Street Fighter IV: first details revealed

by Scott Jon Siegel { Dec 6th 2007 at 5:55AM }

We'll spare you the suspense: Street Fighter IV will feature fully-3D graphics, but gameplay will be purely 2D, retaining the feel of the classic non-EX Street Fighter titles.

Now that you can breathe again, we'll let you know that 1UP has scored the first exclusive details on Street Fighter IV. The first publicized screenshot (above, and taken from the in-game engine) confirms the unique art direction for the sequel, as first hinted upon in the teaser trailer. 1UP reports that Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Dhalsim are all returning to the series, although a more complete character roster has not yet been revealed.

Gameplay-wise, it's classic Street Fighter, utilizing a six-button control scheme while introducing new moves, features, and locations to the repertoire. No word yet on which platforms the game is headed to, although we can certainly hazard a few guesses. Even more details on Capcom's latest fighter will be revealed in the January 2008 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, so keep your eyes peeled on the news stands.

Tags: breaking-news, breakingnews, capcom, street-fighter, street-fighter-4, street-fighter-iv, streetfighter, streetfighter4, streetfighteriv

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

fawazr @ Dec 6th 2007 6:12AM

SF fanboy wet dream: check!

FOXHOUND @ Dec 6th 2007 7:16AM

*cue excited pig squeal*

Damnit, fans of fighting games like myself NEED good news like this!

upz @ Dec 6th 2007 10:15AM

No kidding. I haven't been this excited for a video game since SFII came out for SNES. Oh, and I'm going to beat you all online. Ha!

mike_p @ Dec 6th 2007 12:15PM

OMG! Start the countdown!

WTF has Ryu been eating? He looks huge!
... that's what she said.

Wonderflex @ Dec 6th 2007 12:41PM

Online? Street Fighter is a frames game, I'm not so sure it will be online.

Bloo @ Dec 6th 2007 12:44PM

Attention: tools above me. Reply is for replying to the original commentor - not for getting your comment near the top. No one cares about you anyways. Not even your mom. Thank you. Good day.

FOXHOUND @ Dec 7th 2007 7:48AM

I am replying to Bloo, because someone woke up cranky and didn't get their juice box & crackers at snacktime today.

Perhaps if he stops acting like a little tw-- it, he just might get a toffee for today's snacktime. :]

Orionsaint @ Dec 6th 2007 6:15AM

ONE OF THE GREATEST IMAGES I'VE SEEN...WELL IN A LONG TIME!

Capcom appears to have reinvented the 2D Fighter and I say. IT'S ABOUT FREAKIN TIME! Just like Capcom did in 92 with SFII. They're doing it again in 2008. I predict future fighters will start to copy this new 2D engine style. I'm so looking forward to this I could cry.

sheppy2.0 @ Dec 6th 2007 8:33AM

Ummmmm, I really hate to be the person to break this to you. What Capcom is doing here has been effectionately referred to as 2.5D in the past. 3D world, 2D gameplay.

And I really don't thinkthis will start some new revolution in fighting games. After all, this idea has been toyed with many times in the past. Most recently with King of Fighters (Sorry, Guilty Gear 3 doesn't count... it's a brawler).

I mean, I'm hopeful for a good SF game as much as anyone else but King of Fighters 2006 is essentially KOF with 3D characters.

J.Goodwin @ Dec 6th 2007 9:51AM

This single image has proven to me that Capcom "gets it" in terms of attempting to retain the artistic vision of the series though.

KOF's 2.5D incarnations have no appeal to me (and I'm a guy who has every KOF on MVS along with every Fatal Fury, and every Art of Fighting...)

upz @ Dec 6th 2007 10:25AM

I think you mean every ROM on Kawaks.

David Keating @ Dec 6th 2007 3:59PM

I agree... when I saw that pic this mornin', my jaw dropped and I let loose an excited "FUCK YEAH!"

Alexander @ Dec 6th 2007 6:24AM

That looks really freaking cool! Way to go Capcom!

Now just make another Mega Man game and I'll truly love you again. And not another "X" or "Battle Network" game. Make it Mega Man 10.....or 9. I'm not sure if Rockman & Bass counts as 9.

Alexander @ Dec 6th 2007 6:27AM

*Rockman & Forte/Mega Man & Bass

I mixed the American name with the Japanese one.

Gangsta Smurf @ Dec 6th 2007 6:50AM

They should continue the Rockman/Forte saga. Reinvent the sprites and just go until they run out of numbers for the sequels.

Jerk Face @ Dec 6th 2007 9:10AM

Hey, I really like Megaman X!

Jerk Face @ Dec 6th 2007 9:11AM

Hey, I really like Megaman X!

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 6th 2007 10:13AM

megaman 10 came out on the SNES, right before Megaman X.

And X was awesome. It just went overboard later in the series.

Gangsta Smurf @ Dec 6th 2007 10:53AM

"megaman 10 came out on the SNES,"

You're joking, right?

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 6th 2007 11:14AM

No, look it up. Megaman 9 was the last Megaman game on the NES, and megaman 10 came out on the SNES, either shortly before or shortly after the X series began.

Mr.ESC @ Dec 6th 2007 11:39AM

You seriously need to get Megaman:Powered up! for the PSP,its so damn wicked.Maverik Hunter X was sweet,I know those are remakes but hell those are the best remakes of all time.

