Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX

"Get ready to take the fight to the streets!"

The Street Fighter series has always been one of the most influential fighting game franchises. Time and time again Capcom has managed to deliver the definitive 2D, Sprite Based fighting game. From the Arcades to their home versions, the Street Fighter series is the choice of the Fighting Game enthusiast. With that said, does Capcom deliver with its first iteration of this famed series on the PSP? Well the answer is a big fat yes. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max delivers probably the best iteration of the Alpha series yet, and thats saying alot right there.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 is perhaps the pinnacle of the Alpha series, containing a huge roster of characters, well refined and balanced gameplay, catchy music, crisp art and one of the most 'over the top' announcers ever. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max manages to capture all of this perfectly and deliver it to you in a nice portable package. Yes, this has all the flair and style of the Arcade original with enough extras to keep you playing for ages to come.

So lets start with the most important thing; Gameplay. Its either good or its not and Capcom can take pride in the fact that the Gameply for Alpha 3 max is among the best. Alpha 3 Max is a typical fighter in that you pick a character and fight your way to glory in the various modes of play that are available. Sounds simple right? Well as soon as you see the huge roster of characters you may think otherwise. Each character has their own ending and seeing them all will take you quite a while as you will have to master them all to actually have a chance at the final boss. Additionally there are the ISMs. This adds a whole lot of variety to the gameplay as the ISM you select will have an impact on your special abilities as well as your strategies. There are 4 in total, A, V, X, and I the last of which is a custom ISM. More on that, later.

Apart from the core Arcade mode, Alpha 3 Max offers a plethora of other modes to explore. The first that should be explored by any player is the now famous World Tour Mode. This is where I-Ism comes in to play. In this mode you start out with a relatively low powered fighter and work your way up, leveling up and obtaining new special abilities along the way. Its a deep and immersive experience as your fighting style will dictate the way your character turns out. Two players with the same character could end up with vastly different characters. Its this variety that will keep you coming back for more. Once you have finished this mode, however, you can enter that character into other game modes and unlock even more special abilities. Already the amount of things the player can do seems overwhelming.

But wait theres more. In addition to arcade and World Tour Mode there are additional modes such as Reverse Dramatic Battle and Dramatic battle where you fight with a partner in a 2 on 1 fight or you fight 2 opponents respectively. Furthermore, there is a free battle mode where you pick an opponent and duke it out and theres even Wireless play if you got a few PSPs nearby with tournaments and straight up Versus action. With all that said, its easy to see why Capcom has thoroughly delivered on the Gameplay side of things.

However, the big question on alot of peoples minds when going for this game on the PSP is how the game controls with the PSP's infamous D-Pad. Well the truth is that the game handles and plays very well. There is definately some adjustment needed, but the game provides enough configuration options to really make good use of the D-Pad and with practice you'll have no problem busting off moves.

The visual style of the Alpha series has always featured a heavy Anime influence and the art reflected that. Its all intact here on the PSP and its never looked better. The PSPs sharp screen really delivers crisp visuals. Every little detail looks perfect in both widescreen and standard settings.

The sound of Alpha 3 Max is simply phoenominal. All of the original tracks are there and still retain there quality. The music is driving and fits each characters mood and personality perfectly. However, the games announcer adds the most amount of personality. Its a love it or hate it kind of deal but you'll know exactly where you stand the moment you hear those famous words, "Triumph or Die!" The rest of the vocal work is all done quite well as well, with the usual grunts and screams along with various other tid bits. In all the sound performance is very well done and just adds to the game.

So with all that praise said is there anything that holds Alpha 3 Max back? Well there are a few things but they are so minor that they really won't ruin your enjoyment of the game. The only major problem with the game comes in Reverse Dramatic Battle where by the game will sometimes get confused as to who to target and results in you taking unneccesary damage but aside from that and a few other nit picky details the game is pretty much a bug free, hassle free affair.

If you're a Street Fighter fan or a Fan of 2D Sprite Based fighting games or a Fighting game junkie, hell if you just like games you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max for the PSP. It is by one of the best Fighting Games to grace the screen of the PSP and is truly worthy of all the praise that it seems. From its in depth gameplay, to its sublime sound and visual style, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max will have you impressed and coming back for seconds. With all that said only one quote comes to mind to wrap this up, "What are you waiting for? The worlds waiting..."

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/09/07