Written: 8.13.13
Acquired: 4.15.06
Status: Cart only
Price: $5

20 years ago today marks one of the most important releases in 16-bit history: Street Fighter II Turbo. It took everything awesome about the previous game, and added more special moves, playable bosses and turbo speed. Simply put, it perfected what was almost already a flawless fighter. It was one of the most amazing arcade to home ports we had ever seen, and it has earned
its well deserved place in gaming history. Tonight, we will toast to the KING

The amazing, life changing follow-up to STREET FIGHTER II  ^_^

                                                           THE STREET FIGHTER PHENOMENON

Capcom was cool enough to include both Street Fighter II: Champion Edition and Turbo in one package. CE allowed you to control the four boss characters and select the same characters. Turbo upped the ante by giving most of the original cast one new special move and there was a speed option included. Many consider Turbo to be the definitive version of Street Fighter II



                                       Playing this for the very 1st time on your SNES was breathtaking

No longer can you make any excuses for not having "your guy"

                                             Arguably Capcom's FINEST hour on the Super Nintendo...

I still remember to this day my bro rushing out to buy this game when it came out 20 years ago today. I stayed at home and was literally counting down the minutes until my bro came running back home. When he finally did, it was truly a moment of sheer euphoria, seeing the game live in our living room, in all its glory, showing off the power of the SNES, and to see how far video gaming had come



20 years ago today SF II Turbo marked SNES' first 20 meg game

THE STREET FIGHTERS

The face of the franchise, this straight edged no nonsense warrior is all about the competition and nothing else. He's a little "boring" I suppose one could say, but he's as solid and consistent as a rock. He's the Leonardo of the SF cast, and I guess every franchise needs that one leading cat, don't they





The fight is all that matters to him

Ryu's stage is simply classic. Fighting on top of a roof near a dojo which looms in the background, it's beautifully simple








                                        Sadly, the moon is missing but hey, we didn't care 20 years ago

We all know Ryu's two most iconic moves... really... in all of fighting game history. The Dragon Uppercut takes out jumpy opponents, and the Hadoken fireball has transcended video game lore and even made its way into pop culture. Ryu's tough with these moves!

His Hurricane Kick can also now be performed in mid-air. Adds to the variety of options

Every main character needs a rival. Capcom therefore made Ken, a flashier version of Ryu. Naturally, he has a bit of a temper and he's not shy to let you know how good he is. Ken is a perfect fit for those who wants Ryu's moveset, and none of Ryu's vanilla exterior





Naturally, the flamboyant fighter was born on Valentines Day

Ken's stage has always been one of my favorites. Fighting on a dock with boats in the background, the onlookers cheer the fighters on to complete destruction of one another. There are also a couple barrels off to the right that bodies can break when thrown that way. I love the sky too. Atmospheric





                                          There's nothing like seeing this stage on a Saturday morning

He's got all the moves Ryu does, except his Dragon Punch goes out a bit further

Good ol' Edmund Honda is the residential sumo grand champion, and he's determined to show the world that a sumo champ can also be the world's greatest fighter. He's a fighter back in the day I never much cared for, but over the years I have come to enjoy using him more





Honda needs to cover up his junk when he's knocked out...

E. Honda's stage is awesome, plain and simple. He uses the bath for relaxation on his off time, but when it's go time, the relaxing scene turns into a blood bath [Har har -Ed.]. I just love the combination of colors used and that background mural is so bizarre YET beautiful. The best thing about this stage is when the fight is over, the mural lights up and the man over there flashes a sign at you. So random, so cool


                                               One of the best looking stages in fighting game history

"OOP OINK!"  Honda uses his hard and thick head to devastating results. The force of the impact is so much that you can see Honda there being turned nearly inside out. He's also got the fastest hands around, unleashing hell in the form of a hundred hand BITCH SLAP
which now in this game can be performed WHILE moving toward your opponent. Sweet!

His new move's a little bit of an anti-air special, followed by a diving ass attack. Assack

The first lady of fighting games most people like
to think of her as. Other people have, AHEM, other thoughts about her, but it would be inappropriate for me to state said thoughts. You know her story. She's out to avenge the death of her father at the hands of the vile M. Bison. She got arguably the best new move in Turbo as well




Now with a fireball in tow -- the KIKOKEN!

Chun Li's stage is another classic that has carved its way into my retina. Fighting in front of a busy marketplace, complete with cyclists passing through, players duel to the death. When you are done, you can buy dinner or even get a hair cut. All in a day's hard work, eh?





                                       That guy over there is choking his chicken watching Chunners...

