Street Fighter III
Street Fighter III is a
fighting game produced by
Capcom, released in
1997 on Capcom's
CPS-3 hardware, which is a continuation of the famous
Street Fighter series.
The game was produced in three editions, each adding more characters as well as making minor modifications to the
gameplay:
*
Street Fighter III: New Generation*
Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact - Giant Attack*
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the FutureStory-wise, 2nd Impact overwrites New Generation, while 3rd Strike is a continuation of 2nd Impact.
The games are often referred to by their subtitle. For example,
2nd Impact or
3rd Strike.
A
sequel to
Street Fighter II was in high demand, due to the popularity of the second game. Rather than releasing a sequel, Capcom created four updates (each one taking about as long as a sequel generally would at the time) to
Street Fighter II, and created a spin-off series called
Street Fighter Alpha before finally creating
Street Fighter III. Some fans began to become impatient with Capcom's unwillingness to release a true sequel, while others saw the constant fine-tuning as an effort to make sure the game would be known for its great gameplay.
Street Fighter III: New Generation, or alternately,
Three: A New Generation of Street Fighter (or simply
Three as it was called on its marquee), was the true sequel to
Street Fighter II, and retained the duo of
Ken and
Ryu which many fans of the series loved. Because of the high number of animation frames used per character (the most fluidly animated fighting game sprites as of now), the original edition of
Street Fighter III only included ten characters; however, the second and third editions of the games slowly added new characters, as well as reintroducing
Chun-Li and
Akuma. Some fans were put off by some of the added characters, viewing them as overly exotic and remniscent of the
Darkstalkers series (
Vampire in
Japan) more than anything from the
Street Fighter II series or even the
Street Fighter Alpha series. Many were also disappointed in the lack of more classic characters from previous
Street Fighter games. The later updates were named
2nd Impact and
3rd Strike.
3rd Strike is notable for having a soundtrack that was heavily influenced by the
hip hop and
acid jazz genres of music.
While not unsuccessful, the series' success was hindered by a number of factors: it was released at a time when the arcade market was beginning to decline,
3D fighting games such as
Tekken were on the rise, its old school gameplay wasn't as easy to learn or as visually flashy as other 2D/3D fighting games, and the decline of fighting games in general as a popular genre. None of the three
Street Fighter III games were able to match the success of the
Street Fighter II,
Street Fighter Alpha, or Capcom
vs. series. The most current release of the series is a port of
3rd Strike, which is included as part of the
Street Fighter: The Anniversary Collection on the
PlayStation 2 and
Xbox.
The most important technical addition to the games was "offensive blocking" (known to
European and
American fans as "parrying"), and differs from simple blocking (guarding in the Japanese version) in that no damage is taken from the opponent's attack, and the person performing a successful parry has no block stun. A block stun is the split second after a block is executed where the character cannot make another action. This enables the player to immediately counter attack after a parry. Parrying is a skill that requires a lot of honing and practicing, however, as it requires that you press
forward (or down, if it's a low attack) during a small window of frames when the opponent's attack would make contact with you.
3rd Strike allowed a wider time-span for a player to execute a parry; this has made parrying somewhat easier than previous editions. Incorrect timing of parrying will leave your character wide open for counter attacks. Skilled players learn to parry as many single attacks and combos as possible, which caused the game to be focused primarily on quick "pokes" (light attacks) leading into long, preferably uncommon combos.
The Air Block, which was introduced in the
Alpha series, was removed in order to keep with the differing rhythm of the game, and perhaps to encourage parrying over blocking in order to have a defensive option while airborne.
The Super Arts system is similar to most super moves in 2D fighters. However, there is a big difference. In
Street Fighter III, the player is asked to choose one of three Super Arts before the match starts. Each Super Art has its own meter length, and amount of "stocks" it can hold. This is the main difference between
Street Fighter III and other fighting games, which tend to have static meter lengths for each combatant as well as a variety of Super Art-esque moves available at any time. Some moves take a long time to charge up, and can only be stocked once, while others accumulate stocks quickly and allow for multiple executions of the same Super Art.
In addition, the Super Art meter is used for
EX Moves (similar to the
Enhanced Special moves in
Darkstalkers), which are powered up versions of character's special moves.
EX Moves are performed by pressing two punch or kick buttons at once, while performing the same directional motions as with normal special moves. The Super Art meter depletes depending on the character and the attack performed. The acknowledged downside to
EX Moves lies in their lack of variability, as opposed to normal special moves which can be performed to varying degrees of fierceness using the three levels of attack buttons present in every
Street Fighter game.
EX Moves are a major contributor to the status of
3rd Strike as one of the most refined fighters of all time; they allow the player to choose between Super Art conservation for sudden, devastating Super Arts (such as Chun-Li's infamous
Houyoku Sen) or a constant barrage of EX attacks.
While taunting is an available action in all three version of Street Fighter III, each character's taunt in "3rd Strike" is also accompanied by an additional benefit if completed successfully; for example, Ryu's taunt will lower his stun gauge, and Q's taunt raises his stamina.
*Originally, Ryu and Ken were not to be in this game, instead being replaced by Sean as the lone Ansatsuken fighter. Capcom changed their minds as the result of these two characters' strong followings, and included them in the final release. Despite this, neither of the two is the main character, as Alex was given that title.
Official
*Official Japanese website
;General resources
*Street Fighter III at The Killer List of Video Games
*Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact: Giant Attack at The Killer List of Video Games
*Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future at The Killer List of Video Games
*Shoryuken.com (the online center of competitive Street Fighter)
