Street Fighter II: Champion Edition 
Last Updated: 1/5/2013 Developer(s): Capcom Publisher(s): Capcom Designer(s): Akira Nishitani & Akira Yasuda (Akiman) Artwork by: Bengus (CRMK), Akiman, Kinu Nishimura, Shoei Platform(s): Arcade, Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Playstation, Saturn, Sega Master System, Wii Virtual Console Release Date(s): April 1992 (Arcade)
September 27th, 1993 (Genesis)
Characters: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Zangief, E.Honda, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, Bison
Featured Video:
Related Games: Street Fighter, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter 3: New Generation, Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike Online Edition, Street Fighter 4, Super Street Fighter 4, Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Street Fighter Alpha: Anthology, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter EX 2, Street Fighter EX 3, Street Fighter: The Movie, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Pocket Fighter, Art of Fighting, World Heroes, Fighter's History, Fatal Fury, Fatal Fury 2, Mortal Kombat
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 / 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: Call it a rehash... call it "the same"... call you whatever you want... it doesn't matter, because SF2: Champion Edition was the hottest thing at the arcades when it debuted. The only legitimate complaint that players of Street Fighter 2 could possibly have is that bosses weren't playable, and Capcom answered with Champion Edition. Done deal... Money in the bank... Happy players.... Time passes...... Ohh, so you want faster gameplay?!? Capcom thought so too, and Street Fighter 2 Turbo soon followed, only adding to the sensation that Street Fighter 2 was quickly and steadily becoming. ~TFG Webmaster
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REVIEW: Street Fighter 2 was still dominating arcades when Capcom decided to surprise the fans by releasing Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition. Along with slightly tweaked damage & character balance and remixed character selection artwork & stages, the main draw of Champion Edition was that the 4 boss characters (Balrog, Vega, Sagat & M.Bison) were now playable characters! The option for player-1 and player-2 to select the same character was also introduced, making this version THE version to play.
And the hype continues... get those quarters ready!!
Everything that was great about "vanilla" SF2 was brought back in Champion Edition. The remixed character art and backgrounds kept the arcade smash hit looking as fresh as ever... if you could see the screen, that is (since so many people were probably crowded around it).
No doubt Champion Edition was a very smart move by Capcom. They made more money by selling the updated cabinets and pleased fans all at the same time!
Worth mentioning, sequels of arcade games were actually far and few between at the time... especially in the amount of time Champion Edition came out after SF2. I remember being at the arcades in 1992, and seeing the crowd over in the "Street Fighter area" just get bigger.... and bigger... and biggger.
And the hype continues... get those quarters ready!!
