It’s been a while, but they’re back. Actually, it’s been more than a while: it’s been a good 17 years since Street Fighter II, and nine years since Street Fighter III. In that time the 2D fighter has been somewhat marginalised, and players’ expectations have changed. In this context it’s a minor miracle that Yoshinori Ono and his team have not only stuck to a clear vision of how to take the series forward in 2D, but that Capcom has been able to excite people about it to such a degree.

Does it deliver? Does it ever. Visually, Street Fighter IV is the pinnacle of videogame reimaginings. Every original combatant is instantly recognisable, but the new level of detail has been used to characterise both appearance and fighting technique in exceptional style. Chun-Li is the embodiment of beauty and grace; her hands constantly move, and each change of stance brings a wholly different posture, while her moveset is composed of tight flourishes and flowing agility. She’s instantly recognisable as an update, yes, but after a few minutes it’s clear that this is without a shred of doubt the definitive version of the character. The game runs at a flawless 60fps and the animation and facial expressions are peerless: fighters follow each other’s movements, change stance as they move, and when a super attack is unleashed a temporary 3D camera change shows the (literally) eye-popping fear of your opponent in a welcome comic touch.



It’s when you get your hands on the joystick, however, that it becomes clear just how special SFIV is. The new angle it has brought to the series is simple, but very surprising, making the depths of the fighting game accessible to almost all players. Everyone can admire the videos of SFIII that show 15 parries in a row, or unbroken Yun combos that decimate opponents’ health bars, or counter-counter supers. Very few can replicate them. SFIII, and to a lesser extent SFII, are ultimately the preserve of a tiny proportion of their total players – the frame-manipulating and combination-memorising junkies. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that – it is, after all, why these games are still played competitively and analysed in such detail – but there is something wrong with the fact that the vast majority of players’ tactics outside of this circle consist of little more than jumping kick then sweep.

SFIV addresses this in three ways. First, the frame windows for combination attacks have been greatly increased, making it much easier to pull off short two- and three-hit attacks. Street Fighter Alpha tried something similar, of course, and was slightly too generous with its allowances for chain combinations – here, it’s balanced perfectly, to the point that a string of specific moves will work where simple button-mashing won’t. It’s in combination with the second major change that this comes to the fore, however: special moves are now much easier to pull off. The inputs are the same as ever, but SFIV is generous in its interpretation of your intentions, and much less fiddly.



It’s impossible to overstate what a change this is for the series, and the fighting game in general. Street Fighter is now more about planning your attacks and responding to your opponent rather than worrying about whether you can physically accomplish what you want to. Never been able to pull off an EX spinning piledriver? You will now. Allied to the increased ease of combination attacks, it puts seriously damaging strings of moves within the reach of the average player and places the tactical depth that is the real genius of the series firmly within reach of all, rather than just the elite.