Should I play Street Fighter EX2 Plus?
Yes! EX2 Plus is a remarkably complex game with lots to like.
With the exception of Honda, EX2+ features all the World Warriors and three of four Shadaloo Bosses. Returning characters have expanded movesets, new Supers, and tremendous combo variety. If you aren't coming from Street Fighter, you can still find your function in one of the game's original characters.
"Akira Who?"
Founded in 1995 by former Capcom employees, Arika is a Japanese game developer and publisher. Lots of talent from Capcom's golden age ended up working under Arika, including the creator of Street Fighter II, Akira Nishitani.
EX2 features Capcom alumns from X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, and Street Fighter Alpha 2. Multiple Namco composers worked on the music.
Who are all these weirdos?
The Street Fighter EX series has always featured strange original characters. Arika characters are often more outlandish than their Capcom counterparts. EX2+ has a bit of an Arika bias in its Tier List, but being weird isn't entirely a measure of strength.
Among the newcomers, we have:
- Doctrine Dark, a former soldier gone insane from an encounter with Mad Gear's Rolento. D. Dark tosses bombs, chokes his foes with wire, and steals games with devastating setplay.
- Area, a rollerblading inventor with appropriate walkspeed, a robotic arm, and deadly mixups.
- Sharon, a Secret Agent with a Glock.
EX2+ rivals anime games in character variety. It's rare for anybody on the roster not to have some crazy tech attached to them (Dhalsim's Off Axis Jank, Rosso's Infinites), and new stuff is being discovered all the time. Lab Monsters eat good in this game.
How do I approach Street Fighter EX2 Plus?
EX2+ is essentially a spicier version of Street Fighter Alpha 2. Fundamental SF skills still apply, with an Arika flair thrown in to keep things fresh. Despite ripping features wholesale from the Alpha games (Ken's Commando Roll, for example), some abilities never made an appearance in the series.
Notable omissions include:
- Air Blocking - Anti Airs are brutal. A typical Ryu sequence can take 35% life from one bad jump.
- Ground Teching and Delayed Wakeups - Oki is insane. EX2+ doesn't quite approach SFIV levels of Vortex, but a good knockdown still invites juicy setups.
- Guard Cancels - We get out of pressure the hard way: Mashing.
To compensate, EX games have their own unique mechanics:
- EXCEL - A Custom Combo standin with new rules; Tremendously freeing. EX2 would be a worse game without it.
- Guard Breaks - Spend a bar to instantly stun an opponent. EX2 has no "random" stun. Cancel Break from blocked Super Moves!
- Super Cancels - EX2+ gives out a lot of meter, and you're going to be using it. On hit or block, you can cancel Super Combos into each other. A three bar jump in can practically kill.
Playing good EX2 Plus is playing good Street Fighter:
"Don't jump. Play footsies."
There's a lot going on in EX2+, but it doesn't stray too far from tradition. A la Street Fighter II, normals are good and frame data is cursory. You can get very far with a pokes and anti airs.
EX2+ comes from an era in fighting game design where move properties weren't as distinct. Nearly everything is cancelable, advantage on block can be huge, and high pushback keeps pressure from being endless. Having released a month after Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, EX2+ feels older than it is.
Of note:
Street Fighter EX2's new mechanics put a twist on the Rock, Paper, Scissors structure of traditional fighters.
- Multiple Option Selects nerf throws.
- Guard/Cancel Breaks reward a full combo on hit.
- EXCEL serves as a low cost option to blow through strikes.
It isn't that everything is "worse" in EX2, there's just more to track. Downbacking in this game will get you killed.
Neutral
A three bar punish in Street Fighter EX2 Plus deals upwards of 75%. Everything is a hard knockdown, and at any time players can spend a bar of meter to land an unblockable starter or become totally invincible. So no neutral, right?
In many ways, EX2 "fixes" the meter system present in Street Fighter Alpha 3. For the uninitiated, A3 is a very explosive game- V-Ism notwithstanding. By default, matches start with full meter for both players.