I remember playing SFII when it first hit the arcade's. As much as I was blown away by the looks and the control of its characters, their individual stories, as well as the whole plot, was more or less archetypal garbage. It didn't even touch those characters I played with, it certainly didn't provide their smoothly animated pixel-art postures with depth. As much can be said about the backgrounds. They were great, but at the same time as thin as a piece of paper. Back then I didn't care, I was sure that's the way it should be.
SSII changed all that. It created a world of its own, where even the most comical characters like Neinhalt, Earthquake or Nicotine were taken seriously and were carefully embedded into the their backgrounds, into the story. Galford's dog Poppy, Nakoruru's hawk Mamahaha, they all are so much more then just sidekicks. They're deadly weapons, loyal friends and a fragile framework for emotions.
SSII is a game where a simple frog, an umbrella, a dagger or a card game mean more than just their predestined form and form does not follow function here, for here the unrequited rule, secrets that remain unanswered, thus making us coming back for more. Seeing it from that perspective, "the best"... is an understatement.