VGR Street Fighter II MOVIE

Wow! I just realised most of my reviews are of Capcom games!
Anyway...

Back with a new Street Fighter review for our Marathon!
This time with one of the lesser known SF games.

But even the more experimental games may had an impact on the franchise sooner or later... even with minor details...

VGR: Street Fighter II MOVIE
From Capcom
Played on Saturn
Also available on PS1

Type FMV/Fighting game
Year 1996

What is Street Fighter II MOVIE?
Not to be confused with the game adaptation of the live action Street Fighter, SFIIMovie is part-FMV/part-fighting game and a very strange entry into Capcom's classic franchise.

SFIIMovie is mostly a gaming adaptation of the animated movie Street Fighter II.
Yeah, the one I reviewed here not long ago.

When you arrive on the menu, it doesn't change much from the usual SF games: an arcade/story mode, the versus sub-menu, options and loading. Then you think, loading what? What fight you were in arcade mode, no it can't be.. Something else??

Starting SFII Movie will launch the animated movie, yeah the whole movie. Nothing much different from watching the DVD the first couple of minutes.
Then something different, some unique scenes specially done for the game. A crazy scientist will present Bison to his new force to be reckoned with. The first of his future army, a creature, part-Bison clone, part-machine, simply called Cyborg.

Remember that other general in Bison army? Among the sub-bosses and Bison himself, Cyborg? Neither do I...

You'll follow this so-called "Cyborg" through cleverly edited scenes and newly added animations in this divergent Street Fighter 2 movie.

Then, after the "story" part of the cutscenes it will switch.
Most of the games is played through an FMV (full motion video) kind of game where you will only use 2-3 buttons.
A to check the picture, B to "flash/scan" and C to view data & info on what's on the screen.
The screen will have a computer layout/cyborg view around and over the picture (kinda like the view of a Terminator) and the non-Shadaloo parts of the movie will then play. You'll have to use your quick reflexes to flash/record characters moves, special attacks and speed&power. Just press the button and it will flash and record a technique, upgrade Cyborg's stats (divided in limbs, upper & lower body and techniques).
There's a maximum number of scans you can do per screen so don't waste the "flashes" and don't miss the important movies!

Flashing successfully (pressing the button at the correct time during the videos) willl add techniques to Cyborg (shoryuken, etc..), make him fast, stronger with better defense and offense and boost his stats.

You can also check the other character's biography and informations with the second button while they're on the screen.

 Photography a punch and you'll increase your punching-ability! Yay!..

After watching the whole animated movie and its added sequences, you'll end up in a new gameplay portion.

The final fight. Ryu vs. Cyborg!
Counting and depending on the fact that you should have a pretty good, if at least decent, Cyborg by then, it is the whole game's purpose!

The whole point of the game is, sadly, to be able to move, defend from, fight and defeat Ryu!
This part runs on a modified Super Street Fighter 2 X engine.

You can save your progress in the story at any point (it's a pretty long movie!), the stats of your cyborg and/or use a password system.
This means you can fight "your own Cyborg" against one of your friends using both passwords!
I gotta mention just that it's a very unreal long-ass password by the way!

Finally, the game is a strange mix of both a movie (if you don't own an actual release of the movie), a strange FMV/Quick time event game and a sub-par SSF2X (you can only use Cyborg!).

Overall, it's...quite an odd experience!
The only "Interactive movie" from Capcom! (as described on the box with the classic japanese Capcom-labels)

As a collector item, it's pretty nice and original since it is not very well known from mainstream gamers.
But as a gaming experience it is... odd.

The ability to use Ryu, Ken or anyother would have been nice!
The movie comes out in a very nice quality (at least on the Sega Saturn). But is the movie only a reason enough to get this?!
Fighting Cyborgs between friends can be fun..for a while. The "flashing at the right moment during techniques" is very easy during the FMV sequences.
It's not a super-useless game, I did learn from it that Ryu was born on July 21 1964 from this game!

...

Oh and this game introduced an on-going plot aspect that did influence the franchise much later.
Bison is attempting to build an army, cyborgs/clones of himself. As replacements body, "in case of".
Yeah, Cyborg was officially made canon thanks to Street Fighter IV. Seth, SF4's main boss, is actually a later well done model from the same series. Cyborg is the inspiration/base for Seth!

Anyway, give it a try, maybe, if you really want to and are interested in this weird entry... Not quite a "give it a try" and not quite "a bad game" due to its strange connexion to SF4.

I give it:

 1.5 / 3 BonusKun!