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  • Super Street Fighter II (Sega Genesis)

    While somewhat subjective, it always seemed to me that Street Fighter II was the last really hugely popular arcade game. Sales numbers would seem to objectively back that up. Street Fighter II is second only to Space Invaders and Pac-Man in terms of number of arcade machines sold. Mortal Kombat and Mortal Kombat II are also high on the list but they don’t really come close to Street Fighter II. The original Street Fighter II sold 60,000 machines (Street Fighter II Championship Edition sold even more at 140,000 machines). By comparison, the Mortal Kombat machines only sold in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 units. See https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/the-25-best-selling-arcade-games-of-all-time.htm for more sales info. Part of this of course comes down to the decline in the popularity of arcades as home systems finally caught up. 16-bit systems were close but 32-bit systems were arcade perfect or so close to it that it didn’t matter.

    Being one of the most popular arcade games, Street Fighter II was also one of the most anticipated home conversions of all time. This was in the 16-bit era of home gaming so home systems were significantly less capable than arcade machines at the time. It was all about how close to arcade perfect you could get but there were always some sacrifices. Graphics quality, sound quality, and even game play on home systems were usually at least somewhat below arcade standards.

    Nintendo managed to get the first home conversion on the Super Nintendo system. The Super Nintendo had better graphics hardware than the Genesis but it also had a slower CPU. Many early games on the Super NES suffered from problems with slow-down when a lot was going on on-screen at the same time. As programmers became more familiar with the hardware, this became less of an issue over time.

    While the Genesis version was not quite as graphically impressive as the Super Nintendo version, it did have a few advantages. First, it did not suffer from slow down as much as the Super NES version did. This wasn’t a huge problem or anything…more of a relatively infrequent mild annoyance. The Genesis kept more of the background animations as well but it suffered from a poorer color pallet and lower quality sound. The standard Genesis controller also didn’t have six buttons which was pretty crippling, however, plenty of aftermarket controllers were available (see below).

    One challenge with the home conversion of Street Fighter II and its sequels was the controller. The arcade version used a joystick and two rows of three buttons. The Super Nintendo controller actually had enough buttons though they weren’t really arranged in the ideal way for this game. Other systems didn’t even have enough buttons. Needless to say, this spawned an entire market in various six button controllers.

    While not arcade perfect, this arcade conversion was probably the most impressive there had been up to that point. Even to the casual player today, this version is perfectly fine to play instead of the arcade version. Of course, these days you can emulate the arcade version or play arcade perfect conversions on newer systems. It’s still worthwhile to check out the Super NES or Genesis version or even the other conversions at the time to see how impressive they were considering the hardware they were running on. Whether you prefer the Genesis version of the Super NES version probably comes down to what system you owned. Most people owned one or the other and were pretty fanatic about it. The system wars were a bigger deal then than now. While I prefer the Super NES version (that was the system I owned at the time after all), the Genesis version is solid too.

    It can also be a little confusing when you say ‘Street Fighter II’. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior was the original and this version was ported to the Super NES. Genesis didn’t get a version until Street Fighter II: Championship Edition. Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers was an even later version that was on both systems. However, the comparisons above generally apply to all variations of Street Fighter II.

    Screen shots above are from the Genesis version of Super Street Fighter II.


  • Aero the Acro-Bat 2 (Sega Genesis)

    Aero the Acro-Bat 2 is a side-scrolling platform game released in 1994 for both the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. This is a pretty typical platformer of which there were endless quantities of in the 16-bit days. However, it is at least an above average one. As the name suggests, this is a sequel. Like the first game, it was developed by Iguana Entertainment and published by Sunsoft and involved many of the same creators.

    The story… Ok, well the story doesn’t really matter all that much for this type of game. Suffice it to say that it involves an acrobatic bat, a protagonist named Edward Ektor, a Museum of Horrors, a magical box, an ancient castle and a kamikaze squirrel among other interesting things and characters. The game is split into eight worlds, most of which (except the last one) have three acts. The basic mechanics haven’t changed too much from the original game. For instance, Aero still has his basic drill attack and can throw stars at enemies. However, a few new moves have been added and the controls are somewhat improved.

    Sequels don’t always improve upon the original but in this case, Aero the Acro-Bat 2 seems a step up from the original. It has improved graphics, is a much longer game, has improved play control and more moves, and has a distinctively darker feel that helps it stand out from the original. Having said that, there’s nothing terribly original about the Aero games as platformers in general. They just do what they do better than most. This game gives you pretty much exactly what you would expect out of a 16-bit platformer.

    Reviews for Aero the Acro-Bat 2 were all quite positive. If you like platform games then this is one you should definitely check out. While not the most original game in the world the execution is very good and it is a fun game to play. As far as which version to try, I would say pick the one for your favorite console. Both versions are good and I don’t think one really stands out from the other. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to talk about in the way of re-releases. There was a Nintendo Virtual Console version for the Wii in the past but there doesn’t seem to be any Aero games available online for the Switch. If you do want to give this one a try, you’ll have to track down an original cartridge or be content with emulation.

    Screen shots above are from the Sega Genesis version of the game.


  • Double Dragon V (Sega Genesis)

    There sure were a lot of Double Dragon names and the numbering system got really confusing somewhere along the way. This game is called ‘Double Dragon V’ and as far as I can tell, that’s based on the fact that Super Double Dragon was the fourth game in the series. However, it gets more confusing. For this game the IP was licensed from Technos (the original developers) and developed by Leland Interactive and published by Tradewest. More recently, Technos released a Double Dragon IV that seems to be a direct sequel to Double Dragon II. They might as well stick a random digit after these names.

    Double Dragon V was released in 1994 for both the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis and the following year for the Atari Jaguar. It is sort of the odd man out among Double Dragon games because it is not a side-scrolling beat-em-up like the previous (and later) games in the series. Instead, it is a 2D fighting game…basically a Street Fighter II clone that tried to capitalize on the 2D fighting game craze of the time. It’s also based on the animated series so it has more of a cartoon look and feel.

    The game features a roster of 12 fighters including the two “Double Dragons” and eight Shadow Warriors plus two bosses. Most of the characters come from the animated series though a few original characters are thrown in as well. A couple of the characters can only be accessed via a code on the SNES and Genesis versions while the Jaguar version removed a few characters.

    As far as the quality of the game, as you might expect, it is pretty average. There isn’t anything especially wrong with it but it does not stand out from the crowd of 2D fighters. Moves in general are easier to perform on average vs. most similar games though at least one Genesis review claims the special moves are hard to perform. However, because of its relative simplicity and the fact that it was based on the animated series it probably appeals more to a younger crowd.

    Unless you are a die-hard 2D fighting game fan I probably wouldn’t recommend this one. If you have a passing interest in 2D fighters there are so many better ones to play. Having said that, if its your favorite genre then you would at least want to give this one a try. As far as I know there aren’t any re-releases so you’ll have to find an original or use emulation. Despite the Jaguar’s superior hardware, the SNES and Genesis version seem to be the best. This was mostly because of the Jaguar’s poor controller and the fact that the Jaguar version was a quick/cheap port that did not improve upon the graphics or sound of the SNES version.

    Screen shots above are from the Sega Genesis version of the game.