Here come new challengers!
Street Fighter: The Miniatures Game Boss Expansion introduces two of the franchise’s most fearsome foes: M. Bison and Akuma. While I can imagine most players of the base game would welcome the addition of new characters – especially these two – they’re sold as part of a larger bundle that may be prohibitively expensive.
Does this box have enough content to justify its premium price tag?
At the core of this bundle are the figures for M. Bison and Akuma. With the former standing in a dominant pose and the latter winding up a fireball, these two pre-painted figures hold their own against those found in the base game. Both characters also get their own custom trackers, though they also suffer the same issue as the base game trackers that don’t have an EX meter value of zero. Having played a number of matches with both, Bison is my wife’s favourite character to play as thus far and Akuma is a favourite of mine.
The potential stumbling block is the fact that this expansion only has two characters. Compared to the base game – which features six characters for $100 USD – paying $75 for just two feels a bit paltry. What the package falls short on characters, it attempts to shore up that deficit in other ways.
As you’d expect, M. Bison and Akuma come with character decks with all of their moves. Not only that, but they also come with boss decks filled with powered-up versions of their moves. In a standard 1v1, these characters would be broken. Instead, these boss decks are meant to be used for the new 3v1 mode where three fighters of regular strength take on one of these titans. This is a meaningful new addition, giving larger groups a new way to play.
On top of that, Akuma and M. Bison get new Nemesis cards for a new Nemesis mode. Playing out as a 1v1 between these two characters, they each get powered-up event cards that aim to add even more drama to an epic matchup. Though the Nemesis cards are certainly better than the standard event cards, they don’t shake up the game nearly as much as the boss battle mode.
Sweetening the deal is a new double-sided board with two maps. One is a temple that’s accompanied by trees and rocks. The other is Chun-Li’s iconic street scene. Just like the base game, I tend to prefer playing on the temple stage, as its trees and rocks are easier to build than the more elaborate terrain of the street scene. However, the cart and tables aren’t as cumbersome to build as the the missile rack from the base game and the narrow stage layout makes for a more up-close-and-personal fight.
In terms of value, the Boss Expansion may not be the best bang-for-your-buck. In a scenario where budget matters (especially for a game as expensive as this one), I would prioritize getting as many characters as possible before stages and extra modes. With that in mind, I think you’re better off grabbing the character four-packs for $50 or the mountain of characters included in the stretch goals box first.
But if Akuma and M. Bison are calling your name, or if that boss mode sounds particularly enticing to you, go for it! Again, my criticisms of this box aren’t so much with the quality of its content. Both characters are a blast to play in every mode and having the ability to play 3v1 boss battles is a great way to shake things up. And I don’t necessarily think this box is a bad value, it’s just that the value proposition isn’t as good as other expansions you can pick up first. Whatever order you get them in, I would ultimately recommend grabbing this Boss Expansion at some point!
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In Third Person 