Street Fighter games on PC:
What are the best Street Fighter games? It’s a question that has been asked many times, and one that is much easier to answer now than it was back in the ’90s. While the first Street Fighter game introduced us to the six-button control scheme and had its own innovations, the gameplay was clunky. Fast forward to Street Fighter 2: The World Warriors and you have a game that revolutionised VS Fighting games with multiple playable characters, combos, and stages.
Since then, the Street Fighter series has expanded to over 20 mainline games, numerous spin-offs, and even crossover crossovers with other Capcom series. We’ve seen a few duds along the way, but for the most part, the series has kept up with the times with quality-of-life updates, new mechanics, and new playable characters. Early Street Fighter games were very hard to come by on PC until the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection in 2018, which brought six of the games with it. We’ve played all of the games in that collection to bring you our recommendations on the best Street Fighter games.
Street Fighter 2: The World Warriors
Street Fighter 2’s legacy is as a revolution, but it was also a flawed game. The lack of a combo system meant players could pull off some game-breaking infinite combos, and the game’s roster was limited to the original four World Warriors at launch.
Street Fighter 2’s remake in 1992, Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior, added four new characters and balanced the gameplay. This was followed by Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers in 1993, which added even more characters and improved the graphics.
Though it has its flaws, I still consider Super Street Fighter 2: The New Challengers to be the best version of Street Fighter 2. It balances the speed of the first game and the roster of the second, and it’s still a lot of fun to play today.
Street Fighter 2′: Hyper Fighting
Street Fighter 2′: Hyper Fighting is a fighting game classic, and it’s not just because it’s the best version of Street Fighter 2. It took the gameplay enhancements of its predecessor and made it faster, which is something the series still struggles with to this day. It’s also one of the most accessible fighting games out there, with a simple move list and special moves that are easy to pull off.
Street Fighter 5
Street Fighter 5’s sparse debut and lack of content left fans disappointed, despite solid fighting mechanics. Though the initial roster of 16 characters isn’t great for a series of this size, it does have a few fan favourites. The slow, defensive play style of Ryu and Ken also didn’t help the game’s case, especially because the Street Fighter 4 cast was much more diverse.
Capcom tried to make amends with a series of free updates that added more characters, modes, and a playable Dhalsim. Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition brought a cinematic story mode, DLC seasons, and the long-awaited Arcade Mode, but it was still a disappointing debut.
If you’re interested in the series and fancy giving it a try, we have a list of the best Street Fighter 5 characters to help you build a competitive roster. We also have a breakdown of all the Street Fighter 5 DLC that’s released up until this point.
Street Fighter Alpha
Not a lot of people remember the Street Fighter Alpha sub-series, but it’s one of the most important branches in the series. Starting with Alpha, Capcom began exploring events between each game to flesh out the series’ world. Alpha also introduced the three-tier super combo meter that would become a staple of the series.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 was a fan-favourite because of its custom combo system that let you string together basic attacks and special moves for massive combos. The game also introduced fan-favourite character Sakura to the series, which helped draw in more Japanese fans.
Street Fighter Alpha 3
When Alpha 3 released, it divided fans. On one hand, it had more content than any other Street Fighter game before, and it introduced new mechanics like the ISM system that gave characters unique upgrades. On the other, a few of those new mechanics were game-breaking infinite combos, and the game was near-impossible without using one of these combos.
In the end, Alpha 3 is still worth playing because of its impressive sprite work, parries, dashes, and recoveries that Alpha 2 lacked. The game also introduced Hugo and Urien, two of the best characters in the series.
Street Fighter 3
Street Fighter 3 brought stunning sprite work, and the series introduced stunning new characters like Cody and R. Mika. The game’s biggest changes were its parries, dashes, recoveries, and the introduction of EX Moves.
Street Fighter 3: 2nd Impact added even more characters and introduced a system of bonus stages. The game also introduced a slew of new gameplay mechanics, including super arts and the ability to cancel special moves.
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Alpha 2 is an excellent game, but it’s not perfect. The game-breaking infinite combos from Alpha 3 are gone, but the custom combo system is still a bit too powerful. The game also has a roster of 19 characters, compared to Alpha 3’s 27, which makes it easier to master the game.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 also introduced character-specific super art moves, which could be used after a series of normal attacks and special moves.
