"Look no further for your reason to buy a Dreamcast"

You know, I'm sick of everyone saying that the Dreamcast is going down at the hands of the PS2 before the stupid system has even been RELEASED yet. Alas, I know due to the hype of the ''bigger better system'' that developers will start to turn their heads in the opposite direction of my little white wonder box. Thankfully, with Capcom releases like this, I can truly say that I have ALREADY gotten my money's worth, and you know what? I'm quite happy with that.

Alright, I guess that didn't really explain a whole lot, but in my opinion (both as a gamer and RABID Street Fighter) I must say that if there was any reason at all to buy a Dreamcast, Street Fighter III Third Strike is it. And its not because of its amazingingly fluid graphics (but that does help it along) or the varying types of outstanding music (ditto), but because this is the first REAL Street Fighter game that's been released... in a very long time.

Graphics: 10
I can't do it. I can't give the graphics anything less than a 10. That would just be plain LYING. Let me tell you that SF3:3 is just (quote me on this) DROP DEAD GORGEOUS! Truly the CPSIII is a thing of wonder. First of all, the characters themselves are animated with an amount of fluidity that simply makes my teeth hurt! Need examples? Check out Elena's standing animation (idle mind you, not even MOVING). It takes about 3 seconds to FULLY display! Or how about Remy as he crouches? Wait a few seconds and he'll brush his hair aside! Truly astounding animation here. Each character truly has his/her own personality now! Remember the difference when Street Fighter Zero/Alpha was released and comparing those characters to Street Fighter II? It made the SFII characters look like dolls with sticks up their...er, you know. Well, now SFIII's characters make the SFZ/A characters look THAT SAME WAY! The general design of the SFIII characters is also more realistic (but less varied) than the old cast. I am a bit disappointed in this area, but really just a tad (sure Twelve and Oro are cool... but where's the Blankas or E.Hondas?) The fluidity is not only a thing of beauty to watch, but a great aid in fighting as you can almost get a feel for your fighter and his movments (indeed sometimes it seems as if I can be Yang myself). While the graphics themselves are simply amazing, its the presentation OF the graphics which is truly outstanding from SF3: W Impact. Everything just has a much more polished look and is far more dramatic. The new life bar display, intro sequence and character select screens are far more asthetically pleasing than the past SFIII games. If I have to make one complaint about SFIII's graphics it's the backgrounds. WHAT WAS CAPCOM THINKING!? Okay, they aren't that bad... Gill's, Yang's and Dudley's are all nice BGs, but compared to SFIII W Impact's backgrounds, they just can't contend. However this is a SMALL gripe.

Sound: 10
Again, it would be an atrocity to give this game anything LESS than perfect. First, the sound effects are simply the best in a Street Fighter game. Yes they are clear and smooth and all that junk, but they are just FAR more dramatic than any Street Fighter in the past! In fact, I base all my parries around the sounds of the other fighters. First off, the hits are all blood curdling and I particularly like the echoing effect which is given off after the final blow is dealt. The voices really couldn't be better, except for the fact that most of the fighters speak Japanese regardless of where they come from (what's up with Remy?) and all fit their characters perfectly. I particularly like how Ryu and Ken sound much older now (and rightfully so). Despite the gleaming rants about voices and sound effects, the music is what really steals the show in SF3:3. I must say, of past Street Fighters, only one or two music tracks really stayed in my head, but SF3:3's music is just blatantly PERFECT. Its just so different and varied not only from the rest of the gaming industry, but also from the other tracks on the same game! Dudley's is a nice laid back jazzy tune while Yun/Yang's theme is truly Chinese at heart. The music not only suits every character perfectly (such as the tribal sounds of Elena's savanna) but there's THREE remixes of EVERY SONG! Truly, Capcom really cares about its gamers as I was hard pressed to find a song in the game that I didn't like (that includes the remixes too!).

Control: 8 (10 with an arcade stick)

What can I say, its a Street Fighter game? The response is quick and instantaneous (well, depending on startup, lag, etc... all that stuff that makes Street Fighter so intuitive), but the Dreamcast pad really hurts the experience. Hold the controller one way and its hard to hit those damn trigger buttons (I can't live without my HP HK). Hold it the other way and just pray if you're trying to pull off EX moves. Please note that an arcade stick completely rectifies the problem (and makes parrying down a hell of a lot easier).

Gameplay: 10

At first when I played Street Fighter III, I didn't like the new system. Personally, I'm a Zero/Alpha man and the slower pace threw my timing off as well as the parrying (against an expert player) seemed very cheap (punishing those on OFFENSE!?). However after a while of play, I truly do respect the SFIII engine now. While parrying is hard, its not impossible and truly opens the game up to new levels of intuition and timing (try timing parries against Yun/Yang's 10 hit strings! Oh BABY). I am VERY happy that air blocking was taken out, but the addition of air parrying is something I would never have thought of (and thankfully it works very well). Seemingly, the entire game is built around skill and there is absolutely no way that a button masher can defeat a seasoned player. Yes that's right, all you ''Masters'' of Marvel vs Capcom 2, step up to a REAL game. A comparison I often make is ''Street Fighter III 3rd Strike is the Street Fighter equivalent of Chess, Marvel vs Capcom 2 is more like Mousetrap''. Indeed, you must THINK if you ever plan to out do anyone in Street Fighter III, and it is this fact that places this game high in my standards. In addition, the game features an option that allows you to tweak every conceivable aspect of gameplay! You like air blocking? What the hey, put it in! You think the game needs more supers? Increase the number of stocks in character's Super Arts. This option from the Gods (well, Capcom... but there's very little difference) allows for not only almost unlimited replayability, but also can stop all those excuses from friends who say things like ''But I'm used to playing with AIR BLOCKING''. Sob sob, what a sad story... so turn it on and STILL beat the ______ out of them.

Conclusion

Well, this was a pretty damn long review, but its worth it in EVERY sense. Street Fighter III 3rd Strike is the pinnacle of Street Fighter gaming. A pure, skill based game with amazing visuals and absolutetly drummin' music. I'm hard pressed to find a game I've recently come to enjoy this much. Yes there's only 19 characters (but almost NO clones aside from the shotos and Urien/Gill), and sure the conversion is arcade exact (no bonus games but an amazing training mode with all the options you'd ever need), but this is one that every Dreamcast owner should play. Hell, I didn't even have a Dreamcast till this little (cliche time) ''gem'' caught my eye... I don't care if PS2 is coming (although I might look into buying one...), SF3:3 is already keeping my Dreamcast nice and warm... - MC

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/16/00, Updated 08/16/00