(LAST UPDATE: 10/16/09)
Developer(s): Dimps/Capcom
Publisher(s): Capcom
Designer(s): Yoshinori Ono (producer), Daigo Ikeno (character design)
Platform(s): Arcade, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Windows
Release: July 18th 2008 (JP Arcade), February 17th 2009 (NA PS3, NA 360), July 7th 2009 (NA Windows)
Characters: Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Dhalsim, Zangief, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Sagat, Bison, Balrog, Vega, Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Abel, Rufus, Seth, Akuma, Gouken, Cammy (home version), Rose (home version), Gen (home version), Fei Long (home version), Dan (home version), Sakura (home version)
Related Games: Street Fighter, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter 3: New Generation, Street Fighter 3: Second Impact, Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Street Fighter Alpha: Anthology, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter EX 2, Street Fighter EX 3, Street Fighter: The Movie, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, Pocket Fighter, Super Street Fighter 4
Story:
Just as the excitement of the previous, now legendary tournament finally fades,
word of a new world fighting tournament spreads like wildfire among martial
artists across the globe, trailing a series of bizarre rumors along behind: The
mysterious disappearances of numerous famous fighters. A terrible threat in the
form of a new, deadly secret weapon. The possible connection between S.I.N. the
sponsor or the new tournament, and the supposedly destroyed Shadaloo.
New fighters also step up and make themselves known, almost as
though responding to these troubling rumors. A young man who searches for his
lost past. A female agent with the potential to be an executive member of S.I.N.
A man who burns with the desire to defeat his greatest rival. A Luchador who
seeks the ultimate recipe. Before these newcomers stand those from the previous
tournament, each bringing their own renewed determination. Some fight for those
dear to them. Some fight to finally take their revenge. And some fight simply so
that the entire world will chant their name.
A complex clash of human relationships and the truth of a
terrible plot that lurks behind the championship. This is the chaos that Ryu,
who has been honing his skills with the simple goal of becoming the ultimate
fighter, one beyond the constraints of mere morality, now finds himself thrown
into... Amid pursuit and escape, friendship and betrayal, the curtain rises on a
new stage of battle!
Review: A 2D fighting game... Retaining the classic 6-button layout that the SF2 series
made famous in arcades in 1991... Featuring stunning next gen 3D graphics...
Can you
believe it's finally here?!? Street
Fighter IV is no doubt the longest awaited sequel to Capcom's indestructible
franchise. Capcom tried bringing their trademark franchise into 3D once before with the
Street
Fighter EX series, a trio of games that got a mixed reaction from fans
(mostly negative). The technology available at the time SFEX was created,
didn't allow the characters to fully live up to their 2D counterparts visually and
the gameplay just didn't match up either. There are pros and cons about a trademark 2D fighting game
series going 3D, but in SF IV's case, thankfully; there are far more
pros! The new 3D graphics format allows for incredibly dynamic camera angles on super moves,
a variety of extra taunts and animations which add to the character
personalities, and also
alternate costumes for all characters (something that's rarely seen in
2D fighting
games)
to name a few things...
Since the artists don't have to "hand draw" every frame of animation,
it's much easier for them to add more to the characters, especially in the long run
(because you know there's going to
be a sequel or two). 
Capcom has
brought back the entire original cast of Street
Fighter II... Easily the 12 most recognizable fighters of the franchise and perhaps, the most
iconic fighting game characters
of all time... It's great to see all the classics brought back in a
"new light" and given a true next gen make-over. Four colorful new fighters have also joined the
roster, those
being
C. Viper, El
Fuerte, Abel, and Rufus;
not to mention an all new evil boss character,
Seth. As a fan service, a generous
collection of home exclusive characters were also added, which include: Gen,
Rose, and Sakura,
from the Street Fighter Alpha series, and fan favorites:
Cammy,
Fei
Long, and Dan!
I love the classic characters just like any SF fan, but as a huge fan of Third
Strike, I also find myself dearly missing some of the "New Generation"
cast. 
SF IV actually takes place
some time after Super Street Fighter
II Turbo and before SF III... Definitely a crucial and interesting time
period in the series, which may eventually tie in Street Fighter 2 with Street
Fighter 3's storyline. Thanks to the "choice" time period, I think
it's safe to say we may eventually see some SF III characters added to
the roster in a future installment to this new series, as see some more of the
(now older) Alpha characters. As you can tell, I'm already excited about
sequels... That's a good thing. 
The 3D graphics engine looks nothing short of amazing,
showing off incredibly colorful backgrounds and unparalleled character detail. Highly
entertaining facial expressions activate at seemingly the
perfect time, making classic fights more "epic" than ever thought
possible... Seeing your opponent's eyes
pop out and mouth widen, cringing
in terror before you blast them with a super move, is beyond satisfying. 
