These HD versions are too basic in nature and limited in length to be a draw on their own, but as brief diversions to accompany the proper stage themes they warrant their inclusion. (An extended version of his ending theme would have served much better as the stage music.)Įach character theme receives a "heavy damage" version which takes a short segment from the regular version, emphasizes the percussive elements, then ramps up the speed and pitch.
The simplistic bass and percussion in Ryu's arrangement sound like software presets with no tweaking involved, and Dee Jay's theme is your standard Basement Jaxx latin house, but with a few less layers of complexity and far less excitement. Individually, only a couple arrangements betray their origin and feel like they never should have left the realm of fandom to enter a real Street Fighter game. Bison's theme takes a step in the right direction, and Akuma's theme finally adds the menace you would expect. The Vegas lounge jazz in Balrog's stage works as a warm-up, but sooner or later you expect some drama in your boss themes, and neither Vega's hip-hop reinterpretation nor Sagat's New Age electronic piece provide it. The boss themes as a whole are a bit disappointing. Cammy's theme takes an entirely different direction with some smooth R&B stylings and a generation-one Timbaland beat. Hawk's theme, as do the simple but dramatic strings and gritty, Matrix'esque electronic instrumentation in Fei Long's. Spaghetti Western and fighting game isn't a combination that comes to mind but it works wonders in T. I personally had no familiarity with the character themes from the "Super" edition, yet they stand out as some of the best of the album. Nostalgia may be a perk for listeners of the soundtrack but it isn't a requirement. Honda's theme is particularly impressive. Honda's and Blanka's themes didn't stand out as favorites in the original but their new arrangements do the combination of shakuhachi with chill electronica in E. Ken's theme gets separate arrangements for his own stage as well as a few menu screens, with each version hard-rocking some old-school 80s guitar. Chun Li's dancey theme is as catchy as ever, gaining a fun flute improvisation in its second go-around, while the new version of Zangief's energetic theme has a harder edge thanks to electric guitars and some ferocious turntable scratching. Not all of Street Fighter II's original character themes are necessarily classics, but the ones that do qualify retain that status here with powered-up performances. Other game music fans have scored somewhat of a coupe as well, as the soundtrack is available to all as a free, officially sponsored album download. The staff at OC Remix scored a major coupe in getting soundtrack duty for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, the first time for fan arrangements to take the spotlight in such a major commercial release. Reviews A powered-up, faithful rendition of the original with a few interesting design choices. Detailed release notes and credits at VGMdb.