Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition - Review

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In the beginning, Capcom made Street Fighter and it was good. Then Capcom made more Street Fighters and they were also good. Capcom tried some variations of the formula, mixed it up with other properties, and those were pretty good too. After all their wanderings, they came back to basics with Street Fighter IV and it was very good. Shortly thereafter came SUPER Street Fighter IV and it was even better. Now, they’ve taken that great game, shrunk it down for a portable, and added the mythical third dimension.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (SSFIV3D) is one of the launch titles for the brand spankin’ new Nintendo 3DS. I’ve logged many hours on its HD console brethren and I have to say: this is the same friggin’ game and then some.

Everything that went into making Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV the great, successful games they were are present here in the 3D Edition. Same iconic fighters, same moves, same tight controls, and the same heated battles are all here. Even the same exploits like spamming the computer into submission with Zangief’s Double Lariat are here in this portable incarnation.

The gameplay in SSFIV3D is a faithful port of the version featured on the Xbox 360 and PS3. You can read a more in-depth analysis of the fighting mechanics in the original Street Fighter IV review. (linked) That all remains the same except for the lack of the second shoulder buttons, which were used for the LP+MP+HP and LK+MK+HK buttons. However, SSFIV3D features some extra buttons the HD consoles didn’t have. The touch screen provides four buttons that can be customized. These buttons don’t give players a big advantage, though. Mapping Ryu’s Hadoken or Guile’s Sonic Boom to these buttons can be handy, but a skilled player will fire them off faster than the shortcuts can.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition provides Lite and Pro modes. Lite mode allows you to assign special moves and even Super and Ultra Combos to the four touch screen buttons. Pro Mode only allows normal attacks as well as throw, Focus Attack, Personal Action, and the triple kick/punch that were assigned to the second shoulder buttons on the HD consoles. Both modes allow you to fully customize the button assignments to your personal preferences. These modes can be switched in the options or even on the fly in the middle of a match.

All the modes from Super Street Fighter are present here: Arcade, Versus, Online Versus, Challenges, and Training. Versus can be done via local wireless connection between up to eight 3DS consoles with full versions of the game. Non-fighting players can also watch local multiplayer matches on their own 3DS consoles. SSFIV3Deven takes advantage of the Download Play feature, allowing a friend to download and install a tiny version of the game that allows the downloader access to a limited roster and the modes Player vs. Player, Player vs. CPU, CPU vs. CPU, and Options.

The online fighting is great but isn’t as deep as the HD version. Internet Versus is a full worldwide internet-connected fighting experience, no friend codes required. You can choose standard Versus or 3D Versus, which determines whether you’re using standard or Dynamic view (more on that below), respectively. From there you can choose Quick Match, Friend Match, or Custom Match. Quick Match finds players looking for fights, Friend Match lets you go head to head with those on your 3DS friends list, and Custom Match allows you to hold a match in which you can customize the number of rounds, time limits, region, skill level, and control type. This online mode doesn’t feature the in-depth rankings or endless modes featured in the HD console versions. It does feature Player Points, Battle Points, Player Classes, and personal statistics, but not leaderboards. The online multiplayer was consistently filled with fighters and I rarely witnessed any lag.

The most dramatic new feature is one that affects both presentation and gameplay: the new Dynamic View. Utilizing the 3D technology of the Nintendo 3DS, Dynamic uses a slightly over-the-shoulder third-person perspective in the fights. This mode can be difficult to get used to and maybe impossible for some. It makes it harder to judge distances but I found I grew accustomed to it quickly enough. For traditionalists, you are never forced to use this new view and can use the classic view whenever you like.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition does bring a brand new feature to the table with the figure collection. Completing arcade mode or trading in Play Coins will earn you Figure Points. These figure points can be used in a Figure Slots minigame to earn figurines of the Super Street Fighter IV fighters. These figures are leveled 1-7 with varying stats, even between two same level, same character figures. These figures can then be placed in a team of five with their combined levels not exceeding 20. That’s when the fun really starts. SSFIV3D takes advantage of the Nintendo 3DS’s Street Pass functionality with these figures. If you walk by somebody with the game in sleep mode, your figures will do battle. Winning will grant you more figure points. Figures can also be traded with friends via local wireless connections. This added a whole new addictive gameplay mechanic which scratches the collector’s itch we all harbor.

This 3D Edition of Super Street Fighter features the same great art style fans have come to love over the last couple of years. Bold black lines, brightly colored backgrounds, and larger than life characters all make their return here. Of course, being a lower-power, non-HD console, things won’t look quite as good as they do on those HD consoles, but nobody expects them to. Being a launch title, there isn’t much basis for comparison on the Nintendo 3DS. The graphics blow away anything the old DS consoles ever had and stand toe-to-toe with other 3DS launch titles, faithfully recreating the style, animations, and overall feel of Super Street Fighter IV.SSFIV3D features the same animated opening, credits, and story segments as previous incarnations as well as all the same sounds, right down to the English voice actors. 

With a plethora of modes, very healthy online play, and numerous great fighters to choose from, the replay value of Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is very high. It loses some of the in-depth online play of the HD versions but gains the figures and Streetpass gameplay. Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition provides hours upon hours of entertainment. However, it's priced at $39.99 and the HD versions have recently seen a price drop to $29.99, making this $10 more for virtually the same experience.

Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition is just what the doctor ordered for all those Street Fighter addicts that need something to play when they can’t sit down in front of their PS3 or Xbox 360. Tight controls, classic Street Fighter gameplay, and all the other great features of Super Street Fighter IV along with a host of new features make Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition the must-have launch title for the Nintendo 3DS.

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