The FORGOTTEN Street Fighter 2 versions 

One of the arcades by my Grandma's place had Street Fighter II: Rainbow Edition. That variation was insanity the first time playing it. Ryu being able to throw several Hadouken's at a time, Ken's Tatsumaki Senpukyaku going full screen, character's being able to jump off screen, pressing start to switch characters during a fight, and more.

Street Fighter II Champion Edition also gave you mirror matches and bosses. They realized super quick that mirror matches were very important; they even permitted a special code in the SNES version of Street Fighter II to permit mirror matches, something impossible in the original arcade edition (for reference: Down R Button, Up, L Button, Y, B at Capcom logo).

Man "Special Champion Edition" on the Genesis was the very first SF game (and fighting game in general) that i ever owned as a kid. I played the heck out of that game. That's the game i cut my teeth on as a kid and really learned how to play SF with. It wasn't as good as the arcade version obviously but was still a great port in my opinion. Also the box art is still some of my favorite official SF art ever, love that cover.

Max has to pay the editor more, he's killing it good.

You could choose clones already in Champion Edition. We used to call them here "fake" and "true". There were some other changes, too, like Ken and Ryu becoming distinct. Somebody in my country invented that the dash meant "half", so everybody called Champion Edition Street Fighter Two and a Half around here. 😀

I still remember the day I got SFII Turbo for SNES. My grandma gave me the money to buy the game and I rode my bicycle to my local area supermarket which had a video game booth/shop. I immediately noticed the huge difference between this game and loved it so much because not only was I able to use the boss characters but the game played differently and a whole lot faster. That was a great summer to be a Street Fighter fan.

"There's a bit more cohesion there." 2:50 You okay there, T. Hawk?

The beginning felt like a Chronologically Confused episode, just with Max

I played the hell out of Turbo on my SNES as a kid. Still remember fighting Vega with the 10 turbo stars cheat, it was like trying to catched a coked up grasshopper.

I think by the time Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition came out on the Genesis most everyone had the six button controls. Thankfully controls were pretty cheap, especially compared to now. The six button control was so ubiquitous that it’s actually kind of weird the Sega Genesis Mini even came out with a three button control.

That intro was so powerful in the arcade. Had a kickass music playing and you'd be walking into the arcade and it was like Ryu was across the room getting ready to just blast you with a fireball.

I feel HF only was popular in the US. Here in Mexico (and I think for most of Latin America too) it was Champion Edition all over and we still play to this day. Just go to Fightcade and you'll see a lot more players for this version over the HF one.

This may sound kinda strange coming from a fellow Street Fighter fan, but I didn't actually care much for the faster speeds of "Street Fighter II': Hyper Fighting" and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" because I think the default speeds of the games you're able to talk about are perfectly fine for casual players like myself, especially if they don't make the games easier to beat if you just want to complete it from beginning to end.

"Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Mega Drive)" was amazing. Still best music of any SF2 version in my complete nostalgia goggles opinion

Playing as the bosses in SF2 champion edition is like the boss when you play as him and you get all of his tools

Wth !? The Genesis port was excellent 👌

i personally love the music in the SF2 games before the “update” of Super SF2. i just liked the lower bit sound more. same for the announcer as well, liked the OG announcer more than the updated one.

The high price of SF2 games on SNES was because of the cost of the chips. A 32 megabit game like Chrono Trigger was $70 because of the cost of EPROMs and flash memory. Secret Of Mana also cost a lot for this reason, Tales Of Phantasia and Star Ocean could go as high as $150, etc. The bill of materials had an impact on the price of SNES games. Neo Geo games cost hundreds of dollars for the same reason. The move to CD ROMs on the PS1 helped to flatten out the cost of games because storage capacity suddenly became fixed. Capcom was definitely milking Street Fighter 2 for sure though. :)

It's funny that you consider Hyper Fighting to have obsoleted Champion Edition because CE has a far bigger playerbase on fightcade

12:48 I knew he was gonna say the Ryu intro scene. That sprite/animation looks so freaking dope!

Actually you can play "mirror" matches from Champion Edition Max...in fact the alternate colors were introduced in CE. HF introduced a third color . That was a bit of an unexpected mistake from you :)

Correction: Champion Edition was the first version allowing Mirror Match.

Champion edition brought in using the same character not Hyper fighting which was big at the time.

