Let’s cut straight to the chase and avoid the buildup; Street Fighter is back and in tiptop shape. Whether it’s the original Street Fighter or any title in the Street Fighter Alpha series, it doesn’t matter if you’ve played the any previous iterations of Street Fighter because Street Fighter IV is a great starting point for any newcomers. It’s even a sight for sore eyes since longtime fans have been dying to play a new title in the franchise for the past several years. The original cast returns, the signature moves return, and the same good old-fashioned one versus one combat is ready to sweep gamers off their feet once again. Sticking to a 2D plane, Street Fighter IV isn’t too far removed from where it began its legendary ascension to the top of the genre back in 1995 with Street Fighter II. The biggest change that’s noticeable by the common eye is the visual upgrade to hulking 3D character models. Yes, the characters take up much more of the screen battling against each other, but it’s oh so sweet when the fights go down. The animations are as fluid as water flowing over the Niagara Falls, so it’s best to be prepared for one of the smoothest rides on the Xbox 360.
When the Ultra Combos and Super Moves are executed the screen is full of brilliant action. It’ll wow you, it’ll take away your breath at times, and it’s all with the classic 2D approach with 3D visuals. One of the best attributes of Street Fighter IV is that it’s friendly to players that have never played a fighting game in their past. While it isn’t exactly a button-smasher, not every player needs to know how to dash, cancel, or their Ultra Combos to be successful against their opposition. The mechanics are similar to what they were in Street Fighter II with intricate additions that lie in the background to make things a virtual chess match for the hardcore fanatics of the series. There’s no need to re-master Ryu or Ken all over again to have fun as they are parallel to their Street Fighter II counterparts.
The Focus system lies at the heart of the new systems added into make the fighting more complex. Pressing the both Medium Attacks together adds a new layer to the combat that wasn’t there prior with an extra ability to absorb an oncoming strike without interrupting your own. You’ll eventually heal from the damage so it’s a supplementary tactic to throw into your library of attacks and strategies, whether you’re on the offensive or defensive against your opponents. But as mentioned earlier, it’s not necessary to use it in every match to guarantee victories; especially against the computer A.I.
When you are fighting, there are two meters you’ll need to keep watch of – the Super Meter and the Revenge Gauge. The Super Meter is essential to pull off Super Combos, which are intricate attacks that are chained together to unleash a moderate amount of damage. Even stronger than the Super Combos are the Ultra Combos that are much more cinematic and destructive against your opposition in battle. The Ultra Combos are executed when your Revenge Gauge is full after taking and inflicting damage. After every round the Revenge Gauge will deplete while the Super Meter carries over into the next round of the match. If you’d rather not use all of your Super Meter on a Super Combo, you can carry out Ex maneuvers of your Super Moves. The moves are generally done in different manners that can confuse your opponents who are trying to determine what your next move is.
The complexities of the fighting systems are incredible to take in. Hardcore Street Fighter fans will have a field day with developing strategies and putting them into effect. It’s deep enough to satisfy tournament loving players who’d rather win by skill, but it’ll also win over the praise of casual players who love to dabble with fighting games when they have a friend to play against and button-smash without worrying about Ultra Combos and Ex moves.
