Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers

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Street Fighter games are not my forte, but I enjoy playing them with friends none-the-less. We have received many iterations of the Street Fighter franchise on all platforms over the last number of decades; I swear each game has been rebooted and re-released a dozen times or so. The Nintendo Switch port of Ultra Street Fighter II makes a bit more sense to me only because of how the Switch is meant to be played: on the go. Despite perhaps owning this multiple times over, having a Switch copy is actually pretty important for a hard-core Street Fighter fan, but at what cost?

At 39.99, this Street Fighter Switch game is pretty expensive in my opinion, especially for what you are getting. Forget the offline play, because that’s not why you buy Street Fighter. Unless you love the series so much that you plan to climb to the top of the Street Fighter world, I’m not sure 39.99 is worth it for anyone. For what you get, the price is way, WAY to high.

Sure, this version does bring along a few improvements, and adds a bit of content to the original on SNES, and the reboots on Xbox 360 and PS3. There are two new characters to play as – Evil Ryu and Violent Ken – and although these characters are not new to the franchise, they are to this game. This, coupled with a few balancing issues does make for a great fighting game, but one that feels like it should be 19.99 as opposed to 39.99, and probably digital only.

The biggest addition to Ultra Street Fighter II is the Way of the Hado mode, where you engage in fights using motion controls instead of specific button combinations. On paper this sounds like a great addition to this Street Fighter classic – especially if you consider how motion controls are being rolled out for the upcoming beat-em-up ARMS – but in execution, it falls surprisingly flat. Way of the Hado quickly becomes a tedious task of seemingly identical motions, and when you add on the issue with actually getting the fighter to do what you want, you are left with a lackluster and underwhelming experience.

All of that aside, if you love Street Fighter, you will want the portability on the Switch to take on friends and random people online. At the office on lunch, you can play a little Street Fighter. Stuck at Grandma’s for a horrid old person birthday party? You can play some Street Fighter. That’s really the appeal here in my opinion. Without the Nintendo Switch, this Capcom reboot doesn’t happen. Having the ability to take a good looking game on the go – for handheld standards, mind you – is the selling feature. It’s completely up to the consumer whether they want to invest 39,99 to enjoy that experience.