Yeah...this was a throwback. I remember an arcade that had like every version next to each other at the time.i stuck with Champ because i could move with Honda's slap and corner ppl. 😂

Back when I had a Wii, I got Champion(ship?) Edition on it. The strangest thing about it was the control scheme; for a Wii Remote by itself, only punches _or_ kicks were availabile and I had to press a seperate button to toggle between them. It didn't accept a Nunchuck and I had no other controllers so I had to settle with that. Good times..

I like your videos, but there's a part of this one that drives me up the wall because it's something I've seen multiple RU-vidrs do: discredit Genesis versions of Street Fighter 2 because not everyone had a six button pad. Firstly, that's not the fault of the game, and secondly, people wanting a good experience back in the day typically bought one. They weren't particularly expensive (about 1/4 of the price of the UK game in the UK, IIRC), even to kid me, and it provides a far better SFII experience than the stock SNES pad. And while I'm feeling ranty, yes, the Genesis Special Champion Edition sounded crunchy. However, the SNES version sounded muffled, with out of tune music and truncated samples. Personally, I'll always take crunch over a simulation of an ear infection.

More SF Legacy! Getting me hyped for SF6!

pretty sure Champion Edition was the first one to let you play mirror matches.

Seeing that attract screen in the pool hall with my dad is exactly why I first played the game. Super was my intro to the series and I will always have a soft spot for it (I like the default color being correct, if nothing else).

Ah a trip down memory lane! Sf2 Turbo was not only one of my first fighting games, it was one of the first video games I ever played.

I remember putting dozens of hours into SF2 on the SNES, probably more with Hyper Fighting, and I barely played Super. It was the first time I felt like I had wasted my money on a game.

I had Super II on the SNES and remember always selecting Turbo 3 speed before starting to play

It was interesting that Max mentioned ChampionSHIP edition. SF2 CE was the first game I ever played. And I could swear that the Genesis version was called Championship edition. I wonder if many more people had this collective illusion.

Random story. I was a really little kid playing sf2 on snes with my older brother and cousin, so I basically had to ask them how to do anything. In hind sight, we had Street Fighter 2 Turbo, but I think they didn't understand what turbo meant. I think they thought it was hard mode or something. But we literally only ever played the championship edition "normal" option despite having turbo which I find funny.

Capcom was definitely milking it, but I feel like new generation people have no idea just how massive SF2 was as like a cultural phenomena.. it was EVERYWHERE. Go to any local arcade or pizzeria, talk to your friends at school SF2 had some presence. Fighting games will probably never be this big, MK and Tekken will sell a lot of copies, so will SF6 but in terms of literally casuals everywhere and just how much presence it had, it will never be as big as SF2.

How many versions of Street Fighter II are there? Capcom: Yes.

I remember buying Mortal Kombat for SNES because it was way cheaper than Street Fighter 2 Turbo than a few weeks later someone traded me Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo for my Mortal Kombat, WIN!!

Know that the reason why Super Street Fighter II Turbo exist was because of the home ports of Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers. The Super NES and Sega Genesis versions getting those Turbo speed back then was what prompt arcade gamers to request for a Turbo version of Super in the arcade so Capcom was force to make a Super Turbo version. Akuma and the Super Combos were just some stuff Capcom put in so to make up for the missing Bonus Stages.

There was an arcade version of Street fighter II that I played it was hyper fighting but you could do mid-air moves as well it was the best version of Street fighter 2 ever I can't remember what it was called

Right now there is a Brazilian group creating a version of SSF2T for Genesis (the same group that recently released the impressive Real Bout Fatal Fury Genesis). They're calling this version "Street Fighter 2 Omega." Considering the incredible feat they did with the RBFF, I believe there are good things coming.

I don't know about Special Champion Edition being worse than Turbo. Maybe 6-button controllers were hard to come by in the US, but quickly became the standard for Mega Drive here in Europe. They were easily available. And the game played SO MUCH BETTER with a six button joypad than with the clunky control system it had on SNES, with the shoulder buttons, it's not even funny.

If I'm not mistaken, Genesis' Special Champion Edition is closer to being an equivalent to SNES' Turbo than from arcade Champion Edition. Not only does it have turbo mode and the bosses, but it gets multiple palettes for characters (three I believe) and many new moves. The console that actually got a barebone port of Champion Edition was the PC Engine.

I aggree with everything you said, except about Special Champion Edition. Yes, it sounds rough, but it plays superb. And i don't know there, but in my country there was a promotion where you could send them your 3 button controller to get a free new 6 button one, that is, to this day, the best way to play Street Fighter. I don't remember a single person in my youth that didn't had the 6 button controllers at the launch of the game. But it's also true that i'm from Europe and here Sega was much more popular and made a lot of promotions like that.

