Street Fighter 4!

[Lord Thag]

Picked this up the other day with some trade in credit with one of those awesome fighter sticks.

 

I'm impressed! This game kicks ass, and it should be a textbook example of how you update 2D franchise to 3D. It's damned pretty, but the gameplay, the timing, the controls are so buttery smooth as to be flawless. This thing plays like a fighter's dream. They stayed incredibly loyal to the SF franchise in terms of how it plays, while adding quite a few new tweaks, specials, and counters to make it even deeper.

 

I'm surprised no one is talking about it yet. It's amazingly good.

 

Well, except for one thing, the last boss, Seth. If you want to break a controller, swear like a sailor, and punch things, go fight Seth. He is, without a doubt, the cheapest, lamest, most aggrivatingly unfair, cheating, mega-super-son-of-a-bitch, cheese-ass BASTARD I've ever fought in a fighting game. He makes the time honored SNK 'Boss Syndrome' look like barbie horse adventure rejects. He makes me want to kill puppies

 

Other than that, though, the game is a revalation. Fighting games are *back*.

[MetalSlime23]

I didn't get the game, but I got to super cool 6 button controller.

[moycon]

I didn't get the game, but I got to super cool 6 button controller.

 

The MadCatz one??

[Lord Helmet]

I'm interested in some reviews of the third party arcade sticks...

[Giltygear]

this game is the shit! got one of those madcatz fight sticks and the pads. i didnt even bother plugging in the stick before i switched out the hardware (better quality sanwa buttons and a brand new seimitsu stick), and the pad is good with the stock parts.

 

if youve ever fiddled around with arcade hardware, then youll be right at home when you open up the stick. i had my parts replaced in about 20 minutes

[Cobra Kai]

This game is the bomb. Seth bugged me at first, but I can whoop him silly now. I think I'm ready to play matches on Live finally.

 

Pro Tip, spend some time with challenge mode.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Gunstarhero

[wccw mark]

i went right to playing online.awesome game.course i been getting my ass kicked online(2w-23L )lol,but im having fun playing it though favorite new fighter is el fuerte.

[Cobra Kai]

Well, I thought I was ready to take on players on Live, but they showed me otherwise. 11 matches and only 1 Win to show for it. The amount of Ken/Ryu players is retarded too, that's all I faced today. Capcom might as well not bother making new characters, everyone just wants a shoto. They could make a game with Ken, Ryu, and Sagat and it would be the same experience online as it is now with 20 characters.

[keilbaca]

Well, I thought I was ready to take on players on Live, but they showed me otherwise. 11 matches and only 1 Win to show for it. The amount of Ken/Ryu players is retarded too, that's all I faced today. Capcom might as well not bother making new characters, everyone just wants a shoto. They could make a game with Ken, Ryu, and Sagat and it would be the same experience online as it is now with 20 characters.

 

Well that's not true, I seen a lot of blanka's, cammy's, and I'm maining M. Bison. XD

 

I did play one super annoying person who just spammed Zangief's Lariats all day. I did lose however.

 

I beat Seth on my 7th try on hardest. He's not that rough. It took me much longer to beat Gill on SF3:3S.

 

I absolutely love the game. I modified my Tekken 5 stick to work with the 360, and she works like a dream.

Edited February 22, 2009 by keilbaca

[+Cafeman]

Man did Capcom do a FINE job on Street Fighter IV! Caf jr unlocked all but 2 hidden characters; we just finished a 3 hour battle royale between us. I usually pick Blanka and I'm glad he's back, but I have the hardest time charging back, then F-B-F +3punches (which is a trigger for me) to pull off his Ultra. I never pull the blasted thing off. D-pads...

 

I got to try out all the other characters and its so satisfying. The art style, the graphics performance and quality ... all grreat to look at. Not ready for XBOX live yet ... the default cable to hook into my router isn't long enough to reach my router so I haven't hooked it up. I either need to go wireless or get a longer cable.

 

If anybody is on the fence, I can't imagine anybody being disappointed with this long-awaited game.

[16-bit]

I didn't get the game, but I got to super cool 6 button controller.

