"Aw, geez, ANOTHER Street Fighter game? Well, ok, I - HOLY CRAP, THIS LOOKS AMAZING!"

Ranking:

Graphics: 10/10
Sound Effects: 8/10
Music: 8/10
Originality: 3/10
Play Control: 10/10
Group Enjoyment: 8/10
Individual Enjoyment: 8/10
Challenge: 5/10
Ending: 10/10
Overall: 8/10

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is yet another installment of the Street Fighter Series. If you've been a longtime fan, or just one of those guys that have seen the series but never liked it that much, you might be in for a surprise with this game. All of your favorites (from the SF III series) are back, along with new characters to deal with, making a grand total of 19 playable characters. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “Big deal, Street Fighter Alpha had 18, and there’s a SFA 3 now!” Well, if you’ve ever seen this game’s animation, then you’ll KNOW why it only has 19. Ok, 20, if you count Gill.


Good Points:
The graphics are through the roof! Every character movement is superbly drawn, and very realistic to watch (ok, maybe not ALL of Oro or Hugo’s moves are believable). The sound and music are also great…heck, after the first time I played this game, I went home and started looking for a midi of the Russian theme (Necro/Twelve’s theme music).


Bad Points:
Well, I wanted more characters! In this age of “20+ fighter” games, this one only having 19 is kinda ridiculous. And maybe I’ve been spoiled by SFA and Marvel vs. Capcom, but I wish I could either use ALL of my character’s special moves, or maybe be able to pick different ones in between fights. I mean, come on!


General Ratings:

Graphics:
Amazing. Watch Chun-Li’s taunt, how she yawns, then stretches, etc. It’s SO realistic, it’s scary! I mean, when Ryu/Ken/Sean/Akuma move, their entire Gi ruffles! Elena’s idle movement (you know, you don’t move, and they bob & weave, and such) takes a couple of seconds for the entire cycle! It’s absolutely great. Then you have the giant super moves each character has, where they demonstrate abilities at extreme speeds while still animated excessively well...take Ken's Shinpu Kyaku super, where he kicks the crap out of them with repeated Tatsu Maki Senpu Kyaku hits, sending them skyward. Very nice animation! And although they have just as much (if not better) animation, I won't go into the taunts (Chun-Li's and Yun/Yang's are enough).

Sound:
The sound is great, with LOTS of sounds for each character. The only thing that really brought me down any was the annoying rapper (“Yeah, that’s what I expected!”), and the fact that some character work was wrong…why does Remy speak Japanese when he’s a Frenchman? I mean, seriously! One thing that really stood out with the sound and sound effects is the diversity. When Necro does his Electro-Charge or Urien does his charging electo-blast, you can hear the enemy get hit, then the shock get them. Nice!

Music:
Great, as well. The Street Fighter series has generated an odd kind of music, which is driving, yet somber and suiting for each character. This game is no exception. Dudley’s music is kinda laid back, while Elena’s is more tribal. Great job, folks! My personal favorites are Necro/Twelve's music, and Q's music. The Russian is oddly-catchy, while Q's theme gives a distinct feeling of mystery.

Originality:
Well, let’s face it. There really isn’t that much in the way of change here. It’s the same format, but you have some improvements on the older games that make this one great. The graphics make it great, but it’s only an upgrade. Your characters can ''Tech'' attacks by pressing towards right as you're being hit. This means that a player with great reflexes can stop anything coming at him...but how often are you going to fight one of those?

Play Control:
Perfect. You move, and your character moves as well. The controls for each move are easy to work with (except for maybe Hugo’s Pancake Splat). The throws are different, but it leaves more room for up-close fierce/roundhouse attacks. Very nice! The Super moves, except for a couple, are extremely easy to do as well, making linking them into combos easy to do as well.

Enjoyment:
Well, if you’re playing through the solo version, then you’re going to have fun dropping the individual characters, while trying to see how high a score you can get (my personal best is an A). If you’re going up against a friend, then it’s a true battle of wits, now isn’t it?

Challenge:
Well, the challenge gets harder and harder with each character, but it’s just not as hard as when you had to deal with Vega and Balrog (Japanese names, here, folks. I DON’T mean “M. Bison” and “Vega” as the final SF II guy and the claw guy, respectively). And why the heck is Q the hidden character? He’s not worth it at all! Come on, folks, get a GOOD hidden character!

Ending:
The endings are based off of who you beat the game with, and they’re not that bad, either. Ok, it’s not a CGI Full Motion Video, but they’re still nice. Each character has an ending that is fitting for their character, and wraps up their story...for now...


Overall:
If you see this game, give it a whirl. If you’re not a Street Fighter fan, then don’t worry about it; just watch the game for a while. You’ll see some VERY impressive animation, and the sound is great, too. Now, back to fighting Necro and his crezzy music!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/00, Updated 08/15/00