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[FRS1987]

Street Fighter IV series was great and better than just about anything SFV has to offer from mechanics, to skill cap, to spectating a match. SFV beats IV in visual but that's just about it, all of the mechanics in V are terrible and people like to complain about FADC but there were SO MANY options to mitigate it.

Some special modes like hurricane kick break a focus, a grab interrupts a focus, heck you could even focus a focus and not only that but it was also used for canceling which was always a staple in about 80% of Capcom fighters. IV isn't even close to being the best SF game but it's definitely better than V in just about every way.

 

[New002]

A2
HF
ST
A3
SF3

Sf4 and 5 don't hold a candle for me to the older entries and contemporary games are much better than sf4/5. I never thought that was true for the older games.

Solid list. Always love to see HF. It's what I have in my cab right now.

 

[solomon]

I've watched probably 10 hours worth of competitive SF5 and the game is just boring in comparison to SF4, I feel that once you've watched a full major you've pretty much seen all the combos the game has to offer, I watched sf4 for years and always saw something new.

 

[Q8D3vil]

Sf5 can be much better with few tweaks, but its capcom so they are clueless.

 

[Skilletor]

I've watched probably 10 hours worth of competitive SF5 and the game is just boring in comparison to SF4, I feel that once you've watched a full major you've pretty much seen all the combos the game has to offer, I watched sf4 for years and always saw something new.

Measuring sf by combo variety is so ducking weird to me.

Really tells me where people started playing.

 

[Refyref]

I prefer watching 4. Also, 4's roster was almost perfect for me. All it was missing was Mike Haggar.

 

[SneakersSO]

Noooooooooo

Hated SF4 mechanically. Loved how it propped up the FGC & brought back fighting games from the brink, but in all seriousness, its gameplay was tremendously lacking.

 

[Gurnlei]

Prefer V to IV fun-wise. IV felt like being a good player got you farther though.

 

[Pachinko]

I mean I liked Ultra SF4 , didn't mind super or vanilla but I have way more fun playing 5. I wish it were even better though.

I've really warmed up to third strike too , despite a couple of wonky characters , it's pretty solid to play.

 

[solomon]

Measuring sf by combo variety is so ducking weird to me.

Really tells me where people started playing.

Ok, I guess SF5 amazing neutral makes up for it right....

 

[Haeleos]

I prefer V-trigger/V-skill over FADC as well, and the execution leniency introduced in SFV is welcome, but everything else including art direction, net code, animation, and the roster is superior in SF4. SF4 is one of the greatest games of the previous gen and I think the only fighting game that beats it out in terms of gameplay for me is VF5:FS.

 

[Tekniqs]

is there still a good player base playing sf4 online?

 

[Solidus187]

4 was more fun to watch.

5 is more fun to play.

Came in here to say this, more or less. Watching SF4 with SF5 levels of money on the line would've been insane. Some of these SFV season 2 streams have really felt like a chore, while I never felt that with SFIV. I even had fun watching it during AE and the late USF4 Elena era.

But yeah, when it comes to playing, I prefer SFV over the SF4 series. Maybe that'll change after I've played SFV for as long as SF4, but for now it just... feels better and less bullshitty. Wish I had a better explanation. I think the character-specific v-skills and v-triggers help a lot too.

I enjoy(ed) both games though. Hopefully that's allowed.

Edit: Oh yeah, I should also mention the lowered execution in SFV being part of why I like playing it more. I'm no execution god. I understand that's the allure to fighting games for some people... but definitely not me. Easier combos and less links are a huge plus for me.

 

[Skilletor]

Ok, I guess SF5 amazing neutral makes up for it right....

I didn't say anything about sf5.

 

[Wonko_C]

I never fully enjoyed SF4, it felt too stiff. OTOH I have clocked nearly 400 hours in SF5, it feels like a cross between the best from SF3 and the Zero series and that's what makes it super fluid to play and very fun IMO.

 

[Neonep]

And 3rd Strike is more fun than both of them.

So is Alpha 3.

 

[Crab Milk Mickey]

Noooooooooo

Hated SF4 mechanically. Loved how it propped up the FGC & brought back fighting games from the brink, but in all seriousness, its gameplay was tremendously lacking.

