Game. It placed No. 3 in Best VGM, No. 6 in Best Graphics, and No. 5 in Best Direction. TheStreet Fighter II Image Album is the No. 1 Best Album in the same issue, with the Drama CD version ofStreet Fighter II tied for No. 7 with the soundtrack forStar Blade. The List of Best Characters only had Chun-Li at No. 3.[171]
In the February 1994 issue ofGamest, bothStreet Fighter II Turbo andSuper Street Fighter II were nominated for Best Game of 1993, but neither won (the first place was given toSamurai Spirits).Super ranked third place, andTurbo ranked sixth. In the category of Best Fighting Games,Super ranked third place again, whileTurbo placed fifth.Super won third place in the categories of Best Graphics and Best VGM. Cammy, who was introduced inSuper, placed fifth place in the list of Best Characters of 1993, with Dee Jay at 36 and T. Hawk at 37.[172] In the January 30, 1995 issue ofGamest,Super Street Fighter II X (known asSuper 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.[173]
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 withDragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride,Shin Megami Tensei,World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, andMario Paint. They later gave theTurbo update a score of 36 out of 40. This madeStreet Fighter II Turbo their highest-rated game of 1993, and the twelfth game to have received aFamitsu score of 36/40 or above.[148]
The arcade game was well received by English-language critics upon release. In March 1991,RePlay said that "the graphics and sounds are tops" while praising the "solid" gameplay,[22] and it was considered the top game at the American Coin Machine Exposition (ACME) that month.[174] In May 1991,Julian Rignall ofComputer and Video Games gave it ratings of 94% for graphics, 93% for sound, 95% for playability, and 92% for lastability, with a 93% score overall. He criticized the originalStreet Fighter for being a "run-of-the-mill beat 'em up with little in the way of thrills and spills" but praised the 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.[143] In the June 1991 issue ofSinclair User, John Cook gave the arcade game an "addict factor" of 84%. He praised the gameplay and the "excellent" animation and sound effects, but criticized the controls, stating players "might find the control system a bit daunting at first [with] a joystick plus six (count 'em!) fire buttons [but] it's not that bad really". He concluded "this is bound to appeal to you if you like the beat 'em up style of game."[152] Jeff Davy ofYour Commodore praised the game for its large sprites, character animation, varied opponents, character moves, and two-player mode.[80]Computer and Video Games later referred toStreet Fighter II as the "game of the millennium" in 1992.[175]
The SNES version ofStreet Fighter II was very well received. InElectronic Gaming Monthly (EGM), its panel of four reviewers gave it scores of 10, 9, 10, and 9, adding up to 38 out of 40,[146][4] and their "Game of the Month" award.Sushi-X (Ken Williams) gave it a 10, calling it "The best!Street Fighter II is the only game I have ever seen that really deserves a 10!" Martin Alessi gave it a 9, describing it as "the best cart available anywhere! Incredible game play!" Ed Semrad gave it a 10, saying "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."[146]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 ofChampion 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."[150]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.[78]Nintendo Power scored it 16.2 out of 20,[151] 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!".[150]Nintendo Power ranked it the best SNES game of 1992, aboveThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past in second place.[151]
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".[176]
Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Sure, it's violent (people can be set on fire), butStreet Fighter II offers a depth of play (each character has more than 20 different moves) unmatched by any other video-game slugfest."[177]
