Street Fighter II Turns 20

Street Fighter II

Hadoken.

That word alone is enough to send veteran gamers plunging into the mists of nostalgia, thinking of callouses earned in arcades and later, on the SNES and Sega Genesis as we attempted to pummel our friends, the AI and even a parked car, into submission while playing Street Fighter II. Back in the day, nothing was as big as Street Fighter II. This week marks the 20th anniversary of the game, so time for a trip down memory lane.

In the arcades, lines would form a dozen people deep. At home, the whole neighborhood would descend on the house of whoever had it and massive tournaments were held. Hell, fights broke out just over what character would be chosen, especially if you managed to score a couple of cheap wins against people. So, we honor Street Fighter II, the most popular and influential fighting game of all time.

And I ask you: what’s your favorite Street Fighter memory? How about your favorite character? Are you man enough to comment? Fight!