Super Street Fighter IV Review

Down, diagonal, forward, then punch…Hadouken!!! Ahhh music to my ears and to the caged match fighter rattling the bars of my soul trying to escape. The long wait is over and Super Street Fighter IV (SSFIV) is here and now, I can finally release the battle starved warrior from the depths of my soul. Despite the Rocky III style montage of me training for this game set to music of Eye of the Tiger playing in my head, I know this game isn’t that serious. It’s just, I missed out on owning Street Fighter IV, so I was overly excited when I got my hands on the the latest installment of the Street Fighter series. SSFIV is the sequel to Street Fighter IV and features more battle modes, more characters, and more frenzied kicks, head stomps, and fireballs to the face.

What’s Different with the Characters?

Capcom took a lot of flak for releasing SSFIV as a completely new game instead of updating the already existing game with downloadable patches. Capcom’s reasoning for a full new game was that they had tweaked all aspects of the game just enough to make DLC almost impossible. Some of the tweaks came in the form of balancing the characters so no one character stood out above the rest, like the lumbering beast Sagat, who could easly dominate the screen if put in the hands of a pro.

So, did I notice any changes in the characters?…umm, not really. To me, with the exception of Ryu and E. Honda, everyone felt pretty much the same as their Street Fighter IV counterparts. Even with the changes, I still got my butt kicked by Sagat and Ryu so fans of those characters shouldn’t be too disappointed by their minor changes. I’m sure the more advanced players, you know, the ones who enter tournaments and actually win them, are probably freaking out over the modifications, but to the common player, you can expect the same fast pace, beat down action you’ve come to love or maybe hate from the Street Fighter franchise. As a part of each character getting a mini makeover, everyone now has two ultras A.K.A. the big flashy attack that can change the outcome of a match. Unfortunately, only one ultra can be selected before the start of a fight, so choose wisely.

The Newbies

The most notable change in SSFIV is the addition of ten characters which span across the Super Street Fighter II, Street Fighter III, and Street Fighter Alpha series. Some of the more notable names like Dee Jay, T. Hawk, and the ninja Guy, get their chance to enter the ring and show who’s boss. Of the ten extra characters, there are two brand spanking new characters specifically made for SSFIV. Juri, the seductive psychopath who uses her feet to subdue her opponents and the honorable and very slippery Hakan, a Turkish oil wrestler who mostly uses grapples and throws. Juri is fast and easy to get the hang of and is definitely a crowd favorite online, while Hakan takes a little more strategy and little more guts, since most of his moves require him to be up close and personal.

What’s New Online?

There have been a lot of changes to online play in this edition of Street Fighter. Lets start off with the battle modes. When you go online, you now have various ways to prove your supremacy over all things Street Fighter.

Team Battle

You can play Team Battle, where you team-up with one to four friends or strangers and fight against another online team. The winners from each round fight through the ranks of the the other team, if they loose, then it’s up to the next team member pick up the slack. While the other players are waiting their turn, they can watch the battle and cheer on their teammates or taunt the other side with smack talk you can only find in fighting games.

Endless Battle and Tournament Mode

There is also an Endless Battle mode, which is basically Street Fighter’s version of king of the hill. Everyone waits their turn to play the person sitting at the number one spot. If the person at the top gets beaten, they are knocked off their throne and sent to the back of the line, while the person who won becomes the new number one fighter. The player who lost then has to wait their turn until their next shot at the crown. While they wait, they act as spectators who can cheer or taunt just like in Team Battle. Last, but not least, there is Tournament Mode, which lets you host your own online tournaments with up to eight people. Tournament Mode doesn’t come with the game, but it is available for free download June 15, 2010.

Replay Channel

Capcom also added a Replay Channel that lets you watch replays of matches you’ve saved or replays saved by others from around the world. Despite the misleading name, there are actually multiple channels which let you watch your favorite Street Fighters go toe-to-toe based on the games they first appeared in. At first I thought the Replay channel was kind of lame, but I really got into watching some of the more intense fights.

Overall

SSFIV is a solid game and is worth having in any gaming library. If you already have Street Fighter IV you can live without the new game, but I don’t know why you would since it’s cheaper than your average PS3 or Xbox game and features extra fighters and more online options. Oh, and did I mention you can play an updated version of Street Fighter II’s bonus stage, that lets you destroy a car with your bare hands and prove your might over the machines that will one day over power us? Yep, it’s just that awesome. This games is definitely a buy, and if you’re still holding out because you already own Street Fighter IV then suck it up, trade it in, and get yourself the newest installment of fighting game glory.