Review: SUPER Street Fighter IV 3D Edition

Let's take this outside!

I still can't believe I've been able to play all these wonderful games on a new system this soon! Two weeks after I acquired my 3DS with Ridge Racer 3D, my wife got me a copy of Super Street Fighter IV 3D edition! Just like RR, I had been wanting to play this game for a long time, and hadn't got a change until now.

My most recent Street Fighter experience was Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the Dreamcast. I had played SFIII on the arcades once or twice as well as a couple different "Versus" installments. When SFIV came out I was dying to try it, but there was no way I could justify the purchase of a next-gen console, besides, to me it would feel like a waste if I didn't acquire a proper high-definition display for it. Well, I did try SFIV on an iPhone a few weeks before the 3DS came out, but it was a sad experience I'd rather forget.

My first impressions on SSFIV as a sequel to SSFIII (not as a 3DS port) were all favorable. I think it was all very nicely done. The thing that made the biggest difference to me was the quality of the game's localization. All my previous SF experiences involved characters shouting taunts or narrating their own moves in Japanese, with some rather sloppy text dialogues. This time around all characters were voiced in English (with proper accents, even!) and only resort to Japanese when using karate terms or such. Most of the voices are spot-on, few are way off, and some are just OK.

The other thing I noticed is that Dan was not as silly as usual. Yes, I'm a Dan fan. To me he is the greatest character in video game history. I'm a very casual SF player anyway and until recently, I'd only play the AI, so I could afford to play any character I chose. In the age of online multiplayer, Dan has gained a new purpose: If I'm going to lose, I might as well drop a few taunts before I go down. I really wish he had retained some of that awesome voice over-acting from the Alpha series, as well as the infamously annoying rolling taunt, but I'm just happy that he's back.

During online matches I always pick Dan, I presume I'll never get to the higher levels and if the matchmaking works, I should only fight people who are as god with their character of choice as I am with Dan. The only problem is that I encounter many players who are obviously more experienced but seem to have reset their accounts only to torment us newbies.

Now, regarding SSFIV3D as a port (rather than a sequel), I must say I'm very impressed. The only compromise I noticed was that the backgrounds were static, and some of the elements look like cardboard cutouts, especially in Dynamic 3D mode. They might have slightly reduced the polygon count on characters, but you can barely notice it on the smaller screen. None of these changes affect the game play, in fact, the game developers have stated they used the same code for this port, and it definitely feels like so.

There might have been some changes regarding online play options, but what else do you really need besides versus? The game has a decent matchmaking service, and you can also have other players challenge you locally when playing in arcade mode. All other changes from the console versions were necessary because of the change in platform. At least they didn't have to steamroll the game like they had to do for it to fit in an iPhone!

First change was in the control options. Now, before you go on about how the only way to play being an arcade stick: Shut up. The true hardcore honed their skills with a SNES controller when there were only eight characters in the roster. Capcom brought back this classic controller layout (using the shoulder buttons for the high kick/punch input) and aptly named it "Pro" mode. As an alternative, they added "lite" mode, which splits the touchscreen in quadrants, each acting as an extra button (10 buttons, total); by default this uses the same scheme as Pro mode and assigns your character's super combo to top-left, ultra combo to bottom-left, and two special moves to the right panels. You can then go and customize all 10 buttons to your liking, assigning any punch or kick, actual special moves, or even super combos.

The idea behind this was to make it more accessible to players who might not love the 3DS button layout, casual gamers or people new to the series. It might make players too powerful, not because of the ease of use, but because Lite moves are instantaneous; this affects the game's delicate balance.

If I had it my way, I'd have an intermediate control mode, in which the character actually goes through the motions in real-time at the slowest speed at which the move would actually work while you hold down the button. This way you can't have annoying little kids spamming sumo smash all over the place.

Luckily, you can always opt out of "Lite" mode as well as deny requests from challengers using a different control scheme as you. Everybody happy!

They added a rather amusing StreetPass feature and are even sending out periodic announcements via SpotPass. There is an achievement-based medal system and you also unlock different icons for your profile as you progress. Definitely not selling points, but nice to have.

For those wondering how the 3D works, well, it just does. You can play with the traditional camera angle, where the characters and backgrounds look a little nicer thanks to the extra depth, or you can switch to dynamic 3D mode. While using the latter, the camera assumes a third-person perspective from behind your character, but at a certain angle so your character never eclipses your opponent and you can clearly see where your punches and kicks are going. The added depth allows you to accurately measure distances and looks amazing in motion (try doing kikokens using the alternate 1 costume). This is the mode I use the most.

In conclusion, the game is not a handheld port; it's the 3D edition. It adds to the experience even if you've played the console versions to boredom. This title definitely gets the Downcast Seal of Approval.