E3 2008: Street Fighter IV

E3 Disclaimer: Kombo’s E3 previews are designed to inform you of what each game at E3 plays like, and what we think of what’s shown. These previews are not reviews, and we reserve final judgment of each game until it is finished and released. These previews offer an honest opinion of what a publisher chose to demo at E3. So, without further ado, read on.


What the Game’s About
In the year 1999 we saw the last numerical Street Fighter title hit arcades, followed closely by it’s two revisions, the second of which is known as one of the greatest fighters ever made. After that, arcades died, fighting game popularity faded, and Street Fighter fell into legend. Now, almost a decade later Capcom is bringing 2D fighters back in a big way and none is more highly anticipated than Street Fighter IV. Capcom had six full scale Japanese style arcade cabinets on demo at their booth this week and I got a chance to sit down and kick some ass old school style with veterans Chun Li, Ryu, E. Honda, Guile and newcomers Crimson Viper, El Fuerte, Rufus, and Abel.

What’s Hot
The developers on hand made clear that IV was meant to be 2D from the beginning because “there are certain core fundamental elements in the Street Fighter formula that function better in 2D than 3D.” The moment you hit the joystick you will be right at home. Yes, everything is all new: new engine, new visual style, new characters, but the moment the announcer yells “FIGHT!” you’ll know what to do (forward roll + punch = hadoken. Back two seconds; forward + punch = flying sumo head-butt). Nothing has changed mechanically. I sat down having never played the game before and took down Stuttering Craig from ScrewAttack 2-1 (yet then got trashed for every successive round). The entire Street Fighter II Turbo cast will be reunited (the producer said Cammy, T. Hawk, Fei Long, and DeeJay are still in consideration based on fan demand), and the new characters are phenomenally fun to wield and feel nothing like their classic counterparts.

Even though the game uses 3D visuals, the engine uses the traditional “invisible box” hit detection system of the classic sprite driven titles. Capcom went back to this system due to popular demand among fans and testers and it paid off. The art style has finally matured. The early version of the game left me wondering if the warm afterglow and paint streaks were a good move. When you see it in motion firsthand, you understand why Capcom went this direction. It’s pure Street Fighter. More important than the graphics, the animations (especially the facial fare) are the most expressionistic of any fighting game at E3. Period. Every match starts with (skippable) dialogue between the fighters to add personality and the flashy special move sequences have thankfully been scaled back to prevent disrupting the flow of gameplay.


The art style has truly matured in the time since we were first introduced to Street Fighter IV

What’s Not
The inclusion of an entire game’s worth of classic characters leaves one to wonder if Capcom can muster up an equal amount of new fighters to accompany them. Better yet, can such a massive roaster be properly balanced? What was available played flawlessly, but there were only twelve fighters in the demo. The final version is said to include anime cut-scenes, but the more muted anime art style totally conflicts with the bright and colorful in-game style.

Another problem is that the final arcade version (which we’ll probably never, see get a wide release in the US) is rumored to feature only a (intentionally) limited selection of characters and stages. Do I smell the scent of Street Fighter IV Turbo in the air? Here we go again.

Outlook
Street Fighter IV took some time to get there, but at this point it’s safe to say that this is the most bold, beautiful, and complete 2D fighter in forever. Even with the limited selection of characters on the show floor, it’s plenty deep enough to satisfy the hardcore tourney player (the new Focus fighting system), but welcoming enough to bring back that old school 35 years old Bison player who only remembers how to Psycho Driver back and forth the whole match thanks to familiar controls. It’s probably the first fighting game since the golden age that has the ability to cater to both audiences.