Initial observations as a returning player

Street Fighter V
1

I played SF2 on the super nintendo a ton when I was 10 or so. Now I’m picking up SFV. Here are my observations.

I really like the game. It’s the game I used to love, but better. I’m not disappointed at the lack of features. What I want is a way to practice the game against the cpu and a way to play against other people. Training satisfies the former and there are several modes for the latter. In fact, I’d rather training mode (which is crazy-sophisticated, it seems to me) than have an arcade mode, coming from the previous game. The only really disappointing thing in the game is that the art is sexist as hell and that really bothers me. I’m no fan of fan service (if that’s what it is).

I can still do the moves reliably (playing with a ps4 controller on PC) and in fact can do SPD way more reliably than I could before. Go me.

But I’m still terrible.

The assumptions are all different. When I can throw, when I can sweep, what I can punish and what I can’t is all different and I have a lot of habits from 20 years ago that are deeply ingrained, and tough to break.

The average level of play is higher. I get punished with 6 hit combos, but can only punish with 1-2 hits. It feels like I’m having as many or more landed punishes, but one of my issues is that I’m punishing for 5X less damage than I am punished for. I tried to figure out combos on my own in training, but it’s not working. I’m going to need to do some book learnin’.

Rushdown is tough to handle, and the way to respond less clear. Maybe I just don’t understand the frame traps/timing. I expect to be able to punish any blocked strong hit or close-range special, but that very much seems not to be true. Against the cpu on level 8, if I back into the corner to practice defense I can block for a fairly long time before eating a mixup or throw, but find it very hard to break out or punish anything. When I hit a button that I expect to successfully punish, I just get hit by the next incoming attack instead. The same happens against humans, though generally they seem less good at pressuring.

Wake-up is a lot more dangerous. Seems like there are very few attacks I can do on wakeup that will beat incoming attacks. Particularly, wake-up throw doesn’t seem to work, which I instinctively go to if someone is standing on me.

I’m having a lot of fun even being terrible, though and hope to play for years to come.

So, uh, not sure what exactly I’m expecting here other than a discussion of these perceptions and whether they’re true, or whether it just looks that way because I have a grand total of maybe 10 hours in the game.

2

I’m intrigued as to what brought you back. You’ve skipped alot of games between SF2 and SF5.

3

I’m technically the same! I played SF2 when I was a sprog and now I’m like “why not stink it up in ranked in SF5 and bring shame upon my family”

And valkenar most of that seems like stuff I’ve experienced. I’ve picked up a few combos but it feels like you have to be very very on point to work out what the exact ideal punish is in each situation - like if you land a standing medium punch at the tip you can get a target combo if they’re standing but not if they’re crouching and so on. Are you playing Ryu?

4

I’m in a similar position. I did play HD Remix a fair bit, but that was 7 years ago and I never played SF3 or 4(did play a bit of Alpha 3 here and there).

It took me a while to grok SFV. I messed around in training, survival, and casuals for the first week. Did a couple ranked on monday night, and then hit it fairly hard on Tuesday night. While I’m still nowhere near as good as I was at all the SF2 variations I played as a teenager(HD Remix felt WAY more familiar and easy to adjust to than SFV), I’m getting better. Went on a 7 win streak, and a 5 win streak after that. Told myself I’d quit and go to bed after losing 2 ranked matches in a row. Took around 4 hours.

It’s fun. Frustrating that it feels like I don’t really know what I’m doing and losing fights that feel really winnable, but fun. :slight_smile:

5

Nothing too remarkable brought me back, just a combination of things. Game-wise, a major factor was having PC as a first-class platform (it’s not, really, but cross-platform matchmaking was a strong plus). Second to that, probably being able to earn all the characters and not having to buy upgrades (though I kind of suspect they’ll make it too grindy for me). The fact that it came along at a time when I was looking to get into a new competitive game and it’s a new edition so I can pretend like I’m starting at the same point everyone else helped too. I play dota2, but I have two small kids (3&5)and hour-long matches are tough, logistically. A fighting game is something I can pick up and put down on a more flexible schedule. Plus, I can play it with them, where they can’t really play any keyboard/mouse games yet.

–

So far I haven’t tried to pick a main I’ve been jumping around a lot just getting a feel for things. I have played more Ken, Rryu and Dhalsim most because I was best at Ken/Ryu in the olden times and I always liked Dhalsim. Unless I think that I’m going to really turn into a serious tournament player (not that realistic), I’m not likely to pick a main at all and will just play whichever character suits me, depending on what I’m in the mood for. I like Rashid and Chun-Li a lot, but also consider Necalli, Zangief and Fang intriguing. I’m unlikely to log much time on Mika, but otherwise it’s pretty up in the air.

6

Thank you for posting.

I’ve been with the franchise to varying degrees since SF2 as well, but none as competitive as SF2. I hated SF4 series, so I’m interested in the opinions of players who may have skipped that iteration.

7

I will echo most of this on why I’m here after a long absence. If there wasn’t a real PC version, I wouldn’t be here. Cross platform match making is great. Not having to buy upgrades is also good(note: I don’t actually care at all about being able to play every character, I will neither grind for them all nor buy them all, and I won’t feel like I’m missing anything). It also came at a time for me where I was looking for a new game(perhaps there’s a method to the madness of Capcom’s february release). I also like to pretend I’m starting at the same point everybody else is. :slight_smile:

8

I also dislike the boob mechanics. I feel like they really don’t have a place in Street Fighter. AND it makes it difficult to play with my nieces/nephews who are at that pubescent age whereas we were playing SF2 at that age and it was more wholesome (other than blanka spewing chunks).

