- ALL-TIME CLASSIC.
- GREAT FOR ALL AGES.
- SONY PLAYSTATION VERSION.
- GREAT FOR COLLECTORS.
- HARD TO FIND.
Product description
-------------------
Street Fighter Alpha 3...scores a triple K.O.!
From the Manufacturer
---------------------
Street Fighter Alpha 3...Scores a Triple K.O. The perfect
version of the arcade blockbuster! New world tour mode and other
enhancements! 3 fighting styles for every character!
P.when('A').execute(function(A) {
A.on('a:expander:toggle_description:toggle:collapse',
function(data) {
window.scroll(0, data.expander.$expander[0].offsetTop-100);
});
});
Review
------
Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom's latest ship title, has made
its way to the PlayStation in a nice, timely fashion. This
faithful arcade conversion sees Capcom bend over backwards to
deliver its most rewarding home conversion yet. This time around,
a pack of returning veterans has its first "Alpha incarnation"
alongside four newly introduced women fighters. For those still
skeptical about the PlayStation's 2D capabilities, Street Fighter
Alpha 3 will make short work of any resident doubts. The game's
graphical prowess and arcade-perfect gameplay combined with its
cache of bonus modes makes Street Fighter Alpha 3 the latest
standard for 2D excellence on the PlayStation.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 has a total of 34 characters, four of
which become only after you play through the game's
various modes. The alumni from Street Fighter Alpha 2 are joined
by four new fighters: Karin Kanzuki, Rainbow Mika, Juli, and
Juni. However, only Karin and R. Mika can be considered truly new
since both Juli and Juni have moves and animations derived from
Cammy. For Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom also brought back old
favorites like Guile, E. Honda, Blanka, Balrog, Dee Jay, and Fei
Long. In an effort to give the game detail beyond any of the
previous Street Fighter Alphas, Capcom has given each character a
unique ending. This means that bonus characters such as Guile,
Evil Ryu, and Shin Akuma all have endings that reflect their
origin or purpose.
Each of the older characters retains moves from previous Street
Fighter games, while a few receive new abilities that are
balanced through the "ism" system. Street Fighter Alpha 3 employs
the ism system as a method of establishing balance and strategy.
X-ism, A-ism, and V-ism determine moves and attributes that carry
their own pros and cons. The isms are imbued with advantages and
limitations so you will need to discover which mode fits your
fighting style most. For instance, the advantage of X-ism is that
it has the highest damage rating, but you can't air-block or
ground-recover. X-ism also has the upper hand when it comes to
guard power - this makes the mode ideal for players accustomed to
classic Street Fighter 2 regulations. A-ism, on the other hand,
is the mode most players have become accustomed to since the
premiere of Street Fighter Alpha. The "A" in the name represents
Alpha, where abilities such as air blocking, air and ground
recoveries, taunts, a three-tiered super meter, and Alpha
counters have all become the de facto expectation. V-ism stands
for "variable" mode and is by far the most difficult mode to
master in Street Fighter Alpha 3. With V-ism, you have the
ability to activate Alpha 2-style custom combos. Aside from the
various pros and cons of each ism, there are also a few moves
that are ism specific. All of these considerations factor into
choosing the right ism for your fighting style.
In a show of bravado reminiscent of Namco's Tekken series, Capcom
has added a wealth of extras to the PlayStation version of Street
Fighter Alpha 3, making it Capcom's best home conversion ever.
When you first enter the game, only arcade and world tour are
available for selection. Arcade mode takes you through a
regimented plotline for each character, complete with dialogue,
sub-bosses, and of course, the showdown with M. Bison. The world
tour mode combines round-to-round fights with RPG-like elements,
similar (perhaps to the point of seeming a little ripped off) to
the Edge Master mode in Namco's Soul Blade. You go on a "world
tour" with your favorite characters and gain experience points by
defeating challengers from each country. Gathered experience
points go towards "leveling up" your character, like in an RPG -
the better the fight, the bigger the reward. While your
characters level up, they will also be granted access to special
ism-plus abilities, such as auto guard, alpha cancel, and damage
plus. Once you have earned these skills, you can then augment
each ism with abilities previously unavailable in normal arcade
play. For instance, X-ism lacks air blocking, but through world
tour mode, you can enable an X-ism character to perform air
blocking. Character levels peak at 32, while each ism maxes out
at level five (considered mastery). As an added bonus, you can
take characters you created in world tour mode to fight in versus
mode by importing from memory cards. Aside from world tour, you
can also unlock the following modes: team battle, survival,
dramatic battle plus, and final battle. Kudos to Capcom for
making a Street Fighter with more replay value and flexibility
than ever before. --Chieh Chou
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written
permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot
logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc. -- GameSpot Review
See more ( javascript:void(0) )
