Interestingly enough, I dumped some cash into points the past weekend to purchase Street Fighter II: HD Remix at the recommendation of three different friends who wanted to pwn me old-school. So, being an avid SF:II player back in the day I acquiesced. Ten minutes later I was jumping in to something that made me question my experience from over ten years ago.
Relive it with me after the jump….
Lets start off with the look – the updated artwork is beautiful. They pulled directly from the Street Fighter anime series, which was very well drawn. The looks and colors are, simply stated, amazingly crisp. The animations flow smoothly from one move to the next, almost better than I remember. What I thought would be just a precursor to SF:IV was actually give a very meticulous overhaul graphically.
Next is the sound – that was what actually brought back the most memories. I actually sat and listened to the remixed guitar riff and thought of the sweet, sweet midi sound that I heard in my youth. The music, professionally remixed was exceptional and I recommend some first run games (not naming names…) get the same treatment. A nice touch was leaving a couple of the old “is the supposed to happen?” moment from the arcade and SNES version, such as the absence of music that kept us wondering if it was a glitch or not. I chuckled the first time I heard that again.
The control, now. Alright, I have to admit that this game was not meant to be played with an analog control stick. Its clumsy and pretty much guarantees a frustrating time. Doing something as simple as Ryu or Ken’s Hado-ken move becomes an exercise in precision analog movement. I am not a fan of inconsisent moves as I used to be very comfortable with Ken and I felt almost like a new player. Some sort of compensation should have been built in to use some sort of AI to allow for analog players’s inevitable poor sticking ability. If you really want to be competitive, get a joystick. The Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV FightStick
Gameplay – The game is good. It will kick your ass on the hardest settings yet provide steady fun on easy or medium. Online play was virtually lag-free. The smack talk I got on XBL was more heated than in other games. I actually filed my first report on a player for really nasty messages he sent me after I delivered an unexpected whooping on his ass. So, be prepared to mute or ignore people because these games bring out the worst in people in some cases.
Overall – The game met a periodic need for me. I really wanted a good fighter and just couldn’t justify $70 for SF:IV at release. Its in my Gamefly Queue so I’ll have it shortly and you’ll all get to hear what I think. If its at least as good as HDRemix, I’m in for a treat.
Overall Score: A-
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