Metacritic Games

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection (Xbox)

Bringing together an all encompassing fighting title, this collection is comprised of "Hyper Street Fighter II," a blend of the previous Street Fighter II editions which will incorporate the character variations and features found throughout the series, and the arcadesmash hit "Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike." Rather than simply including conversions of the five entries in the series: 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, "Hyper Street Fighter II" lets you mix and match characters from the different versions for a plethora of different match-ups and replayability. "Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike" offers a total of 19 different playable characters, each with their own special ability including Makoto, a Karate expert from Japan; Q, a mysterious entity with no explanation of his existence; Twelve, a humanoid weapon developed to follow orders and destroy upon command; and Remy, a Frenchman who is seeking to ease his grief through revenge. Chun Li, the famous martial arts expert, is selectable at the beginning. [Capcom]

Capcom Entertainment
Fighting, Action, Compilation
Players: 2
T (Teen)
Developer: Capcom Production Studio 2
Released February 22, 2005

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

79 / 100

Critic Reviews

92 Inside Gamer Online
In the Xbox version of the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, you're getting one of the greatest games of all time, a definitive iteration of a true classic, online play for both, a great anime movie, and several other bonuses.
90 GameSpy
A great compilation of two fantastic games made even better with online multiplayer. Toss in a bargain price tag and fighting fans get one heck of a deal.
90 VGPub
A dream come true for fighting game fans. If you were raised on this series, you’ll be in Heaven, as pretty much anything you could ever want is here, and done well.
90 NTSC-uk
A game whose essence is defined by the two player mode is now made essential by the perennially available multiplayer options. Join the revolution - this is what online gaming was made for.
89 Official Xbox Magazine
Not only definitive but also indispensible... Newer fighting games might be bloodier, flashier, or sexier, but Street Fighter Anniversary Collection offers purity and impeccable gameplay. [March 2005, p.80]
88 Team Xbox
The ability to play versus, mix-matched style with characters from various coin-ops is a great twist to a classic compilation, and the chance to do all of this online makes the pie that much sweeter.
85 PALGN
Arcade perfect. The ports are very clean and faithful to the originals. No sign of pixelazation here.
85 Xbox World Australia
The animation in particularly looks very stilted, yet it remains an important milestone in gaming history for us oldies to croon over.
85 Electronic Gaming Monthly
The Xbox pad isn't the best for street fighting, but the online play was flawless during our testing. [March 2005, p.126]
84 My Gamer
It would have made more sense to the fans if Capcom had chosen to include full, and separate versions of all the games whose elements are included here, and the absence of the original Street Fighter, or any of the Alpha series are sore omissions.
83 GameZone
With so many hardcore dedicated Street Fighter fans out there, you will be in for the shock of your life when you decide to try your skills online.
83 Talk Xbox
If you’re a fan of the Street Fighter series or 2D fighters in general, then this is a must-have.
82 IGN
It's pretty damn fun to play Street Fighter online, to be honest. With the dearth of the arcades these days, online has taken its place to a certain extent, and this version one-ups the PS2 version with a solid Xbox Live component.
82 GameSpot
The good news is that these fighting games--true to their classic roots--have aged gracefully. And, finally, you can play them online.
80 GameBiz
SFAC plays as solidly as ever, the same tight controls, decent mix of well balanced and nutty characters.
80 Game Power Australia
The brilliant "Street Fighter III: Third Strike" is worth the price of admission, and online play is one very big cherry.
80 3DAvenue
The online play is an excellent addition to the already superb franchise and really anyone looking for a decent online fighting game, needs to check this game out.
80 MS Xbox World
If you are looking for a slice of fighting game history then you won’t find a better package than this one.
80 GamerFeed
I think the package could have benefitted from the inclusion of the Street Fighter Alpha games, but that's more than made up for with the Xbox Live play and the extras.
80 Kombo
The Xbox controller is not the best for fighting games mainly due to the pesky black and white buttons, but after some practice the controls can become second nature.
80 eToychest
The best version of Street Fighter available, and the ability to play it online further justifies the purchase.
75 Gaming Age
It's old school for some of us, but regardless of how old these games are, the action is as engaging and challenging as anything.
75 Gaming Target
Although I’m upset there weren’t too many extras or more games in the collection, there is no disputing that the two titles here are still incredible brawlers.
75 Play Magazine
I really am looking forward to playing friends who have moved across country, recapturing the good old days. [Jan 2005, p.69]
71 TotalGames.net
If you love old-skool challenges and want to test your SF skills against the world's best, then this is the perfect collection. If only it came with a stained cigarette holder to clip onto the Xbox the retro feel will be complete.
70 RewiredMind
If you've played and enjoyed other fighting games on the Xbox or any other platform for that matter, but you've never played "Third Strike" then this is well worth a try. The fact that you also get "Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition" and the Street Fighter II animated movie thrown in as part of the deal is purely a bonus.
70 Gamestyle
The same old Street Fighter - which is fine for lovers of the series, but the haters won't soon be impressed. Still, it's a nice enough celebration of Street Fighter, but we do wonder how many times Capcom can recycle the same game again and again.
70 GamerArchive
If Capcom wanted to create a real anniversary package, they should have put in Street Fighter Alpha 1, 2, 3, as well as these two games, to give the full chronology of the 2D masterpiece. Instead, this is a pricey, if undeniably fun stab at nostalgia.
70 XboxAddict
While this is a terrific game for fans of the series, I feel that there is one glaring omission: where is the original Street Fighter game?
68 Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
Great value and a slice of gaming history, but it's still a shame they couldn't have put some more stuff together. [GamesMaster]
60 AceGamez
I know for a fact it would make a good pressie for my dad, but do you really want your folks hogging your Xbox?!
50 EuroGamer
In a way, by selling this series on history alone, Capcom is killing its chance of having a future.
50 Computer and Video Games
Catching up with Chun Li and chums is fine and the replay value is bolstered by the chance to play all the character variations but it's one strictly for nostaligia buffs. [Official UK Xbox Magazine]