Just recently, the Xbox Live Arcade is becoming quite a shopper’s paradise for those Xbox 360 gamers with enough Marketplace points or money with a healthy selection of full games to download including some old school classics as well as some great puzzle games. Joining the collection of arcade greats is one Capcom’s earliest (and, personally, best) 2D fighting games, Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting. So leave the quarters at home and let’s go back to the day when this game made you haunt your local arcade for days.

Hyper Fighting is, by far, one of the most loyal ports of an arcade game available to download on Xbox Live Arcade. It’s a true homage to the game that improved a few of the things that made the original Street Fighter an enjoyable yet almost impossibly difficult fighting game. Don’t get me wrong, Hyper Fighting is a tough game then and is still tough even today. I mean, as much as Xbox gamers love the Dead or Alive series it will never compare with the tough-as-nails gameplay of the Street Fighter series or its other franchises like the Marvel vs. Capcom, Street Fighter Alpha or Capcom vs. SNK series. The full game is available for a mere 800 points or $10 to download and when it comes down to it this is a great bargain considering what you’ll get.

The game comes neatly packaged with the ability to play a one-player game as well as the multiplayer component that allows you to play against a friend in the same room or against others online via Xbox Live. The single-player game is much like you remembered it back in the day so you will still be pitting a street fighter up against a computer-controlled opponent in a one-on-one fight. Thankfully, the roster is filled with 12 familiar characters such as returning favorites like Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief and the flattop brawler Guile just to name a few. You go up against a series of fighters in order to reach the last boss who once again just so happens to be the evil (and still the meanest brawler in town) M. Bison. There’s nothing much to it yet it’s the road to M. Bison that makes the game such a treat.

The road isn’t an easy one considering the opponents you’ll be up against. While, for the most part, each character seems to play the same, it’s the Special Attacks and Super Combos that set each character apart. Chun-Li, for example, is better known for her Spinning Bird Kick but when it comes to pulling off combos, it’s her mean Hazen Tenshoukyaku that allows her to mop the floor with anyone dumb enough to cross her path. The massive powerhouse that is Zangief is a monster with his Atomic Suplex but it’s his Aerial Russian Slam that becomes his deadliest move.

Unfortunately, the Xbox 360 is not the perfect tool to use for a game like this. In fact, the controller pretty much makes the gameplay just a tad too awkward. Considering that the more complex Special Attacks and Super Combos require gamers to be practically double jointed to pull off, they’re almost impossible to launch successfully on the Xbox 360 controller. This makes for fewer combos and specialty attacks and more basic punch and kick moves. You’ll be glad the game included the Training mode to get a feel of the controls and your favorite character’s specialty and combo moves.

While we’re concentrating on the negative, the online multiplayer game isn’t as perfect as it could have been. The game runs at a steady framerate at times and this is when the game shows us what great potential this game has as an Xbox Live favorite. Sadly, the smooth framerate isn’t always so smooth. In fact, there are times when a whole round feels like it’s moving in slow motion and other times the game suffers from a horrible stutter that you’ll think you were playing a game on a Dial-up connection. The problem isn’t bad for those that just want to hop on to challenge an Xbox Live buddy but this spells disaster for those who are trying to make a name for themselves on the ranking leader board.

Visually, this is Street Fighter II the way you remembered it only, thanks to the power of the console as well as the ability to play it in HD; the graphics are sharper and more colorful. The characters will look good up on the screen and watching each character more powerful attacks light up said screen won’t fail to delight. Even the various backgrounds are a visual treat. The same can be said about certain portions of the game’s sound. The rocking guitars are something I could do without but the sound effects and Ryu’s familiar battle cry more than makes up for the dated soundtrack.

Well worth the points or ten dollar purchase price,  is still one of those classic games that still holds up nicely to make this a fun fighting game you will definitely want to download. I wish the online multiplayer aspect could have been a lag-free and the controls a bit tighter but overall this game is a classic for a reason and what a better way to introduce it to a new generation of brawling fans then on a shiny new console.  

Gameplay: 7.2
It’s Street Fighter II on the Xbox 360 and all the elements we loved about this fighting game classic are present and accounted for including the addition of an online multiplayer mode and Achievement points. The 360 controllers aren’t the best suited for this game and you’ll feel it the moment you begin your first round but that doesn’t mean the gameplay is bad. Expect loads of challenging matches in the single player game.

Graphics: 7.0
The visuals are slick on the 360 and the game’s presentation will remind returning gamers of how good the game looked back then. HD just makes the colorful characters and backgrounds really stand out and the flashy effects are still a visual treat.

Sound: 7.0
The heavy guitar riffs didn’t steal the show then and it still doesn’t but what does are the ultra cool sound effects and the familiar attack cries of your favorite street fighter.

Difficulty: Hard
This isn’t the easiest fighter in town so expect to run into plenty of tough opponents in this game. If Chun-Li doesn’t give you trouble, M. Bison will give you blisters on your fingers. It’ll bring you back to the days when fighting games were really challenging.

Concept: 7.5
For those who dropped many a quarter to drop kick a friend or the computer-controlled opponents in the arcade will be happy to see that Hyper Fighting leaves nothing out. It’s still a blast climbing your way up the ladder to get to M. Bison. There’s online multiplayer and at times it works well but at other times it’s just too flawed.

Multiplayer: 5.0
At times, you will be juggling Ryu up in the air just as smoothly as the single player game but most of the time you’ll be turned off by the lag that slows things down considerably playing the online multiplayer. I had two online opponents tell me the lag was just far too annoying to want to keep playing.

Overall: 7.2
Street Fighter II’ Hyper Fighting shows us that Capcom’s fighting series is still just as fun now as it was when it first hit the arcades. It’s an old-school brawler with all the right moves and players despite the awkward 360 controller scheme and the seriously flawed online multiplayer mode. Really, consider this $10 or 800 points well spent.