It’s hard to believe that Street Fighter is 30 years old. I clearly remember sitting down on the couch with my dad playing Street Fighter II for hours. Granted I was about 12 years old at the time, but it feels like only yesterday.
My Street Fighter knowledge has some gaps having only played Street Fighter II and then skipping every game until Street Fighter IV, so the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is a perfect refresher course.
Collecting 12 games in the series from 1987’s original Street Fighter through to 1999’s Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is the definitive 2D collection.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection Review
Obviously, I dove straight into Street Fighter II and the Turbo Edition for the nostalgia value, before thoroughly exploring what else the package had to offer.
While many of the included games have aged, they haven’t done so poorly. They’re all still hugely playable, even the original, which is brutally hard. I decided I was going to clear Arcade mode in each game at least once, and I needed to play Street Fighter on the lowest difficulty to even have a chance.
Good luck to anyone trying on the harder difficulties.
While making my way through each of the games, it was interesting to see and watch how these games grew and evolved over time. It was quite an iterative process, with minor changes added in each game.
K.O.
When playing them all in a row like this, it’s easy to dismiss the changes as too minor or the games as too similar, but these were released in a different time. There wasn’t any ability to patch and update games and Street Fighter had such a strong base it didn’t need to make big changes.
My favourite in the series is still Street Fighter II Turbo but all three of the Street Fighter III games are breathtakingly gorgeous. Having never played them before, I was expecting something similar to SFII, but they’re worlds apart.
The core Street Fighter gameplay remains intact, but the visuals, animation and flow is just so far and above all the other 2D entries. I didn’t even know that 2D games released 20 years ago could look this good. These games are a work of art and deserve to be played just to experience the incredible animation.
PERFECT!
While most of the games in this collection are playable exactly as they were on release, Turbo: Hyper Fighting, Super Turbo, Alpha 3, and 3rd Strike include online multiplayer with Ranked and Player Matches and online lobbies. Capcom has spent a few years getting the online parts of Street Fighter games working well and the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is no different.
I prefer to play with other people in the room, but it’s nice to have the option.
Finally, the inclusion of the Museum is awesome. Spanning the entire lifetime of the franchise, the Museum tracks important dates and milestones in Street Fighter history. Players can view interesting tidbits, design documents, concept art and more.
It’s a great way to learn more about the franchise and learn about its development over time.
Any fans of Street Fighter owe it to themselves to pick this one up. These are 12 of the best 2D fighting games ever released and to have them all in one package is excellent.
Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection was reviewed on PS4 using a digital code provided by Capcom.
PowerUp! Reviews
Game Title: Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
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30 Years of Street Fighter - 9/109/10
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As good as it ever was - 8/108/10
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Online and Multiplayer Options - 7/107/10
