PixlBit

A very difficult, cute, and addictive puzzle game that any Street Fighter fan would enjoy

SPF2T is a puzzle game developed and published by Capcom in 1996 for too many systems to name (I played the Playstation version). If you couldn't tell, the title is a play on "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" for SNES. No, there was never a Super Puzzle Fighter Turbo game, just this one. Also, don't confuse this game with Super Gem Fighters, which is a fighting game with deformed Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters. This game here is a full puzzle game, and one of the best SF spin-off games around.

The game stars 8 cute deformed characters from two of Capcom's best series: Street Fighter and Darkstalkers. From SF, there's Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Sakura (seriously, no Cammy?). From Darkstalkers, there's Morrigan, Hsien-Ko, Donovan, and Felicia. Akuma can be unlocked as a character, and apparently a few others, but he's the only one I noticed. (Note: can someone tell me about Darkstalkers? Is it pretty distinct from SF, or does it feel similar? Please let me know if you have experience, 'cause I have no clue)

What does the game offer? Arcade Mode is where you fight all eight characters (but sadly, there's no story or anything like that, you just do puzzle battles). Street Puzzle Mode allows you to select a character, then choose one of six items to get by doing puzzle battles; these items include character colors, music, and voice samples. Versus Mode is the two player mode (duh). Goodies allows you to look at the things you've unlocked. Finally, Training Demo shows you how to play the game.

The Training Demo is presented by Dan Hibiki (who made his first appearance in Street Fighter Alpha), and he explains everything nicely, but the text moves way too fast. Learning the basics can be difficult when you're struggling to get in all the words and look at how it works on the left-side of the screen. Another downer is the fact that the game does not save automatically or even prompt you to save after you've accomplished something. Instead you have to go to Backup on the main menu and choose "Save Game." Not a huge gripe, but I completely forgot to save the first time I played because I didn't think about it!

So what about the puzzle aspect of this game? It's awesome! Here's how it works: your goal is to match gems of the same color (blue, red, green, and yellow). Two gems come from the top of the screen at once; you can move them around to fall in any way you see fit. You can also see the next puzzle piece, which is very helpful. Gems of four or more in a square will meld together to form a "super gem" (which is simply a bigger version of a gem). This super gem can increase in size as much as possible by adding to the side or top of the gem. The garbage in the game is given to the opponent in the form of blocks with timers; these are called counter gems. A certain number of moves must be performed before these counter gems turn into normal gems and can be of use. So how do you get rid of gems? Do you match four or more and they disappear? Not even close! The only way to clear gems is by using crash gems of the same color. The larger amount you clear, the larger amount of counter gems you can give to your opponent. Seriously, we're talking about walls of counter gems!

Did I mention the difficulty of this cute game? INSANE!!! The Arcade Mode isn't too difficult, but the Street Puzzle Mode offers true challenges. I was only able to beat a few of them, and believe me, I tried! The computer moves with lightning speed, throwing down gems on both sides, and somehow unleashing devastating attacks on you. The problem here is, you depend on crash gems in order to survive, and if you don't get those for awhile, you're toast. The game involves skill, but some luck is also required. Even when I thought I was doing good, out of nowhere counter gems would pile onto my side with great force, and my butt would be handed to me on a silver platter again! And of course, there's no "retry" button; instead you have to go back to the menu and choose the exact same one if you're determined to beat it. What's up with that?

It's neat to see the deformed characters fight in the middle of the screen, but you won't have much time to enjoy it since your eyes are glued on the gems. Characters will perform their usual moves, such as Ryu's hyduken, and Chun-Li's fast kicks. Finishing moves are also cool, although I didn't enjoy seeing my character get the short end of the stick. I don't know about the other versions, but if you're playing the Playstation version, be prepared for some tough opponents.

I have to mention the music; it's awesome! The themes are remixed versions of the SF and DS themes, and they are done very well. They never become annoying, but enhance the overall enjoyment of the puzzle matches. The music is so good that I actually wanted to unlock the different themes from Street Puzzle Mode and listen to them in the sound test (yes, this game has a sound test).

Final Verdict--4 Stars: Recommended

What can I say? If you like puzzle games, get this one! It's available for. . . a bunch of systems. Believe me, everyone should be able to find it on a convenient system they own. If you like puzzle games that are fun, addicting, and challenging, this game is for you. If you like Street Fighter and Darkstalkers, check this game out as well. Finally, if you like really cute deformed characters. . . what's your problem, dude? No, what I meant to say was, check out this game (I mean, c'mon, Ryu has never looked so adorable).

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.