When Street Fighter 5 originally launched, the game earned some of the lowest scores in franchise history, largely thanks to a general lack of content. While the core fighting game foundation in Street Fighter 5 was quite good, there just wasn't much for players to do. Fast forward to Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, and the game is in a much better state than it was years ago, with an expanded roster and a variety of game modes for players to sink their teeth into. But even though Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is the definitive version of the game, it still has some issues that keep it from reaching the heights of its critically-acclaimed predecessors.

The first thing players will notice when they boot up Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is the long load times. Some may even think that their game is frozen on the title screen because of how long it takes for players to be able to get into the actual game itself. And once in the game, players will have to contend with long load times while waiting for matches to start. Long load times are also a factor when playing the character stories, as players have to sit through a decent chunk of the cut-scenes while the game loads before they're allowed to skip to the actual fights.

The character stories in Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition are worth doing for how quick they level up the characters, but from a storytelling perspective, they don't have much to offer. Most of the stories are generic fighting game fare, with some notable exceptions. The Seth character story in Street Fighter 5 will be the most interesting for fans, as it provides some much-needed explanation as to why the character has been gender-swapped since their Street Fighter 4 appearance and provides an entertaining origin story in the process.

Seth is one of the few new additions to Street Fighter 5 that fans will get in the Champion Edition. The main draw isn't really new content, but the fact that it includes almost all of the content that's been released for the game over the course of its limited-time seasons. Each character has also been given an additional V-Skill, but otherwise Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is just Street Fighter 5 with almost all of the original release's post-launch content.

With all of this content, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition actually feels like a complete experience, which is in stark contrast to the original release. Players now have over 30 characters to master on the Street Fighter 5 roster, multiple story modes, traditional Arcade modes, trials, and more. There is a ton to do in this game, and the core gameplay is just as satisfying as ever, so for fans of the franchise, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is really a no-brainer.

However, fighting game fans who aren't big into Street Fighter may find some of the game's shortcomings less tolerable. Besides the aforementioned long load times, there are other things about the game that are just not very user-friendly. For example, those that want to play through the Street Fighter 5 cinematic story mode have to download a completely separate content pack. It's free to download, but players will have to go searching for it. Trying to click on the grayed-out story mode in the menus doesn't take players to where they can download it, so it's easy to see how some might be confused.

There's also a comical number of messages that players will have to click through when they first start it up, not to mention in-game advertisements. Street Fighter 5's advertisements are generally less offensive than in-game ads have been in other games, as we only ever saw ads promoting the game itself or upcoming online events (or bizarrely, the very Champion Edition that was already being played), but they do make it take even longer for players to get into matches.

The biggest issue with Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is the online multiplayer. Despite some attempts by Capcom to improve the Street Fighter 5 online experience, many matches are still pretty laggy, especially in comparison to other fighters on the market. However, the online experience has still improved in a noticeable way compared to previous iterations of the game, even though it's still not quite as reliable as one would hope.

From the online lag to long load times, there are many things about Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition that weigh it down and keep it from being as great as Street Fighter 4 or earlier entries in the series. But as previously mentioned, the core gameplay is rock solid, and players that dedicate time to mastering it will find that Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition can be really hard to put down. Picking a favorite character, learning how to play them, and testing one's skills in the game's online arenas or against friends offline is a blast.

Even when using a standard controller instead of a fight stick, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition controls well, with players able to pull off all sorts of combos with just a little practice. Each character has dedicated trials that serve as challenges designed to teach players some of the more advanced techniques, so more than just fighting game enthusiasts can learn how to play any character in the game they so desire if they're willing to put in the time. It takes practice to become truly good at Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, arguably even more so than with competing games, but mastering a character is an especially rewarding experience as a result.

Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition can also be commended for its visuals, which retain the cartoony art style of Street Fighter 4. The cloth and hair physics are a little weird in cut-scenes, but generally every fighter is highly detailed and perfectly animated. V-Triggers in particular look tremendous in Street Fighter 5. Offline matches run smooth as butter, and the stages are all eye-popping in their detail. Graphically speaking, Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition can stand toe to toe with any other current-generation fighting game.

Fantastic visuals and exciting gameplay are the best parts of Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition, along with its dizzying amount of content. The technical problems that still plague the game mean it will never be quite as good as Street Fighter 4 or other past games, but it's still better than many other fighting games out there. Hardcore fans of the Street Fighter franchise will likely find its shortcomings more tolerable, but others should just keep things like the long load times and online lag in mind before they commit to a purchase.

Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition is out now for PC and PS4. Game Rant reviewed the game on PS4.