Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix

uper Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or SSFIITHDR, is a long-awaited port of the 16-bit Street Fighter finale. Many will remember playing Super Street Fighter II on their Super Nintendo, being able to select Fei Long (a Bruce Lee ripoff) and Cammy (only the 2nd female street fighter) for the first time, and this port nails it.

From the beginning of the game you can choose between two single-player modes, and two versus modes. For the single-player there is Training mode, and Arcade mode. Training mode allows players to get acquainted with their favorite character's moves, while not having to deal with defending an opponent's attacks. Training mode is a must for anyone trying to master a Street Fighter character, but not necessarily for gamers looking for a quick bit of nostalgia. Arcade mode is the bread and butter of the Street Fighter series. Here players battle opponents in one-on-one matches, advancing what little story this game presents. The only thing you can unlock in Arcade mode is achievements, but it provides a great amount of practice for anyone warming up for the Versus modes.

Perfect for that rivalry
you're looking to renew.The Versus modes are split into two categories. The first is local multiplayer, which is just two combatants fighting it out with two controllers on one console. The matches are fierce as ever in this mode, and run flawlessly on the 360. This mode is perfect for a party, or just that one-on-one rivalry you're always looking to renew. The next Versus category is online multiplayer, which is also divided into three: Ranked, Tournament, and Player matches. The online competition is stiff, and anyone looking to jump online should certainly acquaint themselves with their favorite character(s). Ranked and Player matches are basically the same as local Versus, but Ranked keeps track of wins and losses. Tournament matches allow eight players to enter a round robin against one another. All these modes are further split into two categories that alter the controls. There's Classic mode, and Remixed mode. I find the Remixed controls quite accessible, especially for Zangief, who I always had trouble playing as in the older iterations of the series.

A lot of the variety in Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix lies in the characters themselves, and not so much in the game modes. There are seventeen playable characters from the start of the game. One is a little bit of a challenge to find the first time, but I assure you he can be accessed on the player select screen from the start. The character styles range from projectile, to grappler, to anti-air, and so on. Some characters are much faster than others, while others feature a bit more strength with their move set. Match-ups are key, and whomever you select can sometimes determine the outcome of the fight before the announcer starts the match. Finding depth to each character, and multiple ways to use them, is the key to becoming a dominant street fighter, so experimentation is a must. The replay value may be hard to see on the surface, but after a few matches, the depth can overcome even the most experienced arcade fighter.

Playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix on the Xbox 360 controller may be the most frustrating part of this game. Do not expect great precision and control over your fighter in this Xbox Live Arcade port. The analog stick isn't great, but the D-pad is even less of an option in this case. Many players have committed to finding rare Xbox 360 arcade sticks, or crafting their own from tutorials discovered online, to remedy the situation. With the release of Street Fighter IV comes the release of two more arcade sticks for the Xbox 360 (and PS3), so there is hope on the horizon for anyone seeking it.

Yoga Justice:
matches are as fierce as ever.Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix could have taken the easy road, and used the soundtrack from the original versions of Super Street Fighter II, but instead Capcom opted to go a different route. SSFIITHDR's soundtrack is done entirely by game music remix community, OCRemix, which is an interesting choice that pays off big. The remix versions of all the classic songs seem to fit the game perfectly, and add something entirely new for veterans of the series looking for something to spice up the game. Street Fighter has always had interesting music, but I think the soundtrack for this one stands out the most. Hearing the music pick up when combatants are low on health only adds to the intensity of each swinging fist and screaming fireball. The best part of this official soundtrack is that it can be downloaded, free, at www.ocremix.org.

Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is exactly what it sets out to be: a super-boosted-port of a great game. There was an unbelievably long wait between the time this game was announced, and the time it was released, but all that development time was put to great use. I'm looking forward to this year's Street Fighter IV, but most of all, I'm looking forward to the future of fighting games, which I haven't cared about in ages. Hopefully Capcom isn't the only company bringing their A-game to the fighting genre in 2009.

© 2009 Game and Player. All rights reserved.