Super Street Fighter IV

Originally written 12-30-10

The best street fighters in the world gather together once again to compete in a tournament that is sponsored by a warrior named Seth. Each of the fighters have their own goals and they will do whatever necessary to see them realized. However, the tournament holds an ulterior motive by an organization called S.I.N. -summary

Back in 2008, Capcom released Street Fighter IV for the PS3 that featured a whole new fighting engine and introduced new characters to the series. Super Street Fighter IV is a beefed up version of the game that features two brand new characters to the franchise.

I heard that the previous game suffered from flaws that bogged down the game play, and this version happened to correct them all. Now, whatever Capcom managed to clean up or upgrade is pretty much a mystery to me; but since I played all of the other games in the franchise, I'll say that this is the best SF has to offer. Capcom pulled many characters from the previous installments; such as the Street Fighter Alpha series and Street Fighter 3, bloating the character line up to 35 characters with everyone playable from go. Yep, you heard that right, no secret characters or codes.

Game Play:

This game contains many modes. Arcade Mode, which happens to be the story mode where you get a prologue and ending for your character. Versus mode which is self explanatory, but you can choose to battle a CPU controlled opponent, along with challenge, and training mode. The fighters compete in 2 out of 3 rounds with the option of increasing the rounds up to 4 out of 7.

Capcom put the creative juices to work and went all out with this version of SF. Super Street Fighter IV is by far the best in the franchise, as it boasts the deepest fighting engine under the banner. The game has an intricate combo system that takes practice to master. Basic combos such as two in ones are still a breeze to pull off for a veteran. However, it takes a great deal of practice to perform and master the more advanced, juggling, and linking combos. There are plenty of ways to link special moves into super combos, and into ultra combos. The game uses features from Street Fighter 3: Third Impact. In shades of SF3, the characters can once again perform "EX" supers. These are special moves that add additional power to the regular specials, for example, Ryu's basic hadoken will fire two instead of the normal one. This feature has many different affects on all of the characters moves.

The characters have stock meters to perform the special moves, the gauge diminishes when the EX supers are used, but when the bar is full, the player will be able to execute one of the super specials for bigger damage. In addition to this, the game also features a "revenge" meter, that builds up as the player takes damage (this is one way to build it). When the bar is full, the player can unleash the ultra combo which is a deadly finisher that can quickly turn a definite defeat into a possible victory; and it doesn't stop there, the player can also perform a "focus" attack, that when powered up, lands an unblockable hit that sends the opponent face first into the dirt. The attack can also work as a parry and it helps build the revenge meter.

The challenge mode is set up to help the player learn and practice many different combos through a trial run. This is very helpful because the walkthrough introduces advanced combos people wouldn't even know existed. The practice mode is very good as well, and you can set the dummy up to block your attacks. I found this to be great practice when learning which attacks can and cannot be followed up, and how much time exactly it takes to follow certain attacks up. The game also has perfect hit detection and every move from what I noticed lands when it's suppose to.

Unlike many others, I was not happy to see the return of the bonus stages. I never liked bonus stages in fighting games because it ruins the pace for me. I'm glad they can be turned off. The bonus stages are revamped versions of the original car and barrel stages from the original Street Fighter II.

The game has a difficulty setting that can be set anyway you want. The CPU can be very tough, and the harder levels will force you into different strategies. This game is nothing like the Street Fighter from ages ago, this is indeed a new game all around, and if you don't learn your characters strengths and weaknesses, as well as your opponents only to name a few things, then you are going to lose a lot. The AI is competitive, and it takes skill to win, especially on the harder settings. This is not an SNK game, where tough game play is confused with cheap game play. There's a difference and Super Street Fighter IV is evidence. If you're losing like crazy in this, then step your game up.

Controls:

The controls are very fluid and responsive. Pulling off specials and supers are a breeze, and linking combos and juggles can be just as easy with a lot of practice. Although to a novice player it may seem impossible to pull off, but trust me, don't lose patience with it, and eventually you will be holding your own against veteran players. Overall, I have no issues with the controls at all.

Graphics/Sound/Music:

The visuals are among the strongest points in the game. The character designs appear to be hand drawn in a manga style, with some really great detail to them and diversity. The females are indeed bursting with sex appeal from the cheeky Cammy to the exotic Juri. The facial designs have quite a bit of detail and realistic movements. The animation has a life like feel to it, and there are small yet incredible details that can go so easily unnoticed. There is a great water like fluidity when the characters perform their moves, and little things like jabs and gut shots just have a life like feel to them. The camera work is also amazing during the Ultra move animations, with fantastic zoom-ins capturing the facial expressions when a character has been decimated by a jaw shattering blow. Ryu and Adon's finishers come to mind when I think about some cool looking, bone crushing finales. The visuals continue to excel with the light show put on by the special moves. For example, when fireballs are blocked they don't simply disappear, instead, they burst into smaller particles or flashes that look really nice. Every thing about Super Street Fighter IV was done in style.

The sound effects is another area where the game shines. Light and heavy blows are easily distinguished, and there's real attention to detail here. You can easily hear the jaw bones breaking during Ryu's finisher. I also enjoyed the voice actors, as they all seem to fit perfectly with the characters. Now in regards to the music, even though I enjoy the stage soundtracks because they are great BGM's for a fight; but stage music doesn't fit with Street Fighter for me. I prefer to hear the characters specific songs. The only time when the character's song is played happens to be during their rival battle. Perhaps Capcom's intention was to create an epic battlefield with the characters specific music. If that was their reasoning then they succeeded in that area. Still, I prefer it the other way no matter what.

Overall:

Well, it's a fighting game, a very good fighting game. So of course replay value is through the roof, and the fact that it has on-line play is a plus; and this is coming from someone who doesn't care for on-line play much. The challenge and training modes add to the replay value greatly because this is where serious players are going to spend most of their time; especially, when they're being torn to pieces by guys who seem to play this day and night forsaking a social life altogether. In any case, if you're a die hard fan of Street Fighter then this is definitely for you and I highly recommend a strategy guide for newbies. Casual fans will be able to get into this as well. Unfortunately, they're the ones who are going to suffer the brutal beatings the most.

Overall Rating: 10/10

Pros: Very tight controls, fantastic visuals, training modes

Cons: Stage music for the most part