There are ton of other "support" facial animations which
happen during gameplay, and sometimes can only be fully appreciated when the game slows
down (during a KO or super move)... Very cool. The clothing & hair movement in SF IV are
also expertly done, and the background characters have a handful of diverse
animations as well, adding to the mood
and feel of each stage nicely (even though they're slightly short on polygons).
There are a ton of other crazy effects that make the game stand out, such as when a character gets
electrocuted... 
You can see the actual bone structure inside of the 3D models which just looks
freakin' amazing
in motion. Other lighting effects that come from the characters (like Blanka's
electric attack) even light up
select areas and things in the backgrounds that reflect light. Ohh, and fireballs
in this game are
pure eye
candy... Easily the best looking fireballs of all time!!!
The gameplay is a mixture of past successful Street
Fighter recipes... SF IV has elements from SSF
II: Turbo, the Street Fighter Alpha
series, and the SF III
series. Let's get one thing straight, right off the bat... Street Fighter
IV is not Super Turbo, and it's
not Third Strike. It actually feels very different when compared to the
prequels and takes some
getting used to at first, because SF IV is really it's own game. If you're expecting
Super Turbo or Third Strike, for example; you should simply go back and play those
games (they're still good)!!!
Open your mind to Street Fighter IV, because there's a rewarding yet "simple"
gameplay system intact, which takes the
series back to it's roots but at the same time, presents some innovation in it's
own right. Air blocking and parrying is absent (probably a good
thing in this game) but several gameplay elements from the SF III series
actually make the return... Including dashes
(double-tap forward or back), EX Specials (special move with two buttons
instead of one), taunts (strong punch + strong kick), two-button throws
(weak punch + weak kick), and special-canceling into super moves! The
gameplay as a whole of course still feels like Street Fighter, and many classic
strategies and combos still work just as you remember... So veteran
players, you'll know what to do.
While I was disappointed when I first heard parrying was gone, I'm actually glad
parrying isn't in this game due to the general "flow of the game" and fast
paced animation seen in SF IV (I'll get to that later). The newly introduced
"focus attack" is a great substitute for the parry, and
actually "adds" something to the classic 2D gameplay. Although the focus attack is punishable
while being charged, it will take two hits to actually knock the charging
character out of the move. For example, if Chun-Li begins to charge the
move against Ryu, he can hit her with a low punch and then a fireball.
The low punch will be absorbed, but the fireball will make contact. A special or
super move can be executed right after a successful focus attack, which really make
the focus attack a crucial (and fun) element of SF IV's gameplay. The
other new addition to the gameplay is the "revenge" super meter which is
strikingly similar to the one found in SNK's Samurai Shodown series.
When your character takes a certain amount of damage, they will be able to
unleash a unique and devastating super move which can turn the tide of the match if
connected... As cool as they are, the revenge super moves are slightly
overpowered, which makes comebacks quite a lot easier to pull off. 
Your other super meter is for using those EX attacks, or filling it
up all the way for a basic super move. This
means your character can actually fill up two separate super meters, which can
be a very very dangerous thing if used effectively.
The all important animation is something
"different" then what many of us SF veterans have come to know and love. The
SF III and SFA series in particular
are known for their epic looking 2D sprites and animations. Those
(now classic) 2D sprites had depth, weight, and their moves just had a certain
"pop" to them that never seemed to change. Bringing
the Street Fighter series into 3D really changes everything, particularly the flow
of the animation. The way this game moves really takes some time getting used to
after playing it's 2D predecessors, but the good news is: you can get used
to it. Certain "familiar" character animations and moves do look very
different in 3D (fast paced if you will), and in some cases, certain moves just
don't look quite as "pretty" or well-executed (especially when it comes to
that ouch factor)... Dare I say some of the Street Fighters got a bit sloppy
with their technique? For example, I remember Vega's jumping axe kick looking a
bit more clean (technique-wise) and much much more fluid in his SFA rendition... Of course I'm nitpicking,
but this is coming from someone who has studied the
classic sprites and animations practically for a living.
The animation in general seems "sped-up" in normal
gameplay, but the true beauty of the animation can be fully appreciated
when the game slows down during a super move...
It's truly amazing how many frames of animation are behind every move in this
game. Many classic priority attacks "look different" and some have even changed all together (nothing wrong with
change right?). Jumping is also faster (and choppier) than one might be
used to in the SF III or SFA series, but again, you get used to it. At the end of the day, most movements and attacks
really do have that spark, and when they connect; it hurts like never before!!!
The amazing camera angles that the 3D graphics engine provides adds brilliant
new depth to some of the classic super moves, and nearly every character is
represented beautifully, some of which arguably seeing their best
incarnation in this installment!
The home presentation of Street Fighter IV is well rounded and packs everything
a fighting game player needs (and then some)... You've got your Arcade Mode, VS
Mode, Network Battle, Challenge Mode, Training Mode, Gallery, and plenty of
Options. Arcade mode features some semi-decent animated prologues and endings for every character, as well as a
cut-scene
(using the awesome in-game graphics) featuring each character's
"rival". The pre-fight motion captured cinematics before a rival
fight are simply epic (borderline emotional)... 
