Did anyone here ever play the old Streetfighter: the Storytelling Game published by White Wolf about 1994 or so? Ever since I got the 4E core books, I've had the feeling that I've seen something similar before. This week, it occurred to me that the Streetfighter STG had alot of stuff in it that turned out to be eerily similar to 4E. Not necessarily in terms of game mechanics (although there are some similarities there too), but more in terms of presentation and setup of the material.
Please note: I'm not trying to insinuate that Streetfighter is a better RPG or start an edition war or anything like that. Please don't take it that way. I'm just interested in this idea and would like to see some other perspectives. Please discuss.
Consider the following:
• Streetfighter maneuvers usually didn't just cause damage. You had a few basic maneuvers that caused damage (like basic attacks in 4E), but your special maneuvers caused damage and included a rider effect (like exploits/spells/whatever in 4E).
Examples: foot sweep from Streetfighter lets you make a kick attack and cause a knockdown. 4E's fighter has a spinning sweep, which causes damage and knocks the target prone. Double-hit kick from Streetfighter lets you make two kick attacks against a single target. The 4E ranger has a two-fanged strike that allows two melee or ranged attacks. Inferno strike from Streetfighter is like a basic fireball except that it also causes damage to creatures in adjacent hexes. Fiery bolt for the 4E warlock causes fire damage to the target and creatures in adjacent squares.
Suffice to say that there are many more examples, but I believe that the point has been made.
• In Streetfighter, you have power cards that you fill out and play during combat. While not strictly necessary to play, power cards for 4E characters are common and there's even a scheduled product.
• Streetfighter's adventures included pre-printed maps for key scenes. 4E's adventures include pre-printed maps for key scenes.
• Streetfighter's antagonists come in several different "flavors" so that they can be viable challenges across a character's career. You might fight thugs or beat cops early on, but you might also face gang leaders or SWAT teams as a tougher challenge. As you progress in experience, tougher enemies gravitate toward you. 4E has a spectrum of the same monsters across a range of levels so you can fight lower-ranking challenges and work your way up the food chain.
Please note: I'm not trying to insinuate that Streetfighter is a better RPG or start an edition war or anything like that. Please don't take it that way. I'm just interested in this idea and would like to see some other perspectives. Please discuss.
Consider the following:
• Streetfighter maneuvers usually didn't just cause damage. You had a few basic maneuvers that caused damage (like basic attacks in 4E), but your special maneuvers caused damage and included a rider effect (like exploits/spells/whatever in 4E).
Examples: foot sweep from Streetfighter lets you make a kick attack and cause a knockdown. 4E's fighter has a spinning sweep, which causes damage and knocks the target prone. Double-hit kick from Streetfighter lets you make two kick attacks against a single target. The 4E ranger has a two-fanged strike that allows two melee or ranged attacks. Inferno strike from Streetfighter is like a basic fireball except that it also causes damage to creatures in adjacent hexes. Fiery bolt for the 4E warlock causes fire damage to the target and creatures in adjacent squares.
Suffice to say that there are many more examples, but I believe that the point has been made.
• In Streetfighter, you have power cards that you fill out and play during combat. While not strictly necessary to play, power cards for 4E characters are common and there's even a scheduled product.
• Streetfighter's adventures included pre-printed maps for key scenes. 4E's adventures include pre-printed maps for key scenes.
• Streetfighter's antagonists come in several different "flavors" so that they can be viable challenges across a character's career. You might fight thugs or beat cops early on, but you might also face gang leaders or SWAT teams as a tougher challenge. As you progress in experience, tougher enemies gravitate toward you. 4E has a spectrum of the same monsters across a range of levels so you can fight lower-ranking challenges and work your way up the food chain.
