Power Glove Love

Fist pump, I want a clean fight, no rabbit punches, no hits below the belt!

Ryu in the shadows

Seek and destroy

Shoryuken-Sense is going CRAZY!

The Rising Dragon

NOW I’m pissed

Warrior’s Spirit

Street Fighter Okami

Come get some

Oh SHIT, RUN!

Simply put, I LOVED IT! Well, me being a HUGE Street Fighter fan had a lot to do with it, but I really liked the execution, the intensity, and the energy that the trailer provided. The fight scene between Ryu and Ken was very well choreographed (despite the fact that Ryu seemed to land more clean hits than Ken ever did), and the music fittingly sets the mood of an epic fight. The setting (despite being dark and gloomy) is very reminiscent of the familiar “windy, stormy, grass fields” of Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, which is very appropriate for this type of battle. It is definitely the right type of video that generates impact and interest into a seemingly forsaken franchise, even if the trailer itself may not look like the actual, in-game graphics.

The art style is very reminscent of Okami, with its wet watercolor look. The style is also very reminiscent of Akiman’s artwork, like this Ryu Art, for instance. It’s such a BEAUTIFUL, poetic, and dynamic painting! Admittedly, I am going completely crazy taking screenshots and retouching images from the trailer… so I can make wallpapers, avatars, sigs, icons, and all sorts of graphics out of them!

Of course, with this trailer, many questions already arise:

1) Will the game be in 2D, or 3D? Is it going to contain the exact same graphics as the trailer?
2) Will this game have an arcade release? Or is it a direct console release?
3) If it’s exclusively a console release, which platforms will this game be released on?
4) Which company is Capcom USA collaborating with, to develop the game?
5) Which characters will make a comeback, and what’s the storyline?

And so on, and so forth.

There are even already discussions and debates on what kind of game mechanics/physics Street Fighter IV will have. Some of course, make perfect sense, while others are downright ludicrous. For instance, at 0:42, people are conjecturing that Ryu’s blue flash indicates a “custom combo” mechanic in the game. Or a Ken “tech throw” at 0:44. Or even a “parry” at 0:52. Outrageous theories, of course, but I wouldn’t be surprised if these elements are implemented into the game.

And of course, there’s this question of “how many revisions this game will see”. Given their track record, Capcom never really gets it right on the first try. Street Fighter II alone had 5 revisions, Street Fighter Alpha also had 5 revisions, and Street Fighter III had 3 revisions. Let’s not forget that the “VS.” series had several reiterations of their own! Will Capcom milk this franchise with revisions, the way they had done in the past? Or will Capcom go the “patches” route of most modern console games of today? Only time will tell…

For now, we can only wait for more official details and information about the game. Apparently, there is currently an “information embargo” and Capcom wants to hold off on giving more information, at least until the end of the week. This is because a lot of confidential information is being leaked, especially by people connected to Capcom employees. I don’t really blame them, as this is really quite the type of news equivalent to a “Megaton Bomb”, and they probably can’t contain their own excitement!

Just to humor some of you readers, this is what I’ve managed to gather so far, in terms of Street Fighter IV rumors and speculations:

1) Street Fighter IV is being co-developed by Dimps, the same company that made the fighting game series: RumbleFish;
2) The game is 2.5D (3D graphics on a 2D plane), much like RumbleFish;
3) The game features the majority of the SFII cast, with the addition of Sakura from the Alpha series;
4) One of the game mechanics involves a “fireball-negating feature”, which is somewhat similar to 3S’s parry system/RumbleFish’s dodge system;
5) Special moves cancel into themselves, with the cost of super meter

Rumors, of course, taken with a grain of salt. At this point, nothing is really for certain until it comes from Capcom USA themselves, so don’t take anything above as gospel! Not to mention, there have been times when Capcom completely cans a project altogether (think Capcom Fighting All-Stars… or even further back, Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie: The Game).

Who knows if Street Fighter IV will even arrive to us fighting game faithfuls?

Nevertheless, this is a HUGE and AMBITIOUS project. A project that Capcom simply cannot screw up…a project that needs to be executed perfectly. Not just because it’s worth a lot of money, but it’s because their loyal fanbase is at stake! And for a project of this magnitude, it needs the most amazing and talented group of artists, programmers, and developers, and an even BIGGER budget.

So, let’s go, Capcom! “Prepare Yourself”, you say? We’ll be waiting!