I love the Street Fighter series, always have, always will. But how far should you take that love? Will the thirst to own all SF game ever fail someone? That’s a question I still ask myself in regards to Street Fighter IV for the iPhone. A small, underpowered platform with no controller is the next receptacle for the Street Fighter franchise. So one must ask: are eight characters, eight stages and no online play enough to keep up the frantic, visceral pace that Street Fighter is known for? It sounds like a long shot doesn’t it? Well, read on to find out.

It’s a struggle that developers have had for decades. Can I move a large game onto something smaller without losing what makes the original so fun? In order to do this you need to compact what you have. In this case there are high-detailed sprites, low-res backgrounds with no animations. In fact, outside of the character sprites and Battle Screen there aren’t really any animations at all. Touch screen controls have replaced a conventional controller which, I won’t lie, is really funky for the first few…days. But eventually you get used to the setup and are able to actually have a degree of control over the fighters. Compensation for no buttons and loose controls are a Special Move and Focus Attack ‘button’. Also the option to touch the super/revenge gauges can replace the series of moves usually needed to perform those attacks. This helps combat a ton. Purists have the option for business as usual. The lineup includes Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Blanka, Dhalsim, Guile, Abel and M. Bison. You get a Solo play which includes Tournament, Free-Sparring, Training Room and the Dojo. Also on the Title Select screen there is a BlueTooth Versus mode and a Stat room. The option to invite a friend, buy more Capcom iPhone games and view a special SSFII movie is also included. But ultimately these are useless and only serve to flesh out the main screen.

The downside? Nothing feels right. This doesn’t really feel like Street Fighter. If this were some other game I would have been a little impressed. But this is Street Fighter we’re talking about. You can’t take away almost everything that makes a game great and expect a great game. Eight characters and stages makes for no longevity. There is one punch pad and one kick pad – that’s all (don’t get me started on that whole situation). The animations are crap, you’re ‘treated’ to the same Super Street Fighter IV trailer with every completion, which sucks. There’s no online play at all which is just weird. And the controls, no matter how long you play, can’t give you the degree of control that makes a SF battle so much fun. The fact that the A.I. is dumbed down so much is proof of this. Beating this game is like beating someone in a hospital bed – no sense of accomplishment at all. They should have just done a SSFII HD thing like on the big consoles. Oh well.

All said, buy with caution. Is this the best fighting game on the iPhone? Yes, it is. Should you buy it? For ten bucks, probably not. I feel like a moron for having paid for this. The only possible way this game would be even remotely worth it is if it’s knocked down to $4.99 and had updates that include other characters…for free. I really don’t get it. So many people are walking around calling this an accomplishment, I think it’s very close to insulting.

What do you think gamers? Too harsh or am I on the money? Let us know.