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I've been a long-time fan
of Street Fighter and pretty much any 2D fighter from Capcom. Like
SNK, they make some of the most entertaining and replayable fighters
ever. Street Fighter 3: Third Strike is yet another in their
Dreamcast line-up, which includes Alpha 3, Double Impact, Capcom Vs
SNK, Marvel vs, Capcom 2 and Project Justice among others.
The difference with Third Strike is that, while the gameplay is
solid and the graphics every bit as nice-looking as the arcade, it
lacks the diverse selection of characters. Third Strike only brings
back a few favorites from other SFs, the rest of which are mostly
bad new ideas.
What do I mean by this? Well, characters like Necro, Q, Twelve,
Elena (she-Eddy Gordo) and Oro plague the game. They're weird and
usually worthless characters. Oro appears to be a cheap derivative
of Dhalsim, Twelve is just another morph character, Necro appears to
be a robotic clown, and Q is some guy in a mask. These characters
only detract from the game.
The good thing is, Third Strike has a few cool characters, some
returning from past SFs and some completely new. Returning are a
more mature Ken and Ryu, Chun-Li, Sean, and Akuma. There's a few new
ones as well, like Alex and Makoto. Overall the roster's not as
impressive as Double Impact, but that's pretty much the biggest
problem in Third Strike.
The game's fun, not unlike any other Street Fighter. The biggest
difference is that unlike the others, you can only pick one Super
Art. The super art you choose has two different variations depending
on which punch/kick button is used. I somewhat prefer this over
having all three at your disposal.
Gameplay is typical SF. Battle 1 on 1 using a variety of different
attacks, some as simple as a punch or standing kick while others as
complex as chain of wrestling moves. It's standard for the series,
nothing really new except a couple new attacks for Ryu and Ken.
Control's perfect. The DC pad was made for fighters, Third Strike
proves it. Chaining together attacks is almost too easy and the
speed is at a nice, constant setting (unlike some other SFs which
have settings for this).
The graphics are astounding. While the detail level is on the level
of other SFs, Third Strike uses more frames to give it a smooth,
animated look. From the flowing of Ken's pant sleeves to Alex's
headband, the game flushes out even the smallest details. I haven't
played a more visually arresting 2D game.
Sound is great too. For the American version, Capcom got some
rappers to do the intros to the game and battles, plus a little
'theme' for 'choosing the right one' (characters). The in-level
music is great too.
Although it doesn't have the sheer number of fighters that MvC2
does, nor the expansive options and secrets of Alpha 3, I still
think Third Strike is worth it. Its an arcade-perfect adaptation,
and perfect when you just want to jump into an arcade fight.
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