Street Fighter IV Feature: The Street Fighter Club
Posted by Vincent Chiucchi on 10.29.2008
Capcom holds an underground event in a secret location to show off Street Fighter IV, and I was lucky enough to go there.
I'm better than you - wanna fight about it?
Friday night, October 24th, Capcom held a Street Fighter Club event in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York. It took place at a bodega in Broadway, and about 350 maximum were able to attend. Thanks to a heads up by Ramon about this, I got to be one of those few hundred people. The event would begin at 8:00PM and only the first 250 would get free stuff. I arrived at about 7:30PM to see a hefty line already there. While I waited, I chatted with a couple others behind me about various topics, mostly about gaming. The most interesting topic was about the characters in Street Fighter IV, or rather the ones not yet in the game, especially Cammy. I heard Cammy won some kind of popularity poll, but nothing was made official yet. If she doesn't appear in the final version of the game, I have a feeling she'll show up as DLC. Other people on line were taking pictures or having their pictures taken, most of which I assume was from Capcom Unity. I really wished I brought my digital camcorder, but I had the feeling someone would make a big deal out of it and take it away (*coughNewYorkYankeescough*), so I used my camera phone to take pictures, and they all sucked, so I have no personal pics of the event. However, the images in my head from going to the SFC is something I won't forget.
So the clock strikes 8:00PM, and the line...only moves a few inches. Then five minutes later...another few inches. Capcom was taking their time to get people through the door, and by the time I got in, I was the 120th in line or so (which means FREE STUFF! W00T!) and it was 9:20PM. The first thing I see when I get it is all sorts of stuff for sale relating to Street Fighter, like "Shadaloo Aspirin", "Dhalsim's Yoga Spicy Ramen", "Edmond Honda's Herbs & Spices", "Sonic Boom Sticks", and a "Hadouken Lighter Stick". On the counter where people were signing up was an SNES hooked up to an old TV with Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting playing. Since nobody was playing it I thought it was only there for display, probably to show just how far the two games we would see have come from their 16-bit ancestors. Before signing in and heading to the back, we had to recite a list of rules that were all NO this and NO that. What I was amazed and worried about at the same time was that out of all the NO rules they had, "NO Drinking" was not on the list. They didn't serve any alcohol at the event, but damn Capcom, you were just asking for trouble with that rule missing!
The moment you walk through the curtain for the first floor, the place is completely dark with the only things to light the place up was Christmas lights, the bright HDTVs, and an overhead projection of the Street Fighter II V animé. There was also a DJ playing really loud music, which would have been a lot more cooler if he was playing Street Fighter related songs. If he did then it's likely I didn't hear it, ironic considering how REALLY LOUD it was. On the first floor we had a couple booths set up for SSF2THDR for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
There really isn't much to say about that game other then that it looked like it was 100% complete rather then some demo with limited features. All the characters were there, all sorts of stages were being seen, so really, I'm surprised Capcom hasn't released this yet. I tried a round with the Xbox 360 controller, and the D-pad sucks. The game was responsive and it worked, but it was not very comfortable and threw me off for a bit. If you like using the D-pad for fighting, you'll probably want the PS3 version. Otherwise there's no difference between the two. The graphics in this game have been revamped so much that it looks like one of the best 2D animated fighters I have ever seen. When I saw a character get set ablazed, it looked exactly like it did all those years ago with the entire body on fire, only so much more damn awesome to look at. If you love old school Street Fighter and if have XBL or PSN, get this game.
But enough about the revamped past. What about the game we've been waiting nine years for? That game was reserved for the basement, and the door leading to it had the word "Murder" with an arrow pointing to it written above. Now, when I mean basement, I mean the kind of basement with concrete, rusted pipes, and cobwebs all over the place. The place was dark and cramped like it was some kind of arcade, only this arcade had free play on consoles, had multiple versions of the one game everyone wanted to play, and the owners weren't douchebags. This underground experience was awesome to be a part of, though I did have a couple complains. First off, just like an Arcade, only the good players got to play over and over. I saw one guy rack up 20 wins with Akuma. I was not one of those good players, so I only tried out one round of the game. Another problem was that because of the "NO Move Lists" rule, players were only choosing the already established characters, so I didn't get to learn much about the news guys. Granted I am guilty of helping this happen. The only new character I saw someone pick was Crimson Viper, and that lasted only one round. Still though, this game seems to be so much for the hardcore fans who grew up knowing the Street Fighter II cast best that I don't think a lot of people are going to complain about the roster.
