T. Hawk is back

It’s an easy question–what was your favorite fighting game on the SNES? Many would say Mortal Kombat, and many would say Street Fighter II. For those that pick the latter, however, the question becomes significantly more complex. Which version of SFII? World Warrior? Turbo? Championship Edition? Super Street Fighter II? With that generation, the venerable fighting series birthed a legendary reputation for a massive amount of incarnations of a single game. It appears with Capcom’s latest Street Fighter outing that the tradition will continue. Last night Gamespot and Capcom finally revealed what we already knew; Super Street Fighter IV is in the works.

First, let’s get the dirty out of the way. Super Street Fighter IV is a standalone product. It is not an expansion, nor is it DLC for vanilla SFIV. It contains new characters and various game tweaks, as well as an improved multiplayer experience. Producer Yoshinori Ono stated that the changes are copious and intensive, and a full release is necessary. Uh-huh, never heard that one before. It should only be a matter of time before various fans start an outcry against Capcom, much as they did with Valve and L4D2–raising fists into the air, firing their rifles into the sky, and shouting about being taken advantage of, and that it devalues the original. Ono did state, however, that it will not be sold at full price, and those who own both SFIV and SSFIV will be rewarded by a means in which has not yet been specified. Take it easy, put away the guns, and be patient.

Super Street Fighter IV will add eight characters to the already robust roster of 25. So far, Capcom has only revealed three of the eight: T.Hawk and Dee Jay, returning from Super Street Fighter II, and newcomer Juri. Capcom has stated that eight is not a number set in stone, they may add more characters depending on development time and feedback.

New character Juri gives M. Bison a what-for

Super Street Fighter IV should be a welcome addition to the franchise. I’m anxious to see who else makes the character roster–which is sure to be a mix of brand new and classic fighters. I have to admit, I’m not too thrilled with the addition of T.Hawk. I’d rather see some characters from Street Fighter 3, like Ibuki, Elena, or Dudley (if only because I enjoy a British “mustachioed-fisticuffs-gentleman”). I’m sure Capcom will keep us guessing, and chances are they will deliver a fine product.

Super Street Fighter IV is currently slated for a Spring 2010 release on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. A PC release has not been mentioned yet (*Sob* -Me)