 

 

Lucky. I've been trying to track one down. None of the Gamestops around here got in anything other than what was pre-ordered.

 

 

Oh, and if anyone is having a hard time unlocking characters you can set the difficulty to easy, and make it one round matches for your play-throughs. Sure it's a little cheesey but it saves a ton of time if you're just looking for new characters to have fun with.

[+Cafeman]

We finally got Live hooked up and Caf jr and I both played a while each on our own gamertags. He's a Zangief and Akuma player; I'm usually Blanka. I won a bunch of times, surprisingly. I was surprised to encounter no lag at all on these live matches. What fun!

[Lauren Tyler]

I agree, SF IV is truly how you make the transition into the new century for the game. The graphics are 3D with a cel-shaded touch, and the sounds are nice, but the core gameplay element that made SF2 so much fun is still retained. THAT is how you make SF for the new century.

 

Unfortunately, Seth does seem like the Goenitz of Capcom fighting games. Not to mention, some of the other fighters are really cheap, even on Medium difficulty. I used quite a few curse words myself.

[2600Lives]

Ok, I do gotta brag juuuust a little, as it's my only true honest gaming accomplishment like, ever.

 

Right outta high school, I spent HOURS honing my skills on SF2 Turbo for the SNES. As in honing them enough to become a nationally ranked player. I was actually in the top ten, and competed in one of the yearly world tournaments. Even got invited to Japan for the finals, but couldn't go (another player took my place). Still, at one time, I could pretty much kick anybody's ass at SF2 at any time, period.

 

Now, not so much. Wrestling, age, those things have mucked up my hands pretty good. Still, I picked this up on Sunday. Spent a little time unlocking things, going through arcade and whatnot. Got online tonight. Not bad. Little laggy, but I won all my outset matches, then lost a couple due to lag and a cheap Bison player (come ON, Bison is still for those with little skill!). For some reason, it also seems like moves don't want to work in online games. I can get them off any time with ease during arcade, but I desperately try to do them during an online match. Oh, well.

 

Overall, the game is DAMN good. The moves work SO good, even with the shitty 360 pad (and I can do Zangeif's Spinning Piledriver and Super now with very little effort, and that move was hard as HELL during the SF2 days). My boy Blanka is back in top form, too (he's what I won most my tournament matches with, with Ken and Balrog coming in a close second). Now, the new fighters...eh. They kinda suck, actually. Abel is a JOKE, with very few decent moves. Rufus is a very powerful character, but every time he's on screen, me and my buds just quote Quagmire (Jigglyjigglyjigglyjiggly!). Man, he's like a mobile bowl of Jell-O. C. Viper is just sorta...plain, really, and for some reason, I hate her character portrait. And the cooking luchadore? Come on! If he was just a straight up lucha, it would have been very cool, but instead, I have to say stuff like "I'm trying to perform the Gordita Bomb". Bullshit! He's still a riot to play, though. MUCH better than Abel.

 

A Plus all the way. Seth IS a pain in the ass, though. Man, it's like Capcom tries to one-up themselves with boss difficulty and cheapness with every game they make! Along with MK vs. DC (which I feel was a DAMN good game), the fighting franchises of old have resurrected themselves into new, sleek packages worthy of next-gen systems.

[2600Lives]

Ok, so, getting some more time in online play tonight, here's my thoughts.

 

I'm VERY glad they disabled headphone usage in online matches.

 

When you try to join a game, it rarely works for some reason, so I just end up creating my own lobby. Hell, even got an achievement that way.

 

Games are as follows. You pick your character, opponent picks Ken. You pick your character, opponent picks Ken. Repeat ad-nauseum. UGH. I hate fighting the damn Uppercut Bros. It's not that I'm bad against them, I just HATE fighting against them, as the so-called players out there seem to think that the fireball/uppercut keep-away combo is the ultimate technique in the game. How do I counter this? Zangief. It's SO great watching someone toss fireballs only to go through my spinning lariat! Zangief has REALLY improved in this game, too. Very usable, and his super is quite easy to do (though for some reason it seems to simply miss, even when very close and they are standing). In fact, the only time I have trouble when I'm playing big Z is when someone takes a character that's not a fireball/uppercut combo, like Honda, Blanka, or Balrog. Some UC Bros. players are SO predictable, too. You knock them down and approach, and they throw an uppercut, so you block, then smack them. Rinse and repeat till you win.

