Suburucucu Review: Street Fighter 4

It’s been a while, but they’re back. Actually, it’s been more than a while: it’s been a good 17 years since Street Fighter II, and nine years since Street Fighter III. In that time the 2D fighter has been somewhat marginalised, and players’ expectations have changed. In this context it’s a minor miracle that Yoshinori Ono and his team have not only stuck to a clear vision of how to take the series forward in 2D, but that Capcom has been able to excite people about it to such a degree.

It’s impossible to overstate what a change this is for the series, and the fighting game in general. Street Fighter is now more about planning your attacks and responding to your opponent rather than worrying about whether you can physically accomplish what you want to. Never been able to pull off an EX spinning piledriver? You will now. Allied to the increased ease of combination attacks, it puts seriously damaging strings of moves within the reach of the average player and places the tactical depth that is the real genius of the series firmly within reach of all, rather than just the elite.