After the colossal success of Street Fighter 4 and it’s subsequent re-releases, it was hard to predict where Street Fighter could go next. Hints at development seemed bleak after Capcom’s low financial states, and fans seemed to still be relying heavily on such titles like Ultra Street Fighter 4. Yet Capcom still chugged on, and announced Street Fighter 5 as a Playstation 4 console exclusive, set to be released nearly eight years after the last game.

Reception was mixed. Although fans lauded the epic trailer, exclusivity and non-discernible graphical upgrades seemed to haunt the game’s promulgation. Slowly but surely though, everyone started to get a little more pleased. New characters like Laura and Rashid were teased to show the franchises’s new diversity roots, and characters like Ken and Dhalsim were making returns, albeit in new fashion. It was an exciting time, and yet I feel should compare to many fan’s first reaction of the actual Street Fighter 5. It grows, and will become better over time. The reasons for this are simple and complex, but most of all, show how tight the game is; in order to squeeze its brevity, and amp its relevancy for years to come.

Gameplay:

One of the greatest things about Street Fighter 5 is how easy it is to understand, even with the pandemonium

Upon many Versus, Survival, and Story Mode sessions of Street Fighter 5, it feels as if the game was designed to compel more to a hardcore audience, instead of casuals who wouldn’t pick up the not-so glaring differences. As much as this may decrease the awe for series newcomers or amateurs, I feel Capcom made the right move here. It’s expressed in the game all very well, and the consistency of the online mode allows for a practice makes perfect aspect. We’ll see how this may change at launch, but so far this game is on the right path design-wise.

Another great element is how fluid Street Fighter 5 can be. The game massively improves on the rock-paper-scissors fighting style of other competitors before it, such as the titillating Dead or Alive 5. Although both can be addicting due to this well constructed nature, Street Fighter 5 makes it seem like night and day thanks to a competent and more than complete move and attack-list.

One thing I did miss was the loosening of a stages significance. In this game, it feels more like filler than other fighting games, due to the lack of proper interaction. This has always been a problem in the series, and although they put their resources in the right place for other features such as special moves, I would have liked to see this added on, not taken away.

More than ever, special attacks are an absolute blast to use

Story/Design:

Missing modes often can soften the replay value

Although the fighting in Street Fighter 5 may be top-notch, I noticed a lack of evenly spread content. Survival, Story, Training, Versus, and the vastly revised Online all are there, but it would have been nice to see one or two new ideas to separate the game from it’s peers. I’m sure for hardcore fans this won’t be a problem, but for anybody expecting an immense amount of content here should take that warning to heart.

It’s also obvious that Capcom was keen on giving Street Fighter 5 an all new online system and structure. From what I’ve played it works really well and elegantly, and although there can be some uneven matches, the game is well-tuned to fix these issues. Micro-transactions have also been enforced somewhat appropriately, and even if they may not be a gamer’s cup of tea here, it’s nice to see the option implemented without the typical greed that’s expected.

As usual, a story mode has been supplemented to cater a more single-player need, split abnormally into character focused sections. There is a lot of care outed into these sections, but I feel a more intact plot could have done the game justice. It bounces between too many origin stories and name-drops with little interweaving, leaving new players dumbfounded and hardcore players who actually know the lore with glee. It’s a shame Capcom could not find a respective middle ground, but with downloadable content coming soon, this will likely change.

Story mode are one of the few ways you can play with different costumes without the necessary work

Presentation/ Visuals & Audio:

New and non-derived characters like Necali feel like a breath of fresh air

For the most part, Street Fighter 5 looks gorgeous and smooth, which purposely matches the fast fighting style. Some backgrounds are not fully caved in 1080/60fps, but most of the time it’s not noticeable and looks accordingly. The character designs (old and new) recreate this visually striking mentality, and the whole game doesn’t seem to drop in frames or feel sickening during chaos. This isn’t that surprising, but it’s nice to see what Capcom’s done to keep everyone in check, unlike other examples.

The sound is one of the more contrived portions of the experience, with stage sounds and rumbles being personified, but voice acting falling flat. A more laughable example in this was Necali’s putrid screams during Story Mode cut-scenes, that felt too forced in and dramatic. This seems to be a bit more fared in actual gameplay, but it’s not that hard to observe the unequal.

Lastly, the game’s presentation is a lot more clean-cut than Street Fighter 4, which had a more hastily put together approach. It’s not too modern but not too antique, and feels just right to not distract you from the gameplay. Little touches like character graphs and stage descriptions are also nicely placed and well designed, be it minor.

Better yet, these visual strengths are impressively present in online menus

Conclusion:

Street Fighter 5 also handles sexualized tropes aptly, with less visual attention on eye-candy and more on the gameplay

Street Fighter 5 isn’t the huge jump the fighting genre needs, but it doesn’t have to be. By creating a more centralized and less free-flowing quality, Capcom has focused on what makes a fighting game great, instead of what makes it different. While this could have been excepted either way, Capcom has sufficiently made a case for the other side. Quality is now better than quantity.

Street Fighter 5 gets an 8/10. (Very Good)

We’d like to thank Capcom PR for sending us a code for this one!

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