Preferred the first one, to be frank, but this is definitely a minority opinion. I felt like the controls were dumbed down in this installment & never improved thereafter.

Ok I guess depending what versions you had of this game, the Gamecube one had Link in it. First time I believe I ever saw an exclusive character for Nintendo. Usually it's Sony who has these exclusive features for their games to make them different from the other companies

The SC games are always pretty and feel more fluid than almost any other fighter. This was no exception.

I came to this game many years after release but was impressed by how good it still looked and how good it still felt to play.

Although I found the movesets a bit bland compared to future titles, this game is the best in the series. Lacking the dumbness of the mechanics of the first game but maintaining its movement options that future titles would lack while adding its own, SCII was actually fairly satisfying to play competitively unlike its other entries. Still, I find offensive play a bit simplistic compared to its competitors a lot of moves in this game can feel useless. I respect it but don't love it.