Plot: What’s it about?
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is available as both a retail disc and as downloadable content. This review covers the retail disc, which is a stand alone release. This update provides some tweaks to the original Super Street Fighter IV warriors, as well as four new playable characters. New to this version are Evil Ryu, Oni, Yun, and Yang. The latter two should be familiar, since we saw them in Street Fighter III, but they’re retooled here, of course. If you love to push the action and play an aggressive style, the twins will be great choices. Both are able to get in close and ratchet up the pressure, so for those who aren’t used to constant aggression, the twins are tough to contend with. Even if you don’t desire to play as Yun or Yang, you should get some practice against them, as they’re popular with on-line competitors. Evil Ryu and Oni are both powerful hybrids, with immense damage and some downright wicked projectiles. They’re a little easier to pick up and do well with, but you’ll want to log some time with them in order to get the subtle touches fine tuned.
The original 35 fighters haven’t just been ported over intact either, as various tweaks have been put into place. While some of the alterations are sure to upset dedicated fans of certain characters, I doubt casual players will notice much. So some will be pleased and others pissed, but such is the nature of balance. If you decide to take your skills on-line, you can choose to battle other Arcade Edition players or those with the standard Super Street Fighter IV. The good news is that if you really dislike the changes made to your regular fighters, playing against those without the Arcade Version allows you to avoid the new balance tweaks. That is a nice option and regardless of how you feel about the tweaks, a larger player pool is always welcome. So if you already own Super Street Fighter IV, should you upgrade? If you play on-line even at a casual level, you will want to pick this up and if you are serious about it, then this Arcade Edition is a must own. The new characters, the balance adjustments, and options in regard to on-line play are well worthwhile. So if you’re even a slight fan of the Street Fighter IV series, then Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition is highly recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The visuals remain consistent with the other Street Fighter IV titles, which means the game looks terrific. Colorful, bright, and stylish animation that really dazzles the eyes is here in spades. The watercolor approach really shines and adds so much visual depth to the experience. This might be more of the same, but in this case that is excellent news.
Audio: How does it sound?
The same holds true for the soundtrack, which falls right into place in the series. If you’ve played other Street Fighter IV games, then you know what to expect. That’s fine again however, as the music is cool, the sound effects pack a nice punch, and no problems creep in to spoil the fun. A well crafted, effective audio presentation.
Supplements: What are the extras?
N/A
