"SF IV" - PS3 working on a cover (see sample).

[KaiserWAVE]

That's the point It would be something completely different. SF Alpha did something fresh altering the style of the game. Make it somehow look more energetic. Then they just milked it. SF Alpha 2 felt like been there done that while SF Alpha 3 was the great finish. SF III 3rd strike felt very fresh again with a new roster with some very cool character designs. The best of the SF series in my mind. But I can't help but thinking that they use the established characters like Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Guile and build the new characters around them. Like palette swaps of the fighters, different appearance same moves. Over all these years Ken and Ryu's moves have been the same with just minor tweaks. Why can't they give them some new moves, unique to that character. Why can't they give them alternate outfits instead of those damned Gis? Look at Kyo, Iori, Ash, K' from KOF. They share a storyline and they share the same style of moves, with the different colored flames and stuff. Still they play and feel completely different.

I'm psyched about SF IV, have it preordered. I enjoy SF II Turbo HD Remix on XBL. I'll keep buying SF and other Capcom fighting games but in my mind SNK shows a lot more effort in refining their fighting system and their cast of fighters.

[Beastman1975]

supposedly all the characters in SFIV will have alternate costumes ( not just color swaps) dont know what itll take to unlock them but its an interesting add in to the game also we can always hope they can add in characters  later on as downloadable content  time will tell

[sheep2001]

@ KW:  Agreed - build them and change them - but not drop them - StreetFighter without Ryu would be like apple pie without ice cream. Haha.

I can't play SF2 HD with my XBOX pad at all - just doesn't feel right.  I'll definately be getting SFIV on the ps3.

[KaiserWAVE]

I can't play SF2 HD with my XBOX pad at all - just doesn't feel right.  I'll definately be getting SFIV on the ps3.

I can't either. Tried it with the analog stick but it felt way too imprecise. I just stopped playing it. Same with Mega Man 9. I'll wait for my Mad Catz fight pad and then see what I can do with it.

[Beastman1975]

a friend of mine who still works at gamestop  let me know that they are talkin about a new 360 controller with a better d-pad for fighting games im buying both though cause more of my friends will be playing on 360 and i want the blu ray version of the movie.

[sorwah]

I just modify my 360 d-pad so it won't have the "OMG IM MOVING A ROCK" feel to it. Simple job.

As for SFIV "Doing everything they could do with 2D and moving on" he also said in an EARLIER interview with Gamasutra "No one really knows how to do 2D animation anymore. Everyone uses Maya and 3D Max, so we don't know if we will make a fourth iteration."

Then in another interview he said that Battle Fantasia was what made him say "We can do it with 3D animation and models!"

[VBeniaminov]

Kinda getting off on a wild tangent with these past few posts. Still, I felt it necessary to chime in...

...it's the character selection. SF3 had the strongest selection of characters, and SFA was a close second. (Talking Character Design-wise.) So, with SF4, they didn't bring a single SF3 character back, brought only about 5 SFA characters, and brought the entire, completely generic character roster of SF2 back. Anybody who would actually think that Balrog, Dhalsim, Blanka and Fei Long are stronger character designs than Dudley, Elena, Necro and Mokoto is obviously completely blinded by nostalgia.

You know what, I think there's more going on than simple "nostalgia".  There's a reason none of the SF3 characters made it into the roster.  As un-orthodox as they were, the game came out at a time when the arcades were dying in the U.S. No one from the old-school much cares if those "neo" design characters lived or died.  They weren't memorable.

Sorry but I'll take the "Russian" from SFII Zangief anytime over that annoying Necro.
As fruity as Dan looks he'll murder Sean who was basically a clone of the other dude.
I've never seen anyone use Twelve, by far the most un-inspired 2D character ever.

I guess Ying Yang bros. were cool and that Elena chick too, along with Ibuki.
That's about all.

Take any SFII character and show it to a non-fighter gamer and they'll name each and every one. Why?
Because these characters stood the test of time and truly became "iconic".

[sorwah]

Well Ibuki, ALex, and Sean were all in the running for the fan picks of the Console release. Unfortunately Sakura & Cammy won that.

[KaiserWAVE]

Take any SFII character and show it to a non-fighter gamer and they'll name each and every one. Why?
Because these characters stood the test of time and truly became "iconic"

Not because they were superior designs but because there were no other characters in this game Capcom kept the one's that were most popular and exchanged other cast member here and there to see if they can pull it off again. If those weren't successful they were never heard of again (T. Hawk anyone).

[the7k]

Just because the SFII cast is recognized by virtually everyone doesn't mean they are good character designs. Naruto is recognized by millions, that doesn't make his character design anywhere close to good.

