Some ports from consoles to handhelds fail miserably. One game that is not an example of this is Super Street Fighter IV 3D which was on display at Capcom’s booth at PAX East 2011. While not exactly the same as the console version, there’s not much more you could ask for in a port than what you will find here. All of the characters from the console version are in the game as well. Did I mention it was in 3D?
The 3D for this game definitely makes up for the graphic shortcomings of a port, but it is not overwhelming. It still looked great when I adjusted the 3D slider (which by the way can range from full 3D, a little 3D, and no 3D). The graphics in the game looked better than most DS titles currently out there, and gave the other 3DS game I tried (Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D) a run for its money. There are also two ways you can view the game: plain old 2D mode (which is in 3D), and 3D mode which is a shift in the camera that can appear slightly over the shoulder. Contrary to other 3D titles, the entire game can be played in 3D.
Controls for the game were pretty easy to use, although I could not get used to using the touch screen to select combos. The tough screen integration is all for the sake of convenience, and there are two different ways to use it. There is a pro mode which allows you to perform combos the good old fashioned manual way, and light mode which has combos assigned to the touch screen. Pro mode does use the touch screen as well, but more for the sake of having extra buttons on the screen which you would normally have when playing it on an arcade stick. The light mode is the one I had trouble with as the game was not very exciting when I just had to press the touch screen to attack and not much else. For beginners, though, this is a useful tool.
Super Street Fighter IV 3D is definitely a title to keep an eye on as I think it will be one of the great initial titles on the 3DS. For those who are already fans of the console version, this is a must have portable version of that same title.
