This probably sounds hyperbolic, but stepping into Capcom’s Street Fighter IV room was like stepping into some sort of weird alternate reality of E3. The clingy PR reps and clueless mainstream media was nowhere to be found. In their place was the shadow of days past, a true American arcade scene. Standard rules applied, winner keeps his seat while the loser has to get off the stick. The only difference was no one had to carry around a pocket full of quarters.
Street Fighter IV uncovered communal ties from everyone’s collective gaming past. Literally every person there was lamenting over how many memories it brought back and, most importantly, how good Street Fighter IV was at reviving those sacred memories. Seeing people walk in the room for the first time was not unlike watching kids come down the stairs on Christmas morning. The collective appreciation of its presence was unlike anything I had ever seen. No one was there to complain or judge, everyone just wanted to play it and have fun.
And believe me, it was a lot of fun. Mind you I had absolutely no idea what I was doing most of the time (it had been a solid decade since I spent a significant amount of time with Street Fighter II), but trying to string Hadokens together whilst not getting my ass kicked was undeniably gripping. And let’s not forget how amazing the game looked. I was amongst the crowd that shook my head and sighed when the new art design debuted, but all of that changed the instant I saw the game in motion. Capcom had a small stand with Street Fighter II HD Remix setup near the end of the cabinets and SF4 all but embarrassed that ridiculously good looking update. Their respective fighting engines are open to preference, but, regarding their visuals (and to paraphrase Jules Winfield), it ain’t in the same ballpark, it ain’t the same league… it ain’t even the same sport.
I touched on this earlier, but I suck ass at Street Fighter. Before I left for Los Angeles I spent an hour trying to get off Sonic Booms and Barcelonas, each with limited success. I could always do it once or twice, but trying to string them together with any sense of rhythm was a lost cause for my noob fingers. Street Fighter IV, as a means to make the game more accessible, has opened up the timing windows for moves. This lead to me actually being able to do the moves I planned, rather than mindlessly punch the air open myself up for attack. Seth Killian, (a tournament player turned Capcom employee whom kicked my ass with one hand), explained that the game should be about what you can do with the moves, not whether or not you can use them. Elitists may complain that they’re dumbing the game down in the face of accessibility – but why is that a bad thing?
This may sound like bad reporting, but I could gauge how well the game played not through my experience, but vicariously through those around me. Usual kiosks at E3 are full of people who have no idea what they’re doing with a game they’ve barely heard of. The atmosphere surrounding Street Fighter IV was composed of nothing but dedication and satisfaction, which was more than I could say for any other title at the event.
