You're going to want to play Street Fighter IV. Duh, right? It's a hugely anticipated game, the latest in a beloved series, and it's shaping up to be really, amazingly, satisfyingly good. The thing is, we've spent several hours with the game at this point and we can honestly say you're going to want to spend a lot of time just watching it too. There's a level of artistry here that's all too rare in today's games, and many of its most subtle details will be lost on you if you're constantly struggling to avoid a massive shoryuken to the face.
As evidence, we hereby submit this list of a dozen superficial things we noticed as we watched Street Fighter IV being played. None of this affects gameplay in any way - it's all just nice graphical and design touches - but it's cool stuff anyhow. We got most of it on video, but it's sometimes hard to see so we hope you'll keep an eye out for it once you get your hands on the final game.
The embroidery on Ryu's belt
Since concept art for Street Fighter II first surfaced, we've known Ryu's belt had kanji on it. But now you can see it right there in the game, and it's gorgeous. According to Wikipedia, the kanji represent four elements and are known collectively as the fuurinkazan - it's the motto of a Japanese warlord and was inspired by a chapter in Sun Tzu's book, Art of War. It means "Swift as the Wind, Silent as a Forest, Fierce as Fire and Immovable as a Mountain." Which definitely sounds like a tough battle plan to beat, even without the "and also shoot sizzling, flesh-searing globes of plasma from your hands" part.
Chun-Li's hand animation
We'll admit we're not in love with Chun-Li's character design. We can handle her tree-trunk thighs - they're huge, but at least they're still lady-shaped - but those giant, lumberjack arms are another concern entirely. That said, the way her abnormally massive meathooks gyrate and wave when she's in her "ready" stance is simply hypnotizing. It's pure grace, right up until the moment you realize she's really doing it to distract you so she can bury her foot ankle-deep into your esophagus.
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