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.
This new version introduced tuned damage output, character balance changes to
improve the gameplay experience, and visual updates including remixed character selection artwork
and background stages. What, SFII: Champion Edition is mostly known for
is the original 4 boss characters (Balrog,
Vega, Sagat & M.Bison) being playable for the first time ever! The option for
Player-1 and Player-2 to select the same
character was also introduced, a major new concept in this competitive fighting
game that revolutionized the scene.
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Ryu
versus Ryu... for the first time ever.
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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.
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The new character select artwork
is a huge improvement.
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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.
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Vega
/ Balrog (Claw)
can finally "block" in Champion Edition!
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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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What
are you doin' in
China, Balrog? This still looks new.
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Page Updated: |
July
4th, 2025
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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
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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
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Featured Video:
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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 |
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Gameplay
Engine
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10 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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9.5 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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9.5 / 10
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Animation
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10 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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9.5 / 10
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Innovation
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9.0 / 10
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Art Direction
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10 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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8.5 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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10 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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10 / 10
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Characters
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10 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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9.9
/
10
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Review based on Arcade
version
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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
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