Most, if not all, of you should be familiar with Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter II. It is a game that needs no introduction. Considering the success and legacy of the original Street Fighter II, it’s no wonder that Capcom has seen fit to remake the game. Enter Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, a complete remake of Street Fighter II. A beta for this upcoming release was recently made available on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and I’ve played it enough over the past few days to offer my full thoughts on it. So without further ado, let’s get to it.
The biggest and most noticeable change this time around is the totally revamped graphics. True to its name, HD Remix ditches the pixelated sprites of old and instead introduces new, beautiful sprites drawn by UDON Comics. Not just the sprites have been overhauled–the backgrounds have been given an HD makeover as well.
The result is nothing short of breathtaking. Even in its beta form, the game’s backgrounds and sprites are masterfully drawn. However, some animations can appear stiff to keen observers. Unfortunately, this isn’t likely to be fixed as it would add to the already large budget spent on the game.
Capcom also added online play over Xbox Live/PSN and it works well for the most part. When the beta first started, crashes were very common and it was almost impossible to get into a game. Those bugs have since been squashed and the result is a very smooth online experience. There is very little lag which is uncommon for an online fighting game. Capcom is, obviously, still tweaking the online so when the game finally releases, it may be the most trouble-free online fighting game yet.
When giving the graphics and music an overhaul, Capcom also applied a few tweaks to the game’s balance. The beta limited players to two selectable characters (Ken and Ryu) so we can’t make any judgment on the other characters in terms of balance.
However, Ken and Ryu still seem to be their old selves with a few exceptions. For example, Ryu can now perform a Fake Hadoken which involves him making the motions to perform a Hadoken but doesn’t actually produce the signature energy blast. This is useful for competitive players who rely heavily on the use of mind-games and ‘fake outs.’
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is definitely one to look forward to if you’re a Street Fighter fan. The new graphics are beautiful and the music has been faithfully remixed. When combined with the addition of online play, the HD Remix will probably be the best iteration of Street Fighter II upon its release.
