Hyper Street Fighter Aniversary BS

Yet another mild rant from the guy who loves the Capcom games but constantly finds himself hating the Capcom company.

Looking at an upcoming release I have interest in, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, I have to admit I’m VERY disappointed in what we’re being presented with here.

SFAC is supposed to include Street Fighter 2 in every different incarnation it’s ever had, configured in such a way that you can, for whatever reason you might want to, pit any version of any character from any SF2 against another character, with the same choices available. If you want to give them credit for that, then that’s some 68, 69 characters to choose from, by my count(which may be off). If only they weren’t practically carbon copies in sets of five each, this might be better.

In addition to this, there’s also Street Fighter 3: Third Strike. I’ve only played the arcade game of the first iteration, and I liked it. Alot.

The other bonus is a gallery mode. Not bad so far… except that’s it. Last I heard, actually, they were supposed to be including the SFII anime movie with this, but I no longer see that mentioned.

So, here’s what I see wrong with this “collection.”

1) Lack of games. Where’s Street Fighter 1? Any of the Alphas? Any of the other SF3s that have barely seen a home release? I bet most SF fans have never even seen SF1, save maybe an emulation. I’m one of the fortunate people who can actually say they’ve played the whole SF series, since I got lucky and found that one. Granted, by today’s standards, it’s not a great game. But without it(and I’m sure it’d take little space, given it’s a game from the same era as Mega Man 1), this whole collection already seems like a joke.

In addition, for those of us who don’t get to do a lot of multiplayer, there’s the story modes. So we’re lacking the first chapter, all of the Alpha chapters, and the first one or two of the SF3 chapters, which as I understand has a different story from Third Strike, similar to how SFA2 and SFA3 were.

2) Lack of bonuses. Actually, can’t say much here, they may have just not mentioned it or I simply missed it, but besides a gallery, the bonuses seem non-existant.

3) No GameCube version. Console Street Fighter was practically born on Nintendo, and Nintendo owners once more get the shaft. Same as Mega Man X, really. Yet X-Box owners AND PlayStation 2 owners will get all the Hadokens they want.

So, since I still need to get a PS2 for Mega Man X7 and X8, as well as TransFormers, that shouldn’t be a big deal. Of course, I already have the LAST SF Collection they released for the PS1. I believe it was Super SF2 and Super SF2 Turbo, and SFA2 Gold. This was before SF3 and SFA3, if I recall, so it wasn’t bad. But with this new collection, the ONLY real new piece for me is SF3:TS(ironic initials, as sometimes that seems to be Capcom’s main message to fans), since I only got to play the first version.

Now, maybe I’m nitpicking… but I feel they can do better. Considering they ARE doing better with Mega Man Anniversary Collection. Let’s compare:

– 8 Mega Man games spanning three consoles

– 2 unlockable arcade games never before released in the US

– Hidden artwork

– New soundtracks

– Producer interviews(GameCube only, though)

– An anime video/video of the original MM toon(PS2 only, and odds are I’ve already seen it, whatever it is, so Cube gets my dollars here. I hate exclusives still, tho)

– Information about the entire franchise

Seem at all balanced?

So, yeah. Frankly, I’m not sure SFAC will be worth the money, especially if it’s sharing the shelf with MMAC. Maybe I can wait for the next release of this type, and get my SF3 fix then. That, or wait til this hits the bargain bin, one.

I wanted this, I looked forward to this, but I feel let down by this before it even hits the shelf.

LBD “Nytetrayn”

David Oxford

David Oxford, or “LBD ‘Nytetrayn’,” as he is sometimes also known, is a freelance writer of many varied interests who resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. If you’re interested in hiring him, please drop him a line at david.oxford (at) nyteworks.net.

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