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"Third time’s a charm." The statement has been used so frequently that it now seems hackneyed, banal, a bit cliched. But when that statement is absolutely fitting and appropriate, there is perhaps no better saying to capture the sheer excellence teeming from the third attempt at a success, in this case the third installment in Capcom’s Street Fighter Alpha series. The series being known as Street Fighter Zero in Japan, the spectacular third chapter is the culmination of the previous two Alpha games’ bold new direction for Street Fighter, as well as an ode to Street Fighter’s rich past, integrating fighters long since absent and classic features into the mix. Quite literally, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is everything that the first two games were and more, the "more" referring to more characters, more backgrounds, more options, and ultimately more fun. At the top of its game in virtually every category, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is a gift from Capcom to its fans, a gift that keeps on giving, a gift that Capcom itself has found very hard to top. As I intend to prove in this review, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is a rarity, it is an experience, it is a blast, and, first and foremost, it is a charm.

Overview
Much of the story begun by the first two Alpha games goes out the window on account of the girth of Alpha 3’s cast of characters. The plot for Alpha 1 saw the game set between the original Street Fighter and its landmark sequel, resultantly starring a blend of Street Fighter 1 and 2 combatants, and Alpha 2’s plot ran on the same formula with a few rookies and returning legends thrown in for good measure. Street Fighter purists always asked how it made sense that the Alpha fighters "forgot" how to do their Super Combos in Street Fighter II, but through Alpha 3’s boatload of new characters, the loose story for the Alpha series more or less falls apart completely. Case in point: the wildly popular Guile is a secret character in the home versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3, though the official Street Fighter storyline explains that his whole motivation for battling is avenging his pal Charlie’s murder at the hands M. Bison, yet Charlie is present and playable in the game--d’oh! Also in the home versions, Dee Jay, Fei Long, and T. Hawk from the much later Super Street Fighter II games appear, putting another nail in the coffin of the Alpha storyline. Surprisingly, the individual character endings are as enjoyable, engaging, and coherent as they have ever been, despite the lack of a truly strong story. The real story behind Street Fighter Alpha 3 is not the one that plays out in the game, but rather the one that played out in real life. Bringing back E. Honda, Balrog, and others along with introducing Cody, Karin, and R. Mika, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and its roster are clearly an attempt by Capcom to throw in everything and everyone that fans would like to see in a Street Fighter Alpha game. The presence of some fighters in truth detracts from the togetherness of the game’s plot, but, I promise, you will not worry or care once the punches and kicks start flying from your old (and new) favorites. This is a Street Fighter game for the ages, with the mammoth player select screen, marvelous gameplay, and the home versions’ brilliant World Tour Mode that meshes RPG elements with Street Fighter bliss. On paper, the storyline of Alpha 3 does not hold together too well, but it is assuredly a pleasure to watch and hear it unfold on screen.

