Ultra Street Fighter IV Review (payatyolo)
A FUN FIGHTING GAME
I have no experience in fighting games other than the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series and the Injustice game, so this review will come from that perspective. And also I don't know the lingo in fighting games. This game is fun. Finishing the first Injustice opened a door for me to know how deep this genre is. So I decided to start with this game first since Street Fighter is a pretty big name and an important historical piece in the fighting genre.
You get to play a variety of characters ranging from quick and grounded playstyle like Cammy (my main), an all-rounder like Ryu, a range or distanced fighter like Rose or Poison, and grappling brutes like Hugo and Zangeif. The already deep combat and high learning curve is now enhanced more with the variety of characters which can be overwhelming for me as a newcomer. But I stick to one character, which is Cammy (for reasons), and studied her movesets in the Training section, Trials, and the internet. And overall, I had fun on doing hard to execute combos and moves.
The analog is stick is usually for movement in my experience and I've never used it for combat other than for positioning. Special moves and ultras are executed by using these tight analog movements which can be hard at first. But once you get used to it, other things will come to play like attacks and combos, stance, blocking, and more. I've only mastered the Special Moves and never really got to the other aspects of the fight.
Which brings me to the gripes of the game which is mainly because I'm a casual. Not being used to the utilising the analog stick fully will always bring to launch me to the air being ripe with openings and punishers. The CPUs can be hard even in medium. Don't get me started on Online Play. From what I've understood, there is no matchmaking, so you can encounter opponents either the same level as you are, or one of the top players of the game. This game being almost 10 years old will have people that have 10 years of experience. And again, this is probably because of my casual experience.
The story is kinda okay. I've finished the arcade mode with Cammy (on very easy difficulty for the plot which still destroyed me) and kinda got to know her. The arcade mode is the only thing you have for story. Each characters have their own cutscenes and rivals in the arcade. I would say the story isn't important since it is fighting game (and also I am a Monster Hunter fan), but it could have been better.
Playing with friends is very fun. The steam remote play can make online for originally local multiplayer. It's always a blast learning with friends and also just having a sparring partner.
The soundtrack rocks though. Easily entered my top Spotify playlists.
Overall, a fun game. The difficulty got to me though.
4/5