 

Moves seem disabled in online play. I SWEAR it's true! I tried like 100 times to get a damn fireball off, but nooooo, not at all, let's not even do the motion or anything. Bah. The lag is tiresome, too. Was winning a VERY close match against some guy using Bison tonight (I hate guys who use boss characters), only to lag out on his end. Dammit.

 

I still hate the supers that make you charge, then back and forth. Ewwww. Take a cue from ALL the other games your SF characters have been in, guys! Two quarter circles and a punch or something is MUCH better, trust me. There is nothing harder than trying to do Vega's damn super.

[+Cafeman]

When you try to join a game, it rarely works for some reason, so I just end up creating my own lobby.

 

I noticed this too. Strange. I always just create my own ranked match.

 

Games are as follows. You pick your character, opponent picks Ken .. Repeat ad-nauseum. UGH. I hate fighting the damn Uppercut Bros. ...

 

Lots of Kens, lots of Akumas. I see lots of Sagats too. Fireball Fireball Fireball dragon punch repeat.

 

Zangief has REALLY improved in this game, too. Very usable, and his super is quite easy to do (though for some reason it seems to simply miss, even when very close and they are standing). In fact, the only time I have trouble when I'm playing big Z is when someone takes a character that's not a fireball/uppercut combo, like Honda, Blanka, or Balrog.

 

My son has gotten very good at Zangief and I've thus learned a very important lesson about Zangief: don't stand close to Zangief!

 

Moves seem disabled in online play. I SWEAR it's true! I tried like 100 times to get a damn fireball off, but nooooo, not at all, let's not even do the motion or anything. Bah.

 

I think it is a combination of the wobbly X360 dpad, and sometimes the slight lag which you can't see, but it affects the timing of motions. I am always missing moves online. But last night I was playing arcade mode offline and I had the hardest time trying to pull of hurricane kicks and fireballs with Ryu .. it has to be the D-pad , I'm not inputting the controls correctly even though my brain tells me I am...

 

I still hate the supers that make you charge, then back and forth. Ewwww. Take a cue from ALL the other games your SF characters have been in, guys! Two quarter circles and a punch or something is MUCH better, trust me. There is nothing harder than trying to do Vega's damn super.

 

Agreed. I am mostly a Blanka player but I've been playing as E. Honda a lot too. I played against Vega last night online, it was the only time somebody had chose Vega , and it was a treat! But those charge, then F-B-F+3PUnch moves are near impossible for me to accurately pull off. But I do it sometimes so it has to be my own hands causing the problem.

 

 

Anyway, my gamertag is REAL CAFEMA. ** I'll probably pick Blanka, E.Honda or Chun Li if we fight. I'm best at Blanka, worst at Chun Li.

 

 

** when inputting my gamertage, Cafeman was taken. So I put in REAL CAFEMAN but hit the blue button, deleting the "N". It costs 8 bucks to change your gametag! So I'm sticking with REAL CAFEMA.

[keilbaca]

Special moves work just fine online. Also Headsets are not disabled online, unless there's an option I am missing...

 

I have been owning Zangief players, jumping back as soon as you jump in, triggers them to do a piledriver, then you counter. Jumping back when close is the best way to take on Zangiefs.

 

I got to 1200 battle points last night. Lots of people don't expect a decent M. Bison player, they always want to trip when close, and his MK beats out their trip every time. Then when they get far enough away, as soon as you see a frame for a fireball, sliding trip/head stomp, or just a head stomp.

 

Tricking people as Bison is fun too. Trip, head stomp, pull back to fly away, then as soon as you land, do a psycho crusher. They go into a jumping attack usually, or my favorite to do this to is Akuma. He jumps up, does air fireball, psycho goes underneath it, and catches him on the way down.

