With the season fast approaching its end, there's no doubt that Summer 2017 was a pretty big summer for fighting games. Between the announcements of new content for current AAA titles and reveals of exciting new ones, the future of the genre seems pretty bright. However, there was one in the midst of it all that was on the verge of stealing the show. That was the tentatively-titled “Arika EX,” from the developers of the Street Fighter EX series.
With
the folks at Arika seeing such a massive surge of support for their
April Fool's revival of classic characters from their beloved spinoff
series, it's high time that we take a look back at these diamonds in
the rough. Perhaps a little background is necessary to help set the
stage.
In
the mid-90s, while working on their own unique fighting game, Arika
was approached by Capcom with a desire to see their Street Fighter
characters brought forth into 3D after the success of Street Fighter
Alpha and Alpha 2. Since the groundwork had already been laid out by
this group of former Capcom talent (directly credited for working on
Street Fighter 2), it was a simple task to add Ryu and Ken along with
other World Warriors to the fledgling roster. Thus, Street Fighter EX
was born.
Let's
take a look at what sets the EX series apart from the core Street
Fighter franchise as well as what reminds fighting game fans the
world over of Capcom's late-90s glory days as we dive right back into
The Backlog. This time, we're not covering just one game, but three.
So quarter up and brace yourselves for Street Fighter EX!
Sights
and Sounds
From
a visual standpoint, the EX series could definitely be seen as a
product of its time. When Street Fighter EX was first hitting arcades
and seeing distribution on the PS1, blocky character models
resembling those found in the original Tekken were the order of the
day. Of course, the technology available was largely untapped.
Developers were just hitting their stride with the new format and
hardware. Pre-rendered FMVs were the latest thing in cinematic
presentation in gaming! On the other hand, while the EX games tended
to be on the ground floor of their respective consoles visually, it
was the sound design where the games truly excelled.
Every
Shoryuken sounded like the heavy-hitting, juggernaut-class uppercut
it was meant to be. Each character sounded sufficiently iconic, from
Bison's laughter as he descends onto the battlefield in a globe of
Psycho Power to Kairi's anguished cries (voiced by the late Kaneto
Shiozawa) after unleashing the kind of beastly beating that would
give Akuma a reason to smirk with pride. More importantly than the
sound effects and voiceovers, though... DAT MUSIC THO! Oh my
goodness, that music!
From
the EX Opening to tracks like Strange Sunset, Light Guardian, Rising
Dragoon and everything in between the Street Fighter EX series blazed
an impressive trail with its soundtrack. In fact, the soundtrack for
the Street Fighter EX series has become so iconic outside of the core
franchise and made such an indelible impression that one of the most
prolific fighting game content creators on YouTube regularly uses
music from these games in his videos. I'm sure you know who I'm
referring to.
While
admittedly dated, it's easy to look past the blocky,
low-polygon-count models and the
“2D-painting-on-infinite-flat-platform” arenas to see that while
underrated, EX is no slouch in the audiovisual department. The sights
aren't always so grand, but the sounds more than make up for it.
Going
Hands-On
Listen,
folks. I'm not going to beat around the bush here. Street Fighter EX,
as could be expected, plays exactly like you'd imagine a Street
Fighter game to play. Six-button attack layout, punches and kicks of
escalating degrees. 8-directional movement on a 2D plane. Up for
jump, down for crouch, hold back to block. This is a series of games
for folks that have already been playing Capcom fighting games like
SF, Darkstalkers and the Marvel franchise games like Children of the
Atom and XMen vs. Street Fighter. While there's no tutorial for
newcomers to the franchise or even to the fighting game genre, the
controls are simple enough on their face that it's easy to teach.
What sets EX apart,
however, is the unique mechanics that are introduced to the games.
Not only can you cancel from normal attacks to specials and from
specials to supers (aka Super Cancelling), EX is the first to
introduce another kind of Super Cancel. The EX games allow you to
link together super moves one after another as long as you have meter
and as long as you're not repeating supers back-to-back. For example,
one of Ryu's more damaging combos includes cancelling from his
Shinkuu Tatsumaki to the Shinkuu Hadouken and back to the STSK for
the finish.
