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| 1997 video games | |
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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 :
The original ''Street Fighter III'' and ''2nd Impact'' follows the same storyline (much like the first two ''Alpha'' games), while ''3rd Strike'' is a continuation of both (much like ''Alpha 3''). HISTORY Street Fighter II and its four revisions (Champion Edition, Hyper Fighting, Super and Super Turbo) proved tremendously successful and there was world-wide demand for a sequel. However, Capcom chose not to proceed directly to Street Fighter III. First the company created Street Fighter Alpha , a prequel series. Alpha comprised three major games. Street Fighter III: New Generation, a/k/a, "Three: A New Generation of Street Fighters," retained only two fighters from the previous Street Fighter games, Ryu and Ken . The game launched on the CPS-3, which allowed Capcom to include a high number of animation frames per character, giving the game an artistic style distinct from the earlier series. New Generation included ten characters; later revisions would increase this number up to eighteen and reintroduce series regulars Chun-Li and Akuma . The decision to introduce a largely new cast of fighters displeased many fans. Some thought the new characters were derivatives of the Darkstalkers series (''Vampire'' in Japan ) and unfaithful to the Street Fighter tradition. In the two years following the launch of Street Fighter III, Capcom offered two revisions: 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike. 3rd Strike is notable for its soundtrack, which included a significant number of Jungle and Drum And Bass compositions. The series proved less successful than earlier Street Fighter games. Fans attribute the lack of success to a number of factors: (1) the series launched at a time when the arcade gaming industry was in significant decline; (2) 3D fighting games such as Tekken had become phenomenally popular and were considered more accessible to new players due to their comparatively simple fighting systems; (3) the series was not as visually flashy as some of its competitors; (4) fighting games in general had fallen in popularity from their peak in the early 1990s. The Street Fighter III series would not match the success of Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha, or the Marvel vs. Capcom series. Despite this lack of popularity, many hardcore gamers consider Street Fighter III (particullarly 3rd Strike) to be the definitive 2D fighting game overall. The first two games were eventually ported to the . Street Fighter III: Third Strike was also released in a stand alone format within Japan. Also sold in Japan was a Limited Edition PS2 port which included a bonus DVD of "master" player bouts, a game guide, and a 500 piece jigsaw puzzle. Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection title is now backwards-compatible on the Xbox 360 , but suffers from slow-down within certain characters stages and under some animation conditions. GAMEPLAY A significant technical addition to the games was "offensive blocking" (known to European and American players as ''Parrying''), and differs from simple ''Blocking'' (guarding in the Japanese version) such that the player performing a successful ''Parry'' has no ''Block Stun''. After ''Blocking'' an attack, the defending player enters a brief period of ''Block Stun'' where they cannot immediately react with any hostile actions. However, as a defensive action, a ''Red Parry'' (a ''Parry'' executed during ''Block Stun'') can be attempted should the attacker continue their barrage of attacks. ''Parrying'' defends against the ''Chip Damage'' (a.k.a. "Cheap" or "Cheesy" as in the Alpha series) normally inflicted when ''Blocking'' an opponent's ''Special Attack'' or ''Super Art''. Although reduced from its normal damage, a ''Blocked Special Attack'' or ''Super Art'' causes minuscule but noticeable ''Chip Damage'', allowing attackers the opportunity to at least partially punish the overly defensive player who chooses to simply ''Block'' all incoming attacks, thus motivating a player to attempt a ''Parry''. ''Parrying's'' inclusion in the fighting genre allows both players to instantly wrest control of the fight's momentum, moving it away from excessive "sitting in the corner and blocking" and "attacking relentlessly" that hinders most fighting games' restrictive combat flow. The lure of a ''Parry's'' potential success or failure, offers the attacking and defending players myriad options for mind games, since at any time the player's attack can be used against the player. Due to ''Parrying's'' open ended nature, the player is enabled to freely decide the appropriate response to the ''Parried'' attack given the situation. This differs from the limited ''Attack Reversal'' system of Tekken or Virtua Fighter , which, upon the defender's successful execution, automatically initiates a predetermined attack. ''3rd Strike'' broadened the time-span in which a player can successfully execute a parry; increasing its appeal and functionality over its predecessors. As players skillfully learn to parry commonly used attacks, such as quick "pokes" (attacks with fast execution, high priority, good range and safe recovery), varying attack vectors comes into focus, as abusing the same tactics makes for predictable patterns. The Air Block, which was introduced in the ''Alpha'' series, was removed (along with the Block Meter) in order to keep with the differing rhythm of the game, and to limit defensive options while airborne. The Super Arts system is similar to most super moves in 2D fighters, where attacks inflicting damage and those that miss completely, allow the player to build enough meter until it is full. However, in ''Street Fighter III'', the player selects one of three Super Arts before a match starts, this causes for a more specific direction to be taken with how players plan to play their character. Each Super Art has its own meter length, and amount of "stocks" it can hold. Other fighting games tend to have one static meter length to equate that enough meter has been acquired to use any of the multiple "Supers" available to that combatant. While this may seem less restricted due to the larger amount of attack options this opens up, enabling too many moves actually confines a defending player due to their increased vulnerability. While some Super Arts take a longer time to charge up, and can only be stocked once, some accumulate stocks quickly and allow for up to as many as three consecutive executions of that Super Art. Additionally, the Super Art meter can be partially spent to execute ''EX Moves'' (a.k.a. EXtra special), (the ''ES'', a.k.a. ''Enhanced Special'' moves were first introduced in Capcom's ''Darkstalkers''), which are powered up versions of character's special moves. Although not as strong as a Super Art, a portion of the Super Art meter is consumed when using an ''EX Move''. The acknowledged upside to ''EX Moves'' lies in their utility to further attack variability when coupled by alternating strength of ''Special Attacks'', as all of which are performed to varying degrees of fierceness, using the three levels of attack buttons present in every ''Street Fighter'' game. For example, when performing Ken's Dragon Punch ''Special Move'', pressing ''Jab Punch'', the fastest attack button, executes a version of the ''Special Move'' which: covers less distance, does less damage, but executes more quickly than a ''Strong Punch'' or ''Fierce Punch''. The ''EX Move'' version travels the farthest distance, does the most damage and causes additional hits. A move is EX'd by pressing two punch or kick buttons simultaneously, while performing the same directional motions the ''Special Move'' requires normally. A contributor to the complex ballet of ''3rd Strike'', ''EX Moves'' allow the player to choose between Super Art conservation for sudden, devastating Super Arts (such as Chun-Li's infamous Houyoku Sen ) or a barrage of EX attacks. Taunting, a.k.a ''Personal Action'', is only available in Street Fighter III 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike. Each character's taunt is also accompanied by an additional benefit if completed successfully; for example, Ryu's taunt will lower his stun gauge, whereas Q's taunt raises his maximum stamina. CHARACTERS Featured in all versions
http://www.fightersgeneration.com/characters2/necrodi.jpg
Introduced in ''2nd Impact''
Introduced in ''3rd Strike''
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