It looks like Aksys is changing the HUD fonts in localization.

[Dracos]

It's worth noting that the screenshots in the Destructoid review show the classic HUD with the text stylized in all caps.  The shots could have been taken from the Japanese version of the game, but there's one image of a story mode scene translated into English, so I'm inclined to think they're from the localized version.  It's possible that changing the HUD was an idea Aksys was playing around with in an earlier build and eventually reverted it.

 

I guess we'll find out in a few days.

Well in the all aksys stream they were playing what appeared to be the localized version since everything was in English, and if I remember correctly the font was not in all caps there.

[ChexGuy]

It's worth noting that the screenshots in the Destructoid review show the classic HUD with the text stylized in all caps.  The shots could have been taken from the Japanese version of the game, but there's one image of a story mode scene translated into English, so I'm inclined to think they're from the localized version.  It's possible that changing the HUD was an idea Aksys was playing around with in an earlier build and eventually reverted it.

 

I guess we'll find out in a few days.

they're old promotional screenshots, they're in other reviews too.

[White Man]

Ah.  Never mind, then.

[Jotamide]

No biggie for me. Not a fan of the gratuitous enrgish of UNIEL so I'll support a proper translation.

[Airk]

Well, the word "challenger" is right above the health bar...

 

I confess that I don't believe you at all when you say you didn't see the difference.

 

And I would be looking above the health bar because...?

 

I am deadly serious. It actually took me like ten seconds to find it AFTER I read that it was a "font" difference.

[Airk]

It's not only aesthetics (though that's why I hate it the most). After playing 1k+ games, the difference is just really distracting. Information looks different and takes up different amounts of visual space.

 

Is this even worse when games update to slightly new versions and change the UI?

[ChexGuy]

And I would be looking above the health bar because...?

Sorry, I naturally assumed that, because the thread is about goddamn font changes, you'd look at the places where there are actually words.

[White Man]

And I would be looking above the health bar because...?

 

I am deadly serious. It actually took me like ten seconds to find it AFTER I read that it was a "font" difference.

 

Different people pay attention to different things.  It always blows my mind when folks walk into an arcade during a loketest for a new version of a game, play it for two rounds, and come away with a full mental catalog of dozens of minor changes that were made to their character down to hitbox placement and damage totals on specific combos.  Unless it involves an obvious changes to a character's move set, that kind of technical stuff usually escapes me.  I suppose I'm more interested in the aesthetic aspects of game design, as that sort of thing tends to stick out for me more.  I noticed the color change for the HUD in BBCP 2.0 immediately, but I had to point it out to a friend of mine (who's played the original game more than I have) twice before he realized what I was talking about.

 

Granted, a small visual change doesn't affect the way the game is played and is therefore technically unimportant.  It's simply a bit of an oddity from a graphic design perspective — one that warrants discussion among people who are interested in that subject.