Modern Game Weekly - Street Fighter V

Welcome to Modern Game Weekly, this series will be focussed on more recent releases and is based around the 0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games series, with information on what the game is, the gameplay, story, critical reception and availability of the game. The story section will not be the entire games story, just a small section to give you an idea of the plot, spoilers will be kept to a minimum where possible.

The games chosen for this series are at random from my own ratings database, the database currently contains the majority of console releases from 2016 to January 2018, with each game rated and ranked. Each game has their own rating broken down into five different sections.

The first is the numbered ratings, this uses a scale of 0 to 100 with a total of 10 of these ratings. One of the things that a part of this rating are critic review scores, these scores come from all console platforms the game is released on.

So for example Okami HD, which was recently released on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as previously being released on the PS3, all three of these releases factor in on the games overall rating. As a result shoddy ports of a game will seriously hurt the games overall score.

The reviews section takes a total of 12 reviews for the game if that number are available, both the six best review scores as well as the six lowest scoring review for the game, this covers reviews for console releases only. Information here will not be full reviews but snippets that stand out from the reviews.

The Availability section works exactly the same with a look at how available the game is assuming they are not digital only releases, with retailers Gamedude, eStarland and Amazon.com. While Retrogames may feature as older games are added to my database, the site currently only covers games up to the Xbox 360 and PS3 era.

Street Fighter V was the latest instalment of the long running fighting series that dates back to 1987 and the original arcade Street Fighter, a game that would eventually be ported to over 10 different systems, since it’s original release.

Street Fighter V was developed by Capcom and Dimps, who also helped develop Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter X Tekken. The studio have worked on many of the Dragon Ball games, since their founding in 2000, their most recent work Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission X and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 in 2017.

The Game released exclusively on the Playstation and Windows on the 16^th of February 2016, the game also allowed cross play between the PS4 and Windows users. Tthe game however was and was not well received, while the core fighting mechanics are some of the best around, the lack of initial content at release did hinder the game critically and commercially.

In addition to the lack of content, early release issues with servers were a problem, even after the game having a pre release beta which itself had issues, some software bugs were also an issue for some players. As a result of the less than well received launch of the game.

The sales fell below what was expected by Capcom, who were hoping for around 2 million sales in the fiscal year, this number however fell below that with estimates around only 1.4 million. The game did however manage to pass the initial estimate with lifetime sales nearer the 2.5 million mark.

Since the games initial launch it has undergone major developments and improvements, the main single player element of the game has been added, with technical issues ironed out, the game has also received several DLC updates increasing the games initial roster of 16 up to the current roster of up to 34 fighters, most can be unlocked via the games in game currency but around 8 characters must be paid for separately.

Notable people who worked on Street Fighter V, Hideyuki Fukasawa who worked as a Composer and Arranger on the game. He has worked on several entries in the series over the years including Ultra Street Fighter IV, Street Fighter X Tekken, Super Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter IV.

In his earlier years he composed the music to the 2006 released Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2, as well as working as a composer on two of the Onimusha titles, Dawn of Dreams and Samurai's Destiny, he would also compose of Chaos Legion in between these two projects.

Toshiyuki Kamei was an Artist on the Dragon Ball Z: Budokai demo, before moving on to the position of Battle Motion Artist on the 2003 sequel. In 2006 he worked on Crash Boom Bang! as a Motion Designer before moving to the Street Fighter development team for 2009s Street Fighter IV.

Kamei has held the role of Art Director since then and has worked on Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV, Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and his most recent project being Street Fighter V from 2016. He was also a Support Designer on the 2012 release Street Fighter X Tekken.

Yoshinori Ono who also worked on the same project as Hideyuki Fukasawa, in 203 Chaos Legion, working as a Producer on the game. A position he also held for the 2006 release Onimusha Dawn of Dreams, another game that Fukasawa also worked on.

Prior to moving on to the Street Fighter series from 2010 onwards, Ono would work as a Senior Producer on the 2D scrolling action platformer Grappling Action Moon Dancer in 2009. A year later he would be credited as Producer on Super Street Fighter IV, a role he would also hold for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition and Street Fighter X Tekken. Ono moved on to become Executive Producer on Street Fighter V as well 2017s Marvel Vs Capcom Infinite.

Takayuki Nakayama who worked as Chief Production Director on Street Fighter V, the only production role he has held according to the site I use. He has held many other roles during his career, working on Scroll Design for Jojo no Jojo no Kimyō na Bōken: Ōgon no Kaze and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. And worked as a Graphic Designer on the 2008 game Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.

