Poll: Should I get Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade?

[Nautical Honors Society]

Just a little background:

I suck at fighting games, but I enjoy them.

I got MvC3, but I was kinda dissapointed by it.

I find the art style of SSFIV very appealing, and I like the 1 on 1 style a lot more.

Questions I have:

Are the controls tighter than that of MvC3?

I don't plan on getting a game pad, is it still possible to be casually competitive using a controller?

Thanks!

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Can't really think of a tighter fighting game out today that doesn't necessarily require a fighting controller.

That said, Mortal Kombat, while not as deep as Street Fighter, is about as tight and far more forgiving with a traditional gamepad.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

Can't really think of a tighter fighting game out today that doesn't necessarily require a fighting controller.

That said, Mortal Kombat, while not as deep as Street Fighter, is about as tight and far more forgiving with a traditional gamepad.

Really? Wow had no idea a fighting game pad was so important.

 

[Fishyash]

I would recommend it on the very basis that street fighter 4 has input leniency.

If you want to do a shoryuken, for example, you can simply just mash the F, DF and D movements (just wiggle quarter circle forward part of the controller) in a random order and press punch, while in the previous games you had to do the F>D>DF motion exactly.

I think the only pitfall of street fighter 4 is the combos. You have to be pretty on point with a link if you want to do good damage, but you can get away with just hit confirming into a special most times.

In regards to tight controls, I just assumed it was a given that it would contain tight controls.

Also, in regards to a gamepad, I've seen more people at MVC tournaments who use a regular controller than I have seen street fighter players. I think for that you would be better off with a stick. Although one of the big differences is that the arcade stick has tighter execution through less wasted movement inputs, I think what seals the deal for street fighter players is the fact that you have 3 different strengths for punches AND kicks, compared to marvel 3's attacks.

The way the buttons are positioned make it much easier for advanced techniques like p-linking, double tapping and pianoing.

 

[StriderShinryu]

It's tighter than MvC3 in a sense, but at the core level the engines are similar. MvC is just a ton faster with many more options. If you, for instance, can't do moves in MvC you won't be able to do them any better in SF4 unless it's the pure speed of the game and the corresponding wackiness that get you.

You can play just fine with a controller. There are pro players that use stock control pads (though few do so for th 360), so there's no reason why it won't work for a less experienced player.

 

[Nautical Honors Society]

It's tighter than MvC3 in a sense, but at the core level the engines are similar. MvC is just a ton faster with many more options. If you, for instance, can't do moves in MvC you won't be able to do them any better in SF4 unless it's the pure speed of the game and the corresponding wackiness that get you.

You can play just fine with a controller. There are pro players that use stock control pads (though few do so for th 360), so there's no reason why it won't work for a less experienced player.

Yeah I mean i'd never want to actually compete. Kinda just a little side hobby to work on when bored. Is online beginner friendly at all?

 

[StriderShinryu]

It's tighter than MvC3 in a sense, but at the core level the engines are similar. MvC is just a ton faster with many more options. If you, for instance, can't do moves in MvC you won't be able to do them any better in SF4 unless it's the pure speed of the game and the corresponding wackiness that get you.

You can play just fine with a controller. There are pro players that use stock control pads (though few do so for th 360), so there's no reason why it won't work for a less experienced player.

Yeah I mean i'd never want to actually compete. Kinda just a little side hobby to work on when bored. Is online beginner friendly at all?

It's much better for the beginner than MvC3 is. It's not that there's less to learn overall, but just fundamentals will get you further in SF4 than they will in MvC3 where if you blink wrong you get happy birthdayed and lose two characters. The slower pace and more technical deliberate play means, at the very least, that you'll have more time to think and understand why you may be losing instead of just losing.

Of course, the online modes in both do tend to attract many serious players so don't expact to go in and be handled with kid gloves.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

SF is a lot more technical in terms of gameplay. I find it difficult to pull off any of the extended combos in SF because the timing is so tight, while in MvC, combos are very easy to pull off, it's how you apply them that matter.

SF is more of the thinking man's fighter, you have to be more wary of the spacing between characters etc. Because it's slower than MvC, it's more about mind games than anything else. Make your opponent think one way so you can go another.

I personally prefer MvC over SF because of the pace and ease of combo use.

Expect to fight a lot of Ryu users online. The guy is like UMvC3's Wesker. Easy to use, with stupidly high result.

 

[Kurt Horsting]

Just a little background:

I suck at fighting games, but I enjoy them.

I got MvC3, but I was kinda dissapointed by it.

I find the art style of SSFIV very appealing, and I like the 1 on 1 style a lot more.

Questions I have:

Are the controls tighter than that of MvC3?

I don't plan on getting a game pad, is it still possible to be casually competitive using a controller?

Thanks!

I'll just go down the list for you.

