Street Fighter 2, one of history’s iconic fighting games, was notoriously tough, but that is probably because its CPU was a no-good, dirty cheater.
The revelation was made by YouTuber Desk, who uploaded a video that details the many ways of how the Street Fighter 2 CPU cheated human players out of victories.
The first method of cheating by the Street Fighter 2 CPU was its capability for instant God Mode, making it invulnerable to attacks for a short period of time. Desk shows the same combination by Ryu against Chun-Li, ending with a sweep that only affects human players, not the CPU. He goes on to show how various CPU-controlled characters have instances of invincibility.
Desk also showed that CPU characters are able to break out of dizzy status almost right away when human players need to mash buttons for as long as a couple of seconds. The CPU also apparently plays by its own rules in charging attacks such as Guile’s flash kick, which requires human players to hold the down button for two seconds, but CPU players can launch the flash kick without delay.
The Street Fighter 2 CPU also cheats through its ability to mash buttons faster than humanly possible. This allows hold attacks such as E. Honda’s body grab and Blanka’s face bites to almost completely deplete the opponent’s life.
Lastly, the Street Fighter 2 CPU also has access to unblockable attacks for good measure, as is everything else was not already enough to tilt matches in its favor.
The video evokes nostalgia for the gamers who spent hours trying to advance in Street Fighter 2, followed by resentment against Capcom for robbing them of the glory of victory for years.
Video games are very different today, especially in multiplayer titles such as Overwatch and Apex Legends. Blizzard and Respawn, along with the rest of the developers, continue to crack down against cheating, to provide all players with a fair experience.
Capcom would be in deep trouble if it attempts to pull off a stunt like the cheating Street Fighter 2 CPU in a modern game, but now, the revelation just makes the classic title an even more charming piece of video game history.
