For some, it might be a little hard to think of Street Fighter IV as a totally new game, because if you’ve ever played Street Fighter II (in any of its many variations), things will feel instantly familiar. I played Street Fighter II: Champion Edition for years, and when I took Ryu out against Guile at the airfield, a wave of nostalgia swept over me and I could have sworn I was back in grade school, playing with my friend Alex (on an original Sega Master System, no less). But while in many respects it is the same game that I played over a decade ago, Capcom has put serious effort into making this game the new go-to fighter for the PS3/360 generation.

For those of you who’ve played a Street Fighter game before, let’s start with the familiar. The twelve playable characters from SF II: Champion Edition (Ryu, Ken, Blanka, Dhalsim, Zangief, Chun-Li, E-Honda, Guile, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and Bison) are all back, and each characters’ controls are a faithful recreation of their classic moveset (quarter-circle forward + punch felt so familiar it was scary). Many of the music tracks and stages are re-imaginings of SF II fare, and although the game is rendered in full 3D, the majority of the fighting still happens on a 2D plane. I think it’s silly to nitpick over pixels and polygon counts, but I will say that the art direction is absolutely beautiful - I still have a hard time skipping the opening movie.

In addition to the twelve returning world warriors, Capcom throws four more fighters into the mix: Abel (a Frenchie), Crimson Viper (a fem-dom), Rufus (a classic American fatty), and El Fuerte (a luchador with culinary aspirations). I’m not sure what they were thinking here; in addition to being weak stereotypes, they aren’t very capable fighters, and their presence is largely forgettable once you’ve played them through arcade mode, a necessity for unlocking the game’s hidden characters. Street Fighter vets will recognize more than a few: Akuma, Gouken, Dan, Fei-Long, Sakura, Cammy, Gen, and Rose all appear on the roster. Seth, a blue, Dr. Manhattan-esque figure with a yin-yang battery belly rounds the list out to twenty-five. Overall, the characters are fairly balanced; two evenly matched players will hold a 50/50 win ratio fairly consistently.

Like the character list, the combat system benefits from a decade’s worth of material from which to create something new. Capcom does a great job of innovating without overloading - the EX moves, counters, and super- and ultra-combos all add depth to the gameplay without making the controls feel bloated. I’d point out that some of the combos can be rather difficult to pull off, but I never felt like the game was working against me. For those who would rather not read the instruction book, old fashioned button mashing is still an option, and I’ve lost more than one match to eager novices.

There are four game modes available: arcade (story - more on that later), versus (networked or offline), challenge, and training. It doesn’t seem like an impressive list, but there is definitely enough to stay busy. the network mode menus leave a bit to be desired, but I’ve never run into a problem with the service itself (save for one douchebag who said I was cheap - apparently using two hadoukens in a row counts as cheap these days). As it always has been though, the best way to play is sitting next to a friend on the couch: there’s nothing better than killing off your friend with an ultra combo and timing it so the “K.O.” pops up before the animation is finished.

My one real complaint with the Street Fighter IV experience is the “story” mode. None of the story arcs are very compelling, which is understandable when there’s only a short cutscene between fights whose only discernible purpose is to announce who your next opponent will be. Additionally, the cutscene graphics - although they’re nice enough for an anime - pale in comparison to the actual gameplay. This could have been the game’s shot at marrying three-dimensionality with the graphics engine, but for whatever reason they opted out. Hopefully they’ll correct this oversight in the potential Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition.

As it stands, Street Fighter IV is a nearly perfect blend of new and old. Although a few minor flaws mar an otherwise polished veneer, I’d put a roll of quarters on the fact that, like its spiritual predecessor, this is a game you’ll be playing for years to come.

–This review was written using a PS3 copy of the game and a dualshock 3 controller. Your mileage may vary, but I like the way the d-pad feels - it’s a little old school.

My rating: 5.0 stars