That strange sound I hear every time I pause the game?

Discover the Street Fighter II pause sound: Ryu's throw in the SNES version, random clips in earlier versions, and a beat in Genesis ports.

In the SNES version of Street Fighter II, the sound you hear when pausing the game is Ryu performing a throw. The developers included this sound clip, likely as an additional nod to Ryu, the main character of the Street Fighter series.

In earlier versions of Street Fighter II, the pause sound consists of a collection of random sound effects from various fighters voiced by the same actor. The Genesis ports of Street Fighter II added a beat to these random sounds.