Super Street Fighter II EX: The Ultimate Championship · Enhanced version
========================================================================

Version:  rc4 (2026-10-01)
Target:   MAME set 'ssf2xj' (Super Street Fighter II X: Grand Master Challenge (Japan 940311))
Hardware: Capcom CPS-2
Patch by: Steve Gordon (https://x.com/strygo)
Website:  https://strygo.github.io/arcade-patches/

ABOUT THIS PROJECT

Super Turbo is the version competitive players swear by, but it left things
behind. The bonus stages from Super Street Fighter II were gone. Shin Akuma
was a hidden boss you had to earn, and Ten Akuma only turned up years later at
home. Tournament Battle, the eight-player linked-cabinet mode, stayed with the
earlier Super Street Fighter II.

EX puts it together on the arcade game. Akuma has his own select-screen cell,
with Shin and Ten available through codes there; the original Ryu codes still
work. A random-select cell sits opposite him. The car, the falling barrels and
the oil drums are back between fights. Link cabinets with the adapter and it
runs Tournament Battle; without it, it plays as normal. Every fighter gets two
more colors, Akuma and Shin Akuma get their colors from Ultra Street Fighter
II, the move names are the modern ones, and the new title reads The Ultimate
Championship.

Nothing about the existing fighters changes: this is Japan's Super Turbo
underneath. The USA build carries all of Grand Master Challenge's English
text; the Japan build keeps the Japanese.

EX uses the same ROM files as the Japanese set. It runs in MAME and HBMAME and
on MiSTer.

This is a release candidate.

WHAT'S CHANGED

  - Akuma and random-select cells on the player-select screen. On Akuma or
    Ryu, hold Start and press three kicks for Shin, or MP, HP, MK and HK
    together for Ten (hold Start and three punches gives Akuma)
  - Ten Akuma has his Super gauge and the Raging Demon, with the 天 pose
  - Akuma in eleven classic colors from Ultra Street Fighter II, picked on his
    own cell: three punches or three kicks, any single button, or LP+LK, MP+MK
    or HP+HK (LP+HK keeps the EX blue). His portraits follow the color, even
    in a mirror match
  - Shin Akuma in eleven colors from Ultra Street Fighter II: pick Shin on
    Akuma's cell, let go of every button, then press one of the same buttons
    before the select screen moves on
  - Akuma's own defeated face on the Continue screen, in the color you picked
  - The three bonus stages from Super Street Fighter II, back in one-player
    games: the car after three fights, the barrels after six, the oil drums
    after nine. They run at the selected Turbo speed, and a BONUS STAGE
    setting in the operator menu can turn them off
  - Tournament Battle: with the link adapter, eight players and three matches
    across linked cabinets, with the Akuma and random-select cells on its
    select screen; without it, the game plays normally
  - A new title screen: The Ultimate Championship, with an EX mark
  - Two more colors for every fighter: pick with two punches or two kicks, or
    hold Start as well for the Old version in those colors. The VS screen and
    the fight portrait show the color you picked
  - Free Play in the Japanese build too
  - Modern move names: Cammy's Spiral Arrow, Cannon Spike and Quick Spin
    Knuckle, and Dee Jay's Air Slasher, with the Japanese voice callouts in
    the USA build
  - USA build: all of Grand Master Challenge's English. Japan build: the
    original Japanese text, with Grand Master Challenge's backdrop fixes
  - The existing fighters play exactly as in Japan's Super Turbo

MISTER SETUP

1. Copy the _Arcade/ folder from this download to the root of your MiSTer SD
   card (the MRAs land in _Arcade/_Arcade Patches/_Enhanced Versions/), or just the MRAs you want:
       "Super Street Fighter II EX (USA).mra"
       "_Japan/Super Street Fighter II EX (Japan).mra"
2. Have the stock, unmodified romset at games/mame/ssf2xj.zip
   (split sets also need the parent and QSound ZIPs named in the MRA).
3. You need Jotego's jtcps2 core; the standard MiSTer downloader /
   update_all installs it automatically.

Each MRA references your original romset and applies the edition in
memory while the game loads. Nothing on your SD card is modified. Each
build keeps its own settings and saves under its own setname:
    USA (English)    ssf2tuc
    Japan (Japanese) ssf2xuc

LEGAL

This is a free, unofficial fan patch. It is not affiliated with or endorsed
by Capcom. All game titles, characters, and artwork remain the property of
their respective owners. You must own the game to use this patch. Do not
sell this patch or distribute it applied to a ROM image.
