"It's a SHAME this game isn't in more arcades!"

I be honest with you, I've never been too crazy about the SF3 series, & apparently many of the arcades I've been to shared the same feelings I had because 2nd Impact was no where to be found. It was also plainfully obvious that its popularity paled when compared to the Alpha & VS series. But about a week ago, I saw this game in the back of the arcade & I just went wild (especially since I can play this game for only 15 cents.) On to the review!

GAMEPLAY-8
The gameplay is the same as you'd expect from an SF game. And love 'em or hate 'em, the parries are still there & so is the choosing of a Super Art at a beginning of a match. A new feature (taken straight out the Darkstalkers series) is the EX special, which takes some energy off of your Super meter & powers-up you special moves. Nice improvement!

GRAPHICS-
I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO RATE THIS, 'CAUSE ANYTHING LOWER THAN A 10 IS A DISGRACE! I've always had a much better apprecitation for 2-D animation as opposed to the sometimes "all show" 3-D style, & this game sure doesn't change my perception. The clothing, the background, & every, tiny movement is beautifully drawn on this CPS-3 engine. Just look at Chun-Li jumping up & down in that famous win pose of hers, or take a look at Hugo's stage while Hugo's in it. My only complaint is that there's a little to much stage sharing among the fighters.(Ken & Alex, Twelve & Nerco to name a couple.) I refuse to believe that Capcom rushed through this portion of the game (at least I hope they didn't!)

SOUND-9
Excellent! If your a fan of hip-hop or the techno style of music, you'll definately be tapping your feet to the beat of this game. At the opening credits & the character seclet screen you can actually hear a group rapping in the background.(Seriously!) And I don't know about you, but I can't get the Ibuki & Russia stage tunes out of my head.

CHARACTERS-8
They're 5 new characters to be found in this game. First off, Chun-Li ('bout time you bought back some old characters besides the shotos Capcom!). She's one of the best characters in the game & as mentioned above, animated really well. Next is Remy who's a Guile/Charlie clone. Personally he looks too much like a darn hippie for me to take him seriously. Next is Makoto, a karate student. That's right, KARATE! So even though she dresses like Ryu, she's not a Shoto. Another is Q, a robot in a trenchcoat, & one whom I've yet to play with or against. However a Japanese ranking system has ranked him #1. Finally there's Twelve, a wierd looking robot. Either someone really liked the VS series a little too much or they wanted to test the limits of the CPS-3 engine, 'cause he ain't all that great. Along with the cast of 2nd Impact, that makes 19 characters (And no, you still can't play as "Maximus Cheapious"; a.k.a. Gill). A nice line-up, but it would have been a 7 without good 'ol Chunners.

1-PLAYER GAME/CPU AI-10
The best arcade mode I've ever seen. You have 10 stages, with your personal boss at stage 9 & of course Gill at stage 10. But the real unique feature of this game is that your given a choice of 2 characters to fight at the beginning of every other stage, so in a way, you CAN control your own destiny. For example if you had a choice between Akuma & Ibuki, unless you'd liked the challenge Akuma brings, you'd choose Ibuki. Also the famous car-crushing bouns stage is back, in between the 3rd & 4th round. The other bouns stage is a parrying game in between the 6th & 7th stage, where Sean will throw out a bunch of basketballs & you have to parry as many as you can.

As for the CPU's AI, its far better than it was in the orignal SF3 game (again, I haven't seen 2nd Impact.) The farther you go, to more challenging it gets. And would you believe that the CPU acutally taunts & there's no Dan around. This is especially true for Nerco & Ken. Just stand at a far distance for a little bit & you'll see what I'm talking about. Simply a perfect 10.

OVERALL-9 (but if Gamefaqs allowed fractions it would be a 8.5)
Without a doubt the best SF3 game of them all. It's a real shame that very few have had the chance to play this great game. Although its popularity won't be as great as Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Marvel vs Capcom, this is a game any SF fan (serious or casual) will enjoy. Believe me, its worth the quarters (or nickels in may case.) you spend in this machine.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 03/20/03