Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike

"A belated review of my favorite fighter"

Like virtually anyone reading this, I was there when SF2 first hit the arcades--it was like a shockwave. We loved the look of Strider and Final Fight, but suddenly every punch and swing had 3 or 4 times the animation. All at once the characters had real depth, and though we had no clue what we were doing, we couldn't help but stick quarters into the thing and see what happened.

And of course, one of the most frustrating (and often criticized) chain of events in video game history was soon to unfold. While 1991 had left us asking when Street fighter 3 would emerge, we got a rather tasty upgrade of SF2 (chapion edition) in 1992 (or so) with further upgrades to follow. Of course, then there was alpha and countless versus games, but the REAL thing didn't come out until 1997--whew! Freakin' 6 years! Lucas can make sequels faster than that! Worse yet, after being saturated with gimmicky and glitzy fighters that focused far more on show than depth, players in the US showed what remains to me an utter mystery: apathy. While third strike seems a vast improvement over the first, SF3 was still an outstanding game with a far more tactical and sophisticated game play system. Unwilling to learn the new characters and a new game play system, the SF3 games remain a failed experiment in the US.

That doesn't mean I can't love 'em.

Third Strike came out in 1999 and appeared on the Dreamcast a year later. This is the reason I bought a DC.

STORY: N/A

While I think 3S has a decent story for a fighter, this has never been a relevant area for evaluation. In the case of SF3, bison has been replaced by a new boss, Gill--a god-wanna-be who will beat you down with his red and blue self. Do you need more of a story than this? I didn't think so...

GRAPHICS: 9

Oddly, the DC release of the first two SF3 games sports better resolution on the graphics and I'd be happy to wager this is due to the screen being stretched in 3S. You'll note the earlier DC title does not fit your screen precisely while 3S does. Like SF Alpha 3 which looks pretty hideous on the DC (compared to its saturn counterpart), 3S seems to suffer a little from tampering. Please Capcom! just let the screen run off the edge!

3S also has less backgrounds, no special screen flashes during a super-art (it is probably better without them) and no 'after fight' shots where one fighter is shown towering over their fallen combatant. Fow what it is worth, Second Impact showed similar 'toning down' with background characters removed, etc. It seems to onlly reason that with additional characters, larger character color palletes, increased animation and a more dynamic soundtrack that SOMETHING had to go. Whine all you will about the backgrounds, 3S is a better game for it.

What really makes this game graphic-wise for me is that the character animation is SO fluid that the characters come alive! Characters have weight and seem somehow more 3D than a 3D fighter. Even the characters that have barely been touched since the first SF3 look beautiful. But if that isn't enough to convince, watch any of mokoto's animation. Let her walk forward for 5 seconds and see not a SINGLE frame repeat! As far as 2D ANIMATION goes, 3S is a 10/10 and is unrivaled in video games. Is it the prettiest game out there--well, no. Again, there are resolution problems AND I'm sure you can find some 3D games that look a LOT cleaners; but that ISN'T traditional animation, now is it?

CONTROLS: *throws controller across the room!* um, 10 of course.

Don't even bother trying to play this game with the standard DC controller. Some will find satisfaction with the DC fight pad, others will like the DC arcade stick (you know the big one with the green buttons!)--I personally despise this stick. I'd suggest getting an adaptor and using the 'cheap as dirt' saturn virtua stick that may not last a life time, but heh, bet another one on ebay for $5.

With the right controller, SF3 is a DREAM! With that in mind, I still can't do a double pile-driver (actually I can hardly get a standard 360 move), but in SF3 that's OK. Only one character requires rediculous, logic defying joystick motions, and that's Hugo. What's too bad is I love Hugo. I wish I could play him with any competancy.

Only word of warning here--some converters (and you really can't find much these days) just don't work with 3S and joysticks. They strangely nullify the C and Z buttons. Don't ask why, but I warned you!

SOUND: 10

I don't like hip hop, I don't like rap, I don't like techno, but I think the soundtrack to 3S is really amazing. Why? Haven't we already had a decade of cheesy videogame synth music? Why not try something real? That's just what they did here, and it works perfectly. The tunes are actually catchy and while perhaps not addictive, definitely make their absense felt when I'm playing the two SF3 games that come before it.

The sound effects and voices are pretty nice too; though alex no longer has his girly-man voice. I don't really have a lot to say because I never thought the sound effects made a game (unless big beep sounds go off every 3 seconds when you're close to dying!!!)

GAMEPLAY: 10

Woah, this really deserves several sections:

Characters: There are now 4 beyond the normal roster, and beyond the whole ryu/ken/akuma issue, each of the characters is extremely different and will require considerable creativity on your part if you ever hope to master all of them.