Graphics 9/10
Implementing Capcom’s CPS2 hardware, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is at its core graphically on the same footing as its two predecessors, but there is more to the matter than just that. Street Fighter Alpha 3 seems to squeeze as much out of the hardware as possible, with far more total animation and activity in the backgrounds than the first two Alphas. The greater amount of animation and higher number of backgrounds is obviously linked to the giant cast, but it bears mentioning nonetheless. Delivering on fans’ demands, the animation quality in Alpha 3 is beautiful, with silky-smooth, frame-by-frame motions that lend credence to how much work was put into this game. Since all of Capcom’s Alpha games have been 2-D and all of them utilize essentially identical graphical processors, what really define the graphics in Alpha 3 must be those things that distinguish it from its forebears. Let us be honest; all of the Alpha games are gorgeous 2-D productions, and it would be quite a challenge to discern Alpha 2 Sagat from Alpha 3 Sagat without the aid of a full screenshot, but what (if anything) is exclusive to Street Fighter Alpha 3 in the graphics department? You will get an answer to that question as soon as you begin playing, as the eye-catching character select screen boasts huge face shots of the highlighted characters-- definitely a nice touch for game number three. Arcade Mode has a new interface that greets you with a brief bio and picture of your selected character upon beginning. Once one gets down to the actual business of fighting, one discovers that this Alpha game has many more special introductions (a la SNK, occurring when two characters specially related in the storyline face off) than the other two. Not to be ignored are the brand new victory poses and celebrations, including Blanka’s hilarious "Juicer." So the fighters themselves are beauteous as always, but how did the backgrounds turn out this time around, you ask? Ken’s stage, with a hot babe in a pool and what appears to be a tropical resort, is very lively. Cody’s stage has a funny premise that is well executed, with a humongous hole in a prison wall next to a grounded cop that is bound and gagged and some inmates still stuck in their cells! M. Bison must be battled amid a depressing and barren wasteland at the height of a graphically impressive rainstorm-- superb stuff. Chun-Li’s stage is very detailed and as Chinese as can be, with jumbo pictures of Communist leaders and an active Tai Chi troupe astir. And yes, Final Fight lovers, Mike Haggar and other of the series mainstays are visible in Guy’s level. On the PlayStation home version that I own, there is a minimum of animation that had to be cut to accommodate the less powerful system, but nothing worth crying over. The PlayStation even compensates for its animation shortcomings by treating gamers to terrific shots of various Street Fighters during loading screens. Thankfully, there is next to no infernal slowdown and clunkiness marring the one-on-two battles of the Dramatic Battle and World Tour modes of any of the home conversions. It would be ridiculous and a lie to say that Alpha 3 is in a totally different league graphically than parts one and two, but it is likewise easy to see that Alpha 3 simply has the most to offer visually. You will see Alpha 3’s graphics and you will like them, but visuals and eye candy are by no means what qualify Alpha 3 as the watershed Street Fighter game that it is. Street Fighter Alpha 3 looks like a high-quality cartoon, but, keep in mind, it plays like a dream, a sweet dream.

Gameplay/Controls 10/10
Gameplay is the category in which the addictive nature and true value of Alpha 3 most clearly shine forth. Gamers who mastered every character available in Street Fighter Alpha 2 (you know you are out there) were pleasantly surprised to learn that their mastery was still only the tip of the iceberg in Street Fighter Alpha 3; those masters had grown so accustomed to having a three level super meter from which there was never any deviation, but every character in Alpha 3 (all 30+ of them) has three distinct fighting styles, each with its own combos, each with its own advantages, each with a different super meter. Those new styles constitute the major gameplay change for Alpha 3; they are A-ism (Z-ism overseas), the traditional Alpha style with air blocking, Alpha counters, moderate strength, and the three level super meter, X-ism (so called because Super Street Fighter II Turbo was christened Super Street Fighter 2X in Japan), a style reminiscent of Super Turbo with one super level, no air blocking, and stronger offensive strength, and finally V-ism (after the Variable Combos from Alpha 2), the expert’s choice, with the longest guard meter, offensive strength only slightly lower than A-ism’s, and the ability to design one’s own nutty shadow combos, as well as allowing players to still air block and Alpha counter. The long overdue introduction of the Guard Crush is a feature that penalizes overly defensive players (you know who you are, too, "turtlers"), and, beyond all the changes in actual play, Alpha 3 also proudly featured the largest cast in a Street Fighter game up to its time, including some fighters totally new to the Alpha series! In the home versions of the game, additional modes may be selected after choosing your character that allow for a return to the gameplay of the original Street Fighter II (Classic Mode), superhuman strength but laughably low defense (Mazi Mode), and a replication of joke character Dan Hibiki’s weak style (Saikyo Mode). All these things combine to mean that Alpha 3, with all its cleverness, extras, and goodies, demands serious play time from everyone, even from those pros who seemingly overdosed on the first two games. All players who take up the Alpha 3 challenge will be pleased to find that the game sports exquisite control, something Street Fighter games are renowned for, and pulling off one’s favorite maneuvers is just as easy as it has ever been, provided one has the dexterity and speed necessary. To sweeten the deal even more, successful counter hits, in a change for the series, throw the opponent for a loop and make possible some impressive air juggles, perhaps Capcom’s nod to players of their popular, juggle-intensive Marvel "Vs." games. On the PlayStation home version, there is minor slowdown from time to time that may hinder some longer combos otherwise possible in the arcade, but that is a minor gripe and those inexperienced with the arcade game will most likely not even notice it. Among competitive players of fighting games, Street Fighter in general has always garnered high marks for character balance, having a much higher probability of producing characters neither too strong nor too weak to compete with the remainder of the cast than, for example, Mortal Kombat. Naturally, Alpha 3 includes that same prodigious balance-- that is right, mister, a good Dan player can compete with anybody (Shin Akuma, the exception to the rule, is a bit too strong, but then again he is supposed to be). The primary complaint with Capcom’s fighting games then and in many ways even now is that there is too little change in the gameplay, especially for the better, between the individual games of a series to warrant the churning out of so many sequels. For that reason, Alpha 3 served as a huge breath of fresh air for the series, revitalizing it and adding to it much more depth than the already quite deep Alpha 2 had. There are millions of gamers (yeah, you know who you are) who would have played and adored Alpha 3 if it were not half as innovative, maybe a redrawn version of Alpha 2 with a new face or two and little or no gameplay changes. Capcom could have taken that route for Alpha 3-- and God knows they have with some other titles-- but the fact of the matter is that they did not. They tweaked the Alpha series extensively, adding to it a whole new dimension in the form of -isms (though it is still only 2-D, thank goodness). For that, Capcom deserves praise. For that, Alpha 3 and its tight, well-balanced gameplay deserve to be experienced by devoted fighting game fans everywhere.

