SFII Stages - Visual comparison

[Anaxamander]

So I went through and made a chart to compare the 12 classic SFII stages in all their incarnations. The classic SFII stages have always held a special place in my heart, so I think they warrant some discussion. I wonder what's everyone's favorite of the three versions of the stages.

(Warning: The jpg is about 4 MB large. Let's see how long it holds up on angelfire.)

http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/anaxamander/index.html

I'll go ahead with my opinions.

Ryu: I like all three, but I think the sunset in the WW version puts it ahead of the other two.

Ken: The boat looks a little better in ST, but I like the purple water in the CE version.

Chun Li: The WW version is too bright. I think the CE version is tops.

Guile: The CE version has the most vibrant colors. Notice the purple-tinged cockpit of the jet. Nice.

Dhalsim: The WW and ST versions of his stage are similar, but I like the blue-green floor in WW the best.

Blanka: The WW version is my pick here. The tree and the snake contrast well, and notice how you can see the shoreline in the water. In ST it's just a flat blue.

Zangief: I think the ST green is the most visually pleasing incarnation of Zangief's stage.

Balrog: The purple floor and gold "Las Vegas" contrast well in the ST version, but notice how the people in the background look washed out & hazy in ST compared to the other two. I think the WW version is best.

Vega: I never liked the WW color scheme--the dancing ladies' dresses are too easily lost in the background. I like the ST version best here for the way the aqua floor contrasts with the green lights behind the fence.

Sagat: Well, you've got to love the WW palm tree. The ST version has an improved horizon with the temples in the sunset, but notice again how the ST background seems hazy/washed-out compared to WW and CE. I pick the CE bg here because the grass is a vibrant green and the statue is a beautiful gold.

Bison: I never liked the CE background because I think the sky is too dark blue. The WW and ST versions are similar, but I give the nod to ST because of the improved graphics of the templed on the horizon.

[psycho kid]

Ken ST: William hung is in the background. :p

[Shaolin Samurai]

I hate it when an Asian becomes famous, people start calling random Asian dudes by that name. Back in 1995, random fuckers I didn't even know would come up to my face and address me as "Jackie." Later, it was "Jet Li." Then it was "Yao Ming." But I usually took it in stride. Then one day some random ghetto ass bitch comes up to me and says, "Hey William Hung." What the fuck? As much respect I have for that dude, he is ugly as fuck and looks nothing like me.

What the fuck is this shit? You wouldn't go up to some random black dude and call him Kobe would you?

[CrotchMonkey]

the dude in the trenchcoat in the first two stages of ken looks like Q.

[Anaxamander]

Forgot to do Honda's.

I think his WW background is by far the best. The ST one is similar, but I think the stage looks better in darker, more subdued blues. I don't really dig the CE yellow scheme.

[MrFujisawa]

excellent work! i agree with most of uyour opinions on the stages, however i first started playing street fighter when ce had just come out so i never really played ww much, meaning the ce backgrounds have more memory for me and are more homely

[dark kyo]

Originally posted by Xaronth
the dude in the trenchcoat in the first two stages of ken looks like Q.

he is Q

[Crayfish]

Hi mate,
great chart. Nice to see them all together. I, like you really care about the backgrounds. My biggest complaint about Hyper SF2 AE was that it only features the Super/ST versions of the backgrounds.
Also I wonder how recoloured versions of the 4 new Super backgrounds might look? DJ's at night?, T.Hawks at dusk?, Fei's totaly recoloured (blue carpet etc...)? and Cammy's...well you cant top perfection.
I pretty much agree with you opinions on the backgrounds, ST contrast generaly being too low tho most vibrant colours and sharpest artwork overall. Lets go thru individualy:

Ryu: Its got to be World Warrior hasn't it. All time classic BG. Very atmospheric, bathed in that warm dusk sun as you fight.

Ken: Have to go with World Warrior again, mainly because this background is the first I ever fought on in SF2, but just feels more imersive to me, more crates and oil drums etc..

Chun Li: I like the bright WW one actualy. Damn how many billion times must that chicken had its kneck rung by now?

Guile: CE version does have nice colours, really different from origonal. I remember it was the first BG I saw CE played on and it looked awsome. Colours are maybe slightly too rich to play on every time tho so I go with the Super version cause the artwork and colours are much cleaner than in the CPS1 versions.

Dhalsim: Yep WW again. That blue green colour looks great. Also vote for most obnoctious demo sound ever. I always remember being in the arcade and hearing the elephant trumpeting followed by the hi score chimes drowning out everthing else.

Blanka: Got to go with ST here. Sharpest artwork and colours especialy on the floor (best SF2 floor I think). The water glistens in the sunlight in this version, very nice.

