Ultra Street Fighter II Nintendo Switch Hands-On: It’s Got That Lovin’ Feeling

Some people balked at the announcement of Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers for Nintendo Switch earlier this year, for a few reasons. First, they weren’t too crazy about the gimmicky Way of the Hado mode that was being added, which enables players to create fireball motions against opponents in a first-person perspective. (And, yes, it is gimmicky.) And secondly, “$40 for a Street Fighter II game?! I can get a SNES and a copy of the game for that price!” (Well, maybe if the system is in poor shape – you apparently haven’t looked at the reseller market lately.)

But now that we’ve played a near final build of the game, we can actually see quite a bit of merit behind the port. Yes, it has a bit in common with the Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD port that was released a little while back for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with its high-definition, hand-drawn visuals and its sharp gameplay. However, there are also some other features that warrant the purchase of Ultra, especially if you’re a Capcom fan that grew up on the series. And I know a lot of you have.

First off, I don’t think I’ve ever see a fighting game that’s been so responsive with different control types. Whether you’re using the handheld Switch set-up or a Pro Controller (if you managed to track one down), you’ll find that Ultra Street Fighter II is one of the most wonderfully handling fighting games around. Super moves come off easy (even if you use the manual settings – there’s automatic ones where you can tap a button to pull off certain moves), and the speed for each match is perfectly balanced, even if you prefer a turbo-fueled jaunt of punches and kicks. It really plays just about perfectly, and players that grew up with Street Fighter over the past few years will pick up and play without missing a beat.

There’s also something to be said about the variety of modes featured in the game. Sure, Way of the Hado seems like a one trick pony (though it is nice to think that you know how to throw a perfect fireball, in case you want to taunt your friends), but the other modes are quite meaningful. Training Mode has a lot to offer for the Street Fighter amateurs out there, as you dig into combos, throws and other moves that can help you best an opponent. Buddy Mode is also pretty cool, as you pair up two against one in certain match-ups, in a co-op sort of manner. It’s not nearly as addictive as versus, but it’s still pretty cool, especially if you pick Ken and Ryu to double-team someone.

We didn’t get to test out online features for the game just yet, as Capcom hasn’t flipped the switch, but local multiplayer is pretty cool, as you can hop into a match with a friend, just like you could in the old SNES days. Local matches are still the best, as you can yell at each other and pass around taunts, just like you did at the arcade. Can’t beat that.

I also dig the setting that lets you switch between old and new graphic styles in the game. You can’t do it on-the-fly, like you can in Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, sadly, but a simple tweak on the main menu will send you back to the early 90’s with ease. In fact, some people may prefer the older set-up to the new hand-drawn one, if only for nostalgia’s sake.

No matter which way you go, the game looks and sounds terrific thus far in both settings, and that’s for both on-the-go play and hooked up to a TV. We still have to test out a few more stages within the game, but, thus far, it looks like Capcom isn’t lapsing when it comes to its Switch development. And that’s a good thing.

We’ll have a final review of Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers closer to its release next week. But, yeah, if you’re a fan of the game in any regard, you’ll want to dig into this, even with its slight gimmicks. Just ignore that Way of the Hado and bring your friends to fight.