The all new character sprites and backgrounds really stand out, even though they're based on "ancient" pixel-based artwork and animations. Even by today's standards of 2D fighting games, HD Remix's 2D character sprites are definitely bigger than most, and fill the screen like no others ever have. The iconic characters themselves have enough presence and charisma to fill the screen under normal circumstances, but these beefy & colorful new sprites simply light up the room! The new and improved renditions of the classic locations and backgrounds are also excellent and breathe new life into the game.


HD Remix really does look like a completely new title, complete with fabulous redrawn selection screen artwork. The brand new character endings drawn by UDON are also a much appreciated addition. The in-game character sprites match all of this new artwork nicely, and each frame of animation is pretty much its own unique artwork. Overall, I'm pleased with nearly every character in the game as far as looks go. They really nailed the faces and updated facial expressions. The art style also somewhat resembles the way legendary Capcom artist "Edayan" draws them (who in my opinion is one of the best Capcom artists of all time, famous for his amazing work on Rival Schools & SSF2T Revival).


Due to the nature of redrawing such significantly smaller pixel-based sprites, the new sprite animations in HD Remix do have a dated look and can sometimes appear "jittery" or "choppy". The backgrounds, while looking awesomely sharp, also still contain characters that poorly animate (2 frames ftw)! It's a forgivable flaw, given the nature of this project. It was obviously a requirement to keep the "frame count" for each move the same as in the original, so that the gameplay remains unchanged. On that front, UDON definitely succeeded. 

 

 

Capcom kept gameplay mechanics perfectly intact from the original arcade version of Super Turbo, but also included a new "HD Mode" featuring new gameplay tweaks, character balancing, extra moves, more combo possibilities. HD Mode also features some brand new character colors, which is always cool to see. Speaking of colors, all of the iconic character colors from the likes of Championship Edition, Turbo, and Super are all remastered in HD Remix. (Old school fans remember how big of a deal it was to have new alternate colors for your characters back in the early 90's). If you were ever a fan of the Street Fighter 2 series, there's no reason not to love playing this visually superior version of one of the biggest arcade hits of all time. Don't forget that this is the series that sparked the competitive fighting game community and brought fighting games and arcades in the early 90's to a new level.


Speaking of arcades, where ever did they go? ...I'll always miss the smell of token machines and old arcade cabinets.  How times have changed. Seems like the best arcade you can go to these days is in your own home with online mode. HD Remix's online mode isn't perfect and I had some trouble finding matches and staying connected at first. Once I did connect with a few friends, the game ran smoothly for the most part. There's also a Network Smoothing option which also helps out when any lag pops up. Overall, it seems like you can play the same type of intense game online as you can offline. Unfortunately, online options are bare bones in HD Remix, but the essentials are there.


As far as gameplay goes, you know this game is OLD school. As much as I love playing HD Remix with my old school buddies, honestly, I'd still rather pop in a game from the Street Fighter III or Street Fighter Alpha 1, 2 or 3. Being able to parry a fireball when your life is down to nothing (so you don't die of chip damage), or use a wider variety of super moves to mix things up are fighting game novelties that I dearly miss when playing SSF2T. Even as someone who grew up in the arcades playing Street Fighter 1 and 2, I still prefer newer, more advanced gameplay systems these days. Besides, sometimes my thumbs don't feel like working so hard anymore..... After playing an old game like Super Turbo for an extended period of time, you're reminded how much work these old games used to be: Shoryuken, Hurricane Kick, Low Jab, Low Jab, Shoryuken, Shoryuken, Hadoken, Shoryuken, Hadoken, Fake Hadoken, Jump in, Low Jab, Shoryuken... Carpal Tunnel, and I lost... Dammit, and 2 more rounds to go.

 

 

Options... HD Remix has em! Firstly, there are a nice variety of arcade style Dip Switch settings, which allow you to tweak some interesting details about specific character moves and abilities. You also have the option to set the stage music back to the original arcade themes, or keep the default "remixed" themes (most of which sound extraordinary)! And, as funny as it sounds, you can even switch out the character sprites back to the original pixels! The old style sprites have a filtered and "blurred" look to them, and although they look rather out of place in front of the HD backgrounds, they come out looking fairly decent for old-ass pixels.   

 

Page Updated: January 14th, 2017 Developer(s): Backbone Entertainment Publisher(s): Capcom Designer(s): David Sirlin   Lead Designer Rey Jimenez   Producer Artwork by: UDON Comics Platform(s): PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, PC Release Date(s): Nov. 25th, 2008    PlayStation 3 Nov. 26th, 2008    Xbox 360 Characters:  Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Dhalsim, Blanka, Zangief, E.Honda, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, Bison, Cammy, Fei Long, Dee Jay, T. Hawk, Akuma Featured Video: Related Games: Ultra Street Fighter 2, Super SF2 Turbo, Super SF22T Revival, Street Fighter, Street Fighter 2, SF2 Champion Edition, SF2 Turbo, Super SF2, SF3: New Generation, SF3: 2nd Impact, SF3: 3rd Strike, SF3: 3rd Strike Online Edition, Street Fighter 4, Super SF4, Super SF4: 3D Edition, Super SF4: Arcade Edition, Ultra SF4, Street Fighter 5, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, SFA3 Upper, SFA3 Max, SFA Anthology, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter EX, SFEX2, SFEX3, SF The Movie, Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo, SPF2T HD Remix, Pocket Fighter    Gameplay Engine  7.5 / 10 Story / Theme  8.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  8.5 / 10 Animation  7.0 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  9.0 / 10 Innovation  9.0 / 10 Art Direction  9.0 / 10 Customization  9.0 / 10 Options / Extras  9.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation  7.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  7.5 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  8.0 / 10 Characters  9.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  8.8 / 10  Review based on PS3 version       Final Words: It's been a long time coming, but HD Remix is a "gift from the heart" to veteran Street Fighter fans and was well worth the wait. It's beautiful to see all of the original World Warriors brought back to life in a new art direction, and in full HD. The coloring is particularly well done and the attention to detail on the character sprites will not soon be forgotten. A lot of the "rough edges" of the old sprites were expertly smoothed out and given a fresh cel-shaded style re-coloring. The visual overhaul of HD Remix didn't translate without imperfections. The fact that these huge character sprites keep the same amount of frames of animation as the originals (which are 17 years old), oftentimes makes them appear awkwardly jittery. After being spoiled with the amazing fluidity of the Street Fighter III series and the cool "anime-esk" look of Street Fighter Alpha characters, the classic characters of HD Remix do have some obvious flaws. For one, everyone still turns into M. Bison when they're on fire (or turns into Zangief if they're T. Hawk)... I was hoping they'd fix that.  I'm sure everyone will draw different opinions on the way the characters look with the new graphics... and if you want my two cents, Cammy went a little overboard on the eye makeup and Fei Long's noggin is a bit large. Nitpicking aside, I realize "perfection" in a project like this is damn near impossible. For what UDON had to work with, they really came through for the fans. In any case, HD Remix is one of the most impressive remakes of any classic 2D game I've ever played. It's pretty much a must-own for any fighting game fan with a PS3 or 360.  ~TFG Webmaster   Click Here for all concept artwork!              Click Here for all character sprites!