The Street Fighter series has a long, convoluted history. Though it began with the 1987's Street Fighter, the series as we know it didn't really kick off until 1991's Street Fighter II became a phenomenon. From there, the series became a behemoth, spawning a legion of sequels, spin-offs, and imitators.
With the series in a transitional phase between the end of Street Fighter V and the inevitable Street Fighter VI, it's understandable that fans would take a look back at the series' history and dust off an older game for old time's sake. Although Street Fighter is an extremely iterative series, some installments are better than others. Here's how every game with an aggregate score on Metacritic and the Internet Games Database stacks up.
Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers (69)
A rare Nintendo exclusive Street Fighter game, Ultra Street Fighter II is the eighth distinct version of SF II. It offered some tweaks to the established formula in the form of co-op and the first-person beat 'em up modes.
While novel, these new modes were the least acclaimed part of the game, with the Way of the Hado mode being particularly unpopular. SF II's rock-solid gameplay did stand the test of time with critics. That gameplay worked surprisingly well on the Switch's JoyCon controllers, and the ability to play an HD version of SF II on the go was also well received.
Street Fighter V (74.5)
Street Fighter V's reviews praised its additions to the series' core gameplay, like the V-Trigger and V-Skill mechanics. It had a mixed reception among critics and many fans due to its insultingly bare bones launch version. It had a launch roster of 16 characters, but the game had little in the way of single-player content as it didn't launch with a story mode and was clearly focused on online play. The reaction to SF V's launch turned out to be part of the growing pains of the now-standard model of releasing content in seasons.
Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting (Xbox Live) (75.5)
Hyper Fighting was an early Xbox Live Arcade game on the Xbox 360. It was an arcade faithful, if not perfect, port of one of the best versions of Street Fighter II. It didn't have the audio or visual upgrades of the games that would follow it, and the Xbox 360 controller was always an awkward fit for 2D fighting games. Hyper Fighting's main draw was its online play, which included a Quarter Mode that attempted to replicate the arcade experience. The experience wasn't without technical issues, but it was still a novel feature at the time.
Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (79.6)
The most recent Street Fighter release, 2020's Champion Edition, is as close to the definitive edition of Street Fighter V as you can get at retail. It lacks the final season of DLC. It does feature most of the game's DLC, from characters to stages to costumes. Not being a significant improvement over the game's second iteration, Arcade Edition, and some technical issues with its netcode dampened enthusiasm for what was otherwise an impressive package.
Ultra Street Fighter IV (79.8)
The definitive edition of Street Fighter IV was well received on every platform it was released on except for the PlayStation 4. That version, meant to tide PS4 owners over until Street Fighter V's release, received more negative reviews than its previous-gen and PC counterparts due to a buggy port.
Ultra added some gameplay tweaks, including the ability to use both Ultra Combos during a match. It added 5 characters to SF IV's roster, four Final Fight alumni and literal Cammy clone Decapre. It also featured new game modes like team battle and online training rooms.
Street Fighter III: Double Impact (84)
Double Impact ported the first two of three iterations of Street Fighter III to the Sega Dreamcast. The dramatic overhaul of the series featured a new cast of characters save for returning leads Ryu and Ken. Its gameplay was also overhauled, with a new super move system and a parry mechanic. Despite a crowded field of 2D fighters on Sega's final console, the compilation was well received by critics when it was released in 2000. It would soon be eclipsed by the final version of the game, Third Strike.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (87)
3rd Strike was the best-received version of Street Fighter III, at the arcade and on consoles via a Dreamcast port. The third and final iteration of the series featured refined gameplay and presentation, including some of the best character animation of the era. It didn't hurt that Chun Li finally joined the series' roster after sitting out the first two versions of the game.
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition (87.6)
Arcade Edition is the game that disappointed fans wanted Street Fighter V to be at launch. It added the titular Arcade Mode to the game that was lacking in the initial version of the game. Beyond the long-awaited single-player mode, Arcade Edition also gave players access to two seasons worth of DLC fighters, adding 12 characters to the game's base roster of 16. It's something of a backhanded compliment, but Arcade Edition was hailed by critics as the game SF V should have been from day one.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 (90)
An interquel to the first two Street Fighter games, Alpha 3 received overwhelmingly positive reviews on the PlayStation. It's one of the best fighting games in the platform's history. It was ported to a wide variety of other consoles, including a similarly well-received installment on the Dreamcast.
Alpha 3 featured the series trademark polished gameplay and a stacked roster that drew from the SF II games and Alpha originals like Sakura and Rose. Based on the Street Fighter anime, its presentation helped freshen up the series after years of SF II iterations.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (90)
Turbo HD Remix won critics over by doing more than putting a fresh coat of paint on a classic Street Fighter game. Its visuals were redone by Udon, the studio behind the Street Fighter comics, bringing new life to iconic characters and stages. Its soundtrack was also remixed, and its voice acting was even tweaked in some cases.
Beyond the audio/visual improvements, the gameplay was also enhanced. Rebalanced Mode used input from top Street Fighter players, which helped to give every character a chance to be viable in the game's online mode.
Super Street Fighter IV (91)
Super Street Fighter IV improved upon the series' time-honored tradition of updating a numbered game by offering more than any previous edition. 10 characters were added to SF IV's roster, from new characters like Juri and Hakan to old favorites like Ibuki.
The game's other big tweak was to its online play. In an inversion of Street Fighter V, its online mode was bare-bones at launch. Super SF IV improved upon that by adding Endless Mode, which replicated the arcade experience of "winner stays."
Street Fighter IV (92)
The best-reviewed Street Fighter game, shockingly, is actually Street Fighter IV. After Capcom's extended hiatus from the fighting game scene, Street Fighter IV brought the series back to prominence, striking the difficult balance of appealing to long time fans and newcomers.
Critics praised the game for hearkening back to Street Fighter II's arcade glory days without feeling like a retread. It received universally positive praise, including multiple perfect scores. While later iterations added characters and features, SF IV is the game that got credit for reviving a moribund series and genre.
