Street Fighter IV Hands-On
My affinity for videogames, especially those of the fighting variety, is no secret. I’ve been known to throw down the gauntlet over every iteration of Smash Bros. since it’s inception (with no signs of slowing) and I’m prone to lecture people on the irreconcilable D-pad found on the Xbox 360 controllers, specifically due to it’s fighting game implications (as well as it’s Bionic Commando: Rearmed implications, but that’s another conversation entirely).
It should be no surprise to you then, dear readers, when I say that the moment I found out Street Fighter IV had arrived in Philadelphia, I was making plans for my bee-line towards it. After playing (and thoroughly enjoying) the game at this year’s E3 in LA last month, I set out to discover the differences between the direct-from-Japan Capcom machines playable at E3 and the direct-from-Japan “gray market” systems that are now being played in Philly (and other cities nationwide). University Pinball in West Philly held the answers — hit the bump for all the info.
First and foremost, let me say this: University Pinball does not have hi-def screens. This is a fairly drastic change from the impressive full cabinet setups Capcom was running at E3 (as well as at CAPtivate ‘08, Comic Con, GDC ‘08, etc., seen above). The elegant and polished Japanese systems from those events look like sports cars compared to the hoopdie of a piecemeal system that exists at University Pinball (seen below). But how important does the cabinet appearance weigh in on your enjoyable time with Street Fighter IV? Much like getting shot with a paintball, I was kind of annoyed but it was certainly bearable. Let’s take a look at the setup UP is running:
In addition to the fact that UP has hacked up a Tekken 4 cabinet to play Street Fighter… erm… IV… the arcade stick is a far cry from the precision of Japanese joysticks, none the less new, poppier arcade buttons as opposed to the beaten down buttons of Philadelphia’s arcades. The crowd frequenting UP (read as: hardcore fighting game players) tends to beat up the buttons a bit more than your average Pac-Man afficionado, thusly resulting in less responsive buttons and forced button-mashing.
I “quartered up” three times over the course of an hour, only to be taken down repeatedly by folks who play a hell of a lot more fighting games than myself — a situation to be expected when entering into the world of Street Fighter IV. The learning curve is steep but rewarding, like hundreds of Street Fighter iterations before this one. Though your mind may not be able to grasp the original button combination for a roundhouse kick with Ken/Ryu, your hands will quickly take over as muscle memory guides your actions and you’re 10-years-old once again, furiously quarter-circling and mashing on punch to bust out fireball after fireball.
Those who loved Street Fighter III will be disheartened to find out the much loved parry system found in that game has been removed as to simplify battles. The super bar remains in place, with the addition of an “ultra” that forces you to pull off your super combo twice in a row, thus activating a devastating move. Overall though, the biggest change from previous Street Fighter games comes in the form of your charge attack. Pressing (and holding) both medium punch and kick simultaneously will allow you to not only take one hit but counter that hit and change the course of the fight. When implemented in the middle of battle, this new component can drastically affect the way people play their favorite characters.
With no plans yet for a full American release (any official one at least) from Capcom, we’ll certainly take what we can get. Street Fighter IV is a hell of a game and a ton of fun to play in the arcade… though we can’t help but be frustrated by the difference compared to what Japanese gamers are playing right now — crisp HD fighting paired with precise joysticks, a hard combination to defeat. Get yourself over to University Pinball and drop a few bucks on one of the best fighting experiences you can have in an arcade. At very least, you’ll be thoroughly excited for when we see an “official release” of Street Fighter IV stateside. And, maybe more importantly, you’ll be prepared.