Street Fighter II: The World Warrior Slot Review
Iconic… Revolutionary… Record-Breaking… These are just a few of the words used to describe Capcom’s best-selling video game of all time, Street Fighter II: The World Warrior. Back in 1991, this title took the world by storm, ushering in a renaissance for arcade games, building the foundations for competitive gaming as we know it and cementing its legacy across all areas of pop culture. With their latest slot release, NetEnt celebrates one of the best video games ever made and this new offering packs quite a punch.
The slot brilliantly adapts the look, feel and gameplay of the original. As you start the slot, you’ll be met with Street Fighter II’s iconic intro leading you straight to the character selection screen. That’s right, you get to choose from any of the original 8 distinct players found in Street Fighter II’s roster. Once you’ve settled on a fighter, the real fun begins. The slot emulates the battles in Street Fighter II perfectly using the exact same structure, graphics, sounds, levels and moves. You’ll feel right at home with Ryu, Ken and all your favourite fighters.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior will be available across all NetEnt licensed casinos and will be compatible across desktop and mobile devices.
We haven’t even begun to discuss the creative ways with which this slot captures the essence of Street Fighter II, not to mention the incredible features it has incorporated. So, read on below to find out more and see if this adaptation is worthy of such a celebrated title.
Battles
The slot plays out in battles. As we mentioned before, you’ll pick your Street Fighter and then be randomly assigned an opponent to fight. You’ll be presented with the fighting level based on the opponent you’re facing, with the screen taking the exact appearance of the classic game’s fights. Your chosen character appears on the left adjacent to your opponent on the right and both respective health bars at the top. The only difference here is the evident slot reels placed at the centre, separating the two contestants.
The reels are populated with letters and character symbols. Letter combos will give you the smallest wins, but the character symbols are what you need to be looking out for. Your character’s symbols deal damage to your opponent, while the opponent’s symbols deal damage to your character. All characters perform their own iconic moves to deal damage to their opponents, including fan favourites like the Hadouken blue fireball and the flaming Shoryuken uppercut. Any damage dealt will be reduced from the health bars above and the battle will keep going until one of the character’s health is reduced to 0.
It’s worth noting just how satisfying it is to see such an accurate representation of the original Street Fighter II battles being brought to life in this form. The levels, characters, graphics, sounds and moves are impeccably reimagined within the context of a casino slot, bringing up those nostalgic emotions and bringing a whole new level of excitement and thrill to every spin.
Should your character manage to beat their opponent, you’ll be elevated to the Beat the Boss Free Spins mode, where you’ll have a shot at getting some serious wins and claiming the ultimate Street Fighter II reward. On the other hand, should you lose you’ll get a go at the Car Smash Bonus Game, after which you’ll be able to switch your character and try your luck in the next random encounter.
All winning combinations gained both from your player or your opponent are still technically your own winnings, so no matter who wins the battle, you always win the war.
Wild Gauge and Combo Features
In any battle, your character will have their very own Wild Gauge, which is filled with Wild Symbols gathered in a spin. Any character symbol winning combination will turn all of its respective symbols into Wild ones and these will, in turn, fill up the Wild Gauge. These winning combinations can come from both your own character or your opponent, either way, they will both fill up your character’s Wild Gauge. Once the gauge has been filled, your character will be able to perform their very own Wild Combo.
Street Fighter II introduced the concept of combo moves into fighting video games, creating what is now a key feature found within all games in the genre. Even here, these very same revolutionary combo moves have been adapted into the slot, bringing a fantastic new feature that will have you sitting at the edge of your seat for every spin. If you manage to successfully fill up the Wild Gauge in a spin, the combo will be activated, triggering your character’s unique Wild Combo that will place Wild Symbols onto your reels.
Each character has their own unique Wild Combo, that can effectively change the course of your luck as you play the game. This will no doubt influence your choice of character, depending on what Wild Combo you’d like to make use of in your battles. Once again, all of these Wild Combos are represented by each character’s most legendary move which is gloriously showcased on your reels whenever they’re activated.
So, get ready to fill up those gauges and Hadouken like there’s no tomorrow.
Car Smash Bonus Game
Street Fighter II had a number of bonus stages spread throughout the game, giving you a break from the intense combat for a few seconds and allowing you to vent your rage at a variety of inanimate objects. The most memorable of those is definitely the Car Smash Bonus Stage.
In this slot adaptation, the Car Smash Bonus is accessed whenever you lose a battle. Your character will be transported to the exact same harbour found within the original game, complete with the very same, ill-fated car.
The goal here is to smash the car to pieces, kicking and punching it until it’s been reduced to shambles. You’re given full character access here and are able to directly control the fighter, moving around, jumping, punching and kicking as you please.
Once the car has been beaten to a metallic pulp, you’ll be awarded a random win between 5x to 15x. Not the most orthodox of ways to deal with your frustrations… but who are we to judge?
Beat the Boss Free Spins
When you win a battle, you’ll be transported to the slot’s Beat the Boss Free Spins mode that will pit you against Street Fighter II’s most notorious boss fighters in a high stakes battle to win the ultimate prize.
There are four levels, each with a boss to beat and a unique multiplier:
The goal here is for the player to defeat all four bosses, become World Champion and claim the ultimate prize. In this mode, the Wild Gauge is filled for every Free Spin, with the chance of filling up additional Gauge levels that can have you performing successive Wild Combos. Should your character be defeated at any point, the Insert Coin Gamble feature will be offered, allowing you to restart the last battle for a portion of your winnings.
It’s a well-structured take on the generic Free Spins mode that wonderfully captures the tension of a Street Fighter II boss battle and brings a satisfyingly paced progression to your game session.
Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior Slot Verdict
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior slot by NetEnt is a brilliantly executed adaptation of one of the most iconic video games ever made.
It finds a wonderful balance in marrying the fighting game’s structure with the right video slot features that create a slot experience that is truly unlike any other. It’s an absolute joy to see all of the classic characters, levels and moves that made the original game so memorable, repurposed in this beautifully crafted video slot.
There isn’t much we can complain about here, although the direct character control in the Car Destroy mode feels somewhat underutilised and we would have loved to be able to use those same controls to execute those Wild Combos within the battles themselves.
This is one of the most incredible NetEnt slots to date, paying homage to one of gaming’s greatest with incredible heart and style. An adaptation that truly upholds the greatness of its namesake. If you’re a Street Fighter fan, you’re going to be in for a real treat and experiencing this re-imaging of the 1991 classic will definitely tug at your nostalgic heartstrings.
So, what are you waiting for? Why not give Street Fighter II: The World Warrior slot a go? Try the free demo available here, or head to one of NetEnt’s licensed casinos if you want to Hadouken for real!
