GLaD 21: Super Street Fighter II: Turbo + Psychedelic Thursday (Now with Gaming Suggestions)

On 03/21/2013 at 11:29 PM by Super Step

Bing Image Mad Libz: Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba and Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert decide who gets to film a television show on the Greenland glaciers by way of Street Fighter II:Turbo match. Ultimately, Colbert's Chun Li wins out over Inaba's Ken, and Colbert hosts a dancing competition between bald eagles wearing American-themed mech armor.

Street Fighter II: Turbo might have been my favorite game to play on my older brother's SNES. Though I always got my ass kicked before I ever got to M. Bison on single player, two player was where it's at, and not only when I was a kid, but when I found out a good friend of mine's roommate had it on his own SNES in college, I played it as much as I could.

The gimmick is being able to speed up the gameplay by increasing the speed of the character on-screen. You could handicap them as well, but while I'm not sure what we all usually chose when I was younger (probably the fastest option), my friend Austin and I would always try to find a middle ground, cause matches became a bit ridiculous with characters on full blast all the time.

These two got especially ridiculous

Still, hyper speed or not, the game always had tight controls, easy to learn combos; well, easy to learn later in life in my case, prior to college I always just sort of pressed buttons and hoped Blanka would do his electrical shock, which is another thing my friend and I decided was a bit cheap; and just all-around fun gameplay.

Pictured Above: An asshole who loves Spam

This of course was what spurred the immense popularity of the arcade cabinet, apparently. I say apparently because I think the Street Fighter arcade phenomenon was a little before my time as far as arcades go, as I remember a lot more Mortal Kombat cabinets in skating rinks and Chuck E. Cheeses. You read that right: when I was a kid, we didn't have Lieberman breathing down our throat about violence; well we did, but you wouldn't know that by walking in to the nearest Cici's Pizza.

Back in MY day, you'd walk a mile uphill both ways in the snow,

and then Raiden would try to kill you in real life

No matter though, we had it on a home console, and I loved all the characters, the gameplay, the story, and my God the music; I mean after all, it goes with anything. That bass line is sick!

I can't choose a favorite song or stage, as I love them all, but the character I played as most in my youth was ....

Vega

What are your thoughts on Street Fighter II: Turbo?

ANd now it's time for

Psychedelic Thursday

(With Audio Intros and Game Suggestions!)

This guy will kick your ass at Rock Band

Surfcaster

03/22/2013 at 08:40 AM

Street Fighter II: Turbo was the SF game that I had, so I played it constantly. I'm not really into fighting games, so Turbo is still my favourite. I loved to put in the code to give you 10 Turbo stars, so things were ridiculously fast.

Super Step Contributing Writer

03/22/2013 at 08:42 PM

Yeah, we had fun with that speed as well. lol

Aboboisdaman

03/22/2013 at 10:33 AM

We used to play this game all the time. At least untill The New Challengers on SNES came out. The computer AI in those early STF games is absolutely insane. We'd spend hours trying to make it to Bison. In the end I almost always relied upon Ryu to beat him. I love Street Fighter II Hd Remix. It's the perfect version of this game imo. Hopefully the last lol. How many remakes have there been? Like a gagillion?

03/22/2013 at 08:45 PM

No, I think the exact number according to a Google Search and some crap I just made up is around Fifteen bazingajillions, but you were close. lol

Coolsetzer

03/22/2013 at 11:27 AM

I think you made a mistake with your title. There was no Super SFII: Turbo on the SNES. Only SFII: Turbo and Super SFII. =-D Anyway, SFII T was definitely great and a classic. Although I prefer SF Alpha 2 on that system, if I only had one choice.

03/22/2013 at 08:46 PM

Yeah, you're right, but at least once I starting writing the blog, I seemed to correct myself. lol

I only ever really played this version, so not sure which I'd prefer.

mothman

03/22/2013 at 06:13 PM

Great choices on the tracks Joe. The Zombies Time of the Season is a timeless piece of music. The choice of Kenny Rogers singing Just Dropped In, brilliant. Yes folks good old Middle of the Country singer Kenny Rogers sang a song about drugs. :O

Simon and Garfunkel. Love them, love the track but I'm having a hard time with the psychedelic connection. Save The Life Of My Child would have been my pick. It's sonically more psychedelic, uses samples from Sound of Silence, is very anti establishment and the kid "flies away" in the end. It doesn't get more drug oriented than that. LOL

Anyway, that's me nit picking. I love the music a bunch of you are bringing to this site and I look forward to listening.

03/22/2013 at 08:59 PM

Psychedelic, while usually used to refer to drug-induced expansions of the mind, was derived from Greek words that mean "mind-manifesting," so while you're right, it's not necessarily about drugs (though I'd argue much of what he describes COULD be translated as a trip, what with him getting visions planted in his brain; yeah probably not, but I've gotta use my confirmation bias here ), I've always found it puts me in a rather "mind altering" mood when I hear it, and some of its most famous uses are in The Graduate and to a much lesser extent, Watchmen, both of which are very "60s" movies, and I associate that decade with psychedelic rock, so somewhere along the line I came to see it as a psychedelic, as well as a folk rock song. It certainly makes me feel like I'm on drugs when I hear it sometimes. lol

But hey, your "nitpicking" (not really, I see what you mean about lack of drug references) got me to listen to something I haven't heard before, so it's all good here in Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood.

BrokenH

03/22/2013 at 09:04 PM

I preferred Turbo over World Warrior simply because it gave me all of the characters as opposed to a measly 8 of them!

Then of course "SF2:The New Challengers" released shortly after.....

03/22/2013 at 09:15 PM

Like I said to coolseltzer, this was really all I played (and maybe we rented Super SF II at some point), so I don't have much of the other iterations to compare it to. lol You and abobo seem to really love New Challengers, if I ever get an SNES of my own, maybe I'll get that one.

V4Viewtiful

03/22/2013 at 09:19 PM

Cool selection, i've always had a softspot for Kenny but after the Big Labowski that song is my fav.

Ah, the right kind of Zombies, none of that pixelated mess

Me and my older Brother played SFII:T to death, i can still remember the thumb blisters

Good times

03/22/2013 at 09:30 PM

Thumb blisters were when we were told to go outside or do chores. lol Big Lebowski is great, and Children of Bodom even did a metal cover of that song.

smartcelt

03/22/2013 at 09:44 PM

Street Fighter games have always challenged me. Usually just kick my ass! I love the music you chose. All the songs instantly take you back to the 60's. especially The Zombies. That was so freaky seeing Kenny Rogers like that! I knew he did different music before going country. Just never saw him doing it before. My favorite song by Simon & Garfunkel is Bridge Over Troubled Water. But this one is second. Those guys were amazing songwriters. And they could harmonize very well. I remember Concert In The Park. That was one terrific concert when they reunited for that.

03/22/2013 at 09:52 PM

That's cool you saw them in concert; my dad was a huge Dylan fan, so they (my parents) went to a concert of his, and I was upset they hadn't taken me with, then they reminded me I'd have been two at the time. lol

SF games kicked my ass as well.

Agreed about the 60s vibe these songs all have; of course, I only know that time perios through media, not personal experience, but the music sounds amazing from that decade.

PixlBit