What is your favorite version of Street Fighter?

[Dylan]

I said III. I really liked the feel of this game, The character design and animation were all fresh, fluid, and perhaps most importantly unique and original. The game had strong mechanics and was an absolute joy to play, what little of it I got to.

You nailed it. I'll be honest most of the characters from street fighter 2 I hated aside from Ryu, Ken, Akuma and Chun li. I thought that a Character like dhalsim never fit the build. I know there all clones of characters from 2 but necro felt so much more logical then dhalsim did. I could go on but I think you get the point.

I hear ya. It's not that I find Street Fighter II's cast to be stupid, it's just that I find Street Fighter III's cast to be some much more interesting. Necro, Ibuki, Q, Dudley, Elena, and Twelve are most of my favorite characters from the series, and III is the only place you can see them (The exceptions being Dudley and Ibuki).

[the7k]

SF3, definitely. The characters felt like they actually had some thought put into them - It felt like Capcom was actually trying, as opposed to filling the cast with almost-racist stereotypes (Although, I do feel like Vega/Balrog/Clawman was a good character design/concept. Spainish Masked Ninja with an insane narcissism is a great out-the-box idea).

The animation was very fluid and will be one of those timeless sorta things - a real work of art that isn't going to become outdated by rising technology.

The music is jazzy, yet just right for a fighting game. I can't get enough of the music - it's what Marvel vs Capcom 2's soundtrack should have been like.

Best of all, every character can be useful and there is very little in the way of 'sploits. I mean, hell, I've even seen a Twelve player take it to the f'en house.

[c0r33]

The music is jazzy, yet just right for a fighting game. I can't get enough of the music - it's what Marvel vs Capcom 2's soundtrack should have been like.

I forgot all about the epic soundtrack it was so good considering it was a capcom fighting game and for the most part I cant stand them.

[gradualmeltdown]

Street Fighter 2 Turbo

Because it was still everything good about SF2 with tweaks. The last real fighting game before Super combo's and comeback moves watered it all down forever.

I like SF2 Turbo so much because it seemed to have the right risk/reward for every set-up. One mistake would cost you, but only if your opponent had done some serious work to make you open up. The bigger the mistake, the bigger the punish combo. Lots of mind games and a huge focus on pure reaction time. Less about losing half of your life and fishing for one move.

In later fighting games Super/Ultra/comeback moves often offer unfair comeback opportunities. One mistake after playing an entire round can leave you even in health to someone whom you have dominated. Kind of like the damn blue shell in Mario Kart, great for casual gaming, terrible for competitive one on one.

I play SF4 at low tier tournament level so that tells you this doesn't sway me from enjoying modern fighting games. However beating someone at Street Fighter 2 Turbo who really knows the game will always be WAY harder than games that followed it.

[Breetai]

Specifically, I find myself always going back to Street Fighter Zero 2' (Alpha 2') on the Saturn.

[the7k]

Eh, Super bars usually increase through combos and attacks, so it really just rewards aggressive play - not really an equalizer, as a winner and loser will have the same amount of super so long as they continue to play aggressively. The chip damage that Supers do also encourages aggressive play (I.E. Stop f'en turtling, you cowards!).

Now, Ultras ARE pretty much the Blue Shell of SF4. They reward a character for getting the crap beat out of them, and they often do more damage than Supers do... yet they are much easier to raise than a Super is. With good use of FAs, I've done two Ultras in one round. On the other hand, I'm usually lucky to pull off one Super in an entire set.

[jfe2]

I voted for the Alpha series, Street Fighter Alpha in particular. I grew up playing and loving the Street Fighter II games on the SNES and at the arcades, but as much as I love them, my recent infatuation with Alpha made me vote the way I did.

[the7k]

I'm sure this doesn't get said often, but I actually really liked the character design of the original Street Fighter. I like it much better than the character design of Street Fighter II.

While the sprites have certainly not aged well, I really liked characters like Retsu, Geki, Lee, Gen, and especially Eagle.

[emwearz]

Third Strike, easy choice, game is perfect, other than a few balance issues.

Second would be Alpha 2, third would be IV(or super IV).

Two was great, but it does not have enough depth today.

[MrPopo]

Two was great, but it does not have enough depth today.

How much more depth do you need than Spinning Piledriver's input? Anyone who could pull that off was GOD back in the day.