Street Fighter II Turbo on the SNES was my first fighting game. I also remember that I could never get past Ryu, not even on my main man "Gully". Granted, I didn't know what a charge character was. I only picked because of that bitchin' upside-down kick! [I also had Mortal Kombat 1-3 and Killer Instinct] However, I didn't play fighters too much because of my full-blown addiction to Super Mario World.
However, the fighting game that got me into fighting games was a little gem I'm sure none of you ever heard of: Bloody Roar II: The New Breed. After that, I begged my parents for any fighting game hey could afford. [Ended up with Soul Blade, Tekken 3, Ehrgeiz, Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style, X-Men: Mutant Academy, DBZ Ultimate Battle 22, and both Bushido Blades in my PS1 collection as well.]
Good times. . .