izigame.me

I'm in a minority in the sense I've played Street Fighter 5 a good bit before getting this. I have recently gotten back into fighting games after a nearly 2 decades long break. And I plan for this to be the only game from the era where fighting games make a big return that I pick up and review. And mostly because this game is credited for the fighting game boom we are currently experiencing.
Graphics are fine. It was probably top notch when it was released. But in a world where SF5 exists and we know what SF6 is kind of looking like this game shows some age.
Music is really solid. In some ways I prefer some of the music in this game over SF5. But I think it's for character themes. I really enjoy hearing Dudley's theme as I was a big fan of his in 3rd strike. And not having this in SF5, for example, is a let down. The quality in SF5 is of course better. But I think older SF fans will appreciate this roster and character themes more.
Sound is somewhat the same. SF5 has better quality but that is not to say this is bad. It's fine. There isn't much to complain about unless you may not like your favorite characters voice actor. Which is entirely subjective.
In terms of single player content it's lacking. It's really going to come down to how many characters you want to play through the arcade mode with. It can be somewhat interesting because the 7th fight, the fight before the boss, is a rival battle. To use the same example and give a small spoiler if playing as Dudley his rival is Balrog and there is unique dialogue between them. But other than arcade you have training, local and cpu vs, combo trials, and the arcade mini games (car smashing and barrels).
Multiplayer is interesting. There is not really a "get in que" type system. You create a "lobby room" or try to join someone else's. I assume the game at least tries to find player created rooms that are similar to your skill level. There is no rematch system either. This seems to be a big deal to a lot of folks. It does not bother me at all personally. As an old player myself, I totally understand only having time for a single match here n there. I played a few matches. Games were found fairly quickly so there still seems to be a nice amount of people playing.
A lot of folks claim this game is harder to play than SF5 and that is true to an extent. When I entered training mode I was able to execute my characters target combo's fairly easily. But executing in a real match, even against the cpu, is another story. Links and combo's are tight. It will take quite a bit of time and practice to be able to perform at a competent level. I personally prefer SF5 where 3-4 hit combo's (bread and butters) are fairly easy to get into and learning bigger punishes and combo's will still take a good degree of time.
The roster is 44 characters and mostly returning old favorites from SF2, SF3 and the alpha series. A good choice for a return to the genre by Capcom. In some ways I wish this had been my reintroduction to the genre. I may have had a bit more to gush about. But rather it makes me appreciate more recent titles. I'm not saying at all this game is bad. In fact it's really good. Makes me wish I was a player during it's prime. But as of 2022/23 as we approach SF6 this title feels more like a classic. A fighting game for the more hardcore audience. I would refer newer players to the SF series to pick up 5. But if you enjoy 5 and other fighters snagging this on sale for 8 bucks roughly is an easy recommend.