Video Game Vintage Title: Super Street Fighter IV

Super Street Fighter IV

Super Street Fighter IV is a 2010 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is an updated version of Street Fighter IV and has been said to mark the definitive end of the Street Fighter IV series. Having been deemed as too large an update to be deployed as DLC, the game was made into a standalone title, but given a lower price than that of a full retail game. It was released in April 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition was released as one of the launch titles for the Nintendo 3DS, with 3D functionality, on February 26, 2011, in Japan. The game has sold 1.9 million units worldwide, while the 3D Edition for the 3DS has sold an additional 1.1 million units worldwide.

Super Street Fighter IV Gameplay

Much like Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV features 3D backgrounds and characters played on a 2D plane. Exclusive additions like Focus Attacks and separate meters for both Super and Ultra Combos make a return. The Ultra Combo gauge and moves has been left unchanged since Street Fighter IV. All characters feature at least two Ultra Combos. However, only one Ultra can be selected at a time in a way similar to the Super Arts system in the Street Fighter III series. To Use a Super Combo or an Ultra Combo, the respective meters have to be full. The Ultra combo meter charges up when the player gets hit and so it can also be called a Revenge Meter. The Ultra Combo meter is the one right next to the Super Combo meter.

The goal is to exhaust the opponent's health meter before the time runs out. The player wins a round if they deplete their opponent's health meter, or have more health than their opponent when time runs out. If both players deplete their meters at the same time or contain the same amount when the round timer ends, it will result in either a "Double KO" or a draw giving both players a round win. If there isn't a clear winner by the final match, it will result in a "draw game" (during online play, both players will lose battle points, and player points, in the result of a draw game).

Similar to past entries, Super Street Fighter IV is played using an eight-way directional system giving players the ability to jump, crouch, and move towards and away from opponents. Generally, there are six attack buttons for both punch and kick commands with three of each type, differing in strength and speed. Similar to the latter two games from the Street Fighter III series, grabs are performed by pressing both light attacks, while taunts are performed by pressing both heavy attacks simultaneously.

When playing through the single-player mode, if toggled on, there are additional bonus stages allowing a chance to receive additional points, similar to the ones found in Street Fighter II. The first challenge involves destroying a car while the second has players break as many barrels as they can.

Super Street Fighter IV features modes from the original game including "Arcade", "Versus", "Training", and "Trials". The game features a few additional online modes apart from Ranked battles. "Team Battle" can have up to 4 players per team to battle against another group. "Endless Battle" has the winner playing against a rotating group of up to 8 players. To replace Street Fighter IV's "Championship Mode", "Tournament" allows players compete in a small single elimination bracket. "Replay Channel" allows players to view and save replays from various matches around the world.

Reception
IGN gave the Super Street Fighter IV a 9.0 and an Editor's Choice award, calling it "a superior version of one of the best fighting games around... with a far more developed online mode compared to the original version". GameTrailers gave the game 9.3, praising it for its improvements over the original.

Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann gave the game 5/5 saying "Super Street Fighter IV adds enough great new content to justify skipping over the 'Champion Edition' and 'Hyper Fighting' steps in the Street Fighter upgrade path." GameSpot gave the game a 9.0, commenting that "Super Street Fighter IV stands tall on the broad shoulders of its predecessor. Its large and diverse character roster, balance tweaks, and comprehensive online play reaffirm its place as one of the best fighters this generation, and it's a worthy upgrade even if you own last year's version" In 2011, Complex ranked it as the 40th best fighting game of all time.

CVG gave the 3DS Edition a score of 9.0, praising its appeal to both hardcore and casual gamers, as well as having as much content as its console counterpart. Kotaku also praised the port, saying "if you are going to buy one 3DS game, get this."