Is Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition What Street Fighter V Should Have Been at Launch?

Street Fighter V didn’t have the smoothest of launches when it arrived on the PS4 and Windows PC in 2016. From needing you to be online to play, to barebones content, and even flaky net code that made it painful to play multiplayer, it was far from perfect.

Fast forward to 2018 and Capcom has returned with Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. It brings new game modes, characters, overhauled gameplay mechanics, and a sleek UI to name a few additions. If you own Street Fighter V, it’s a free update. But should you bother with Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition? We tell you.

What is Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition?
Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is the first major update to Street Fighter V that gives you all existing characters along with 12 fighters that were added to the game as downloadable content, new modes such as Extra Battle Mode, and a revamped UI.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Arcade mode explained
If the name didn’t give it away, Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition features Arcade mode. It’s an oft requested feature that finally made its way into this release. Here, you can choose from six paths to play from and you’re limited to characters from distinctive eras of the Street Fighter lore ranging from the very first game all the way to Street Fighter V and even some bits from the Street Fighter Alpha series that serves as a bridge between the original Street Fighter and Street Fighter II.

It’s a nostalgia-fuelled romp with characters dressed up in costumes resembling their original get ups when these games first hit. There’s remixes of classic tracks, bonus levels that have you breaking barrels (as you would in past Street Fighter games), and secret boss fights. Completing Arcade mode with a specific character unlocks artwork that describes what happened to them in the game, giving you a narrative incentive to play through Arcade mode with every character. And while it plays just like Street Fighter normally does, it’s presented well enough to make us come back for more.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition Team Battle and Extra Battle
Team Battle allows for five players to square off against five others in one versus one combat. Here, a host of rules such as winning by beating every player or the amount of health restored on each round can be tweaked. Extra Battle, on the other hand, makes use of the in-game currency earned by playing the game to give you a chance to win special costumes such as Captain Commando and Viewtiful Joe. Much like Arcade mode, it gives diehard fans a reason to come back, but it’s not perfect because Capcom has changed how in-game currency is earned in Street Fighter V.

How to earn Fight Money in Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
Street Fighter V’s in-game currency, known as Fight Money, has received some changes. Previously, you could earn Fight Money by completing Story, Survival, or Trial modes. Now, you earn Fight Money each time you level up a character. According to Capcom, if you play through the each Character Story, you’ll have 200,000 Fight Money. With each Extra Battle event requiring a total of 10,000 Fight Money to earn a costume, it could end up being a time-consuming effort - or perhaps provide Capcom an avenue to charge for Fight Money. Nonetheless, at the moment it seems fair due to the fact that you earn Fight Money per Extra Battle too.

Do you need to be online to play Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition?
Thankfully, you don’t have to be connected to the Internet to experience the bulk of Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Story, Trials, Arcade, and Survival mode as well as versus (against a second person on the same PS4 or PC) are playable offline. However you won’t gain any Fight Money while offline.

Is Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition playable online?
Gone are the teething issues that plagued the game at launch. In its place is a relatively smooth game that ensures you’re never waiting too long to play against someone across the globe. With responsive controls and fast matchmaking, it’s what Street Fighter V should have been at launch.

Should you buy Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition?
If you already own Street Fighter V and you haven’t played it for awhile, this is a good time to come back - without having to spend any money either. Thanks to the myriad of fixes and additional game modes, there’s more than a reason to give Capcom’s fighting game a go. And if you’re new to the series, this is a good starting point thanks to it’s many tweaks and changes since 2016.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition is available now for $40 in the US. In India it's available for Rs. 2,450 on Steam and Rs. 2,750 on the PS Store for the PS4.

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