[5/12/24]

Happy 25th, 3rd Strike.

It only took 5 years since the last Street Fighter II revision for there to finally be a worthy successor to the name. The first version of Street Fighter III, New Generation, was incredibly jank and felt off at all times. The second version, Second Impact, had some changes, but the game still failed to live up to the name. The two versions are incredibly underdocumented, and it's because this one here blows them out of the water. For one, we get returning veteran Chun-Li (who happens to be one of the best characters in the game) alongside four other new characters: Makoto, Remy, Twelve and Q. SFIII's definitely got the most unique roster to this day and it's so sad that most of these guys haven't seen the light of day since '99.

In terms of balance changes, the parry sees itself finally being useful! In New Generation and Second Impact, the parry was designed as another defensive option, which makes it SUCK because you tap forward instead of back to block. A little bit of frame data adjustments in 3rd Strike and it's now a tool used for offense with the ability to whip out an attack much faster than if you were to block it. The rest is history.

Aesthetically, it's the other side of the 90s coin that Street Fighter Alpha 3 and the previous two versions of Street Fighter III showed off. The "street" in Street Fighter is at its most apparent here, even after Street Fighter 6 thanks to the drum & bass soundtrack and grittier stages (we can thank memory limitations for the latter).

I love this game. It's a sign of devs trying their best to salvage a terrible game, shunned at first because it was a follow-up to that, and then it took the most iconic moment in competitive gaming history for people to look at it and go "wait, this is actually fire." It's cemented itself as one of the all-time greats and it deserves every bit of that title.

"The mark of my divinity shall scar thy DNA"

Not gonna lie, having some shapeshifting humanoid weapon or some dude in a robot mask looking something straight out of a tokusatsu show or an Icy Hot lookin ass superhuman god cult leader isn't exactly my definition of "street" fighting but i can definitely say that this game puts the "street" in Street Fighter from the moment i first boot up the game and hearing that beautiful opening theme song and hearing the announcer's voice and man this game just oozes personality and it's like the game embraces street culture in a way that feels authentic and fresh from the soundtracks and everything and this type of urban/hiphop feel of the game continues in Street Fighter 6 which was my first exposure to the soundtrack of a Street Fighter game.

And then there's the overall style and presentation of the game. The character designs, backgrounds all have this distinct street-like feel to it with characters like Dudley and despite his overall British swag, that man's got some real boxing finesse and then there are the two twins from Hong Kong like Yun and Yang which not gonna lie probably has the most unusually dark and brooding and for some reason almost sounds like the 007 intro at the beginning of the theme song for two wacky teens riding skateboards but whatever.

The animations in this game are just down right smooth and absolutely mesmerizing to look at and definitely holds up still to this day. Sure the game might not have the most realistic graphics like Street Fighter 6 which has this mix of cartoony and realistic look to it but there's a timeless quality to the animation that makes it just as enjoyable to watch now as it was back then like Elena's fluid and meticiously rotoscoped animations or Twelve's almost smooth and silky-like movement (which kinda makes sense considering he can shapeshift).

Now since i'm mostly a Tekken guy, I find the controls to be kind of overwhelming since i'm so used to Tekken's 1234 button layout and not the 6 button layout which made it difficult for me to do it on a keyboard (yes i sometimes play Tekken on a keyboard) and the timing and execution of moves in this game are also different. Tekken’s combos often rely on stringing together a series of moves while this game emphasizes precise inputs and timing for moves like special attacks and supers and the parry system requires precise timing to deflect attacks, which can be tough as shit to nail down if you’re not used to that kind of mechanic and you can probably imagine how my fight with the final boss went.

And then there's the whole motion input thing for special moves like quarter circles, half-circles, etc and these can feel pretty alien because i'm so accustomed to Tekken's simpler directional inputs like seriously trying to consistently do a Shoryuken and then a Hadouken then a Hurricane Kick and finish it off with that one Akuma super where spin kicks his enemy to the air.

But regardless of all that, 3rd Strike is still one of the best and most influential game i've ever played. I was exposed to the existance of this game because of the infamous EVO 2004 moment with the Daigo parry and only like a month ago i think do i get to experience the beauty of this game. Had a hell of a time playing this game and getting my ass kicked online through Fightcade and i'll try to put some more time getting comfy with the controls of this game.

Baby's first traditional 2D fighting game with motion inputs.

I wanna just go ahead and rave about Fightcade, the platform I played SF3ts on. It's a genious concept to take the preexisting technology of emulation and make it possible for people to chat and challenge each other and to have a ranking system to motivate people to strive to fulfill their personal goals. Although the chat can sometimes be filled by mildly toxic man babies that haven't learnt that loosing is part of playing a competitive game, I still think it's an overall positive thing and definetly the driving factor behind my interest in the game: pure ease of use.

Now turning to the game. My experience with the game started off as being pure amazement. I love how the game looks. It's smooth and everything just looks nice and some of the animations are just so well done. I dunno I might be overexagerating but I seriously think the game is so cool and visually stunning. The character select screen music rocks ass too.

I always thought that the character roster is the most important thing in a fighting game. Taking on a persona and playing with the tools a character provides always has been so much fun. And SF3 definetly delivered. With nineteen different characters the roster appears small at first, atleast if compared to modern fighting games (SF5 has something around 47 playable chars). But you know what they say: size doesn't matter. Every charcter feels like they have a role to fulfill. Hugo is the slow grappler. Q is the immovable fortress. Necro zones. Ibuki represents the fast but frail archetype and so on. Depending on what you want you will probably find something.

The gameplay is fast paced. But really it's simple at it's core. You try to attack the opponent while trying to block and evade your opponents moves. Some moves link into each other for extra damage, some moves are best used when the opponent overswings or to catch somebody jumping and so on. But the crown disciplin is parrying. We've all seen the absolute demonstration of skill Evo Moment 37 was and still is. This mechanic is what makes Street Fighter 3 Street Fighter 3 and it's also funnily enough the mechanic I least explored and which I might even have liked the least. I dunno maybe I just didn't like getting parried and then full combo'd into super by the twentieth Ken in a row. Still, everything else about the game is just so cool and I see why people love this game so much.

My final thoughts are a little messy. On the one hand I was bad at the game and never bothered to git gud. I got constantly destroyed but much more skilled players. It was frustrating at times but such is the nature of competing. But on the other hand, ultimately, I am so glad I have played this game and found out about a genre I was unfamiliar with. I have now moved on from SF3 and I won't probably be returning. But I take with me everything I have learned about this genre of games and competition and try to apply it to a other games. I've recently bought Guilty Gear Strive and I am absolutely living this game right now. Still. I would have never dipped my toes into it if it wasn't for Street Fighter 3. And for that I am thankful. Thank you Street Fighter 3, may you entertain players for all eternity to come. 10/10

Played in 2024, didn't age well

you just spam special inputs until you finish the game, because they do a LOT of damage.

You should play it if you like the series, but it isn't special.