For those (presumably few) who haven't previously heard of the Street Fighter lineage of video games, it's all about one-on-one brawling. Starring larger-than-life characters, from the widely recognised Ryu, Ken and M Bison, through to Balrog and Sagat, your task is simple: pick your favourite, and knock seven bells out of the rest.
Each character – 12 feature in this version – has their own unique style. Ryu and Ken, for instance, are the default karate-based martial artists. But others are certainly more exotic in nature, with yogi Dhalsi packing a set of strangely stretchy limbs that'll keep any fighter on their toes, while oddball Blanka can curl up into a ball and electrify himself. In other words, they're not your typical selection of fighters.
Street Fighter has always been about fast-paced, wild and hectic attacks based around one of the most robust beat-'em-up mechanics ever created, enabling two particularly skilled combatants to put on the kind of visual spectacle most kung fu flicks can only dream of.
So how do you go about implementing a control system that's completely reliant on swift movement and masses of buttons (the console and arcade games divide six buttons across three varying strengths of kicks and punches) into the humble mobile keypad?
Well, Capcom has come up with two options.
The first requires to you to utilise both hands clasped around your phone. In this set-up – which is the one most previous Street Fighterplayers will feel most comfortable with – you're given separate buttons for punches, kicks, and a variety of special moves.
The second is a bold and brave attempt at a single-handed mode that shrinks things down even further, with basic attacks confined to a single context-sensitive button, leaving the game to select the most appropriate punch or kick.
Both are blatantly dumbed down in order to fit around the constraints of a mobile keypad, and though clearly the result of much thinking, they mostly prove that the current mobile platform isn't perhaps the most suitable environment for this type of game.
Because as enjoyable as Street Fighter II: Champion Edition can be, finding yourself able to fling off special attacks with a mere single button prod simply feels, well, odd. It's not just that you're no longer having to work for them by successfully carrying out the necessary combos (as is the SF tradition), but you're also not getting the personal reward for doing so – out-playing an adversary through the judicious use of a well-executed SF special move is one of gaming's golden moments.
Plus, with no opportunity to choose the strength of attack, much of the series' strategic elements are removed – no sneaky little speedy kick to nab the last small chunk of your opponent's health bar here, for example.
It's not just the method of striking that's at fault, however. The control system has other issues, not least in the way moving your character around the screen sees them stutter like a poorly engineered robot as you struggle to perform a diagonal jump for the umpteenth time.
After a period of time, you do get used to the flaws and eventually adapt so as to work around them. But, no matter how often you spend with the game, if you're familiar with the console or arcade versions, you'll find it awkward and unwieldy.
As well as the inclusion of extra characters, the difficulty setting has had a helpful tweak from the last Street Fighter mobile title. Though still tricky enough to present a long-lasting challenge, the high level of frustration that regularly confronted you last time around has been smoothed over to give a much more even difficulty curve.
Visually, things are also positive, with detailed characters and backdrops making the experience particularly easy on the eye, not to mention keeping it pleasingly faithful to the original. Loading screens are a regular annoyance, however, and not simply because they pop up between every fight and character selection screen – aesthetically, they're disappointing, consisting of nothing but a mass of black. Surely the inclusion of a little artwork couldn't have been that tricky?
In the end, all of this makes Street Fighter II: Champion Edition an awkward one to recommend. The dubious controls and the frequent loading are the low points, yet, crucially, the essence of Street Fighterisn't entirely missing – indeed, portions of the series' addictive quality, even without the multiplayer options we're used to, are maintained. It's a good effort, then, but one whose potential is ultimately limited by the constraints of the format that hosts it.
Because as enjoyable as Street Fighter II: Champion Edition can be, finding yourself able to fling off special attacks with a mere single button prod simply feels, well, odd. It's not just that you're no longer having to work for them by successfully carrying out the necessary combos (as is the SF tradition), but you're also not getting the personal reward for doing so – out-playing an adversary through the judicious use of a well-executed SF special move is one of gaming's golden moments.
Plus, with no opportunity to choose the strength of attack, much of the series' strategic elements are removed – no sneaky little speedy kick to nab the last small chunk of your opponent's health bar here, for example.
It's not just the method of striking that's at fault, however. The control system has other issues, not least in the way moving your character around the screen sees them stutter like a poorly engineered robot as you struggle to perform a diagonal jump for the umpteenth time.
As well as the inclusion of extra characters, the difficulty setting has had a helpful tweak from the last Street Fighter mobile title. Though still tricky enough to present a long-lasting challenge, the high level of frustration that regularly confronted you last time around has been smoothed over to give a much more even difficulty curve.
Visually, things are also positive, with detailed characters and backdrops making the experience particularly easy on the eye, not to mention keeping it pleasingly faithful to the original. Loading screens are a regular annoyance, however, and not simply because they pop up between every fight and character selection screen – aesthetically, they're disappointing, consisting of nothing but a mass of black. Surely the inclusion of a little artwork couldn't have been that tricky?
In the end, all of this makes Street Fighter II: Champion Edition an awkward one to recommend. The dubious controls and the frequent loading are the low points, yet, crucially, the essence of Street Fighterisn't entirely missing – indeed, portions of the series' addictive quality, even without the multiplayer options we're used to, are maintained. It's a good effort, then, but one whose potential is ultimately limited by the constraints of the format that hosts it.
