Game Reviews | Game Previews

Summary

I first played the Dreamcast version of Third Strike over my best friend's house back in high school during the time the Sega Dreamcast was alive and well. When he showed me the game I had plenty of questions, because I never seen that Street Fighter game before in my life. I remember asking him if he imported it from Japan. He told me he got it from either ebay or amazon for less than 10 dollars. Who in the world was foolish enough to sell such a great game; because that game was a really hard one to find back then. When I played it I was completely amazed at the quality the game had. Third Strike quickly became an all time favorite. Lets review.

Graphics/Animation:
Incredible. I am a big fan of fighters with true, traditional 2D graphics. Capcom really pushed the 2D graphics to a ground breaking level when they made this title. The extreme detail in the sprites, the movement in the clothes, and the flexing of the muscles is down right cool. The HD sprites also adds a lot of flavor to the game if you are looking for a little extra pop.

The reactions to hits in the game is revolutionary as well. There is some really nice realistic looking reactions to the hits. For example, Ken's hurricane kick slaps people silly, especially in ex mode. It is so painful it is kinda funny. Every hit from ken's hurricane kick makes the victim's head spin back. The way characters fall really made it look like the characters really have weight. If you can't take my word for it, then look at the Hugo's fighting and ko animations. It is absolutely breath taking.

Music:
Capcom made a bold move to distance themselves from the repetitive nature of Street Fighter 2 theme songs. The game has a mix of hip hop, guitar, a hint of techno, and up beat soundtracks that is sure to get you pumped. And if the original tracks are not enough, then you can unlock a remix of every stage and use those in place of the original tracks. Very impressive.

Gameplay:
The gameplay really isn't all that different from the original game. The game has the typical 3 punches and 3 kicks, throws, parries, ex specials (enhanced versions of special moves), and super arts (more powerful special attacks). You build up you power meter by attacking, taking damage, and using parries. The action is fast paced and the parry system really adds depth and gives you the opportunity to unleash a nasty surprise with the correct timing and quick reflexes.

Game Modes:
This is where the game shines, because it has plenty of modes to enhance the experience of SF 3rd Strike. There is the traditional arcade, trial, online, challenge, and vault modes.

Arcade- fight random fighters and face gill at the end to unlock character endings.

Trial- use this mode to learn and master basic techniques and character combos. I advise you use this mode, because it will really help you become a better player.

Challenge- take on a number of preset challenges.

Vault- use this mode to unlock endings, pictures, movies, and remixes. You also use this mode to set what tracks you want to hear.

The game also has an interesting screen around the edges that actually keeps track of stats.

Online:
I thought it would be better to have a separate section to talk about the online mode. The online experience is perfect. The game is practically lag free. And that is not all. You can take all of your battles and upload them directly to your Youtube account. I tested it today and it works perfectly. The picture quality is really good too.

There are quite a few options available for setting up lobbies. 8 people can join a lobby. You can ban the use of certain characters. Banning characters is actually a cool feature. It was a smart choice because Gill would most likely be the character a lot of people would like to eliminate since he is too powerful to use against others online.

There is also a variety of rules that can be set. For example, you can set a tournament with tournament rules. I haven't tried it out yet; but it sounds like a lot of fun. I really didn't try any of the modes out; however I am sure the modes are interesting.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
Beautiful 2D graphics
Plenty of game modes
Trial mode will make you better
Near perfect online netcode
Good Remixes
Realistic reactions to hits


Cons:
Sometimes the background music stops playing. That is only a small problem though, because it doesn't happen a lot.

Capcom handled 3rd Strike with great care when they brought it back. Online experience is great and the trial mode will allow those who know the game and those who don't to sharpen their skills. The ability to upload videos sweetens the deal even more. Great job Capcom. This is one game that really feels complete in every way.

3rd Strike is rocking a 10 out 10.

Summary

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike was in high demand for a proper port that emulates the arcade feel as closely as possible. After more than a decade, we finally got it.

What we have here is an high definition version of the fan favorite, that not only manages to please at the basis by including the arcade experience with the infamous bugs patched out, but we also get a bunch of features that enhance the experience and make it better.

First off, the game has several single player modes. There's the arcade mode, which is expected, and then there is the training mode, which comes in normal and parry training, a mode built especially for practicing the feature exclusive to Street Fighter III. You can program the dummy within a wide range of actions and even record up to 60 seconds of the dummy for practicing your parrying and strategies against. Training mode resets every time you enter the pause menu, but the game loads practically instantaneously.

