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Excellent GBA fighting game, with caveats

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 23 / 26
Date: July 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Note: If you like Street Fighter ("SF") and have a GBA, you'll probably get this no matter what I say. This review of the Japanese version is for those not necessarily familiar with Street Fighter and those who want to be sure that this title lives up to its potential _before_ they order it. However, I'll include some info that hardcore players will find useful as well.

This game is an excellent port of Super Street Fighter II Turbo (SSFIIX in Japan). Although several years old in the arcades and on the ill-fated 3DO console, it is still widely considered to be one of the best SF2 variants by die-hard SF players. The characters are fairly well-balanced against each other, and the play mechanics are some of the most refined (if not too flashy or sophisticated) of any Capcom fighting game. It is the first SF game to introduce the super meter (a meter which is charged up by damaging your opponent and performing special moves, for performing super combos), making it a major stepping-stone towards Capcom's modern 2-D fighting games. If you are a novice 2-D fighting game player, this is a great game for learning fundamental skills, because it is devoid of a lot of other gimmicky features that modern fighting games offer nowadays. If you are an expert, this game is awesome for refining your timing (this game is the first to introduce the vulnerable Dragon Punch, for example).

This GBA version, in particular, is quite impressive. It packs the entire cast of playable characters from the arcade original (including Gouki/Akuma...), with moves & combos intact. You can choose between four speed settings, ranging from Normal to Turbo 3, so it can be played at whatever pace feels comfortable. Graphically, it's about as good as it could get on GBA, meaning it looks as good as Super Street Fighter on the Super Famicom/SNES. The character sprites are reasonably large for a game on a portable system, with Ryu standing about half the height of the screen. Some characters even get new background locations. Sound is well-done too, with all your favorite recognizable tunes, sound effects, and voices from the arcade (even the annoying announcer voice) faithfully reproduced within the GBA's limits. Since the GBA's sound capabilities aren't the equal of those of the SNES, you will notice a clear difference in the quality of the audio, but it's not distinct enough to detract from the enjoyment of the game.

Control is where this version starts to fall short. Call it a shortcoming in the GBA's design, but I found the controls difficult to handle for a game that requires quick, precise, sweeping movements such as Street Fighter. The GBA's D-pad is small, so diagonal movement (such as for a crouching block, or a left-facing Dragon Punch) can be somewhat tough. Also, the lack of a full complement of buttons means that you have to choose your control options carefully. (The GBA has four main buttons, while SF is a 6-button game with 3 punch and kick levels -- weak, medium, and strong.) You can choose between two methods of switching your buttons: wait mode and simultaneous mode. The first allows you assign one button to two strength levels -- pressing the button quickly will register one level of punch or kick; pressing slightly longer will register another another level. Unfortunately, fine control between short and long presses is difficult. The second mode allows you to assign the simultaneous press of two buttons to register as one, although that is also a little hard to pull off unless you're adept at chording buttons accurately. The two modes can't be mixed. This button-assigning madness may be old-hat to some Gameboy and Gameboy Color players who are used to only 2 main buttons, but it will definitely take a little time for others to get used to it. Also, if you're not accustomed to using the left trigger button in fighting games for SNES and Playstation, expect that trend to continue here on GBA.

Options are where this port gets interesting. There are the typical Arcade, Versus, Training, and Option modes. In the Option screen, you can adjust all the standard settings, including lengthening the time it takes for a special move or super combo to register on the controller and adjusting the amount of damage the characters produce. In addition, the game keeps track of VS points, which you earn by winning matches. By earning VS points, you can unlock new game modes such as Survival mode (where you can play the bonus rounds against a timer or fight a single round consisting of your character defending his one health meter against random teams of characters with low health -- from 5 to 100 characters, one after another!) and Time Attack mode (where you can fight a round against several line-ups of fully-healthy characters in succession using only one health meter). After earning enough VS points, you are also treated to one (or should I say two?) special hidden character(s).

