GDC 10: Street Fighter iPhone IV quick preview

I know you can buy the game for yourself and play it to make your own purchase decision. We were planning on running a hands-on preview of Street Fighter IV iPhone, but Capcom went and released it before we could finish at a party we were attending last night. I also know that some are waiting for a review. The thing is that GDC 2010 is crazy already, and it really hasn’t even truly kicked off yet. Because of that, I thought I’d give you a quick rundown and overview of Capcom’s iPhone fighting debut, and work on a full review to come later this month.

First off: I beat Brad Nicholson at Street Fighter IV. Those that have played me in any version of Street Fighter knows that I suck, but I beat Brad without breaking a sweat. Capcom even presented me with a $10 iTunes gift card for my win. I rubbed it in his face. We’re talking 10 second rounds here. The spotlights focused on me. The crowd roared.

Full disclosure: I read the directions and learned the move chart. While everyone else was at the bar getting drinks, I learned how to win quickly. Part of it has to do with an assist mode that lets you bypass most of your joystick swipes, with moves like fighting staple quarter-circle forward. Instead of scooping, you’ll simply hold the joystick in one direction and press the SP button to perform that move. For example, Ken does his hurricane kick with the simple motion of pulling back on the stick and hitting SP. I pulled off a beautiful chain combo with very little joystick work, taking most of Brad’s first health bar in seconds. And it gets even easier: once you’re charged up, simply tap the bar to execute your super.

To be fair, Brad learned how to control it in our rematch. He demolished me.

The other notable thing is how great the title looks on the iPhone. The animations are very respectable and the graphics are super detailed and crisp. Even supers have their “close-ups,” just like in the full console version. Everyone at the iPhone kiosks were chatting about how nice it looked, so much so that the control changes actually took a back seat to the visuals in conversation. 

But what are you really getting here? You’re not getting a full-fledged fighter as much as you are a pretty cool portable experience. The pairing is fast and easy, and you know everyone is going to have this App, so I can see flipping out phones for a casual match becoming a regular thing with our editorial team. The full-on virtual joystik control outside the easy mode doesn’t seem to be reliable enough to consistently pull off moves. Perhaps I need a bit more practice. I will say that the game is very fast and responsive, and the virtual buttons are fast enough to support chaining.

Is it worth $10. I think so. Put it in your App roll for when you have some downtime. It won’t fill the void if you’re looking for some serious action, but it’s definitely fun, and there’s nothing else quite as polished and accessible on the iPhone.