Overview
This is the one that started the whole fighting game genre…Street Fighter. Not that many people got the chance to play this old school game and others have, as it came out only in arcades. Was the game worth playing back then? Let’s see...
Graphics 6/10
The game is very old and the graphics are good for a old game. The stages look also okay and they are very plain. The character sprites look corny and outdated, but so was the hardware back then, so you can’t blame Capcom for that. I will say it’s weird seeing that Birdie was actually a white man in this game and Ryu fought while wearing sandals on.
Gameplay/Controls 3/10
This is also where the three punches/kicks buttons layout came from. The controls for this game are hideous and nowhere as responsive as it should be. It’s clunky and hard to pull out any of the special moves. One thing that’s good about the special moves is that they give out great damage and the dragon punch can penetrate through blocks.. Also when you jump in this game it seems like you are floating in the air. Also you don’t need to do a special move to win a match in this game. Just do the basic attacks and thats it. There is also no time limit in this game. The enemy AI is pretty easy to beat, so there should be no problem beating them. No type of strategies is needed to win any of the matches in this game, but all the characters do hit pretty hard in this game. This is a two player game, but if you got the opportunity, do not play this game with a friend.
Sound/Music 3/10
The music and sound are absolutely horrid. The voices are muffled as hell. You can hardly understand what the character says and everyone you beat has the same quotes when the match is over. The classic moves of Ryu & Ken: the fireball, dragon uppercut and the hurricane kick have awful sound effects. It is better to play this game on mute unless you want to laugh at the sound and all.
Replay Value 4/10
Once you beat the game, there really is no replay value, unless you want to improve your skill. You only get to play just two characters to, but Ryu is only assigned on player one’s side and the same thing goes for Ken on player two’s side, not to mention they both play exactly the same. There are ten bosses to fight and good old Sagat is final person to finish. The ending you get is a quote saying "You've outlasted the best. Now you are the strongest street fighter in the world.” That’s it.
Overall 3/10
Unless, you are a hardcore street fighter fan, people who haven’t played this game should just skip it altogether and avoided it at all costs. If you want to experience, first hand, the game that began the 2D fighting genre, go right ahead. As bad as it was, you got to respect Capcom for bringing something we all never seen before and then proceed to make the series better, as it would show in its future...
- By fighting game master
