Super Street Fighter IV – 360 – Review

Updating 2009’s fourth installment in Capcom’s fantastic Street Fighter series, Super Street Fighter IV begs the question: is the expansion of sorts worth the entry point? Many may cry foul and ask why the title wasn’t released as downloadable content at a cheaper variety, but don’t let them fool you; Super Street Fighter IV is everything a fight fan could ever dream of.

Starting with the most distinct addition, the new characters, Super Street Fighter IV does what Super Street Fighter II did to its sister title, but it does so in a much more extravagant method. Opting to add in 10 new and returning characters rather than four that SSFII went with, SSFIV provides a diverse amount of fighters to use and mix in with rotations in competitive matches online and offline.

Ranging from the exotic Turkish Yagli Gures oil wrestler named Hakan to the devil-in-the-eyes Juri, Super Street Fighter IV has an outstanding cast of fighters to select from. For fans who aren’t infatuated with the boneheaded boxer Balrog, they can choose to use the more intellectual Dudley within battle to dispose of their foes. The cast is as rounded out as they come with balance and a nice coat of shine due to how fresh the roster feels. It’s unfathomable to think that anyone could not fall in love with Ibuki and Makoto, introduced in Street Fighter III, all over again.

Not only did Capcom bring forth a bucket load of new characters, they went back and revamped the cast in the original. Each of the originals has received an additional Ultra Combo that is selectable at the fight screen. Of course, there’s always an exception to the rule and that would be the senior fighter Gen who has four for each of his fight styles. What this essentially does is give birth to more strategies to employ on the opposition and determine which combos will work best in association with players behind the FightSticks, FightPads and normal controllers.

If players have never experience the original in its truest form, then they should be ready for an onslaught of tactics that they can deploy. From EX Focus attacks to Super Combos, there’s a plethora of maneuvers to execute on the enemies with masterful expertise over time. Before too long, players will learn the tricks of the trade such as Super Cancels and dashing forwards and backwards to execute a follow-up to a Focus Attack. All in all, Capcom has once again delivered a fighter – such as they did in 1991 with Street Fighter II: The World Warrior – that defines the genre.

For veterans of the series, there are three additions of gigantic proportions – namely, the Replay Channel, Team Battle and Tournament Mode. The Replay Channel is simple to describe; it is home for all saved replays that can be uploaded online to be viewed by other players. Want to show your dominance? Then upload your replays and instill fear in your upcoming opponents. Split into channels by Originals, Alpha, Turbo & III, Newcomers and Boss, the Replay Channel is a fantastic addition to help mid-tier fighters understand how the experts dismantle their opponents.

The Team Battle and Tournament Mode have been seen before among a handful of other fighters, namely the Tournament Mode showed up in the XBLA and PSN versions of Super Street Fighter II Turbo.  As for their descriptions, the Team Battle, pits players in 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 matches as players fight for victory. Victory is obtained as each opponent is eliminated and there’s no one left to face in a 1v1 fashion. The only issue is that the host cannot leave the session until the match is over, so it’s wise to play with friends who won’t bail after they are eliminated from the competition. The Tournament Mode, one of the highlighted additions, wasn’t available pre-release, though it’ll be added in an update after release and allows 4-8 players to battle for the right to be called champion. The download is set for a grand debut on June 15, so it’s not too far off for fans to get their hands on.

Lastly, Bonus Stages have returned – that’s right, players are able to take their aggression out on a car with a vengeance. Outside of Car Crusher, there’s also Barrel Buster where players must attack barrels as they drop down from the top of the screen. Both of the stages help mix things up in-between the matches in Arcade mode, so they are a welcomed addition.

Street Fighter IV was a marvelous fighter and Super Street Fighter IV only furthers that notion with excellent additions that provide a whole new life to the series that has come full circle with Capcom’s brilliant revival.