Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Review

Here we are with another update to Street Fighter IV, now I'm a bit of a fan of the series which has spanned over 25 years and will happily play the game until the cows come home, however I have a slight gripe with this latest iteration.

Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is available as either a 1200 Microsoft Point/$14.99 dlc purchase or as a stand alone purchase if you are new to the series for around $40. This is one of my gripes with AE, firstly we were told by the games producer Yoshinori Ono that we would not see AE for home consoles after they released the version into the arcade dens of Japan, yet here we are with the game in our hands. Secondly it feels like a kick in the teeth for adopters of Super Street Fighter IV as now we have another version of what is essentially the same game on retail shelves for around the same price we paid for SSFIV, albeit with four extra characters. Thankfully for PC users, this is the first time Super Street Fighter IV has appeared on the system so it's not so bad for them.

That being said, taking the view of this being a $15 update to your current console copy of Street Fighter, things seem a little rosier. To begin with we get the infamous twins Yun and Yang from Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, also arguably two of the strongest characters to be introduced into SSFIV, Evil Ryu makes an appearance after so many fans requested the character. Evil Ryu plays like a cross between normal Ryu and Akuma, yet brings his own uniqueness and aggression due to the Satsui-no-hadou (The evil power that consumed Akuma, making him lose his humanity and gain a thirst for destruction) overwhelming Ryu.

Finally we have the debut of Oni, another Shoto style character (Shoto meaning the style of play the character adopts, mainly using 'quarter-circle' and 'dragon-punch' controller inputs), and brings into play a unique method of altering his jump arc via the use of three air dashes. The strength of punch used for this air dash move will determine which direction he moves; toward the opponent, an extra burst of vertical movement or away from the opponent. This can lead to some clever baiting techniques which can be potentially lethal if Oni has full super meter due to the super having the ability to be used in mid air. Oh, not to mention that one of Oni's normals can punch fireballs out of the air, he's that badass.

Along with the four characters, we also get a plethora of additional content in an attempt to justify the purchase price. First and I believe most importantly, this update will not force people into purchasing the Arcade Edition, there is a feature that will allow multiplayer fights between users of SSFIV and SSFIVAE, so if you do not want to upgrade your copy then you will not be left out or abandoned by those who do purchase the DLC/retail copy.

This move is a clever one by Capcom, at the very least it will make the users feel that they're not obliged to shell out for a new game to carry on playing with their friends. However there is a catch with this idea, say you upgraded to AE while your friend remained on SSFIV, you cannot use Yun, Yang, Evil Ryu or Oni against your friend as your copy defaults back to SSFIV to play with him. Additionally, all the character tweaks seen in AE will not be present if you play against someone on standard edition.

The replay modes have had some tasty enhancements too, now you may follow up-to 5 of your favourite fighters by their gamer tag/psn name/steam name, along with brand new replay channels including the elite channel. The elite channel will showcase the best of the best, only those above a battle point limit will be shown in this channel and my god there are some seriously skilled players, just look for Poongko using Seth and grab the popcorn as he'll always put on a show.

Other than above, there isn't alot more to say about Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, a no obligation $15 update which won't impact your online gaming of SSFIV at all due to the compatibility between the two or a $40 stand alone purchase which is hard to justify unless it's your first jump into the waters of Street Fighter. While I've definitely enjoyed all the new content I can't help but feel a let down by it all which brings me back to my gripe with this update, the disappointment of having Capcom do a 180 and release something that was once said to never see the light of day on consoles. Yes it makes business sense as it's more funds for the coffers but can we trust any word that comes from the doors of this studio again?