For your first point, most people who play SSF4 suck at fighting games in general (I'd say, around 90% of players). If you don't wanna learn the game and just want to mash buttons while cool colors fill the screen, the endless ranks of scrubdom and suck are always welcoming.

Do you want to get good? Cause that is a much better and harder to answer question. The willingness to step up and level up your game is on you. (and this site is not a place to go if you wanna learn fighting game. Period.)

Point two. I don't like mvc3 too, but its mostly cause xfactor does everything a fighting game shouldn't... it deliberately rewards failure, generates absolute randomness, and promote poor gameplay choices.

Ok, now for your questions, The controls for SF4 are looser then MVC3. The windows for inputs allow for 'shortcuts' for nesscary inputs for both links and special move inputs. Also, the reversal window is extremely wide to buffer inputs for reversals. With both these together, invincible start up reversals through frame specific holes in either blockstrings or wake ups can be done by even the most novice of players. Even by accident. This also allows for many types of option selects using the larger inputs windows.

And no, you don't need an arcade stick to play ssf4. There are plenty of pad warriors who do well in even high level tourneys and it sounds like your not going to one of those anytime soon.

If you wanna play, its fun and has a very low bar of entry for most games in the genre.

 

[Rad Party God]

While I'd wholeheartedly recommend you SSFIV:AE, I'd also say that you should check out the BlazBlue series (Calamity Trigger is the first game and Continuum Shift is the sequel with more characters and a more annoying announcer), if you liked the art style of SSFIV:AE, you'll definitively love BlazBlue's graphics (assuming you can withstand anime style). They're difinitively some of the best 2D graphics (with beautiful 3D backgrounds) you'll ever find in any game.

As for gameplay, it has 1v1 matches, just like SSFIV:AE (if you play with a friend, I highly recommend you to ramp up the number of rounds a match can have, as it's pretty fast paced too) and the game is pretty casual too, I played it with my nephew who's a complete noob for fighting games and he enjoyed the heck out of it, you can literally do many special moves moving the right analog stick up, down, left or right.

I can't say how both (SSFIV:AE and BB) compares to MvC3, as I haven't played it yet (mainly because it's not available for PC).

 

[Markgraf]

I'd say go for Mortal Kombat. It's a much more lenient and accessible game, with an extremely rich single-player experience to get you ready for online. Not to mention that the deluxe edition is coming out next month I think, and it includes all DLC and the original Mortal Kombat movie (with Christopher Lambert).

 

[yunabomb]

One of the problems with the SF4 games is that it has no form of tutorial (the trials don't count), so it can be difficult to figure out where to start without using online resources. Also, even with the leniency and relatively long hit-stuns, the learning curve can be tough for many players without a lot of fighting game experience.

It's still a good game to play. Look at beginner guides online so you can actually figure out what to do when you're in the training room. Start with a good character for beginners. It could take a while to get used to.

 

[StriderShinryu]

Expect to fight a lot of Ryu users online. The guy is like UMvC3's Wesker. Easy to use, with stupidly high result.

Hmm.. not sure I agree with that. Yes, you will see a lot of Ryus (and Kens and Akumas) online in SF4, the vast majority of them aren't going to be very good. They are easy to play, but playing tham at that "easy" level actually makes them much worse than they should be. Predictable and easily punishable fireballs. Generally low damage output compared to most of the cast. Akumas doing stupid things just so they can try to set up Raging Demons. Etc. ARK are charaters that have fairly low entry levels but don't really get good unless you learn how to play and spend time with them, which is something many/most online warriors don't do. One good thing about fighting a lot of ARKs is that learning how to fight them will improve your fundamental play in pretty much every fighting game because their archetype is what almost every fighting game out there since SF2 is based around.

Wesker, on the other hand, is just stupidly powerful no matter how good you are with him. Relatively high health, extremely high damage output, easy mixups with his teleport, a bogus boost received for the cost of one super bar, massive buffs to an already very powerful character in X-Factor, etc. Knowing how to play him will make him even better, but he's much more poweful than ARK are in the hands of players who don't really know what they're doing.. and is much less predctable and easy to beat when played by those same players.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Expect to fight a lot of Ryu users online. The guy is like UMvC3's Wesker. Easy to use, with stupidly high result.

Hmm.. not sure I agree with that. Yes, you will see a lot of Ryus (and Kens and Akumas) online in SF4, the vast majority of them aren't going to be very good. They are easy to play, but playing tham at that "easy" level actually makes them much worse than they should be. Predictable and easily punishable fireballs. Generally low damage output compared to most of the cast. Akumas doing stupid things just so they can try to set up Raging Demons. Etc. ARK are charaters that have fairly low entry levels but don't really get good unless you learn how to play and spend time with them, which is something many/most online warriors don't do. One good thing about fighting a lot of ARKs is that learning how to fight them will improve your fundamental play in pretty much every fighting game because their archetype is what almost every fighting game out there since SF2 is based around.

