Street Fighter IV is a 2008 fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom for the arcades since 1999. The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008 with North American arcades importing the machines by August. The console versions for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were released on February 12, 2009 in Japan, and were sold in North American stores as early as February 16, with a February 18 intended release date. The official European release was on February 20. A Windows version was released on July 2, 2009 in Japan, July 3, 2009 in Europe and July 7, 2009 in the US. As of March 31, 2009, Street Fighter IV had sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide. An updated version, Super Street Fighter IV , is scheduled to be released as a standalone title in Spring 2010.
Gameplay
While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. 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.
Stephen Kleckner of 1UP.com has stated the game has a similar feel to Super Street Fighter II Turbo , but also has a few 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. Pressing both medium attack buttons makes your character perform the focus strike. Dashes and quick standing are also in the game. C.Viper is the only character who can perform a high jump.
It was intended that bonus rounds such as the car-smashing stage 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 is time during which they have no chance of losing, which ultimately takes money from arcade operators.
Visuals
All the characters and environments in Street Fighter IV are rendered as 3D models with polygons, similar to the Street Fighter EX sub-series Capcom produced with Arika. However, there are a couple of key differences. Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike , added cel-shading to give them a hand-drawn look, with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.
Focus Attacks
Focus Attacks, known as "Saving System" in the Japanese version, is a new system 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 or she is able to absorb a single hit 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 be unblockable and cause the opponent to crumple slowly to the ground, allowing the player to follow up with a free hit. Attacks that were absorbed during the first phase of a focus attack still cause damage to the player; however, life lost from the opponent's attack will be quickly regenerated 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 or she 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
In addition to the powered-up versions of special moves introduced in previous Street Fighter games such as Super Combos and EX Special Moves, the game also introduces a new type of powered-up special move officially dubbed the Ultra Combo . Ultra Combos are long and cinematic moves featuring a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other fighting techniques. Just as there is a Super Combo gauge, there is also an Ultra Combo gauge (officially known as the "Revenge Gauge" or "Revenge Meter"), but whereas the Super Combo gauge fills up when the player hits their opponent or performs a special move , the Revenge Gauge fills when one takes damage from their opponent (similar to the K Groove featured in Capcom vs. SNK 2 ). Along with the Super Combos, Ultra Combos are one of the only times (besides Zangief, E.Honda and Abel's command throws) the camera breaks from its normal fixed position to show a more dynamic, cinematic view of the gameplay.
Characters
Chronologically set between the Street Fighter II sub-series and the Street Fighter III sub-series, the playable character roster of the arcade version includes the cast of the original Street Fighter II (all twelve characters, including the four Shadaloo Grand Masters) and four new characters. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo also appears as a hidden playable character, as well as a secret opponent, for a total 17 playable characters. Additionally, the game includes two CPU-only characters: Seth as the game's standard final boss, and Gouken as a secret opponent, which makes for a total of 19 characters.
Returning characters in the arcade version
New characters
- Abel, a French mixed martial artist. He is described as an amnesiac, a "man with no past" looking to defeat surviving members of Shadaloo.
- Crimson Viper, a female American spy wearing sunglasses, leather gloves and a form-fitting suit.
- Rufus, an overweight Kung Fu fighter, who seeks to fight Ken to prove himself as the best fighter in the United States.
- El Fuerte (Spanish for "The Strong One"), a Mexican luchador and aspiring gourmet chef.
Bosses and hidden characters
- Seth, also known as "The Puppet Master", is the new boss character. He is the Chief Executive Officer of S.I.N., a weapons manufacturer. His body has been modified using advanced technology. His Special Moves are techniques used by other characters.
- Akuma (Gouki in Japan), a recurring hidden character, appears in the arcade version as a secret final boss in the single-player mode, as well as a secret time-release playable character available.
- Gouken, the elder brother of Akuma, and Ryu and Ken ' s master, appears in the arcade version as a secret computer-controlled challenger in the end of the single-player mode, making his debut as a fighter in the Street Fighter series.
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 experience provided by Super Street Fighter II Turbo became the main influence for the Street Fighter IV development team.
The game runs on the Taito Type X 2 arcade board inside a Taito Vewlix cabinet and takes advantage of the Type X 2 's network capabilities and allows players in separate machines within the same LAN to fight each other.
Home versions
Street Fighter IV was also released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows, fe
Wii, PS3 and X-box 360 Lego Rockband 32.99 from Amazon with free ...
Wii, PS3 and X-box 360 Lego Rockband 32.99 from Amazon with free shipping Hot Deals ... Thanks for voting You have chosen to thumb down ... Amazon $20 off $80 Select Wii, PS3, or Xbox 360 ...
Which console is better xbox 360 elite or a wii? - Yahoo! Answers
Voters DO NOT get any points for voting on the No Best Answer. Sign in ... X Box 360 Console At Amazon .com Find Huge XBox 360 Video Games Here! Order Online Now.
Music onto x box 360? - Yahoo! Answers
Voters DO NOT get any points for voting on the No Best Answer. Sign in ... X Box 360 Console At Amazon .com Find Huge XBox 360 Video Games Here! Order Online Now.
$100 Xbox 360 Confirmed (Pretty Much) - Amazon - Kotaku
Thanks for the link, Trent and Michael! Michael McWhertor. Amazon Customers Vote Rumor: Xbox 360 For $100? [Kotaku] Contact information for this author is not available.
Amazon to Sell Xbox 360 for $100
Rumor has it that Amazon will soon be selling an Xbox 360 bundle for $100. ... They have a chance to win the “swing vote ... and five kids who want one of these x box 360 for ...
Amazon.com: The Xbox 360 Community
A community about xbox 360. Tag and discover new products. ... OT: Maintaining Amazon customer communities.....Now with ... saturn, ps1, and snes players: which is best x box 360 or ps3
Watch Amazon Unbox on Your Xbox 360
Vote 0 Votes. "Can I watch Amazon Unbox movies on my Xbox 360?" Amazon Unbox videos ... On the Media blade on your Xbox 360, choose Videos, then hit the X ...
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year 2009 Edition (Xbox ...
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - Game of the Year 2009 Edition (Xbox 360): Amazon.co.uk: PC ... you do get these people, and it flabbergasts me that Infinity didn't allow a vote ...
Xbox 360 Console (60 GB Hard Drive): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games
Xbox 360 Console (60 GB Hard Drive): Amazon.co.uk: PC & Video Games ... Product Dimensions: 38.1 x 38.1 x ... At this point I would vote no stars. I have had my 360 several ...
Amazon.com: Xbox 360 Live Camera Bundle: Video Games
Amazon.com: Xbox 360 Live Camera Bundle: Video Games ... Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 2.5 inches ; 1.1 ... customers vote (2)