It’s been nothing short of astonishing to watch Street Fighter 4 revitalize the fighting game community over the past twelve months. We all knew it was going to have an impact, but i don’t think any of us expected this.

Professional-quality tournament streams on a weekly basis? Five thousand people browsing SRK on any given evening? Evo turnout practically doubling over one year? Literally dozens of brand new websites popping up overnight? Seven hundred and fifty thousand views for a Guile combo video?

Most of you probably won’t remember this, but i was one of the founders of a now-defunct website called Video Opera, where we hosted three combo contests for three different games: CvS2, MvC2, and SFA3. Can you guess how many people submitted solutions? Six for CvS2, three of whom were staff members on the website. One for SFA3, by a personal friend of the challenge host. And zero for MvC2! That was not a fun time.

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I’ve never been a believer in the legitimacy of launch week video game reviews, but i think it’s fair to take a critical look at SF4 now that we’ve all played it for a year. There’s no question about it, SF4 is a great game. That said, there are a few minor areas that i’d try to improve if given the chance.

    Ultras Take Too Long
Don’t get me wrong, they look absolutely awesome. If i had to pick my five favorite attacks in Street Fighter history as of right now, at least three of them would be SF4 ultra moves. However, there’s nothing worse than getting hit by an ultra when you’ve only got 5% life remaining and still having to sit through the entire animation. It would be nice if the game could calculate that the ultra was going to kill me and give me the option to skip to the next round. The KO screen needs to go away faster too.

    Challenge Trials Don’t Teach Strategy
I’m all for anything that helps new players appreciate the finer points of the Street Fighter combo system. Yet it is somewhat of a waste building such an amazing learning tool, then missing the opportunity to teach practical tactics. Why isn’t there a “DP through five fireballs” trial, or a “Find three moves that beat Blanka’s Electricity” trial, or a “Sweep Sagat four times without getting hit” trial?

    The Combo Counter Stays Hidden until the End
Obviously Capcom decided to revert the combo counter to SSF2 style for aesthetic purposes, because they didn’t want numbers and words obstructing their cinematic ultras. However, providing a running total would’ve been far more helpful and convenient for players. Many supers and ultras hit multiple times in quick succession, making it quite difficult to figure out what went wrong when the counter finally appears displaying one less hit than expected. Seeing the numbers increment in real time makes it much easier to pinpoint exactly where something failed to connect.

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With SSF4 on the horizon, now’s a good opportunity to reflect on SF4 in appreciation of all the ways Capcom went that extra mile to make us happy.

    Classic Characters, Oldschool Gameplay
It may be missing all the delicate bells and whistles of Capcom’s recent titles such as CvS2 and MvC2, but Street Fighter 4 brings back the focus on solid fundamentals which made SF2 so popular. In true Street Fighter fashion, victory is all about having a solid ground game, keeping your cool, measuring up your opponent, and adapting your gameplan.

    State of the Art 3D Animation
When SF4 was announced, most die-hard Street Fighter fans would’ve told you they wanted 2D sprite animation from Capcom. That’s because Capcom’s previous ventures into creating 3D SF games were less than aesthetically pleasing. However, SF4’s art direction and attention to detail are nothing short of breathtaking. Every trace of motion is so fluidly animated that superfreeze unlocks a hidden wealth of never before seen frames!

    Character Style and Balance
One of the most amazing things about SF4 is how completely familiar every returning character feels. Balrog has never been in a 3D Street Fighter game before, yet he actually plays exactly like you would expect Balrog to play in a 2D Street Fighter game. Even the new characters, who seem wacky and outlandish at first, feel like real Street Fighter characters. This was no accident. The dedication of all the excellent designers, programmers, and artists involved with the game’s development shines through.

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