Her Spinning Bird Kick and Lightning Leg attacks return. Insert leg joke here

But her new special move in Turbo is probably the most valuable one in the whole game in terms of new moves added. She got a fireball!  Yes, it's just Dhalsim's with a different color but now she can nullify projectile attacks or hit others with one of her own. Pretty cool. Also of note is that the Kikoken changed in later games as an air bubble fireball
that doesn't travel all the way across the screen. Only the Kikoken here does. A pretty
cool footnote to keep in mind. And her annoying head stomp strategy returns as well

                                       Pretty nifty, eh?  She's completely blocking the barbershop post

Ah, the sad tale of Jimmy, the little boy who during a plane crash descended to the depths of a Brazilian jungle, only to be mutated and raised by the wild savages of the jungle. All of that produced the beast you now see... BLANKA!






If you don't like Blanka's design or story, something's wrong

LOVE this stage!  From the music, to the locals snapping photos to prove the existence of the beast, the sardine can savages cheering on from inside the hut, to the clouds scrolling lazily by in the background, and the giant anaconda wrapped around that decaying tree. EPIC!




                                          So many awesome memories of this stage; it's one of the best

One of the coolest moves in fighting game history, Blanka's electric shock. It's so bad ass looking, and produces that ultra cool x-ray animation. His rolling ball* attack travels fast and hits even harder, knocking his rival back. These specials fit the beast extremely well.
*Best of all, unlike in SF II, now should Blanka be hit during his rolling attack special, he does not take double the damage. That was one of Blanka's pitfalls in the previous game!

His new move is the vertical rolling attack, which acts as an anti-air special, and he can also nail opponents coming on the way DOWN, which gives it a special sort of edge that moves like the Dragon Punch and Flash Kick don't have. Just like Blanka himself: COOL

If Chun Li was the first lady of fighting games, then surely Zangief is the first muscle maniac of fighting games. The big guy really set the bar as far as large combatants go, because many clones came thereafter. It takes a very skilled player to use Zangief effectively. I love how he wrestles bears for a hobby, and the scars covering his body is proof that Zangy's certifiably a turnbuckle or two shy of
a wrestling ring!


What 'chu gonna do, brother...

Held in the heartland of the USSR, factory workers take a break from the grind to see the latest victim fall to Zangief's grappling prowess







                                         Watch out for those broken beer bottles from the crazy crowd!

His Spinning Clothesline can now move. It's cool how just a small change can make for
a significantly big difference. The Spinning Clothesline allows him to sail safely through incoming projectile attacks, and now because it moves, may just blast you straight in the temple as well!  He also received a crushing German Suplex that would make Taz proud!

The most powerful and damaging move in the game: the Spinning Piledriver. OUCH

Guile plays his role well. He is sort of the cool rebel of Street Fighter lore, with some awesome looking special moves. He doesn't have a lot, but he makes each one count. Forget about lame ol' Charlie, Guile is where it's at!






Of course, he was the face of the 1994 flop of a movie adaptation

Guile's stage... if you don't love it, something is wrong with you. You got a one-eyed cyclops sitting on a crate over there, a babe hanging onto the arm of her man, a fighter jet in the background, breakable crates on both sides and a cool orangey sky. Doesn't get any better than that...





                                       Nutthin like beating an opponent by sending him through a crate

His Sonic Boom is simply iconic. The jab version's so slow it even allows ya to follow up and bash your opponent's head in with a well-timed back fist. Nothing is more satisfying

In Champion Edition, the Flash Kick was changed to hit two times. So make it count!

Ah, Dhalsim. I will never forget this guy. He was the first Street Fighter I ever selected, and I perfected my brother's annoying cocky friend with Dhalsim at a 7-11 in the early 1990s. One of my favorite gaming memories to this day was shutting his trap up, and I did it all thanks to D's unusual offense. Good times




Early-mid '90s childhood peeps will get the Stretch Amir joke...

Dhalsim's stage is yet another one that haunts me. From the elegant blue rug to the elephant god mural to the elephants which roar at the end of each battle, this is the place to settle a rivalry once and for all






                                            Seeing this stage brings back so many memories of 7-11's...

Dhalsim's limbs stretch, making him a very unique fighter. It was a great gimmick and
one that went on to be duplicated from many other companies that produced their own fighting games. Dhalsim was my main man back in the day because of this cool ability!

His new special in Turbo is the ability to teleport... sweet!  Check out how Dhalsim uses
this new power to confuse, daze and nail his opponent -- he never saw it coming!  By the way, back in the day my brother and I swore Dhalsim was on the front cover of the SNES game. You can see a bald hombre teleporting in the background but more on this later...

The Man on Fire... Dhalsim has a small fireball projectile, and a larger one that doesn't travel, but hits for more damage up close. Yoga Fire and Yoga Flame. So simple, yet so classic. The animation that is produced when one is hit with his fiery attacks is timeless!

                                       See what I did there?  Classic Dhalsim. Thanks for the memories!

