Street Fighter V is here and I can honestly say from the get go that it’s been worth the wait.  Since Street Fighter 4 releasing back in 2009, Street Fighter was at its peak and brought the classic fighting series back to the masses.  The format hasn’t changed however and has continues to follow the classic fighting mechanics we’ve all grown to love. I honestly, wasn’t a massive fan of Street Fighter 4 due to its very defensive and slow approach to fighting in comparison to 3rd Strike. Street Fighter V is everything I have wanted since 3rd Strike.  The high expectations have certainly been met with this title and Capcom have really nailed it this time around. It continues with the same unique formula that has been so successful all of these years with them adding a some new twists.

Street Fighter V follows the traditional 6 button layouts with hadoukens and shoryukens at the ready, the great mix of world warriors and the tension with every battle makes the “heart of the battle” more satisfying. Long combos are gone, some may not like that but I personally prefer it. In all honestly it does help ‘new-comers’ pull off combos, it does feel more pleasant doing shorter but more powerful combinations. I really do feel Capcom’s focus on pace is really shown in this title.  The focus can be shown that they have made a Street Fighter game in which anyone can pick up and play no matter if you are using a pad or an arcade stick, performing combos with a little amount of practise. This might be disheartening for SFIV veterans but, its managed, works well and really isn’t a broken system that most were expecting.

With Street Fighter V I feel it gives you a better understanding of what type of player you are. I’ve always been into fast paced action that was present in 3rd Strike so this title has embraced the best features of that game and implemented them immaculately. SFIV was always something that didn’t quite click with, as found it overloaded with characters and the Focus Attack Dash Cancels (FADCs) were great but weren’t enough to keep me interested.

The newly added “V” mechanic unlocks every characters unique ability. For example Ryu’s ability to parry Ken’s Hadouken, to Nash’s ability to absorb fireballs. This “V” mechanic takes place where the focus attacks previously sat, and these skills are easy to use and add another level of variety to the battle for each character. Even though they’re easy, it still comes down to connecting attacks/defending against attacks with timing essential if you’re on the offensive and the opponent is good at defending.

The focus in the game is to build the “V-Gauge” to pull of “V-Reversals “which consume one block of “V” juice. Similar to previous instalments, “V-Triggers” enable a special ability that is exclusive to each character. Just like the V-skills, the V-Triggers are all unique to every character. They range from damage boost, teleports, grapples which combine into different moves sets. Each character feels a lot more unique and ultimately more balanced. As mentioned before, Street Fighter V follows the same fundamentals we’ve all become use to the over the series. EX is the super meter, which is used to pull of “Critical Arts” which is essential supers with a name change.  You can also use your special attacks and enhance them to deal more damage with the use of the EX meter, which ultimately turns them in to EX specials.

Street Fighter V has brought one massive change to the series and that is “chip” kills. In previous instalments players would die while blocking if they were to block against a special move, damage would be dealt ultimately making blocking on your last bit of health a bit pointless. This is now changed and you will no longer die unless you are blocking a “Critical Arts” attack.  There is no revenge gauge also so that makes each round more focused on meter-management and is ultimately adds to the tension, making it more and more satisfying when you claw back to win the match, making you feel like the Ultimate World Warrior.

The design of  SFV is vastly improved, each stage is beautiful to look out with each having unique stuff happening in the backgrounds. They are all vibrant with colour, with great music and just great atmosphere to each fight. Depending on the stage there are special animations for defeating an opponent in certain parts of the screen, such as kicking them through doors, flying on to buses, even a a bowl of noodles adding to comical factor landing the defeated player’s head. Pure excellence. The overall design of the game feels great, it is a mixture of 3rd Strike and SFIV but balanced out enough that it’s easy on the eye but great to look at. Each stage feels unique and all stages are great. It would of been nice to have a few more to choose from however, and that’s where Street Fighter V lacks at the moment is the customisation variety, it’s not present yet and it’s something Capcom are working on when the in-game shop releases we will see more character skins appearing. Just a shame they’ve kept it very limited and only allow you to select between two colour schemes.

DLC is due in March and can all be earned through in-game Zenny or with real cash for Zenny purchases, either way there’s an option at least for those who wish to pay or not to pay. Some may think Capcom is being a bit too sudden with the release of the DLC but in my opinion the game does need the extra content, not too much, but enough to just bulk it up a bit. Capcom have also confirmed the balances patches will be free.  If you complete every story path for each character then the first DLC character will end up free due to all the points you will earn during that mode as you earn “Fight Money” via competing in the various modes on offer in Street Fighter V.

The offline mode is where I have spent most of my time battling through due to the online being a tad limited for players to play against (due to the early opportunity to review the title). Each of the online matches I played however, and it was roughly around 10 ranked matches and a fair few battle lounge matches with a colleague, I was able to get a good enough experience to say that the Online component works really well and didn’t experience lag at all. Battle lounge only allows up to 1 other player, which includes a password system so you can stick to fighting people you know, but I am sure that in future updates Battle lounges will be able to have more players participate along with a spectator mode.

The offline mode does lack content at the moment; the Story mode is a very short and brief mode that runs through each characters story that brings them up to the events of Street Fighter V. It is very short and sadly it isn’t great.  You fight two or three fights per characters story, which is a let down. However, Capcom have confirmed there will be a cinematic storyline added in June at no cost. I am hoping greatly that this will redeem their poor attempt at a story mode that is currently present.

Survival mode is easily the best offline mode, you must brawl your way through 10 fights in easy, 30 fights in normal and 100 fights if you choose hell, to unlock more colours for your chosen character, however it isn’t easy (unless you play on easy of course), but it is rewarding. It isn’t a new feature but is greatly improved and more worthwhile. Each fight you win, you earn a score and this score can be used towards perks, recover health, or add modifiers to the next round. You can also place points on wagers which ultimately could stun you, halve your health, or increase the amount of damage your opponent dishes out in the ultimate gable to earn more score and rise to the top of the leader board. Versus mode is there, and it’s versus mode. 1-vs-1 action at its best, like the old days before online play. There’s also a challenge mode but it currently isn’t available.

As mentioned briefly about the online mode above, the online mode doesn’t feature a character select screen, this time however you go in with the character you have chosen as your main character under your SFV “profile” settings. This easily speeds up searching and makes each appointment more random than previous. This is a massive addition that is greatly welcomed (good job Capcom).  There is enough on offer at the moment to keep every fighter satisfied and the fact that the publisher has plans to roll out patches and DLC, I am certain Street Fighter V is going to be as popular in years to come.  If you are bored of fighting yourself, then you can always check out the Capcom Fighting Network and watch stored matches until your heart is content.

Ultimately Street Fighter V is the best Street Fighter game I have played since Street Fighter 2 and 3rd Strike. The game, even though lacks a solid story mode at the moment, will have an update coming that we are hoping will improve it. Story mode aside, Street Fighter comes down to being a fighting game and that’s all we really care about. It works fantastic thanks to the changes they have done, and the focus they have put in to making the game bring it up to the same level as 3rd Strike strike in my opinion and offers the best possible fighting experience.  The only thing it lacks is customisation options. Hopefully future updates and the opening of the store will resolve this issue.

Editors Note:  I will be updating this review with a video review once the update for Story Mode is released.  Street Fighter V was reviewed on the PS4 and a review code was provided by Capcom. 

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