Nakayama has also been involved in Motion Capture work, with him working on titles such as Soul Blade, Soul Calibur, Arc The Lad III and Way of the Samurai 2. He has also worked on the Design side of things, with Nakamura working on the Interface Design for Devil May Cry 2, as well as the HD Collection from 2012.

Street Fighter V is a 2.5D scrolling fighting game, like the previous entry in the series Street Fighter IV, the game uses 3D character models on a traditional 2D plane. The game features cross play between the Playstation 4 and the Windows version of the game, a Linux version was rumoured but this has not received a release for the game.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

Like previous entries in the Street Fighter series the game uses a side scrolling fighting gameplay, a new edition to the latest release of the game is the V-Gauge, this builds as the players receives attacks, when this gauge is full the character gains attacks as well as access to three new skills.

The game features the EX gauge which was first introduced back in Street Fighter III, this gauge fills as the player lands attacks. The gauge can be either used to power up special moves, or performer super combos, these are known as critical arts.

As already mention the V-Gauge is a new addition this replaced the Focus Attacks from previous games. The V-Gauge which builds when receiving attacks, this new gauge is divided into three new techniques V-Skills, V-Reversals and V-Triggers.

V-Skills are attacks which are unique to each fighter, some examples are Ryu, who can parry and attack with the skill Mind's Eye, Bison can reflect projectiles back at his opponent with Psycho Reflect which in certain circumstances can refill some of his V-Gauge, Cammy has the Quick Spin Knuckle also known as the Axel Spin Knuckle and Birdie has Break Time where Birdie grabs a frosted donut and eats it, filling some of his V-Gauge.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

V-Reversals allow the player to use a section of the V-Gauge in order to counter an attack from an opponent, Like the V-Skills each character has their own V-Reversal, using the same four characters as before, Ryu has Hashogeki also known as Wave Palm Attack, this was introduced in Street Fighter V.

Bison has Psycho Burst, Cammy has Strike Back, by blocking an attack, the front command is done by pressing the equivalent button for the three kicks. Cammy rises on the opponent and turns to the other side of the screen, then knocks them down with a kick on their back, while Birdie has Pepper Pot.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

The final part of V-System is the V-Trigger which used all of the V-Gauge this is activated when you have a full V-Gauge by pressing both heavy attack buttons, the V-Trigger varies from character to character, with some getting a temporary power up, while others get one potential fight changing move.

The original release of Street Fighter V, each character had access to only one V-Trigger, the recent re-release of the game called Street Fighter V Arcade Edition gave each character access to an additional V-Trigger. Each of the V-Triggers are referred to in-game as "V-Trigger I" while the second ones are "V-Trigger II.

Street Fighter V takes place between the events of Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter III, years after Nash sacrificed himself to stop M.Bison, he reawakens in a tomb, where he is instructed by a young woman named Helen, to retrieve an item from his old friend Guile which will help him destroy Bison.

Meanwhile Bison’s Shadaloo organization initiates Operation C.H.A.I.N.S by launching seven artificial satellites into orbit known as Black Moons, with their aims to spread fear and despair around the world, with these the source of Bison’s psychic powers and siphon off this power in order to make him and his forces invincible.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

Rashid is able to infiltrate the Shadaloo headquarters in the search for a friend who was kidnapped by them, but is soon discovered and defeated by F.A.N.G a former member of the Nguuhao cartel and the self proclaimed second in command of Shadaloo.

F.A.N.G also steals a chess like piece from Rashid, with this he detonates one of the orbiting Black Moons, this high altitude detonation causes a massive electromagnetic pulse above the City of New York, where Guile and Chun-Li were attempting to stop Bison and his subordinates.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

The pair are confronted by the newly revived Nash who attempts to take the chess like piece which had been sent to them, failing he retreats and reunited with Helen, who has also convinced Rashid and Juri to form an alliance to retrieve the pieces. Explaining that the pieces are key to using the Black Moons and the pieces were sent to certain individuals to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

Screenshots sourced from mobygames.com which were contributed by Neo Gunloc

At the same time Karin Kanzuki summons warriors from all over the world to help gather the pieces before Shadaloo, all of the warriors answer the call except for Ryu, who stays behind as the suggestion of Ken for further training for him to keep his Satsui no Hado at bay.

