Overview
Capcom has brought us such classic games as Mega Man, Devil May Cry, and a little game everyone calls Street Fighter. The Street Fighter Alpha series combines the deep gameplay of Street Fighter with better graphics and more options. Does the third iteration of the Alpha franchise stand up to the other two?
Well, yes and no.
Graphics 9/10
The graphics are done anime style, much like the other two Alpha games. In the console versions, there's always a few frames of animation missing from certain characters and backgrounds. But it's hardly noticeable. The backgrounds are drawn well, with plenty of life in most of them. However, Akuma's stage looks a bit rushed. Heck, it was even used as the stage for training mode! The characters are drawn well, and the moves are fluid and rarely jerky. Never has a Yoga Fire looked so cool.
Gameplay/Controls 9.5/10
The control rarely spasms, and the game plays pretty much like any other SF or SF Alpha game out there. You got your Hadoken motions, Shoryuken motions, and your Sonic Boom motions, and they can all be pulled off accurately, with a little practice. If you're new to SFA, or SF in general, it may take you a while to learn the controls. Rarely have I pulled off a Hadoken motion and have it mess up. The control is that good.
There is lots of strategy in this game. The Alpha Counters are back, though they are weak and take up half your combo meter. There are three types of super meters in this game. You have A-Ism, the traditional SFA level 3 bar, X-Ism, which is like playing SSF2T, and V-Ism, where you can use custom combos. Each bar has its own advantage and disadvantage, so you'll want to figure out which bar you like to use the most. There are 31 characters in the game(34 if you count the hidden) and each one plays differently, though the game is infested with "Shotos". The game is balanced also. You can basically use any character well if you practice. Some people, however, like to choose akuma just to spoil your fun.
Sound/Music 8/10
For most, the sounds and music in Alpha 3 are a mixed bag. I think Capcom did good work on the music and sound, though some sounds grate on the ear(the announcer, R. Mika's screams). The music is pretty good on most stages, though it is weird to have techno music in a Street Fighter game. But it works well. The sounds are clear and almost never muffled. From "Go for Broke!" to "Shoryuken!" every sound is clear and sounds just like the arcade version. Some may argue that the sounds and music aren't as good as SFA2's though.
Replay Value 10/10
This is one reason to buy the game. There is a lot to unlock, and 34 characters to master! You can unlock a bunch of different modes, like Final Battle, where you can fight the last boss, Dramatic Battle, where you and a friend can team up against to defeat all the bosses of SF games past, and Survival Mode, which is different from the Survival of old, in that you fight multiple characters on the same stage, but they have set amounts of life.
Overall 9/10
Overall, Capcom did well on this game. A pretty good sequel to SFA2. If you haven't tried it, buy it somewhere!
Pros:
Replay Value
Sounds
Graphics
Gameplay
Cons:
Story
A bit of cheapness
Missing frames of animation
- By Dhylec_Blade
