Street Fighter V Story Mode Has Landed

When Street Fighter V launched back in February this year the game was met with a plethora of negative criticism, owing to a very barebones release with a full retail price tag attached to something that felt very much like a beta version.

Asides from initial teething problems from the server side of things, SFV had little else to do that appealed to the more casual player. The game had everything going for the more hardcore players because, after all, the whole point of the game was to master your character and square off against others to see where your skill level stacks against the rest of the world. Those looking for something to fill their single player needs would have to wait for Capcom to fulfill their promise to add more content.

Slowly but surely, additions began falling into our laps on a monthly basis. New characters and new modes came trickling in and breathing a little bit of extra life into the game, but the wait for the 4 hour cinematic story was agonizing for many of us.

Street Fighter V’s cinematic story mode is wonderful. Taking place in the SF universe’s (confusing) timeline between Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter III. We finally see a lot of light shed upon fighters old and new.

For months we’ve been teased by the mini- prologue stories and character dialogue between fights that hinted at a much greater plot, such as wondering who newcomer Rashid is looking for? Can Ryu manage to suppress the “satsui no hado” that threatens to consume him and turn him into a demonic fighter? How did Nash survive the prologue? What’s up with the Frankenstein parts stitched onto his body?

All of these questions and more have been jam packed into a 4+ hour cinematic extravaganza that follows a similar format to the 2011 Mortal Kombat reboot.

Players take the helm of every character in the roster as the story progresses, controlling the character that needs to win according to plot advancement. We’re also treated to early (playable) versions of upcoming DLC characters Juri and Urien.

So, without dropping plot spoilers, we get to the good points and the bad points.

The Good

• The Story is a gold mine for fans of Street Fighter lore.
• Finally makes SFV feel worthy of the release price.
• Previews of upcoming characters.
• Surprising variety of opponent character models.
• Rewards 30000 fight money on initial completion of the mode.
• Opens up a higher difficulty level on completion.
• All cutscenes can be skipped over.
• The game opens up a menu that allows you to skip to/access completed chapters and scenes.

The Bad

• No clear way to pause a scene without skipping, leaving you to wait until you’re in a fight to pause.
• Occasionally awkward animations that take you out of the moment. Such as a piece of loose clothing or hair on a character vibrating in a scene where it should be still.
• Long loading times in between scenery changes and transitions into fights.
• Not likely to appeal to anyone that is only interested in fighting, which they can already do.

I absolutely loved the story update, minor annoyances and all. There’s still no sign of the classic Arcade mode format coming to SFV anytime soon, but never say never!

SFV feels like a full game now, and Capcom promises to keep delivering content to us.

If you were on the fence about purchasing this title, now is a good time to jump in.