 

I ran into only one good Dhalsim player. Even then he was only ok, I still lost, but he could have used improvement, as the games were close. He didn't play enough keepaway.

 

I'm SquirrelSH on XBL for anyone who wants to challenge me ^_^

[NE146]

Games are as follows. You pick your character, opponent picks Ken. You pick your character, opponent picks Ken. Repeat ad-nauseum.

 

Well did you look at the roster?

 

[Starscream]

[2600Lives]

The trick to beating Bison is to use a VERY fast character, like Chun-Li or Vega. I've never lost a single round to Bison using Vega. Just do the wall-hop, slash/grab manuver when they try the head stomp and 99 percent of the time Vega will catch Bison juuuust before he touches the ground, allowing for an easy mid-air throw.

 

Zangief's ace in the hole, though, is the Banishing Fist move. It moves you forward VERY quickly, and if you're in mid air, trying to jump back, it's easy to just take a single hit, then nail an easy piledriver. The spinning lariat is also great for jumpers, as it at least makes both of you get hit, and allow Z to advance on a downed opponent.

[2600Lives]

Allright, honestly, who else is tired as HELL of the fact that those stupid ass dragon punches have priority over EVERY other single move in the game? How the fuck is that fair, to give a few characters a move that will override every other single move in the entire game world? That's just plain stupid if you ask me. I was online today, and this guy with like a jillion points just took Akuma over and over and over. Hey dude, FUCK YOU, okay? If you just accumulate battle points by playing a way overpowered boss character, then you are a punk, plain and simple. I did have some DAMN fun bouts, though. A really rollicking Zangief vs Zangief match (which I juuuust squeaked by with a win due to a well timed Ultra Combo finish), and some good matches vs a guy who was really good with Honda. A guy using Cammy was REALLY annoying with her, too, (in a good, skilled way) managing to always stay just out of my reach. That changed when I switched to Vega, though, as his raw speed made it hard for her to land hits. Went up against a good Bison player, too, but a poorly timed super on his part led to me hitting my own super and finishing the match. It's getting to the point now where I just roll my eyes and let out a loud UGH every time I see Ken, Ryu, Akuma, ad infinitum, though. Lord.

 

And I've never ONCE heard anybody talking over the headset. Not one time, and I have it set to come out of the speakers. Maybe it's just hard to concentrate with that thing on your head, and most people just don't bother, but I've done prolly a hundred matches online now and haven't heard a single thing being said on the other end. Huh.

[Cobra Kai]

hey 2600, I main Cammy, so if you want to spar send me a friend request on XBL: MasturBlastur

 

That goes for anyone else. I'm strictly average or below, not an elite player. keilbaca I sent you a friend request.

Edited February 28, 2009 by Gunstarhero

[2600Lives]

Allright, a little more ranting. The more I play this game, the more I find inherent flaws. I still LOVE it to death, and am totally addicted, but there are things I see that just really get under my skin. With my YEARS of playing not only Street Fighter games, but 2D fighters in general (hey, I gave the world champion Garou player a SERIOUS run for his money a few years back!), even the smallest things tend to bug me.

 

Ken and Ryu's Heavy kick seems to have 100% priority over all other air moves, and is almost impossible to knock out of the air with just a normal move, and FORGET about countering with your own jump attack (unless you get Vega or Chun-Li to bounce off the wall and hit them high). Back in the day, I used Zangief's spinning lariat move to counter a lot of air strikes, but now, it seems to not do diddly shit. I also used to use Guile's heavy uppercut to knock the u-c brothers out of the air a lot, but it seems to never work now. Ken's super also seems to hit ANYWHERE, air or ground, and does ALL the hits regardless. Oh, and Akuma's rush forward and grab super is probably the cheapest thing I've EVER seen in a game. Kudos to those players out there who use him all the time just so you can have access to the cheapest super in the game.

