Street Fighter IV

Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first brand new Street Fighter game released by Capcom since the arcade release of Street Fighter III 3rd Strike in 1999. The arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008 and was given a limited release in North American arcades in August. Home versions are released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and PC on February 12, February 17, and February 20, 2009, in Japan, North America, and Europe respectively.

Gameplay
While Street Fighter IV features fighters and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II than its sequels, and as such the "parry system" from Street Fighter III has been dropped. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.

The game has a very similar feel to Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but also has several features from Street Fighter III 3rd Strike. Pressing both light attack buttons is still for throwing, and both heavy attack buttons are for the personal action or taunts. Both medium attack buttons are for the focus strike. Dashes and quick standing are also in the game. Crimson Viper is the only character who can perform a high jump.

It was intended that the car-smashing bonus rounds from earlier Street Fighter games would return. Ono later stated that the bonus stages would not be in the arcade game, citing the reason to be that the time players spend on bonus stages takes money from arcade operators.

Visuals
The characters and environments in the game are rendered as 3D models with polygons but use a stylized effect to give them a hand-drawn look, with certain select attacks displaying ink sprays during the fights. The art director and character designer is Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, aims at staying true to the Street Fighter II style.

Focus Attacks
Focus Attacks, known as "Saving System" in the Japanese version, is a new system that is being introduced in Street Fighter IV. The focus attack is a move that allows the player to absorb an attack and launch a counter attack, and it is performed by pressing the medium punch and kick buttons simultaneously. There are two phases to the attack. In the first phase, the player will shift into a new stance, at which point he is able to absorb one attack from the opponent. The second phase is the counter attack. The longer the player holds down the medium punch and kick buttons the more powerful the attack will be. If the buttons are held for long enough the attack will cause the opponent to crumple slowly to the ground, allowing the player to follow up with a free hit. If the buttons are held for longer still the focus attack will become unblockable. Attacks that were absorbed during the first phase of the focus attack still cause damage to the player; however, life lost from the opponent's attack will be gained back afterward. In addition, during the first phase of the focus attack the player may perform a dash either forward or backward to cancel the focus attack. Finally, at the cost of half the super combo gauge, many special moves can be canceled into a focus attack. By executing a focus attack during the special move, the animation of the move will be cut short and go instantly into the focus attack animation. This allows players with precise timing to cancel special moves into focus attacks, and in turn cancel focus attacks into the forward dash, resulting in new combo possibilities. If a special move is blocked by the opponent, the new system allows players to cancel the blocked move with a focus attack, and then cancel the focus attack by dashing backward safely away from the opponent.

Ono has stated that this system was incorporated in order to shift the emphasis away from combos and toward a more realistic system he has compared to boxing, in which "the skill is in reading your opponent's move before he starts moving ... We haven't forgotten about combos and linked moves, but focus makes it so that you have to read your opponent." The system aims to make ground attacks as viable a way of approaching opponents as jumping was in previous games. The focus system is a core part of Street Fighter IV's gameplay.

Ultra Combos
"Super Combos", the powered-up special moves that has been a series' mainstay since Super Street Fighter II Turbo, return in Street Fighter IV. Similar to Super Turbo, each character has one set super move. The game also features "EX Moves", the powered-up versions of Special Moves from Street Fighter III 2nd Impact. In addition to Super Combos, the game also features "Ultra Combos". Ultra Combos are performed similarly to the character's Super Combo but are executed with three attack buttons (much like the Lv. 3 Super Combos in the original Street Fighter Alpha and the Meteor Combos in Street Fighter EX2 Plus). Ultra Combos are long and cinematic moves featuring a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other moves. Just as there is a Super Combo meter, there is also an Ultra Combo meter (officially known as the "Revenge Gauge"), but whereas the Super Combo meter fills as the player hits an opponent, the Revenge Gauge fills when one takes damage from the opponent. Along with the Super Combo, Ultra Combos are one of the only times the camera breaks from its normal fixed position to show a more dynamic, cinematic view of the gameplay.

Arcade roster
Chronologically set between the Street Fighter II series and the Street Fighter III series, Street Fighter IV was initially meant as a return to the series' roots, ie Super Street Fighter II Turbo, which Ono considers to be "the king of Street Fighter games". Thus, the experience provided by Super Street Fighter II Turbo became the main influence for the Street Fighter IV development team, and all its characters were intended to be in the game. However, the four characters introduced in Super Street Fighter II were dropped for the arcade version of the game, so the final playable character roster became that of Street Fighter II' - Champion Edition, along with four additional characters, new to the series.

Home version additions
The home versions of Street Fighter IV feature additional characters not included in the arcade version of the game. Announced so far are Cammy (the top voted character suggested for the home version of the game in an online poll posted on Capcom's US site) and Fei-Long from Super Street Fighter II, Dan and Rose from Street Fighter Alpha, and Sakura and Gen from Street Fighter Alpha 2.

In addition, the two computer-only boss characters from the arcade version, Seth and Gouken, are also both playable in the home versions, and Akuma is a hidden character.