While the roster isn't as huge as the versus games, just try going back to play them after 3S! They feel flat, and often just too similar. One character in SF3 can be played a dozen ways--if you must, check out the high-level play videos on the net to see how far creative players have gone. Ryu is SF2 can't be bent so far as 3S by a long shot. Ryu is already like 5 or 6 characters in one. Good players don't even use his fireball anymore. Maybe not even his uppercut. The whole game has been changed by SF3. I don't play against Ryu anymore, I play against a particular player who might use Ryu. Ten other people might play ryu in 10 other ways I've never even seen before. That sort of variability isn't in SF2, the alpha games or any versus game I've seen.

Personally I stick to Alex mostly, now here is a versitile character who can play like a grapler, a charge character and even has a bit of shoto-ness in him. Other characters show the same weirdness in them. Do you play dudley to pound people non-stop, or do you use him more like Eagle, setting them up for counters. Remy which seems like a Guile clone can't be played in any way resembling the old man without having your behind handed to you. Man, this game forces you to think!

Super arts versus EX moves: Another fantastic innovation (this one finds its roots in the vampire games) is the ability to use your super meter to do either super arts (the same as supers from earlier SF games--though often less powerful) or EX moves (only slightly more powerful than normal moves but with different properties and HIGH priority and speed.) The genius of this (and why I see it seperate from the similar system in Vampire Savior) is because the EX moves really act both as totally different moves that greatly expand your repertoire. These aren't just more powerful versions of special moves. Ryu's EX rushing kick actually sets up a juggle combo (while Dudely's EX cross-counter and multi-hit rush does the same). Other combos are only really possible with EX moves. Just the advanced speed and priority alone may push you way from the old 'unload your super bar on a stunned opponent' to using tactical bursts of energy to gain slight advantages. Whew!!! That's a completely different kind of street fighter.

Another nice feature with some of the super arts is they often have multiple uses. Oro's super arts typically have two forms--allowing really crazy things like juggling into a super-art throw. Like everything else, the limit really seems to be your creativity. Of course there are limits, but what SF3 does is fool you into thinking you already know what the limits are, then you find you can break past them into something truly unique you've never seen another player do!

One last bit. SF3 introduces super cancelling (that is, a special move can be cancelled into a super--just as a standard attack might be cancelled into a special attack). The end result also seriously changes gameplay--often to the point of abuse like Alex's rushing attack cancelled into a stungun headbutt. The game feels well balanced in this regard though as Ryu cancelling from a fierce punch into an uppercut into a shinshoryuken is not rewarded with massive damage. Combos (especially supers) receive a heavy handicap when they are cancelled into or in some other way made unavoidable. It's a nice touch--the best damage is earned fair and square!

The rest: Well, the pacing is very nice for me. It seems a little slower, but that's really only because there is so much animation. If you 'jump under the hood' (as you can do with the DC version, and turn on chain combos, you'll see that 3S really moves at a pretty quick pace; we've just gotten used to spastic fighters. Trust me, when it comes down to really doing combos or parrying, 3S moves at a pretty good clip.

Well, beyond that, I suppose one must mention parrying (I like it) and the combo system. It took me a little while to figure this one out actually. With most characters, a medium attack (perhaps both, or maybe just punch or kick) can be cancelled into various (maybe all) special moves or even a super art. No more chain combo spaz nor supers coming out all over the place. Nor do we have the glitch cancelling from SF2. Instead, there is a very deliberate rationale: strong attacks generally do not lead to combos, while weak attacks can hopefully lead into a medium attack which might be cancelled into a special. Subsequently you have short and damaging 'bread and butter' combos--alex medium kick to flash chop, ryu's medium kick or punch to rushing kick, etc. etc. Certainly my favorite combo system to date, though one can play without a full understanding of it.

Gameplay seems nearly flawless--though Ibuki seems short changed and Gill is still way too hard. The ability to chose your opponent is a welcome change (who really wants to fight chun-li beyond the second or third fight anyway?) and the AI is probably the BEST in any street fighter game.

Ah yes, how could I have waited so long to mention the AI. Although a few years of play has shown me that there are patterns here and there (oro following a horizontal fireball with one at an angle), the characters are certainly far more than autotoms and respond intelligently--often better than players, yet without seeming inhuman. If you've ever grumbled about SNK AI (instant responses to special moves, reading joystick motions, etc.) you've nothing to fear with 3S. When it's AI beats you down, you feel as though you've been beaten fairly. So, if you haven't an SF player for miles around, I think you'll still find the AI to give you some entertaining hours.

REPLAY: 10

Oh man! Great AI, completely customizable game engine (super-super-super cancels??!!), dense super-variable characters, a 'multi-faceted' game engine that allows for creativity (EX or super? Red parries? Parry-cancels?? Dash-cancels??!!) And that's even without the considerations of a second player. Done? I've hardly even started playing this game.

OVERALL: 10

My vote for best figter ever and one of the best video games ever. Though its niche is dwindling, for the 2D fighter fan, Third Strike is as good as it gets.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/03, Updated 02/04/03