Here Comes a New Challenger!
Had you told me five years ago that fighting games and adventure games were some of the most beloved genres of 2011, I’d have laughed in your face. Laughed. Yet here we are, in a world where the 3DS’ biggest launch title is a fighting game. Super Street Fighter IV 3D: Edition is as much a mouthful as it is a necessity for any 3DS owner.
Staying true to its page-long name, SSFIV3D emulates exactly what made it’s console counterpart special. If you’ve spent any amount of time with Super Street Fighter IV on the 360 or PS3 in the past, you’ll feel right at home. I was supremely impressed by just how similar the game felt to its predecessor. Had SSFIV3D’s physics or hit detection been off, even by a little bit, the game wouldn’t have felt right. The same attention to detail can be found throughout the game, which boasts Super Street Fighter’s 35 characters, its complete stage list, and online play more reliable than its predecessor’s.
Equally as impressive as the game’s physics and hit detection is its graphics. The only time I saw a noticeable difference in graphics between the console and handheld versions of the game was in still images or screenshots. In motion, SSFIV3D looks gorgeous. I also feel safe in saying that, out of my experience with the 3DS’ launch games, the 3D in SSFIV3D is second to none. I found myself appreciating the most trivial aspects of the game’s UI, simply because they were in 3D. I never thought I’d call scrolling through menus fun, but the high-res 3D art in SSFIV3D’s menu selection proved me wrong.
This isn’t to say that a few corners haven’t been cut during the game’s transition to the 3DS. Stages are now static, meaning that the only movement during gameplay comes from the two fighters. It’s a shame. For me, a lot of Super Street Fighter IV’s charm came from its backgrounds, as they lent a surprising amount of character. 3DS players will never have the joy of watching obese children lose their minds over their fight, and it’s unfortunate to say the least.
While it isn’t necessarily a corner cut, there have been a few changes made to the game’s control scheme. While the game’s six button control scheme maps fine onto the 3DS, Capcom has allowed for attacks to be mapped onto buttons on the bottom screen. I feel like this is probably the game’s smartest inclusion. While it isn’t impossible to pound out a super or ultra combo using the system’s pad and buttons, you’ll end up with a really uncomfortable grip on the system.
There are a few new features for the 3DS version of Super Street Figher IV, most of which revolve around the system’s Streetpass functionality. It goes like this. Fighting through the game’s arcade and online modes will net you points that can be redeemed for virtual figurines of the game’s fighters. You can then take this figurines and build teams out of them, to be called upon when you pass someone else with a 3DS and Super Street Fighter. I can’t argue that the idea isn’t cool, because it is. I really like the idea of competing with others while I’m rolling around the city. It’s in practice that this mode falls apart. Streetpass makes sense in Japan, where players might spend one or two hours a day on a train or bus, but in Atlanta, where I live, I’ve yet to meet a single person with a 3DS, let alone Street Fighter. It’ll be interesting to see if this feature changes once the 3DS install base grows, but for now it’s totally a novelty.
I mentioned earlier the game’s online functionality, and I’ll hold to the statement that it’s more reliable than the console versions of Super Street Fighter IV. Whereas netcode issues made getting into matches on the Xbox or Playstation frustrating, I had no trouble jumping into matches with other players on the 3DS. Also absent were any significant instances of lag, but I wouldn’t be so bold as to assume it isn’t there at all.
It was in the game’s online modes that some the concessions made to put Street Fighter on a handheld came to light. The ability to put special attacks a button press away compromises the balance between characters, and online players have so far, been completely willing to stretch these boundaries. Guile, for instance, no longer has to charge his “sonic boom” or “flash kick” attacks, meaning that Guile players online are mostly insurmountable. There are still plenty of people playing the game like decent human adults, but be forewarned that not everyone will pay such close attention to sportsmanship.
If you’ve already purchased a 3DS, there’s not much of a reason for you to delay on picking up Super Street Fighter IV: 3D edition. It’s a robust port of an already stellar fighting game, and one of the deepest games on the 3DS to date.