  

Starting with the Zero2Zed rating for the game, Street Fighter V initially started off well with plenty of high scores resulting in a first half scoring range from 90 up to a 95, the latter grading as a very impressive A while the other graded as an impressive A-.

Critic reviews play a major part in this scoring system as a result the discontent from quite a few reviews about the overall lack of content in the game saw the second half scores take a major hit, with ratings as low as a 50 up to slightly less disappointing 60.

Grading wise the games second half grades range from a C- for the 60 rating, a couple of D+ ratings with the game hitting a low of a D for a couple of the rating scores. The game rated at a total of 728 points out of a possible 1000, averaging out at a overall rating of 72.8 or an equivalent grade of a C+, not bad but could have been so much better.

On to the first of the critic reviews COGconnected who’s reviewer had a hard time reviewing the game, finding themselves split on the game, with the reviewer saying the following. On the one hand, it is arguably the best fighting game of all-time, gameplay-wise. On the other hand it is extremely lite on features, but promises loads of content in the future. Should it be reviewed as an incomplete product, or an evolving one?

The review continued by saying. This review is going to offer a score based on what will be included when Street Fighter V can be purchased for $70 on February 16th 2016. I will also highlight what is to come, and if need be, COGconnected will keep readers updated of changes to the product, and if necessary adjust review scores. One thing of note the review score of 95 remained unchanged from publication to present day, Wayback Machine holds a snapshot of the review from the day after publication with the game still scoring a 95.

The review continued by praising the gameplay again calling it the clear evolution of IV which it looks and plays like a slightly slicker version of. The review also praised the frame rate calling it slick, while visually there is not a huge difference between this and IV due to the art style the reviewer though heaped praise on the game soundtrack the review had the following to say. The music, however, is incredible! There are several tracks that mix classical score with electronic and dub step to excellent effect.

Concluding the review had the following to say. So much is being added after launch, that I feel like in a lot of ways, I’m reviewing an incomplete game. I cannot review what is yet to arrive. In the same breath I can clearly tell that what we’re seeing now is the base for an absolutely stellar overall experience. Trust that Capcom will be following through on their promises and only making better what is already technically fantastic.

The next five critic review for the game all come from Games Magazine publications, with all five rating the game at an impressive 90. The first comes from Games Master UK who called the game a completely essential fighting game, Despite simplistic single-player and feeble tutorials.

While the UK version of Official Playstation Magazine called Street Fighter V the best couchplay fighting game you can play right now, the reviewed however did recommend that you wait for updates before jumping in. The Australian version of the magazine called the game, Inclusive, streamlined, faster than ever, and looks radiant on Unreal Engine 4.

Play UK commented on the game leaving much to be desired content wise, but heaped praise on the gamplay quality of what is there, and how it will evolve over the coming months, the review continued by saying, this makes this a top tier fighter that is going to get better over time.

Dutch Publication Power Unlimited commented on the experience of Street Fighter V not being a completely new one, but the game will be a living platform for fighting game fans for years to come, with the review saying they can’t wait to see how it unfolds.

Next we head to the other end of the review scale, where we find We Got This Covered. The reviewer saying, SFV is easily the fighting title they had the most fun with in the last 20 years. They continued by saying, that is also why the overall package is such a disappointment.

The reviewer continued by saying, instead of a feature complete, content filled package, we are instead left with a bare bones offering that doesn’t even have the basics of the genre, in their 50 rated review. We Got This Covered tied for the lowest review score for the game, the other publication to rate the game at a 50 was Slant Magazine.

Slant Magazine opened by taking a swipe at Capcom for leaving out the staple of Arcade mode on release, saying it is essentially a middle finger to a sizable portion of the audience that helped make Street Fighter, the worlds most noteworthy fighting game.

The review was also critical of the pre fight faceoff screen, with the reviewer saying the intended electrifying faceoff with distorted guitars and characters appearing humungous in animated stances, the reviewer however found this to be silly however, due to the puppet like starts of the contenders as well as weird details, like Chun-Li’s never still breasts.

Concluding the review did have some praise for the game, mostly characters like Nash, who the reviewer found to have been fleshed out move wise, with the former clone like move set replaced to make him feel more distinct. The reviewer however found the lack of the Arcade mode meant they were less incentivised to explore and understand the 16 well designed characters. To finish the review said, the game feels more like an irritatingly incomplete service than a game that cares about its legacy.

