Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition Review

If you are the type of gamer who plays fighting games to prepare to compete in this year’s Evolution Championship Series, then you are going to need to stop reading this review and pick up the newest add-on for Super Street Fighter IV. For 1200 Microsoft Points ($14.99 on PSN) you’ll get four new characters, enhancements to the replay mode, and a multitude of game balancing fixes that will most certainly force you to up your game. On the other hand, if you’re simply a casual player or just enjoy sitting around the couch with friends, you may feel as though the price is a little steep for what you get in return. Something worth noting right off the bat is that if you haven’t purchased Super Street Fighter IV yet and are worried about paying extra for this DLC, Capcom is releasing the whole package June 28th.

The first thing you will notice after downloading Arcade Edition is the addition of four new characters, bringing the total count of fighters now to 39. Evil Ryu appears, as the name implies, a more evil version of Ryu. Sporting a pretty gruesome chest wound, surrounded by flames, and with glowing red eyes, it’s pretty obviously that Ryu has seen better days. Ryu still retains his old fighting style with a few Akuma-like moves thrown in such as the teleport or Shakunetsu Hadoken. Essentially, though, this is the same character with an added move or two.

Keeping up with the evil theme comes Oni, which is a version of Akuma who has completely lost control of his power and has become 100% demon. In contrast to Evil Ryu, however, Oni brings more to the table than just Akuma’s standard moves. He has the ability to throw two types of fireballs, one of which that will knock an opponent down if it connects. Oni’s mid air game is impressive as he has the ability to quickly move across a level, and can also perform a super combo while in the air. As if you didn’t have enough options with him, Oni’s ultra combos are some of the most impressive in the game, this makes Oni the go-to character to use right out of the gate.

Yun and Yang round out the roster here, and while they may not have the immediate appeal aestically as Evil Ryu or Oni, both of these fighters are consistently at the top of the hardcore players lists. Yun is a quick fighter that can use his moves to travel from one area of the level to the other while at the same time delivering damage. Yang is also a quick fighter who has the ability to dash behind opponents, roll into a rising kick, and an ultra combo that is reminiscent of Fist of the North Star. These two characters can be very effective if used properly, but will definitely take some practice in order to get to that point.

In addition to the new characters, the replay channel has gotten a little bit of an overhaul as well. You can still watch all the regular channels, but now there is an added feature for Elite players. If you want to concentrate on just watching top level play, then turn on the Elite channels and see just how much more you have to practice in order to compete at this level. There is also an interesting feature that can allow you to follow your favorite players and make it easier for you to add their replays to your channel.

Overall, Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is more like a patch than an actual add-on. The changes to the game are so subtle that all but the most serious players will notice or even care about the updates.  If Online play is your mode of choice you’ll be able to play against owners of the non-arcade edition as well, as they will receive a free update that allows online play between the two games.  For the average gamers, you’ll have to ask yourself if fifteen bucks is worth having only four extra fighters on a roster that is already massive.

A copy of Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition for Xbox 360 was provided to us for this review from Capcom.