Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix Review
The Definitive Version of Street Fighter II
Dec 4, 2008
Among all of Capcom's games, and really among all fighting games, Street Fighter II stands as arguably the most popular and most often re-released title ever.
From the original 1991 arcade release through the various new additions up to today's digital downloads with online play and the upcoming Street Fighter IV which promises to be reminiscent of II, Street Fighter II has become recognized as a timeless classic. Now, Capcom's latest version of Street Fighter II brings the game into high definiton.
Udon Comics and OverClocked Remix Remaster Street Fighter II
Since Capcom stopped making new Street Fighter games after the 1999 Street Fighter III Third Strike, two-dimensional graphics have made significant advancements with games like Odin Sphere from Vanillaware and Sammy’s Guilty Gear series which dominated 2D fighting games on last generation’s consoles.
In response to games like Guilty Gear, BlazeBlue from the same creators, and the upcoming King of Fighters XII with its high definition graphics, Capcom has released a new edition of their most popular fighting game for download on Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade with redrawn backgrounds and new high definition character sprites drawn by Udon Comics. The difference is amazing once the game is seen in motion.
Things like the animation, framerate, and voice samples have been kept identical to the old versions of Street Fighter II in order to make sure the gameplay remains intact, but otherwise Street Fighter II HD in many ways almost looks like cel animation. Players have the choice to go back to the old character models to see the difference.
Street Fighter II’s music has also been re-done in HD Remix, with every song remixed with the help of the community at fan remix site OCRemix.org. The new tracks are faithful to the original game but also sound great in their own right. Playing HD Remix with the original music is also a choice.
Putting Street Fighter II in a shiny new coat of paint probably would have been enough for most fans, but the inner workings of the game itself have also been tweaked for the more hardcore players.
Backbone Entertainment Refines Street Fighter II
The “Remix” in Street Fighter II HD’s title not only pertains to the game’s new visuals but also to how Backbone Entertainment has altered many of the characters’ moves to re-balance the game for the dedicated, tournament-going crowd.
When they start a game, players have the choice between playing the classic arcade mode with the moves and rules of the game exactly as they were in Super Turbo, and HD Remix where many of those things have been changed according to what the game calls Dip Switch Settings which are adjustable in the options menu.
Only the most attentive players will even notice the tweaks made, but moves like certain characters’ super reversals can be made possible or impossible in the Dip Switch settings. If a character had a sometimes unblockable move before for instance that occurrence can be neutralized in HD Remix. Some characters like the supremely powerful Akuma – who was often banned from Street Fighter tournaments, have also been adjusted.
These changes, although subtle in the eyes of most, could entirely change the way many hardcore fighters play Street Fighter II. The adjustments implemented in HD Remix are meant to make the game more competitive, but only time will tell what the ramifications of those changes really are.
HD Remix also let’s players fight online, and even things like how the game handles latency can be tweaked by players. For the most part this mode runs smoothly enough to be enjoyable, but no fighting game as of yet is runs perfectly online.
Bottom Line
Fans have been clamoring to see Street Fighter in 2D in some high definition form for some time, and Capcom has responded not only by remastering the game visually, but by also refining all of its inner workings. For $15 it’s one of the best downloads you can get all year.
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