Props to Capcom for going the
extra mile and remixing some of the classic BGMs specially for these fights and
including a wide variety of custom dialogue during the fight between rival characters...
Wooooow!
The new character win
quotes are not only witty and smart (& hilarious sometimes), but they're
even character specific at times, which is another generous detail borrowed from from Third
Strike.
Challenge Mode offers a variety of
ways to test your skills with Survival, Time Attack, and Trial modes; and is also
the path to unlocking new character colors, alternate
character taunts, awesome character artwork/sketches, and even various icons and
"titles" that you can add to your player profile (there's a ton to
unlock)! The trophies/achievements are also fun (and some very challenging) to unlock, and the PS3 version
even features a handful of cool unlockable items for PS3's Home. The options in Street Fighter IV are also pretty epic... You have the
ability to turn character voices to Japanese/English of course, but you can
also choose which characters specifically you want to speak in Japanese
and which in English. That's a first in a fighting game as far as I know, and
it's simply a really awesome option overall... Dan's voice in English just sounds
horrible for example, but other characters don't sound so bad in English; so
it's really nice to have the choice to set your preferences! Along with the
voice acting, the music in SF IV is well done (besides the horribly catchy main theme song, which
makes me want to strangle the singer, especially during the part when he sings
OFF KEY). 
If for some reason you grow tired of
the game's official soundtrack, you can thankfully set your own personal music to play in the
background... Sweet!
I can vouch for the PS3 version and say the online mode is very
solid. Even on "2/
3
out-of 5 bars" I've experienced very minimal lag! So far, the
only minor complaints I have about online is that, firstly... your online "rank" isn't very
clear when you go up against random opponents. Adding titles and icons to your player profile is cool & all,
some of which require beating the "hard" trial challenges,
which says something about your opponent if they're showing off one of the more
hard-to-get titles or icons. Besides that though, there really isn't much else there...
Without some sort of rank displayed near
your name, it's pretty unclear what skill level your opponent's going to be (maybe not
a bad thing in some ways?).
I also wish you could create a room that can hold more than 2 players, but the
1-on-1 rooms do minimize lag, so I probably shouldn't complain there. I'm sure Capcom will tweak the online mode in
future updates for the better, but so far it's a lot of fun playing friends
online... Excellent job Capcom!
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- Review is for PS3 version of Street Fighter IV - |
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9 / 10 |
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Closing Comment: Besides
being 3D, Street Fighter IV takes the series in a whole new artistic direction... Not that it
really needed to, but it's a good thing at the end of the day, giving this
installment it's own flavor instead of being something we've seen before. Comparatively
to SF III: Third Strike, I
still think the prequel is a deeper and better fighting game overall; but that
certainly doesn't mean SF IV isn't a good game. Capcom demonstrates they
can still put out a quality and successful 2D fighting game by
"keeping it simple" and returning to it's roots in a way.
SF IV has the technical gameplay that hardcore players
thrive on, but the same core principles from the original and classic Street
Fighter games (Like SF2 or SFA) can be used to play this game in
almost the same exact fashion sometimes. On that note, it definitely feels like a game I've
played before, which lowers the replayability score just a bit... Lately, I prefer
fighting games with "more ways" to beat your opponent, but in any
case, it's got that classic 2D feel about it. The good news is, new and old, pro and casual players
can find something to enjoy about SF IV. SF IV has "next-gen
2D fighting game" written all over it, and really makes a statement to the
"non fighting game players" out there that indeed: People still love 2D
fighting games!!!
So do I have any complaints?
Firstly, the character openings & endings in the story mode are pretty lame, and make little
sense. Nearly all of
them seem to "stop short" before explaining anything about the actual
story... In fact, this game possibly has the worst endings of any mainstream SF game to
day. Then there's that cheesy intro/menu song (especially in
English)... It's possibly worse than Marvel VS Capcom 2's selection
screen song, and that's saying A LOT.
There are also a few quirky animations here and there, but I'm sure
they'll smooth things out a bit in the sequels. I thought I'd hate the announcer more, but he's actually
not all that bad.
Worth mentioning, I personally don't find myself
"craving" to play SF IV quite like I crave to play certain other fighting games...
*cough* Tekken 5:DR & Soul
Calibur 4 *cough*... It's nothing against 2D fighting games (because you
know I love them), it's just that there are less ways to beat my opponents
in SFIV, which I consider a flaw since I'm a player that really likes mixing it up. I
hope the sequel will give the fighters new moves and more than one super
move, which would really help the mix-up game... At the end of the
day, SF IV is semi-simple old school fun with a next gen paint job, and
it's definitely worthy to be called Street Fighter 4. It's not to be
missed, that's for sure. ~F.Yagami,
Webmaster
of TFG
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