"Absolutely The Best 2D Fighting Game Of All Time, Period."

I want to dive right into the review. The game is about 8 years old now, I'm pretty sure everybody has played it, even women, girls ETC.

Actually, let me give a little background on my own experience playing it since day 1, including the original SF3. I've been playing Street Fighter since SF2, I've played them all, went to tournaments for them ETC. When SF3 first game out (New Generation,) I was disappointed that only Ryu and Ken were the only characters from the original series were in it, but after a while (more specifically in 2nd Impact,) I started to really feel the characters in the same way as I did with the original SF games, like they were a part of me as the originals were.

After a while, I started really getting into the new generation of SF, and I got more in depth into even other games thanks to this game. When 3rd Strike first came out, I was upset that they removed a lot of other characters certain combos, changed moves, priorities changed ETC, but now let me tell you why 3S really is the best 2D fighting game of all time, and trust me, I like a lot of other fighters like Vampire Savior, SF Alpha 2 and 3, Samurai Showdown, KoF ETC, check it.

Sound (Music): 10/10

OK, to start of with the sound, I have to say, this game has the best soundtrack in almost any game. When I first heard the OST, I was absolutely obsessed. Maybe it's because I'm interested in many types of music and also produce music, but I loved the fact that they have many genres of music in it, and some people really miss the old style video game music from pervious versions, but overall, it was a nice difference to add Drum and Bass, Jungle, Techno, Rock, Metal, House and so on in a game, not many games at the time really had "real style" music in them. I remember when I first heard Drum and Bass and House music in real life, and I enjoyed them much, went clubbing and everything to them, and when I heard the songs in this game, they sounded very realistic to the songs you hear in reality, and they were also suitable to this game, since it's the new generation... Why not change the audio theme a bit? I got so used to the songs in the game, that I couldn't have it any other way. I especially like Necro/Twelve's song the most. This game really broke barriers with the music in it, hence the name "new generation," they really meant it when they added this "new" concept of music for a game.

Sound: (Effects)

There's not much to say about the sounds in this one, but they really improved the SFX in 3rd Strike compared to other NG (New Generation) games. The parry sound effects were even better, harder attacks sounded harder, and you can especially notice for example, if you hit an opponent with a hard attack while they were crouching (which does more damage), it sounds harder, because in fact it is harder because of the games priority while crouching or in certain attacks such as a counter (which the game doesn't tell you it's a counter, but it really is because you can hear a difference in sound.) It's that sick.

Graphics:

Wow, I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the game, including the original NG game. The sprite count in the game is so high, that even now people are trying to emulate it, and they're saying that the sprite count and engine is so harsh, that in order to fully emulate the game, you'd need a really powerful PC. For example, Elena, her sprite count is so high, that you would almost think it was 3D, or a new style of cel-shading. The effects while hit were also improved from previous versions, there used to be a weird effect in 2nd Impact where when you got hit, it looked like big teeth or white balls would come out of the character, but in this one, it's more kind of like a manga style when someone gets hit, it looks OK, if you're not too hardcore into hit effects in games, you may not notice the difference; however, if you are, it's really better in 3S. (3rd Strike.)

Gameplay:

This is it, the groundbreaking part of the game, it's going to be really hard to explain, but I will try as best as I can.

First off, I have to honestly say (and I don't care what anyone thinks,) the parry system is what makes this game balanced no matter who you use. First off, the parry system is better than countering in any game, and it's very well balanced, but at the same time, it's also hard to do. Why? Because you kind have to either be really good at it, and also be good at predicting when to parry. Parry is executed by tapping Forward when an attack/projectile is close to you... Sounds easy huh? But in actuality, it's not that simple. It's about knowing when someone will attack, knowing/predicting actually. The action can get really intense when fighting a good opponent who can parry well, you can get scared, or you can get excited at the same time or separate. It can get really intense when you're both good at parrying, especially while you're both in the air, because the game is so in depth, that if you jumped in the air with a jab, and your opponent parried it, they can attack you with a jab as well, but you can parry their attack as well, but if you tried to use a harder attack, they can parry it back and depending on if you do a hard attack, you can't hit back after using a hard attack and they parry it, because since it's hard, you can't retaliate with a hard attack because it's slower, so they can hit you sooner since the hard attacks come back slower. It's that in depth.

Dashing speeds vary between certain characters, some characters defense is lower or higher, some characters are stronger than others... It may seem like something you might not want to get into because "your character isn't so strong," but I believe this game is so well balanced, that you really need to know how to use your character well in order to use them well, regardless of their stamina, defense or offense, so you need to choose a character wisely, and play wisely with them... It all depends on you and your skill level, and don't worry about "tiers." You can win with anyone in this game, and the games balance is so sick, that you literally have to either try harder, or be more wise to play it.

Graphics:

The NG series has some of the best 2D graphics of almost any game. Me and my friends constantly compare graphics to the NG series. For example, we say "Streets of Rage 3 ALMOST has NG series graphics." The 2D (at the time when it was first released) was so impressive, I really couldn't believe it, I thought it was some new type of 3D that looked 2D, it's hard to explain. I really could hope you could see the graphics, and if you're a bit young and are more into 2D, compare this games 2D graphics to any game at that time, nothing was close to this in my own opinion.

Conclusion:

There's not much more to say, this is hands down the best 2D fighter of all time, I don't care what anybody says about it, I say this even in real life. If you got a PS2 or an Xbox, get this game as soon as possible, and experience one of the most SOLID fighters ever made, if you don't think it's as good as your favorite 2D fighter, then I'm sorry, but if you're into games that require a lot of mastery, time and devotion, then this game is for you.

This is the end, I hope you enjoyed my review, I tried to say everything good about the game as much as possible. Goodbye and peace.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/07