Getting started with Street Fighter

[Amayirot Akago]

I've been interested into finally getting into the Street Fighter series for some time now, so I was hoping you guys here could tell me which game I definitely should check out, preferably on an emulator (since the only console I own is a Wii).

[L.T.W.]

The best you can do IMO, is buy a ThrustMaster Classic Controller for the Wii and the buy CapcomVsSNK2 for the GCN

The Classic controller plugs into the GameCube port, so It'll work as a normal Gamecube controller.

Thats what I was planning on doing at least.

Links:

Click here for the Classic controller.

And check on Ebay for CVS2 for the GameCube. Its really cheap.

And that is the legal way.

You could Also try to download the Dreamcast version of the game (that I also have). Download an emulator and the get 2 XBOX 360 wired controllers and play. It works fin in my pc, but I got no XBOX360 controllers my friend did.

And I think 2 XBOX360 controllers will be more expensive than the other alternative.

But you can always try to play with the keyboard (but its hard to get used to, and a mess)

I hope that help a bit.

[Liontamer]

Terrible answer, but pretty much all of them are worth checking out. SF1 and the original SF2 are probably the only ones I'd skip, but you should mess with those just to see how they play.

[L.T.W.]

Terrible answer, but....

I thought it was a pretty good one

Oh yeah you could also try downloading SF2T for the Wii and buying a normal classic controller.

[Schwaltzvald]

I thought it was a pretty good one

Oh yeah you could also try downloading SF2T for the Wii and buying a normal classic controller.

I'd say it's a requirement, if only to become aquainted with classic moves like Shoryuken, spinning bird kick etc...

[BardicKnowledge]

The three big games in the SF series that are still played are Street Fighter Alpha 3 (my favorite), Street Fighter III: Third Strike, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo (this one is about to experience a revival due to the 360 remake). All three are available via MAME, and all three have a decent level of online play (you'll want to be decent before playing via kalliera though).

Avoid crossovers like Marvel vs. Capcom or Capcom vs. SNK until you have some extensive experience with one of the games mentioned above.

If you've never played Street Fighter before, the most iconic game to start with is Street Fighter II Turbo. Anything before that (World Warriors or the unturboed Champion Edition) is nostalgia only.

If you've played SF2 and want to break into the Alpha series, try Alpha 2 first, but make a point of trying both 2 and 3 because they play differently.

The final piece of advice to follow if you want to enjoy the series is to spend some time playing as either Ryu or Ken before playing as Akuma. Otherwise, you'll be destined to end up as a scrub that doesn't have any appreiciation for the series. Note that I'm not specifically recommending the Shotokan fighters, but beginners tend to gravitate towards them.

[The Coop]

Street Fighter- Try it, but only to see how bad the series was at its birth. This game looks bad (even by that era's standards), it sounds bad, it had horrid control, and seriously messed up jumping. Be thankful this game was not used as the blueprint for II.

Street Fighter II- Much better, but it's the least playable of the "II" releases.

Street Fighter II: Championship Edition- A good step up from the regular "II". Better balance, playable bosses, and same character vs same character.

Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting- Yet another tweaking. New moves, changed AI patterns, faster gameplay, and tougher opponents. Considered by some to the best of the "II" series.

Super Street Fighter II- Yet another upgrade. Four new characters, slower gameplay, and about the same difficulty as "Hyper Fighting".

Super Street Fighter II Turbo- And the final upgrade. Stupidly hard, even on the first fight. Some consider it the peak of the "II" series, but I consider it too fucking hard for its own good to actually be fun.

Street Fighter Alpha- New visual take on the franchise. It plays well, but its balance could use some work. It's also rather short, since its roster got shrunk down.

Street Fighter Alpha II- More characters, better balance, and it plays better than the first "Alpha".

Street Fighter Alpha III- The last game in the series, and generally considered the best in the "Alpha" line up. Loads of characters, more modes than just "VS", and better balance than the first two "Alpha" games.

Street Fighter EX, Street Fighter EX 2, Street Fighter EX 3- The 3D branch of the series. They're not bad, but they play nowhere as well as the 2D entries.

Street Fighter III- Another new take. Much better animation, an almost entirely new cast, but it has some balance issues.