We also have trial mode, which includes character specific trials, parrying trials, and handicap trials, all of which help you to better learn the fighting engine. Since there are no input shortcuts and parrying is very precise, these trials are very intense, the perfect training for any player. The combos that you have to perform are recommended and some of the most effective, both introductory and advanced level.

Multiplayer is a blast, with all of the staples of modern online fighting games, such as quick matches, spectating in lobbies, tournament modes, leaderboards, and a replay channel, allowing you to upload any match you played online to Youtube and the Server, where people can upvote or downvote the videos.

The multiplayer is run on GGPO, which means that most matches are almost entirely without lag. It's like playing at an arcade, you can play with your buddies online and without regrets!

This is all packaged in with the added features of challenges, which also encourage practicing. When you complete a challenge, you earn a set amount of points, which can be spent in "the vault" to unlock art, music remixes, and character endings. The challenges can be viewed from the main menu and also displayed in a sidebar during matches.

Other fun features include dip switches and access to all of the difficulty settings, allowing you to manipulate the rules of the game (for local matches only); this is a feature used in arcade cabinets as well. Go ahead, turn off jumping.

You can also set your controls from the character select screen and unlock the character colors from the other versions of Street Fighter III.

The display settings come in widescreen, stretch, a normal sized setting with borders, and arcade cabinet, which makes the game look like it's being played out of one of those old arcade monitors at an appropriate angle and behind layers of plastic (I thing that arcade cabinet is mostly a novelty though).

The visuals can be put through a filter, to make the sprites look smoother or more crisp and detailed. You can even enable the scan lines that the old CRT monitors at the arcade had, if you want a truly nostalgic experience, and I actually like this feature for some reason.

Overall, we have the most arcade perfect Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike experience in this home version. It is as comprehensive as it possibly can be because Capcom went out of their way to please all of the fans. Sure, there are a few minor bugs that could be ironed out, but any lack of features within the game is made up for with all of the features it does have.

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike Online Edition is a must-own for every fighting game fan. For fifteen dollars, you'd be crazy not to buy this game.

Summary

Street Fighter is my favorite fighting series of all time. Street Fighter III: Third Strike: Fight for the Future is my favorite Street Fighter game. Thus, Third Strike is my favorite fighting game of all time. So, when it was finally revealed that Capcom was bringing this masterpiece w/ online play...needless to say I was giddy. They announced GGPO netcode for online play - great online play, btw- and a TON of challenges to make sure you can enjoy single player for months on end. So, what do I think of it now that I've gotten to spend some quality time with this classic?

Well, to start things off, the game is almost 100% arcade perfect. The only changes they've made were some visual changes to the menu interface, as well as some new filtering and screen options (which are very fun to mess with), and they've fixed the major game-breaking bugs (such as ones that would freeze the game). Otherwise, it's completely left intact to give you the experience you had in the arcades.

Now, when I say they added a ton of challenges for single player, I mean a TON...like, a metric ton. They have hundreds of single and multi player 'achievements', such as "get 10 perfects", and most even have multiple levels like when you complete 'parry 5 attacks' it turns into 'parry 25 attacks' for even more Vault Points (VP). What is VP? It is Capcom's 'currency system' which allows you to buy various art work, music, and more in the Vault - hense 'Vault Points'.

Capcom takes inspiration from its own Street Fighter IV and puts in a trials mode for each character which allows you to learn some great combos, helping you along the steep learning curve of the game play. Right off the bat, this is a great mode, but I've been playing SF since I was 6, and I've been playing this SFIII since 'New Generation' released in arcades back in 1997 so I immediately picked up on some gripes. The problem I have with this mode is that there are only handful of combos per character (many bread-and-butter combos aren't anywhere to be found) and they don't allow you to play the combos to see what they look like. This is a feature that could have been way more engaging and much more helpful for new comers. I would have really liked to see some combos that were more applicable in real-combat situations, so hopefully they'll fix this with a patch (preferable) or DLC content.

If you want to excel at Third Strike, you not only need to know how to perform a parry, but how to apply it properly and efficiently in matches. Thankfully Capcom has included three ways for you to practice this essential technique. You can either go into Parry Training mode, which is a classic mode included in the original home release of 3S, and furthermore you can enter the beginner and advanced parry trials. These are amazing practice modes that will really up your parrying ability. These practice trials explain how parrying works, and put you in practical situations you will easily experience while playing real matches. They even allow you to practice the Red Parry, where you block the first hit of a multi-hit attack, and then parry the rest. I wish they would have applied the same concept of practicality in detail in the combo trials.

