is a 2D
head-to-head fighting game with
3D graphics
3D computer graphics, or “3D graphics,” sometimes called CGI, 3D-CGI or three-dimensional computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for th ...
co-produced by
Capcom and
Arika
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was formed in 1995 by former Capcom employees, originally as ARMtech K.K, later named Arika. The name of the company is the reverse of the name of the company's founder, Akira Nishitani, who ...
and originally released in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
as a
coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is the
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
to the original ''
Street Fighter EX
is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in 1996. It is a spin-off of the ''Street Fighter'' series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first gam ...
'', a 3D
spin-off of the ''
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as ''SF'' or スト (''Suto''), is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Capcom. The first game in the series was released in 1987, followed by six ...
'' series. An updated version of the game titled ''Street Fighter EX2 Plus'' was released in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
in 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 is it possible to cancel special moves into basic moves during an Excel Combo.
Characters
Recurring ''Street Fighter'' characters
Ryu,
Ken
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in ...
,
Chun-Li
is a fictional character in Capcom's '' Street Fighter'' video game series. The first ever female playable character to appear in a fighting game to gain mainstream recognition, she first appeared in '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'' ...
,
Zangief
, based on Russian Зангиев, often called the , is a fictional character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series. Considered to be the first controllable fighting game character whose moveset is centered on grappling, he made his first appeara ...
, and
Guile
Guile may refer to:
* Astuteness, deception.
* GNU Guile, an implementation of the Scheme programming language
* Guile (''Street Fighter''), a video game character from the ''Street Fighter'' series
* Guile (''Chrono Cross''), a video game chara ...
, all of whom were in the original ''Street Fighter EX'', return in ''EX2'', along with original characters Hokuto, Doctrine Dark, Skullomania, and Cracker Jack. Dhalsim, who was in ''Street Fighter EX Plus α'', also returns along with four additional characters new to the ''EX'' series:
Blanka
also known by his birth name Jimmy (ジミー Jimī) is a fictional character in Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' fighting game series. He first appeared in the 1991 video game '' Street Fighter II'' as one of eight playable characters, and was subs ...
and
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Lyra. It has the Bayer designation α Lyrae, which is Latinised to Alpha Lyrae and abbreviated Alpha Lyr or α Lyr. This star is relatively close at only from the Sun, a ...
from ''
Street Fighter II'', along with new characters Sharon (a redheaded female special agent) and Hayate (a Japanese swordsman). Allen Snider, Blair Dame, Darun Mister, Pullum Purna and M. Bison were omitted from the original version of ''Street Fighter EX2'', although Darun, Pullum and M. Bison would later return in ''Street Fighter EX2 Plus'', while Allen and Blair would be featured in an unrelated 1998 Arika-developed arcade fighting game ''
Fighting Layer
is a 3D fighting game developed by Arika and published by Namco. It was released exclusively in Japan in December 1998 and has never been released overseas or ported to any home consoles. A spiritual sequel, ''Fighting EX Layer'', was released ...
''. ''Street Fighter'' character
Sakura Kasugano
is a fictional character in the Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series. The fourth female fighter of the series, she made her first appearance in ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'' in 1996. She is a young Japanese girl fighter who idolizes Ryu, by whom s ...
was omitted from ''EX2'' games, but returned in the sequel ''
Street Fighter EX3
is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, developed by Arika and published by Capcom. It is the third and final console installment in the ''Street Fighter EX'' series. The game was first released on March 4, 2000 in Japan and on Oct ...
''.
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
Arcade
''Street Fighter EX2 Plus'', an enhanced version of ''Street Fighter EX2'', was released in arcades on June 11, 1999. ''EX2 Plus'' retains all of the characters from the original version except for Hayate (which was removed from the arcade version).
M. Bison
M. Bison, also known as the Dictator (for international tournaments), is a fictional character created by Capcom. First introduced in '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior'', he is a recurring character in the ''Street Fighter'' series of figh ...
, Darun, 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 in ''EX2 Plus'' along with new characters Vulcano Rosso (an Italian martial artist) and Area (a young girl equipped with a large mechanical right arm), with Nanase was promoted as a regular character. A non-selectable version of M. 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 released in December 1999. The PlayStation version features arcade, versus, and practice modes, along with an all new "Director mode" and a
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
-smashing "bonus game", and also includes Hayate from the original ''EX2'' as a secret character.
Music
Like the previous game, the music was written by former
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...
composers Takayuki Aihara,
Shinji Hosoe
, also known as Megaten and Sampling Masters MEGA, is a Japanese video game composer and musician most famous for scoring ''Ridge Racer'', '' Street Fighter EX'' and many Namco arcade games between 1987 and 1996. He also runs the music production ...
, and Ayako Saso. A soundtrack CD was released on June 18, 1998 by
Scitron
is a Japanese record label that publishes video game music albums.
List of video game albums released
A -
B - C -
D - E -
F - G -
H -
I -
J - K -
L - M -
N - O -
P - Q -
R - S -
T - U -
V - W -
X - Y -
Z
...
.
A 13-track arranged album was also released on July 23, 1998 by
Suleputer, with arrangements by the original composers, along with
Yasunori Mitsuda
is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono'', '' Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing musi ...
and Toshimichi Isoe.
Reception
In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Street Fighter EX2'' on their July 1, 1998 issue as being the most-successful arcade game of the month.
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
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".
References
External links
*
Arika's official ''Street Fighter EX2'' website (Waybacked)
*
{{Authority control
1998 video games
Arcade video games
Arika games
PlayStation (console) games
Street Fighter games
Video game spin-offs
Video games developed in Japan
Video games scored by Shinji Hosoe
Video games set in Thailand
Video games set in Canada
Video games set in Hong Kong
Video games set in South America
Video games set in Japan
Video games set in New Zealand
Virgin Interactive games
Fighting games
3D fighting games
ja:ストリートファイターEX