The Rumble Fish 2 Review ([LOCK+KEY])
The game is a lot better now that most if not all of its launch issues have been fixed. You can turn off widescreen and enable 4:3 mode with sidebars to play the game as you're supposed to, matches against other players no longer kick you back to the title screen and let you rematch, and lobbies have been added. As for changes to balance, this port is actually based off the NESiCAxLive rerelease of the game, which came with a balance patch that is regarded as being better balanced than the Atomiswave original (at least according to the Mizuumi wiki).
That's all good, but making Greed, Hazama, and Beatrice DLC when they were unlockable in the arcade versions for free with the flip of a switch is still a very scummy move. It does not replicate the arcade experience of having to "enable" them but rather cuts three characters who were in the game before and resells them to you for no good reason. The game's also a bit too expensive for a game that originally came out in 2005 and doesn't have much content beyond arcade, time attack, survival, training, and online. The publisher is quite frankly incompetent, both with the DLC practices and for botching this port's launch in the first place, and it very well might have ruined this port's chances of being popular and successful thanks to a negative first impression. At least they handled the launch of The Rumble Fish + a whole lot better from what I've seen.
So in conclusion, the game is fixed. It's a well-balanced and very fun hidden gem that's well worth a buy if you like fighting games (though not at $30, but it tends to go on sale somewhat often), but although this is a positive review, I can't really forgive the publishers for the abysmal launch and the presence of DLC characters who should've already been in the game by default. At least they're $4 each, but still.