I loved using the Game Genie with the original Street Fighter II: The World Warrior on the SNES. You could perform midair moves and there was a code to play as the boss characters.

The SF2 jokes were so ubiquitous that there's one in the intro of the 1995 game Pinball Illusions for Amiga

Spot on analysis. It's funny how I never saw Turbo or Super Turbo in arcades where I live. It was all Champion Edition and Super. There's a few retro arcades in the country now, they still only have Champion Edition.

Street fighter is the original milked to death series indeed.

Experts at SFII -- What is "Chicken Wing?" What is "Up Kicks?"

Super Street Fighter 2 on SNES was great, to me it was the one that made me blead throwing Shoryukens.

Its crazy that Super SFII was hated so much because I had no idea... I loved it for Genesis as a kid! I didn't even know Super SFII Turbo existed until years later! I didn't even know SF had Super meters in their games until SF Alpha 😂

One of the devs for SF2 played the hacked rainbow edition that was faster, thought it was interesting, then went back to play champion edition, then realize faster gameplay is better, and that was partially the inspiration for making HF.

The opening 5 seconds of this video was essentially the sound of every arcade in the world throughout the first half of the 90s.

I remember as each and everyone came to bowling alleys and arcades, such a great time period! Thanks for the nostalgia! 🙏🏻

I have so many good memories of SSF2 that it is still my favourite game in the series.

I had World Warrior on the SNES and got SCE on the Genesis for Christmas two years later. When I got the six button controller, SCE was my preferred version. Yurbo had better sound effects (I've heard clean sound samples from people who tried on the Genesis) but I loved the SCE tunes. I feel like a lot of RU-vidrs were just raised mostly on SNES and lean towards games on that console, but fighting games on that six button controller played like a goddamn dream.

The PC had a version of Super Turbo in 1995.

Based on the SF 2 documentary; one of the biggest reasons Super SF 2 is not as loved in the line of SF2 games; was because of Turbo; which originally WASN"T MEANT TO BE created at all. It was the idea of one of the US division heads of Capcom; who was noticing that there were hacked bootlegs versions of SF2 Champion edition (Rainbow) that were outperforming their regular SF games; due to the game being crazy fast and having glitched mechanics that were wild (switching characters mid game, air supers, ect). The US head suggested coming out with their own official version of this hack; with more balanced gameplay, new moves added and increased speed (but not crazy fast). This was Turbo. The Japanese division weren't thrilled with the idea; because they were working on Super SF 2(which is faster than regular SF2 and Champion Edition) which was supposed to be the next official upgrade in the series. However; they were seeing how successful Turbo was in the US, so they decided to expand the production of that game. However, this caused the reception of Super SF2 to be much lower, because now everyone is used to the speed of Turbo. This then forced them to upgrade yet again; from Super SF2 to Super SF2 Turbo and the rest is history.

That - Mario Turtle Shell/1Ups - portion was beautiful.

It seems that Capcom couldn't count to 3 back them. Guess I know where Valve took inspiration.

The first version to allow you to fight the same character (Mirror Match) was " Champion Edition" Not "Turbo Hyper Fighting"

Hey @Maximilian Dood, what about the TurboGrafx-16 version of Street Fighter II’: Champion Edition? That was Japan only back then & it was brought to the Wii Virtual Console and it’s technically more faithful to the Arcade than the SNES and Genesis versions? I don’t think some Street Fighter players have played that version or know this was the best version of Street Fighter II on consoles.

Couldn't you press select on the title screen of SSF2 and increase the game speed by 3 stars? That was the only SF game I owned growing up and I was sure that was a thing you could do.

i also remember it being called championSHIP edition in the arcade. guessing it’s just things we said incorrectly as kids

SF 2 Thunder Edition added aerial moves that we are use to today in the era of SF 6.

Street Fighter ll-Champion Edition: changed the arcade game. It was the first SF to differentiate Ryu and Ken, which was amazing to me. To compete against someone who was a "shoto" but a slightly different move set brought out more competitive play. Being able to fight as one of the 4 bosses took some getting used to. But SFll: C.E was the best iteration of the original Street Fighter ll. Then SFll: Turbo

Great video. Really informative. I didn’t realise there was actual a special champion edition on mega drive!

Man, you forgot to bring up SF The movie, I was sooo waiting for you to rip into that one.

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo had a PC port in 1995 from Eurocom!

