The Nintendo DS was revolutionary for the hand held market.  Its dual screens and touch screen functionality allowed for developers to make some very unique games, but of all the many genres that graced the Nintendo DS, the one that was found most lacking was the fighting genre.  There were a few fighting games, but most were lackluster.

Well, the 3DS set forth to remedy that scenario, giving us Super Street Fighter IV 3DS Edition as a launch title and just a few months later, Dead or Alive: Dimensions. 

Super Street Fighter IV 3DS Edition is a port of the console versions, but an even better version, in my opinion.  The game offers six different game modes and collectible trophies, medals and challenges, giving you plenty of things to do and extend the playability of the game.   And with 35 playable characters, each with their own fighting style and moves, you are bound to find several characters you can identify with and challenge the game all over again with each.

As for the game play, if you are familiar with pretty much any Street Fighter game since the SNES, this game should come natural.  Street Fighter has always been about multiplayer and the 3DS delivers!  You can play locally through wireless matches and even download play for the instances when only one of you has a copy of the game.  Then, of course, there’s Internet Match.

Whether you are playing the CPU or another person, the difficulty is fairly balanced.  You are rewarded with combos and such for pulling off the special moves, but even without them, the most basic maneuvers can make the difference between winning and losing a match.

But the game also allows you to use special moves from the touch screen, which don’t require any fancy finger manipulation, just simply touch the panel to perform the move.  Using these moves will allow you to make quick and easy work of whomever you are up against, but using these moves will not break the game and the moves can be blocked or countered.

Super Street Fighter IV 3DS Edition is a 3DS game, so it begs the question, “How is the 3D?”  Not as good as you might think.  You can play with an “over the shoulder” camera angle or the classic 2D side view.  The 3D looks much better in the side view than over the shoulder.  Still, 3D doesn’t really add anything to the game play experience and I find it better, simpler to just shut the 3D off.  As a matter of fact, I find the 3D in the “over the Shoulder” point of view to be more distracting than enhancing.

That being said, the game’s graphics are great, on par with the console versions.  The character’s stories are told through still anime cut scenes with voice overs for each character, the voice acting all being well done, even though at times can be a little “over the top”  or “over-acted.”

As a launch title, Super Street Fighter IV 3DS Edition is a good example of what the 3DS is capable of, but the game does become quite repetitious after a while. I find the game more enjoyable to play in short bursts instead of spening a good hour or more emersed n the game.  Is it worth the $40 price tag? Personally, I don’t think so, even though a lot of work went into the game and you have a lot to do or collect.  I do feel that $30 is more than fair for this game, though.

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