I played the pneumatic version at an arcade on the Riverwalk in San Antonio. I had played the 6-button version before that a few times and was really intrigued by the giant buttons. Unfortunately, it was quickly apparent that the pneumatic controls were atrocious.

That said, I just loved the idea of all of the different types of fighters going head-to-head. I loved Enter the Dragon and Bloodsport.

I had been a huge fan of Karateka on the Apple II and Ye Are Kung Fu in the arcade. Street Fighter was like Ye Are Kung Fu on steroids, but even the 6-button controls weren’t very good. When SFII brought the concept and controls together, it was love at first sight. I’ve been a big SF2 fan ever since and prefer it and its variants over all of the sequels.