Capcom's Super Street Fighter II Turbo is now 30 years old – it launched in Japan on February 23rd, 1994.
The fifth entry in the Street Fighter II series, it is considered to be one of the best fighting games of the '90s. Running on the CPS2 arcade hardware, it introduced the concept of 'Super Moves' to the franchise, as well as air combos.
The game – which came to North American and European arcades in March – also marks the debut of the iconic character Akuma / Gouki, who has gone on to become one of the most popular figures in the whole series.
As the title suggests, Super Street Fighter II Turbo is a sequel to Super Street Fighter II, which launched in 1993. While Super Street Fighter II was ported to the SNES and Mega Drive / Genesis, Turbo would only be ported to the 3DO at the time (although it would later be included in Street Fighter Collection for the PS1 and Saturn).
A Dreamcast port with online play was released under the title Super Street Fighter II X for Matching Service, but this was exclusive to Japan. A GBA port – Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival – arrived in 2001. In 2008, the game was remastered for Xbox 360 and PS3 as Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo is so well-regarded today that it continues to form part of the competitive fighting game circuit.