Street Fighter V

Street Fighter V was a 2016 offering developed by CapCom as an update to their long running series. When the game first released, it’s reception was underwhelming. The game definitely made strides in gameplay and navigation, but with just 16 characters and weird content like Fighting Chance costumes, it didn’t offer a lot of play value. Fortunately, Street Fighter V has received several updates since that initial release and is now closer to a proper game. An updated version of Street Fighter V now features 40 characters, over 200 costumes, and a battle balance update that fixed some gaming issues.

Extremely long loading times

One of the first things you notice when playing Street Fighter V is how long it takes for the game to load. The game takes so long, many people think the game has crashed or their computer is frozen, when in reality this is just how the game works.

The game also bogs itself down with an extreme amount of advertisements, mostly for in-game content. These advertisements manage to not be too intrusive in positioning, but continue to play a part in how long it takes to get into a match.

Long information screens

Not only do you have to wait a ridiculously long time to play the game, you also have to click through an endless succession of advice, information, and tutorial guides to get to be able to play. You also must scroll to the bottom of each page before you continue on, which farther bogs down how long it takes to get to the end.

Boring character stories

The game offers players a chance to boost their characters levels by participating in a story. These stories are almost entirely forgettable, with little to add to the lore from past games. The only real exception to this doesn’t even appear in Street Fighter V itself, but in the Champion edition with an interesting backstory for Seth.

Some nice game mechanics

Once you’re actually in the game and fighting, Street Fighter V is enjoyable enough to play. The developers have simplified some combinations so that even if you’re not playing with a fighting stick, you can still have a chance at winning. Each character also has special abilities that you can learn to help you win the game. In past versions of street fighter, a special move would do heavy damage and could erase as much as half of another player’s HP. In this version, the developers have opted for a bit more finesse, and instead special abilities are more like buffs.

One character for example can teleport out of corners and come up behind for a kick, while other players can vastly increase speed. The result is that you still have a shot at winning even if someone else is better at combos or has more technical knowledge of the game. You can still rely on strategy and keeping a cool head to help you win. These changes to the fighting helps keep the game relevant even though it is several years old. The game can be favorable compared with Mortal Kombat 11 and other more modern fighting games, and still come out as playable.

CapCom has set itself a high bar to reach for, considering the past success of their other fighting games. While Street Fighter V has some really great elements, these are bogged down by slow loading times, overly helpful guides, and underwhelming character stories.

Pros:

• Better fighting gameplay

Cons:

• Long loading times
• Huge and clunky tutorial
• Boring character backstories