Before Mortal Kombat and Tekken took the world by storm, there was Street Fighter. Polygons did not exist. There was no such thing as a Run, Tag or Evade button. 10-hit combos were unheard of. Street Fighter II Turbo was all about fast, easy-to-learn gameplay that required the most skill to win, not the most brain power. Remembering how to perform Ken's Hurricane Kick wasn't hard, but executing it faster than the local arcade junkie was a challenge I looked forward to. Speed wasn't always an issue though. Being the fastest guy at Galaxy Arcade meant nothing if your technique was poor. SFII Turbo was like Othello -- it will only take you a minute or two to learn, but a lifetime to master.

Best of all, every character (aside from Ken and Ryu) was unique. They all had their own set of special moves, something we haven't seen in a fighting game in a long time. Dhalsim's body is like rubber. His arms and legs were able to stretch out farther than any of the other fighters, allowing him to attack from afar without using a projectile. Zangief was no doubt the "inspiration" for King in the Tekken series. His wrestling moves rocked. Mr.-blocks-a-lot thinks he can attack and defend his way through the battle. Then you jump behind him, unleash the Screw Pile Driver move on an unsuspecting opponent and watch him scream in defeat. Playing cheap isn't fair, but it sure is fun to put the cheaters in their place.

Street Fighter II Turbo was great back then, but how does it stack up against all of the three-dimensional fighters we have now? Extremely well. My demands for fighting games have increased quite a bit over the years, especially after the release of Mortal Kombat and Tekken 3. But the minute I started playing Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival for the Game Boy Advance, I was immediately reminded that a game does not have to be advanced or complex to be fun.

Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival is more of an upgrade than a port of a classic arcade game. There are many new features, characters and stages that weren't in the original version. Ever since Marvel Super Heroes was released, Capcom has not developed a fighting game without a multi-hit combo move of some kind. Turbo Revival has Super Combos. Super Combos are powerful attacks that hit your opponent with a string of kicks, punches or uppercuts, etc. You must fill the gauge at the bottom of the screen by attacking your opponent before you can perform a Super Combo. When used on an opponent who isn't blocking, the combo could be strong enough to knock him or her out, depending on how much energy is left.

How can Turbo Revival be as good as the arcade version when the Game Boy Advance only has four buttons? I'd try to explain it, but I don't understand it myself. I supposed the game never needed six buttons in the first place. Light kicks and punches are executed by "lightly" tapping the A and B buttons, while medium kicks/punches are executed by holding the buttons down longer when you press them. However, because the GBA's buttons are not pressure-sensitive, judging the difference between the two can be very difficult. This isn't really a problem though since you don't ever need to attack with a light punch or a light kick. Not in this version, at least.

To make things even simpler, Capcom has added an Easy mode that allows you to perform all of the special moves with the press of only one or two buttons. Devil May Cry had a similar mode, and while I did not and will not use it in that game, the Easy mode in Turbo Revival is surprisingly fun. Fighting veterans may shudder at the thought of weakening the game's challenge, especially if they grew up playing Street Fighter II Turbo like I did. But many of those veterans were the same people who waited in line to play Super Smash Bros. Melee at the recent Cube Club event. Obviously they weren't bothered by the simplicity of Nintendo's classic fighter, so they shouldn't be bothered by Turbo Revival. You're not required to play in Easy mode though. Press select to turn it off.

More than a dozen fighters are playable in Turbo Revival. 16 of them can be selected from the start, including M. Bison, Cammy, Zangief, Balrog, Blanka, Dee Jay, Chun-Li, Dhalsim, E. Honda, Ken, Guile, Fei-Long, Ryu, T. Hawk, Sagat and Vega. Other fighters, such as Akuma, must be unlocked before you can use them.

If you played Street Fighter II Turbo to death in the early 90s and feel that you should only spend your money on "new" games, then bang your head against the wall a few times and snap out of it! Playing Turbo Revival is like watching a re-run of Friends: no matter how many times you've seen the episode, you still enjoy it.

Graphics: 8.9 
The graphics are terrific. All of the characters are animated extremely well, moving with just as much fluidity as they did on the Super NES. The characters are slightly bigger and look and feel more arcade-like. It's subtle enhancements like these that make Turbo Revival such a great game.

Sound: 8
Turbo Revival's music is great. Capcom has always been known for composing some of the best game music in the world, and Turbo Revival is no exception. The sound effects are also impressive, but it's the soundtrack that you'll be thinking about even when you're not playing the game.

Difficulty: 6
Turbo Revival is as hard as you want it to be. The difficulty has eight levels (eight being the hardest and one being the easiest), and you increase or decrease the amount of damaged received when hit.

Concept: 8.5 
When Street Fighter II was released, it revolutionized the fighting genre. Heck, the Street Fighter series practically created the fighting genre! It deserved a perfect score in almost every category. And while I can't give this updated version a 10, it still deserves all the praise in the world. No one is as good as Capcom is at remaking and upgrading classic games. Turbo Revival is a perfect example of that. I wish other Game Boy Advance remakes had as many extra as this one.

Multiplayer: 8.9
Now THIS is multiplayer gaming! There is nothing quite like Turbo Revival's Vs. mode. It is just as good and in some ways better than the original. The only catch is that you need copies of the game to access the two-player mode. Turbo Revival is an excellent game, so you shouldn't have too much trouble convincing your friends to pick up a copy.

Overall: 9
Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival is portable gaming at its best. Young kids should definitely take note: here's a chance to play a classic game that led the way for almost every fighting game released today. Let's face it -- Tekken, Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive would not have been possible if it weren't for this game. Whether you like Street Fighter or not, you must pay homage to the series for all that its given us.