Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise is one of the most celebrated fighting series in the video game industry, and the series’ breakthrough second entry is now more than two decades old. Street Fighter II elevated this international fighting franchise in groundbreaking ways, and it was not until this sequel that Street Fighter really started to take off.
Street Fighter 6 will be released in 2023, and the broader franchise is still going strong. However, no entry in the series has as many updates as Street Fighter II. Any version of Street Fighter II promises pristine fighting fun, but some revisions are better than others.
9 Street Fighter II (Game Boy)
Release Date: September 1995
Handheld ports of console and arcade classics are nothing new, but there’s usually much to be desired when this is done to a fighting game. The Game Boy’s selective fighting ports are all inferior to their source material, which isn’t any different from ‘95’s Street Fighter II.
The Game Boy version is an amalgamation of various arcade editions of Street Fighter II, but draws the greatest resemblance to Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, albeit with a few features from Champion Edition. However, there are multiple cuts due to the Game Boy’s limited hardware power. It’s the worst way to experience Street Fighter II, even in a handheld capacity.
8 Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers
Release Date: May 26, 2017
2017’s Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers, a Nintendo Switch exclusive, is technically the most complete version of Street Fighter II, but it’s one of the weakest iterations of the fighting classic. This modern update offers classic pixel art, an HD alternative, and online capabilities. It even includes Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma, and SNK vs. Capcom‘s Violent Ken.
Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers fails to make strong use of motion controls. The Joy-Con-specific Way of the Hado first-person mode is a frustrating and unnecessary addition. It amounts to a more expensive version of the superior Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.
7 Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
Release Date: February 6, 1991
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior from ‘91 is the original version of the classic fighting sequel that’s become a hard act for the franchise to top. Street Fighter II improves upon its predecessor in every capacity, and it builds an exceptional foundation that each of its subsequent versions update and modify.
The biggest deterrent against the original Street Fighter II is that the game still has some unconsidered setbacks that can get in the way. For instance, fights can last for ten rounds if there’s no clear winner, while the subsequent Champion Edition limits matches to four rounds before they’re over.
6 Street Fighter II: Champion Edition
Release Date: March 18, 1992
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition is the first update to the original Street Fighter II. It makes some simple yet fundamental improvements to the game that have become the new normal. Champion Edition has revised artwork, rebalanced controls, and represents an altogether tighter game.
Additionally, this revision makes Street Fighter II’s four boss characters now playable, which has become a staple in the games, as well as the very basic ability for both players to select the same character, which can’t be done in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. The only reason Champion Edition isn’t higher is that Street Fighter II Turbo gets released several months later.
5 Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
Release Date: September 10, 1993
Coming off the heels of Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting, The New Challengers is another update released less than a year after the previous iteration. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers feels like a proper remake. All the characters receive new designs, animation, and redone audio. In addition to the game’s dozen characters, four new fighters–Cammy, T. Hawk, Fei-Long, and Dee-Jay–are added.
All of these are substantial improvements, but Super Street Fighter II returns to the slower speed of World Warrior and Champion Edition, which bothered audiences even more than before now that they’ve experienced something faster. These frustrations are the primary reason for Super Street Fighter II Turbo’s speedy release.
4 Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition
Release Date: December 22, 2003
Hyper Street Fighter II doesn’t bring much new to the table, but it’s still a fun update to Super Street Fighter II Turbo, released for the franchise’s 15th anniversary. Super Street Fighter II Turbo mechanics and gameplay are present. The player can choose between any of the characters in the previous five versions of Street Fighter II.
It plays like a supersized celebration of Street Fighter II, even if it’s a more niche and ancillary update. Curiously, Hyper Street Fighter II was popular enough that it started on home consoles for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox, but was later ported to arcades.
3 Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting
Release Date: December 10, 1992
Street Fighter II: Champion Edition was so popular that it became the basis for illegal bootlegs and hacks that became so prevalent that Capcom released another update less than a year later to fight this problem. The most significant difference between Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting and Champion Edition is that Hyper Fighting has a faster speed, and several characters now have new special attacks.
The majority of the game’s roster also receive new color schemes that become their ongoing look moving forward. This is quite close to the perfected Street Fighter II experience, and its improvements make Champion Edition largely irrelevant.
2 Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
Release Date: November 25, 2008
Modern HD remasters can be a mixed bag that risk ruining the original’s controls and gameplay. Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix offers the best of both worlds by recreating the retro Super Turbo experience, but also providing a “remixed’ and rebalanced take on the game with many modern and online features.
The ability to play Super Turbo online and not be limited to local multiplayer makes HD Remix such a special experience. Still, it’s important to acknowledge that the game and its online features are built upon the Japan-exclusive Dreamcast game Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service.
1 Super Street Fighter II Turbo
Release Date: February 23, 1994
Released as a response to the reviled slower gameplay in Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II Turbo turns back up the tempo and keeps things at this pace for the rest of the franchise. A return to faster gameplay is the main thing that audiences wanted here.
However, Super Turbo also introduces Super Combos and other improved battle mechanics that involve combos and aerial attacks. Super Turbo is one of the best fighting games of its generation and the proper evolution of everything that the previous versions of Street Fighter II bring to the table.