Its symbolic of the internal I've fought with myself since Street Fighter 4 was first revealed 2 years ago. The first trailer showed instant promise with Ken and Ryu squaring off in a hyper stylized bout that quite obviously wasn't game engine and the conflict was born. The grown up gamer in me, embittered by a decade of remakes, re-releases, and false promises scoffed and folded his arms while the kid gamer in me, still waiting in the arcade line 4 or 5 victims back rubbing two coins together, wet himself with excitement.
For a time, Capcom made it easier to decide the victorious personality. The arcade release of Street Fighter 4 was a game that made no effort to win back the hearts of fans that were lost, cradling those souls that still prayed regularly at the SSF2T altar. The old characters were utterly unchanged holdovers from SSF2T, while the far less explored and exploited Alpha and SF3 casts were completely overlooked. The new characters were quite idiotic, illustrating everything thats wrong with exploiting popular trends in favor of real character design. The plot was non-existent and the audio was but a shadow of the epic heritage nigh twelve games calls for. The sole saving grace of SF4 was that the gameplay, lifted from the most "functional" member of the Street Fighter family and augmented with a few "safe" competitor embellishments. Many would argue that all that matters is gameplay, but a series as long winded as Street Fighter deserves better. It deserves more than a fresh coat of paint and some Bloody Roar style super moves after a 10 year hiatus. The point is I hated it, I hated myself for hating something called Street Fighter, and I hated Capcom for making me hate myself.
Then, without warning the conflict heated up again. The release of a home port was inevitable, but the release with DLC, competent netplay, revamped audio, a strong emphasis on plot, and an expanded roster of characters was unexpected. I found myself scrutinizing every little detail released, each time my normally vocal cynic reduced to muttering in the face of some feature that simply could simply not be hated.
And he we are. On release date. Entirely undecided. Is it right not to swing?
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