Got the same stance.

Didn't even have good combo-enhancing mechanics either compared to fighting games (old and new) actually centered around it. An ugly stain on the series and far from the best the genre had to offer last gen, no matter the version of balance re-iteration.

 

[Tripon]

Nobody even talking about CvS2. SMH.

 

[Doctrine Dark]

I love the SF4 series. Keep in mind that I really disliked Vanilla SF4 when I first got into it.

I just find Rose and Sakura more fun than anyone in SFV. Till this day, I can play Ultra and still have countless hrs of fun. SFV is a fun game, too, but it's not on the same level to me.

 

[Rickenslacker]

but everything else including art direction, net code, animation, and the roster is superior in SF4

What is it about the art direction and animation that you find superior, because those aspects are pretty well done in SF5. Between characters and moves that were made to be the same/similar, SF5 comes out looking much better. One of the best illustrations for this was a comparison video someone made of Seth's moves that mimic Urien's, but the slow-mo shots just show how much more to it there is in SF5's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDtQgtW4USc&feature=youtu.be

As for art direction, I've found it the best realized versions of the characters in polygonal form. We have this Ikeno art of SF3 Ryu:

Then we have sinewy gorilla man SF4 Ryu:

And now SF5 Ryu actually resembling that art:

 

[I-hate-u]

Characters are great in SFV, makes the background characters in the stages look much worse.

 

[Venfayth]

Well

 

[Producer]

Measuring sf by combo variety is so ducking weird to me.

Really tells me where people started playing.

just call him an 09er

 

[ShirAhava]

SF4 is unplayable now maybe with a blindfold

 

[Tekniqs]

yo how come they still haven't fixed battle lounge's connection thing. 95% of them always just comes up as a "?" ....

 

[Codeblue]

This just popped up in my relate on Youtube and it perfectly articulates all my issues with SFV.

Bring back Sako Combos damn it.

 

[Whales]

Sf4 was muuuch better to watch

SF5 is much better to play imo

 

[Lulubop]

Lmao at sf4 having better art direction and animation. I'm crying, y'all really buggin. Sf4 is trash bag tier. 5 is better and only gonna get better.

And no that stiff ass, ugly game isn't better to watch either.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

SFIV made me fall in love with Street Fighter and SFV made me hate it.

 

[Lulubop]

SFIV made me fall in love with Street Fighter and SFV made me hate it.

Smh

 

[I-hate-u]

Lmao at sf4 having better art direction and animation. I'm crying, y'all really buggin. Sf4 is trash bag tier. 5 is better and only gonna get better.

And no that stiff ass, ugly game isn't better to watch either.

I like you Lululop, but nah fam.

 

[Rickenslacker]

Well

I mean fair if you don't like new designs, but you can still use a classic look.

And SF4 Ken was another gorilla man in a wig.

 

[Forward]

Sf4 is trash bag tier.

Good analogy. I guess with how bare-bones it is, that it would not be very hard to fit SF5 into SF4. You could probably fit the cat litter, and kitchen waste in there too... maybe even 3S, as well.

 

[Neonep]

SFIV made me fall in love with Street Fighter and SFV made me hate it.

You must be a young man. You missed Alpha 3 & 3rd Strike.

 

[remz]

I mean fair if you don't like new designs, but you can still use a classic look.

And SF4 Ken was another gorilla man in a wig.

always thought SF4 ken looked like a fuckin moron. for a guy who is meant to be 'cool' he sure has had it rough lately lmao

 

[Sinfamy]

I could never go back to IV, the fast paced nature of SFV is wonderful, and the graphics are as well.

 

[nachum00]

always thought SF4 ken looked like a fuckin moron. for a guy who is meant to be 'cool' he sure has had it rough lately lmao

Ken hasn't looked good since 3rd strike. Poor guy.

 

[CrackPebbles]

I liked and play both of them. Probably liked SFIV more but to be fair by the time I got into it the game had years of updates behind it so all the depth and variety had a lot of time to develop. SFV might take a while to get there, especially after the missteps with s2. but I don't hate it quite yet.

