Reverb
It was exciting when Capcom re-mastered Street Fighter II - Turbo: Hyper Fighting in HD and released it digitally on Xbox Live. To some, online battling brought back the feel of arcades, and to others the game brought back feelings of nostalgia. I felt both at different times (along with other feelings), but it wasn't until later when I couldn't help but to notice that I heard a lot of talk about various aspects of the game; all except its official promotional illustrations. It was as if they never existed!

This was incredibly disappointing, considering SFIIT has the best artwork to ever come out of Capcom. Yes, better than Final Fight, Final Fight 2, Street Fighter II - The World Warrior, Street Fighter II - Champion Edition, and Saturday Night Slammasters! That's right, the best illustrations Capcom has ever made were for SFIIT, and for the most part, they have gone unrecognized by most "fans." In the end, I was happier about SFIIT being re-mastered in HD not just for the preservation of a timeless classic, but for the preservation of the masterful artwork that timeless classic was promoted with and built upon! I won't lie; the first time I ever saw the incredible official (Japanese) artwork for Capcom's fighting blockbuster, Street Fighter II - Turbo: Hyper Fighting, it was in EGM. It was an SNES preview for the pending consumer home release of the arcade smash, and the artwork featured in it had me more hyped than the screenshots of the game itself! That preview is a testament to what EGM once was (before EGM was overrun by frat-boys). I could go on for pages about how EGM consistently made it a point to feature less and less artwork in the coming years after that, but this article is more importantly about the incredible artwork that Capcom designers Kinu Nishimura and Bengus worked together on to promote Capcom's mega-hit...

Why Capcom USA opted for the clearly inferior "realistic" box-art and older Champion Edition illustrations for SFIIT over the superior Kinu Nishimura/Bengus artwork is beyond me, but even more disappointing is the lack of enthusiasm "fans" have shown for it. Kinu Nishimura and Bengus didn't just illustrate Street Fighter II - Turbo: Hyper Fighting; they captured the very essence of each character and what makes them unique and appealing. Each character is alive and furious in your face, blazing with a signature move (just like in the heat of the game). Hit sparks, action lines, and trailing effects (like fire) combine with rippled clothing for the most extreme artwork in the series. They really look like they're wrecking house just like in the game; the blinding speed of Ken's Hurricane Kick, the sense of depth with Ryu's Dragon Punch, Guile's blazing Sonic Boom, the heat of her Fireball can be seen on Chun-Li's face, the sense of depth in E. Honda's crushing Sumo Press descension, Dhalsim's lethal range, Blanka's ferocious swipe, Zangief's monstrous Lariat, the tuck of Balrog's devastating Dashing Uppercut, Vega's agility, Sagat's vengeful Tiger Uppercut, and M. Bison's mysterious Flaming Torpedo are all flawlessly illustrated.

...In The Rough
The other half of the series depicts them in the more traditional portrait manner, and even though they don't feature the same amount of action, coloring is where they meet. The shading in this collaborative effort is incredibly well-done, and it works with the effects to bring each character brilliantly to life. Yes, they look big, buff, huge, muscle-bound, or whatever you want to call it, but they're supposed to; they're fictional characters living in a fictional world. Chun-Li's sexier "features" are especially nice to see when you compare them to other depictions of her. Compared to SFIICE, SFIIT's brighter, flashier, more brilliant graphics keep up with its fast, frenetic gameplay, and Nishimura/Bengus translated that flawlessly into their work. SFIICE's reserved illustrations depict a certain calmness in their darker palettes that accurately depicts its matured in-game theme. SFIIT's illustrations, on the other hand, are composed of brightly-colored palettes which depict the high-energy title and its unforgettably-lush, fitting in-game colors. Even to this day, I remember the character colors all like it was yesterday, from Ken in purple, to Ryu in sky blue. I can remember the ones from SFIICE, too, but the ones from SFIIT are more memorable because of how bright and loud they are.