Xbox Live Arcade release, Street Fighter II HD

Apparently Capcom is trying to make the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade release, Street Fighter II HD, more appealing to the casual gamer. In an extensive entry on the company blog, designer and former Street Fighter tournament contender David Sirlin details how some of the moves have been made easier and how characters will be more balanced. Specifically, he talks a lot about how certain moves will now require fewer buttons to pull off, and “mash moves” (where you press a button repeatedly, like with E. Honda’s Hundred Hand Slap) will take fewer button presses. They’re also making an effort to boost the playability of weaker characters like Zangief and T. Hawk.

Purists might argue that they’re messing with a classic by doing this, but I remember the original game being incredibly unbalanced, rendering certain characters almost useless. I do recall the controls being exceptionally tricky for certain moves too, but I always thought that was the point. I had a friend who was ungodly with Fei Long mostly because he could pull of the more difficult moves.

Labels: capcom, david sirlin, street fighter, XBox, Xbox live