Ultra Street Fighter IV

Ultra Street Fighter IV (ウルトラストリートファイターIV) is a 2.5D fighting game, and is an update of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition and the 4th update to the Street Fighter IV series overall. It features five additional characters, stages and character tweaks based on community feedback. This title update also features brand new modes.

Ultra Street Fighter IV was first released to Japanese arcades via the NESICA system. Those who already own Super Street Fighter IV or Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition can buy the game as an add-on for $14.99. It will later be released as a standalone game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 for $39.99, and for PC for $29.99. The game/add-on was released in June 2014.

Development
Capcom has announced a pre-order bonus that includes an alternate costume for each of the new playable characters. These costumes have been designed by UDON, the same art studio that created/published the Street Fighter comics and drew the artwork for Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix. Players who purchase the full retail/digital release of the update will receive all previous DLC costumes for free.

New Mechanics
New gameplay mechanics have been announced, Ultra Combo Double, Red Focus Attack and Delayed Standing.
 * Ultra Combo Double allows players to choose both of their character's Ultra Combos at the cost of doing less damage. This gives players more options in their tactics and play styles.
 * Red Focus Attack is a Focus Attack that absorbs multiple hits. By holding the usual Medium Punch and Medium Kick buttons, plus the Light Punch button, the player's character will flash red as they charge their Focus Attack. It is still subject to the same weaknesses as the former with Armor Breaking moves and throws.
 * Delayed Standing (similar to "Tactical Recovery" from Capcom vs. SNK 2) allows players to alter the timing of their character's wake-up, when they are getting back on their feet. By pressing any two buttons when the character is slammed down in a hard knockdown (similar in the fashion of performing a Quick Stand), the character will take a few extra frames to get back on their feet, disrupting the wake-up game of the attacking opponent.

In addition to these mechanics, unblockable setups have been removed, as was heavily requested by fans of the series. . This was achieved through the addition of delayed wake-up. .

In addition to new gameplay mechanics, there are new modes available for use: Elimination and Online Training. Elimination is an improved Team Battle mode for online play, bearing great resemblance to the three-on-three survival style from the King of Fighters series. Online Training makes its return from Street Fighter X Tekken, allowing for players to train together online.

Testing
Various location tests, performed on arcade cabinets, were held in the following locations:
 * Japan - November 22-25, 2013
 * Tokyo Taito Station, Shinjuku South Game World
 * Osaka Taito Station, Osaka City Nipponbashi
 * Nagoya Taito Station, Oosu
 * Fukuoka Taito Station, Fukuoka Tenjin
 * Sendai Taito Station, Sendai Chris Road
 * Sapporo Taito Station, Sapporo Tanuki Kouji


 * United States of America
 * Super Arcade - Walnut, CA - November 29-December 1, 2013
 * Northeast Championships 14 - Essington, PA - December 6-8, 2013
 * Capcom Cup - Burlingame, California - December 14, 2013


 * Singapore
 * Tough Cookie Gaming Cafe - Singapore - December 20-22, 2013

Other Additions
Players are able to upload their online matches directly to YouTube, much like in Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition. Players have the option to choose any match from their battle log of online matches and upload in 480p quality directly to their own YouTube channels.

Taking a page from Hyper Street Fighter II, players are able to choose which version of their character they would like to play. Under personal actions, the versions are labeled as SFIV (Street Fighter IV), SSFIV (Super Street Fighter IV), SSFIV AE (Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition), SSFIV 2012 (Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition: Version 2012), USFIV (Ultra Street Fighter IV) and the newly added "OMEGA" mode (DLC only).

Ultra Street Fighter IV was released on Japanese NESICA systems on April 17. However, the fifth new character, Decapre, was not playable at first, as Capcom was still fine-tuning the character. She was added to the roster of the arcade version at a later date, via an update patch.

As Ultra Street Fighter IV neared its digital and retail releases, two new features were revealed: save/reload states and Network Simulation. Save/reload states allow players to pause gameplay in training mode and replay it again with a press of a button. Pressing start will save a state and select/back will reload this state. This will allow players to perhaps find out what follow-ups after a hit confirm, practice juggles easier or to replay a certain scenario to find out what offensive/defensive options are available.

Network Simulation allows players to simulate laggy online environments offline. Players will be able to simulate from 1 frame up to 20 frames of lag, designed a means to test the waters and practice combos before jumping online. Features that are seen in offline training mode will be nearly identical to those seen in the new online training mode. Both features make a return from previous Capcom fighting games, Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds respectively.

In addition, Training Mode Fight Request and Offline Battle Log were also added. Training Mode Fight Request allows players to practice combos and warm themselves up in between online matches. A preferred option over sitting in lobbies and running through the Arcade Mode over and over again.

Offline Battle Log allows players to, upon enabling, automatically archive offline matches and allow for players to replay them as they would replay their online matches. Likewise, players are also able to use the previously announced 'Upload to YouTube' feature and upload their offline matches to YouTube just as it is possible with their online matches.

Button configuration was brought to the character select screen via pressing the select/back button. This greatly speeds up the process of preparing before a match. This is another feature to make a return from Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition.

Stages
The update adds six new stages, all of which come from Street Fighter X Tekken. The stages are:
 * East Asia: The Pitstop 109
 * Europe: Blast Furnace
 * North America: The Half Pipe
 * North America: Mad Gear Hideout
 * South America: Cosmic Elevator
 * Unknown: Jurassic Era Research Facility

Downloadable Content
Preorders of the game included the "2014 Challengers Costume Pack", new costumes designed by UDON for Decapre, Elena, Hugo, Poison and Rolento.

A new set of Summer Vacation costumes will be released on August 12th, 2014:
 * Shoryuken Vacation Pack: Dan, Ken, Akuma, Gouken, Ryu
 * Femme Fatale Vacation Pack: C. Viper, Cammy, Sakura, Rose, Chun-Li
 * Shadaloo Vacation Pack: Sagat, Seth, Balrog, Vega, M. Bison
 * Challengers 1 Vacation Pack: Guy, Dudley, Dee Jay, Hakan, Makoto
 * Challengers 2 Vacation Pack: T. Hawk, Adon, Ibuki, Cody, Juri
 * Classic Vacation Pack: Guile, Dhalsim, Fei Long, Blanka, Gen
 * Brawler Vacation Pack: Abel, Zangief, El Fuerte, Rufus, E. Honda
 * Arcade Challengers Vacation Pack: Oni, Yang, Yun, Evil Ryu
 * 2014 Challengers Vacation Pack: Elena, Decapre, Hugo, Poison, Rolento

Trailers

 * See also: Ultra Street Fighter IV/Trailers