Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition review - Finally, one of the greatest fighting games out there

A while ago I did a review on Street Fighter V and how it was lacking. Despite great game-play, content was very short, the single player experience was neglected and not challenging at all. Now, I'm happy to say that all of that and even more was all corrected, with absolutely great results. This is now one of my favorite fighting games! Along this review I'll be telling about what's new in this revamped from the ground up game. Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is all that Street Fighter V should have been when it launched in 2016.

The Arcade Edition is a free update for those who already have Street Fighter V or you can buy it as a whole new game. It has an arcade mode, online play that actually works, fun modes for single-player, a gallery of amazing artwork and a nice team battle mode that can be customized. All of this should have been in Street Fighter V since the beginning, but what I cannot let go of my mind is that it didn't have an arcade mode... IT DIDN'T HAVE AN ARCADE MODE CAPCOM!!! -.-

The new Arcade Mode is perhaps the most visible change and there's more to it than you would expect. There are several paths you can take, each one representing a different game in the franchise, each with it's own characters from that specific game, except that if a specific character doesn't exist in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, it is replaced by it's equivalent. In Street Fighter 2 you get the barrel bonus stage, for example, and the remixed songs for the appropriate path are just deliciously nostalgic. You get Street Fighter, Street Fighter 2, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter 3, Street Fighter 4 and Street Fighter 5. When you complete one of the paths with a character, you get a cartoon page with the ending of that character in that specific path and unlock an illustration. So, if you complete all the 6 paths with that character, you'll get 6 different endings. Pretty neat if you ask me. Although arcade mode comes two years too late, it is nicely done and gives you a nice nostalgic old-school satisfaction of unlocking character endings and illustrations just like in the old days.

The Training Mode has also received a few improvements. Now you can view each character's action frame data and turn on frame advantage in color (if the character is blue they have an advantage over the red character), which is a very useful option for competitive players, to figure out how to get an advantage over other players or prevent a disadvantage.

The user interface in terms of general looks is pretty much the same, but is has a white and goldish tint, kinda like giving it a more premium look. The character selection screen and following screens are full of light and gold tones, tying everything together, keeping with the premium look.

There's also an Extra Battle Mode that is designed to make players comeback to the game on a regular basis. There was a similar objective with the fight money mechanics present in Street Fighter V, but this mode is more compelling. At launch there is a hard challenge: a one round fight with the mighty Shin Akuma. There's also the first battle in a series of four to unlock a Viewtiful Joe costume to use with Rashid. You have to use some Fight Money (the game's currency) to get into the Extra Battle Mode events, but this makes it feel like the reward you will be getting is somewhat exclusive, trying to make it go beyond the simple fact that you will need to get more Fight Money.

Although almost everything in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition has been improved, if for some reason you didn't like the game-play in Street Fighter V, the Arcade Edition won't be any different. There are brand new moves for some characters and a second V-trigger for all of them. This adds some new depth to the game, it's not only complexity for complexity's sake. You should experiment with the new V-triggers and check if a character you initially discarded is now actually interesting. For example, Ryu has a powerful counter/parry that will surely cripple your opponent. Mika lets you call a tag-team partner called Nadeshiko for an attack using a chair, WWE style. Zangief will be able to combo his brutal Spinning Pile Driver from normal attacks. And you'll be able to finally see F.A.N.G.'s hands while he rolls up his sleeves in his new V-trigger (spoiler alert: they're creepy... XD). This will undoubtedly give new possibilities for new combos and therefore, new ways to play with characters.

A new character that is present in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, although not a new character in the Street Fighter franchise, is Sakura. She's actually the first character of DLC season 3. All of her signature Ryu based special moves are present and her characteristic multi-hit attacks just link together wonderfully. Her background story is set 5 years after Street Fighter V's main story and she's having some kind of existential crisis. While she is wondering if fighting in the streets is the best use of her time, she ends up suggesting to Ryu that he and she should have a baby. :o I know, it's a bit weird, but it's also a bit of character development in the series, and this is something that has never been really done before. Sakura has always been attracted to Ryu, but now she has matured and her feelings are stronger, more defined.

If you buy Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, you get the base 16 characters from when Street Fighter V originally launched plus the 12 DLC characters added during seasons 1 and 2. Some of these characters are great, both in design and game-play. For example, Abigail is so big that it puts to shame a character like Zangief. This car-loving brute is taken from the Final Fight series and he's a lot of fun to play. Menat is a mystical character and has a very sassy walk and an execution heavy fighting style. All in all, it's a great game, but it has taken Capcom a long time to bring Street Fighter V to this level. Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition ultimately is a great buy, or a free upgrade to those that already own Street Fighter V, but it comes a little late. In terms of modes and content, it should have been like this since the beginning. But, since reality isn't like that, this is actually a much needed rebirth of the franchise, in particular of Street Fighter V, whose sales were disastrous. This is now, without a doubt, one of the best fighting games around. The Street Fighter series of games is amazing, with brilliant combat, and now the latest video game in the franchise finally does it justice. Do yourself a favor and play this game. If you love fighting games, you'll love it!

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