Some dissension among the ranks over at Capcom. David Sirlin, the designer behind Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, had some not so nice things to say about Street Fighter IV. Mainly, the game is overly complex and difficult.

Qcf x 2 +PPP all the time, extra button presses to throw, extra button presses to roman cancel, and many, many extremely difficult link combos work in concert to create that impenetrable wall of execution between you and the actual game (the interaction between you and your opponent). I wish we could get rid of all this stuff and focus more on the gameplay itself.

I can’t say I disagree completely. Some of the Ultra Combo button presses are a bit tough for first time and casual fighting game fans. The difficulty issue is definitely a real one, as getting through on Medium is a chore for even some seasoned fighting game veterans.

Sirlin goes on to criticize having to spend a lot of ton in single player unlocking all the characters.

I’m fully aware that casual players love unlocks, and that’s why non-essential content like costumes, movies, icons, and titles are all perfectly fine to give as rewards for playing 1p content. But the *characters*? This steps on the toes of those wanting to play the multiplayer game by making our first experience with the game a very boring one.

What do you think? Our full review is coming in the next couple days, so you’ll get to hear exactly what we think of the game.