Game Review: Super Street Fighter IV (PS3)
I wanted to make this a quick romp with very little completion. Over a few years ago I played and reviewed Street Fighter IV (abbreviated from now on) for PS3 and had a lot of fun. It felt almost nostalgic, like I was 11 years old and playing the original SFII on my SNES to death. Super Street Fighter IV is the expected update - which would go onto updating another two times as SSFIV: Arcade Edition and more recently, Ultra Street Fighter IV. I plan to pick up Ultra when it goes down in price but I also happen to have SSFIV: 3D Edition for the Nintendo 3DS (though don't own the system yet). Anyways, this edition of SFIV has 10 new characters - making a grand total of 35 playable characters - unlocked from the get go, brings back the bonus stages, more online modes, new challenges, new cinemas, some new arranged music, new Ultra combos, etc. I beat the game a few times - mainly as some of the woofy bearish characters Zangief, Rufus, and Hakan. While I beat the game on the hardest difficulty as Zangief, I didn't fulfill the requirements to get to Gouken and lost to Akuma at the end. It's funny that I chose to review this game as Sony recently revealed the upcoming Street Fighter V at Game Awards 2014. The review of this game also completes my list of games for the year since January. Early January will reveal what I'll be planning to play for 2015.
Street Fighter IV takes place several months after the events of SFII (thus is chronologically set between SFII and III). After M.Bison's survival from his encounter with Akuma, the S.I.N. corporation began another fighting tournament in order to draw out the most powerful fighters on Earth to complete the BLECE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Cell Explosion) project. Each character has their own reasons for entering this tournament, but S.I.N.'s real desire is to lure Ryu to them in order to analyze the Satsui no Hadō, believed to be the last piece of data needed to complete BLECE.
To see a full playthrough with woofy Zangief on the hardest difficulty, go here or below:
Click to view
Graphics/Art-10
+ Excellent graphics that also utilize Japanese Sumi-e art. About the same quality as the previous game.
+ Great character models and animation. Stages are colourful and detailed.
+ Special and Ultra moves are flashy and cool.
+ Rufus' belly physics is amusing to look at - WOOF!
- The opening animation for each character is lacking though their endings have some animation. They seemed to get lazy this time around (or budget reasons).
Sound/Music-9
+The music from the previous game returns (sans the cheesy but catchy "Indestructable" song) plus new ones and arranged songs.
+ Good sound effects.
+ All characters have voice-acting and will say certain expressions during battle - especially when they fight their rival.
- Some of the lines are cheesy.
Music Samples:
Theme of Super Street Fighter IV
Character Select
E.Honda
Balrog
Vega
Blanka
Dee Jay
Fei Long
T.Hawk
Crumbling Laboratory Stage Round 1
Crumbling Laboratory Stage Round 2
Dan
Adon
Guy
Dudley
Hakan
Juri
Replay Channel
Staff Roll
Control-8
+ Similar to past entries, SSFIV is played using an eight-way directional system giving you the ability to jump, crouch, and move towards and away from opponents. Generally, there are six attack buttons for both punch and kick commands with three of each type, differing in strength and speed.
+ Like the latter two games from the SFIII series, grabs are performed by pressing both light attacks, while taunts are performed by pressing both heavy attacks simultaneously.
- I still find that some moves won't pull off (like Hadoukens) when I'm doing them, similar to the previous game. For whatever reason, it seems a little too precise compared to the older games.
Gameplay-10
+ The exact same gameplay as the original SFIV but with a few tweaks.
+ Focus-Attacks and separate meters for both Super and Ultra Combos make a return. The Ultra Combo gauge and moves has been left unchanged since SFIV. All characters feature at least two Ultra Combos. However, only one Ultra can be selected at a time in a way similar to the Super Arts system in the SFIII series. To use a Super Combo or an Ultra Combo, the respective meters have to be full. The Ultra combo meter charges up when the player gets hit and so it can also be called a Revenge Meter. The Ultra Combo meter is the one right next to the Super Combo meter.
+ When playing through the single-player mode, if toggled on, there are additional bonus stages allowing a chance to receive additional points, similar to the ones found in the SFII series. The first challenge involves destroying a car while the second has you break as many barrels as you can.
+ SSFIV features modes from the original game including "Arcade", "Versus", "Training", and "Trials". The game features a few additional online modes apart from Ranked battles. "Team Battle" can have up to 4 players per team to battle against another group. "Endless Battle" has the winner playing against a rotating group of up to 8 players. To replace SFIV's "Championship Mode", "Tournament" allows you to compete in a small single elimination bracket. "Replay Channel" allows you to view and save replays from various matches around the world.
Here are some playthrough videos of T.Hawk, Rufus (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), Hakan, E.Honda (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), and Gouken (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3).
Fun/Story/Misc-10
+ With all the upgrades and new characters, the game is a ton of fun! The original SFIV is still great though.
+ Not much in the way of story, but each character has their motives for fighting.
+ The online mode is fun and watching people's replay videos is a great addition.
+ There are a lot of unlockable icons and titles. Trophies are for those who are seriously dedicated.
- Some of the challenges are very difficult.
- There doesn't seem to be unlockable videos and artwork this time... unless I have to play more to get them but I saw no Gallery option.
Total: 47/50 (Grade Level: A)
The Super Street Fighter IV website is here which has some info and videos. The Gametrailers.com video review is here and the Wikipedia article is here.
Next Game: South Park: The Stick of Truth (Xbox 360)
Currently playing: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (PSP) & Dragon Warrior VII (PSone)
