[M-A-G]

Originally Posted by road doggy dogg not voting because I don't care about SF games at all but honestly how many versions of these games are there and are any of them even any different from the rest

I'll take a shot at explaining them, but I'll stick with the main line entries as I'm not familiar with the EX series. All I know about those is that they're in 3D. Also, I'm not tackling Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game because I'm not a masochist.

Street Fighter: The original is as basic as you can get. 2 playable characters only, based on whether you're the first or second player. Combos and strategy and the like are non-existent, but you do get 3 incredibly difficult to execute special moves. You climb the ladder to face Sagat at the end to be crowned the best fighter in the world.

Street Fighter 2: The sequel expands the playable roster, thus opening the doors for more creativity surrounding moves and styles. There's the barest of bones of a combo system, what would become to be known as two-in-ones. This entry was infamous for its seemingly never-ending updates. Champion Edition allowed players to pick the same character in versus matches and the four bosses from the vanilla version were added to the mix. Hyper Fighting ramped up the speed of the gameplay, added more moves, and tried to balance things out more. Super Street Fighter 2 added even more characters (Fei Long, T. Hawk, Cammy, DeeJay) while cutting back on the speed aspect from Hyper. Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo tried even more to balance things out, introduced the Super Meter for super moves, let you pick the speed of the gameplay, and introduced Akuma.

Street Fighter Alpha: Taking place between the original game and Street Fighter 2, this entry had a new art style and a new focus, storywise. This entry expanded the Super Meter mechanic, allowing for multiple Super Combos. Air blocking was introduced along with Alpha Counters, which were attacks that you could perform immediately after a block to break up an opponent's offensive flurry.

The sequel is basically the first game, just retelling the story and more characters added to the roster.

Street Fighter Alpha 3: This entry also takes places in between the first and second games, continuing from the previous Alpha games. This entry allowed you to select from 3 different styles of gameplay called "-isms", each with its own unique mechanic and some moves would be absent in one style while present in another. For example, one style gives you only one "super" bar that you can use to perform a custom combo while its active.

Street Fighter 3: Like Street Fighter 2, this entry also had updates, though not as many, going from the original to Second Impact and ending with Third Strike. This one takes place several years after the second game, with Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Akuma being the only returning characters from previous entries to appear alongside a large roster of newbies. Parrying was introduced, where pressing the joystick towards an attack at the appropriate time would essentially negate it. The style selection from the Alpha Series was removed, along with the Alpha Counters. You did get to choose between 3 different moves called Critical Arts, which replaced the Super Combos from 2 and Alpha.

Street Fighter 4: The first in the 2.5D style Street Fighter games. This one kind of went back to basics. Parrying wasn't a thing anymore. Throws could now be executed by pressing the two light attack buttons simultaneously. Players now had access to two types of super moves. The first being an Ultra Combo that could be used when the revenge meter reached the appropriate leverl. The second was a Super Combo in the same vein as previous entries with its own separate bar. However, this bar, divided into 4 sections, could also be used to perform enhanced versions of basic special moves, called EX Special Moves which added different properties to an attack. The other new addition was the Focus Attack, executed by pressing the 2 medium attack buttons simultaneously. This attack would allow a player to absorb one hit from an opponent, resulting in the latter being vulnerable to being struck by the Focus Attack. Using the attack opened the doors for major combo opportunities, as certain moves could be cancelled into this mechanic, allowing a player's offensive flurry to continue. Alternatively, it could be used in a strictly defensive manner, as cancelling a move allowed you to dash away if it looked like you would be at a disadvantage. This entry also received upgraded versions, each one trying to add balance to the characters and expanding the roster. The final entry, Ultra Street Fighter 4, introduced Red Focus Attacks, allowing the mechanic to absorb even more hits. This game takes place in between the second and third games.

Street Fighter 5: Taking place after the fourth game, but before the third, this entry got rid of the Focus Attacks and Ultra Combos from the previous entry. Characters now had only one Critical Art, accessed only when their super gauge was full. Much like the Super Combos from 4, this meter was also used to perform EX Special Moves, but this time it was reduced to three sections. The main mechanic in this game was the V-System. Each character had access to 2 moves called V-Skills that could be performed by pressing the two medium attack buttons simultaneously. They also had access to two other types of moves called V-Triggers, used when a separate meter was full and pressing the two heavy attack buttons together. These all had different properties and functions, depending on the character. V-Skills were simple things like parrying or buffing an attack. V-Triggers would add properties to attacks or even give a character access to new moves. This system also brought back Alpha Counters in a sense, as you could use some of the V-Trigger meter to counterattack off a successful block. A meter showing how close a fighter was to being stunned was included, but I'm pretty sure this was in the Alpha games, too. Chip damage from blocking special moves could no longer defeat a fighter. Blocking regular attacks would reduce your health, but this damage could be recovered if you were able to avoid further abuse for a time. This was also the first game to have a dedicated story mode in the same vein as the newer Mortal Kombat titles.

Street Fighter 6: The most recent entry tries to build its gameplay around the Drive Meter mechanic. Each character has this meter which can be used in several ways. You can spend some of it to perform EX style moves known as Overdrives. Every character can parry with it, along with using it to perform a Focus Attack style move called a Drive Impact. Like the Focus Attack, it can absorb hits (up to 3) while acting as an offensive move, setting up opponents for further damage. Finally, the meter can also be used to perform a Drive Rush, which is a dash that adds pressure to your opponent, expanding your combos in a variety of ways as your attack properties change during its use. Your Super Meter can be built to 3 levels, and you have access to 3 Super Moves, each using a different number of bars of the meter, each with its own purpose in combat, as some function like the V-Triggers from the previous entry. Critical Arts do appear, but they are merely expanded versions of your Level 3 Super Move, with more damage and only available when you are in low health. This game also takes place before the third game, with the World Tour mode functioning as its story mode.


Hope that helps.