Capcom's Street Fighter II, the game
that started the entire fighting game
phenomenon, has been translated from
the arcades to many a home console,
yet has never been arcade perfect.
Although the newest release, Street
Fighter Collection, has its flaws, it is the
closest translation yet.
Game Information
Street Fighter Collection contains three
versions of Capcom's popular SF
games: Super Street Fighter
II, Super Street Fighter II X, and Street
Fighter Zero 2 Dash.
The collection is divided onto two CDs,
with the first containing SSFII and
SSFIIX, and the second
containing SFZ2'. The first disc is
silver-colored and features a picture of
Chun-Li, while the second is
gold-colored and features Ryu.
Game Information on SSFII and
SSFIIX
SSFII, the first of Capcom's upgrades
to SFII to introduce new characters, is
an almost flawless
translation from the arcade. Very little is
missing, and the game has everything,
from the four "new"
characters, to the bonus stages, to the
arcade music.
The problem, however, lies not with
SSFII, but rather, SSFIIX.
Being only an upgrade, one might
expect to see an equally flawless
translation, but this is not the case.
Although the game can still be called a
95% arcade-perfect translation, it
suffers from slight slowdown on certain
stages, and sometimes, muted sound
effects. However, to give Capcom
credit, this is still the best home
translation of the game ever, and for
most players, the slowdown will not
make much of a difference. I play the
game on the fastest speed, "T4", and
have found that while the slowdown is
detectable, it is not very bad, and does
not ruin the gameplay for me. For those
who spent much time
playing the game in the arcades, though,
the slowdown may affect the timings of
the moves and combos, forcing players
to readjust themselves to the game's
slight change of speed.
Review Of SSFII and SSFIIX
Graphics:
The graphics of both versions are
outstanding. The characters are large,
containing most all of their
animation, and the colors are bright and
vivid. This IS the arcade.
Sound:
The sound is also very close to the
arcade's, containing the original arcade
music. The voices, while clear, sound
slightly lower than the music, however.
The sound effects, while sometimes
muted from two characters striking each
other at the same time, are also of
arcade quality.
Control:
Also arcade perfect, the control is
flawless, as every move, including the
super combos, are extremely easy to
perform. Even the secret codes are now
easier to perform!
Fun:
SSFII is a great arcade translation! The
problem is, SSFIIX is still not perfect.
Even though it has it's flaws, this and
SSFII are still very much as fun to play
now as they were when they were first
released into the arcade.
Overall
Graphics- 9.5
Sound- 9.5(9 for SSFIIX)
Control- 10
Fun- 9.5
The closest translations from the arcade
possible, and the most fun, despite the
flaws of SSFIIX.
Game Information On Street
Fighter Zero 2 Dash
Unlike SSFIIX, the translation of Street
Fighter Zero 2 Dash has only been
improved from the original.
Although the illustration gallery found in
Street Fighter Zero 2 has been
removed, several new features have
been added in.
The first new feature is "Gouki Mode",
which allows you to directly challenge
the super-cheap Shin Gouki/Akuma in a
fight to the finish on the plains of the
hidden stage in Australia. If you manage
to defeat this fearsome creature, you will
sadly only receive the game's credits.
:P
The second addition to the game is the
addition of new moves for several of the
characters, including Sakura, Dhalsim,
Sagat, and Guy. In addition to this,
Capcom has also upped the number of
alternate characters, and made them
easier to access, with new
"Championship Edition" versions of Ryu,
Ken, Sagat, Chun-Li, and Vega/M.
Bison, to go alongside Dhalsim and
Zangief. Sakura also has a code which
enables her to have pastel-colored
outfits, and Evil Ryu and Shin
Gouki/Akuma are now easier to access
than in the last version. To add even
more, Capcom put in a new option
which allows for
Super Moves to be executed at any
time, despite what the Super Bar's
status reads. (Thankfully, this IS just an
option... :)
The last new addition and also the most
surprising is the "new" hidden playable
character: Cammy! Clad in her uniform
and possessing all of her moves from
X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, Cammy is a
force to be reckoned with...in the
Versus and Training modes, that is.
Unfortunately, Cammy is not selectable
in the 1P, Survival, and Gouki modes.
(However, there is a Pro Action Replay
code
available which lets Cammy become
available in the 1P and Survival
modes...)
Review Of Street Fighter Zero 2
Dash
Graphics:
Just like Street Fighter 2 Zero, SFZ2'
contains almost of the arcade animations
and colors, and for those with new
moves, new animations have of course
been added in as well.
Sound:
Unfortunately, the sound is also like
SFZ2...! :)
Although it is not bad, most of the
characters suffer from having slightly
muffled voices.
Control:
Arcade-perfect and now even easier!
Certain gameplay features such as the
Custom Combo System have now been
made slightly easier to perform...
Fun:
SFZ2' alone is enough of a reason to
buy SF Collection! This is even better
than the original version of SFZ2, which
was an outstanding game to begin
with!
Overall
Graphics- 10
Sound- 9.5
Control- 10
Fun- 10
With the new additions of Gouki
Mode, the new moves/hidden
characters, and Cammy, the best
Street Fighter game just got better.
