As Street Fighter enters its 30th year, the latest installment arrives exclusively to the PS4 and PC. Two years ago, Street Fighter V (SFV) wowed players with its mechanics and balance, but underwhelmed with its lack of modes and depth of roster. Our own Eric Layman did a stellar write-up on it that you should check out. Nearly two years later, Capcom has released the inevitable Arcade Edition which gathers up all of the balance tweaks and patches, as well as all Season 1 and 2 Character Pass content, (which includes 12 playable characters and 12 premium costumes), into a fresh new package.
Spending time with the Arcade Edition this week has actually been the first time I have played SFV at all. I was there for the launch of IV, dabbled briefly in its Arcade Edition, but did not partake in SFIV Ultra. With the lack of single player content at the launch of SFV, and my continued lukewarm attraction to the graphical style, I put SFV on the backburner. I may be from the SFII days, but for fighters, I still prefer solo play and have no interest in eSports or online competitive play, but love a raucous local battle or just battling the AI. Before SFV’s Arcade Edition, playing against the CPU was very limited, but Capcom have now made tremendous strides here to appease veteran and casual fans.
The most obvious and notable case in point is the inclusion of an actual Arcade mode, which is selected as the default game mode when you start. This is of course you have created an online ID for SFV, which is firmly required, and, if I’m honest, kind of annoying. Again, my interest being single and local play, all of the points and Capcom Fighting Network and in-game currency and so on is just a lot of noise to me, but the scene likely feels very differently. The same folks that don’t mind dropping $100+ on a fight stick are probably all about the CFN, and hey, if that’s your thing, go for it. Anyhow, Capcom surprised me with the arcade mode because it’s more than just a handful of fights with random AI. You actually choose between six different paths based off of six different SF games, including I, II, Alpha, II, IV, and V. Available characters in the arcade mode are based off of who was available in those original games, with the V path being a standard arcade style format. This alone is a very welcome addition to SFV.
Tutorials and practice mode are expanded to help novices like me learn a bit, including a neat mode that helps with timing by shading the fighters either blue or red to help you learn timing on offense and defense. I still struggle to execute special moves on an even semi-regular basis though, using the DualShock4. I’ve never been very savvy at technical fighters, which I would put Street Fighter into that sub-genre. I’ve been spoiled with special moves ever since NetherRealm’s released MK Vs DC Universe several years ago — the simple, intuitive, reliable functionality of pressing cardinal directions and a face button or two trumps doing half circles and diagonals and all that every time for me. I get the excitement and sense of triumph in pulling off a perfectly executed counter or combo, but when the controls get in the way of that more often than not, it gets annoying. Nothing that I have experienced or read about SFV suggests that it’s the game that has any input issues, it’s just my skill level and perhaps choice of controller; there’s a reason new fight sticks seem to come out with most major fighting game releases.
Anyhow, the Arcade Edition includes lots of other goodies, including some mostly cosmetic ones like re-worked menus and UI. A new mode called ‘Extra Battle’ pits you against challenges that have set deadlines, and completing these can unlock costumes. New V-Triggers significantly alter the flow and strategy of combat, while a gallery packed with hundreds of unlockables will keep completionists extra busy.
In sum, Street Fighter V Arcade Edition is precisely what many gamers wanted two years ago. The roster, balance, modes, and amount of content are now fleshed out and in a convenient complete package. For anyone that has been waiting for this release, you’re not likely to be disappointed.
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