SF 2 turbo on SNES was my first SF experience

Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Turbo on SNES was the very first fighting game I’ve ever played

The Champion Edition mode in the SNES & Genesis ports of Turbo isn't really CE. It just changes the color palettes to CE colors and removes the added specials in Turbo (Chun's fireball, Blanka's vertical roll, air hurricane kicks). The actual gameplay is the same as Turbo, so no 5 hit Bison torpedos or anything like that. I was under the impression this was common knowledge but I guess not.

Redondo Beach Arcade had my favorite hacked version SF2 Champion Edition with unlimited/mid air projectiles back in the late 90's.

I had Super Street Fighter 2. That’s what I grew up on in the sega. You gotta turn up the speed.

I think Capcom has no chill when they made so many.

Street Fighter on the Sega Saturn is worth getting a Sega Saturn alone

The weird thing was back then and even now....i was never into the faster turbo speed settings at all

The first Street Fighter game for me was SF2: Champion Edition. I went one to witness SF2: Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, and Hyper Street Fighter 2.

I can confirm the high prices. When Street fighter 2 came out for Super Nintendo, i went to kiddie city snd paid 60 dollars for it brand new. Once that happened, all my friends and cousins wanted to play the game too. 🙂

it hard to explain this to anyone who didn't grow up with this

I got my SNES Street Fighter II Turbo from K·B Toys in a christmas special for $49.99... another thing that affected the sales of Super Fighter II Turbo was video rental stores and word on the street about it was better to rent the game vs buying it at full price.

Grew up playing majority of Street Fighter games at the arcades, hardly played it on game consoles, but when I did, it felt easier, cause I was so use to the difficulty at the arcades. 😆

.... Ya know, back in the early 2010's, I wrote a fanfic where someone was playing a Street Fighter game. At the time, SF 4 was the latest one, and that was 20 years after SF2. And this story was supposed to be taking place in "the future", so i made it SF6 Turbo (or Deluxe, or Champion, or EX or whatever) Now, SF6 is actually coming out and i dont know if I called it right or if it's early...

Champion Edition’s Bison had insane chip damage on Psycho Crusher lololol

I remember having a copy of the promotional Special Champion Edition vhs

5:46 Hence them being some of the highest selling games for the SNES.

The greatest name will forever be: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD REMIX

To me, the absolute zenith of SFII was Street Fighter II Turbo on SNES.

Oh I remember them alright. I thought you were going to try the really wacky stuff like the C64, Spectrum, Game Boy and Amiga versions.

I remember paying $80 for Street fighter II Turbo for SNES @ Toys R Us!

Thank you Max. 😁

Real men played Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival (The artwork is hard and the GBA soundtrack renditions are great)

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Grand Master Edition came out on the Sega Dreamcast pure masterpiece look it up. No other console did it better back then or now.

Capcom themselves acknowledged the meme on Dead Rising 3.

The Genesis music was closer to the Hyper Fighting Arcade, I think the A.i and Moves were more like the arcade too, so it was closer in quality to the SNES than people thought. The problem was the SFX and graphics were poor, due to the bad audio driver and low colour palette.

The Genesis Special Champion is Turbo+Champion. Sega actually delayed the game so Capcom could add it. Also yea the sound is rougher but it plays better and I think it’s more arcade accurate

Super Street Fighter II Turbo for the 3DO is still my preferred version (with the Capcom Soldier gamepads).

being brazilian means we had consoles 10 years later after launch, I kid you not I had a SNES in 1999 and in 2005 I had SF 2 champion edition, godamn it was hard learning hadouken, in 2009 I had alpha collection on my recent ps2 and played alpha 3 to learn hadouken and shory consistently ,jumped to sf4 arcade edition on xbox in 2012, and holy shit i only played on very easy, tha'ts when I meet juri and no DP input on it was like a glove, dive kick all the way till the game ends, only in sf X tekken that's I was introduced to combos since everyone had a target combo in this game, never played FG's till 2018 when I got a ps2 again and played MvsC and CvSnk 2 to actualy get the fun of local play with my cousins at time. after some interest in FG Online i begin playing tekken 7 online in my recent Xone and here I am, playing sf 6 beta and learning crazy stuff, so to people hwo think it is too late to learn FG, I learned in 2021 in sf 4 and tekken 7 lol, it is never too late to learn this stuff, and it's really rewarding

Super Street Fighter II Turbo is, hands down, my fav Street Fighter ever

The port they had running in the battle hub during the open beta was literally unplayable, because the Ai wouldn't even let me play the game. The input reading was turned up so high that i just gave up.

Champion Edition is where both sides could have the same character. I remember thinking that was cool when it came out.