All in all, I recommend this game to any GBA owner who wants a solid fighting game. For experienced Street Fighter fans, I have one caveat: You're not going to get arcade perfection on this platform because of the controls, but what you do get is a very impressive conversion that's as close to arcade SF quality as has ever been seen from any portable system in history.

Good port, could have been better

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: May 15, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Capcom's Street Fighter series was, for many years, the best tournament-fighting video game series in the world. Unfortunately, by adding too much complexity too fast, Capcom destroyed the series. Fortunately, in the infancy of the Game Boy Advance, Capcom tried rereleasing one of the finest games in the series - and on a portable system! Read on for my review of Super Street Fighter II - Turbo Revival.

PROS:
-YOU HAVE A CHOICE OF SIXTEEN CHARACTERS. No two characters play exactly alike, and each one has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. This greatly enhances the replay value.
-FOR A PORTABLE FIGHTING GAME, THE GRAPHICS AREN'T HALF BAD. You can tell just by looking at the in-game graphics that Capcom really did put some work into this game.
-IT'S PORTABLE! This is the first time Super Street Fighter II Turbo has ever been on a Nintendo system, and the fact that it's a portable version makes it all the more appealing.

CONS:
-THE PORT IS HORRIBLY INACCURATE IN MANY WAYS. For some reason, many backgrounds were changed! Why the hell does Chun Li have her ALPHA SERIES background!? Why are the "boss characters'" taunts so out of character? (For example, M. Bison says "Handsome fighters never lose battles", but this quote BELONGS to Vega!) Likewise, where's Akuma? His introduction is one of the things that made this game so great, so his omission is unforgivable. Also, the endings have been changed.
-THE ANIMATION IS CHOPPY. In the heat of battle, you're really going to start to notice this - it's nothing too serious, but it's enough to make a potential gamer turn their head in disgust. I've seen fighting games on the Game Boy COLOR that have had smoother resolution!
-IT'S A SIX-BUTTON GAME, BUT GAME BOY ADVANCE HAS FOUR BUTTONS. Because of this, the control scheme had to be somewhat "scaled down." And yes, Capcom forces you to use the system's shoulder buttons - a nightmare if you've got big hands like myself. Of course, that's Nintendo's fault, not Capcom's.

OVERALL:
Overall this is a good port of an excellent fighting game - I just wish it could have been more faithful to the original. But still, it's very good, and if you own a Game Boy Advance and like old school fighting games, don't hesitate to pick this one up.

I'm really amazed by this game's quality!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: July 31, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I've seen the Japanese version of the game in action, and the graphics are really A LOT better than they ever where on the SNES! Game Boy Advance has much better 2D capabilities than the SNES does!, I played my SSFII to compare and the graphics on the game boy version are ten times smoother!! And also the intro is breathtaking believe me! I knew the GBA was good but I didn't know it was capable of this!

The game works very well, and has four different settings of speed. It might have a cheat for even faster fighting like sf2turbo did=) who knows. But It's new artwork will blow anyone away! and some of the levels have been changed a little, to look a little flashier. Guile's stage has a harrier flowting in the backround and it's really impressive, as is Chun Li's stage which I think has really improved in my opinion and is beautiful! Zangief's stage is similar, but has a few changes in the backround. Ken's stage is set in a fast paced city with bilboards. I miss the old stages, but the new ones really are amazing and refresh the game for me anyway.

The sound is really nice, nicer with headphones though. Gameplay is of the finest, so much to master and you can ALWAYS get better! plus you have Akuma to master if you can unlock him. The characters are a lot smoother than on the snes, but you'll have to get used to playing with four buttons instead of at least six=( but that's nothing to moan about!, this is as good as it gets believe me and you'll get used to the buttons. The A and B buttons have the low and med kicks and punches squeezed in, so you have to tap the button for a light attack and hold it down a little for a med attack. Then the L and R buttons are of course the high kick and punch and work normally. You can configur the buttons how you want and choose which buttons share attacks. It's a little annoying I admit, but it's still Street Fighter at the bus stop right? how can you go wrong?! I really prefer this to the snes version, because it really is more of a port from the arcade than a port from the snes, and has it's own original artwork too! Buy it! "sonic boom!"

