Play Street Fighter II Turbo (beta) Online

I got my hands on a beta build of Street Fighter II Turbo for the Sega Genesis, an unreleased version that never made it to store shelves. Capcom was the developer, and while the final game did eventually come out, this early code shows a different, rougher side of the port. It fits right into that era of the Genesis, where arcade translations were hit or miss, and you could tell the hardware was being pushed in strange ways.

You pick one of the World Warriors, like Ryu or Guile, and face off against the rest of the cast in one-on-one matches. The main goal is to deplete your opponent's health bar before they do the same to you. Signature mechanics include pulling off special moves, like throwing fireballs or executing spinning piledrivers, and building up your super meter for more powerful attacks. The pacing is frantic, almost too fast at times, making it difficult to keep up with the action on screen. It feels like playing with the throttle stuck wide open, a raw and unpolished rush that makes every match unpredictable.