Remixing Nostalgia

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Last night, after mentally convincing myself that I could afford this small luxury, I bought (deep breath) Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. I've been excited for this game since its announcement and couldn't wait to download it. 

Like many of you, Street Fighter II was my first fighting game. I played it at a 7-11 across the street from my school whenever I could.  Back then, fighting games were only really worthwhile in the arcade. I remember a quiet rivalry between gamers when Mortal Kombat came on the scene, which splintered further when Killer Instinct brought its ultra combos to the table. No matter how many people were gathered around those gore-spewing, endless-combo-releasing, double flawless victory fatality machines, Street Fighter II waited quietly in the wings. 

I think it was plotting this all along. 

So, the question is, is the time right? Can Street Fighter retake the main stage with SSFIIHDR? (An acronym pronounced: essessefftwoehchdeearr--thanks guys from Halo: ODST!)

The answer? No. But that isn't what the game is made to do. This game isn't here to compete with Soul Calibur 4 or Virtua Fighter 5 or Tekken 6--it's here to take us back to the mean streets where all it took was a well-placed Shoryuken to turn the tide of battle. The classic street fighter back-and-forth is still there, in beautiful, breathtaking HD. It's a little more balanced, but, love it or hate it, one-button fighting can still best a seasoned player if he or she isn't careful. The new versions of classic SF songs present in the game are made of raw joy, sure to get your yoga fire burning. Many, if not all, of the characters from SFII and SFII: Turbo are present, with hidden characters such as Akuma as unlockables. The online component works flawlessly with, during my test fights, zero lag. (I still lost though...too bad). 

$15 is a steal for a game of this caliber--get it, you won't regret it. 


(Played 2 player vs., 2 player online and 1 player story mode on PS3 hardware).