Street Fighter II was named byElectronic Gaming Monthly as theGame of the Year for 1992.[4]EGM awardedStreet Fighter II Turbo with Best Super NES Game in 1993.[178]Street Fighter II won theGolden Joystick Award forGame of the Year in 1992.[165]Game Informer gave it the "Best Game of the Year" and "Best Playability in a Video Game" awards.[179] It wonElectronic Games's Electronic Gaming Award for the Video Game of the Year,[163] where it was nominated along withNHLPA Hockey '93 andSonic the Hedgehog 2.[180]
The Mega Drive version ofStreet Fighter II received ten out of ten for both graphics and addiction fromMega, 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.[181]MegaTech scored it 95% and awarded it Hyper Game, stating "the greatest coin-op hits the Megadrive in perfect form".[182]Edge gave the PC Engine version ofChampion Edition a score of eight out of ten.[183] The four reviewers ofElectronic Gaming Monthly, while remarking that the Game Boy control is difficult, the game speed "lethargically slow", and it is a very old game, agreed it to be an excellent conversion by Game Boy standards.[147] The Axe Grinder ofGamePro agreed, praising the graphics and Game Boysurvival mode, but criticizing the slow controls and concluding that "The real problem here is that the game's just plain old."[184]
| Aggregator | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade | C64 | Game Boy | SNES | Wii | |
| GameRankings | 82%[162] | ||||
| Publication | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcade | C64 | Game Boy | SNES | Wii | |
| AllGame |  [185] |   [187] | [188] | [186] | |
| Eurogamer | 9/10[189] | ||||
| GameSpot | 7.2/10[190] | ||||
| IGN | 7/10[191] | ||||
Street Fighter II has been listed among thebest games of all time. Game Rankings aggregated theSNES reviews since 1992 with a reported ranking of 81.57% indicating an overall positive reception.[162] The staff praised it for popularizing the one-on-one fighting game genre and noted that its Super NES ports were "near-perfect."[192] They later ranked it the 25th-best game ever made in 2009.[193]Game Informer ranked it as the 22nd-best game ever made in 2001. Other publications that listed it among the best games of all time includeBuzzFeed,[194]Electronic Gaming Monthly,[195][196][197]IGN,[198][199][200]Edge,[201]Empire,[202][203]Famitsu,[204]FHM,[205]G4,[206]GameFAQs,[207][208][209][210]GameSpot,[211]GamingBolt,[212]Guinness World Records,[213]Next Generation,[214][215]NowGamer,[216]Retro Gamer,[217]Stuff,[218][219]Time,[220] andYahoo![221]Guinness World Records awardedStreet Fighter II the world records of "First Fighting Game to Use Combos", "Most Cloned Fighting Game", and "Biggest-Selling Coin-Operated Fighting Game" in theGuinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. In 2017,The Strong National Museum of Play inductedStreet Fighter II to itsWorld Video Game Hall of Fame.[222]
GameSpot gave the PlayStation 3 version ofHD Remix a score of 8.5 out of 10.[223]
PC Gamer listed the 1993 DOS version ofStreet Fighter II as one of the worst PC ports of all time.[224]
TheStreet Fighter II games were followed by several sub-series ofStreet Fighter games and spinoffs, includingStreet Fighter EX,Pocket Fighter,Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, andVs. series. A prequel toStreet Fighter II,Street Fighter Alpha, was released in 1995. The direct sequel toStreet Fighter II,Street Fighter III, would be released in 1997. Capcom releasedStreet Fighter IV for the arcades in July 2008, followed by Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February 2009 and Microsoft Windows in July 2009.Street Fighter V was released for the PlayStation 4 and Windows in 2016.Street Fighter 6 was released for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S in June 2023, an arcade version was released in Japan in December 2023.
Street Fighter II is regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time,[227][228][229] and the most important fighting game in particular.[229][230][231] The release ofStreet Fighter II in 1991 is often considered a revolutionary moment in the fighting game genre. It has the most accurate joystick and button scanningroutine in the genre, allowing players to reliably execute multi-button special moves, and its graphics use Capcom'sCPS arcade chipset, with highly detailed characters andstages. Whereas previous games allow players to combat a variety of computer-controlled fighters,Street Fighter II allows human combat.
