In February of 2016, Capcom released Street Fighter V as a PS4 and PC exclusive. I hate to admit it, but this was the single reason I acquired a PS4. While it technically was not a bad game, it simply felt unfinished. Featuring a bare-bones roster, comprised of mostly new characters and only a handful of options, it seemed Street Fighter was no longer going to be able to compete with the other fighters on the market. Over the past 2 years, Capcom has released a steady stream of content; both paid and free, to try and remedy this.

Almost a full 2 years later, Capcom has once again released Street Fighter V, but with the Arcade Edition suffix, which they have a tendency to do. Luckily, those of us who already took the plunge are treated to most of the upgrades (sans the additional DLC characters) at no extra charge. These additions are certainly welcome, but it does feel a bit too late, as most of us who were heavily invested in the game have moved on to the stellar Injustice 2 or other more complete packages.

Upon loading the upgraded game, you’ll find there is now a wealth of offline options. You can compete in 6 different arcade modes which are modeled after previous entries in the franchise, each featuring different rosters of characters to use or battle, with the number of bouts being based off of the entry the mode was modeled after. Completing each will treat the player with the character’s associated ending, if Street Fighter lore is your thing.

In addition to the Arcade mode, you’ll find a few other offline options, with the highpoint being the game’s story mode; this was added a few months back as a free update to the vanilla version. This is a pretty lengthy affair and also features single character stories. You’ll also find the option for survival modes, a time trial, as well as individual challenges for each character. Most of these options will reward the player with Fight Money, the game’s virtual currency that allows you to purchase new costumes, stages, and fighters. I will commend Capcom on giving the players the option to earn the DLC opposed to having to pay real world money for it. While it is a grind, in the time I’ve had the title I’ve earned most of the classic characters free of charge.

The online suite is acceptable and matchmaking is a breeze with the fight request option returning. You can play any mode you wish and be queued for player or ranked matches, eliminating any wasted time sitting in a lobby waiting for someone to match with you. Despite lag still being an intermittent issue, the online mode is the best feature this title has to offer. While not as addicting as other fighters out there, it’s easy to see how Street Fighter has lasted 30 years.

The roster is still one of the most disappointing aspects of the game, with over half the roster being new characters and few of them being standout additions. Capcom has remedied this slightly with the newest season (which is not included in the base game) being rounded out by returning fighters. They all control just as well as they did previously, with few changes being implemented to the returning fighters. Ken is the most varied, as he is no longer a carbon copy of Ryu, featuring a much different move set than previous games.

The overall presentation of the game is simply amazing. The backgrounds are eclectic and feature a number of new locations as well as reimagined versions of past levels. Each is beautifully detailed with a number of them feature unique endings if the player is knocked out in a particular area of the level.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is how the game should have been released 2 years ago. It is a perfect jumping off point for those who have not visited the entry, especially at the reduced $39.99 retail price; however, if you’ve already purchased the base game, there isn’t much here that you haven’t seen and provides little reason to revisit the title.

8 out of 10

Pros:

• Stunning Visuals
• Ability to Purchase DLC Using in Game Currancy
• Accessible Controls
• A Number of Gameplay Options

Cons:

• Roster is Lacking
• Too Little Too Late

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition was developed and published by Capcom. It launched on PC and PS4 January 16th, 2018 for $39.99. The game was not provided to us for review. For more on Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, check out the game’s official site.

 

Here at GBG we use a rating method that you are more than likely familiar with – a scale of 1 to 10. For clarification, we intend on using the entire scale: 1-4 is something you should probably avoid paying for; 5-7 is something that is worth playing, but probably not at full price; 8-10 is a great title that you can feel confident about buying. If you have any questions or comments about how we rate a game, please let us know.

Check out OpenCritic for a better idea of how our review stacks against others.