Yeah, you read that tagline correctly. But don't get the wrong idea. Just because this game doesn't innovate doesn't mean it's a bad game. It's an okay game; It just doesn't have much to offer.
Story:
This game, like every entry in the EX series has no main story. And with the main Street Fighter canon bordering on convoluted, I believe this to be a good thing. But nonetheless, Capcom treats us to a black box with ending text, elaborating the actions of each character upon defeating M. Bison. Although the actions described in these endings don't deviate from what I would expect from any of the familiar characters, I was disappointed with this feature; it makes the developers look lazy and I even noticed some translation errors. Apart from that, the text is a little too small, and the endings themselves leave a lot to be desired.
I don't understand why the developers couldn't translate the endings into cinematic sequences, or at least with 2-D-drawn stills, like in previous Street Fighter games. I don't mind using my imagination, but this just doesn't make sense. In Japan, Tekken Tag Tournament was released just 26 days after this game (They were both released on the same day in North America), and it featured rendered endings. Even the original Tekken on the PlayStation had endings like that! So, there's no excuse for this omission.
On top of that, when I read the endings for the new characters, I was more than a little confused about what was going on. It would have been nice if Capcom had included some backstory in the manual instead of those "notes" pages. What a waste.
Graphics:
For 2000: This game looks incredible! It boasts some of the best graphics in a fighting game to date. Seriously, the visuals in this title must be seen to be believed.
For 2014: This game's visuals have not stood the test of time. All the familiar characters look how they should and animate fine, but most characters' fighting stances look awkward, as if they're either missing a couple of frames or are moving inhumanly fast. Or both.
The stages look nice, if generic, and employ the rotating perspective from the early Tekken games, while maintaining Street Fighter's signature 2-D plane. Another thing to note is the fact that you'll get an alternate version of each stage, depending on whether you choose to fight alone or with a partner. This makes no sense, but I guess it's the developers' sort of guerrilla tactic of making up for the under-abundance of stages in the game. My final complaint is the fact that Chun-Li's legs aren't muscular enough. Seriously, what's up with that?
Roster:
I was very disappointed with this game's roster. I've managed to unlock most of the hidden characters, resulting in a roster of 24 fighters. Minus E. Honda and Balrog (M. Bison in Japan), everyone from the original Street Fighter II is here, with the addition of Sakura. Instead of filling the roster with characters that people actually care about, it seems Capcom opted to include the most well-known characters, while adding in a ton of obscure, oddball fighters - Both new and from previous EX games.
There was no reason not to add more familiar characters, such as - in addition to E. Honda and Balrog - Akuma (Gouki in Japan), Dan, T. Hawk, Adon, Cammy, Fei Long, Karin or even Sean. I would have far more preferred a roster such as this, and I'm certain that I'm not the only one.
Sound:
Let me just get this out of the way first: Not every character in this game speaks English. This may not sound like a problem, let me explain further: Ken speaks Japanese in this game, which makes sense because he spent years training in Japan and learned the language. But I don't expect that from Guile, who, in this game, also speaks Japanese. Anyway, let's move on.
There are no signature character themes in this game. Full disclosure: That sucks. Instead, we get a bunch of songs that, while generic, are actually pretty good, and some of the tracks reminded me of Tekken. The fighting sound effects are good as well. But in spite of all this, in the menu screens, apart from the sounds when you access a different menu, we get nothing but dead silence. Also, can someone please tell me why Guile shouts "Chick-kaboom!" instead of "Sonic Boom?"
Game Modes:
Here's an excerpt from the game's back cover: "Choose from 16 characters to play 1-on-1, 2-on-1 and even 1-on-3 battles! Loaded with 4 modes of play [...]" This statement may be true, but it really misuses the word "loaded." In any event, the first three modes are what you would expect from a Street Fighter game:
Original: The game's essential arcade mode. After each win, you can choose to allow one of your foes to join your party as a tag partner. You have to play through this mode to unlock new characters, and upon completion, you fight an infinite number of respawning enemies as the credits roll. After the credits finish, you are given your score of defeated foes. I applaud the developers for this unconventional credits sequence. But if you wish to, you can bypass all this with the push of a button.
Arena: This is the game's versus mode. It might interest you to know that this game supports up to 4 players through the use of a multitap.
Training: This is where you practice fighting moves.
The fourth mode, Character Edit, is a new mode that allows you to edit a mimic character named Ace. We're not told anything about this dude, but as a mimic character, he has the ability to replicate the special moves of several SF characters, including some who aren't even in this game. Here's how this mode works: You complete tasks - such as performing combos - to earn points, which you can use to purchase new attacks for Ace. There are two separate slots for Ace, so that a friend can customize him to their leisure as well. But overall, I didn't care for this mode.
And finally, there's the Options menu, in which you can adjust the game's difficulty, damage level, time count, volume, etc.
Gameplay:
The controls are good and haven't changed too much from the first EX game. If you've ever played any Street Fighter game, everything should feel very familiar to you, from Ryu and Ken's "quarter-circle forward + P" to Guile's "hold down, then up + K". The only new enhancements in this game are the Critical Parade and Emotional Flow Super Moves. To tell you the truth, I never fully figured out how these work. I had to download a bunch of guides from the Internet, and even then, I only managed to pull any of these off at complete random. I should also mention that there is no run or dash mechanic in this game, which can lead to sluggish fights.
Also, the inclusion of 1-on-3 battles was not well thought-out. This may have worked on a 3-D plane, but here, it results in matches in which the handicapped player is mercilessly ganged up on because the game only allows them to face one direction at a time. The only way this would work is if only one enemy attacked at a time. Which, by the way, doesn't happen.
Nevertheless, the game designers attempted to remedy this by having your character face whoever struck them last, but sometimes it doesn't even work.
Final Verdict:
This game isn't all that, but it was never intended to be. The game is clearly rushed and was only released to boost the PS2's launch. But even with this in mind, there are certain things in this game that just simply annoy me. I'm mainly discontent with the roster, as I mentioned before. But also, the vocabulary is quite ridiculous. For example, when you reach the loading screen for a fight, the game calls it a "Dramatic Battle," which it rarely is. And as I said before, the game's soundtrack, if forgettable, gets the job done, but I can't ignore the stock-ness of it. To top it all off, the lack of familiar stage music makes this game feel like a cheap third-party Street Fighter clone.
Overall, the game is okay. If you're just looking for a little simple, off-the-record 3-D Street Fighter action on the PS2, then this is the game for you. But if you seek a more rewarding Street Fighter experience, there are plenty (Plenty!) of other games to check out.