ZTGD had hopes that the game would become a shinning example of what a great fighting game is after a fre updates and online stability patches. However in the games current state, which the reviewer called a mess and a half, which they themselves would not spend $60 on. Dutch publication Inside Gamer were next up, they were also critical of the price to content disparity, with the reviewer saying. It feels like we are paying full price for a game that is only half done.

Penultimate review comes from Giant Bomb, with the review having strong feeling towards the game, both positive and negative. The reviewer found the lack of a single player element to be less of an issue, with the reviewer more interested in the local or online versus.

The reviewer continued by saying. But there are a surprising number of modes and features that are either missing or coming later that should have been included at launch. The review still admitted to having a great time with the game however.

The reviewer praised the games engine, calling it a really fun engine, as well as praising the new characters, as well as the reimagining of older ones. The review also praised the netcode, which they have had no issues with.

The reviewer concluded by saying. Am I moving on from USFIV? Definitely. But there’s not as much spring in my step as I hoped there would be. And gave the following advice. If you're looking for anything other than a solid fighting game with strong netcode, you should probably hold off until the game sees a few more updates.

Lastly we have Examiner.com, a game that the reviewer called a beautiful and technically superb fighting game, that does some very interesting things to make matches not just fun to play, but also to watch. The reviewer did however have some major issues with the game.

When they jumped into the online mode, with the reviewer finding this the most frustrating time with the game. The reviewer found themselves having their Fighter ID and region reset four times, as a result all XP and fight money gained was lost.

The reviewer was a bit miffed but decided to jump online and earn some LP and see how they stacked up, with the reviewer hoping to win a fight or two, however the reviewer could not even get online for a match, with the review suffering the never ending spinning loading dial, waiting for opponent prompts, and failed connection messages, plaguing their attempts.

While Capcom did send word of a patch for server improvements for the launch preparation, the review still found that for days later no online games were available. The review went on to list the pros and cons for the game, with pros including. Tight solid combat, new varied characters, the art, animation and overall design which they called simply incredible and the PS3 fight stick support.

Cons that the reviewer had, obviously they listed the online modes which they could not even play, options and modes that are missing, like the story mode, shop and more, they were also critical of characters like Laura and R.Mika who don’t need under/side/all cleavage showing, they also found the voice work can be grating.

The reviewer did eventually get online with the game, and had a decent number of matches, with the reviewer finding the experience to be fun, when it is working. Even with the patch that was released they suffered disconnections from the server a few times, jitters and lag, as well as inexplicable movements like jumping when blocking.

This is the part of Modern Game Weekly where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk for older generation titles and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, who will give you $8 if you are looking to trade in your copy of Street Fighter V. If on the other hand you are looking to buy a used copy of the game from Gamedude you will be looking at an outlay of $16. In the long run however you would probably be better opting for a new copy of the game, which eStarland currently sell for $19.95.

Moving on to Retrogames.co.uk who unsurprisingly don’t stock this current gen title, so we will quickly move on to eStarland.com, where we find two offers for the game. The first is a new copy of the game, which can be picked up for the same price as Gamedude at $19.95. The second version they have available is a used and complete copy of the game, this copy can be picked up for $11.21, at the time of writing no trade In is offered for Street Fighter V.

 

Heading over to Amazon.com where we find both the standard version of the game, as well as the Collector’s edition of the game. We will start with the Standard version, with a used good quality and complete copy can be picked up for $17.05. While a like new copy of the game can be picked up for just 93 cents more at $17.98.

A couple of new copies are priced around this price range as well at $18.93, both of these however do ship with Amazon so the free delivery only applies to Prime members and those spending over $25. Several non Amazon shipped new copies are also available pretty cheaply as well though with a couple priced at $19.94 and one at $19.95, this final copy coming with free shipping.

Lastly we move on to the collectors edition of the game, those that are currently on offer are mostly new copies of the collectors edition, the few used ones that are available, the first is a good quality used copy which is noted as having wear, this is priced at $36.04.

A very good condition copy is available for $60.94, and a like new can be picked up for $63.98, another like new copy hidden away on the final page of listings is priced at $38.16. other than that copy which is underpriced compared to the other like new copy of the collectors edition. You would be better opting for a new copy, with three currently available for $69.99. Prices for the collectors edition do steadily rise from here with prices peaking at the $200 mark for one of the copies of the collectors edition.

Written by

P J Gibbon