As the newest Street Fighter game, Super Street Fighter 4 is a great improvement to the original Street Fighter 4. 10 new characters, in a mixture of brand new characters and returning fighters from previous series, have joined the roster in the new game. All of the characters are rebalanced, and now the game’s flow is a lot better then the original Street Fighter 4.

The game is very streamlined. The new characters feels well balanced and the returning fighters have all been rebalanced from responses of the last game. The single player is quite traditional, with new shuffling of the rival match for each character. The most improved aspect of the game is definitely the multiplayer. Reworked from the ground up, Capcom has created a much more robust online matchmaking system with more features. The connection of the game has been greatly improved, thus matches no longer have the annoying lag they once did in the previous title. Quick match in ranked matches will disconnect often when it is trying to connect to a room, which becomes very frustrating after a little while. The only reliable way to play ranked match is to use custom match, or create a room and hope the quick match is nicer to others. The new Team Battle sets the player up in a match with up to 4 people on one team. This game mode lets the player team up with their buddies or even complete strangers, and strategize on who will be the best counter for your opponents. The new Endless Battle, an “arcade-style” mode, pits the player against 7 rotating opponents until the player loses, at which the new winner must defend their spot. Endless battle brings back the nostalgia of the arcade traditional of rows of tokens in a line. The game is so well put together, and is really enjoyable. With the much improved matchmaking, well balanced character roster, this is one of the best fighting game of the year.

The new character are a mix from previous Street Fighter series including T. Hawk, Dee Jay from Super Street Fighter II series, Cody, Guy and Adon join from the Alpha series and Makoto, Ibuki and Dudley join from the Street Fighter 3 series. All 8 fighters are similar to their original counter parts in their corresponding game mixing in nicely with the Street Fighter IV cast, Dudley and Ibuki come equipped with multiple target combos making them ferocious opponents, while Makoto and T.Hawk are power house fighters. As if that wasn’t enough Super Street Fighter IV adds 2 brand new characters enter the ring by the names of Juri; an evil Taekwondo user with a modified eye who just loves to take on strong opponents and trample over them, and Hakan a Turkish wrestler who covers himself in oil to prove his grappling style is the best there is.

The only true downside to this game is the fact that even though the game’s flow has been drastically improved, it still feels somewhat sluggish compare to Street Fighter 3rd strike. Maybe it is because of the technology, maybe it’s because of the engine driving the game, but sometimes I really wish Capcom can make the game be as fast pace as Street Fighter III. However, there is one tiny problem with this game that could have probably been fixed. The load time on the game is a bit longer then usual. Although it is easily dismissible and only happens a few times, but sometimes the game is just too good to have to wait that few extra seconds for.

Overall, this is a much better game compared to Street Fighter 4, but it is not some very drastic improvement over game play, so if you are not a fan of the original Street Fighter 4, it is likely that you wouldn’t enjoy this either. Otherwise, this is definitely a game worth playing for all fans of the fighting game of the year.

A+

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