Super SFIV: Arcade Edition - Yoshi Ono on Ryu's next bout
One of the few leaked Captivate announcements this year was the existence of the console port of SFIV's Arcade Edition, leaving Evil Ryu exposed for all to see. You should still care. Here's why.
Yoshinori Ono is a bit of a tease. When Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition was announced for China and Japan, Ono replied in the negative when asked if the game would be released elsewhere.
That was a bit of a bummer, considering the game included an Evil Ryu and the campy brothers Yun and Yang, but after the characters were announced, the producer took to Twitter and said "maybe" the game would be released as DLC for SSFIV later on down the line.
Evil, teasing, Ono-san. If your smile wasn't so contagious, we would have been upset with you for toying with us so - but we just can't stay mad at you.
Everyone can play together
Even after the Korean Ratings Board and the BBFC outed the game for consoles, mum was still the word. Ono-san was waiting to announce the game at a venue he deemed appropriate. That venue was Captivate 2011 in Miami, and VG247 was there for the long-awaited confirmation.
With Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition, players that own either Street Fighter IV or Super Street Fighter IV can play Arcade together even if the former never decided to upgrade to the Super version.
In order for everyone on to play together, Ono explained that a free update will be made available.
“You may be wondering, what if I have SSFIV but I don't want to buy the DLC, will I still be able to play the game online with people who do not have the DLC?” said Ono.
“You will be able to play with all those people with no problem. The game will match you with those people thanks to a free upgrade kit that will make your version of the game compatible with those using the DLC expansion.
“The last thing we want to do with this DLC is harm the community in any way, or alienate those who are playing online and enjoying themselves. We want to make sure everyone will be able to continue to play with one another.
"The last thing we want to do with this DLC is harm the community in any way."
“Thanks to the folks who bought SSFIV, we have 3-4 million people playing that game, so, again, the last thing we want to do is harm the community by separating them into splinters.”
For those who own Street Fighter IV and who, for whatever reason, skipped out on the SSFIV version when it came out, the Arcade expansion will also be made available in disc format. So, while you may not have SSFIV, you will be able to play Arcade with no problems.
Ryu's ultimate power
Yun and Yang and Evil Ryu were unlocked in the Arcade edition in Japan recently, and Ono confirmed that each one will be included in the Arcade Edition for Europe and North America. Oni was unlocked in Japan this week, and he's also included in this expansion.
The game features a roster of 39 characters such as Chun-li, Juri, El Fuerte, Rufus, and Ryu. All four new characters will be playable straight out of the gate. No unlocking required.
Updates and new features
It's not just characters being added with the Arcade Edition. The team has tweaked character balancing, and has also added animated prologue and endings to the games, which explains the 6 minutes and 49 seconds worth of cut-scenes the BBFC mentioned in its ratings document.
"We're not satisfied with just adding a few characters and calling it a day."
Lobby names have also been added, as well as the addition of Battle Stage Display, the ability to search for elite players, and an advanced channel which allows you to save videos and share with people on your friends list.
“We're not satisfied with just adding a few characters and calling it a day,” said Ono. “We have also revamped the online features thanks to fan and media feedback, which will make the game even better.”
Below, is a rundown of the new additions.
- Battle Stage Display – When you play against someone in the game, you will actually be able to see their stats online during the matches as opposed to just at the beginning. This way, you'll be able to gauge this information in real time to adjust your strategy when battling it out against others, as well as see the player's rare titles if they have earned any.
- Elite Channel – This is for players with 3000pp or higher only. It contains replay and playback for advanced players engaging in versus. This channel was implemented because some players just wanted to focus in on some of the really, really good players. So, the Elite Chanel will allow you to only see the cream of the crop.
- Updated Replay Follower – One of the more popular additions to SFIV, Replay Follower has been revamped and will allow you to track player rankings and five different players simultaneously. One of the problems with the original version was that some of the lower level players were mixed in with the higher level players. Now if you want to see higher level folks, you just log into the Elite Channel instead. Additionally, a lot of people are only interested in looking at specific players. If you have ever wondered, for example, of how you can find replays of a match featuring professional gamer Justin Wong, with Replay Follower you can actually search for a specific Gamertag and find replays from that person.
- My Channel Advanced – This will allow you to share a bunch of replay files of your own and distribute the replay data to up to 50 players on your friends list so they can see what you are watching. Ono said the addition of the channel will allow players to spend more time in the game than looking on YouTube for specific matches because now you can share them directly through the game. You can share your SSFIV videos for Elite Channel and replay data from the Replay Follower as well.
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will be made available as DLC for PS3 and Xbox 360 on June 7, and on disc for both consoles and PC starting June 24 in Europe. It will run you $14.99 whether you purchase it digitally or on disc.
