This game is the sequel to the godfather of fighting games Street Fighter 2. And in true Capcom style this the third instalment (see rehash) of the less popular Street Fighter 3 series. And as they all say Third strike is the charm, not saying that the first were bad.
Overview
This game takes place years after the Street Fighter 2 tournament and one year after the events of The Street Fighter 3 tournament. All the characters are traveling the world and doing there own thing. You get you usual Ryu, Ken, Akuma, and Chun-li in this game plus, a whole slew of New Characters in the mix, including Remy and Q, who make their debuts in Third Strike.
Graphics 9/10
All of the animation in 3rd Strike is an improvement over the last two Street Fighter Three games.
The 2D sprites are very detailed, each character moves fluently with every move they make. The colors are nice and clean but it still keeps a gritty look.
What keeps the graphics from getting a ten is that the stages are not as good as the last two instalments or what capcom is capable of. They look uninspired to me.
Levels also lack in variety as well, like if a character is from the same nation with the exception of Japan, they have the same level with different weather andor time of day. The problem is that it this applys to a lot of characters. SeanOro YangYun KenAlex TwelveNecro, 820 characters, almost HALF of the roster share a stage.
Gameplay/Controls 10/10
Anyone who is familiar with Capcom's 2d fighter should easily adapt to Third Strike's Button Layout.
The learning curve of this game varies from person to person. A few rounds of the game and you should get the hang of the gameplay mechanics.
Those that have played the other versions of the game should adapt quickly since it is virtually the same. Every character have their arsenal of attacks including there specials, supers and Ex specials.
What makes the Street Fighter 3 series special are the parries. It is like a block but it gives your an opprotunity for an open attack. This adds a whole new level of strategy in the game. Mastering parries is not an easy task, but those who do master parries have a great deal of advantage over other players.
A regualar match gives you a 99 second timer you can win by k.o. or a times over just like most fighters
Like all fighters it will talke longer to develop a strategy for the character you like and pull of those 10 hit cobos. But you probally already knew that.
The 20 character roster is very balanced, there are no top tiers and all characters have stregnths and weeknesses. This roster is one of the best that have ever graced a capcom figher.
Sound/Music 9/10
Some of the music in 3rd Strike is very catchy, and the vocals are nice and clear. The game music matches the characters levels very well.
Some of the voices for the characters have improved greatly such as Alex. Icant complain about the voice acting because they do not talk much, with the exception of screaming the name of there moves
There are a large variety of sounds effect in the game. Shoryukens, Hadukens and all other kinds of atacks have thier own sounds.
Although the music is good and matches the characters and levels, it does not have a great variety, but this is mainly because of the variety (or lack of it) of levels.
Replay Value 7/10
This game is a game that relies on competition for replay value. The story of 3rd strike have a lot of plot holes (lazy capcom at it agian), so it is hard to figure out what is cannon (official story) and what isn't.
It wouldn't hurt if you were to beat the game with all characters though, so you can know about some of the backstories of the characters.
Unlike Capcom's vs. games there are not a huge cast of characters or a crapload of unlockables so your motivation of playing has to be the competition.
So that means it has to varry depending on the ability of the other players. It is hard to find new competitions as well, that is mainly because the arcades are dying, but thats mainly on the east coast though... so based on my competition I'll give replay a seven.
Overall 6/10
What I like in this game are the technical aspect. The graphics and sound is great, I also like the overall presentation of this game. It has a very serious feel to it unlike Recent Capcom fighters. The controls and gameplay feels like a true advance version of Street Fighter 2
What I had a problem with was the levels, not only is there a lack of them, they felt unispired to me. You dont feel very accomplished when you beat the game either because of the lack of unlocables and secrets, so you have to rely on your competion for replay value. Although the characters in here are great and some are real popular, I enjoy the old SF2 cast much better.
Overall this is a must play, if you find a machine at your local arcade, play it asap. The Dreamcast port is a very hard find so it is a must buy as well.
- By Len Rowe aka lcr.YOUNGBLOOD