Sound/Music 8/10
If I have not stressed it enough already, Capcom proved they were serious about Alpha 3 and its reception by fans by returning to the drawing board and strapping some of the more tired and overused conventions of the first two Alpha entries. A critical part of any video game’s presentation, sound, is no exception. The first two Alpha games had basically identical soundtracks, but the Capcom sound team did away with the Alpha 1 and 2 stage themes for Alpha 3, composing an entirely new crop of songs. In standard Street Fighter fare, no song will make you want to get up and boogie (unless you are an uber-fan), nor will any impel you to reach for the "mute" button on your television. But, in standard Street Fighter fashion, as long as you play the game assiduously enough, guaranteed, there will be some tracks that stick in your head and stay with you for years to come. If there is anything I have learned in my more than decade of playing Street Fighter games, more than the familiar Fireball motion that has practically been etched into my brain, it is that every player has his own tastes and predilections, and that most certainly applies to the game’s diverse sound effects and themes. The songs that have remained with me personally from Alpha 3 are, I think, eclectic and well demonstrative of the music that Alpha 3 has to offer. The theme of M. Bison (the boss, not the boxer) is in my humble opinion the best it has ever been, as it is almost frightening and I feel it does a much finer job of conveying the sense that M. Bison is the embodiment of unadulterated evil (the flashing visage of death in his background and the raging thunderstorm help). The theme is suspenseful and unnerving, perfect for a cheap boss with a killer super. Newcomer Karen Kanzuki has an interesting debut theme for Street Fighter; hers is a uniquely festive and high-energy theme sounding like something one would hear at a dance party, and it is undoubtedly a welcome departure from the usual Street Fighter motif. Guy’s great theme is pulse-pounding and in-your-face, memorably complementing the urban and gritty Final Fight backdrop in which he fights. And then there are those themes that are not at all worlds different from what one would expect, and that is precisely what is so appealing about them; Blanka’s theme is a medley of jungle bongos and riffs, while Ryu’s is a prideful and inspirational- sounding tune-- indicative of qualities rabid Street Fighter fanatics amorously associate with those characters. As far as the character tunes are concerned, they are altogether best described as a pinch of something entirely new fruitfully combined with what people expect from Street Fighter, original enough to appease the critics, similar enough to the past to make Street Fighter old-timers feel at home-- quite an accomplishment. In other subdivisions of the sound category, never before heard in a Street Fighter game prior to Alpha 3 was the announcer, whom I never minded, belting out nuggets such as "Go for broke" and "Triumph or die" immediately before and after matches. I heard some people put forth some scathing and hateful remarks about the announcer, claiming he sounded too much like a "lame DJ" or a "game show host," but it alas boils down to a matter of the aforementioned personal taste. Bottom line about the "annoying" announcer: no one would deprive himself of playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 because of him nor would anyone purchase the game merely to listen to his pre and post-match rantings-- the announcer and his presence are a small, small part of a big, big game. Street Fighter would be nothing without its trademark wails of "Hadoken" or "Shoryuken," and the sound effects in Alpha 3 are as smooth and mellifluous as ever. There are no mistimed noises, curious thuds, or fart sound-alikes afoot in this fighting machine; the sound effects are all dead-on, from Yoga Fires to Psycho Crushers. Alpha 3 sounds almost as good as it looks and plays-- and that is a very high compliment indeed.