When it comes down to it, you got the game so you can play it online, and I have to tell you that online play is almost 100%. There were a few matches that were choppy (and it may very well have been my own connection that was bogged down), but for the most part GGPO is standing up and letting us know it is the best way to go for fighting game net-code. It is always a cinch to find matches, you have spectator mode and headset compatibility (standard fare), but the best part is that you can instantly upload your replays to YouTube. Not only is this just a really cool feature, but it can be a great tool for upping your game. You can view other player's matches and have your own matches assessed for feedback from everyone from beginners to hardcore vets. Famous fighting game pros might even end up watching some of your fights - imagine getting feedback from the best SF player in the US, Justin Wong!. I hope other fighting games include this feature from now on.

Third Strike has been fan's most beloved fighting game for over 10 years, and now we have its full glory as a DL game for only 15 bucks, plus excellent online mode, and tons of replay value. On top of that, Capcom is going to continue to support it with DLC, all of which easily make 3SOE a phenomenal value for your hard-earned dollar. I especially urge fighting game fans unfamiliar with SFIII to download this game immediately and enjoy on a much grander scale what made us fall in love with this game more than 10 years ago.

Summary

Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition is basically the final re-release of the one of the best fighting games of all time. The core game play is completely unchanged from the arcade version, but the major addition of online matchmaking gives new life to this amazing game.

For those who have not played Street Fighter 3 (or 2 for that matter), you should know that it is considerably more challenging than new-generation fighting games (SF4/MVC3/etc). Third Strike was released in 1999, before fighting games were "dumbed down" so to speak to appeal to a wider audience, and this is one of the major reasons why SF3 never gained the level of popularity as some other fighting games have. Inputs are more strict in SF3 than in SF4 (for example: to do a dragon punch in SF3 you MUST input Down > Forward > Down/Forward, where as in SF4 you may simply quickly tap Down/Forward twice). In addition, this game is more fast paced than SF4 (characters move/attack faster), and certain mechanics such as parrying require quick reflexes and good timing. I am NOT saying SF3 is impossibly hard, I'm just saying that it will take some getting used to if you are coming from SFIV.

Anyway, if you liked third strike on PS2/Dreamcast/Arcades, you will love this game. Even if you have never played third strike but are looking for a fighting game with deep mechanics, rather than mindless button mashing, give this game a try. All in all, for $15 this game is an amazing value for any fighting game fan.

Summary

Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike Online Edition marks the return of what people possibly consider the best game in the series. Does it still hold up though.

Characters

Well you have mostly new characters like Sean,Hugo and Urien but the popular Ryu,Ken,Chun Li and Akuma are there and considered some of the best in the bussiness in this game.

Modes

Well you have the Arcade Mode which is basically Single Player and you get to fight through certain characters and make it all the way to Gill who is a cheap last boss. You also have Vault where you unlock certain concept art and videos,Character Trials as well which start of easy but can quickly get tough. Plus there's multiplayer and Training mode if you want to learn some of the new moves.

Gameplay

Well the gameplay is very nice it moves along at a very good rate and becomes very addictive and fun. You have a Super Bar and when its full you can unleash a very powerful combo. A new feature that was added in this game was the parry attack and while it is easy to do mastering the thing is gonna take sometime like parrying attacks in the air and very long combos. Overall it is basically easy to do but hard to master but much better in my opinion than the Focus Attack.

Online Play

Well you can Save Replays and upload them and you can also play Tournaments as well as Player Matches as well and Ranked Matches. Now to be honest the Matchmaking isn't good by any means it could take ages to find a match. Also what I have seen in some matches the game sort of like jumps a bit when it lags. I mean it quickly manages to lag for a few seconds and then catch up but it is a problem and Capcom need to fix it.

Presentation

I have always perferred the 2D sprites in Street Fighter games and also it looks beautiful it doesn't seem to have aged badly at all unlike some games.

Lastability

A game you can play with friends and online it could last you a while.

Overall Opinion

For a downloadable game they don't ome much better than this but whilist the normal gameplay feels fine the online is iffy and far from perfect and needs work. Overall though an excellent game that will take time to master those parry attacks but the rewards are great. It has alot to do and I recommend anyone who loves Street Fighter or fighting games to get this.

Overall Score 9.4