The 3D effects are great and with the exception of the shoulder buttons, the gameplay is comfortable. 100% recommended.
The game is the 4th entry in the incredibly famous series made by Capcom, it's always had a great deal of success and this time is not the exception, the full roster of characters from the console versions is available here, including Ibuki and the rest of the "Super" cast. All of them with the same moves and gameplay mechanics, so the fact that this is a port for a portable device doesn't mean that any content was taken out.
Starting with the graphics and visuals, I can say that they're very impressive. When playing with the 3D on, the level of deepness is excellent and the details in the fighters are really good, the textures look great on them and combined with really fluid movements and reactions make it a great experience. I noticed that the backgrounds in the stages were toned down a little, example: some things that move or react to the fight in the console version are just static in here but they really don't affect the gameplay at all because all the players will be watching are the fighters, especially with the 3D.
It's really great to see how a console game that didn't make it to the Wii was able to get into the launch lineup of the 3DS with this quality in the visuals. The graphics are awesome, especially in the characters, which make SSF4: 3D Edition the best title in the console right now.
Gameplay-wise, the game stays completely faithful to the original versions, offering the same deep fighting mechanics the series is famous for. It uses all the buttons in the console, Y, X and L for the punches and B, A and R for the kicks. You can move your character with either the pad or the stick. Using L and R can be a little uncomfortable at first but it's just a matter of getting used to it. If you're new to Street Fighter, the system can be a little hard to get into but with practice, you can build up a lot of skill and tactics to take down your opponents.
There are 35 characters to choose from, a lot of them share the same moves (like Ryu and Ken) but they all have stuff unique to them which gives them personality and since there are so many, it's guaranteed that there will be at least one for each player. As you can imagine, some of them are easy to use while others require much more skill in their command lists but give a lot of satisfaction when you win with them.
One of the new things in this version of SSF4 is the "Dynamic View", which is an over-the-shoulder camera that stays behind your character giving the feeling of an action adventure game. Personally, I don't like it and it's very uncomfortable but I suppose that it's just a matter of tastes. It is a curious new thing to the system. Another addition is the use of the touch screen to use some of the character's moves and Ultra Combos, you can simply touch the option with the stylus to use the moves instead of using the commands with the buttons.
Just like in most games of the genre, SSF4 3D offers an arcade mode where you choose a difficulty, number of rounds and of course, a character and play some fights with the AI until you have to beat a final boss. This classic mode is great for practicing, getting to know new characters or just killing boredom. Besides that there's "Versus" mode, where you play against people with other 3DS consoles near you over and over, "3D Versus" which is basically the same but with the dynamic view. The title also has a challenge mode which is found in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 under the "mission" name. In this one, the game will give a series of commands to the character you choose and you just have to do them, most of them are very hard to pull off but they're great for practicing and investigating which moves to use in different situations. Then there's Training mode where you play a character against a dummy, perfect for practicing.
But the most important gameplay mode is of course, the online multiplayer, where using the WiFi capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS, allow you to play countless of people over the internet. You can create or find rooms or lobbies with several options to attract people and fight them. Besides all the gameplay modes, you can collect figurines to show them around in the online matches or customize a player card which describes stuff about you, like a motto, portrait and a picture of the characters you like to use.
The music is great, it is filled with tons of songs that fit perfectly in the pace of the fights and some of them even remind players of the songs used in older titles of the series. It's very entertaining and never gets repetitive. The sound effects are also great, there are a lot of sounds for the punches, kicks, characters falling down and reactions to the things happening in the fights. There's a lot of voice acting as well and though some of the characters have annoying voices and silly lines, it is good for the most part.
Super Street Fighter 4 3D Edition is definitely the best game in the launch lineup of the Nintendo 3DS, offering a very deep fighting system, great characters that come to life with great graphics in 3D, outstanding sound effects and intense online gameplay. It is sure to please pretty much any kind of gamer interested in a good game that can show that the new Nintendo handheld can offer. I totally recommend it.
Pros:
- A very deep fighting system that always offers new things to learn
- Big and varied roster of characters to choose from
- Excellent soundtrack
Cons:
- Using L and R buttons in combos can be uncomfortable
- No online leaderboards