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Much of what I’m going to say in this review will be a repeat of what I’ve said in the past related to Street Fighter IV. But that’s not a bad thing by any means. Super Street Fighter IV does everything Street Fighter IV did better making for a robust experience that you don’t want to miss!

 

GRAPHICS & DESIGN:	10 out of 10
SOUND:	10 out of 10
GAMEPLAY:	10 out of 10
FUNFACTOR/TILT:	10 out of 10
OVERALL SCORE:	10 out of 10

 

For many gamers today what I?m about to say may sound utterly insane. There was a time and a place when video games were 2D. A time when fighting games ruled above all other game genres. Those were magical times indeed. And the king of fighting games during this period? Well, back then it was debated. You had titles like Mortal Kombat, Fatal Fury and later on King of Fighters?as well as a slew of horrible copy-cat fighting games. But now looking back it?s really obvious that the true king was always Street Fighter II.

Growing up, I?d head to a local arcade with friends to duke it out almost every weekend. There were many iterations of Street Fighter II such as Championship Edition and Super Street Fighter II Turbo; so many iterations in fact that many people began to ask? ?when in the world is Capcom going to make Street Fighter III?? Eventually after titles like Street Fighter Zero (known as Street Fighter Alpha here in the States) came out Capcom did get around to making Street Fighter III but by that time the reception was rather lukewarm.

Last year when Capcom released Street Fighter IV I was both excited and skeptical. I was very cynical at the utter notion that Street Fighter IV would be 3D. The only 3D fighter I had ever enjoyed from Capcom was Rival Schools and no, I didn?t like Power Stone at all. But luckily my skepticism was misplaced and Street Fighter IV turned out to be the best fighting game to come along in years. It took most of the elements that made Street Fighter great such as 2D gameplay and combined it with modern-day 3D graphics

So what’s different about Street Fighter IV and why should you spend $40.00 for what is considered by many to be nothing more than a simple upgrade? For starters, the biggest improvement is by far the online mode. In the original Street Fighter IV getting connected for a match was a real pain in the ass. This time around you’ll be facing off against an opponent within less than a minute. There’s the standard one-on-one ranked match along with the new Endless Battle and Team Battle modes.

In Endless Battle a total of eight players join up in a lobby and watch the on-going fights while they wait for their turn to play. The winner of the match stays and the loser goes to the bottom of the list. With voice chat this mode really does simulate the good old days of the quarter crunching arcades and allows for a true community experience.

Team Battle mode is similar to Endless Battle except this time eight players will be put into teams for a tournament style fights. The teams can include any number whether it be 4-on-4 or 1-on-8. You can set these teams up manually or let the computer set the teams up based on rankings. There’s no doubt you’ll be cheering your team on, hoping to garner the win.

Also included is an online Leaderboard and Replay channel. This mode would be great if it had a proper search features. You can watch battles with other players and talk while doing so. You may also upload and watch replays of your own victories. The mode is nifty but could use some refinement.

If you?ve ever played any Street Fighter IV you know the basic drill. Things have been rebalanced though and characters now have a choice of two Ultra Attacks along with their Super Moves. You can still use your Super Meter to throw a variation on your special move, many of which are unblockable or cancel other projectiles out. For example, if Ken throws a standard ha-do-ken and Ryu throws a special ha-do-ken, the special will literally eat Ken’s fireball. You’d think with so many small editions Super Street Fighter IV would be difficult to play but it’s quite the contrary. The just of it is that Super Street Fighter IV is easy to pick up and play but to compete against the elite is going to take a lot of practice. If we have one complaint about the gameplay, it?s the fact that there is still no air blocking. This will continue to be debated many of us feel air blocking is something that should have been put back in. Even so, with all the new gameplay elements and re-balancing, even seasoned Street Fighter vets are going to have re-think old-school tactics.

10 new fighters join the classic Street Fighter IV cast which includes two new fighters, Juri and Hakan. I was glad to be able to play Guy, Cody and Dee Jay. However, I question why Capcom would put others in such as T. Hawk and Mokoto. A total of 35 fighters is no small change and I have no doubt that there will be several fighters everyone wants to learn.

The graphics are beautiful and take full advantage of the next-generation hardware. There are four new stages along with the original 16 (plus the training stage). Many of the original backgrounds have nice new touches to them as well. Characters look amazing as do their Ultra Moves. Street Fighter IV is just a lavish game that’s filled with tons of color.

Much of the music has been remixed or changed and it all sounds amazing. Honestly, there isn?t even one track I disliked. There’s also a new (less annoying) announcer. SSFIV still thankfully as both Japanese and English audio and allows you to toggle each characters voice between Japanese or English. So, you can have Ryu speak Japanese and Ken speak English.

Training mode is still here and new Challenges Modes that take you through different stages. For example, if you play Level 1 with Sagat you’ll learn how to do a Tiger, Tiger Uppercut and Tiger Knee. Level 2 will start you out with a few small combos and so on. I was actually amazed to find out how novice of a player I am when attempting to do some of the more advanced combos. I really think the Challenge Mode is terrific for players who are just entering into Street Fighter. It offers them to ability to hone their skills. Likewise for advanced players, it will allow them to learn and develop new combos that they perhaps didn’t even know existed.

Super Street Fighter IV is an exceptional game, especially for the price. Even if you own the original Street Fighter IV it’s really well worth the cost of the upgrade. For those who have never played a Street Fighter IV it’s an even better deal because you’re getting so much content.

Many would argue that Street Fighter II started the fighting game genera but most would agree that it is without a doubt what made fighting games so popular throughout the world during the 90?s. In 2009 Street Fighter IV brought fighting games back and in 2010 Super Street Fighter IV shows its dominate as THE standard for fighting games. It is without question that you should go out buy Super Street Fighter IV right now.

-Jason “Yuen Fei Lung” Glasco