9

Breast physics have a place in any game in which characters may have sizable breasts. You realize Cammy’s breasts jiggled in her SSF2 neutral stance, right? I wouldn’t consider any Street Fighter game “wholesome”. I think if your nieces and nephews are old enough to handle the violence, they can handle a little breast movement. Game is rated T, bruh.

10

No I didn’t realize that about Cammy, actually. Maybe I never saw her much in neutral stance. When I think of SSF2 Cammy, I think of pixie character, cannon spikes and spiral arrows. When I think of SFV R. Mika and Laura, the first image that comes to my mind (and the one that’s shown on the vs screen) are their breasts taking up half the screen.

My nieces actually prefer to use chun li over r.mika/laura solely based on the fact that her default costume is more covered up. So it IS an issue. Heck, it makes me uncomfortable. Just because it’s rated T, doesn’t mean that accentuated breast movement in a game is appropriate. I’ll agree that the physics is necessary for 3D models, but this game has awkward camera angles and art that is too sexualized and nearly distasteful.

11

Trying to play SFV like it’s SF2 will just lead to frustration. Try to play more like 3S, maybe Alpha or CVS2 and you’ll get the gist of it better.

12

The problem isn’t just that there are breast physics, or that the physics are preposterous (which they are), it’s the overall sexualization, as jasonC is talking about. The female characters poses are more often sexy and likely to show their asses off, while the male characters are powerful or intimidating. The male characters expose skin, but their butts are always covered. You don’t get the chun-li/mika/cami thong thing going on. The alternate costumes for the women are typically more exposed as well. The male bodies are unrealistic in a functional way (exaggerated muscles) while the female characters are unrealistic in a sexual way (exaggerated breasts). The female characters are often more ditzy, stupid or flirty or demure. This isn’t new with SV5, by any means. Chun-li was ditzy and Cammy had that stupid look-over-shoulder-with-ass-to-camera pose in SF2, too. But it’s gotten worse, not better.

The problem isn’t that there’s sexuality, it’s that only the female characters sexuality is emphasized.

13

I think one thing they could do without having to anger too many people is add some more functional costumes for the girls. I remember seeing a very cool punk rock cammy design once, Laura would be an obvious candidate for a bjj competition outfit, r Mika could have one of those hilarious wrestler special costumes etc. I understand that some people are concerned about censorship, but there are so many cool possible non-skimpy designs for the female cast that it would be a huge shame if they weren’t explored.

Also I definitely want a sexy birdie skin to really show off what those jiggle physics can do…

15

Uh, I disagree. I think it plays exactly like SF2, with the exception of no-fireball characters having fireball-invincible EX moves.

I think you “anti-sexualize”-guys are more sexist than you think. Wrestlers like Zangief don’t normally have perfectly shaped muscles from head to toe, and neither do crime-lords like M. Bison, and neither do jungle-deviants like Necalli.

The Dead or Alive-games are doing it in bad taste, but in Street Fighter it’s done with charm and within any boundaries. If you object to this then you need to throw your television right out the window as well.

16

Fucking THIS! ^^^

Seriously, I’ve just about had it with trying to push a button when I think it’s my turn to attack, and then NOPE! The opponent is actually pretty dang safe or isn’t finished attacking. like what even??? I’m at a point now where I just turtle and block for absurd amounts of time. Of course, when I get a knockdown though, THAT’S when I can finally go on the offensive, but I still, it’s way different this time around coming from SF4.

17

I guess you haven’t seen Vega’s victory screen.

18

Necalli is topless.
HOT Ryu exists.
Vega’s alt has a V-neck deeper than Chun’s cleavage and pants tighter than one frame links.

You are ashamed of sexuality and you need to go away.

19

I wouldn’t say that they “jiggled” as much as they flopped ridiculously. Her breathing animation was laughably unnatural as was her breast movement.

20

The men are unrealistic, for sure, and there is a documented rise in body dysmorphia among boys that has been tentatively linked to an increase in hyper-muscular characters. That’s a noteworthy phenomenon and requires some consideration. It’s not the same thing as sexuality, though it does relate to some extent.

It’s important to recognize the difference between sexualization and sexual attractiveness. Think about the difference between what a stripper dressed as a sailor looks like and how he behaves versus what an actual sailor is like. Both are dressed similarly and may be attractive, but one is clearly sexual and the other is just incidentally sexy. In the game it also has a lot to do with emphasis and framing, not just how they’re dressed. From the camera angles to the poses, there is an obvious difference along gender lines in the depiction. It’s one thing to argue that it doesn’t matter, but it seems strange to say that it doesn’t even exist. If you don’t think the breast physics are meant to emphasize breasts (rather than just adding realism, which they absolutely don’t) then I’m not sure what else to say. What is the equivalent for the men? There are no jiggly and oversized bulges in the men’s pants.

What I’m talking about is the way sexuality in street fighter is emphasized for every single woman even though it has nothing to do with the game. If this were a game about sex and all the men were hypermuscular and violent I would criticize the game for exclusively depicting men as violent and aggressive. But if the women were also violent and muscular then that would just be a fetish or BDSM game and then there would be no problem. I’m definitely not bothered by depictions of sex, in general.

This problem where women’s looks and sexuality is emphasized even when it has absolutely nothing to do with the situation happens in all kinds of different things from politics to professional life.

21

That’s the Japanese for you lmao, they sexualize almost everything it’s just part of their culture. Not a big deal really.