Street Fighter Alpha 3

Infobox VG


title = Street Fighter Alpha 3
developer = Capcom
publisher = Capcom
platforms = Arcade game
Sega Dreamcast
Game Boy Advance
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
PlayStation Portable
Sega Saturn (Japan only)
release = vgrelease|JP=June 29, 1998|NA=June 29, 1998
genre = Fighting
modes = Up to 2 players simultaneously
input = 8-way Joystick, 6 Buttons
cabinet = Upright
arcade system = CPS-2
display = Raster, 384 x 224 pixels (Horizontal), 4096 colors

"Street Fighter Alpha 3", known as nihongo|"Street Fighter Zero 3"|ストリートファイターZERO 3|Sutorito Faita Zero 3 in Japan and Asia, is a vgy|1998 fighting game by Capcom originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the "Street Fighter Alpha" series, following "" and "Street Fighter Alpha 2". The gameplay system from the previous "Alpha" games was given a complete overhaul with the addition of three selectable fighting styles based on "Street Fighter Alpha" (A-ism), "Street Fighter Alpha 2" (V-ism), and "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" (X-ism), new stages, a much larger roster of characters, and for the first time since the original "Street Fighter II", new theme music for all the returning characters.

Gameplay

"Street Fighter Alpha 3" discards the "Manual" and "Auto" modes from the previous "Alpha" games by offering the player three different playing styles known as "isms". The standard playing style, A-ism (or Z-ism in Japan), is based on the previous "Alpha" games, in which the player has a three-level Super Combo gauge with access to several Super Combo moves. X-ism is a simple style based on "Super Street Fighter II Turbo", in which the player has a single-level Super Combo gauge and access to a single (but powerful) Super Combo move. The third style, V-ism (or "variable" style), a unique style that allows the player to perform custom combos similar to the ones in "Street Fighter Alpha 2". In X-ism, players cannot air-block nor use Alpha Counters. "Alpha 3" also introduces a "Guard Power Gauge" which depletes each time the player blocks - if the gauge is completely depleted, then the player will remain vulnerable for an attack.

The controls for several actions has been modified from previous "Alpha" games. For example, the level of a Super Combo move in A-ism is now determined by the strength of the attack button pressed (i.e Medium Punch or Kick for a Lv. 2 Super Combo), rather than the number of buttons pushed; and throwing is now done by pressing two punch or kick buttons simultaneously.

Characters

As with the previous "Alpha" titles, several characters were added to the game: Cammy, who was previously featured the console-exclusive "Alpha 2 Gold", makes her official "Alpha" debut in the game along with several characters from "Street Fighter II" including E. Honda, Blanka and Vega. Characters new to the "Street Fighter" series includes R. Mika, a Japanese female wrestler who idolizes Zangief, Karin, Sakura's rival who was first introduced in the Masahiko Nakahira manga "Sakura Ganbaru", and Cody from "Final Fight", who was transformed from a vigilante into an escaped convict, makes his "Street Fighter" debut.

The single player mode consist of ten or eleven matches against computer-controlled opponents. The fifth and ninth opponent is a rival of the player's character who exchanges dialogue before and after the match. Unlike previous "Alpha" games, the final match for all the regular characters is against a more powerful version of M. Bison (officially known as "Final Bison") who uses the "Psycho Drive Crusher" as a Super Combo. Depending on the player's character, the final match with Bison will be preceded with either: a one-on-two match against Bison's female bodyguards Juni and Juli (who uses the same techniques as Cammy), or the boxer Balrog. In the arcade version, Balrog, Juni and Juli were secret selectable characters.

Returning characters

Portable version additions

The Game Boy Advance version contains all the additional characters from the console versions, as well as three additional characters from "Capcom vs. SNK 2": Yun, Maki and Eagle. The PlayStation Portable version, "Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX", contains the same additional characters, as well as Ingrid from "Capcom Fighting Evolution".

Versions

* "Street Fighter Alpha 3" was initially ported in vgy|1998 for the PlayStation. This replacing "hit" sprites with "hit" polygons in order to focus more memory on character animations. T. Hawk, Fei Long, and Dee Jay (the remaning "New Challengers" from "Super Street Fighter II", who were not in the original arcade version) were added to the roster. Balrog, Juni and Juli were also added to the immediate roster, after they were given new character portraits and their own storylines. Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma, and Guile were also added as secret characters in the World Tour mode, a mode that allows players to customize their chosen character's fighting style. An additional feature in the Japanese version also made use of the PocketStation peripheral, which allows players to build up their character's strength. In this version, Shin Akuma serves as the final boss for Evil Ryu. Due to RAM limitation, the only unique pairings available in the Dramatic Battle Mode are Ryu & Ken or Juni & Juli.

* The vgy|1999 Dreamcast version, titled "Street Fighter Alpha 3: Saikyo Dojo" (or "Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō" in Japan), retains all the added features from the PlayStation version of the game. An online mode was added that allowed players to display their high scores. In addition, a Saikyo Dojo mode was added which pits a very weak character of the player's choice against two very strong opponents. This Dreamcast port was re-released in Japan in vgy|2000 as "Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō for Matching Service", which was released as a mail order title via Dreamcast Direct. The "Matching Service" version differs from the original due to the addition of an Online Versus Mode.

* A Sega Saturn version of "Street Fighter Zero 3" was also released in 1999 shortly after the initial Dreamcast version in Japan only. The Saturn port makes use of Capcom's 4-Mega RAM cart and utilizing all of the features added to the PlayStation version with the exceptions of the polygon usage and the PocketStation mode - that said, the Saturn version uses the extra RAM to include more frames of animation than the PlayStation version. Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma, and Guile are immediately selectable. While the World Tour and Survival modes are virtually unchanged from the PlayStation version, Dramatic Battle received major improvements with the addition of Reverse Dramatic Battle and allowing three different characters to be used.

* "Street Fighter Zero 3" was re-released for the arcades in Japan in vgy|2001 under the title of "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper"The word "Upper" is represented by an upward arrow (↑). The PSP version, "Double Upper", is written with two upward arrows (↑↑).] . The game was released for the Dreamcast-based NAOMI hardware (rather than the original game's CPS II hardware) and features all the added characters from the console versions of the game. "Upper" also allows player to upload any customized characters from the Dreamcast version of the game by inserting a VMU into a memory card slot on the cabinet.

* A Game Boy Advance version developed by Crawfish Interactive was released in vgy|2002. The GBA version is titled "Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper" on the title screen. The port is compressed and lacks several stages and music from the previous arcade and console versions, although all characters were present. In addition, Eagle, Maki and Yun, all whom were characters from "Capcom vs. SNK 2" (released during the previous year), were also added to the game. Only a small amount of character voices were ported over to this version and the developers raised Ken's voice to a higher pitch and using it as Sakura's voice.

* The PlayStation Portable version, titled "Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX" ("Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper" in Japan), was released in vgy|2006 and features the additional characters from the GBA version as well as Ingrid from "Capcom Fighting Evolution". The game is a near faithful port of the arcade version with minimal loading times and all graphics intact. All the added characters now feature their own in-game storylines and endings.

* The "Street Fighter Alpha Anthology" for PlayStation 2 (or "Street Fighter Zero: Fighters' Generation" in Japan), also released in 2006, contains the arcade version of "Alpha 3" as one of the immediately available games, along with a revised version of "Alpha 3 Upper" as a secret game. The "World Tour Mode" that was featured in the previous home versions is not included in this compilation , nor the extra characters introduced in the portable versions of the game.

External links

*KLOV game|id=9805|name=Street Fighter Alpha 3
*StrategyWiki|Street Fighter Alpha 3

References