Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival
  

  
REVIEWSuper Street Fighter II Turbo: Revival is a port of the Capcom's classic arcade smash hit, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo made exclusively for the Gameboy Advance. This unique GBA port features updated character voiceovers over the arcade version, slightly reworked movesets, and an option for "easy" inputs to make playing on the GBA pad more tolerable. Capcom's Edayan, previously known for his amazing work on the Rival Schools series, created brand new character illustrations for the returning SSF2 roster, including character select screen portraits and win portraits. 

 

Slick character artwork by Edayan!

 

Along with the brand new artwork, SSF2 Revival features some brand new stages & BGMs for several characters (several borrowed from the SFA & SFIII series).
SSF2 Revival features a simplified control scheme due to the GBA's button layout, and welcomed simple inputs for certain special moves. For the most part, the game controls pretty well on the GBA's directional-pad, although some of those classic 360 techniques can be a bit tricky to pull off.
 
FUN FACT: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival is the first game in the SF2 series that allows Akuma to perform his Shun Goku Satsu (Raging Demon) during a match.

new stages help keep the SF2 engine fresh.

 

Visually , Revival is an impressive GBA title, and a rather clean-looking version of SF2 featuring re-touched, "brighter" character sprites. Even though some of the character sprites and animations are over a decade old, the recolored / resized 2D sprites actually add a nice touch to the overall visuals and breathe new life into the classic aesthetic of SF2. If you're a fan of pixel art, the redrawn backgrounds also have plenty of charm condensed as they may be.


Overall, Revival runs smooth and is playable, making it one of the best handheld fighting games to date. The classic SF2 formula, though dated, is still enjoyable on the go (especially battling against a local friend). All of the iconic SF2 characters make their return with most of their normal and special moves intact (although a few moves from the arcade version are missing). Each character can still perform a Super Combo when their Super Gauge is full, just like in Super SF2 Turbo.

 

Pretty crisp visuals for GBA.

 

The Gameboy Advance D-pad leaves a bit to be desired in the controls department, especially in the case of attempting to perform special moves with a 360 motion. Half-circle and quarter-circle moves might even be challenging for some, as the GBA pad takes some getting used to and definitely isn't as precise as a proper fightstick or modern console pad. Extra modes include: Survival (where barrels and fighters come at you at random), Time Attack (self explanatory); and a basic Training mode. 

   

Chun-Li's SFA2 stage makes a random appearance.

 
   

  

Page Updated: October 30th, 2022
Developer(s): Capcom
Publisher(s): Capcom
Artwork by: Edayan
Platform(s): Gameboy Advance
Release Date(s): July 13th, 2001             
Oct. 30th, 2001            
Nov. 1st, 2001               
Nov. 2nd, 2001             
Characters Ryu, Ken Masters, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Zangief, Edmond Honda, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, M. Bison, Cammy White, Fei Long, Dee Jay, Thunder Hawk, Akuma, Shin Akuma

Featured Video:

Related Games: Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Ultra Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, Rival Schools: United By Fate, Project Justice
  

Gameplay Engine  8.0 / 10
Story / Theme  8.0 / 10
Overall Graphics  8.0 / 10
Animation  8.5 / 10
Music / Sound Effects  6.5 / 10
Innovation  7.5 / 10
Art Direction  9.5 / 10
Customization  5.0 / 10
Options / Extras  7.0 / 10
Intro / Presentation  7.0 / 10
Replayability / Fun  7.0 / 10
"Ouch" Factor  8.0 / 10
Characters  8.5 / 10
BOTTOM LINE

 7.9 / 10

 

 

Final Words:

Revival is an interesting and nostalgic handheld version of SF2 and surely a great pick-up for any GBA (or NDS) owner. Of course, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is still a bit "dated" for a 2D fighting game in the year 2001, in more ways than one. Although some may think the SF2 engine is a bit "played out" when compared to some newer 2D fighters and incarnations of Street Fighter... there's still a lot to appreciate about this compact title.

My favorite part about Revival? Easily the stunning artwork by Rival Schools series artist, Edayan. Seeing brand new artwork based on iconic versions of old school fighting game characters? Priceless. Even though the actual game uses the old school (yet nicely reworked) 2D sprites, Edayan's stunning artwork adds a new life and appreciation to SF2. Edayan's badass artwork looks sweet on the GBA's bright screen, and might even be reason enough to own this game. If you're an "old school" Street Fighter fan and own a GBA or Nintendo DS, there's no reason not to pick up Revival.
~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
  

 

  Click Here for all character portraits!

 
 
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