Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection

Added April 4th, 2005 by Serenity Now

Introduction:

Ah yes, remember the good ol’ days, when more quarters meant more play time? Remember stealing quarters to play Street Fighter at the arcade? Yes? Thought so. Well, with Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection you won’t need to do that anymore. Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection re-creates the feel of these arcade classics for a one-time payment that you can enjoy from the comfort of your couch. It includes Hyper Street Fighter II (a blend of five Street Fighter II games in one) and the beloved but underappreciated Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Did these gems make the transition from arcade to console without messing up the quick action formula? Or did they flop? Keep reading to find out.

Gameplay:

Since this is an Anniversary Collection there is more than one game included. Let’s take a look at each one separately and see how they stack up.

Hyper Street Fighter II:
This is still the same great game you remember playing at the arcade for hours on end. You still have all the mad combos you can pull off and you still get to hear the cheesy music that you used to like. What’s changed since the arcade version though? Simply put; nothing. Everything is just as you remembered it to be.

Hyper Street Fighter II is a blend of five different Street Fighter II games. Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo. Fans will either love or hate this. There are those that will like this because they can create dream matches that were never possible to create in the past. There are people that will hate this because they want each game in its original format, not ‘’smashed’’ together into one compilation. I’m one of the few who actually doesn’t like the idea of putting a whole bunch of games into one game.

The game plays just like every other Street Fighter game you’ve played. Just because all the offshoots of Street Fighter II are included doesn’t mean it plays any different. This game is all about the combos. Pulling off combos is your ticket to victory. You can’t just repeatedly mash the punch button over and over again and then occasionally press the kick button as the mood strikes you. No, you have to time your moves, execute multiple combos, and perform air attacks. This isn’t Dead or Alive. People who have purchased the arcade stick will obviously have a distinct advantage.

The online play is superb. No lag at all, voice communication during the whole match (unlike another fighting game I know of), and barely any loading times in between matches. The only downside to the online is that people who have purchased the arcade stick will have an immense advantage to people who are using the Xbox’s control pad. You still have a chance to win though, you just have to be a first-rate Street Fighter player. If you are though, you would have probably bought the arcade stick. All together, the online play in Hyper Street Fighter II is great and without it this title wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike:
This was arguably the best Street Fighter title ever created, so why haven’t you heard of it? It was released in the year 1999, when console gaming was reaching its peak and people were straying away from the arcades. A Dreamcast version was released, but some thought it just didn’t have the features that the arcade version had. The game looked ugly because compared to other Dreamcast titles, it looked liked garbage. So, why was this one of the best Street Fighter games ever released? Because, for the most part, every Street Fighter game looked like garbage, this being no exception, what matters is the gameplay, and this game had it.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike plays almost the same as Hyper Street Fighter II, except for one thing. It’s not as ‘’hardcore’’. Combos are easier to pull off, faster gameplay, and people new to the series can easily adapt well to the style of Street Fighter. Is this a game for the ‘’hardcore’’ as well? You bet-cha. It still has the same amazing amount of combos to pull off, air attacks, and all the good stuff that makes Street Fighter what it is.

As mentioned above, 3rd Strike has faster gameplay than previous installments. This is unquestionably a good thing. It’s what the series needed. This game plays better than other Street Fighter titles. Everything is just so smooth, making it easy to perform otherwise hard to manage combos. The gameplay in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is great, and best of all just plain more fun to play than Hyper Street Fighter II.

Once again the online play is great. There’s really not much to mention about the online play because it’s almost identical to Hyper Street Fighter’s. The only difference that I could find was that more people play this. This is a good thing because this is the better game. Just like Hyper Street Fighter II, there isn’t any lag. The online play is great in both titles but 3rd Strike is going to get the nod because, for one thing it’s the better game, and second, more people to compete against.

