Street Fighter EX2

Street Fighter EX2
Sales flier for the arcade version.
Developer(s)	Arika
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Composer(s)	Takayuki Aihara Shinji Hosoe Ayako Saso
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation (EX2 Plus only)
Release	Arcade (EX2 Plus) PlayStation (EX2 Plus)
Genre(s)	Fighting/Action
Mode(s)	Single Player Multi Player

Street Fighter EX2 (ストリートファイターEX2) is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, co-produced by Capcom and Arika originally released in Template:Vgy as a coin operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is a sequel to the original Street Fighter EX, a 3D spinoff of the Street Fighter series. An updated version of the game titled Street Fighter EX2 Plus was released in Template:Vgy for arcades as well and subsequently ported to the PlayStation the same year.

Gameplay

The original version of Street Fighter EX2 retains all of the features from the previous game, Street Fighter EX Plus, including original features such as "Guard Breaks" (unique moves which cannot be blocked by an opponent) and "Super Canceling" (the ability to cancel a Super Combo into another Super Combo).

The primary new feature in the game are "Excel Combos", ("excel" being an abbreviation for "extra cancel"). Much like the "Custom Combos" featured in the Street Fighter Alpha series, Excel Combos allows player to connect a series of basic and special moves for a limited time. During an Excel Combo, the player begins with a basic move and can follow up with a different basic move or follow-up a basic move with a special move, which can be followed by a different special move. However, the player cannot connect any move with the same move, nor can they cancel special moves into basic moves during an Excel Combo.

Characters

Recurring Street Fighter characters Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief, and Guile, who were all in the original Street Fighter EX, return in EX2, along with original characters Hokuto, Doctrine Dark, Skullomania, and Cracker Jack. Dhalsim, who was in the PlayStation version of Street Fighter EX Plus Alpha, also returns along with four additional classic characters new to EX series: Blanka and Vega from previous Street Fighter games, along with new characters Sharon (a redheaded female special agent) and Hayate (a Japanese swordsman). Allen, Blair, Darun, and Pullum were omitted from the original release of Street Fighter EX2, although Darun and Pullum would return in Street Fighter EX2 Plus (see below), while Allen and Blair would be featured in an unrelated Arika-developed fighting game Fighting Layer.

The game also features four hidden characters: Kairi, from the original EX, returns as a hidden character, along with new characters Shadow Geist (a costumed vigilante similar to Skullomania) and Nanase (Hokuto and Kairi's sister, a young girl who wields a staff). Garuda, from the original EX, returns as a boss character. All four characters can be selected by the player after meeting certain requirements.

Versions

A gameplay image of Street Fighter EX2 Plus.

Arcade

An enhanced version, titled Street Fighter EX2 Plus, was released for the arcades one year after the original Street Fighter EX2. The game retains all of the characters from the original version, with the exception of Hayate, who was removed from EX2 Plus; Nanase now acts as a regular character in his place. M. Bison, Darun Mister, and Pullum Purna, who were all excluded from the original Street Fighter EX2, return in EX2 Plus. Sagat makes his debut in the EX series along with new characters Vulcano Rosso (an Italian martial artist) and Area (a young girl equipped with a large mechanical arm). A non-selectable version of Bison named "Bison II" appears in the game as an opponent in single-player mode.

In addition to the Super Combos and Excel Combos in the original EX2, EX2 Plus also features "Meteor Combos", more powerful versions of Super Combos which can only be performed filling up all three stocks of the Super Combo gauge. While the previous EX games featured characters who had Lv.3-only Super Combos, it became a standard feature for all of the characters in EX2 Plus, with each character having at least one Meteor Combo. The Excel Combo system from the original EX2 was also revised slightly. The player can now connect a basic move or a special move into the same move instead of being limited to a different move.

Home

The home console version of Street Fighter EX2 Plus for the PlayStation was also released in Template:Vgy, released a few months after the arcade version. The PlayStation version features arcade, versus, and practice modes, along with an all new "Director mode" and a satellite-smashing "bonus game", and also includes Hayate as a secret character.

Music

Like the previous game, the music was written by former Namco composers Takayuki Aihara, Shinji Hosoe, and Ayako Saso. A soundtrack CD was released on June 18, 1998 by Scitron.

Soundtrack album tracklist

2

A 13-track arranged album was also released on July 23, 1998 by Suleputer, with arrangements by the original composers, along with Yasunori Mitsuda and Toshimichi Isoe.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Famitsu	31/40
GameSpot	7.6/10
PlayStation: The Official Magazine
Electric Playground	8.5/10
Irish Player	8.4/10
Next Level Gaming	4/6
PSX Extreme	9.3/10
PSX Nation	92%

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the PlayStation's EX2 Plus version of the game a 31 out of 40.

GameSpot praised the new characters and the graphics, but complained about the static ending sequences, as well as the lack of originality or new features.

PSX Extreme stated that "When I take a look at SNK's cheap and blurry Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition and compare it to Capcom's Street Fighter EX 2 Plus, I see garbage and then I see one of the most polished looking fighting games to date, and obviously I am talking about EX2." They went on to summarize the game as "one of the most enhanced and entertaining Street Fighters ever".

External links

• Street Fighter EX2 at the Killer List of Videogames
• Arika's official Street Fighter EX2 website (Waybacked) Template:Ja
• Arika's official Street Fighter EX2 Plus website (Waybacked) Template:Ja
• Street Fighter EX2 on Street Fighter Wiki, an external wiki