I'll take them both out!
On a sidenote, with lots of people crowding around, the booth I was at had a couple guys taking lists of names so that we knew who got next. At one point the guy using his PDA to keep track left, so the other guy asked if anyone had pen and paper. A few laughed because there was no way somebody bothered to bring that. Well guess what...I did bother to bring that! And so everyone eventually got their chance, and I'd like to think to myself that it was thanks to me. Now if only I didn't suck at using arcade sticks, I could've played much longer.
So just how was Street Fighter IV like? I can definitely say it's a lot different then Street Fighter 3. Instead of seeing some boring parry defensive tactics, I saw people using specials and combos to beat the crap out of each other, and I can't count how many times I saw Ryu's Ultra Shinku-Hadouken annihilate somebody. Camera zooms in, Ryu shouts his attack, camera zooms out and the opponent gets OWNED. The Ultra moves are very flashy and very effective, so expect to see them get used plenty of times. The game also has a grading system like SF3, but I think this one is much better since the one in SF3 would give you a grade of C++ (have you ever got a school grade like that before?) or lower 99% of the time. I also saw some use of the focus system, but didn't see anybody take a winning advantage by using it, probably because it's a new feature and players were sticking to what they already knew.
I didn't see any Capcom staff members at the event, or at least people that looked recognizable enough to be a staff member, so I didn't ask any questions about the game like if it would have downloadable content for new characters and stages. I did talk with a guy who was part of the group organizing the event (I believe they were called Nerdcore), and I have to complement them a lot for the whole underground feel that the Street Fighter Club had. After watching plenty of Street Fighter IV action, I picked up my free stuff and headed home.
Here are the details of the free goodies I got:
T-Shirt, poster, and dog tag of Guile getting electrocuted. Because if anyone deserves to be electrocuted for thinking they were the main character of the series (damn you live action movie and USA cartoon), it's this guy.
Issue #11 of the Street Fighter comic book from Udon Comics. I think this issue is like four years old, but it does have a nice Cammy cover on it. I love the humor parts at the back.
Can of "Dragon Punch" Energy Drink. Because by the 50th win in a row, you need something more then quarters to make sure you stay in the game. Tasted like every other energy drink.
A bar of soap with Street Fighter written on it. Straight out of the movie Fight Club comes this bizarre item. I'm not sure whether to actually use it or preserve it for it's sheer weirdness. I heard from others on line waiting for the event about why Capcom would include this, and I said "It's for those who REALLY like Chun-Li." Thank you folks, I'll be here all week.
Red headband. It's just like Ryu's, with Capcom and SF4 logos on each end. If I had a karate outfit with me, I definitely would've gone as Ryu this Halloween.
This event was awesome, and if Capcom decides to hold one in your city, be sure to sign up as quick as possible. It's 100% worth it.
So the clock strikes 8:00PM, and the line...only moves a few inches. Then five minutes later...another few inches. Capcom was taking their time to get people through the door, and by the time I got in, I was the 120th in line or so (which means FREE STUFF! W00T!) and it was 9:20PM. The first thing I see when I get it is all sorts of stuff for sale relating to Street Fighter, like "Shadaloo Aspirin", "Dhalsim's Yoga Spicy Ramen", "Edmond Honda's Herbs & Spices", "Sonic Boom Sticks", and a "Hadouken Lighter Stick". On the counter where people were signing up was an SNES hooked up to an old TV with Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting playing. Since nobody was playing it I thought it was only there for display, probably to show just how far the two games we would see have come from their 16-bit ancestors. Before signing in and heading to the back, we had to recite a list of rules that were all NO this and NO that. What I was amazed and worried about at the same time was that out of all the NO rules they had, "NO Drinking" was not on the list. They didn't serve any alcohol at the event, but damn Capcom, you were just asking for trouble with that rule missing!
T-Shirt, poster, and dog tag of Guile getting electrocuted. Because if anyone deserves to be electrocuted for thinking they were the main character of the series (damn you live action movie and USA cartoon), it's this guy.
