Episode 76: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo

When Street Fighter 2 first released in arcades in 1991, it single handedly revolutionised the fighting game genre. It introduced shocking concepts like letting you select more than one character! And for the very first time combinations of attacks could be strung together while the enemy player was still stunned (which, hilariously, was a bug). Its characters essentially defined the archetypes and set the baseline for how characters should be designed. This was the Mario or the Doom of the fighting genre.

A few years, and many revisions later, we got the final version of Street Fighter 2 - Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. It doubled the character roster, introduced supers, added extra moves, and included many different balance changes to keep its competitive spirit alive. To this day, there is still a small community that enjoys throwing down using Fightcade.

But we’re now more than 25 years from the release of this iconic title. What once was incredible is now assumed. This is a game with no training mode and a single player mode that may as well not exist. This is a game with a paucity of mechanics compared to any number of modern titles. This is a game which has 3 more entries in the series, let alone considering other contenders like Guilty Gear or Tekken. Can it be possible that its worth playing today?

On this episode, we discuss:

• Is Street Fighter 2 better or worse for having specials? Should moves essential to a character’s build be barred behind having to enter commands in a precise sequential way, or is it an arbitrary imposition?
• Does Street Fighter 2’s neutral heavy game and more limited focus on combos lead to a more fun and engaging experience than other combo-centric fighters like Dragon Ball Fighter Z?
• Does the character variety present here still hold up when compared to its modern brethren, many of which have 3-4x the number of characters?

We answer these questions and many more on the 76th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo OST: Isao Abe Syun Nishigaki

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Special thanks to everyone who played some Street Fighter 2 with us this week! It was a lot of fun talking about and complaining about Street Fighter with you all. If you’d like to play in future community games, or simply want to join the discussion, you can find our discord server here!