Development
Before producer Yoshinori Ono pitched the idea to Capcom R&D head Keiji Inafune], the prevailing attitude around Capcom was that a new numeric entry to the Street Fighter series would not be made. Initially, there was much resistance to Ono's pitch for a new Street Fighter game so many years after the original. However, in light of fan demand plus the positive reaction to Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting on Xbox Live Arcade, Inafune eventually allowed the project to begin. This was Ono's first take on a new entry for the Street Fighter series as a producer, although he had previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike as a "sound management director" and previously produced Capcom Fighting Jam.

The game runs on the Taito Type X2 arcade board inside a Taito Vewlix cabinet and takes advantage of the Type X2's network capabilities and allows players in separate

Home versions
Street Fighter IV is currently scheduled to be released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows. The home releases will feature additional playable characters and online play functionality. The North American and European localizations of the home ports will feature English voice acting for all the characters, as well as fully animated ending sequences. The home versions will also feature bonus stages.

The North American, European, and Japanese releases will be available in standard packaging and in a Collector's Edition variant. The Collector's Edition is available only to the console versions of the game, and will come with a figurine (Crimson Viper for 360 owners; Ryu for PS3 owners), the animated short Aratanaru Kizuna ("Renewed Bonds") produced by Studio 4°C, game soundtrack, and a Prima hint guide. Limited editions will retail at $79.99 USD.

Reception
Reception for the game has been overwhelmingly positive, with scores appearing in reviewer's top rankings. Joe Juba from GameInformer's March 2009 issue stated that the game, "...is a distillation of everything the genre does right. It delivers the intensity of competition...all through elegant techniques that are easy to learn and difficult to master."

James Meilke of 1up.com wrote that, "It's a bold, confident fighter that celebrates its heritage while bringing fresh, new ideas to the table, arriving in a remarkably complete package..." while Dan Amrich of OXM Magazine stated that, "If you’re a novice, a training mode and eight levels of difficulty will help you find your way. If you’re a pro, SFIV contains all the depth you’ve ever loved about the series, without compromise." In the Plus section of the review, he states that it, "Does the impossible: Preserves the past, embraces the future."

Criticism came to the anime-style scenes, "...these cutscenes are almost a disgrace to anime as they are so poorly animated and tell you almost nothing about the story or the context for each character's participation in the tournament," wrote Ryan Clements of IGN. James Mielke also added words about the featured stages in the game, stating that, "Sure, Drive-in at Night, Crowded Downtown, Pitch-black Jungle, Deserted Temple, Cruise Ship Stern, and Small Airfield are nice enough, but anyone longing for E. Honda's onsen hot spring will be left wanting."

Street Fighter IV currently enjoys a 94% ranking on Metacritic.

Controllers
MadCatz will be releasing two licensed FightSticks and five wireless GamePads to coincide with the game's release. The Tournament Edition FightStick will feature a Sanwa joystick and 30mm buttons, as well as various modification abilities. Gamepro.com's official review of the stick(s) state that the Tournament Edition also comes with a compartment to store the sticks' cord, along with rubber feet located on the underside. The Tournament Edition will retail at $150.00 USD, however only 3000 are being produced with MadCatz receiving over 20,000 pre-orders.

The basic FightStick is considerably smaller in size, but has been reviewed to be for intermediate players, and has the capability to be rested comfortably on a player's lap. The face of the controller is marked with a graphic displaying the original seven fighters from Street Fighter II, but it is still unclear whether or not the stick can be modded. The model will retail at $79.99 USD for the Xbox 360, and $69.99 for the PS3.

Both FightSticks position the Start/Select buttons on the rear side of the model. Turbo, Home (PS3) and Guide (360) buttons are located on the upper left corner of the models, as well as a lock switch to keep from accidental initiation during play.

The GamePads feature graphics of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, and Akuma, and will retail at $39.99 USD. The pads feature an 8-Way floating D-Pad, along with the trigger (R1 and R2 for PS3) buttons located directly onto the face. The button layout is similar to the FightSticks, with the Guide (Home) button located on the lower area of the controller.

Trailer
Official trailer for Street Fighter IV

Second official trailer for Street Fighter IV

Links

 * Street Fighter 4 Forums

Cheats
How to Unlock Characters:

Akuma - May be unlocked after unlocking Sakura, Dan, Cammy, Fei Long, Gen and Rose. Beat him in Arcane Mode to unlock him. In order to fight him, get at least one Perfect and use no Continues.

Cammy - End the Arcade Mode with C. Viper.

Dan - End the Arcade Mode with Sakura.

Fei Long - End the Arcade Mode with Abel.

Gen - End the Arcade Mode with Chun-Li.

Gouken - After unlocking Akuma, Sakura, Dan, Cammy, Fei Long, Gen and Rose, complete the game with Akuma. Then, beat Arcade Mode, getting at least 2 Perfects and 3 Ultra Finishes and without using any Continues.

Rose - End the Arcade Mode with M.Bison.

Sakura - End the Arcade Mode with Ryu.

Seth - Beat Arcade Mode with all other characters.