Street Fighter 2 turns 30, and some never play again

Street Fighter 2, one of the most important fighting games – and video games of all time, is now 30 years old. As of February 6, it’s been three decades since Ryu and the company landed in arcades, and the fighter’s classic game has produced numerous imitators.

In a post on its Twitter page, Capcom celebrated the game’s 30th birthday with a short game grip. Street Fighter 2 was much more successful than its predecessor, which was a fairly limited game featuring only two playable characters: Ryu and Ken. Both played basically the same.

After the initial success of Street Fighter 2, Capcom transferred the game to different systems and released sequels that added new features and characters. These include Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II and Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo. On Switch, Ultra Street Fighter II also gives players the choice of a new or classic art style, which works the classic mechanics in a game that looks like it could be released today.

The Street Fighter series, of course, continued well after the many versions of the second game. Street Fighter 3, Street Fighter 4, Street Fighter 5 and Street Fighter Alpha were all successful in their own right, but Street Fighter 2 will probably always be the biggest game of the series. It even got its own Arcade1Up home arcade box, and an updated version announced last month features artwork like the original cabinet. In addition to various versions of the game, it also contains classic Capcom arcade games such as Darkstalkers and Strider.