E.Honda: You fergot to give your opinion...I'll go with CE version, WW version is too dark, the Yellow works really well and it still has that big orange lampshade from what I remember.

Zangief: WW again, has that great chain pulley at one end. The ST green is sharper but no chain.

Balrog: ST version contrast is too low but its still awsome. I go for CE version, but only just.

Vega: The gate crashing down at the start of R1 in ST is awsome but have to go with WW again soz. CE version is just plain ugly.

Sagat: Another all time classic, WW Sagat. ST has nise horizon and again spoiled by low contrast, but that palm tree looks fantastic when your fighting behind it. This is the stage I miss most in Hyper AE.

Bison: ST hands down. Beautifull artwork and crisp colours (esp the temples). The other two just look poor especialy CE.

Damn I whent for alot of WW. Prolly cause they look fresh to me again now after playing soo much HF and ST. Great thread, made me really miss those CPS1 bgs from Hyper AE again, DAMN why didn't they put them in??!!! Cmon WW Ryu and Sagat at least.

My all time top 3 SF2 BGs are: ST Cammy, WW Sagat and WW Ryu.

BTW Anaxamander, check this page out (it has giffs for the SF2 stages with animation, palm tree blowing in the wind etc..): http://emugif.emu-zone.org/

Do you like Fatal Fury 2/ Special atall? Would love to see a similar chart for those two games, best oldschool BGs of any game imo (especaily FF2 Mai and FF2S Tung).

Crayfish.

[vasili10]

Originally posted by dark kyo


he is Q

I don't think so. Got any proof that he is?

[Time_Stop]

WW wins for me. I like the more subdued colors. Super has too many greens and stuff. Too over-the-top, colorful and shiny. :lame:

My faves:

Ryu: CE
Ken: Super
Chun: WW
Guile: WW
Dhalsim: CE
Blanka: WW
Honda: WW
Zangief: WW
Balrog: WW
Vega: CE
Sagat: WW
Bison: WW

[Bowling Pin]

Originally posted by Shaolin Samurai
What the fuck is this shit? You wouldn't go up to some random black dude and call him Kobe would you?

I know a guy who looks like that rapper Cassidy.

We call him Cassidy.

[Jinrai]

Originally posted by Shaolin Samurai
What the fuck is this shit? You wouldn't go up to some random black dude and call him Kobe would you? The guy's pose does it for me.

[mirror]

i like *most* of the ww versions better, because it seems like the colors matched. for the other two unless they actually changed the background it looks like they changed colors just to have something different.

[crazydiamond]

Originally posted by vasili10


I don't think so. Got any proof that he is?

Q is too mysterious to have proof.

[Richard]

Nice chart- you gonna keep that online permanently?
Originally posted by Anaxamander
Zangief: I think the ST green is the most visually pleasing incarnation of Zangief's stage.
Balrog: The purple floor and gold "Las Vegas" contrast well in the ST version, but notice how the people in the background look washed out & hazy in ST compared to the other two. I think the WW version is best.
Sagat: Well, you've got to love the WW palm tree

Yeah... agreed with all that. I suppose they just toned down the foregrounds in Gief and Sagat to make it easier to see the characters,

Originally posted by mirror
it seems like the colors matched. for the other two unless they actually changed the background it looks like they changed colors just to have something different.
I guess they did. I guess they just like mixing up the skylines. And at the time, it made for some variation with the day/night and whatever.

Anyway, who noticed Buppo's name on Super Ken's boat?

[Anaxamander]

Originally posted by Crayfish
snip[/B]

Glad you liked the chart pal. I'm totally with you--they should have had every single stage in AE. It's a crime that they overlooked this. Real old school, hardcore Street Fighter fans care deeply about these stages. They're part of our visual memory. Every time I see M. Bison's WW stage, it reminds me of the very first time I beat the game when I was 12 years old. Every time I see Chun Li's CE stage, it reminds me of the first time I played CE; which is the first time I realized how subtle character tweaks add up to a BIG difference in Street Fighter.

So yes, it is an injustice that we won't get our classic stages. That's the main reason for my little homage here. I do agree that a lot of these BGs look more natural on WW because you can obviously tell that some were recolored just for the hell of it and thus look rather strange. I can only hope that someone, somewhere hacks HSF on MAME to improve it and add these stages. Does anyone know if that's even possible?

Oh, and Crayfish, I haven't played Fatal Fury in forever. And I totally agree about Cammy's BG--it's one of my all-time favorites. The wavy blue on the horizon, the birds flying... it fits so perfectly with the music that it always gets me in the mood to play Super Turbo.