The popularity ofStreet Fighter II surprised the gaming industry, as arcade owners bought more machines to keep up with demand.[232] It was responsible for introducing thecombo mechanic, which came about when skilled players learned that they could combine several attacks with no time for the opponent to recover.[19][228][233][234] Its success inspired a wave of other fighting games, which were initially often labeled as "clones"[227][235] or imitators, including titles such asGuardians of the 'Hood,Art of Fighting,Time Killers,[236]Mortal Kombat,[237] andKiller Instinct.Street Fighter II also influenced the development of the combat mechanics ofbeat 'em up gameStreets of Rage 2.[238] However,Street Fighter II also received criticism for its depiction of street violence, and for having inspired numerous other violent games in the industry.[236]
Street Fighter II was thebest-selling arcade video game by far since thegolden age of arcade video games,[228][231] bringing an arcade renaissance in the early 1990s.[239] Its impact on home video games was equally crucial, becoming a long-lastingsystem-seller for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System.[227] Since then, up until the late 1990s, numerous best-selling home video games were arcade ports.[240] In 2005,Electronic Gaming Monthly ranked it the ninth most important game since they began publication in 1989, stating no game "did more to prop up arcades" in the 1990s and it was the first killer app for the SNES.[241]
The game popularized the concept of "face-to-face", tournament-level competition between two players[227] instead of justhigh scores.[227] This enabled the competitivemultiplayer anddeathmatch modes found in modernaction games.[229]John Romero, for example, cited the competitive multiplayer ofStreet Fighter II as an influence on the deathmatch mode of seminalfirst-person shooterDoom.[242]
It is an innovation in revision series, with Capcom continuously upgrading andexpanding the arcade game instead of releasing a sequel. This furthered the practice ofpatches anddownloadable content found in modern video games.[227]
Street Fighter II has been frequentlysampled and referenced inhip hop music, by artists such asThe Lady of Rage,Nicki Minaj,Lupe Fiasco,Dizzee Rascal,Lil B,Sean Price, andMadlib. This started withHi-C's "Swing'n" (1993) andDJ Qbert's "Track 10" (1994) which sampledStreet Fighter II, and theStreet Fighter film soundtrack (1994) which is 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 thinkStreet Fighter is a cool thing". According toVice magazine, "Street Fighter's mixture of competition, bravado, and individualism easily translate into the trials and travails of a rapper."[243] The "Perfect" sample was used byKanye West andDrake inThe Life of Pablo (2016).[244][245]UK rap includesgrimeDJLogan Sama saying, "Street Fighter is just a huge cultural thing that everyone experienced growing up [with] 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 withStreet Fighter's 1 on 1 battles." Grime MCs such as Dizzee Rascal were samplingStreet Fighter II in 2002, andStreet Fighter II has been sampled "by almost every grime MC". It became an integral part ofBBC Radio 1Xtra DJCharlie Sloth'sFire in the Boothfreestyle segments, using samples such as "Hadouken", "Shoryuken", and the "Perfect" announcer sound.[246]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)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.
WhenStreet 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'sTitanic 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.
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.
Noritaka Funamizu: We madeStreet 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.
Its financial success was exceeded only by a video game with violence as its theme. "One single game–StreetFighter II–made$1.5 billion last year [1993]. Nothing, not evenJurassic Park, touched that success in the entertainment business," said screenwriter Michael Backes (quoted in Covington, 1994).
In 1993, sales of the violent fighting video game Street Fighter II exceeded $1.5 billion.
Sales of "Street Fighter II Turbo" aimed at 4.2 mil units, and commercial-use "Super Street Fighter II" at 100,000 units, in current term.
The most important new contributor to Sega is Capcom Co., producer of the phenomenally successful Street Fighter II (five million unit sales last year). Capcom is widely known as the single biggest outside contributor to the Nintendo legend, but will launch software designed for Sega this spring.
As for video-game software, accumulated sales of Capcom Co.'s Street Fighter II series reached 10 million units in 1993, compared with 15 million units of Enix Inc.'s Dragon Quest series and 100 million units of Nintendo's Super Mario series.
Capcom sold 6.5 million copies of the game for the Nintendo machine in the fiscal year that ended in March 1993, and an additional 5.4 million for the Nintendo and Sega machines combined in the year that ended last March.
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.
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