Street Fighter IV in 2009, SUPER Street Fighter IV in 2010, SUPER Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition in 2011 and finally Ultra Street Fighter IV in 2014, Capcom has, despite its great promises, repeated the same commercial pattern that had been established at the era of Street Fighter II. Aware that this marketing technique can no longer work on players and its community, tired of spending between €30 and €50 extra with each new update, Capcom has opted for another approach, more deceitful and above all in keeping with the times. At a time of free-to-play, pay-to-win and the colossal stakes that eSport represents today, the Japanese publisher has once again made a great promise: that of selling only one and unique Street Fighter V cake, while guaranteeing quality after-sales service to build customer loyalty. It will be sometimes free, sometimes paid, but Capcom promises great content for the next few years to continuously enrich the experience. It is therefore with this in mind that Street Fighter V was built, in addition also to being on time for the Capcom World Tour, the other component that now shapes the new DNA of the franchise. Only here, to last over time, any well-trained analyst will tell you, it is strongly advised to start with the bare minimum. And that, for Capcom, no need to repeat it twice.
SUPER KIT FIGHTER
This is the reason why Street Fighter V was released in this state, lamentable for a game of this caliber, and which is clearly pitiful compared to what the other fighting games offered a few months (Mortal Kombat X) or weeks (Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4) previously. Starting with its roster, much too light not to be outraged, even if it's been more than a year since we were introduced to it. In addition, although the 16 characters at launch may all be very interesting to play, in the current competition, it is difficult for Street Fighter V to be taken seriously. In any case, the future is already prepared, with the arrival in a few months of 6 new characters, which can be unlocked with the game's virtual currency (Zenny) or by directly entering the number of their credit card (6 € per person), it's up to you. But what is most shocking in the content of Street Fighter 5 is by far its Story mode, made of pencil stroke illustrations so vile that it looks like an episode of Dragon Ball Super; and we hardly exaggerate. In the "Story" mode, one per character, it is a question of chaining the rounds (not even a match) to move on to the next "kinematics" to better understand the challenges of each of the protagonists. We learn, for example, that FANG is Bison/Vega's new right-hand man, that Cammy wishes to protect all his clones, that Ken has only one goal in his life: to be invited to the most social of parties, that of Karin, whom R. Mika wishes to become as popular as his lifelong role model, namely Zangief, while Ryu desperately seeks to master his dark side of fisting. Unresearched, uninteresting stories that wipe themselves out in 1 hour watch in hand. But as usual, Capcom has promised the arrival of a real Scenario mode, but for next summer. Without dec', openly making fun of the mouth of the player in this way, it is either genius or pathology.
But what is most shocking in the content of Street Fighter 5 is by far its Story mode, made of pencil stroke illustrations so vile that it looks like an episode of Dragon Ball Super; and we hardly exaggerate.
Of course, the real ones know that the solo mode in a fighting game is secondary and that all the interest revolves around the Versus mode. This is both true and false, because for a few years now the developers of versus fighting have been trying to find new ideas to capture the attention of players, likely to abandon the genre for open-world games where storytelling is now as important as gameplay. Whether it's Mortal Kombat X once again or the very recent Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, we have the feeling that the studios are tearing themselves apart so as not to harm the solitary player. Which is obviously not the case at Capcom, not ashamed to offer us such a pitiful rendering. This also goes hand in hand with the interface, austere as ever (not to say disgusting), and which really gives the feeling of navigating in an unfinished game. And then beyond its Story mode, Versus, Training and online matches, there is nothing to get your teeth into, especially since the online store icon is grayed out since 'it won't open until next March. Delirium, but then total.