In Japan, he was originally M. Bison, but it was later changed to Balrog in the US. I remember us kids thinking how funny it was that Capcom made a Mike Tyson fighter. A few years later, ironically, Capcom tried to sue Data East for copyright infringement based on Data East's SF II clone, Fighter's History





Oh, the irony of it all...

Best thing about him though is his awesome stage. Fighting under the bright lights of Las Vegas, strippers, pimps and tourists alike look on as the combatants duke it out. Epic background






                                         I recall as a kid wanting to go to NIN NIN HALL Golden Nugget!

Balrog's two special moves consist of rushing punch variations. In fact, he is the only fighter in the game to never use his feet. It takes a skilled player to use him effectively

Back in the day when I first saw Vega I thought he was so cool. Back in the early '90s Freddy Krueger was infamous, and I thought Vega was a combination of Freddy and Michael Myers. Then I realized he was nothing more than a masked narcissist with a claw. Just a pretty boy, and nothing at all like those terrifying monsters. I didn't like him as much then!



Vega was Balrog in Japan. See if you can knock his claw off...

Dueling it out in some underground fighting world somewhere in Spain, the steel cage protects the spectators from the sheer chaos, although it also serves as a tool for Vega to scale when things get too hot and heavy...






                                          Knock his mask off rumors -- ah, gotta love the early-mid '90s

Vega has a rolling attack that can connect several times and do a great deal of damage

When things get too hot and heavy, Vega scales the fence high to leap at his opponent, piercing them with his sharp claw. Watch out for his devastating overhead throw as well

In the first Street Fighter tournament, reigning champion Sagat was dethroned by a young warrior by the name of Ryu. His Dragon Punch left an enormous scar on Sagat's chest, and ever since then, the Thailand terror has been training and roaming the land looking for bloody revenge




I've always been a huge fan. One of Capcom's coolest creations

A giant Buddha statue oversees the battle as players wrestle to the death in this beautiful and serene stage. The temples back there reminds me of the old 1982 Jet Li film, Shaolin Temple







                                              Shaolin Temple is a must see for all martial art film buffs

Sagat has two Tiger Shot projectiles, one that hits high and one that hits low. Switch on the speeds as well and you have a dazzling combination of variety that can trip up even the most well focused opponent. Sagat is the "two fireball" originator in my book!  ^_^

The Tiger Knee connects on the ground for up to two devastating hits, and also acts as an anti-air attack that deters would be air assailants. But if the Tiger Knee doesn't do it then...

... then surely the Tiger Uppercut will!  Sagat has worked hard on this move to counter
the Dragon Punch, and believes it is superior. Sagat is easily my favorite of the 4 bosses

Finally, Turbo presented folks with the opportunity to control the final boss, M. Bison (Vega in Japan). Remember how much we hated him as kids when he was in Street Fighter II?  And remember how much we wanted to control him just so we could do his Psycho Crusher?  I'm telling ya, Turbo was the thing of dreams 20 years ago!




Before he got fat in SF Alpha?  After he got thin?  So confused...

Epic. M. Bison tosses his cape aside right before the battle begins. The sky paints an ominous backdrop, and the ginormous bell sticking right in the middle of the stage adds some extra flavor to the proceedings. On each side is a towering golden statue that players can crash through. Lovely





                                         M. Bison will always be the original fighting game "final boss"

Bison's Scissor Kick can hit up to two times, one high and one low. Tricky and deadly!

His Head Stomp can also be confusing, as he jumps up high, plants both feet into your skull and then flies backwards to smash your temple in with his tyrannical fist. OUCH!

Ah, here it is. The move that frustrated so many of us back in 1991 and '92. The one move all of us had dreamed of performing for ourselves. Remember how even if you blocked, it took 4 block points off your health, and then Bison more than likely would toss you the other way like yesterday's trash? That alone took off like 30% health!  Now, players can finally enjoy doing the deadly Psycho Crusher



                                             You felt like such a bad ass screaming across the screen!

BONUS STAGES

Who could ever forget
their first time laying
eyes on the car bonus
stage back in the early
'90s?  It was an iconic
gaming sight, and one
that still haunts me to
this day, 20 years later


 

 

Blanka's Electric Shock does particularly well on this one

Indeed you don't. One of my fondest memories with the SNES Street Fighter port was one time my brother left the house, and he actually didn't haul the game with him to his buddy's house. I fired the game up, and was just messing with the different special moves on the brick bonus stage. At the time,
I was still figuring out the motions, so when I finally got the hang of it, WOW

 

                                                  Bricks don't hit back. Good times. Good memories

The new falling barrel
bonus stage is easily
the toughest out of the
three. I always seem to
miss at least one of the
20 barrels. As near the
middle, there's a tricky
part where it speeds up


 

