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| Source // MobyGames |
There are more versions - not ports, necessarily, but versions - of Street Fighter II than there are games in an entire series of many well-loved IPs. Obviously, it's a little easier to release another version of a fighting game than it is to release another version of an action-RPG or something, but still, Street Fighter II has an awful lot of love, and the 1001 list wants us to experience it again.
Usually, the 1001 list is full of praise for a game, or it not full, heavily leaning towards the positive. If you can't avoid mentioning a negative aspect of the game, it'll get touched upon, but that's it. With the mouthful that is Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, however, the 1001 list was quite critical - well, it was critical of the distribution method and its limitations, at least.
Will this downloadable remix pass the time before Street Fighter IV comes to consoles? Does Street Fighter II deserve more than a cheap HD rerelease? Let's flex those button mashers at the end of our arms and find out.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Frustrations
I briefly played the PlayStation 3 release of HD Remix a while ago, making notes for use right here and now. Those notes are not favourable at all. It seems that from the very beginning I wasn't liking what I was seeing, or more accurately hearing.
Loud intro music blared out of the speakers, catching me unawares. The soundtrack has been remixed by fans of Street Fighter, so it's a fresh take on the tunes, but I couldn't hum anything for you these days.
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| Source // MobyGames |
HD Remix allows you to customize your experience somewhat, blending between original music and modern remixes, or original scaled up sprites or HD artwork from the same folks behind the Street Fighter comic book.
On paper, this doesn't sound too bad - at least the artwork will be drawn by people familiar with the characters, but what you get in-game is a different problem altogether.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Everything looks swish, or swish compared to the old Street Fighter II, at any rate. Backgrounds are incredibly detailed, but the less said about those bargain-bin HUD elements, the better. In a still image, sure, you might not be able to pick out the characters too easily in situations like this, but it's all good in motion, right?
Wrong. New artwork doesn't come with new frames of animation, presumably because doing so would screw with the timings of all the moves players have been pulling off via muscle memory for decades. The result is a choppy, slide-show-like mess. BlazBlue this is not, nor could ever be, as it all had to be packed into what I'm lead to believe are strict download limits.
On the one hand, that's a shame - download sizes ten years after HD Remix's release are a joke. But on the other hand, the limitations you're playing with expose the limitations of the game you're meant to be heaping HD praise on.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Instead of coming across as a tribute to Street Fighter II, this highlights just how difficult it is to do justice to something so beloved in a given community. It makes players want to play Street Fighter II again not because it inspires them to go back to the original, but because it is so awful in comparison.
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| Source // MobyGames |
Part of my ire with HD Remix may be because of utterly failing to get anywhere on the easy difficulty, which is about normal for my experience with fighting games. It may also be because I thought it would be something far more than it is.
Final Word
I left Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, never to return, because I had a bad time with it. I was put off by the music, then by the artwork, then by the controls and the difficulty. I could have customised settings to make the perfect blend of new and old, but for what reason? I wasn't a die-hard fan of Street Fighter II in search of an HD remaster. Why would I play this?
Who is HD Remix for? Has it been released just because it could be? Was it a quick cash-in on nostalgia before the release of the next big, proper Street Fighter title? It certainly didn't make me want to touch it again, which doesn't seem like a smart move for something trying to sell a series. But was selling the series to new players its goal?
There are some bad games that you do have to play to see why they're bad. HD Remix isn't one of them, I don't think. It's just a waste of space on the list. Does it serve as an example that not every dream can come to fruition in the way you want it to? Aren't there better failures than that?
The write up seems to suggest that as much as possible was done to fit within the limitations of being an early downloadable-only title, and that not every hit lands. Okay, but couldn't we then celebrate some downloadable-only titles that do land their hits?
It just strikes me as an anomaly on the 1001 list, and a game that not even fans of Street Fighter can agree on. If you want to see a poor quality HD remake of Street Fighter II, here it is, I guess. Unless yet another version of this game has been released in the 13 years since. Don't ask me.
Fun Facts
There have been so many versions of Street Fighter II that this HD Remix is itself based on a Japanese-only version for the Dreamcast.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, developed by Backbone Entertainment, first released in 2008.
Version played: PlayStation 3, 2009.