STREET FIGHTER IV WAS GOOD ACTUALLY AND I LIKED IT
Is this a controversial opinion? I feel like it’s a controversial opinion. I’m sure there must be people who fucking hate SFIV and think it’s objectively shit, and I expect I shall hear from those people presently if they see this post, so we’ll find out either way, won’t we.
Anyway. Anyway.
There was a lot that was special about SFIV, I think, and not just because of the shift from 2D pixel art to fully rendered 3D graphics - although I will say, the art direction in SFIV did impress me. I think a terrific job was done of translating the aesthetic of that 2D art into 3D models. Nothing looked out of place; the series’ established artstyle was preserved superbly in SFIV’s graphics, whilst at the same time also bringing everything up to date and creating a fresh, new look.
I’m still only about as good at dem fightan gaem as I was when I played SFII as a kid, but SFIV didn’t feel grossly different to what I remember, and I picked it up well enough while I still had other people to play with. Maybe folks with more skill and expertise in the genre will have different opinions, I don’t know. I could criticise the apparent bias towards fightsticks in the control system, I suppose, but if I’d sunk the time into it, I don’t expect that it was anything that couldn’t be overcome. I would have probably learned to pull off ultras in both directions in the end if I’d stuck at it. Other people manage it, after all.
The soundtrack was really good. I still have most of it on my walkman. It did a great job of keeping the themes of existing characters and stages recognisable while giving them a new, flashy twist and I liked it a lot.
(I’m writing this instead of working on tonight’s Inktober piece. Can you tell?)
It also introduced Rufus, Abel and El Fuerte, all of whom I fucking love. And also this guy, whatever the fuck his name was. Seth. That’s the one, him. That guy. He’s alright. Also Feet Monster Juri was new, I remember the shitstorm that surrounded her when she was revealed. That was a fun time.
But none of them matter because SFIV also introduced Hakan.
And as much as I love Abel and El Fuerte all on their own, which is definitely not because I ship them, Rufus holds a very special place in my heart because I remember reading up on the process his character design went through and it’s fucking hilarious. He was intended to be “a character that Americans could identify with”, and he was originally planned to be a very cool black karate dude called “King Cobra”, but then the team went with his final design instead.
Look at him. Look at Rufus. The folks over at CAPCOM sat there and asked themselves, “What would an American identify with the most?” and this is what they came back with. They came up with this Leather Guy Fieri bastard. That’s.
That’s great. That’s just great. I love Rufus.
Anyway, liked Street Fighter IV. It’s good.
