Ultra Street Fighter 4 new battle systems unveiled
Ultra Combo Double! Red Focus Attack! A poster!
Capcom has unveiled new battle systems for Ultra Street Fighter 4.
USF4 has what's called the Ultra Combo Double. In previous versions of the fighting game, before a match you can choose between your Ultra 1 and Ultra 2 combos. In Ultra, there's a third option: Ultra Combo Double, which lets you use either Ultra combo.
There's a downside, though, as designer Tomoaki Ayano explained on Capcom Unity. Pick Ultra Combo Double and your Ultra combos do less damage than normal.
"Having both Ultras available will give you new ways to press your opponent, limit their options, and expand your fighting strategies," Ayano said.
Also new is the Red Focus Attack, which absorbs multiple attacks but burns Super meter.
"Since it uses meter you'll have to put some careful thought into how you use it," Ayano said.
The Red Focus Attack has a red glow, so you can tell it apart. Like the normal Focus Attack, it can be dash cancelled.
"Our vision is that Dual Ultra Combos will give you more offensive options, while the Red Focus Attack will give you more defensive options," Ayano said.
Meanwhile, Ayano released the final poster for the arcade version of USF4. The game is due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in early 2014. It adds five characters to the established roster, raising the total playable characters to 44, six new stages and completely rebalanced gameplay based on fan feedback.
Four of the new characters have been announced, all lifted from Capcom's Street Fighter x Tekken game: Hugo, Poison, Elena and Rolento. The fifth "all-new" character remains a mystery for now.
The new arenas, which will be familiar to SFxT players, are Pitstop 109, Mad Gear Hideout, Cosmic Elevator, Blast Furnace, Half Pipe, and Jurassic Era Research Facility.
There are two ways to buy Ultra: as an £11.99 downloadable update to Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition or a £19.99 full retail or downloadable version. The latter includes all previous costume DLC released for the series, valued at £40.