V AS VENERE
Despite these pitfalls, despite this mad desire to stretch our middle finger skyward, Street Fighter 5 has something of Tennessee in it, this little thing that could almost make us forget that it's a fucking game sold as a kit, at know his gameplay. While keeping a certain continuity with Street Fighter IV (the feeling between the two games is quite close in the end), Capcom has significantly modified the combat system. To start, know that the Focus Attack and the Ultra have been removed to make way for the famous V system which is based on several types of techniques: the V-Skill, the V-Trigger and finally the V-Reversal. The V-Trigger (MP/MK) is a special attack or skill linked to each character. It is specific to everyone and is triggered without any counterpart. If Ryu is able to perform a parry (a parry that allows him to regain energy), Ken executes a forward dash to dash towards the opponent and take him by surprise, FANG launches a poison projectile which scratches the life gauge, Nash and Vega/Bison absorb projectiles to inflate their V bar, while Rashid and Laure are able to make an overhead jump which can be assimilated to an aerial attack. But V-Skill attacks also have another function, that of filling the V-Gauge bar which is cut out in this way: the V-Reversal (which allows you to break an opponent who has gained too much confidence and who has launched in a series of combos), and the V-Trigger which once triggered offers new perspectives in blows. Ryu's Hadoken and Shoryuken will be charged with electricity, while Ken's will be ignited. Nash on the other hand will be able to teleport behind the opponent's back at the speed of light. From now on, the choice of the character will also be made according to the affinities that one can have with his unique shots, capable of changing the situation of a match, whether friendly or online.
Despite these pitfalls, despite this mad desire to stretch our middle finger skyward, Street Fighter 5 has something of Tennessee in it, this little thing that could almost make us forget that it's a fucking game sold as a kit, at know his gameplay.
Just below, we find the EX bar whose function is similar to that of Street Fighter IV. We were talking earlier about the disappearance of the Ultras. They have indeed been replaced by the Critical Arts, the learned Street term to name the furies, and whose damage has never been so important. That said, overall, the moves, even the most lambdas, eat up a lot of energy, proof that Capcom has finally understood that zoning is not good for the image of its game and that the beautiful game stands out above all in the aggressiveness and offensiveness of the players. However, we are still far from the combativeness and fervor of a KOF, but it is clear that Ono and his teams want to put on a show in tournaments around the world. There is also another unmistakable sign: the return of the Stun bar, which can be found just below the energy gauge, and which fills up in half, but also that it is now impossible to spam the opponent with low kicks to trap him in a series of combos, the latter shifting automatically and very quickly. Proof once again that Capcom wants to promote the beautiful game, even if on the other hand, movements in Street Fighter V turn out to be slower than its predecessor.
THE GOOD, THE BROUGHT AND THE OLD BAG
In its mad desire to put things straight, Capcom has also changed the physical appearance of some of its oldest characters. This is the case for example of Dhalsim, turban on his head, big beubar and holding a Buddhist monk now. Vega/Balrog sports a cute blouse, while Ken creates controversy with his bananas on his head and his underarmor outfits under his now loose kimono. That said, we fell in love. But it's not only in the look that we note big changes, in the fighting style too. Nash and Vega/Balrog for example lost all their charge shots for quarter circles easier to achieve for the noobs, but also for obvious reasons of rounds to ship to better stick to the spirit of haters. But the charged attacks have not disappeared, since one of the newcomers, FANG, is played in this way and even proves to be awfully effective, including the flight of a bird. Bison/Vega is also played in a completely different way, since his Psycho Crusher has now moved to the Critical Arts box to be replaced by waves of protective energy, which form a cage in EX mode, a bit like a Geese Howard unleashing his ultimate fury. To a lesser extent of course.
Anyway, we expect the Japanese publisher firmly in the coming months. Because in the promise to initially sell his game as a kit, there was also that of not abusing the confidence of the players too much by extracting a maximum of dough from them.
Other gameplay subtleties further prove that Street Fighter V has every intention of changing, without distorting its original DNA. If the different timings are now more permissive for a more general public approach, we also see that the priorities follow the logic of the strong blow which takes over the others. On the ground though, because in the air, an LK sometimes passes before an HK. All the more reason to continue to make your memory work by retaining certain exceptions in the priorities. It's also a way for Capcom to leave plenty of room for improvement for players who would like to go from being an old noob to a big bag, capable of standing up to the Japanese in the arcades of Ikebukuro. Well, in this regard, speaking of confrontation with other players around the world, it is fashionable to specify that the netcode during our test week was not the most efficient, that it whether it is a simple ADSL or fiber connection. Nothing outrageous, but other services are doing much better, which means Capcom still has its work cut out for it. Anyway, we expect the Japanese publisher firmly in the coming months. Because in the promise to initially sell his game as a kit, there was also that of not abusing the confidence of the players too much by extracting a maximum of dough from them. We therefore hope that the Zenny will really save money and that Capcom has not made sure to discourage us by pushing us once again to (over)consumption. We keep an eye on them.
