Yes, I got to put Capcom's long, long, long-awaited franchise update, Street Fighter IV, through its paces -- as did several other bloodthirsty journalists at Capcom's suite demonstration. And yes, we're all legendary now. You may touch us! For we have experienced Street Fighter IV!
Having put in quite a few rounds, I definitely find myself agreeing with those who insist that it's not a game you can judge based on screenshots or online videos -- you have to see it running before your very eyes to really get a sense of the new art style. How you'll react to it? Well, that really depends. Hit the jump for my take.
As I mentioned a moment ago, IV is really nothing you can evaluate properly without seeing it for yourself. Up close, it's a vibrant, colorful, bright game, and one really gets a sense of how Capcom was trying to convey the classic feel of previous titles in the series with this new 3D engine. It has its ups and downs, but we'll get to that in a minute-- for now, the meat of the matter: gameplay.
Nick Chester and I, among several others, knocked eachother around on a pair of arcade machines -- the lowered, bench-sittin' sort that are designed to sit back-to-back. Even after some seven or eight matches, I had trouble putting a finger on what exactly felt so different about this latest incarnation of the classic fighter. All of the classic fighters and moves are intact, and the new Revenge system and ultra combos are, in terms of control, mere extensions of previously existing motions and combos that we're already used to. But what's really curious is the hit detection -- an unfortunate casualty of the jump to 3D.
This isn't to say that hit detection in previous 2D fighters was altogether perfect; it's a refined art, and one that needs to be carefully developed. But through my time with SFIV I wasn't able to get a sense of what constituted a hit -- chalk it up to the game's ongoing development or what have you, but it's something I'd like to see tightened. 3D or not, fighting on a two-dimensional plane requires precise, reliable hit detection.
But changes in the engine notwithstanding, the spirit is there. The gameplay, graciously restrained to two-dimensional fighting, feels similar in speed and style to Street Fighter III -- not too fast, not World Warrior heart-breakingly slow. I'm bollocks with a joystick, but I imagine getting my hands on a proper fighter pad for us console newbs with Street Fighter IV will make me that much more comfortable with the game. Blanka feels like Blanka, Ken feels like Ken -- and loathe though we sprite elitists may be to admit it, the jump to three dimensional graphics doesn't destroy that feeling.
And like I said before the jump, the graphical style will likely rub people in different ways. Purists will likely bemoan the new graphics, but Capcom's attempt to retain the series' visual style is a noble one, if not a little misguided. Some of the characters look a little too... exaggerated versus their two-dimensional counterparts. But if you loosen the grip on your nostalgia just a bit, what you'll find is that the world of Street Fighter IV in motion is a breathtakingly beautiful one -- the backgrounds are vivid and insanely pretty in motion, and the characters are a joy to watch, particularly in the subtleties of their animation.
Oh! And before I forget: newbie Abel is something else -- kind of like the disgusting, half-formed baby of Street Fighter and Tekken. While many of his moves are decidedly familiar to those who know and love the series, many of his most impressive assaults are combos begun by a quarter-circle and a kick, followed by forward-presses with an accompanying punch or kick, allowing players to string together some really cool combos. An interesting addition to the mix, to say the least.
While SNK pulled off the transition to 3D with a little more finesse in terms of fealty to tradition with King of Fighters 2009, Street Fighter IV is hardly the jihad on tradition that many decried when it was originally unveiled, but your milage may vary insofar as initial reactions are concerned. But take my word for it: wait until you see it for yourself, play it for yourself. Underneath the new face is an evolved take on the game we've loved for over a decade.
Neat.
You played Street Fighter 4.
can't wait.
Jealous.
WHAT DID THEY DO TO MY POOR GUILE
WHY PENIS WHY!?
I see you front page!
Guile's Face. I sure hope to not see all those overblown cartoony expression 24/7. They'd be fine on counter hits every now and then but I really will continue to have old school pause moments just to laugh at a face.
this helps me believe there's some fight in this game still. Cause the clunky character models sure don't help.
