EX was a respectable attempt from Capcom
and Arika, but the graphical limitations at the time really hindered the overall
experience. However, many players that accepted the changes and
"evolved" with the time found something to like about SF EX...
be it the cool combo possibilities or solid presentation value.
Even though many fans are on record for saying "Street Fighter should never be in
3D"... Capcom didn't agree, and later released SFEX2
and SFEX3. Over a decade later, Capcom finally
proved they could do Street Fighter justice in 3D, with the much
more successful and fan-approved Street Fighter IV. ~TFG
Webmaster
REVIEW:
Street
Fighter EX was co-produced by Capcom and Arika (who actually still owns the
rights to some of the characters), and was the first Street Fighter title
to
feature 3D graphics. An upgraded version of SFEX was released about 4 months after the
original, entitled Street Fighter EX Plus, which
auto-unlocked the time release characters and also made Garuda & M. Bison
playable. This version later released for the PlayStation in 1997, dubbed Street
Fighter EX Plus Alpha. The PS1 version added Evil
Ryu, an alternate version of Hokuto known as "Bloody
Hokuto," and two cyborgs: Cycloid β and Cycloid γ.
Even though EX features 3D graphics, the gameplay remains traditional,
with the action taking place on a 2D plane
like all of the prequels. Special and super moves are also done in the
tried-and-true fashion, and a three-tiered Super Gauge is present, allowing
various levels of super moves. EX also offers a few unique
gameplay elements, such as: Super Cancels (for longer and more devastating combos)
and Guard Breaks which makes the receiving character dizzy for a brief moment,
leaving them susceptible to a damaging combo or super move.
SF:EX undoubtedly
had awesome artwork.
Street Fighter EX is famous for
controversially bringing Capcom's trademark 2D fighting
game franchise into 3D for the first time ever. With many fighting games in the
mid-late 90's "going 3D," Capcom clearly wanted to keep up with the
times. However, Capcom was still a major player in the traditional 2D realm,
with their Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter III series
still going strong. While it was interesting to finally see some of the classic
characters with 3D rending, the overall gameplay and graphics didn't come
without some major flaws.
The infamous "blocky"
character models and grainy textures really didn't do the Street Fighter
characters the justice they deserve; and for some Street Fighter
fans, it was a rather depressing sight to see some of our favorite fighting
game characters turned into scary "block monsters".
The "infinite" backgrounds which outlined a flat square ring also
resembled several of the popular 3D fighting games of the time, such as Tekken
3 and Battle Arena Toshinden 3 (and quite frankly, they were doing
the effect better).
Now that that's out of the way, I can talk about the positive aspects of
the game. For starters, the animation and "ouch factor" certainly wasn't bad for the time.
Also, the artwork
(done by one of my favorite artists, Edayan) is definitely top stuff... and
definitely helps out the overall visuals and art direction of Street Fighter
EX.
The words "precious
heart" look out of place under Akuma. lol.
SF EX brought some interesting new
characters to the series, each showing off some
uniquely entertaining special & super moves. However, and unfortunately, many of the basic
priority attacks are shared among ALL characters, downgrading the
much-appreciated "diversity" of the play styles.
Thankfully, all of the super moves in EX are character exclusive, and also
present some pretty entertaining "ouch factor"... which was probably the best visual aspect
of the game. Those big attacks (and even smaller attacks) definitely hurt a lot
when they connect, which is one of my pet peeves when it comes to fighting
games.
Another positive aspect of the game, Street Fighter EX presents some
pretty cool combo possibilities. A few of
which are arguably frustratingly hard to pull off on a regular basis, and
thankfully, the home
version includes an innovative (and fun) Command Training mode. This mode allows
players to perform all of the
staple special moves, combos, and requires players to perform every combo to
fully clear it
(which is a fun playthrough).
Also worth noting... the sound effects were are and a lot of the music in SF
EX is rather catchy.
Why are you guys fighting
in a sewer? That's pretty gross.
The
Japanese versions of EX contains text-only epilogues which are displayed
on-screen after the player defeats Bison in the single-player mode. The
PlayStation version features new epilogues (different from the ones featured in
the arcade versions) in addition to some pretty cool FMV endings. All in all, EX was a solid
console fighting game for the time, but in some ways didn't live up to what many fans
expected out of the Street Fighter series.
The "infinite" backgrounds which outlined a flat square ring also
resembled several of the popular 3D fighting games of the time, such as Tekken
3 and Battle Arena Toshinden 3 (and quite frankly, they were doing
the effect better).
Thankfully, all of the super moves in EX are character exclusive, and also
present some pretty entertaining "ouch factor"... which was probably the best visual aspect
of the game. Those big attacks (and even smaller attacks) definitely hurt a lot
when they connect, which is one of my pet peeves when it comes to fighting
games.
Also worth noting... the sound effects were are and a lot of the music in SF
EX is rather catchy.