Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival

"Excellent game but some new-schoolers will hate it"

After the so-so release of Street Fighter II on the old Game Boy, it's finally refreshing to see Street Fighter at its best on the Game Boy Advance, especially with a ton of new treats in store for SF veterans. One thing that I need to mention is that the game's value is generally divided between old-schoolers and new-schoolers of the SF series. While old-school players will love this game, new-school players are more used to slick animations, big super moves, and other exciting little additions so they will most likely not like this one. Either way, however, my review will reflect the fact that I don't favor old- or new-style combat.

THE STORY BEHIND STREET FIGHTER II

Just as in the all SF games, Street Fighter II's story mainly revolves around the Japanese fighter Ryu and his American rival Ken but this time around, several new fighters have jumped into the world of Street Fighter with one target on their minds: Vega, the mastermind behind the terrorist group known as Shadoloo (a.k.a. Shadowlaw). But before they can get to him, each of them must prove their worth as a fighter and tackle down multiple opponents, including his henchmen Balrog, Mike Bison, and the vengeful Sagat.

What made Super Street Fighter II special was that four new challengers were added to mix of twelve fighters. They were Cammy, T. Hawk, Fei Long, and Dee Jay. Later on, a sped-up version was released and that's when they added the ''X'' and the infamous Gouki. This ''X'' version is the one that Capcom has chosen to revive, hence the ''Revival''.

GRAPHICS 9/10

If you've seen the graphics in the first SF2, you've seen them all. Capcom retains the original penciled style that the SF2 series has followed since the first version. Even most of the various colors of each character was brought back. Of course, the game was meant to be played on something larger than a GBA screen so you'd expect some graphical problems but surprisingly, it's pretty good. Despite the small screen, the characters move very smooth and backgrounds are all nicely done with sprites intact. Interestingly, on a GBA screen the CPS2 graphics look pretty good for its age.

For a treat, Capcom added a lot of graphical touches on the game. The intro with Ryu throwing the fireball out of the screen has been replaced. Instead, now you have several gorgeous pics of Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li appear onscreen in a matter of seconds, ending with the title screen. Not as riveting as the original SSF2X opening but it's still quite impressive. As another added effect, all of the old character pics have been replaced by stunning new ones. Check of Zangief's head vein! There is also the addition of new backgrounds for several of the game's stages. For example, Guile's stage was originally an airport with several spectators sitting around a grounded fighter jet. This background has been completely scrapped in favor of a hangar bridge with a steel floor and a fighter jet floating in the cloudy skies. Thanks to the power of the GBA, these new backgrounds are beautiful and smooth. No problem there.

One problem that I noticed was that there were several irregular bits and pieces here and there. For example, when Guile is in his winning pose featuring him holding up his dog tags, his face seems oddly stretched. There are also a few spots where parts of a fighter's outfit is slightly pixelish but it's barely noticible so it's not a major concern.

SOUNDS 9/10

The game's sound effects haven't changed much. Capcom made some changes in the character voices prior to the release of the original SSF2X and they're all still in good shape. Every blow, cry, etc. has been kept intact and unchanged. Of course, this is not necessarily a good thing. There were a few sound effects that are just plain terrible. For example, Ryu's coarse ''hadoken'' cry could've been changed to sound more like his Alpha voice, which was very clear. Still, they sound good on both the GBA stereo and headphones.

MUSIC 9/10

Like the sound effects, the music has also been kept intact. Each stage still has their old tunes but this time around, a lot of the stage music seems to sound like musical pipes. Obviously, you're not going to expect SF Alpha quality but it's still decent music albeit not very refreshing.

CONTROL 8/10

Your first impression of this game's control layout is most likely, ''are they going to use the 4-button system used is Capcom vs. SNK?'' Well the answer is no. Instead, they're using a new system in which the L and R buttons will remain as FP and RK but the weak and medium attacks will be varied by the A and B buttons. By tapping lightly, you get a JP or SK. By tapping harder, you get a SP or FK. This system is innovative and easy to learn but trying to tap the A and B buttons lightly is no easy task. Still, since you're probably not going to favor weak attacks too often, you probably won't mind.

Capcom had done quite a bit to make the layout as comfortable as possible on the GBA. All of the moves are still done the same as they are always done but since you're talking about moving the GBA's small directional pad, it can be tricky trying to pull off special moves such as fireballs and dragon punches. So what's the easiest way out? There is a more simplified layout for performing special moves. All you have to do is press Select and you're automatically under the new layout. Now if you want to throw a fireball, all you have to do is press Forward plus Punch. This new system is very handy, especially with any players that are new to the game. The only problem is that anyone with chargeable moves will get an advantage by not having to charge up for moves. For example, for Chun-Li to throw a fireball, she has to hold Back on the D-pad for two seconds. On this new system, all she has to do is press Back, followed by Forward and Punch. Of course, it's not a big advantage so you shouldn't really worry.

GAMEPLAY 8/10

SSF2X's combat system is very basic but does have added touches that would later become key elements to future fighting games. It addition to the basic one-on-one combat, you have the multi-hit combos, reversals, counters, and other skillful moves. There is also a meter at the bottom of the screen that fills up as you fight. Once it's maxed out, you can perform a super move that inflicts massive damage to your opponent. This system of fighting is famous for having plenty of features but only enough so that skill itself is still a vital piece. In later Capcom fighting games, air blocks, extreme super moves, and other big features dominate over the skill aspects of the game, which is why SSF2X is honored by veteran players.

Despite the awesome combat system, you can't help but notice that cheap characters have not been handicapped. While most characters are balanced out, some such as Dhalsim are far too good for their own good and many experts will easily dominate the field with fighters like him. This has been a problem since the original SF2 but it seems that they weren't modified until they made appearances in later fighting games. Still, veterans had to live with it so you'll have to live with it.

MULTIPLAYER 9/10

Just as with any fighting game, multiplayer is what makes them so good and this game still does a great job as a multiplayer game. Unlike a match against a computer, a match against a human player means that you're fighting an opponent that can be extremely unpredictable. Of course, that means that you can have cheesy opponents. Whatever the case is, the multiplayer in this game can get wild but unbalanced characters can ruin the fun at times.

REPLAY 8/10

With the revival of SSF2X, the game got a nice pack of extras to go with it. As you fight, you can rack up Vs. points that can unlock secrets, including the elusive Gouki. Through other methods, you can also unlock the Survival and Time Attack modes, each one filled with tough challenges, including a chance to fight the rare Shin Gouki. Even with all of these secrets, however, it really doesn't seem as though there are enough secrets to keep the game lasting for a long time and many of them seem too quick and easy to unlock. You'll probably put the game down after a little while.

Street Fighter II's replayability was most likely based on the fact that there are multiple endings to look at and now that you have so many characters, the game should last you a while. Interestingly enough, these endings alone can keep a player happy but endings could've been done better. I won't tell you what happens to each character (although veterans will already know) but what I can tell you is that the original endings with moving sprites have been replaced by single pictures with vertically scrolling dialog lines that tell the endings. Not as riveting as the original way but those pics look awfully gorgeous.

OVERALL 9/10

This game was a great fighting game back in its day and it still is today. Now that it's received some new enhancements, the experience is refreshed but just as I mentioned earlier, you must remember that old-school and new-school players will have varying opinions over the game so expect people loving and hating this game all at the same time.

BUY OR RENT

This game can make a pretty good Blockbuster rental but for the sake of multiplayer and its fair load of secrets, you're better off buying it.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/01, Updated 07/23/01