Wesker, on the other hand, is just stupidly powerful no matter how good you are with him. Relatively high health, extremely high damage output, easy mixups with his teleport, a bogus boost received for the cost of one super bar, massive buffs to an already very powerful character in X-Factor, etc. Knowing how to play him will make him even better, but he's much more poweful than ARK are in the hands of players who don't really know what they're doing.. and is much less predctable and easy to beat when played by those same players.

Okay, I may have been exaggerting a little. I just get tired of seeing shoto characters online.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

The input in SSF4 is very lenient compared to a lot of fighters. I did fine on a controller, although I use a stick now.
The game is fun, and accessible, and pretty friendly to casual play. In a lot of ways, the game is massively inferior to Street fighter 3: 3rd Strike, but that is mostly just opinion and playstyle differences I have. I hate the lack of a parry and I think the idea of powering up someones ultra by them sucking at life and losing is stupid. Its basically just to provide exciting "come backs" instead of having someone actually be good enough at the game to come back.
All in all though, the game is still fun, faults aside. Also get it for PC, I am sick of playing the same 5 people over and over!

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

Expect to fight a lot of Ryu users online. The guy is like UMvC3's Wesker. Easy to use, with stupidly high result.

Hmm.. not sure I agree with that. Yes, you will see a lot of Ryus (and Kens and Akumas) online in SF4, the vast majority of them aren't going to be very good. They are easy to play, but playing tham at that "easy" level actually makes them much worse than they should be. Predictable and easily punishable fireballs. Generally low damage output compared to most of the cast. Akumas doing stupid things just so they can try to set up Raging Demons. Etc. ARK are charaters that have fairly low entry levels but don't really get good unless you learn how to play and spend time with them, which is something many/most online warriors don't do. One good thing about fighting a lot of ARKs is that learning how to fight them will improve your fundamental play in pretty much every fighting game because their archetype is what almost every fighting game out there since SF2 is based around.

Wesker, on the other hand, is just stupidly powerful no matter how good you are with him. Relatively high health, extremely high damage output, easy mixups with his teleport, a bogus boost received for the cost of one super bar, massive buffs to an already very powerful character in X-Factor, etc. Knowing how to play him will make him even better, but he's much more poweful than ARK are in the hands of players who don't really know what they're doing.. and is much less predctable and easy to beat when played by those same players.

Okay, I may have been exaggerting a little. I just get tired of seeing shoto characters online.

You can probably blame that one on Capcom for making so damn many of them in the first place. Not to sound bitter of course (I'm not), but I think they overstepped a line somewhere. Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Sagat, Dan, Sakura, Gouken (in his own weird way), and now Oni/Evil Ryu. There are a lot of characters, but Shotos make up so many of them.

WALL OF TEXT THAT YOU PROBABLY DON'T CARE ABOUT

I haven't played since Vanilla, but back then I used Akuma, Sakura, and Bison (or Dictator if you prefer). Frankly, I sucked back then. I haven't played SF since Championship Edition (when I was 5 or 6), haven't played any fighting games seriously in between then, and never even considered learning their attack properties or even basic pros/cons. I tried Rose and Gen later on, but sucked even worse with them. The pace didn't fit me, the links seemed impossible to do, and the timing seemed overly strict. I kept wishing I could have played 3rd Strike, which seemed so much deeper and faster paced with multiple Super stocks, more Super options, and Parrying.

My cousin got MvC3 and I had a good long while on that but felt it was too simple for me in the end. Apparently my favored characters that I knew I'd pick before I picked up the game were high on the tier list anyway (which I don't study).
Currently playing Continuum Shift mostly seriously. BlazBlue fit my pace much better and felt tighter than MvC3. I don't consider myself good (too many input mistakes and forgetting to watch the other Super meter). I enjoy a good fight where both players are of equal skill and keep trading wins. I've also learned to stop complaining about any sort of "cheap tactics" in any video game since I play Lambda 11: the biggest projectile spammer next to MvC3 Arthur.

With this new mindset, I want to pick up SF4AE. I want to go back to Sakura, Akuma, and Dictator and actually get good with them. Makoto and Ibuki seem interesting as well.

For the OP: I've fared reasonably well with a controller considering how little fighting game experience I've had. The Xbox pad actually had a reputation for incorrect input reads though. Once I got a new controller for Christmas I've realized how fundamentally I've wrecked my old D-Pad, which probably accounts for some of my suckiness. I physically cannot use my old controller for any competent level of BlazBlue now. I mostly don't notice any incorrect reads on my new remote. I usually think it's my own fault for screwing up.

If you play any sort of seriously, you can use a controller. I don't know how long it will last you and you may get some sores from rolling the D-Pad (if you use it). There is a controller out that shapes the D-Pad to cater to fighting game players. My cousin has it and it feels infinitely more comfortable than the normal remote, but I did eventually get used to the normal one as I don't feel like buying another.