Street Fighter II
The game that invented competitive fighting
Emulator
MAME
Quality
Perfect
Bring Your Own ROM
The Story
Street Fighter II didn't invent the fighting game, but it invented everything that matters in one cabinet: the six-button layout, special moves executed with directional inputs, eight distinct characters with rivalries and personality. Every fighting game released in the 30 years since traces its DNA directly here. The competitive scene that exists today — EVO, professional players, global tournaments — began in arcades around Street Fighter II cabinets in 1991.
Trivia
The original Street Fighter (1987) used pressure-sensitive buttons — players broke them constantly
Capcom produced SF2 without predicting it would generate over $1.5 billion in arcade revenue
The Hadouken motion (quarter-circle forward) was chosen because it felt natural even on a joystick