Throwback Video Games – Street Fighter II.

(AfroGamers.com) I am a huge fan of the fighting video game genre and have been ever since I remember playing Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition for the Sega Genesis during my childhood days.

Fighting video games have come a long way over the past 30 years since the release of Street Fighter II in arcade rooms and home consoles across the country. From its highs in the 1990s to its lows in the early to mid-2000s, fighting video games are played by millions of people worldwide especially by those who enjoy facing off against their friends in online versus mode. 

To me personally, Street Fighter II will always be the poster child of the fighting video game genre because it set the standard for fighting video games that has since been surpassed by other fighting video game franchises that were heavily influenced by Street Fighter II such as The King Of Fighters, Dead Or Alive, Virtua Fighter, Killer Instinct, Tekken, Soul Calibur, & Mortal Kombat. 

I have played all versions of Street Fighter II (Sega Genesis, SNES, GB) including the extra versions of Street Fighter II: Hyper Turbo & Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers 

Street Fighter II had 12 characters that you can choose from from fan favorites like Ryu and Ken to notorious villain in M. Bison. One of the biggest differences between Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for The SNES & Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition for The Sega Genesis is that unlike The World Warrior version, you can play as 8 characters plus all 4 boss characters in The Special Champion Edition version of Street Fighter II which is my personal favorite version of Street Fighter II. 

Note: In the Japanese version of Street Fighter II, Balrog was originally named M. Bison aka Mike Bison which was a pastiche of off real life legendary boxer Mike Tyson. But the name was changed from M. Bison to Balrog in the western gaming market for fear of facing a potential likeness infringement lawsuit from The Tyson Camp at the time. Balrog is heavily based on the legendary boxer Mike Tyson. 

I remember during my childhood days I was not only a wild and rebellious kid, but a smart and crafty one when it game to five fingering video games that I wanted from big retail stores like Street Fighter II. When I played Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition on The Sega Genesis, I immediately fell in love with the game because of the fact that every character had their own unique punches, kicks, and special attacks to KO your opponent, but I had to be real careful in the next round as I would often get beat real badly especially at the hands of the game’s final boss M. Bison who is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most difficult and OP fighting video game characters to face let alone defeat. 

The Conclusion – Street Fighter II will always have a special place in my heart as one of my favorite video games because of the fact that it ushered in a new genre of video games called the fighting video game genre. Street Fighter II is without a shadow of a doubt one of the greatest video games to have ever been made.

Staff Writer; Kwame Shakir (aka Joe D.)

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