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If held at gunpoint, I'd have to say that Street IV is my favorite game of this generation. Oh sure I've had many far more amazing experiences with games like Heavy Rain or Catherine or 3D Dot Game Heroes. But Street Fighter IV is a game I've constantly come back to. In fact, it was something of a revelation to me upon its release. At a time when I thought that these new fancy pieces of hardware couldn't compare to classic sprites, it was Street Fighter IV that sold me on 'the future.' This is a real forum post I made back in 2010:


And then what happened was this: my wife and I were Christmas shopping that year at the mall and stumbled upon this kiosk. It was set up like an arcade. Just rows and rows of gaming consoles - Wii, PS3 and 360 - all just sitting there to try various games. I had time to kill and saw Street Fighter IV set up on one of the 360's and gave it a go. Within a half-hour my tune had changed. When I finally picked up a PS3 the next year, Super Street Fighter IV was the first game I bought. And in the two years since, it's remained one of the games I've played the most. I've even gone as far as picking up the Arcade Edition (as well as Street Fighter X Tekken) and await Ultra with open-arms.




So when I finally decided it was time to pick up a 3DS this last month, I bundled it with a natural choice - Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition. Indeed, the thought of playing SF4 in bed, on the couch, outside, or anywhere I desire was a huge plus for me. But how would this game fair? I mean, as far as portable Street Fighters go, it had some big shoes to fill. And I say this as a guy who's picked up portable Street Fighters going as far back as Game Boy. That said, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival on GBA is by far one of the high water marks in the portable series. And Alpha 3 on GBA was perhaps even more impressive (though not my favorite of the two) and eventually trumped by its PSP iteration.




As far as I'm concerned the important thing is whether or not a portable game can deliver a console experience to me - at least as far as Street Fighter goes. And friends let me tell you that yes, 3D Edition truly does. Now I'll start by saying this - controls are going to be a factor for any of us fighting game fans. Those of you used to an arcade stick, well you know where you stand. But I've always been a fightpad guy. So the lack of six face-buttons on the 3DS hardware is of course going to throw me off. So in fairness, that's the one downfall to me here. I had to kind of relearn how to use shoulder buttons in a Street Fighter game - something I haven't had to bother with since Turbo Revival.

But at the end of the day 3D Edition gives you everything you could want on the go. The visuals are amazing, and truly justify to me that my purchase of this handheld was a wise one. The music that I'm so familiar with is here and perfect. The controls are fluid once you've gotten a grasp of the button layout. You can use the analog nub or the D-Pad as you desire. There's also some combo's you can select on the lower DS screen via touch - but that's cheating I tell you! Cheating! And perhaps the best addition - I've now finally got a portable Street Fighter game with full online gameplay. Again - I can be in bed, on the couch, outside, where ever - and be playing Street Fighter IV against someone in another state! For this alone, I am grateful and highly recommend this port.

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