GOTW 02/03/09 – STREET FIGHTER II TURBO HD REMIX
April 14, 2009
Street Fighter II was one of my first console gaming experiences and I still hold it dear for both personal memories and as a landmark title in the evolution of competative gaming. It’s got a good roster of memorable, if somewhat stereotypical characters but what’s most memorable is the learning curve of exploring, with siblings and friends, all the sneaky exploits; Dhalsim’s long limbs, to Blanka’s electricution, to repeated throws, to low kicks, all in different combinations until you reach the turning point – pulling off Hadukens at will and haphazardly delivering dragon punches and hurricane kicks, occasionally in appropriate circumstances. It’s not a button masher – it’s a rock/paper/scissors consisting of dozens of cheap tricks and it’s brilliant for it. A bit like, pool, it’s arguably more enjoyable played at a lower level of skill. I never really ‘got’ post-Street Fighter II fighting games as I always felt they overcomplicated things – creating extensive move lists that it would take a player more disciplined than me to learn, let alone reliable pull off, let alone pull off at appropriate times. In Street Fighter, characters essentially just have three special moves each so learning them to some degree of proficiency is quite achievable.
‘What’s wrong with more depth if you want it though?’ I hear you cry. What’s wrong with extensive and difficult move lists is that it puts the casual player further and further away from being able to compete, and therefore play, and therefore ever improve at the game if a single person in the room is much more experienced. Fighting game fans may passionately disagree with me and claim that I’m over simplifying. Perhaps I am, on some level, but the above is the reason that the rest of us know that it’s a dead genre!
The above is also the reason that Street Fighter Turbo II HD Remix is the only fighting game that I’m going to want to play and almost certainly the only fighting game that is ever going to earn a ‘Game of the Week’. It’s Street Fighter in High Definition. They’ve redrawn all of the sprites and backgrounds to look shiney new. I much prefer the aesthetic to that of Street Fighter 4. If you’re feeling particularly nostalgic/old skool/cant get over the change to Blanka’s face-shape you can switch the sprites back to original SNES sprites. Unfortunately the backgrounds stay in high def so it looks truly horrendous. Obviously Capcom decided that they’d let you go back to original sprites but only so you could appreciate all their hard work. Appreciated capcom, appreciated.
A few moves are slightly rejigged – only slightly, mind. You can play as any of the characters that appeared in any of the versions of Street Fighter II – and that’s good because I got a chance to check out this Cammy chick (who’s British!) and I like her move set and she has a nice bum.
Oh yeah, and it has online play. Online play is pretty good to pass the controller round – when we were playing it people weren’t so l33t that we NEVER won; just hardly ever. You’re better off sticking to local multiplayer if you have any friends.
I like to think I’m pretty hot with Chun Li and Lee’s character of choice is the undisciplined joker* Ken. I dunno why everyone seems to like Ken over Ryu so much. Lee and I fought until our hands ached, with Jim and Dan spectating for much of it. And that’s it, with Street Fighter looking this good it almost becomes a spectator sport. I’m not going to say it was totally balanced but I had great fun, even watching. I was instantly transported back to my 9 year old self and had to be told to contain myself as I was getting over-excited. Any game that can reduce me to that deserves to be Game of the Week.
*This, I recall from the manuel to my original SNES copy. I’m paraphrasing.