Street Fighter III: Second Impact- A slight upgrade over the first one. Not really worth checking out.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike- Considered by a good number of people to be the best in the "III" series. Better balance, new characters, and tweaked gameplay.

X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Capcom vs SNK, Capcom vs SNK 2- Off shoots. The first four I listed play very differently from any of the main Street Fighter lines, as they're more chaotic and feature tag team gameplay ala King of Fighters. The "vs SNK" ones play similarly to the main SF games, but they're still pretty different in gameplay thanks to the various so-called grooves (fighting styles).

So if you want to see some Street Fighter stuff, I'd suggest Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Street Fighter Alpha III, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. That'll give you a nice taste of the various incarnations of the franchise.

[Katsurugi]

I would say about the same. The SF titles are purer forms of the gameplay rather than the crossover games. Though I love Capcom vs. SNK 2 to death (I have it for dreamcast), it's a lot to take in at once. Also, the SNK characters play true to there respective games as well. All of the d-pad stuff is a bit more technical than in the average SF game.

Each reincarnation of the game has something different to offer. If you really want to get a good basis of Street Fighter, start with SF2T or Hyper Fighting. Read up on the moves, cross ups, 2-in-1's, frame advantage and priority at either gamefaqs or more recommended, the forums at shoryuken.com. It's actually quite deep for such an early game. The only "problem" with SF2T is that the matches are a bit quick. 3 360's from Zangief and it's all over. But if you don't have to keep popping in quarters, then it should be good. Most of the movesets available from game to game, with the exception from SFA3 to SF3. So similar moves can be connected even from game to game. Even if you've never played SFA3 before but you've played SF2T, you can still use some of the stuff you've used before. Dragon Punch is overly prioritized in this game and gives you invulnerability over your entire body. In later versions, only your fist is invulnerable.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 (SFA3) is inspired by anime/manga in style. This game has air blocking, command throws, rolling, more supers, alpha counters, and "grooves." You can pick from 3 grooves or modes, each characterized with different advantages/disadvantages. After a while, you will notice that air juggling is severely emphasized in this game (which is not usually the case for a SF game) but all of the usual rules apply.

Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is a return to good old street fighting. It a lot flash from the Alpha series has been taken away. Instead of having 2 or 3 supers available to you, you have only one. The parrying system has been added, which by itself is very novel, to say the least. Normals in SF3:3S are more varied for each character. And a bit of the nuances are probably difficult to grasp for a SF beginner. However, this adds to more interesting matches in the end. I think that this version breaks some traditional rules, but overall, it's very good. The mental game has definitely become more important, rather than memorizing combos (unless you're Yun). Even so, combos are more based on proper timing of hit boxes than just a string of buttons to press (a la Killer Instinct). This is the only game where I can cancel a dragon punch into a super dragon punch and then dash-in and do another dragon punch.

In the end, it's difficult to say which version you should start with. SF2T to SFA3 to SF3:3S is probably the best route, but you could spend a whole lot of time playing only one version of the game (which is the entire draw). But consider other factors, such as competition and accessible help/forums. Every version has its own fanbase and a lot of players do infact play more than 1 SF. It's good to learn things by yourself, but when playing any SF game, a lot of people get better by learning from others. The better understanding you have of the overall gameplay/mechanics, the better player you are.

Ah yes, ranting about SF... it's over now though.

[DarkeSword]

Yeah, just gonna jump in here and agree. If you want to get into SF, go with SF2T first. That'll give you a good baseline. Personally, I'm a 3rd Strike player, because I prefer the more refined, even pace, but your results may vary.

In any case, I'm also gonna say that you should first learn how to play Ryu or Ken. They're the basics, but also very powerful. At the same time though, don't fall into the habit of always playing as them. There are tons of other fighters in the series with awesome movesets and play styles beyond your typical 'Shotokan' fighter. Once you're comfortable with Ryu or Ken, branch out.

[Dhsu]

Whatever you do, don't be like this guy.

[Broken]

I can't add much to what's already been said, but depending on which street fighter you decide to play, you should check out these

by David Sirlin. The stuff he discusses in these is pretty universal to the entire Street Fighter series (although, that particular tutorial is focused on SSF2: Turbo)