 

[Scotia]

Nah, even at its most lowest point, SFV was better than SF4 in every way for me. I've come to appreciate SF4 more recently, but if I have the option to I'll play SFV (and probably any other SF game) before I'll play SF4.

 

[Producer]

Good analogy. I guess with how bare-bones it is, that it would not be very hard to fit SF5 into SF4. You could probably fit the cat litter, and kitchen waste in there too... maybe even 3S, as well.

trying too hard my man

 

[SneakersSO]

Like, seeing people argue SF4 had better art-style than SFV is literally one of the biggest head scratches ever. You don't even have to argue the strength of SFV's artstyle - SF4 looked straight up booty.

 

[Swarna]

High-level play near the end in SF4 was all about dat precision neutral game. Whether it was because of the game design or simply because of how long and how potently all the top-players had been playing it (+ all their experience from past games carrying over) it clearly had the most developed gameplay. When you look at any other tournament footage from any other Street Fighter game in its prime, it looks like caveman shit in comparison, SF5 included. It's a game where I can remember the details, actions, and movements of specific matches and rounds to this day in extreme quantities.

To be fair, older SF games could very well have developed even better than SF4 if they had more players/more time/were active during FGC globalization but these are hypothetical heights that have not and will never occur anymore save for a properly-done SF6.

IMO SF5, as the game is designed, is never going to have that. The biggest offenders for this is probably the overall movement combined with stubby normals leading to very little micro-variation in individual plays and even overall variation across different players/characters. The movement and use of normals is both boring to watch and play.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Like, seeing people argue SF4 had better art-style than SFV is literally one of the biggest head scratches ever. You don't even have to argue the strength of SFV's artstyle - SF4 looked straight up booty.

You see all types on GAF, it's quite hilarious at times.

SF4 has one of the worst art styles and designs I've ever seen in a fighting game. That ugly Ultra meter, those terrible faces and costumes/animations, etc. Horribly ugly game all around.

 

[Forward]

trying too hard my man

Well, SOMEBODY has to. Capcom sure as heck ain't. That Darkstalkers teaser still makes me O. Dante.

 

[professor denim]

I hate V. So yeah Ultra is a better game.
Ultra 2 is better than both

 

[joe2187]

I love SFIV, such a gorgeous game

 

[Telephone Man]

IV always had awful art and music direction (which is a crying shame after III which did both amazingly well), but it's definitely more fun to play than V.

My personal issues with V (I'm casual scum BTW):
-It's too slow.
Changes like the removal of most chip damage means that people are blocking more often. And the animation recovery times are excruciatingly slow compared to other fighters.

-Can't find any character I'm comfortable with.
They're either too slow, or require super precise/awkward commands to pull off any decent combos. No Cody in V and Bison's moveset is ruined here (my mains in IV) so the closest I got to getting good with is Urien. He's still too complex (when under pressure) for my liking though.

-No multiple Super (or V-Trigger) choices.
I love it when a Street Fighter game lets you select what Super/Ultra move you want so you're not stuck with something shitty. V needs something like this yesterday.

-DLC tied to one PSN account.
You can only play the Season Pass in the PSN account bought it with. So no other accounts on the same console can use it. I have family members that use my PS4 who learnt this the hard way with the 2016 Season Pass, and we're definitely not buying the 2017 one or anything after. This frankly killed our interest in the game more than anything else.

Well, the bright side is that I've gotten into other fighters now and currently focusing on Tekken 7.

 

[mbpm1]

CTRL + F "Count"

3rd page? you slackin

 

[Sinatar]

Never understood this either or attitude the FGC takes in regards to these 2 games.

It's pretty simple, they are both bad, just like every fighting game Yoshinori Ono has been in charge of.

 

[Westlo]

It's sad that in Australia it was easier to get a game on each of the 3 systems 6 years after SFIV came out than it is to currently get a game in SFV....

Says it all really.....

I mean damn SSFIV was fucking popping on both XBL and PSN when it launched... and we had like 30+ people playing Arcade Edition at Arcades... shit was mad fun.