The real bonus of this collection is content and online play. Capcom has provided access to every version of the Street Fighter II characters from World Warrior to Super Turbo as well as “old” versions of the Super Turbo characters (for “old” hold start, select “turbo” mode and it will chime, then select your character; there are even advanced versions known as “glitched” but for more on those check out www.shoryuken.com). Some newer characters such as Fei Long and Dee Jay don’t have as many modes as they were introduced later in the series. The mixing and matching is fun and there are enough differences between versions to ensure that you won’t soon become bored, but you may become annoyed by the balance issues of beasts such as Champion Edition Bison or hidden-character Akuma.
ROUND 2
Along with Hyper Fighting, Street Fighter III: Third Strike is included—considered by many to be the most technical and greatest 2-D fighter ever made. Prior to this release, the Dreamcast was once again the console of choice, though there are known accuracy problems when compared to the arcade version. Thankfully, Capcom stepped up and provided a better looking and more accurate version for the PS2 and now the Xbox.
And for those of us too isolated to find local competition, both games work relatively well on Xbox Live. Third Strike suffers the most because lag eliminates the ability to parry consistently and hit-confirm certain moves, but overall both games work well and experience much less lag than #Reload or Capcom vs. SNK 2.
All this and an anime too? Yep. Just like the PS2 version, the English dubbed, fullscreen version of the Street Fighter 2 anime movie is included sans the infamous Chun Li shower scene.
PERFECT
For $30 I can’t see a better deal coming your way this year. Superb ports of two of the most highly regarded fighters complete with 480p and Live support. Get yourself a copy and enjoy the 2-D goodness.
Special thanks to Jason “JMS” Salvano |
