Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	8
Sound:	7
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	8.2

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection Review
November 14, 2004 by StewartS

by StewartS - November 14, 2004

Street Fighter 2 is undoubtedly one of the most influential games ever made. It wasn�t the first of its kind but it was the one that sparked the fighting game revolution, breathed new life into the arcade scene and made way for a glut of imitators, some good, most sub-par. Now, 15 years (and innumerable revisions) later, Capcom has decided to celebrate the anniversary of its hallowed game with the release of Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. Is it the tribute that fans have been hoping for or does it stumble in its attempts to honor one of the most revered games of all time?

A revolution lives again...

From the outset, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (SFAC) is quite the bargain and exactly what fans have been hoping for. It contains a version of Hyper Street Fighter II, in which characters from each iteration of Street Fighter II are included. Literally. Which means that players will be able to pit Super Street Fighter II Turbo Ken vs. Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting Ryu, and every other combination thereof. SFAC also includes a near perfect port of Street Fighter III: Third Strike (considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Street Fighter series).

It would almost be redundant for me to attempt to describe the gameplay of Hyper Street Fighter II. Nothing has changed in last ten years since SSF2 Turbo came out. It�s still the same solid one-on-one fights we�ve all come to know and love. If you haven�t played any of the SFII games then I can�t really think of why you would pick up the anniversary collection. What is different about this version, however, is the set up. Since players may, as mentioned earlier, choose any of the fighters from any of the SFII games, a selection system has been put in place similar to the �ism�s of Street Fighter Alpha 3 or the Capcom vs. SNK games and affect characters similarly. The options are Normal, Championship, Turbo, Super, and Super Turbo. Picking one can greatly alter the way players approach their game. It appropriately restricts players from being able to choose characters such as Fei Long or Cammy on any setting other than Turbo or Super Turbo (given that they weren�t around before SSF2) and it also makes for some very unbalanced matches when the Normal setting characters are slower and have a more limited move set compared to the Super Turbo characters, making it questionable as to why anyone would pick a setting other than Super Turbo. However, given the handicaps presented it could certainly add up to some very interesting matches, perfect if players are the betting sort. In all, though, each character plays exactly as they used to.

The question now is: does it still play as solidly as it used to? Answer: absolutely. The graphics may be archaic by comparison to some of today�s 2D offerings, but it still stands toe-to-toe with any of them gameplay-wise. It really is a testament to the timelessness of the series and shows that it takes a true knowledge of the fighting system to win and not just madly mash buttons. In addition, there are also a myriad of little touches in this collection that make the Street Fighter II fan in me smile, such as the character portraits, move animations and voice over that changes with each different �ism. Also included are sound tests with music from ever iteration as well as the full version of Street Fighter II anime, though some of the bloodier violence (as well as Chun-Li�s infamous shower scene) have been edited out. It really makes for a complete package for the nostalgic Street Fighter fan.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike has been a long time in coming, especially for PS2 fans. A port of it was released for the Dreamcast not long before its ill-fated demise, though it was often quite difficult to come by. Now it is widely available for all to take part in what many consider to be the best 2D fighter Capcom has yet to put out. Some call it the �thinking man�s fighting game,� and it�s a fairly apt description. Gone are most of the corner traps that SFII relied on in favor of more close-up battles. These are encouraged courtesy of the fantastic Parry system in place, allow fighters to quickly counter any attack. Though, overall, its still the same winning formula that Capcom has (for better or worse, though in my opinion �better�) relied on for the last ten years.

Same as it ever was...

The graphics in Hyper SFII remain unchanged from the original arcade versions, though without any of the slowdown that some players are dependent upon. It�s perfect, really, and glad they left the look unchanged. Any other way and nostalgia just wouldn�t feel the same. On the flip side, I�ve heard some complaints about how the character sprites in Third Strike look softened and how also how the colors have been corrected a bit. Honestly, I�ve never understood people that pay so much attention to sprites and how they can even notice when one or two frames of animation are missing. For my money, the game looks fantastic. It is still the smoothest animation I�ve ever seen in a fighting game, though it could certainly use (and deserves) the high-res treatment that Guilty Gear has been privy to recently.

This won't be played on your radio...

One thing Street Fighter has never been known for is its soundtrack. There's nothing wrong with the stage tunes, there's just nothing particularly exceptional about them. Most electronic beats, Hyper Street Fighter II at least allows players to pick which version of the soundtrack they wish ranging from the original tunes to the Arranged versions. The same goes for Third Strike as well.

Fighters, prepare to strike...ENGAGE!

What it all comes down to, though, is this: Street Fighter, in all its incarnations, is still every bit as fun and challenging as it was back in the day. Though the single player mode can only last so long, one-on-one battles never get old. Street Anniversary Collection proves that some things just get better with age.

Still the king of fighters...

One complaint that I do have is that the port of Third Strike feels slim when compared to that of Hyper Street Fighter II. There are no bonus modes, no art galleries, nothing extra at all, really. It�s certainly privilege enough to finally have a PS2 port of a fantastic game, I just feel like Capcom should have included something, anything, to make it feel like a more balanced package. All in all, however, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection should satisfy fans of the series. Hyper SFII provides a wonderful trip down memory lane and Third Strike will hopefully keep me satisfied until Capcom finally decides to roll out Street Fighter IV.