All Articles: Street Fighter II

State of Decay 2 rises as the best-selling game of May 2018

Posted on June 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

I think we can all agree that the Xbox’s two biggest franchises are Halo and Gears of War. But it looks like Microsoft can add the State of Decay series to the list, as The NPD Group (via Game Informer) has confirmed that State of Decay 2 was the best-selling game of May 2018.

The zombie survival sim beat out other several other May releases including Detroit: Become Human (#3), Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (#5), Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition (#7), and Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary Collection (#17).

While it might have seemed like a slow month for new releases, The NPD Group confirmed that increased hardware sales gave the game industry a 13% bump over May 2017’s retail figures.

The complete Top 20 for May 2018 can be found after the break. (more…)

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Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Sega Genesis Classics, Fox N Forests, more coming to Xbox Store this week

Posted on May 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

More retro re-releases (and retro-styled new titles) are coming to the Xbox One this week.

Fans of coin-op fighting games will be pleased to learn that Capcom is bringing Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection to the Xbox One this week. Containing 12 different Street Fighter games (including the original Street Fighter, five versions of Street Fighter II, three of Street Fighter III, and all three Street Fighter Alpha games), the compilation will also include online play and a Museum Mode to dive deep into the franchise’s history.

Also available this week from Sega is Sega Genesis Classics, which will contain more than 50 games originally released for the Sega Genesis. Players will get the chance to choose from dozens of 16-bit classics within this compilation, including Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage 2, Phantasy Star, and many more.

Finally this week, Bonus Level Entertainment will bring the retro-styled Fox N Forests to the Xbox One. Featuring gameplay inspired by Super Ghouls N Ghosts, players will use magic to control the seasons and save the forest.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One | Tagged

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Sega Genesis Classics, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope, more coming to PS Store this week

Posted on May 30, 2018 by John Scalzo

PS4 owners will get to experience a major blast from the past in this week’s PlayStation Store update…

Collecting 12 Street Fighter games in a single package, Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is the biggest Street Fighter compilation ever. Fans will be able to go all the way back to the beginning with Street Fighter, and then tag in five different iterations of Street Fighter II, three iterations of Street Fighter III, and the entire Street Fighter Alpha trilogy. A bevy of bonus features and online play will also be included.

Not to be outdone, Sega will release Sega Genesis Classics this week. Containing more than 50 games from the publisher’s 16-bit heyday, Sega Genesis Classics features a diverse lineup of games including Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Streets of Rage 2, Phantasy Star, and many more.

Finally this week, PS4 owners will be able to download Harvest Moon: Light of Hope – Special Edition, the latest game in Natsume’s series of farming simulations.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions (including Agony, Moonlighter, Knights of Pen and Paper +1 Deluxier Edition, and more) to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)

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New Retail Releases: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Sega Genesis Classics, Owlboy, More

Posted on May 28, 2018 by John Scalzo

Get ready for another nostalgia-heavy trip to your local game store as this week’s New Retail Releases features a new destination for several big-name titles.

Slapping its way to the top of the pile is Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, a new compilation for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One that brings together a dozen games from the franchise. There’s the original Street Fighter, as well as Street Fighter II (and its four updates), Street Fighter III (and its two updates), and all three Street Fighter Alpha games. Fans will get to relive these famous fighting games with online multiplayer, and explore the history of the franchise thanks to a bountiful batch of bonus content.

Also set to launch this week for the PS4 and Xbox One is Sega Genesis Classics, a new compilation that contains more than 50 games that were originally released for the 16-bit machine. That list includes beloved classics like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Golden Axe, and Altered Beast, as well as more left field fare like Vectorman, Comix Zone, and Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine.

Two games coming to new platforms this week retain the retro aesthetic of Street Fighter and the Sega Classics, but they’re both actually less than a year old. D-Pad Studio’s Owlboy originally made its PS4 and Switch debut earlier this year, but now the innovative platformer is coming to retail shelves. And Natsume’s Harvest Moon: Light of Hope was originally released for the PC in November, but a Special Edition of the farming sim comes to the PS4 and Switch this week.

NIS America has packaged together Fallen Legion: Sins of an Empire (originally released for the PS4) and Fallen Legion: Flames of Rebellion (originally released for the Vita) on the Switch as Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory. Players will finally be able to play both sides of this RPG story on a single platform.

THQ Nordic will also bring the feline ninjitsu of Legend of Kay Anniversary to the Switch this week. Fans first got to play the game on the PS2 in 2005, and since then it’s appeared on the DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, and Xbox 360.

And finally, if you’re looking for something new this week, Madmind Studio will released Agony for the PS4 and Xbox One. The first-person survival horror game plunges players into the depths of Hell in a story of “horror, eroticism, and damnation” that was inspired by Dante’s Inferno.

That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at all the new additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

Posted in News, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged , ,

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Ikaruga, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on May 24, 2018 by John Scalzo

It’s another big week for the Nintendo eShop as two of the greatest games of all time come to the Switch alongside a handful of new releases.

