– Written By: Mike Dolo
Street Fighter has been an international phenomenon since Ryu and the team first graced arcades in 1987. Since then Street Fighter has enjoyed the success of being one of the greatest selling video game franchises of all time. But how does this pillar of gaming hold up in 2011 and an even better question, what does the new Arcade Edition bring to the table?
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition can be purchased as a stand-alone title or can be downloaded as a Super Street Fighter IV update. If you already have SSFIV you really won’t be missing much by not downloading it, but if you haven’t gotten yourself a copy of the arcade brawler now is the best time, especially with the recession friendly price of $40.
The Arcade Edition doesn’t offer much to distinguish itself from its predecessor and because of this, they feel the same. Arcade does however fix the balancing amongst the original 35 SSFIV characters, making the playing ground even for all. Arcade also tweaks the online multiplayer option allowing Arcade owners the ability to fight SSFIV players.
The majority of new content is in the form of four new characters, which brings the total roaster to 39 fighters you can throw down with. The Yun and Yang twins (Street Fighter III) make their return. Ryu has finally accepted the ”dark-side” and fans couldn’t be happier. Evil Ryu is a force to be reckon with and is considered one of the most powerful players in the game, but not to be outdone, Oni (evil-”er” Akuma) is a fiercer version of Akuma with enough hadokens to make opposing players break controllers and storm out shouting they “need air”.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition isn’t a stand-alone Street Fighter game but really a deluxe version of Super Street Fighter IV (Think of your favorite DVD…right “GoodFellas” mine too, well this is the BLU-Ray version). However Arcade is the most complete Street Fighter to date and should absolutely not be missed by hardcore fans. For everyone else this would be a great update or even a wonderful entry point into the series. So why are you standing around? “Are you Ready? FIGHT!”
