Just a little over a year ago, the fighting game genre received a major kick in the pants (and so did I at the hands of Justin Wong). The category was completely revitalized with the release of Street Fighter IV, simultaneously capturing the nostalgic attention of old-school brawlers and piquing the interest of newcomers too. People wanted to play fighting games again. As if going back into its old bag of tricks, Capcom has now released an updated version of the new game: Super Street Fighter IV.
Anyone growing up in the 90s will know about the countless “updates” to the Street Fighter II, III, and Alpha series, so is Super Street Fighter IV just another lame attempt to grab our money? I think not.
Here Comes a New Challenger
It wouldn’t be fair to say that Super Street Fighter IV is a completely new game. It’s not even really a sequel. What Capcom has done is take the fantastic framework of Street Fighter IV (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it) and built more on top of it.
The biggest change for this update is the introduction of ten new characters. We’ve seen eight of these world warriors before, like Muay Thai expert Adon and classy pugilist Dudley, but two of them are brand new to the franchise: Juri and Hakan.
Juri is the first Korean character in the Street Fighter universe. You could say that she offers an odd mix of Crimson Viper and Rose, in some ways, tossing in some Ken/Ryu action for good measure. Turkish oil wrestler Hakan is easily the more unique of the two. He stays lubed up with oil and slides around the stage, but he has Zangief-level throws… only weirder.
There are a total of 35 fighters in this game, all of whom are completely unlocked for your disposal from the start. This is a huge roster and it’ll take you an eternity to master everybody.
Expanding the ultra Arsenal
You’ll want to break out the wireless Hori fighting stick that came with the Tekken 6 bundle for this battle, because you’ve got even more moves to use.
Gameplay elements from Street Fighter IV carry over to this Super sequel, including focus attacks, EX attacks, focus cancels, and the like. Taking a page out of Third Strike, however, is the introduction of multiple ultra combos for each character. You select one of two ultras when you choose your character.
Some ultras are better than others. For instance, Akuma’s second ultra has him doing a weird hurricane kick thing instead of the “Demon Armageddon” that we have seen in some other Street Fighter games. I do like how they brought the Sonic Hurricane for Guile though.
The Animated Endings That Don’t Matter
Each of the characters has an opening sequence and an animated ending when you play the conventional arcade mode. That much makes sense. What’s strange is that the opening sequence is basically static, whereas the ending is an animated cartoon.
Both are ultimately forgettable, but I’m willing to overlook that. The gameplay itself is where it’s at.
Gameplay Tweaks and Re-Balancing Acts
If you’ve been brushing up on your Street Fighter IV strategies in preparation for this release, you won’t be disappointed in your efforts. By and large, the gameplay remains much the same.
Capcom has made some small changes here and there to help re-balance the relative strength of the characters. Guile’s combos are marginally easier to perform and Blanka’s Lightning Cannonball has marginally more “chip” (blocked) damage. You may also notice some other small tweaks here and there.
Not that it matters, but you can’t put in that extra move the moment you defeat someone anymore. Also, changing your online title and icon is easier with one-click access to the utilities.
Unifying the Ranked Online Matches
Playing against the computer is only fun for so long. Eventually, you’ll want to test your skills against other players around the world. As much as I liked championship mode in SFIV, it separated the competitive arm of online matches in two: regular ranked matches and championship matches.
The latter have now been eliminated, providing for a single unified system for playing against the best of the best. Even then, they’ve tweaked the system to better gauge a player’s skill. There are Player Points (PP), which represent your prowess in general, and Battle Points (BP), which are character-specific. This makes it much easier to see how your skills stack up against an opponent even before the first hadouken is thrown.
Quarter Mode Has Returned!
In late 2008, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (what a mouthful!) was released on PSN and XBLA. One of its best features was the player match, more affectionately known as “quarter mode” among Street Fighter enthusiasts. What it did was mimic the arcade experience, offering “lobbies” where up to eight players could congregate. The top two names did battle while the other six watched. This mode went missing in SFIV, but it has returned in Super Street Fighter IV as “endless mode.”
These matches don’t affect your Player Points or Battle Points, but I find them to be ultimately more enjoyable. The social aspect is great, since you can chat with other observers just as you would in a “live” arcade.
Final Thoughts
I don’t think any game is ever going to dethrone the original Street Fighter II as the best fighting game of all-time, but Super Street Fighter IV has certainly improved on SFIV in just about every way. The roster of fighters is numerous and balanced, the new “replay” mode lets you study the moves of the experts, and the gameplay tweaks make a good brawler even better. Hakan is still a little too weird for my tastes, but he’s certainly unique… like a Borat-Hellboy hybrid.
Available for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 at a reduced price of about $40 US, Super Street Fighter IV is well worth every dollar. It is unequivocally the best fighting game available on any current console today.
Pros
- All 35 characters unlocked from the start
- Rich and deep gameplay mechanics
- Endless mode mimics arcade experience
- Return of the bonus stages
- Ability to search online games by location (e.g., Canada)
Cons
- Can’t have access to both ultras in same match
- Still experience some connection issues online
- Forgettable storyline animations
Overall Rating: 9.0/10.0
Love This Review? Hate This Review? Comment Or Fight In Our Forums!
Super Street Fighter IV for the Xbox 360 – Photo Gallery
