HD SD Puzzle-y Fighting
Super Puzzle Fighter is coming to your PS3. In HD. Need we say more? Kay, how about some hands-on impressions?
Published: April 13, 2007
The single fastest way to lose any hardcore cred you ever had with someone is to admit that you haven't played Super Puzzle Fighter in any form. No, scratch that, even faster is to try to play someone who has while a couple of heckling chumps you thought were friends jeer in your ear. Needless to say, it isn't pretty...
Actually, no, scratch that. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is pretty. It also has one of the longest names ever slapped on a downloadable game running in 1080p with fancy all-new graphics and effects (right up there with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, but SPF wins on account of puzzle having more letters y'see). We should probably note that only the backgrounds, gems, effects and interface are scaled to 1080p, the actually battling sprites are still their lovably low-res selves, though you can play the whole game at the scaled-down resolution if you'd like.
So what is Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beyond a game that becomes more fun to say it like the Micro Machines Man every time you try? Simply put, it's a puzzle game where your combos and actions are represented by a handful of moves from super-deformed (think big head, little body) versions of your favorite Darkstalkers and Street Fighter (among others). Each character actually has different gem combinations, so it pays to learn how to rack up huge combos to throw to the opponent's side, but at their Spring Gamer's Day event, Capcom was keen to point out that they actually rebalanced the characters to make everyone a little more even.
That's not the only change. Three distinct gameplay types are now available; X-Mode is a straight arcade port - no fussing with what works, Y-Mode plays a little more like Bejeweled where three or more same-colored gems will dissolve instantly on contact rather than waiting for a detonator gem, while Z-Mode has gems bumping up from the bottom rather than falling from the top and a 2x2 cursor actually rotates the set gems to create combos. It should be noted that X-Mode can still be played in the original "lopsided" version for purists or with the new balancing.
Being an online game, though, the real draw here is going to be in competing against other folks. Taking a page from their experience with Street Fighter II on Xbox Live Arcade, a Quarter Mode will let you spectate until your turn comes up to play unranked games. For the hardcore, leaderboards and worldwide rankings will be implemented, which will of course require ranked TrueSkill matchmaking wins.
We've gotta give props to Udon, the famed comic book art team that have been busting out absolutely gorgeous Street Fighter comics for a few years now; the backgrounds they redid look absolutely gorgeous, as do all the HUD and animations that were redone in 1080p. Seeing the original-res sprites stretched with a blur filter gives the game that uprezzed Dreamcast-on-a-VGA-adaptor look, but it does clash a little with the rest of the game. Sadly, unlike Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Udon isn't going to go all out and super-size the sprites.
Of course, these are minor gripes, and the game isn't done yet (it won't be until closer to Summer when it hits the PlayStation Store), though at this point it's hard to know what else needs adding. A little slowdown during big chains crept in, but again, we're not gonna knock a game that's still a work in progress. In all, it was exactly what Puzzle Fighter freaks are looking for: online play, leaderboards, the fact that it's downloadable (and thus, we hope, rather cheap), and it's coming to the PS3. No, we can't freakin' wait either.
Actually, no, scratch that. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is pretty. It also has one of the longest names ever slapped on a downloadable game running in 1080p with fancy all-new graphics and effects (right up there with Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, but SPF wins on account of puzzle having more letters y'see). We should probably note that only the backgrounds, gems, effects and interface are scaled to 1080p, the actually battling sprites are still their lovably low-res selves, though you can play the whole game at the scaled-down resolution if you'd like.
So what is Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix beyond a game that becomes more fun to say it like the Micro Machines Man every time you try? Simply put, it's a puzzle game where your combos and actions are represented by a handful of moves from super-deformed (think big head, little body) versions of your favorite Darkstalkers and Street Fighter (among others). Each character actually has different gem combinations, so it pays to learn how to rack up huge combos to throw to the opponent's side, but at their Spring Gamer's Day event, Capcom was keen to point out that they actually rebalanced the characters to make everyone a little more even.
That's not the only change. Three distinct gameplay types are now available; X-Mode is a straight arcade port - no fussing with what works, Y-Mode plays a little more like Bejeweled where three or more same-colored gems will dissolve instantly on contact rather than waiting for a detonator gem, while Z-Mode has gems bumping up from the bottom rather than falling from the top and a 2x2 cursor actually rotates the set gems to create combos. It should be noted that X-Mode can still be played in the original "lopsided" version for purists or with the new balancing.
Being an online game, though, the real draw here is going to be in competing against other folks. Taking a page from their experience with Street Fighter II on Xbox Live Arcade, a Quarter Mode will let you spectate until your turn comes up to play unranked games. For the hardcore, leaderboards and worldwide rankings will be implemented, which will of course require ranked TrueSkill matchmaking wins.
We've gotta give props to Udon, the famed comic book art team that have been busting out absolutely gorgeous Street Fighter comics for a few years now; the backgrounds they redid look absolutely gorgeous, as do all the HUD and animations that were redone in 1080p. Seeing the original-res sprites stretched with a blur filter gives the game that uprezzed Dreamcast-on-a-VGA-adaptor look, but it does clash a little with the rest of the game. Sadly, unlike Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Udon isn't going to go all out and super-size the sprites.
Of course, these are minor gripes, and the game isn't done yet (it won't be until closer to Summer when it hits the PlayStation Store), though at this point it's hard to know what else needs adding. A little slowdown during big chains crept in, but again, we're not gonna knock a game that's still a work in progress. In all, it was exactly what Puzzle Fighter freaks are looking for: online play, leaderboards, the fact that it's downloadable (and thus, we hope, rather cheap), and it's coming to the PS3. No, we can't freakin' wait either.