9 points
Ranked by: Vern, Slappy, Buckdiddy
Highest Rating: #2 by Vern and Slappy
Metacritic Rating: 360: 93 PS3: 94
Written By Nibbles

It’s a bold, confident fighter that celebrates its heritage while bringing fresh, new ideas to the table, arriving in a remarkably complete package that — if this were the last Street Fighter to ever be created — earns its rightful place in the series’ canon. – 1UP

A distillation of everything the genre does right. It delivers the intensity of competition and the thrill of victory, all through elegant techniques that are easy to learn and difficult to master. Street Fighter IV is more than mere nostalgia – it’s the best thing to happen to fighting games in years. – Game Informer

Amazing presentation, intricate and enjoyable fighting gameplay, and long-term appeal with online play make this a must-have. Street Fighter IV is undoubtedly one of the finest examples of the fighting genre in this generation. – GameSpot

Number 9 on NPP’s game of the year for 2009 comes from one of the most famous franchises in gaming with Street Fighter IV, which was released on the 18th of February 2009.

Overall the biggest strength that has been evident reading reviews of Street Fighter IV is its overall polish and finesse in nearly every category that a game is based on. The graphics are very highly praised which can clearly be seen in screen grabs and videos. All the characters and environments are rendered as 3D models and while the gameplay itself takes place on a 2D plane, this 3D rendering makes each character and the environments they are fighting in a thrill to watch in action. By using non-photorealistic rendering, characters have a hand-drawn look to them, with other effects such as ink smudges and sprays during the fights enhancing this visual style.

The core gameplay remains simular to its famous predecessor, Street Fighter II, with fights taking place on a 2D plane, although the camera occasionally moves in three dimensions for dramatic effect. Focus attacks have been introduced in Street Fighter IV and make up a core part of the game play. A focus attack is a move that allows a plater to absorb an opponent’s attack and launch a counter attack. There are two phases to the attack. In the first phase, the character will shift into a new stance, allowing them to absorb a single hit from the opponent. The second phase is the counter attack. The longer a player holds down the buttons for this attack, the more powerful the attack will be. If a player is able to hold down the buttons for long enough, the resulting attack will be unblockable and causing the opponent to drop to the ground, allowing the attacking player to follow up with a free hit. Attacks absorbed during the first phase of a focus attack still cause damage however the life lost will be quickly regenerated afterward. Also, during the first phase of the focus attack the payer may perform a dash forward or backward, cancelling the focus attack.

At the cost of half the super combo gauge, most special moves can be turned into a focus attack. By executing focus attacks during the special move, the animation of the move will be cut short and go instantly into the focus attack ammunition. This allows players with good timing to cancel special moves into focus attacks, and also cancel focus attacks into the forward dash, resulting in new combo possibilities. If a special move is blocked by the opponent, this system allows players to cancel the blocked move with a focus attack and then cancel the focus attack by dashing backward away from the opponent to safety.

Another new addition to the game is a new type of powered-up special move called the ultra combo. Ultra combos are long and cinematic move that features a lengthy combination of punches, kicks and other moves. The ultra combos are represented on screen by an ultra combo gauge. This gauge operates opposite to the super combo gauge, present in previous games. Where the super gauge fills when the player lands hits or performs special moves, the ultra combo gauge fills when the player takes damage from their opponent.

Street Fighter IV is no copy of previous games, it’s a new addition to the franchise built with an obvious love and respect of the legacy been created. It’s a beautiful, complete fighter that celebrates the Street Fighter heritage and its popularity is reflected in the fact that while only three NPPers ranked the game, they ranked it high enough to make it NPP’s 9th game from 2009.