Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV – arcade review by Geraint Evans, GamesMaster UK

When the last ‘proper’ Street Fighter came out, almost 10 years ago, it’s safe to say that the fighters had lost much of their appeal and the fanbase they enjoyed during their heyday of the early ’90s. Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike didn’t exactly make much of an impact, with old favorites Ryu and Ken joining a bunch of weirdos and misfits many people couldn’t care less about. It was a beautiful, technical, stunningly animated fighter but it simply didn’t strike a chord with the masses. Had the fighting legend lost its way?

A little, maybe. One Alpha, VS or Marvel crossover too many perhaps? Could Street Fighter, godfather of fighting games, ever regain it status? After countless bouts with the arcade version of Street Fighter IV we can say a resounding, “YES”. For Fighter veterans, playing SF4 for the first time feels familiar – some might, justifiably, argue it’s a little too familiar. The old, 12-strong cast of original world warriors and bosses are back, from Ryu and Ken, Chun-Li and Blanka to Vega and Bison. They feel the same, their moves are largely the same (at least in execution) and anyone who grew up with the series will feel instantly at home. But thankfully there are some very important differences this time around – and every single one of them is a positive step forward.

To start with, any newcomers to the series, used to the ease of play of something like Soul Calibur needn’t be intimidated. Dragon-punching, spinning bird-kicking and executing the simpler two- and three-hit combos is now much, much easier and far less technical. The timing required to pull off special moves is far more generous and so the barrier to entry, for actually enjoying yourself against skilled opponents, has been lowered. It’s no longer about whether you can pull moves off, rather, will you use them appropriately or try to link them into more complex combos?

One example of this accessibility is the new focus attack. Rather than the tough and technical ‘Parry’ move from 3rd Strike, holding down both medium attacks will charge up a powerful blow as well as give you the opportunity to absorb an attack. Unleashing it will temporarily stun an opponent, giving you the opportunity for a free hit. There’s now a great fight-leveler too, so anyone taking a beating has the chance to make a dramatic Spice Girls-like comeback. Lose enough health, and your ‘Ultra’ is activated, which allows you to execute a last ditch super-powerful attack to get you back into the fight.

Perhaps Street Fighter’s biggest achievement, though, is in taking the classic 2D fighting template and making it relevant and exciting for gamers used to gorging themselves on next-gen stunners. SF4 is wonderful to behold in motion. The animations feel weighty, punches and kicks have real impact, and every fighter has been tweaked to inject a little more personality into each. Blanka is more aggressive and less cartoony for example, while Chun-Li is more fluid and graceful than ever before.

Changes in your favorite characters are more than skin deep too. Blanka, always one of the weaker characters, is now a much more worthy opponent. Heavyweight Zangief and E Honda (whose 360 rotational moves made them tough to get to grips with for novices) have also been beefed up, and are well worth revisiting. Capcom have done a great job rebalancing the characters and although there are still some discrepancies (Blanka’s annoyingly good actually, and Sagat’s just an absolute monster!) you can pretty much pick anyone from the character roster and be confident you’re not going to get an absolute pasting from worthless, Ken-abusing scum.

So we like it then and it’s by no means an exaggeration to suggest that this is up there with the greatest fighters ever made. It’s not in the slightest button-mashy like Soul Calibur, it doesn’t require the colossal 20 button commands from the likes of Dead or Alive and instead focuses on what’s important – simplicity, strategy and fun. Exactly what you need before you begin to master its hidden intricacies…

You'll Love

+ The interesting new characters

+ That it’s easy for everyone to learn

+ The satisfyingly meaty feel to the action

You'll Hate

- That the final boss Seth is a bit irritating

- The long wait for the console versions

- That we don’t have room in our houses for an arcade cabinet
( paterns by www.gamesradar.com )