When I found out that Street Fighter IV had been released on the iPhone, it was like a dream come true for me.
The day I got my iPhone, I told myself that if there ever was a Street Fighter on the App Store, I would buy it no matter what the price.
Turns out you should never make stupid promises, even to yourself. Street Fighter IV was released earlier this week for a whopping USD$9.99, and the most I’ve ever spent on an app was USD$0.99!
But a promise is a promise. I asked Ivy, our editor, if I could claim it as a company expense since I’d be reviewing it, and she snapped: “Ian! It’s only USD$9.99! Why can’t you pay for it yourself?”
I took that subtle hint as a “no” and went ahead to purchase it myself. The file is relatively huge – 200MB – and it took close to half an hour to download/install.
The main menu on Street Fighter IV for the iPhone.
Now here’s the verdict: It was completely worth the wait, and the money. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of.
The visuals are not greatest, but good enough. For me, it’s more about the gameplay, and this definitely delivers.
I’m not one of those expert Street Fighter players, but I did play it every night for a couple of years back in college, so I know a thing or two about how it should play.
I had no problem working the directional pad, though I had some difficulty executing most of the super moves (whatever they’re called in English) during my first few games.
The directional pad might seem very obtrusive on the screen, but it really doesn't affect gameplay much, and you'll get used to the touchscreen "feel" in no time.
But after a few rounds of getting used to the touchscreen controls, I was back to kicking @$$ like I used to with a console controller. There really isn’t any difference there for me, apart from not having to nurse any blisters on my left thumb.
I’ve seen many comments on the Net going “It’s gonna be an epic FAIL… Street Fighter will NEVER work on touchscreen… blah blah blah”, but seriously, it’s not that big a deal.
And what I’ve noticed about a lot of those comments is that they’re from people who have NOT tried the game yet. They’re like “I’m not gonna waste my money on it” or “I don’t even need to try it, it’ll suck”.
But really, you have to try it.
What I haven’t been able to try on the app is multiplayer. Nobody else has been willing to cough up the dough yet.
It uses Bluetooth, and from what I’ve seen from online videos, it’s pretty stable, and a whole lotta fun. Check out these two guys:
The only complaint I have apart from the graphics is the amount of characters. Eight is pretty low – Ryu, Ken, Guile, M. Bison, Chun-Li, Blanka, Dhalsim and Abel – but I hope they add more with future updates, even if it might cost more money.
There’s a “Dojo” mode which trains you how to play the game, as well as “Training” mode which allows you to perfect your moves on the new touchscreen controls.
Being a huge fan of the game, and with it being such a huge part of my childhood, maybe I’m a bit biased. But whatever. I’m having so much fun with it right now. The game’s definitely scored a KO for me.
Tell us what you think!