The legacy now spans decades and generations
Street Fighter 2 introduced the world to so many new concepts, such as combinations and selectable characters that would immediately define the genre and now do so more than three decades later.
Capcom officially announces The World Warrior has reached its 30th anniversary yesterday, February 6, from its first arcade launch in Japan, where it would spread rapidly and storm all corners of the world.
It’s absolutely crazy to think that the combat community itself and its arcade roots are now almost as old, but of course we’ve undergone a lot of developments to reach where we are in 2021.
None of it would be here without Street Fighter 2, at least not in the same way, so the game’s birthday is like our own.
The game that changed my life forever after I played it with my older brothers in the arcades and was there for every update. I was actually a Blanka chief with the original. https://t.co/XjILOfz3Kk
Alex “#FGC Tony Hawk” Jebailey (@Jebailey) 7 February 2021
Every quarter spent was a battle of pride, bragging rights and high scores that would build the culture and contribute to becoming stronger, which has since been more about raising and growing the community.
Many people shared their thoughts on Twitter about their past experiences and what Street Fighter 2 means to them, including CEO Alex Jebailey and Ken’s English voice actor Reuben Langdon.
Most of my high school years played this masterpiece. So honored to be a part of the sequels. https://t.co/X56WUyqKbp
– πππ§π ππ¨π§ πππ§π ππ¨π§ (@ReubenLangdon) 6 February 2021
Those initial eight world warriors surpassed combat, with Ryu, Ken, E. Honda, Chun-Li, Blanka, Zangief, Guile and Dhalsim remaining global icons and some of the most recognizable faces in all the video games.
It was also fitting that SF2 would be the top-selling console battle for more than two decades in a row, with about 15 million copies to find after Super Nintendos, Sega Genesises and almost any system it could use.
In honor of the big anniversary of Street Fighter 2, you can comment on the first time you came across the cabinet or game in general.
As for me personally, I have vague memories that I probably saw a version of SF2 in the arcade of our mall in the mid – nineties, although I did not really mess with it since I was only three or four. Only in high school was I really interested in Street Fighter, and it helped shape me and lead me to where I am today.