 

Bonus stages in fighting games was a classic staple of the '90s

                                                                   THE MAN IN THE MOUNTAIN

Back in the day my brother and I laughed about how Capcom, the sneaky bastards, snuck Dhalsim on to the front cover, and cleverly showed off his new teleportation special move. Fast forward some odd 15-ish years, I remember posting my memories about this on
a message board, and everyone there told me "No, it's just Honda and Sagat on the cover."  I was appalled, as I thought everyone thought back in the day that Dhalsim was CLEARLY semi-cloaked in the background of the cover. The argument got to the point where somehow, the original artist of the SNES Turbo cover came into the fold, and he claimed that that strange bald figure is *NOT* Dhalsim. I asked him who it was then, and he never got back to me. Strange. I guess we'll never know for sure. But I still stand by my original statement... to me it was classic Capcom showing off Dhalsim's brand new special. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!  #childhoodconvictions

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID

Street Fighter II Turbo was a smash hit with the critics. It earned Game of the Month accolades with EGM, posting scores of 9, 9, 10 and 10. GameFan gave it ratings of 98, 98, 99 and 100. Super Play Magazine rated it a whopping 96% -- the highest score that they ever dished out (and they were pretty tough!). This port is generally, widely considered as one of the BEST arcade to home translations around, and everyone and their dog 20 years ago couldn't get enough of the Street Fighter II Turbo fever. In terms of top 100 lists, Nintendo Power ranked it 10th, EGM had it at 5 and Super Play placed it at #2. No doubt about it, Turbo was a game for the ages. Capcom hit lightning in a bottle, and I do consider myself very lucky to have lived through it as a child. There will never be another era quite like it... NEVER!

It was an idyllic time to be a robust kid growing up in America :)

                                               WHAT YOU, YES... YOU... SAID. ER, VOTED, ANYHOW

Years and years ago, way back in February 2007 to be precise, I ran a survey asking ~YOU~ to choose your favorite SNES Street Fighter game. You voiced your opinion loudly. Now, nearly 7 and a half years later, the final results are in. C'mon, you didn't think I would lose those figures, right? Don't answer that. It was the very first poll I put out on this site... because for years it was a question I've been wanting to ask, and I guessed the results right. Which SNES Street Fighter conversion is the consensus favorite? While obviously not conclusive... this is one sample of what I think you'd find to be the norm on the greater whole. 10% of you lot prefer the very first one, nostalgia-induced reasons I'm sure, while 39% voted for Super Street Fighter II. It was no shock that Street Fighter II Turbo won the poll with a stirring 51%. I love them all but the middle one, like Goldilocks, got it just right
                                       Really though, you can't go wrong with any SNES Street Fighter!

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I can't say anything new about this game that no one hasn't already written in the past 20 years. All I can add to it is my own personal memories and my full stamp of approval on what is one of the SNES' very best games. Street Fighter II Turbo forever holds a special place in my heart. My gaming crew and I waged so many battles over the years. Gosh, I look back 20 years now and can't believe it's been that long. Some video games just transcend time and space. Some games go beyond epic. This is definitely one of them. Whenever I think of the very best of the best on the SNES, this game is right there at the top. It's so polished and a true testament to how good the SNES can be. Even 20 years later, I find myself coming back to it again and again. It's timeless

It was a special time. A golden era we're likely to never see again

Sure, some consider this port now obsolete, thanks to time and technology. I may blinded by nostalgia but DAMNIT if I don't still enjoy SNES Street Fighter II Turbo very much. At the time it came out, this was absolutely amazing. Even to this day I find it to be a total treat and a trip back to more simpler, innocent times. The graphics were stunning for the time, the sound was irreproachable and it played like a dream. The replay value is off the charts -- my gaming crew and I spent so many damn Saturday nights back in the mid 1990s throwing Hadokens and Dragon Punches at one another. Street Fighter II Turbo, I salute ya. You're a shining light and testimony of the Super Nintendo's legacy and awesomeness. Some prefer Super Street Fighter II, thanks to the 4 new characters, but screw that. Turbo achieved a balance and excellence Super didn't quite reach. Celebrate 20 years of bruised egos and blistered thumbs by popping in SNES Turbo today. "HA-DOO-KEN!"

Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Gameplay: 10
Longevity: 10

Overall: 10

PLATINUM AWARD

When ya talk about Super Nintendo's very finest, most polished, and just plain awesome games, you simply must include Street Fighter II Turbo. It was a phenomenon among robust boys all across America, and indeed, the entire globe. And I'm lucky to have lived through it!

                                       Beat the bosses... and now... BE THE BOSSES!  Brilliant Capcom

To 20 more years of Hadokens, Dragon Punches and Flash Kicks!

                                      Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter II Turbo ruled 1993. Good times