Nostalgic and full of memories of my childhood, the excitement in my apartment was at an all-time high as I downloaded Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on the Xbox Live Arcade. Fond thoughts of how the fighting genre was the king of multiplayer games back in the early ‘90’s seeped into my head as the game loaded. Then, before ever jumping into a match, I remembered how the previous Street Fighter on the XBLA turned out. The ultimate downfall of the release was the lack of a proper D-pad and the limited amount of arcade sticks available to the console. So it was with little expectation that these issues were resolved with the release Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix since they concern Microsoft’s efforts to improve the arcade experience rather than Capcom’s.
But alas, even with these shortcomings still lingering, gamers will be able to experience one of the best online multiplayer titles on the Xbox Live Arcade. While the previous Street Fighter game on the XBLA was a straight port with an added online component, SSFII Turbo HD Remix features a remake of the original that includes high-definition redrawn graphics along with the original thrown into the package.
The gameplay hasn’t changed beyond the modifications to a few maneuvers in the remix mode that attempts to balance out characters of the title. If you don’t like the changes, gamers can opt to play the classic mode offline and online. The basics are still in tact; the keys to playing SFII are blocking, countering, and throwing with inclusion of factoring in special moves to keep your opponent from guessing of your next attack. The best advice is perfect the art of counter-attacking as you’ll meet many opponents online setting up fireball traps followed up with uppercuts with Ryu and Ken.
As mentioned earlier, the controls on the Xbox 360 controller aren’t the best but you’ll learn to live with its shortcomings due to how addictive the online play is. You’ll have the ability to play in both ranked and unranked matches in either the classic or remixed modes. If those don’t interest you, then the tournament mode should be a huge attraction. It features the ability for eight players to enter into a bracket and duke it out to call themselves champion. The tournament mode is where the game becomes mind-altering addicting for SSFII Turbo HD Remix since it provides updated results of the other matches as they occur with showing the hit bars and how your opponents are faring against each other. Also included in the online package are leaderboards so players now have the chance to determine who is number one in the world at Street Fighter II, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
The only downside – and it’s a small one – is that the online play doesn’t feature online skill-matching. Thus, you should be prepared to have your tail kicked several times over by players who have put more time into the game than you. If you overlook this small hiccup, then you’ll no doubt be able to fall in love with the Street Fighter franchise all over again as the online is smooth as a baby’s butt. No lag, no lag, just pure unadulterated fun.
Excellently implementing the new art and music, SSFII Turbo HD Remix is a superb fighter that will satisfy gamers until they get their hands on Street Fighter IV when it releases in 2009. The single-player is incredibly challenging as is the online multiplayer, so Capcom has given you the chance to reminisce with the beloved series once again and use any one of your favorite 17 characters from the roster. If you’ve never played the title in the past decade, the training mode will help you become familiar with the controls. With that said, you should not skip out on the best fighter of 2008 in the form of Super Street Fighter II HD Remix on the Xbox Live Arcade.