Replay Value 10/10
I remember it as if it were yesterday. To that point, I had been playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 for months in the arcade, and what I believed to be a stunning conversion was on its way to my PlayStation. I had reserved the game without hesitation, and I had waited more than long enough. Besides, I was fifteen, and I had about fifty things I did not want (hint: they were on my face), so I figured I was entitled to at least one thing I did want, that thing being a faithful home console translation of Street fighter Alpha 3. I got it, the first day it went for sale, May 6, 1999, and I have not stopped playing it since. My brother and I battled it out every day after school for weeks. . .dozens of hours right there. I finished Arcade Mode with every single character in the game, wanting to bear witness to all the cool endings. . . at least a dozen more hours. I thoroughly enjoyed the Final and Dramatic Battle modes, tested my mettle at Survival Mode regularly, nearly camped out in Practice Mode trying to figure out which -ism was optimal for each warrior, and reached Level 32 and defeated Shin Akuma in World tour Mode with several fighters. . . it is handy that this game includes an internal clock, with which I ascertained that I did in fact play Street Fighter Alpha 3 for over one hundred hours. And I still have not stopped, though the game’s clock maxed out (Dee Jay?) countless moons ago. So many moves to learn, so many situations to be prepared for, so many grand memories waiting to be born, so much enjoyment to be had-- that is Street Fighter Alpha 3 in a nutshell. Do yourself a favor and play it, but do not blame me if you cannot stop.

Overall 10/10
Giving Street Fighter Alpha 3 a 10 overall was the easiest part of this review. It is without debate the best entry in the Street Fighter Alpha series, and, next to Street Fighter II, it is probably the single most innovative title in the Street Fighter universe. Have you ever wondered why after picking your character in Marvel vs. Capcom 2, you are given a choice of three different assist types, or why in Capcom vs. SNK 2 there is a visible Guard Crush meter? The answer is Street Fighter Alpha 3, the game that set the tone for Capcom’s fighting future. It has the substance that hardcore Street Fighter aficionados crave as well as the style and flashiness that help pique the interest of newer, more casual players. The fantastic World Tour Mode ranks up there with the Versus Mode from the SNES Street Fighter II: The World Warrior for most revolutionary feature in a home fighting game, as well. To be honest, I feel a bit guilty that I opted for such a straightforward game to review-- this is one of the most beloved Street Fighter games of all time, without question and with millions of fans. Better arcades across the nation will still have Street Fighter Alpha 3 on deck, and it is available at home on PlayStation, Dreamcast, Gameboy Advance, and even as a Saturn import-- you thus have many options to play this game and even more reasons to actually do so. Street Fighter Alpha 3 received an upgrade, Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper, in Japanese arcades, but even now, five years after its initial release, there is no sign in sight that Capcom is producing a fourth Alpha game. If Capcom ever learns to count to four, it will be awesome to see a brand new Street Fighter Alpha game, but perhaps ending the series at three is the wiser move. Not using it as a launching pad for yet another sequel, letting it remain unique could be the best way of all for Capcom to honor Street Fighter Alpha 3 for what it very well could prove to be: Street Fighter’s proudest moment.

- by Michael Collins