[TKAHVBGardBreak]

Okay, that's good stuff, now add in the SNES, and Genesis versions. Of course there is no WW on Genesis, but it'd be cool.

[Anaxamander]

Originally posted by TKAHVBGardBreak
Okay, that's good stuff, now add in the SNES, and Genesis versions. Of course there is no WW on Genesis, but it'd be cool.

It used to piss me off how the SNES version only had 4 elephants in Dhalsim's stage instead of 6. Also, two people were missing from Guile's BG. Plus they had the girls in the Las Vegas stage wearing one-piece bathing suits instead of bikinis. I used to obsess about small details like that.

Oh, wait... I just remembered I still obsess about small details like that. I guess some things never change.:D

[master akuma]

Levels that rock most (imo)

Ryu: WW (golden sky)

Ken: CE (no special reason)

Chun Li: WW (less dark background)

Guile: CE (golden sky)

Dhalsim: ST (best carpet) :rolleyes:

Blanka: ST (better sea background)

Honda: ST (no special reason)

Zangief: CE (better picture colour on the floor)

Balrog: CE (no special reason)

Vega: ST (green lights look better)

Sagat: WW (the palmthree is everting) :D

Bison: WW (good memories from that level)

[Jedi W.]

....if you do qcb, hcf + LP,MK,HP you can throw the rock in Sagat's stage :p

--jedi\/\/.

[BBCampbell]

Unless you're playing as Chun Li, then she'll throw her bracelets.


Anyone got any tips on how to beat Sheng Long? I've gotten to him, but I just can't seem to get past him. That glowing uppercut move takes off so much damage and it's UNBLOCKABLE! :mad:

That is so unfair.

[Anaxamander]

Originally posted by Jedi W.
....if you do qcb, hcf + LP,MK,HP you can throw the rock in Sagat's stage :p

--jedi\/\/.

Yeah, a precursor to MK4.

[vasili10]

Originally posted by crazydiamond


Q is too mysterious to have proof.

Sure, I agree with that. But dark kyo says that he is Q. Why so sure of that statement?

[Muskau]

He looks like Q to me, same clothes, even metallic looking skin, who else could it be?

I remember hearing that Q is an exact copy of an anime character who wore a disguise in some episode. I wonder if that series was out at the time that background was created?

Has Capcom always planned at having Q as a playable character in a game at some point?

[Psycho Flame]

It has already been well established on many other forums that it is NOT Q ON KEN'S STAGE.

although i would like to stay on the subject of the guy in the trenchcoat and say that he looks just like the guy in the middle of Balrog(boxer)'s stage

Also in my opinion Q is not a robot but perhaps an android [if you have the Street Fighter Eternal Challenge book take a peek at page 26 for a shot of some hair]

[vasili10]

Originally posted by Psycho Flame
It has already been well established on many other forums that it is NOT Q ON KEN'S STAGE.

although i would like to stay on the subject of the guy in the trenchcoat and say that he looks just like the guy in the middle of Balrog(boxer)'s stage

Also in my opinion Q is not a robot but perhaps an android [if you have the Street Fighter Eternal Challenge book take a peek at page 26 for a shot of some hair]

Good eye, Psycho Flame! I never noticed that in SF Eternal.:cool:

[ryu-bi]

If you hold the buttons when they give you the score, WW / CE ken stage's green shirt guy appears he is jacking off...

[Richard]

After all this time, I just noticed the name Joe written in the Chun stage (MegaDrive CE version)... Could this be for Scroll Design artist Joe Yabuki?

[Patrol]

My favourites are Ryu's stage from CE (this moon above the temple and behind the clouds is really cool) and Guile's stage - also from CE (cockpit + sky).

offtopic: i noticed Akuma on Bison's stage which reminded me sth. :P. Can anyone tell me how to fight against Akuma in ST (arcade ver.)?

[NKI]

The palm tree on WW Sagat's stage ruined my life.

Also, check out the guy on Balrog's stage, just to the right of Ryu. In WW, CE, and HF, he's decked out in a snazzy orange suit, but in SSF2/ST, he stepped it on up with some fly yellow pantaloons, a bow tie, and a Mr. Peanut style top-hat. Now that's fresh.


-Nicholai!

[Don Calzone]

Deejay and T.Hawks levels rock the most. I really enjoy the atmosphere on those.

Although, they don't really belong in this thread.

[Saotome Kaneda]

Back in high school, chicks used to say I looked like DMX.

Not 3 weeks ago, here in Japan, I was wearing an old ass Michael Jordan T-shirt(the one with him holding up Spike Lee by the head) and some Japanese dude asked if I was him(MJ).

So, don't worry, it ain't just Asians.