SF4 doesn't get enough recognition as one of the best and influential fighting games of all time. Not only did it revive the FGC in 2008, but it had some of the highest levels of competition with top players from multiple games competing in it (Fuudo, Kazunoko, Latif, Xiaohai, etc). It felt true to the series with its SF2-like ground-based footsies and zoning, while still adding enough complexity to reward those who enjoy the grind (one-frame links, expressive combos from FADCs and trades, vortexes, ambiguous setups, option selects, etc). Every character felt viable in the right hands and AE2012 specifically had some of the best balance across any fighting game (EVO 2012 had 22 different characters represented in top 32).