It’s hard to believe that it has been almost 10 years since the last Street Fighter game was released. I’m not counting the recently released HD remix of Hyper Fighting on Xbox Live Arcade. The last proper Street Fighter sequel was the underrated Street Fighter III 3^rd Strike released back in 1999. By the time SFIII was out I had almost every version on a home console, but my interest in Street Fighter was starting to wane by 3^rd Strike. Over the years Capcom was still releasing Street Fighter games such as the great Capcom vs. SNK series and the countless reissues or collections; it seemed Street Fighter became more of an artifact than a real game.

However, every year there seemed to be a rumor that Street Fighter IV was finally going to see the light of day. But as much as some gamers wanted a fourth Street Fighter, Capcom wasn’t as interested for a long time. From what I read it took many hours of lobbying on behalf of programmers and producers inside of Capcom to convince the executives that a Street Fighter IV (SF4) would work. Then the day hit when screenshots from SF4 surfaced on the internet from the newest copy of the now-defunct EGM. I remember reading comments over and over again that the images were fake. Then when the images were confirmed as real the fanboys around the world were still in an uproar. Some gamers loved the new visuals while others couldn’t believe the new art style of their beloved characters. The whole time I enjoyed every minute of controversy because I was just happy that SF4 was actually coming out.

After playing the game I can say without a doubt that this is exactly the type of Street Fighter game I’ve wanted to play for years. This is the same Street Fighter you’ve played before but this time on steroids. Everything about the game is screaming with a modern feel but with an old-school polish. Street Fighter fans can be a hard bunch to please but SF4 feels like the ultimate tribute to those gamers that never left the series. The same gameplay we grew up on is still intact just with some new tweaks and plenty of visual flair. If you enjoyed any of the previous Street Fighter games over the years you must play SF4.

The gameplay is where SF4 shines, even if the visuals want to sugar coat it for you. You get the same tight, hardcore and at times relentless gameplay many of us have come to expect from a Street Fighter game. Almost all of the moves you’ve pulled off before are still intact but some changes have been made. For me the biggest change were throws being mapped now to the weak punch or kick button. I’m a heavy punch kind of person and I noticed immediately that I wasn’t throwing anyone in SF4. Having to adjust to the new throw commands took a few matches for me to get comfortable.  

The Focus Attack ability is a new option for SF4 that allows you to perform a special attack specific to each character. You have to press the medium kick and medium punch buttons together to perform a focus attack. The longer you hold the buttons together the more powerful the attack will become. There are three levels of Focus Attacks that can be performed with the Level 3 attack making you unblockable. There is also an EX Focus move that can be performed to help you if special attacks are blocked by your opponent. For example, if you perform a Tiger Uppercut with Sagat but Ryu blocks it you can immediately press the medium punch and kick buttons to perform a Focus move to stop the Tiger Uppercut. This can give you a brief moment to defend an attack instead of leaving yourself open. Honestly, I never had much use for the Focus Attacks since it required so much time to charge and perform. However the EX Focus will probably be a much have move with veterans of the series.

Another new attack in the game that will get plenty of use is the Ultra Combo. Along with your Combo and EX gauge at the bottom of the screen there is a Revenge gauge included. Once the Revenge gauge is at 50% you can perform an Ultra Combo that is a tremendously spectacular attack that is full of eye candy. Without a doubt these are the most intense and awe-inspiring special moves ever included in a Street Fighter game. The higher the gauge the more devastating the move will be on your opponent. If you pull off a 100% Ultra Combo your opponent will be at half damage or lower. Performing the Super Combos, EX combos and now the Ultra Combos can make the game a visual tour de force with graphics to please and combat to make some weak at the knees.

As great as the actual gameplay is in SF4 there are still other options in the game that deserve your attention. The integration of an online mode in the single player Arcade option is a great idea. While playing in the Arcade mode you can set your status to allow other gamers on Xbox Live to challenge you. The famous “Another Fighter has entered the ring” saying will pop up and you’ll be back at the character selection screen again. After selecting your characters you’ll fight in the same way you would in the regular Arcade mode, except this time you’re fighting a human opponent somewhere around the globe. The game does show you a network connection status for the other player which gives you an idea if you might face any lag during the game. The actual Network Battle mode lets you challenge other players on Xbox Live in either Ranked Matches or Player Matches. The more fights you win in Ranked Matches the more Medals and Battle Points you’ll earn. These items will allow you to customize your online status for other players to see.

Additional modes in the game are the VS Mode, Challenge Mode, Training Mode, Gallery Mode and Player Data. VS Mode lets you have a one-on-one match against another computer controlled opponent, another local player or a CPU vs. CPU fight. Training Mode allows you to practice all the moves in any type of setting you desire. Gallery Mode lets you view all of the artwork you’ve unlocked by playing the game. Player Data shows you a record of all your matches and playing time so far in the game. Finally Challenge Mode offers three different options: Time Attack, Survival and Trial. 

