Street Fighter II' Champion Edition
  

REVIEW:  "Twelve Street Fighters can now battle each other in 78 possible matchups!" The most in a fighting game to date! Revolutionary (again). Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was still dominating arcades when Capcom surprised fans with a shiny new updated version: Street Fighter 2' Champion Edition! Where the champs play. Great title.

  
Everything that was great about "vanilla" Street Fighter 2 was brought back in Champion Edition. The updated character artwork (in-game and in 2D illustrations outside of the game) and slightly adjusted backgrounds went a long way in keeping the game looking fresh. Champion Edition not only brought players back to arcades, but helped Capcom continue the SF2 series into the future by becoming another smash hit. "Don't fix what isn't broken!"
 
This faithfully-earned second arcade smash hit helped Capcom produce more arcade updates and incredible console ports, including: Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. Confused? Not anymore. That's part of the reason I created this website. You're welcome! Worth mentioning, "sequels" of video games in early 90s arcades were somewhat rare and only happened when games were very successful. Naturally, there was instant excitement surrounding Champion Edition when it launched among fans, while "out of the loop" gamers might've been very confused at the time about sequels.
   

   
Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition released on the Sega MegaDrive & Genesis version of the title. It was first of two Street Fighter II ports for the console coming in a 24 Megabit cartridge. The Genesis version was originally planned to be a straight-up port of Champion Edition. However, after Street Fighter II Turbo was announced on SNES, Sega ordered their version to be delayed so Capcom could add the SNES Turbo content to this version as well.
 

  FUN FACTS:  In the original Street Fighter II, Vega (Claw) did not have a block animation. Instead, Vega performed his backflips to evade the player's attacks. With the four bosses now functioning like normal characters in the hands of human players in Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Vega received his own unique standing and crouching block animations!


SFII: Special Champion Edition features "Champ" mode with Champion Edition rules and "Hyper" mode with Hyper Fighting rules. The ten-stars speed settings in "Hyper" mode, which were only accessible in the SNES version through a cheat code, is available by default in the Genesis version, and a cheat code that allows players to adjust the speed in "Champion" mode was added in its place. This edition was also the first console version of Street Fighter II to feature the original arcade intro.
 

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Page Updated: July 4th, 2025 Developer(s): Capcom Publisher(s): Capcom Designer(s): Akira Nishitani           Designer Akira Yasuda               Designer Yoshiki Okamoto       Producer Artwork by: Bengus (CRMK), Akira Yasuda (Akiman), Kinu Nishimura, Shoei, Mick McGinty  (U.S. Box Art) Platform(s): Arcade, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, PC, PlayStation, Saturn, Sega Master System, Wii Virtual Console Release Date(s): April 1992                       Arcade June 12th, 1993             PC Sept. 27th, 1993            Genesis/MD as SF2: Special CE Sept. 28th, 1993            Genesis/MD as SF2: Special CE Oct. 29th, 1993              Genesis/MD as SF2: Special CE July 29th, 2008               Wii Virtual Console Oct. 13th, 2008              Wii Virtual Console Oct. 17th, 2008              Wii Virtual Console Characters:  Ryu, Ken Masters, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Zangief, Edmond Honda, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M.Bison Featured Video: Related Games: Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Super SF2 Turbo, Super SF2 Turbo Revival, Super SF2T HD Remix, Street Fighter, Ultra SF2, SF3: New Generation, SF3: 2nd Impact, SF3: 3rd Strike, SF3: 3rd Strike Online Edition, Street Fighter 4, Super SF4, Super SF4: 3D Edition, Super SF4: Arcade Edition, Ultra SF4, Street Fighter 5, SF5: Arcade Edition, SF5: Champion Edition, Street Fighter 6, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, SFA3 Upper, SFA3 Max, SFA: Anthology, SF: Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter EX, SFEX2, SFEX3, SF: The Movie, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Super PF2T HD Remix, Pocket Fighter, Art of Fighting, Samurai Shodown, World Heroes, Fighter's History, Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Mortal Kombat, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters, Martial Champion    Gameplay Engine  10 / 10 Story / Theme  9.5 / 10 Overall Graphics  9.5 / 10 Animation  10 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  9.5 / 10 Innovation  9.0 / 10 Art Direction  10 / 10 Intro / Presentation  8.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  10 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  10 / 10 Characters  10 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  9.9 / 10  Review based on Arcade version       Final Words: Street Fighter II: Champion Edition was a sign of things to come. Imagine, walking into an arcade for the first time ever and seeing a polished new machine and "new version" of one of your all-time favorite fighting games to date. This was Capcom saying "we were not done!" And us fans only wanted more. One of the best things about Capcom releasing a new version of an awesome game is appreciating all the fine details and small changes that only an eagle-eyed returning Capcom fan would notice. That's what made me a Capcom fan, anyway. Even in 1992-1993, some kids preferred to "complain" about a new version of a fighting game instead of just keeping quiet and enjoying it. The ones playing the game (quietly or not) were having the most fun, as usual. "No, it's not the same game... so shut up and put your quarter up and I'll show you why." I miss trash talk. Back when people didn't take everything so seriously and you could insult your friends skill and skills back and forth. The good old days. Anyhow, I never complained a whole lot about my favorite fighting games. I put my quarter up and anxiously played the next one wanting to improve my skills or learn the new characters immediately, no questions asked. I put tons of quarters into the SF2: CE cabinet and loved every second of finally playing as Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison. You wanna play as the new bosses? Put your quarter up and get in line. There's a reason people are playing this game. I'm not moving until I lose, btw. Playable bosses? Sign me up. This was a necessary update and an obvious yet smart move by Capcom at the time. Remember, for true appreciators of the game... it was "amazing" simply to see Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison appearing on other stages besides their own. Not only that, imagine seeing the old SF2: World Warriors arcade cabinet next to the shiny new SF2: Champion Edition, and noticing new small details like improved character artwork, differently colored stages, and improved gameplay with character balancing and new combos. This trend is what continued to make the SF2 series successful with future updates. SF2: Champion Edition was the hottest thing at the arcades and on consoles when it released. The crowds surrounding the game just got bigger... and bigger... and bigger. I could sense jealousy from other arcade cabinets and other types of "non-competitive" video game enjoyers. SF2 was just a different beast, a different scene. Welcome to the FGC. That's when I started out. The only real complaint that fans of the original SF2 could have is that the 4 ultra-cool bosses weren't playable. Capcom knew what the fans wanted and gave it to them! Four new character options and all the new match-up possibilities answered everyone's prayers. Champion Edition = Money in the bank. Happy players. Happy arcade managers. Another year or more of ultra competitive gameplay, growing the fighting game scene worldwide. Welcome back to the arcade! After some point in time, someone at Capcom decided the players needed faster gameplay... and thus Street Fighter II ' Hyper Fighting / Turbo was born. Ohh what an exciting time it was, especially living in a place with thriving arcades (I was lucky). For fans and future dedicated fighting game players around the world, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition added to the worldwide phenomenon of Street Fighter II (and fighting games at arcades in general). ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen    Click Here for all Character Artwork! Click Here for all Character Data Images! Click Here for all Screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES