This has probably been done online a million times, but oh well, here we go:
No doubt about it, SF2 is one of the best games of all time. Right up there with Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. Almost everyone's played it and every system under the sun got at least one port of one of the many, many versions. This comparison will focus on the big-three 16-bit versions. While the SNES/SFC and MD/Gen versions were handled by Capcom, in house (as far as I know), the PCE version was ported by NEC Avenue. All three versions ran at the exact same resolution and resources (sprites and backgrounds) were shared between the three, but for the purposes of making this thread, each had their advantages and disadvantages which will be identified and expanded upon.
All three versions looked pretty great and as stated above, shared most of the same graphics assets. Small differences could be seen in background details, but most everything else looked virtually identical between the three versions. Beyond graphical, pixel by pixel details, the most noticeable difference between the three versions was the use of colour. Obviously, the SNES/SFC could draw from a larger pallet of colours (32000 total and 256 at one time) so it had the most vibrant looking version. The SNES version offered smooth gradients, softer tones and a lack of dithering. The PCE could display 256 colours out of a total of only 512, which makes it's version of this game look a little less rich and a lot darker but still comparable to the smooth looking arcade and SNES versions. The MD/Genesis version suffered the most due to hardware limitations. Only being able to display 64 colours from a pallet of 512 makes this version look the least nice overall (I'm not going to say worst) but very little detail is lost from the SNES version (from which it was ported). This version definitely appears to have more contrast and dithering than the other two, which gives it that distinct MD look (love it or hate it). The PCE and MD versions are both very impressive. The PCE version especially, considering the hardware is much older (in technological years) than the SFC or MD.
Beyond colour and detail, the PCE version also suffers from some missing parallax effects (see the elephants in Dhalsim's stage) and a modified KO/Win icon bar, which looks designed to obscure the background. The elephant/parallax issue is obviously a byproduct of the PCE's 8bit heritage and is a little dissapointing. As for the KO bar, whether this was a design choice in lieu of a technical limitation, I don't know, but it doesn't look that bad at all. All of the line scrolling effects are present, thankfully.
Musically, the three versions are completely different. The melodies are all the same but the presentation is different between all three. The MD version is the best (IMO), sounding the closest to the arcade version with that nice FM synth sound (minus all of the awesome samples of course). The SNES/SF version sound good , but not as aurally pleasing as the arcade/MD versions due to that typical SNES muffled sound. The PCE sounds the worst, unfortunately, with very basic and boring presentations of the classic SF tunes.
Youtube Music Comparison (not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPStQYIx6S8
Fortunately the PCE destroys with it's great sound samples. This one sounds the closest to the arcade version. It's really impressive considering the hardware. The SNES versions comes next with good, but somewhat shortened and again, muffled voice samples (as usual). The MD version is tied for last with the SNES with samples that are hindered by the hardware; they sound very scratchy. Fortunately it's not too bad and unlike the SNES version, the voices actually overlap each other. In some ways, it's better and in some, not.
Youtube Voice Comparison (not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3BNXOO41c
Overall, all three versions were pretty awesome given their hardware and it was obvious a lot of care went into these ports. The SNES version was probably the best one overall. It had the best overall sounds and graphics, and you didn't need to buy another controler (like on the PCE and MD) to get the most out of the game. It in no way blows the other two out of the water as some would have you believe (typical SNES fanboy bullshit) but it does have a slight edge. Forget about playing the PCE and MD versions with the standard controllers. Back in the day, you were essentially forced to spend the around thirty dollars or so on new six button pads. Between the MD and PCE standard six button pads, the MD one was definitely superior, and is actually one of the best game pads ever. Playing Street Fighter (and many other MD games) with this pad is fantastic. The PCE Avenue 6 pad is good and gets the job done. The only real downer here is that the PCE version does not have a 'turbo' option (darn). No matter what version of classic 16 bit port street fighter you played back in the day (or still continue to play), you were in good hands. No one version truly is definitive (buy an arcade PCB if you want that) but for the purposes of this thread, any version you chose/choose to play is the best version.
On a final note, here's one thing the MD version has that other two ports didn't:
...That pesky white on black violence (for the US Genesis version, this was changed to two white guys).
Bonus Video:
Street Fighter 2 CD MD Beta Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTrxUfeFJI
Curiosity:
Strange Hack (not a beta, as some would have you believe) of SF for MD that has better voice, worse music and different parallax effects (among other things): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Cssq-m1TA&feature=related
^Rom for this available on romnation.net as Street Fighter II Turbo
PCE Remake? Yup. Looks like a group of industrious old school PCE fans are touching up their favourite version to include originally omitted background details and an altered colour pallet: http://nfg.2y.net/neography/pivot/entry.php?id=449&w=nfg_games
No doubt about it, SF2 is one of the best games of all time. Right up there with Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. Almost everyone's played it and every system under the sun got at least one port of one of the many, many versions. This comparison will focus on the big-three 16-bit versions. While the SNES/SFC and MD/Gen versions were handled by Capcom, in house (as far as I know), the PCE version was ported by NEC Avenue. All three versions ran at the exact same resolution and resources (sprites and backgrounds) were shared between the three, but for the purposes of making this thread, each had their advantages and disadvantages which will be identified and expanded upon.
All three versions looked pretty great and as stated above, shared most of the same graphics assets. Small differences could be seen in background details, but most everything else looked virtually identical between the three versions. Beyond graphical, pixel by pixel details, the most noticeable difference between the three versions was the use of colour. Obviously, the SNES/SFC could draw from a larger pallet of colours (32000 total and 256 at one time) so it had the most vibrant looking version. The SNES version offered smooth gradients, softer tones and a lack of dithering. The PCE could display 256 colours out of a total of only 512, which makes it's version of this game look a little less rich and a lot darker but still comparable to the smooth looking arcade and SNES versions. The MD/Genesis version suffered the most due to hardware limitations. Only being able to display 64 colours from a pallet of 512 makes this version look the least nice overall (I'm not going to say worst) but very little detail is lost from the SNES version (from which it was ported). This version definitely appears to have more contrast and dithering than the other two, which gives it that distinct MD look (love it or hate it). The PCE and MD versions are both very impressive. The PCE version especially, considering the hardware is much older (in technological years) than the SFC or MD.
Beyond colour and detail, the PCE version also suffers from some missing parallax effects (see the elephants in Dhalsim's stage) and a modified KO/Win icon bar, which looks designed to obscure the background. The elephant/parallax issue is obviously a byproduct of the PCE's 8bit heritage and is a little dissapointing. As for the KO bar, whether this was a design choice in lieu of a technical limitation, I don't know, but it doesn't look that bad at all. All of the line scrolling effects are present, thankfully.
Musically, the three versions are completely different. The melodies are all the same but the presentation is different between all three. The MD version is the best (IMO), sounding the closest to the arcade version with that nice FM synth sound (minus all of the awesome samples of course). The SNES/SF version sound good , but not as aurally pleasing as the arcade/MD versions due to that typical SNES muffled sound. The PCE sounds the worst, unfortunately, with very basic and boring presentations of the classic SF tunes.
Youtube Music Comparison (not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPStQYIx6S8
Fortunately the PCE destroys with it's great sound samples. This one sounds the closest to the arcade version. It's really impressive considering the hardware. The SNES versions comes next with good, but somewhat shortened and again, muffled voice samples (as usual). The MD version is tied for last with the SNES with samples that are hindered by the hardware; they sound very scratchy. Fortunately it's not too bad and unlike the SNES version, the voices actually overlap each other. In some ways, it's better and in some, not.
Youtube Voice Comparison (not mine):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W3BNXOO41c
Overall, all three versions were pretty awesome given their hardware and it was obvious a lot of care went into these ports. The SNES version was probably the best one overall. It had the best overall sounds and graphics, and you didn't need to buy another controler (like on the PCE and MD) to get the most out of the game. It in no way blows the other two out of the water as some would have you believe (typical SNES fanboy bullshit) but it does have a slight edge. Forget about playing the PCE and MD versions with the standard controllers. Back in the day, you were essentially forced to spend the around thirty dollars or so on new six button pads. Between the MD and PCE standard six button pads, the MD one was definitely superior, and is actually one of the best game pads ever. Playing Street Fighter (and many other MD games) with this pad is fantastic. The PCE Avenue 6 pad is good and gets the job done. The only real downer here is that the PCE version does not have a 'turbo' option (darn). No matter what version of classic 16 bit port street fighter you played back in the day (or still continue to play), you were in good hands. No one version truly is definitive (buy an arcade PCB if you want that) but for the purposes of this thread, any version you chose/choose to play is the best version.
On a final note, here's one thing the MD version has that other two ports didn't:
...That pesky white on black violence (for the US Genesis version, this was changed to two white guys).
Bonus Video:
Street Fighter 2 CD MD Beta Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTrxUfeFJI
Curiosity:
Strange Hack (not a beta, as some would have you believe) of SF for MD that has better voice, worse music and different parallax effects (among other things): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2Cssq-m1TA&feature=related
^Rom for this available on romnation.net as Street Fighter II Turbo
PCE Remake? Yup. Looks like a group of industrious old school PCE fans are touching up their favourite version to include originally omitted background details and an altered colour pallet: http://nfg.2y.net/neography/pivot/entry.php?id=449&w=nfg_games
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