Graphics:

Hyper Street Fighter II:
If you like graphics that look completely outdated then you will love how Hyper Street Fighter II looks! In all seriousness, Hyper Street Fighter II looks really awful. Character models look flat, animations aren’t exactly ‘’smooth’’, and the backgrounds could use improvement. But, this is a Street Fighter game, what did you expect? Cutting edge visuals? Dream on. The effects look okay, but, in reality, they still look bad. But, they’re supposed to so I really can’t belittle the developers for this. This is a port of a decade old game.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike:
The graphics in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike are noticeably better than in II’s. Backgrounds looked more polished, characters have more depth, and animations are more fluent. Don’t get me wrong though, this game still looks like garbage compared to other Xbox titles. This game shouldn’t be compared to other games though because it’s obviously a direct port, meaning they didn’t change anything. If you’re looking for cutting edge graphics look elsewhere, if you’re looking for a fun classic to play, come no further.

Audio:

Hyper Street Fighter II:
Make it stop! Plain and simple, some of the worst audio/music you will ever hear in a video game. The music is dreadful. Not a single song sounds good. I guess you really can’t call a piece of trash a song though. Believe me, the audio in this game is sub-par. After playing Hyper Street Fighter II, you will want to soak your ears in a warm cloth to help sooth the pain. While playing you might want to either (A) turn the sound very low or completely off, or (B) turn on a radio to drown out the in-game music. Personally, I would choose option A. Punches and kicks sound okay. When your character screams though, that’s a completely different story. All and all the auditory value is well below average.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike:
Well, at least it’s an improvement over II’s. I’ll give it that. The music still sounds super tacky. What’s up with all the ‘’rap’’ music in a Japanese game? Freaking ridiculous. Seriously, what were they thinking? I guess they thought it would appeal to the pop culture of the arcade era. When you make contact with another character, it sounds like every other 2D fighter, which isn’t saying very much. This game badly needs the custom soundtracks feature.

Controls:

Hyper Street Fighter II:
One of the great things about the Street Fighter series is that it controls extremely well. Controls are responsive making everything flow very well, which is a huge factor considering this is a 2D fighting game. For each basic move you can do, there’s four different ways you can execute them. When I say “basic moves”, I am referring to punching and kicking. For kicking, you can either press A, B, Left Trigger, or the Black Button. To punch you can either press X, Y, Right Trigger, or the White Button. Of course each different button does a different kind of move, as well as pressing the directional pad to mix it up even more. For example, pressing X will just do a straightforward punch, while pressing Y will do a more powerful punch attack. The same goes for kicking. If you want to win though, you will have to combine these uncomplicated attacks into complex combos. Overall, this game controls very well.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike:
The controls are almost identical to those of Hyper Street Fighter II’s. Of course there are more combos to pull off and such, but there really isn’t much of a difference. The only thing that I could find is that this game just plays better, obviously because it’s newer. So, if you know how to play Hyper Street Fighter II, then you will know how to play 3rd Strike.

Replay:

Hyper Street Fighter II:
With plenty of characters to master and online play, Hyper Street Fighter II has some quality replay value. 2D fighting games can only last so long though. After a while you’ll feel yourself wanting more. More what? More content. Basically all there is to do is fight. Well, that figures since this is a fighting game. Some kind of story would have helped though.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike:
The same goes for 3rd Strike as well. 3rd Strike will most likely last you longer because there are more available characters to choose from. There are also more people for you to battle with online than Hyper Street Fighter II. There really isn’t anything to unlock in either game. There’s the Street Fighter II movie, but you don’t have to beat anything to watch it. All you have to do is go to the Gallery (in Hyper Street Fighter II) to watch it. It would have been nice if they would have made you work for it. If you combine both titles you will have a decent amount of stuff to do. Although, beating up 2D people can only last so long.

Summary:

Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection combines all of your favorite Street Fighter games into one attractive bundle. If you’re a fan of the Street Fighter series or 2D fighters in general, then this is a must-have. If not, maybe just a rental to check out the impressive online play, or to see the Street Fighter II movie. For only $29.99, this is a quality title, but best enjoyed by fans of these types of games.