My Love Letter: Street Fighter 4

It's been almost 12 or so years since the last Street Fighter graced a console system much less an arcade. Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike was thought to revolutionize the genre, adding the controversial parry system (where players would instead press "forward" when being attacked to dodge attacks with no guard stun, setting up for amazing counters and recovery) and many characters that went against the grain of the normal Street Fighter game, mutants and just plain freaks (apparently people enjoy their racial stereotypes more than stretchy monsters). It didn't go over well. At all. By the time the first iteration of SF3 dropped, arcades were slowly dying and gamers were starting to favor 3d games and Mortal Kombat's stylized gameplay. 3rd Strike would find life beyond the arcade on the Dreamcast (which...also died a horrible death in the early 2000's), and in the hearts of the many American and Japanese gamers who still play it at the popular Evolution and Super Battle Opera tournaments.

Since 3rd Strike however, there have been many advancements in the videogame genre much less the fighting game category. Guilty Gear prides itself in having lithe, androgynous dudes taking on transsexuals and guys with bags on their heads, and for being incredibly hard for casual players The King Of Fighters series has further cemented itself behind the mainstream view, parlaying arcade releases in the US altogether and being strong willed in its insistance to stay 2d (though KOFXII looks amazing). Tekken has panda bears fighting kangaroos. Soul Calibur seemingly gets love across the board, though its competitive players constantly find fault with Namco's insistence on adding needless features (SC4 has incredibly tough Just Frames) Virtua Fighter, while ultimately one of the most polished of any fighter, still has yet to find its place; it has little to no story, and it's gameplay is Atlantic Ocean deep..not exactly friendly (see also; Guilty Gear)

So where in this seemingly alternate world where fighting games have become a ever shrinking niche market spearheaded by half-baked games such as Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, is there room for Street Fighter 4?

Street Fighter 4's release in history pretty closely mirrors the original Street Fighter II's release in 1991. The US is wrapped in yet another war, our economy in shambles and people are looking for other activities to take their minds off of the struggle. As a result videogame sales and even movie ticket sales have done increasingly better in light of the recession. So far so good right? Not really.

SF4 Producer Yoshitaka Ono (who was the producer behind the frustratingly disappointing "Capcom Fighting Jam" which critically and sales wise was a bust) has been quoted as saying in many interviews that the road to creating the fourth entry was not only through the sheer popularity of SFII Hyper FIghting on the Xbox 360, but from the fans clamoring for a new entry. However Ono chose not to build upon the ground that 3rd Strike made years ago, but to enhance the most popular Street Fighter.

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo is hands down the most revered Street Fighter game, and is still played to this day (PLEASE peep the remixed version on a 360 or a PS3), and is important to the genesis of Street Fighter 4. It maintained a style of gameplay that casuals and the hardcore could enjoy, hell there are still tricks being taught today about the game.

Street Fighter 4 is in many ways the spiritual sequel to Super Turbo (so much so that it takes place after SFII and before 3), allowing for the characters who werent present in the later games to be fair game here. the 4 Bosses return (Sagat, Balrog/Vega/M.Bison under what ever name you want to call them), along with the original cast in beautiful 3D glory. Instead of sticking with the hybrid gameplay of Street Fighter EX series (which was also 3d on a 2d perspective), Ono and his team created Street Fighter for those people who remember playing it in 1991 and beyond, creating a true love letter to the fans.

4 new characters enter the series, and are in many ways some of the most interesting fighters in a Street Fighter game. Rufus is an overweight fighter whose moves mimick some of Yun's moves from 3rd Strike (lots of 3rd Strike references are found in SF4...hmm...), C.Viper is a SNK-like female character that uses technology to fight (and has a super jump...more 3rd Strike...), Abel uses his strength to throw his oppnents around and has a Fei-Long like rekka attack that can mix up opponents who dont pay attention. The most standout character in the pack is El Fuerte, who moves like a lucha wrestler on crack, and has an incredible dash attack that includes splashes and incredible throws.

The six button gameplay remains, as well as the jet-setting arenas which the characters fight on, only this time rendered in beautiful 3D. The backgrounds pop out at you, as the citizens behind the fight run, jump and cheer on the fights in the foreground. Seeing this in person is an absolute necessity, the game is a marvel both technically and gameplay wise.

Ono does give Street Fighter 4 a distinct personality gameplay wise, adding many systems that are both for casuals and those looking to completely master the game. The super meter has been upgraded to include the ability to use EX attacks, stronger versions of a characters regular attack, which was lifted from 3rd Strike, though letting the super meter build gives you the ability to unleash a Super Combo attack. Street Fighter 4 also adds yet another meter in the "Revenge gauge" which builds as you take damage and will eventually evolve into the ability to do a even more powerful Super attack called an Ultra.

Ultras are sometimes 10 second long attacks that completely destroy the opponent, though the biggest strategy is learning how to implement them. They cant be canceled from Special moves like Supers can, and they take 3 buttons to pull off (Ryu's Ultra is performed with two Quarter Circles and three punch buttons respectively).

The true beast of the game comes in the form of the "Focus Attack" which is one part parry and the other part unblockable (as long as you charge it enough) which is done by pressing the medium punch and kick buttons. It allows you to absorb attacks as if it were a parry (you still take damage however that will slowly refill if you arent attacked while it's healing) yet allows you to still attack or dodge an attack. For example; "Focusing" a Tiger Shot from Sagat gives you two options, a dash backwards, or depending on his range, the actual attack itself. There are also Focus Attack Dash cancels in the like, but that's another article in itself. it's a system that isnt necessary to win, but gives Street Fighter 4 a deeper experience should you choose to.

That's probably my most favorite aspect of SF4. It is the same game that I played back in the early 90's when I thought Bison's slide was cheap. It's speed has changed, but the gameplay hasn't. It has stimulated the minds of those who haven't played the game since SFII (believe it or not, NOT many people have played or even liked 3rd Strike). To put it plainly, Street Fighter 4 has once again revolutionized the genre, and I'm excited to see what's next. It's not realistic to say that the arcades are coming back, but SF4 is the creation of the next generation fighting game, created to establish a feeling within people who are nostalgic for the old, and the uninitiated who have never played a Street Fighter ever before.