Now that the retail boxed version of Ultra Street Fighter IV has arrived it is now the complete edition. Within the boxed title comes everything that was available from the digital upgrade a couple of months prior but with all the alternative costumes that were purchasable over the years. Players like myself who held off from buying the online upgrade that required the Arcade edition before hand have also had the chance to pick up additional costumes through pre ordering the game at selected shops. Doing so and awaiting for the boxed version now means you’ve got everything that Capcom has to offer. This is biggest update to a Street Fighter game to date even though Seth Killian originally planned for the previous title to be the last.
Over the past few years we’ve seen 2 updates, the first being Super Street Fighter that added 10 new characters, then Super Street Fighter Arcade Edition which brought 4 more characters, and now Ultra Street Fighter IV which adds 5 more characters. 3 of the 5 characters you might have already played or come across from 2012’s Street Fighter X Tekken game. Poison, Hugo and Rolento, all from Street Fighter X Tekken have their same moves with some tweaks and are joined by 2 additional characters, Elena and Decapre. Elena is a female Capoeira fighter seen in previous Street Fighters with the unique ability to heal as her ultra move. Fighting only using her feet as Capoeira fighters do, Elena is the only additional character that offers a unique fighting style and is also very quick and accessible to learn. Decapre was the last character to be announced and also debuts in Ultra Street Fighter IV. She has a similar look to Cammy but has her own unique move set and is armed with a claw and some moves which resembles Cammy’s.
With the added characters there sadly isn’t the option to take them into the Trial mode to challenge yourself to furthering your training. Being a feature I only tend to use when I fancy trying out a new character I can’t fault this but there will be some fans out there who’ll miss the 24 stages of trials. Perhaps this is something that could be rectified by an update as opposed to a paid microtransaction.
There’s an additional 6 stages to battle it out on for even more visual variety. Pitstop 109, Mad Gear Hideout, Cosmic Elevator, Blast Furnace, Half Pipe and Jurassic Era Research Facility make their way across from Street Fighter X Tekken which I enjoyed as they were dynamic in that game and some of the background animations have made it over too.
There are a few other additional cool tricks you can now pull off within the matches. From delaying your standing up after being knocked down to throw off your opponent’s timing if they’re anticipating you getting back up, to the new Red Focus move which absorbs multiple attacks in exchange for some of your super bar. But my favourite feature is having the option to having both of your ultra moves. For anyone that doesn’t know, your ultra move is only powered up if you’re taking quite the beating, previously named the Revenge bar which makes sense. Now this ultra bar allows you to do 1 of 2 moves chosen by you whilst selecting your character and can’t be changed mid fight. With the addition of Ultra Combo Double you can now have the option to do either move at the cost of reduced damage to keep it fair. Now players like myself who use a character with an ultra offensive move and an ultra counter move can have game changing options right at our finger tips.
This version of the game has added a lot more than it says on the tin and with almost no faults it’s the best upgrade to the current Street Fighter series. The only crime is that if you’ve moved onto the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 you’ll be missing out as this title is only for the 360 and PS3, for now.