Nice info. Just wish Ken and Ryu looked like actual martial artists and not UFC fighters.
i'm glad that the SF spirit is still intact, that was my main concern about the "shift" in graphic style. However, the hit collision issues are a bit alarming, but as pointed out, it should (hopefully) be tightened when SFIV is released
BTW Aaron, how did Crimson Viper play (if you got the chance to play her)? I was kinda worried that the new characters would lack the charm and uniqueness of the old SF characters (bar Ryu and Ken, but that doesn't matter). It's comforting to know that Abel is bringing something new to the table, and not just being some bland yawnfest of a fighter (as his appearance would somewhat suggest)
guile's hair is not tall enough. considering how smash does the semi-3D hit detection very well this is a bit saddening.
I figured that it would look better in motion. That's what they've been promising all along, right?
"But through my time with SFIV I wasn't able to get a sense of what constituted a hit..."
This is the one thing I've been worrying about the most and I pray that they perfect it.
Also, I've been wondering how they are handling level corners. Are they defined by invisible walls or actual, rendered walls?
I still hate the way Ken and Ryu look. Every ocharachter looks great, except umm THE 2 MAIN ONES.
It does look alot better in motion like we've seen already, good to know it plays pretty well too, capcom usually listen to requests, hopefully they'll tighten up the hit detection.
Yeah, I had a feeling the hit detection was going to be a problem. Oh well, there is still time...
i'm glad that the SF spirit is still intact and if this was called Street Fighter Spirit I would be loving it.
But it's called Street Fighter 4. And as such I expected something better than Third Strike. What I got is an exagerated Street Fighter Art style..who's the secret character? Viewtiful Joe?? and subpar hit dectection effectively ruining this for the serious Street Fighter player.
Exactly what I thought it would be, garbage. You newbies enjoy the fruity art and lackluster play. I'll stick with the 2-D Third Strike and SSF2 HD coming down the pike.
you dont deserve to play street fighter 4 :(
...it's not a game you can judge based on screenshots or online videos -- you have to see it running before your very eyes to really get a sense of the new art style.
That’s exactly what I figured, Aaron. You can only glean so much from seeing screenshots. I wonder how many months it’ll be before we see a PSN/XBL demo...
ya i fell asleep
street fighter does that.
I'm not much of a street fighter fan, but I really love the old 2D fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom and even Mortal Kombat.
What the hell did Capcom do to these 3D character models? They look so freaking ugly and the facial expressions are so creepy.
Is the super system like 3rd strike? Meaning before the match do u pick what super u want ur character to use. Because that would make this worth buying? If not than idk.
Definitely curious. Haven't much of a fighter fan in recent years but Smash and this have me interested to say the least. I'll definitely need to try this out.
I think the characters are kind of cool. No, they aren't 2d anymore - but I think they are a good representation of the 2d style.
I was always worried about the collision detection. Pixel perfect hit boxes are possible in 2D, but in 3D...not so much. The art style looks pretty gross in screenshots, but as long as it doesn't detract from gameplay in motion, then I'm fine with it. I really want to get my hands on it for myself, but living in Australia, where the only local arcade is home only to DDR and light gun games (not a fighting game, shmup or action game in sight), I doubt I'll be playing it before its released on consoles (and probably months after you guys get it, because this is Australia, and the world hates us).
Damnit.
That's some O-face on Guile.
SONIC BOOM!!
It'll epic win or epic fail.I'm hoping for the prior.
Wait, by King of Fighters 2009, did you mean King of Fighters 2006 (Maximum Impact 2)? Or are you referring to KoF XII?
Sonic Fucking ugly. The more I see of this game, the more upset I get about the fighter genre. If the godfather of fighters has only evolved to just being 3D with a similar system to the good old EX series; and hasn't evolved the look or character presence of past Street Fighters(at least for the better). Then what hope do we have?
In what I've seen of the GameTrailers vids the collision detection was really off...but thats easily fixable within the upcoming months. The biggest noticeable changes were E. Honda's shortened Hundred Hand Slap which could be to make it more powerful and that Abel's flying front kick is very Terry Bogard which doesnt dispel the SNK-ness of the new characters. Also, C. Viper has that Geese Howard like distance attack that doesnt dispel anything.
wished SF would get fatalities ; ;
did yo play any other levels besides the ones we've seem eeimn67g in the screenshots?
I'd love to try this game out. Hit detection is a pretty big deal in fighting games... hopefully that gets tightened up.
Tragic Hero: UFC fighters ARE martial artists.
sheesh.