It could be better, but it's still a blast to play

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: January 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've long been a fan of the Street Fighter II series on the SNES. When I heard there was going to be a GBA version, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. And while it's fun to play, it's far from perfect.

First, the good stuff. The graphics are nice, and stay true to the original (as do the sound effects). Arcade mode is a blast to play, and the various little bonus games you can unlock are pretty cool.

But there are, unfortunately, some significant problems with the game. Firstly, there's the fact that the GBA has two less buttons than the SNES. The control scheme is customizable, thankfully, but it takes time to get used to it. Finger-cramping is pretty common after playing for a long period of time, even if you're used to playing the GBA for extended sessions.

Another downside is the music. To put it simply, it's bad. We're talking barely Game Boy Color quality here, and it's a real shame. Part of the charm of the SF2 games is the cool music, and unfortunately this aspect did not carry over well to the GBA at all.

And one other gripe - the game can crash. After unlocking Akuma, he can be your opponent in the arcade mode. But unfortunately, the game crashes and burns horribly 9 times out of 10 when it brings me to him in the arcade ladder. A console game crashing under normal usage is a Very Bad Thing(tm), and that's ultimately what brings this game's rating down from 4 stars to 3 stars in my book.

Conclusion: SF2 for GBA is fun, but in many regards it just doesn't do justice to the SNES versions. When you see awesome conversions like Mario Kart Super Circuit, and compare them to this somewhat lacking port of Street Fighter II, its faults can become pretty glaring.

Shows what the GBA is truly capable of

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: November 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Street Fighter II needs absolutely no introduction, being one of the top fighting games of all time. What does need explaining is how great a transition it has made to the GameBoy Advance. It's a perfect translation of the SNES game, down to the move animations and entire cast of characters. Now added to the gameplay are special points you gain for fighting in the one-player mode. These points go towards unlocking new game options, and are a good addition to the replay value. The only problem with the game is the lack of buttons needed to pull off the classic moves, but after playing for a bit this won't seem like such an obstacle anymore. Capcom shouldn't be blamed for the restrictions of the system. Rather, they should be applauded for bringing such a classic onto the GBA in almost perfect form. Awesome game.

STREET FIGHTER REVIEW

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 12, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Well, not that bad of a game overall, yet if I were you I would wait until Tekken comes out. But for the impatient ones out there, this is definitely the runner up and I highly recommend it. Here's why, it has all the classic game characters, you name someone it has them. Graphics are as sweet as anything. The combos and fighting moves are great, especialy the special combo. Yet the menu could be improved. Such as they could have a mode of mini games mode, becuase 90% of the menu is all fighting, like fight against time, fight 8 opponents, fight 10, opponents, fight 50 opponents and so on. But best of all there is Akura the special character, you must play him to find out what happens, thats all I'm saying. So there, great game a few let down's but deal with it...good value, average sound, amazing graphics, and fantastic gameplay.

Excellent Game Even With A Critical Bug!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The game is excellent, but unfortunatelly the QA team has missed a critical bug on it. If you're a good SF player, soon you'll notice that when playing Arcade Mode, if you beat everybody up to Sagat without losing you should be challenged by Akuma, but as soon as Akuma's introductory screen appears and his theme song starts being played, the GBA will freeze leaving you with a messed screen. All you can do is reset the GBA pressing all buttons at the same time.

This bug is pretty annoying, because if you want to actually end the game, you'll have to lose at least one battle (two rounds) so Akuma won't care about you and you will go straight to M.Bison, without bugs. Maybe most players won't even notice the problem since only veteran SF players will get to M.Bison without losing. That's probably why this game has passed the QA team without complaints.

