Street Fighter Anniversary Collection coming to Xbox Live

Xbox owners fond of 2D fighting games got a one-two punch of good news today. First, Capcom announced that it is bringing the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection to the Microsoft console. Second, the publisher revealed the game would be the first Street Fighter title to be Xbox Live-enabled, allowing arcade-style match-ups online.

Created to celebrate the franchise's 15 years and 27 million copies on the market, the collection will contain both Hyper Street Fighter II and a port of the Street Fighter III: Third Strike, which previously appeared in arcades and on the Sega Dreamcast console.

Ironically, Hyper Street Fighter II is itself a compilation--of sorts. Released in Japan in December, the game takes all the characters from arcade classics Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Champion Edition, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers, and Super Street Fighter II Turbo and combines them into a single title. Players can mix and match the characters in three different modes: single-player arcade, two-player versus, and training, which lets players perfect their skills against programmable opponents.

The game also includes a gallery mode, which provides access to character intros and backgrounds, soundtrack selections, and images from the Street Fighter II series. While the Japanese release of Hyper Street Fighter II also contained the Street Fighter anime movie, Capcom reps said the film would not be included in either this Street Fighter Anniversary Collection or the PlayStation 2 version.

Released in arcades in 1999, Street Fighter III: Third Strike features nearly 20 characters, including karate sensei Makoto and famed martial arts master Chun Li. Besides offering the same three modes as Hyper Street Fighter II, the Xbox port retains Third Strike's gameplay systems. Its Grade Judge System scores players' techniques at the end of each match, while its Progressive Hit Frame System provides for more-realistic fighting.