Street Fighter Turbo II VC

One of many versions of a legend

There are some games that stand above all others . Capcom's Street Fighter 2 is one of those games. This action packed fighting game first made its appearance in the arcades and changed video gaming forever. It offered unequaled fast paced two player combat. Players were given excellent gameplay and nice visuals. The gameplay was out of this world. Each fighter had several punches and kicks. Though what really made the gameplay stand out were the special moves. Most of the fighters were given a spectacular arsenal of special moves (sorry Zangief). So good were the controls that the 6 buttons and the joystick could be like a painter's brush in the hands of a skilled player. Or the joystick could be like a using tree limb to write with in the hands of an unskilled player. This game was smash hit. Players lined up in the arcades for a chance to lose to the great ones. The game eventually arrived on the Super Nintendo and other consoles. Now Street Fighter Turbo comes to the Virtual Console. It is the second version of Street Fighter 2 to be included here. It is almost the same as Street Fighter 2, the first one to arrive on the Virtual Console. It only adds the Bison, Sagat, Vega, and Balrog- the four bosses. The game is almost an exact copy of the arcade game. The graphics are good for its time. The player models look nice. The fireballs, hurricane kicks, sonic booms, dragon punch, and other special moves make the transition from the arcade joystick to the controller very well. The sound that go with these moves is captured well. The "hadouken" fireball is unforgettable to SF2 fans everywhere. The quick movements of the joypad deliver sweet special moves and quick combinations to your opponents. The difficulty in performing the special moves might be a turn off to some players but after a while they are easily done. the Players familiar with the Street Fighter 2 series know that the 12 or so characters are not balanced. Ken and Ryu are the two most powerful combatants. Two player mode brings out the best in the game. Otherwise it can get dull playing against the computer after a while. The biggest weakness of the game is the competition it faces from the better versions of the SF2 series like Super Street Fighter 2 that are available now or will come out on the Virtual Console later.

Street Fighter Turbo for the Virtual Console is a joy to play.
But when there are surely better versions of this game series to be available on the Virtual Console it just doesn't compare to well with them.