After all these years this game holds up suprisingly well. It's an awesome game but not without one flaw... read on...
Ok, now about the game. The game features a total of 15 playable characters (although Ryo is featured in the game he doesn't become selectable). All the characters generally have their own distinctive feel and the moves vary just enough that each character particularly has their own strategy affixed to them. There is a slight hint of imbalance with the characters but nothing so drastic that the game feels downright unplayable. Only veteran players should be able to find these exploits and similarly, only veteran players will find ways to overcome these. The background stages are very distinctive from one another and far more interesting than those found on other 2D fighters from the same era. Online multiplayer is a great addition and the navigation through the menus is extremely simple. This makes finding other players to fight against super simple.
Now the bad. Online lag can KILL this game. I’ve played many games online and there have only been a few that handle as horrible under lag as this one. It can even get to the point where alternating between blocking high and low attacks becomes nearly impossible, allowing opponents who abuse jumping attacks to low sweeps to literally demolish you. This can prove to be upsetting, especially for the more skilled player who has taken the time to learn the fighting system inside and out. Fortunately the developers included a ping indicator within the lobbies to help players determine whether a match is worth playing before hand. Every player in the lobby has a ping stat that indicates how many milliseconds behind they are from the local player. This makes it extremely easy to decide who stays in the room and who doesn’t. In a nutshell, you’re less likely to experience any major lag issues when playing against someone whose ping reads 50ms. While on the other hand, playing against someone whose ping reads 400ms practically guarantees you unbearable lag results. If you're hosting, you'll definitely be putting your boot to use. Aside from the lag issue, the difficulty settings need some adjustments. Playing this game on Beginner difficulty is NOT easy. In fact, I found myself almost throwing my controller while trying to unlock some acheivements while the game was on Beginner difficulty ( mind you, I play the game fairly well). Simply put, the difficulty labels are misleading. True beginners are going to get their asses whooped by the CPU.
Overall, this game is awesome. It’s definitely not as fast paced as most of the modern day fighters but this one has a very special vintage feel to it that makes it easy to appreciate what you’re playing. While the only major draw on the game is how it handles under lag, the online play is worth while, just as long as you’re selective about who your opponent is. For only $5, this one is a no-brainer.