I got Capcom's Street Fighter 2010 a while ago serendipitously when I bought a bunch of other games. After looking up what people had to say about it, I found that most either hate this game or think it's way too hard. So, I sat down to give it a try.

For the first half hour or more, I hated it. The controls seemed unresponsive, and I couldn't get past the first level. There was only one enemy I had to kill -- a flying scoropion -- and every time I would hit him, he would hit me back, so that I only got him within inches of his life before dying.

For some reason, I kept playing it, and after a little while, the controls became a lot more comfortable, and I started to beat more and more levels. As that happened, I started to realize how much fun I was having! At first, I just kept playing it because I was so frustrated that it was so difficult, but as time went on, I couldn't put it down simply because it was so fun!

After playing it for a couple weeks, I was getting better and better, and I finally was able to beat the game, and then beat it without dying at all. Even still, I kept playing through it every couple of days or so...

So, why do I think this game's so fun? Well, one of the really unique things about this game is that it's almost entirely boss battles. There are a few platforming levels, but almost all have a boss at the end. Each one has patterns you have to learn, and specific strategies you have to employ to beat.

Another great feature of this game is the music -- I'd rank it high up there with some of the other classic NES soundtracks, and I've got it stuck in my head right now Also, some of the graphics, especially the backgrounds, are gorgeous. Most are a dark portrayal of a dingy Blade Runner-esque future, in contrast to the shiny robotic levels of the Mega Man series (also made by Capcom). Uh-oh, 2010's only 3 years away now!

But probably the biggest reason I love the game is the controls -- as frustrating as they were to learn at first, they're amazingly intricate for a system with two buttons. You have a different attack based on which direction on the D-pad you push along with the "fire" button, and your jumps and jump attacks vary according to what direction you're facing, and so on. If you go a long time without getting hit, your attacks become stronger, longer-range, and look awesomer as a bonus.

As you play this game, you truly refine your skills as you become more and more of an expert. A lot of games simply have two options -- jump and shoot -- which work fine, but the complexity of the game has to be generated in other ways. Street Fighter 2010 is a lot like fencing -- there is a dynamic range of attacks that you can perform using subtle variations in button combinations, and mastery of the game can only be achieved by mastering the controls.

So, I just wanted to share some of my thoughts about this oft-scorned Capcom game, and see if there were any other SF2010 lovers out there. Thanks for reading my long post!

Fun to read and very well stated. I'll dig it out of my library and give it a try.

Thanks

Nice read, like the hidden gems column in the NA mag...makes me keen to get it now

Havent played that game in about 1o years. I remember hating it with a passion.

100% agreed, I actually was intrigued by the game's sudden opening with a boss battle, but although hard it was the perfect tutorial level to teach what can be done with the player character. If you die all over him, you just need to restart and no going through a useless platforming level just to get up to and obliterated upon the Scorpion dude again.

The level of control is fun and interesting, and later upgrades keep play interesting although. This and Shatterhand are probably two of my fav sleeper platformers, and the music does rock for both of them

That PERFECTLY sums up how I felt about the game and my experience with it. Nailed it on the head...couldn't have been said better. The first level was bullshit, but after that, the game was one of the very best in the NES library. Most people never got past this, and thus, missed out on a truly incredible game.

All of what you wrote above I have preached to people in the past, but it fell on deaf ears. In light of this thread, using my powers as king, I command ALL dissers to go beat this game right now. You will see the light.

There isn't a disser out there that made it past, say, level 3, with 99 percent of dissers having never made it past level 1, I'd bet.

However, I beat it in a day or two back in the day. Just wanted to brag about my manliness. Kidding! It really took you weeks?

-Rob

Yeah, it took me at least a week, maybe two. But I didn't play it non-stop; I might have beat it more quickly if I had been able to spend bigger chunks of time on it

I didn't even know what the hell was going on the first time I tried to play this. Its just an extremely confusing opening level. Glad to hear it gets better because the first level couldn't be worse.

Yeah, both this and Shatterhand are awesome. I think Shatterhand I discovered by accident when I was little (6, I think). I pointed up to a game on the top shelf I wanted my mom to grab (I think it was Bucky O'Hare), but she grabbed Shatterhand instead...I didn't notice until we got home. I played it anyway since she wouldn't take me back to the rental store, and I loved it.