The latest iteration of the Street Fighter franchise dropped earlier this week, and Capcom pulled out all the stops. SF2THDR (don’t ask) is a polished up version of the classic Street Fighter II Turbo, tweaked and rebalanced based upon knowledge gleaned from well over a decade of tournament play, with a fan made soundtrack that’s already made it’s way online in its entirety and a hip hop album inspired by the game. Not bad for a $15 download.

Probably the most noticable difference is in the new graphics designed by Udon studios, the people behind the Street Fighter comic book. I worked with a couple of cats from Udon, and they’re good people. The new look was obviously a labour of love, because nobody in their right mind would want to redraw all those fucking sprites.

Hats off to all involved. Never before have I enjoyed getting my ass handed to me so many times by so many different people from around the world.

Akuma by Arnold Tsang, for Street Fighter #0.