a review by
shoyu1
Feb 17, 2009
Fighting game from Capcom ... see full wiki
Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom for the arcades since 1999. The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008 with North American arcades … more
Street Fighter set the standard for the 2-D fighting game with its smash hit Street Fighter II series...but the transition to 3-D has spelled D-E-A-T-H to many franchises that attempt it...so I am pleased to say that Street Fighter IV is nothing short of amazing. The beautifully rendered characters, the backgrounds, the fighting animations, the special moves...all transitioned to the 3-D world flawlessly. Do you remember how stunning it was the first time you saw Ryu execute a hadoken fireball? Well, get ready to relive those past memories. Yet, while the character models are impressive, this game does have a few stumbling points. The animated sequences in single-mode are laughably bad and the in-game menus just don't work properly. Both of which can be over-looked and both of which will be revised when Capcom releases the Champion Edition.
Enough with the graphics, let's move on to gameplay. The game plays very similar to its predecessors. All the moves are the same: Ken's uppercut, E. Honda's claw, Chun Li's helicopter kick... With the forgiving controls, even a newbie will have a chance at defeating a more seasoned player. Both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions support on-line play, however, my PR version did not allow me to test this feature.
EX attacks also play an important role in the game. EX attacks are performed by pressing two punch or kick buttons, instead of one. This type of attack adds strength to your attack increasing the damage done and knocking down the opponent.
Focus attacks are Street Fighter IV's parry system. A focus attack is performed by pressing and holding medium punch AND medium kick...releasing when you want to use it. This attack yields a variety of results depending on how long you held the two buttons. This will cause your opponent to be knocked down, allowing you the opportunity to perform an uncontested combo. Outside of breaking your opponent's guard and absorbing the opponent's first attack after unleashing a focus....I didn't use them too much as they slow the game and aren't all that functional. If and when Capcom releases CE, focus attacks need to be revamped.
Ultra combos are the second addition to the Street Fighter gameplay. An ultra attack is performed when your character takes damage...this builds your revenge meter. While this is a powerful combo and graphically thrilling, and will usually result in your victory, it is rather cumbersome to pull off (a forward double-quarter-circle while simultaneously pressing all three punch or kick buttons) but the ultra finish is just so rewarding.
Okay, aside from a few additions, the gameplay remains faithful to the series, what about the characters themselves? We get the twelve original characters from the first Street Fighter II: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, E. Honda, Blanka, Zangief, Guile, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison. In addition, we get four new characters: Abel (a mixed martial artist), Crimson Viper (a female spy), Rufus (a round kung fu fighter), and El Fuerte (a Spanish wrestler). So sixteen characters in all....but wait, there are a few to unlock, but to do so may be rather tedious:
-- Akuma, After unlocking Sakura, Dan, Cammy, Fei Long, Gen and Rose, Fight him on arcade mode, to do that, get at least 2 perfects and 2 Ultra Finishes.
-- Cammy, End the arcade mode with Crimson Viper.
-- Dan, End the arcade mode with Sakura.
-- Fei Long, End the arcade mode with Abel.
-- Gen, End the arcade mode with Chun-Li.
-- Gouken, After unlocking Akuma, Sakura, Dan, Cammy, Fei Long, Gen and Rose, Fight him on arcade mode, to do that, get at least 2 perfects and 3 Ultra Finishes.
-- Rose, End the arcade mode with M.Bison.
-- Sakura, End the arcade mode with Ryu.
-- Seth, End the game with all the other characters.
And there you have. Street Fighter IV is a great (not flawless) but great addition to the Street Fighter family....with a few flaws that will get ironed-out in the future releases of this iconic series. I will add that if you have the opportunity to get the arcade stick, do so. The controllers (especially the Xbox 360) was rather clunky and hard to adjust.
Being a long time fan of the street fighter series (especially Street Fighter 2 and its countless revisions), I have all but gave up on the hope of Capcom releasing a proper sequels for the decade old Street Fighter 3 with the demise of the US arcade scene and the decline of the fighting game genre in the last few years, the announcement of Street Fighter IV genuinely took me by surprise, but a pleasant surprise indeed!
When first booting up the new Street Fighter, the first thing I noticed is the shining new 3D graphics, as Street Fighter has always been THE 2D fighting game out there, this may upset some hardcore Street Fighter fans. But worry not! the 3D is merely cosmetic, once you spend some time playing, you'll forget that it's even modeled in 3D, as the game play is strictly taking place in the side view 2D plane and all the characters are modeled and shaded in a very cartoony/anime style, it only changes camera view when you pull off an super/ultra move that will go into a pre-set animation.
If you have experience with any of the previous street fighters, you'll feel instantly at home with the control, I have no problem pulling off combos I used to do in Street Fighter 2. That doesn't mean the game is just a re-skin of the old games, it added a ton of depth, if you just rely on what works in the old games, you won't get very far. Subtle changes are added to each character, dragon punches (Shoryuken) used to be my answers to pretty much everything, but it's no longer the "God" move anymore in SFIV, it's still very powerful, but you can't just throw it with impunity and hoping it will counter all the opponents' moves. And in SFIV, it's possible to string together long combos and juggling moves that are impossible to do in previous street fighters, although it will take a lot of skills to pull these off, but the result is visually impressive and very satisfying.
And one of the reasons I was dropping quarters after quarters back in the days of Street Fighter 2 is because of the competitive nature of the game, it is fun to play against the CPU, but nothing can compare to playing with a human opponent with a similar skill level as you. Since people aren't going to the arcade anymore, online matches have become a way for people to play together, I was initially worried that the lag will kill any fun we can have playing online (especially after the atrocious network play of Street Fighter 2 Hyper Fighting released a couple of years back), I was surprised that the online play is very fast and responsive, I didn't notice any lag or slowdown during the few rounds I played on XBox Live. One thing I did notice is that with the anonymity of not playing face to face (or side to side), "cheap" moves are much more prevalent compares to playing in the Arcade.
I highly recommend this game to veterans of the series or any fans of fighting games, Street Fighter IV is stylish and deep that rewards tactical thinking as well as lightning reflexes. One thing to keep in mind is that this game should be played with a joystick to get the maximum enjoyment, so pick up the game and a good fighting stick, and I'll see you online, Shoryuken!
Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom for the arcades since 1999. The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008 with North American arcades importing the machines by August. The console versions for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are currently scheduled to be released on February 12, 2009 in Japan, February 17 in North America, and February 20 in Europe. A Windows version will follow during the second quarter of 2009.
While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.
The game has a very similar feel to Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but also has several features from Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. Pressing both light attack buttons is still for throwing, and both heavy attack buttons are for the personal action or taunts. Both medium attack buttons are for the focus strike. Dashes and quick standing are also in the game. C.Viper is the only character who can perform a high jump.
It was intended that bonus rounds ...