Capcom is bundling together a dozen Street Fighter games in this Tuesday’s Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. The collection features the original Street Fighter, as well as Street Fighter II (plus its four revisions), Street Fighter III (plus its two revisions), and all three games in the Alpha sub-series.

This week’s eShop update is also a big one for fans of 2D shooters, who will have the opportunity to download Treasure’s Ikaruga for their Switch. The beloved polarity-switching shooter regularly appears on “Best Games of All Time” lists, and it’s available to purchase beginning today.

Switch owners who also consider themselves retro gaming fans can also look forward to the ninja platforming of N++, the Castlevania-inspired Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, and tower defense shenanigans of PixelJunk Monsters 2.

On Tuesday, Switch owners will also be able to download Natsume latest farming sim, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope – Special Edition, and a new RPG from NIS America, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory.

Finally this week, Dillon the Armadillo makes his 3DS debut in Dillon’s Dead-Heat Breakers, a post-apocalyptic western where players must defend the people from an invasion of transforming rock monsters.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Knights of Pen and Paper, Legend of Kay Anniversary, Punch Club, and more) after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged , , , ,

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection will include 12 games from the fighting franchise

Posted on December 10, 2017 by John Scalzo

Capcom is celebrating Street Fighter’s 30th anniversary in style next year with the release of a massive new compilation, the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.

Featuring 12 “arcade perfect” adaptations, players will be able experience all the franchise’s biggest hits: Street Fighter (1987), Street Fighter II (1991), Street Fighter II: Champion Edition (1992), Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting (1992), Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers (1993), Super Street Fighter II Turbo (1994), Street Fighter Alpha (1995), Street Fighter Alpha 2 (1996), Street Fighter III (1997), Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact (1998), Street Fighter Alpha 3 (1998), and Street Fighter III: Third Strike (1999).

Best of all, the 30th Anniversary Collection will include online play (including Ranked Matches) in Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and Street Fighter Alpha 3.

Finally, like any good compilation, the 30th Anniversary Collection will also give player access to a wide variety of behind-the-scenes bonus material including concept art, character bios, and a Music Player:

With the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, fans can re-visit historic moments from the series and explore the timeline of events that helped create one of the world’s leading fighting game series. Fans can take a walk down memory lane in the Museum and view stunning pieces of concept art, scroll through character bios and uncover little known facts behind each game release with an interactive timeline. Audiophiles can also sit back and relax while listening to the most memorable Street Fighter tunes in the Music Player.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection will be available for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in May 2018. The first trailer can be viewed above.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One | Tagged ,

Capcom is “starting to prepare” more games for the Switch after Ultra Street Fighter II sells 450,000 copies

Posted on July 31, 2017 by John Scalzo

Even though it originally debuted in arcades more than 25 years ago, Capcom is reporting that Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers for the Switch is officially a “smash hit.” As part of the publisher’s latest quarterly financial report, they revealed that Ultra Street Fighter II sold 450,000 copies during its first month and a half of availability, including 100,000 copies in Japan and 350,000 in the North America/Europe.

Best of all, because of Ultra Street Fighter II’s success, Capcom also revealed they’re “starting to prepare” more games for release on the Switch. However, aside from a previously-announced port of Monster Hunter XX (which is currently only in development for Japan), we don’t know what Capcom has planned for Nintendo’s newest console.

Hopefully, Capcom has more to say about their Switch plans at this year’s Gamescom, which kicks off on August 22.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

The Video Game Canon: Street Fighter II

Posted on May 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

Dig deeper into the Video Game Canon with a look at Hollywood’s influence on Street Fighter II (and it’s influence on Hollywood). Here’s a teaser…

Street Fighter II: The World Warrior wasn’t the first fighting game ever released, but it single-handedly helped shape the genre for decades to come.

Capcom’s masterpiece rose to prominence by replacing the small and stiff characters of previous fighting games (including its predecessor, 1987’s Street Fighter) with highly detailed characters that seemed to fly around the screen. Instead of generic fighters clad in traditional karategi uniforms, Street Fighter II starred a diverse group of characters with fantastical “special moves.” And young fans lined up around the block to do battle with “World Warriors” like E. Honda, a sumo wrestler with a lightning-quick Hundred Hand Slap; Zangief, a Russian giant who fought bears; Blanka, a green-skinned prince who controlled electricity; and Dhalsim, a yoga master who breathed fire.

Rather than rest on their laurels, Capcom refined Street Fighter II’s controls and added more characters to the select screen through the release of four subsequent revisions. This parade of improvements (and Street Fighter II’s eventual release on home consoles) helped ensure the game’s status as the biggest fighting game of the early 90s arcade renaissance. By the late 90s, a loosely-connected group of enthusiasts for Street Fighter II began building a “Fighting Game Community” online, which eventually grew to include organized tournaments (like the annual Evo gathering) and a dedicated fandom that could rival any professional sport.

Visit VideoGameCanon.com to continue reading this article and to explore the complete Top 1000.

Posted in Features, PS3, Retro, Switch, Top Story, Video Game Canon, Xbox 360 | Tagged