Oh my- so, it seems even when we feel that Capcom could sink no lower, when we imagine that they would never re-re-re-release another Street Fighter game, when our wallets were already hurting enough from pouring dollars into their more awful games (Street Fighter X Tekken), they slam into our chin with another dragon punch and ride that gravy train straight into the heavens.

Yes, my friends… that analogy was posted in result of the recent announcement for the Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Collector’s Set. Street fighter is twenty five years old, really? I thought it was much older than me, but it seems I can look up to it as a big brother instead of an uncle. Anyway, here comes a new challenger.

So, what could they possibly make us buy this time? Well, surely not a new Megaman game like they should be releasing. In this set, fans will receive complete and current gen playable versions of Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition, Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (Complete with all downloadable costumes), and Street Fighter X Tekken (complete with all downloadable costumes, including the swapped outfits). In addition to the games, there will be eleven discs worth of sound tracks from the previous games as well as remixes of some of your favorite tracks (Guile theme anybody?). 64 Pages of art in a hardcover book that includes tribute art and the like. There’s also going to be two disc/blu-ray video set with the anime and other exclusive video included. A light-up statue of Ryu performing a rather exuberant Shoryuken will also package with the game. In addition to that there will also be a replica of Ryu’s black belt, complete with his classic “Fūrinkazan” in kanji. And last but not least, all this is bundled in a rather nifty collector’s box and shipped off with certificates of authenticity for each and every copy.

I must say, it was most surprising to see all this packaged up together. As a hardcore SF fan, I’ll be picking one up. Sell your copies of SFIV arcade and SF X Tekken while you can, because when this $150 set releases, the old versions will plummet in worth. Plus, there is plenty of great stuff packaged in here. Also, note that these sets are only releasing for PS3 and XBOX360. Normally I wouldn’t vow to purchase something this pathetically cliche, but as a fan of the series I admit that I’m gushing over the content they’re packaging in. All those downloadable costumes I refused to buy are enough of an incentive, as they are astronomically priced for the sort of content they are. The statue seems radical as well, but I am weary of the sort of quality it will hold. Either way, to have all those games (which I already own) packaged together along with some nifty extras is something I’ll definitely be buying, especially since the set is coming out a few weeks after my birthday! The set is set to release September 18th, so go pre-order anywhere ‘cept Gamestop!