In EX2 and its
expansion, EX2 Plus, comes the implementation of the Custom Combo
system from Alpha 2 (here, dubbed Excel Combo). Also, every
character's movelist is expanded with the addition of powerful
3-meter-cost Meteor Combos. These vary from the tried and true Shin
Shoryuken to the impressively long and equally risky G.O.D. All of
them as iconic as the characters these moves are tied to. EX2 also
sees the return of franchise favorites Blanka, Vega/Balrog and Sagat,
as well as improvements to the cast overall.
With Street Fighter
EX3, an early title for the PS2 and one of the few that were still on
CD (blue-back) media, the systems of cancelling and Meteor Supers are
expanded further with the introduction of Momentary Attacks along
with the Meteor Tag Combo and Critical Parade attack. Momentary
Attacks, simply enough, allow you to chain together special moves
with the press of a button on impact. With EX3s focus on tag-team
fighting, that's where you want to make use of Meteor Tag Combos and
the Critical Parade. The Meteor Tag combos are Level 3 supers that
require a specific pair of combatants (Ken/Ryu, Guile/ChunLi,
Blanka/Dhalsim). Meanwhile, the Critical Parade is where both
fighters on a team are on screen with a limited-time allotment of
Unlimited Super meter to wreak havoc on the opponent.
The EX series also
introduces Trial Mode: a series of missions for each character,
involving performing their signature moves, optimized combos and
character-specific strategies of increasing difficulty. Trial Mode
solutions are like a master class in introducing fighting game
mechanics to the player like “buffering” and “negative edge”
without directly spelling them out. However, should you manage to
find the strategy guide for EX+A or look online for how to perform
the more advanced solutions typically found as a character's Mission
15 or 16, you'll find wonderful info and tips that carry forward into
fighting games of today.
The Street Fighter EX
series introduces dynamic revisions to classic gameplay while
bringing that same approach to its visuals and sound design. The
“Fathers of Street Fighter 2” really nailed it with this series
and it is great to see that they're making a return with the new
“Arika EX.” Beloved characters and solid gameplay, repackaged
using the updated high visual fidelity of Street Fighter 5. It's as
though the one issue that could be taken with the game is being
remedied as the IP is being brought forward to the modern-day.
Compare
and Contrast
Once
more, it's time to ask the question. How does Street Fighter EX and
its sequels stack up to current games in the same genre and even
within the same franchise? Well, we should start with the obvious and
get that out of the way. By today's standards, the EX games look
dated as all get out. Although the models and backdrops are very much
artefacts of outdated tech, from a standpoint of sound design and
visual design, one could argue that with a fresh “coat of paint”
the EX games could very well compete with the likes of Street Fighter
5.
The genre is making
quite the resurgence, so a game like Street Fighter EX will see some
stiff competition. However, if the positive response to characters
like Kairi, Hokuto/Shirase, Darun and Skullomania at this year's
Evolution tournament is any indication, then Arika EX will do a far
better job of answering the question of The Backlog than I could. I'm
looking forward to seeing it when it does. The beta can't get here
fast enough.
Long
Story Short
Arika
and Capcom's Street Fighter EX series is a fine example of bringing
time-tested designs and gameplay into a new age of gaming and game
development. We wouldn't see the cast of Street Fighter in 3D again
until the release of Street Fighter 4 in 2009. The receptions of the
later versions of SF4 and that of SF5 on release served to redirect
the attention of a rather sizable contingent of the FGC back to games
like EX. Games where content is unlocked based on the work you put
into playing the game, where the characters are unique and memorable.
Characters like Rufus
and Laura are a flash in the pan, but Skullomania, Darun and Vulcano
Rosso are seen as so much a part of the Street Fighter lexicon that
they match up to Ryu and Ken. So, when on April 1 of this year, the
devs at Arika streamed their game on Twitch, there was a groundswell.
Soon, we'll see that tidal wave of support realized as Arika returns
to the arena with Garuda, D.Dark and the rest of the crew along for a
brand new battle.
Does the Street
Fighter EX series stand the test of time? Yes. It's like dusting off
and polishing a long-unused katana only to find that the edge hasn't
dulled. Street Fighter EX is worth a revisit for the music alone. EX2
for the refined gameplay (no wonder it's so rare). EX3 is a great way
to experience the 2-on-2 tag system that's going to be present in
Marvel vs Capcom Infinite without having to struggle through the demo
to use it to the fullest.
With that said, it's
high time I sign off. Happy gaming and as always:
Stay Good,
Neighborhood.
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