I hope Capcom fix this bug soon and offer some kind of solution for customers who bought this buggy release.

Still, the game is the best thing you can get for the GBA now, the other game modes are perfect, specially the "Grand Master Challenge" which is quite a challenge even for experienced SF players. I still couldn't find out how to play the promised "Team Mode" and "Character Edit" features, but "Time Attack" and "Survival Mode" are the kind of thing a real Street Fighter fan would dream about for years...

Other problems include the boss character's "swears". They have switched the statements of Vega, Balrog and M.Bison. That's probably because these characters have their very names switched from the Japanese release to the USA release. For example, M.Bison says "Handsome fighters never lose battles", which is actually Vega's statement.

And the last problem I have found is the winning icon, which appears only in the next round after the winning. This means you'll never see the two icons from the two rounds necessary to win the battle, you'll only see one icon always. This is not a big problem, but looks ugly for sure.

Thanks for reading this review!!

Hadoken! Best portable fighting game.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: November 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you are a Street Fighter Fan, then you should get this game. Why?

Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li (my personal favorite fighter), Guile, Cammy are all present. Unfortunately, Sakura and Dan are not (they don't come until the Alpha series anyway). Controls are a little hard to get used to since two of the attack buttons are above the console, but thankfully it can be remedied with the push of the Select button during game play to make special moves easier to execute.

I like the challenge mode, where you try to defeat 5, 10, 30, and 100 fighters with one life bar. The time attack modes is also great. Now if I can just get the bonus games down pat (without E Honda's hand slaps). You get ALL 17 fighters from the SFII series, including Shin Akuma, which is Akuma on steriods.

No story boards here, but the beautiful graphics and portraits make up for it. But I wish they had the original ending boards.

In short, get this game if you are fighter's fan. (PS, I have the Japanese import)

Good Game, Bad Reviews

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I have not played all that much of this game yet,but from what I have, this game is excellent. Not only does Capcom find a way to make good usage of the limited amount of buttons available, it starts to feel comfortable after about fifteen minutes of play. The quick-combo feature makes those of us with larger hands able to play the game without getting Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The only negative point that I have noticed is the sound. All of the themes are there, but at times tey sound choppy, and at some places are used for the wrong fighter altogether. For instance, M. Bison will occasionaly say: "Handsome fighters never lose battles" which, for those of us who know the game, is Vega's famous victory line. And for those of you who say the game is horrible because it is a game from the early 90's, one that we've all played before, I say so what? Look at Super Mario Brothers 3, that is one of the best games ever made, and even though almost everyone has beaten it, who wouldn't play the remake coming on the GBA? Street Fighter never was as much about plot as it was about gameplay, and for those of you who want to enjoy there fighting games, this is the game for you.

Only for true SF fans, with much cash to spend

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

well, this game is really great one. the graphics are good looking , with like 3 new stages. the character menu is beautiful. all the old sounds are included in there. 6 battle modes to choose from and a link Vs mode for beating your friends in it. Capcom did a really good job in setting a new system for the old 6-button configuration into a new 4-button setting. But watch out, this game has around 15 glitch, and some of them are premanant, which means they might damage your catridge. Also, you can't reset those since Capcom is using an EEPROM instead of a battery inside, so you can't erase the memory. Major glitch: the game hangs when you fight akuma (no fight lost during game), but then, there are many mistakes which could be considered minor to the akuma glitch in this game. To get around this glitch, you'll have to lose a fight against a character to ensure you can continue to M.Bison and get the endings. Its taken off the shelves now, since Capcom did refund people for this game, and I heard that they're working on a newer imporved version. If you're really crazy about this game, then get the Japanese version since it doesn't hang, but then, you'd be missing the newly-redone endings. Worth your money only you're a true SF2 fan and got some cash to spend on E-auctions. Meanwhile, stick to the new and awful SF games till Capcom finds a way with this one, I hope.

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