Michael @ Dec 6th 2007 11:56AM

Er... don't know where you're getting your information from, but the "Megaman 10" game you're referring to on the SNES is actually Megaman 7. Megaman 1-6 was on the NES. Megaman 8 is on the PSONE. There is no 10, and there isn't even a 9. (That's going by numerical order and not taking in the Megaman and Bass etc)

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 6th 2007 12:25PM

Oh, you're right. My bad.

Shagittarius @ Dec 6th 2007 7:14PM

LOL, Crono is such a worthless toolbag.

zuburi @ Dec 6th 2007 6:29AM

There goes my dream of a super high-res/high-fps hand animated Street Fighter :( Graphics look great, but I thought the EX series was for 3D?

Street Fighter was one of the last holdouts in the 2D fighting game genre.

sheppy2.0 @ Dec 6th 2007 8:26AM

It was? I could have sworn Melty Blood, Arcana Heart, Guilty Gear, or several other 2D fighters were the last hold outs on 2D fighters.

zuburi @ Dec 6th 2007 8:37AM

"one of the."

Hikaru @ Dec 6th 2007 1:29PM

Me too, I wanted HD hand drawn 2D characters..oh well.

Shockgamer @ Dec 6th 2007 6:31AM

Is that a Hadouken in your pants or are you just happy to see me?

Laggy @ Dec 6th 2007 9:04AM

There's defiantly something going on in his pants, by the look on his face I'm going for Hadoukun.

Phi Nguyen @ Dec 6th 2007 10:40AM

@ shockgamer,

O Fo Sho (or should I say, "Fo Shoryuken!"

Captain_Hairy @ Dec 6th 2007 6:43AM

Thank you, Robo-Jebus, for your blessing this day, ye have brought us news of true Street Fighter gameplay in a 2.5D env... wait, you mean this is Joystiq and not Robo-Jebus?

Well, whatever. Cheers anywho.

Zoesch @ Dec 6th 2007 10:40AM

2.75D

That bulge sticks out in its own dimension

OTAM @ Dec 6th 2007 6:51AM

*sigh*

2D? Really?

bm @ Dec 6th 2007 7:02AM

Ugh, god no.

Well, we all knew it wasn't going to be 2D. Still, this sucks. Goodbye beautiful lively animation, hello fucking plastic stiff 3D barbiedoll shit. Fuck you, Capcom.

bm @ Dec 6th 2007 7:03AM

That wasn't meant to be a reply.

Shockgamer @ Dec 6th 2007 7:51AM

You make it sound like this game is trying to look like Gears of War. I look at that picture and I see literally Street Fighter in 3d, not too realistic but not too cartoony/animeish/Alpha, just like 2 and 3.

Street Fighter 2 HD is all the sprite enthusiasts need. Otherwise, 1995 is -> That way.

OTAM @ Dec 6th 2007 7:58AM

Apparently you people have misunderstood. I'm sighing because the game is in 2D and not fully blown 3D fighting like Virtua Fighter,Soul Calibur,Tekken,ect.

This just in; Capcom including free Pizza Hut cupons and VHS tapes of Wayne's World with game purchase.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 6th 2007 8:07AM

I'm sorry but 2d is better than 3d in every way.

Scott Jon Siegel @ Dec 6th 2007 8:13AM

@ Vegeta: Well, I think in terms of "dimensions," 3D is actually 1 better than 2D.

That's right. I went there.

Shockgamer @ Dec 6th 2007 8:53AM

There is absolutely zero reason for Capcom to throw the baby out with the bathwater in Street Fighter's gameplay.

Giving the game 3d graphics is a concession to modern graphic tastes, in which 2d games today have a hard time catching a break on the friggin DS.

However there is no reason for Capcom to try to ape Tekken and Virtua Fighter, becoming the imitator instead of the leader. Tekken and Virtual Fighter fans would look down their nose at the game and Street Fighter fans would reject the game for slighting them.

It is much smarter to build upon 2 and 3 and guarantee the business of the series' installed fanbase(which will blow away Virtua Fighter's pathetic sales, BTW), rather than appeal to people who want Street Fighter to stop being Street Fighter.

J.Goodwin @ Dec 6th 2007 10:00AM

I don't think that changing graphics techniques necessarily means that there will be a corresponding gameplay sacrifice though.

It's something that we're just going to have to wait and see as it emerges later.

SF2 didn't change it's core gameplay when it went from CPS to CPS-2 and SF3 didn't radically change the gameplay when they moved to CPS-3, nor did it change when they put SFA/Z3 on NAOMI.

Capcom has a good track record of starting a new series when they want to make significant gameplay changes (with the exception of the bastard EX games), so you have Rival Schools United by Fate and Power Stone in that solidly 3d realm. I don't believe that they're going to make the EX mistake again in the main Street Fighter franchise.

This change is IMHO more likely to be equivalent to the artistic style change from SF2 to SFA/Z. We don't need to be freaking out just yet.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 6th 2007 10:23AM

Rival Schools is the perfect example of how Street Fighter could be successfully done in 3D.

bm @ Dec 6th 2007 5:20PM

"Rival Schools is the perfect example of how Street Fighter could be successfully done in 3D."

The graphics are still 3D, they look like complete crap compared to something like SF3. That's the whole issue. There's this ONE franchise left with some great potential for beautiful 2D animation (which will always look superior to 3D animation IMO), and they just have to kill it. They just have to make it 3D, because EVERYTHING HAS TO BE 3D DON'T YOU GET IT, EVERYTHING EVERYTHING EVERYTHING!