As Kaiser said, I'm all for droping every character and changing the series up. Or at the very least, make their costumes different! I remember seeing fan art for how people though Ryu and Sakura would look in SF4; Ryu wearing Heihachi-style geta shoes, a baggy hakama, no shirt and an insanely long red bandana, while Sakura was presented as being the gym teacher for Justice High School, with gym shorts, sweat shirt and a training whistle, plus her trademark white bandana and gloves.

Ya know what? That would have been a great idea! If you are going to keep the same old characters, at least change them up a bit! It just doesn't make any since at all for Sakura to still be wearing her school outfit considering she's an adult now. And Ryu... that outfit is older than time itself.

Twelve, uninspired? Unfinished, yes. Unplayable, yes. Uninspired? How often have you seen such a formless abomination in a game? I'm not saying the SF3 cast was perfect. I'm just saying the SFII cast was GENERIC AS ALL GET OUT. Might as well have called it Stereotype Slugger or Politically Incorrect Pugilist.

[VBeniaminov]

Just because the SFII cast is recognized by virtually everyone doesn't mean they are good character designs. Naruto is recognized by millions, that doesn't make his character design anywhere close to good.

...Or at the very least, make their costumes different!

If you are going to keep the same old characters, at least change them up a bit! It just doesn't make any since at all for Sakura to still be wearing her school outfit considering she's an adult now.

SFIV Characters all get second outfits with brand new color pallets.

When I talked about SFII characters being iconic I didn't mean just visual identification.
All of the people I enjoyed the games with tend to favor the classic roster over newer ones.
Why?  Well maybe because before Remi there was Sagat with his signature spinning kick
and people're used to him more than newer SNK-ish design.  And I would agree that nostalgia
is a factor here as well, reinforced however, by already strong... (and that doesn't mean not silly)
character design.

[BillyG]

How about making this awesome pic for a Street Fighter IV cover! IMO I think it would be perfect for it

http://fc47.deviantart.com/fs41/f/2009/020/0/3/Street_Fighter_II_Turbo_4a_by_UdonCrew.jpg

What do you guys think? 

[the7k]

Yes, I know that since it's a 3D game, the characters will have alternate outfits. My point is that their classic outfits should be the alternate outfits. I'll deal with Sakura wearing her school outfit if it is unlockable. But if it is canon that Sakura is wearing her old school outfit as 'battle gear'? That's ridiculous.

Of course, Capcom doesn't seem to even care about having any kind of consistency when it comes to the story.

"The game takes place between SF2 and SF3!" "Then why is Sakura still in school? Why is Gen, Rose, M.Bison and Gouken still alive? Why can't we play as younger versions of any of the SF3 cast?" "Um... because... it's cool that you can play as them, right?"

The most recent KOF games have taken place between the Real Bout Fatal Fury and Garou timelines, and that didn't stop them from have a pretty well held together story as well as younger versions of Garou characters. I just expect Capcom to hold themselves up to the same standard, especially considering many fighting game fans maintain SF3 Third Strike as being the Best Fighting Game Ever.

Either have a story, and maintain consistency, or just flat out say "There is no story."

Of course, this is all a matter of taste. I'm just saying I don't see how somebody can prefer Dhalsim over Elena, or Balrog over Dudley. Dhalsim and Balrog seem like such over cultural stereotypes, while Elena and Dudley actually have some thought put into them and inherit class. Necro may be annoying to listen to, but I still believe he's a better character design than Blanka. Tira's voice from SC3 is annoying as hell, but her character design is still incredibly striking.

In fact, looking at the cast of SFII, the only characters really worth keeping seem to be Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Zangief, Cammy (Those five ONLY because of their huge fan followings. They should still receive HEAVY changes, especially Ryu and Ken), Vega and Sagat. That's about it. The rest are too stereotypical.

BillyG: Yeah, Udon always does great work. I usually try to make all my custom covers dealing with Capcom games use Udon artwork in one way or another.

[Symptoms0fMercy]

Not to get off topic, but I just found out there's a Street Fighter movie hitting theaters in 2 weeks (in the US) as well. Anyone know if there is supposed to be any sort of tie-in with the new SF game?

[VBeniaminov]

Something worth mentioning...

More serious fighter fans usually don't pay much attention to "design" as much as "what they can do" with a character, graphics are a distant third.  I mean, look at Benimaru, dude looks fruity as hell and yet a lot of KOF gamers enjoy his style.  So, coming back to SFII roster I think they're favored more simply because people have their commands/tactics/frames burned into braincells.

Seriously, at the tournaments how many people are gonna use Karen, or Mika, or Rolento?
Usually it boils down to the usual suspects like Ruy, Ken, & Chun Li.