Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
By Marc Saltzman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Stellar collection of fighting games with bonus content.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this game.
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Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection
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Based on 4 parent reviews
Safe, but can get a little boring
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The best collection!
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What’s It About?
STREET FIGHTER 30TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION gathers 12 separate titles of the popular, well-known fighting franchise. It includes Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II: Champion Edition, Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter III, Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. The games are playable in their original 4:3 (square-ish) aspect ratio -- with border art on each side -- but some let you choose to stretch it full-screen to a 16:9 format. Four of these games are playable online against others -- Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Street Fighter III: Third Strike. All of the games support offline saves, to mark your progress, along with a Street Fighter music player, interactive 4K artwork collection, character bios, and other extras for fans of the franchise. While all four platforms look and play similarly, some have better visuals and more advanced controls over others (namely, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One over Nintendo's portable Nintendo Switch). That said, the Switch version has a Tournament mode that's not available in other versions.
Is It Any Good?
True to the original 2D arcade fighting games released between 1987 and 1999, this collection of brawlers impresses in its breadth and depth for fans of the franchise, even with its online hiccups. Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection doesn't include newer Street Fighter games from arcades or consoles, but if you haven't yet played older Street Fighter games: They're easy to pick up, and difficult to put down. There are many fighters to choose from, each with their own style and strengths, and all are well-balanced with responsive controls. It's a blast to play against someone beside you, but the artificial intelligence (AI) is smart too, and will keep you on your toes.
Online play is spotty, though, with some matchmaking not working (just hanging on the lobby screen) and a few performance issues that mar the overall experience. If you can't get a fighting game to work well online, you shouldn't add it. Perhaps some of this could be fixed with a patch. A couple of forums online confirmed that others were having assorted online issues, too. Offline play was polished, though, and a treat given all this content. Of course, many of the games are "remixes" of each other, but no doubt those who love this series will find this refreshed collection a well-made one. In other words, for those who have an affinity for this franchise, getting a dozen games plus extra content for under $40 makes it well worth the price of admission.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in the media. Do parents mind fighting games such as Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection because they're clearly over the top and not as gory as, for example, Mortal Kombat? Is there a concern that this is still a fighting game and could desensitize players to real-world violence?
Why do you think the female characters in Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection wear so little or have overemphasized features? Why are the male characters not shown in the same way? What do you think this says about the body image of the female fighters in the game?
Is the release of Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection a way to engage in nostalgia and history, or is it a way to promote other games in this wildly popular franchise? Are you more interested in playing the other games in this series after playing this collection?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Capcom
- Release date: May 27, 2018
- Genre: Fighting
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts, Superheroes, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- ESRB rating: T for Alcohol Reference, Mild Blood, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Last updated: October 18, 2021
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