Time Attack has you completing several different levels of matches within a set time period. Survival Mode challenges you to take out as many opponents as possible with a certain limit of vitality. Lose one round and the mode is over. Finally Trial mode really felt like it should have been called the Training mode. The game challenges you to perform a certain move(s) before you can complete that specific Trial. Each Trial slowly challenges you to perform all of the moves for the selected character in the game. Real simple, if you can’t perform the move you won’t finish that Trial. Sure you can move to the real Training Mode and practice but the Trial Mode allows you to keep trying the moves over again until you pull them off. For me it was a great way of getting use to the quickness required in pulling off certain combos in the game. The game flashes the next move that you need to perform and if you fail to perform it the combo will start over again.

Street Fighter IV gives us gamers so much that it might be hard to find some faults in the game but there are some problems or one big problem. The difficulty in SF4 seems balanced and well thought-out but the final boss Seth is one major pain. I’ll be honest that I never beat him on the regular “medium” difficulty. No matter what character I selected or how low Seth’s energy became I could never finish him off. Seth seemed to have the magic ability to unleash an Ultra, Super or EX combo at anytime. One minute you’re getting a couple hits in on him and the next minute he’s slinging you across the room taking 25% or more of your energy away in one move. Then he pulls off another combo almost immediately which takes another 25% off.

Yet the part that really angers me was Seth doesn’t fight this way during the first round. Nope, the first round he seems to be taking it easy or asleep which allowed me to take him out in several seconds during some fights. He spouts off a saying of “Let me show you my unlimited power” after he loses a round and then becomes a total nightmare the next two rounds. My five-year-old son was able to walk through all the other fighters on the Easiest difficulty but couldn’t finish off Seth. Now sure I don’t expect the final boss to be a walk in the park but there were plenty of times where I felt like Capcom or co-developer Dimps really turned up the difficulty with Seth to a point of ridiculous. I frankly didn’t even care if I beat him after a solid hour of getting demolished by him on the medium difficulty. I thought the same thing that many of you out there will probably think which is “I’ll turn the difficulty all the way down just so I can beat him and unlock the other characters.” We shouldn’t have to do that but I guess Capcom thinks we should practice more.

Another issue I had with SF4 was the lack of characters available at the beginning of the game. Sure, we get the most popular characters from previous Street Fighter games and four new characters to select from. But you still have at least eight characters locked in the game with no clear indication of how to unlock them. Beating the game with Ken, Sagat and new character Rufus resulted in zero unlocked characters. It would have been nice if the game unlocked some characters each time you beat the game with each character. Sure we can all enter “unlock Street Fighter 4 characters” in our favorite internet search engine but do we want to do that as soon as we get the game? I didn’t but I had to after I wasn’t getting any new characters.

However even with these quibbles SF4 is still a game that can stand with the rest of the Street Fighter legacy. In my opinion we probably won’t ever mention Street Fighter III at all now that SF4 has finally been released. The gameplay, the visuals and overall Street Fighter heritage included in this game makes this a must have for anyone looking for a great fighting game.

Gameplay: 9.6
The harshest of critics or hardcore Street Fighter fans will have a hard time finding any issues with the gameplay in SF4. The over abundance of combo moves could be one point of concern for gamers looking for a more old school, classic, Street Fighter II setup.

Graphics: 9.5
I thought that the HD remix of Hyper Fighting was the best a Street Fighter game could look but SF4 is the best looking Street Fighter game ever in my opinion. The facial expressions are amazing to watch when you’re performing moves. The Ultra Combos provide plenty of sizzle for gamers that might think a Street Fighter game is boring to watch. The 3D character models move flawlessly and didn’t make me for one minute wish this was a 2D game. Granted the new art style might turn off some purist of the series since all of the characters have been remodeled.

Sound: 8.5
The voice acting of the American actors was Ok but it doesn’t compare to the original Japanese voice acting. The music in the game was a remix of classic tunes and new music that fit the game nicely.

Concept: 9.7
Sure this might not be the first 3D Street Fighter game but this is a redefining game that reintroduces the series to a new generation of gamers.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Local 2 player is still in tact but the network gameplay is reigning champion nowadays. The seamless integration of the Xbox Live service with the single player Arcade Mode really stands out. No longer do you have to log in specifically for a network game, now the gamers can come to you while you play the single player.

Difficulty: Medium/Hard
I think I said enough earlier about my displeasure with Seth. I’m sure I can’t be the only one that feels the same way.

Overall: 9.3
Street Fighter IV is the game that many of us wanted but never wanted to actually see come out. For us Street Fighter is more than just a game, it is a legacy of the gaming industry and part of our lives. We grew up playing Street Fighter in the arcades and on countless home consoles over the years. We didn’t want to see a new Street Fighter game be released only to be pushed aside like it was a relic trying to reclaim a fallen legacy. SF4 creates a new legacy by providing the close-to-perfect mix of classic gameplay with modern graphics, stellar multiplayer and amazing options.