 

Blanka's and Zangief's supers seem to not work much of the time. With Blanka, it's ALL the time. It seems to do a single hit, then rocket through them and do nothing but set you up for a hit. What a JOKE. Z's supers are also very unpredictable. I've hit both his Ultra and Super standing RIGHT NEXT to an opponent, and nothing. Just the grab animation. It seems that if I lead in with a hit, then attempt to combo into a super (a time honored SF tradition), it NEVER works with Zangief, no matter how close I am. Tonight, fighting Ken (who the hell ELSE?), I pulled off the super standing next to him WHILE HE WAS BLOCKING, and nothing, just a whiff. Still, though, when I take Z in online games, I think it makes my opponents a little too confident, as they think they're just gonna walk over him. When that big super hits, though, and you say goodbye to 1/3 of your life bar, they usually start being more cautious the next time I face them.

 

Sagat's Tiger Knee seems to have almost absoulte priority versus ground moves (except for those damn uppercuts). Ugh, in SF2 Turbo, the spinning lariat would knock him out of that move almost every time, now, it NEVER does, ever. It's just another weapon in the unbeatable arsenal of the fireball/uppercut characters. I guess Capcom never intended for anybody to play any of the other characters, so they just piled all of the great stuff on 3 or 4 and said fuck the rest. I love Capcom to death, but sometimes, they really piss me off.

 

Focus attacks are bullshit, plain and simple. You can down an opponent, and just sit there and charge the damn things over and over, and since you have armor, the only way to get out of this is an "armor break" move. Yeah, I can counter with a piledriver, or a banishing flat occasionally, but DAMN, it gets annoying just watching someone stand there and do those damn things over and over.

 

Capcom, FIX YOUR ONLINE MATCHING SERVICE. NOW! It gets tiring not being able to actually join any games, or worse, just sitting there with an open lobby for minutes on end and nobody comes in. Oh, and it seems that the ranked matches are the ONLY ones you can play online, as I've tried again and again to get just a normal match going, and nope. Not happening.

 

What was originally a 10/10 game has slipped to a 9/10 for me. The balance is a serious issue here. I guess this is why Mortal Kombat pulled ahead of SF back in the day, as each character had the same moves with only their specials being different, and the balance was MUCH better.

[NE146]

And I've never ONCE heard anybody talking over the headset. Not one time, and I have it set to come out of the speakers.

 

'Course not.. the way I see it, what the heck do I have to say to some dude I don't know that I'm challenging in Street Fighter? Just play the friggin game

[2600Lives]

More thoughts after a marathon session tonight.

 

I AUTO avoid any Akuma players, period. Don't care if I win or lose.

 

Conversely, if you take a character like, say, Honda, Balrog, Zangief, Blanka, and the like, I will ususally give you a preferred status. These people play the game for FUN, not to be an ass. Though I did fight a VERY cheap Blanka user tonight. I ended up having to take Chun-Li and use her speed to take him down. Still, was a super close match.

 

Sagat is just too damn powerful comparatively. Seems ALL of his moves have priority. I've tried fighting him with every one of my best characters (yes, even Ken), to no avail. If I do win, it's usually because I can get inside with Zangief and do a series of cross-ups that hit behind the damn uppercut.

 

I'm getting quite good at taking on Ken and Ryu, though. Take big Z and the guy on the other end gets cocky, and I usually come out on top.

 

Still having trouble with Bison, though. Damn, he just pisses me off. You SHOULD be able to retaliate after you block a slide kick, but noooo, half the time you can't. Vega's slide can be retaliated against, why can't Bison's? His damn heavy kick in the air also has WAY too much priority.

 

Cammy's moves leave her WAY too safe after execution. Even her super bounces her so far away after a block so as to make her practically unhittable. A special or a super should have some sort of penalty if missed. The Cannon Spike is even more annoying than those damn uppercuts if you ask me, as if you block it, you can't retaliate, unless you're using a charge character and can manage to get off a move before she lands again.

 

Maybe Capcom will listen to what the players are saying about balance and issue a patch to address the issue. Probably not, though. They're as arrogant as any of the game companies out there (except for maybe Valve. They rule). All they seem to care about is raw difficulty at the expense of even gameplay (like those douchebags that made those horrid Ninja Gaiden games for the modern systems).