"This is why Dreamcast is THE tournament fighting system"

Street Fighter: 10 years old and still going strong. My favortite genres are RPGs and Tournament Fighters. I got a Playstation for the former and a Dreamcast for the latter. Street Fighter Alpha 3 cannot be graded against Soul Calibur. It is not possible. They are too different. It's only real Dreamcast compitition are Marvel vs. Capcom and the King of Fighters series.

GRAPHICS--10
Yes they are 2D. Yes they are sprites. But they are the finest looking sprites I have ever seen. I don't care if Street Fighter is still 2D when it is 2050. I hope it stays 2D then. I just hope I'm not to old to enjoy it. The framerate is spectacular. There is absolutely no slowdown.

MUSIC--8
The music is catchy, but very, very repetitive. Most of it is heavy on the percussion.

CONTROL--10
You can just mash buttons and win against beginners, but against bosses and other computer players there must be some strategy. Even in the Dramatic Battles, (the 2 on 1 battles), you must plan out what you are going to do. Especially if you are the 1. The moves are easy, but yet difficult to pull off. Easy to learn, difficult to master.

FUN--10
This game is one of the most fun tournament fighters out there. If we could get a 4-player mode...three is close, but not close enough. The combos are also relatively easy to pukk iff, which makes it really fun to pummel an opponent with only combos.

CLOSING STATEMENT
Good work Capcom. Keep the tournament fighters coming. Now give me Darkstalkers and Rival Schools on the Dreamcast. Especially Dark Stalkers. I applaud Capcom for not wasting these characters. It is good how they are being used in collections, (Marvel vs. Capcom, SNK vs. Capcom, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter) but it is just as good that they are not being used as desperate attempts for money. Such as if there was a Street Fighter racing game. Or a Mario Party-esque game. Use them. Don't abuse them.

OVERALL--10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/00, Updated 07/18/01