Capcom's flagship fighting series is no stranger to the portable arena, and even less so to Nintendo's consoles.
Beyond its sensational home console debut on the Super Nintendo, numerous instalments including Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Street Fighter Alpha 3 have appeared on Nintendo's portable offerings. The problem is, none of them have been particularly good.
While these have been serviceable translations of their console counterparts, for the majority they're almost always a novelty created for fans looking to go on a bit of a nostalgia trip or grab the occasional quick fix.
For the most part technical or hardware issues have always stripped the portable entries of the necessary elements to allow these to flourish... until now, that is.
3-DOKEN
Other than a few optional visual and control enhancements Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition is almost exactly like its home console counter-part - and that's a very, very good thing.
If you've ever had even a passing interest in Street Fighter you'll know exactly what the 3DS version has in store. Little has changed over the years, so whether your fighting spirit fizzled out with the arcade/SNES release of Street Fighter II or has burned bright to Street Fighter IV and beyond, the basic setup and gameplay mechanics will be immediately familiar, balanced and brilliant.
The 3D Edition of SSIV introduces two gameplay changes to the tried-and-true formula, both of which are tailored for its platform; the first is a new view which shifts the camera from the traditional side-on perspective and suspends it behind the shoulder of the character. This is where the system's 3D capability earns its keep.
Street Fighter IV breathed new life into the stalwart cast of world warriors by swapping archaic sprites for intricately detailed 3D models, creating hundreds of unique character-specific animations and giving characters expressive faces that reacted to every punch, kick and fireball thrown.
In the traditional viewpoint the 3D capabilities of Nintendo's handheld compliment Street Fighter IV's already colourful art direction and exaggerated animations by introducing visual depth.
It looks fantastic; flicking the 3D slider up while in the traditional side-on view pushes the back wall of the arena further away, creating a noticeable distinction between the environment, the fighters and the stage props. It's an undeniably cool visual trick, even if it is likely to lose its novelty after a few matches.
Backgrounds also benefit from the 3D visuals with furnishings such as barrels, tables and curious animals popping of the screen.
However, the 3D visuals do come at a price; the loss of animated backgrounds. For the most part this isn't really a big deal but for stages such as Africa, where the invasive safari animals are a prominent feature, it can be distracting to see a hippo with his mouth open frozen in place for two 99 second rounds.
Comments
13 comments so far...
razors edge on 1 Mar '11 said:
Lovely, something to look forward to.
hammster on 1 Mar '11 said:
This is the game I preordered with mine. Very excited now.
kimoak on 1 Mar '11 said:
If you told me I would be playing a handheld Street Fighter far superior to the arcade Streetfighter 2 when I was playing that in it's heyday I would not tell you to do one... I would probably have a personal crisis in my pants!
x68 on 2 Mar '11 said:
Street Fighter 2 on the Super Famicom (SNES) was the 2nd, not the first home console SF game.
Fighting Street (Street Fighter 1) was released on PC Engine CD-Rom (Turbografx-16 CD) in 1988.
dm_1782 on 2 Mar '11 said:
I dont see why the shoulder cam mode is a downside to the game, if you dont like it dont use it. Simples.
Paradaz - UK on 4 Mar '11 said:
Unfortunately, although the game scores quite highly it also brings up numerous issues with the controls and distance judging in the new view-mode......as a 'lite' version of SF2 I struggle to see how this could ever be superior to the arcade version we all know and love.
Well, doesn't not using the new cam mode make the whole game pretty much pointless.....unless there are people who have never played the game and absolutely need a mobile version?
boskersrevenge on 4 Mar '11 said:
I was very impressed with it. So close to the version I have on the 360 it was a bit boggling. The shoulder view is good to look at but I'll bet most people will play it side on.
3D, while not necessary worked well.
Still not buying it though. I have it on the 360 so don't see the point.
Paradaz - UK on 4 Mar '11 said:
Exactly my point....and a lot of people will probably have the same point of view.
Whilst this review is ultimately one reviewer's opinion, based solely on the amount of criticism and bad points in there the score seems quite high....leading me to believe it's getting a few additional points based on a new and 'exciting' product with a bit of a gimmick attached.
I'm not into slagging review scores off because it's just an opinion at the end of the day but this just seems top heavy after reading the article and summary through.
boskersrevenge on 4 Mar '11 said:
Well, gimmicks can be very powerful on first sight.
Red Steel didn't get a 91% in ONM by itself
Paradaz - UK on 4 Mar '11 said:
You had a point until the bit where you put the initial 'O' meaning Official. Doesn't everyone know that 'Official' actually means 'ignore' with regards to games/reviews/scores and comments irrespective of which journalist pens it.
jacksaddiction on 24 Mar '11 said:
Does anybody else who has managed to play it, find the static backgrounds kinda.......creepy ?
You feel like you are fighting in an area frozen in time O_o
Balladeer on 24 Mar '11 said:
NGamer gave it 90%. They regretted it hugely, but as Bosker says: on first sight.
Although you are correct otherwise.
Nitramuse on 25 Mar '11 said:
I like the game, but it's nothing new...I grew up with SF so yeah, what's not to like...