Familiar name, completely different premise

There are games that come out of nowhere. There are games that are so far on the difficult side, that when you manage to persevere you feel as if you discovered a cure for cancer. Street Fighter 2010 is both. I never heard of it until I happened upon it at Wal-Mart and when I managed to navigate through its crushing difficulty, I felt as if I was the kid from the movie The Wizard (only cooler, like that Lucas guy with the Power Glove). If you have no idea what I am talking about, consider yourself cooler than I ever was.

Just to get this out of the way, but I feel it needs to be mentioned. Despite having the names Street Fighter and Final Fight, both produced by Capcom who made SF 2010, this game has nothing to do with either game. It isn’t even close. SF and FF are gritty, urban martial art games. SF 2010 is a sci-fi space opera. The only connection is the titles and the main character is named Ken. Sounds pretty tacked on to get some name cred for a game most would never hear about.

SF 2010 is a visually stunning for an NES game. Capcom had a solid reputation for putting out good looking games and even their unknowns looked good. There are a variety of worlds from a futuristic NYC like city, to some kind of alien forest. All are nicely detailed. The music definitely fits the motif of SF 2010. It is adrenaline pumping, but also kind of dramatic. The sound effects are also top notch. The sound of the portals and the sound you make when you die are really quite cool.

SF 2010 is not for the casual player who thinks they can just pop this game in and expect to get 30 minutes of enjoyment. Instead, they will most likely get frustrated and vow never to play SF 2010 again. I wouldn’t blame them. The game has got some tough controls to get used to. Your weapon starts off with extremely short range and the enemies don’t exactly sit there waiting for you to destroy them. Being fully powered up helps, but getting hit, which you will many times, strips your powers away. It is kind of like playing Gradius with all weapons maxed out and you are cleaning up. Then you get hit by some stray bullet and you are back to the puny weapon you started out with. Now you are getting your butt kicked and having a hard time powering back up. To put it simply, it’s frustrating and sucks.

SF 2010 has an unorthodox approach to level design. Some levels consist of a single screen and others scroll automatically. They aren’t extremely long levels, but some consist of hazards that can make quick work of you. The stiff controls work against you as you try to get through each level. Once you get the hang of the controls, it is still a battle till the end.

I don’t know how I managed to beat this game. I think the combination of youthful ignorance, a sparse game library, and too much time on my hands contributed to my eventual conquering of SF 2010. I even managed to impress my first girlfriend with this game since she had it somehow. Talk about your crazy coincidences. But, I digress. SF 2010 isn’t for the casual player or one that is easily frustrated. If you like obscure and different NES games, I would recommend SF 2010. Just because it is hard doesn’t mean it is a bad game.

A mesmerizing classic for the Nintendo Entertainment System!

Maybe I am being a little biased in saying this game is one of the BEST titles to grace the original Nintendo Entertainment System. I had rented this game MANY times as a kid at the local video store. But all reviews carry some bias, right? I loved this game growing up in the 1990's and still believe it is a great title!

First, the level design for an NES game is pretty amazing. Multiple colors fill the screen with unique stand still and moving stages with environments that captivate the mind. Ken travels to different planets fighting bosses with his fist (gun) and two other power ups that are hidden within certain levels. Each level has a single objective, kill the boss and find the portal before time runs out!

Although this game completely strays from the Street Fighter giant that Capcom has created, this title is worthy to stand on its own. I can understand how it can be a challenge to people because it can become difficult at times. The newer gamer generation would likely get frustrated fast with this one but it will forever remain a classic for myself.

A Classic If You Ignore The Title

Lets get straight to the point: The controls are unrefined, the challenges can be repetitive, and the game has NOTHING to do with Street Fighter aside from the main character having the same name as the famous character in Street Fighter games. This is not a Street Fighter. It's an action-platformer that is essentially asking You to assassinate a series of enemies or foes.

The game is fun, however, because it has that right amount of challenge as well as unlimited continues. Losing lives or continues have no real consequence aside from starting over the level you died on. So if you can get over the crummy controls and uncommon repetition then it's a very enjoyable game. The final level is incredibly cruel, though. Give it a try and good luck.

Underrated challenge

This game is one of those undiscovered great. For beginners it can be very hard to beat the first 3 levels. After learning the mechanics of the game and how the enemies and powerups work, it's still a big challenge. Capcom developers originally tried to link the storyline to the original street fighter arcade game by naming the character Ken and mentioning tournaments in the storyline before the first level. The Japanese version was not as reluctant to follow that connection. This is a great game and should be seen as one of the original classics.

This game isn't all that

Although I am not a fan of "Fighter" games my nephews are. Basing this on their experience with this game, they said it wasn't much fun, actually quite boring. I however gave it a below average instead of a poor, giving it a benefit of a doubt.