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Apr.3,2011
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Get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX Now
Capcom, the former arcade king turned rehash house, has brought its bread-and-butter struggling franchise to the PSP in superb form with Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX. Every aspect of the game, gameplay, graphics, sound, and all the different game options, just reeks of "arcade" quality, except that this version of the game outshines the original arcade release in any way whatsoever.
Get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX Now
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is no stranger to living room, which has been previously released for PlayStation, Saturn, and Dreamcast consoles and Game Boy Advance handheld. PSP version of this 2-D masterpiece, however, the final version since it includes all the characters and features from previous releases, along with exclusive new characters and game modes. There are 39 unique characters to choose from, compared with 35 on Dreamcast and 25 of the original arcade game. Single player modes include arcade, training, kumite (100 vs. opponents), survival, dramatic battle (2-v-1), reverse dramatic battle (1-v-2), variable battle (2-on-1 tag style) Team Battle (1-v-1 with 3 fighters per side), last game (go directly to the Head) and world tour. Owners of the previous PlayStation and Dreamcast releases will recognize RPG-style world tour mode that lets players create custom characters using the experience and status records obtained by beating fighters in different cities. Whatever the reason, Capcom also has a stand-alone edit mode in the PSP game that allows players to create custom signs without having to play through the world tour mode. The Kumite, variable battle and team battle modes are also new additions to the PSP game.
Local WiFi allows multiple players to link their copies of the game together to participate in stand-alone games and tournaments with all the different match types (1-on-1, dramatic battle, variable battle, team battle). About the tournament setting, as many as 8-systems are put together in a local area network types, with the CPU executive match-ups, fixtures and results. It even rates trophies for first, second and third places. No, there is no online play. Yes it does suck. The sheer number of different single-player and offline multiplayer modes, though not at least soften the sting Capcom failed to include Internet play.
When the game was first announced back in May 2005, people wondered why Capcom chose to bring Street Fighter Alpha 3 for PSP instead of a classic like Super Street Fighter II Turbo, or newer games such as Street Fighter III and Capcom Fighting Evolution. The reason, simply put, is the popularity that comes from Capcom's Triple Threat to Street Fighter Alpha 3 is the most accessible, funniest and most diverse out of all the Street Fighter games. The big sign the roster and colorful, cartoon-quality graphics continue to attract the attention of newcomers. Straight out, a neophyte can walk in, choose one of the 39 characters, and hold their own within a few minutes to get a quick feel for the game's trademark quarter-circle and two-second-charge special move motions. These welcoming control, combined with flashy graphics that allow players to quickly relax and focus on the purifying power as a result of trade battles, rolling behind opponents, and the distribution of devastating super attacks.
In addition to being accessible and fun, including Alpha 3 allows a degree of variety and depth that is unmatched by other games in this genre. When you become an expert, there is still a lot to learn and master. Each character has his own unique fighting style, with a dozen basic movements, more special moves, and two or three super attacks. Over time, you will find out how these movements can be combined to create multi-hit juggles and combos. On defense, each character block on the ground or in the air, and also perform more recovery feature that allows players to mitigate the effects of abortion and recover faster from the knock downs. Street Fighter Alpha 3 includes all major fighting game shade - throw softening, which lets you land on your feet when you're thrown, aerial boom, which allows you to let you land on your feet, attack, or roll behind the opponent immediately after taking a hit while airborne, alpha counters, which lets you turn an incoming attack and air blockage, which allows you guard against attack while jumping. SFA3 was also one of the first fighter to incorporate a guard meter, basically a function that penalizes turtle behavior fantastic players who block too many attacks without making an effort to reciprocate.
As if all this were not enough to learn, you can also choose between three different sets of rules, called the "isms" that switch-up characters' super attack and change how their guard and super combo meter function. X-ISM gives you a level of super, a small attack upgrade and make it so you can block without fear of being drugged with a "guard crush", but it removes the very useful ability to block the air. A, ISM downplaying the attack damage and makes you vulnerable to a "guard crush" stun, but it counters those downgrades by giving the characters more super attacks, three levels of super meter, and the ability to block the air. The final style, V-ISM is the choice of experts, although it again downplaying the attack damage, and contains only two levels of super meter, it allows players to use this super meter to perform custom combos that can distribute more harm than predictive super attacks. You will not bore or master this game in a weekend, that's for sure.
Supporting all this wonderful gameplay is some of the best 2-D artwork ever seen in a home video games (especially on the PSP), and the music and sound effects that practically define the term "attitude."
Backgrounds and characters are drawn in a warm style that is reminiscent of manga style comics. The pastel-minimalist landscape gives a balanced contrast to the solid-colored character sprites. When SFA3 first came to the arcades, people complained that the backgrounds were too static. In response, Capcom added new backgrounds for the subsequent home versions. As for PSP games, about half of the 40-or-so backgrounds are static images with just a hint of detail here and there (lighting effects, primarily), while the rest are multi-layered and lively. Highlights wind turbines around Cammy scene, neon lights and prancing bikini babes decorating Balrog scene, and the military trains and helicopters off during attack on Guile stage.
Character sprites are large, colorful and interesting. Fan favorites Ryu and Ken caress the screen with their confidence smile and color coordinated karate uniforms. Hot babes, such as Cammy and R. Mika in their tit-enhancing spandex outfits, not to mention Sakura in her tasty schoolgirl outfit gives horny guys and girls some flamboyant fan service to gawk at while less pervy players can do with conservative femmes as Chun Li, Karin, and Rose, who tends toward long dresses and unflattering underwear. Then there are the freaky characters, such as animalistic Blanka and stretchy Dhalsim, which is always a hoot to play, and muscle-bound Hulk (Guile, from the military, the Balrog, the boxer and Zangief, the Russian bear) who just needs attention thanks to their giant bodies and brutish good looks. Each attack, footfall, recovery, and special features are smoothly animated. Maybe the animation is not as easy as we have seen in Capcom's recent efforts, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, but it's still very smooth, especially considering how many characters and features in this game.
Get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX Now
Also nice is that each character has a variety of open and victory animations that occur before and after a struggle. The victory animations are the typical kind of braggadocio you expect, but some of the openers is honest to goodness laugher. Blanka join the fight by jumping out of the back of a fruit truck, Vega showers with rose petals, R. Mika jumps off the top rope of a portable wrestling ring, and Karin's portly butler will sometimes stand-in for her before the match starts - just to name a few. Some match-ups have their own unique openers also like Sagat and adon greeting each other with Muay Thai kicks, before they do battle. Eagle-eyed fans of the original arcade game will notice that each of the characters' different opening and victory animations are all present and accounted for in the PSP version. This means that poor Cody being chased by Edi.E, policeman from Final Fight, after each match. Ha ha! Dreamcast games, despite its undeniable grandeur that was missing was a couple of the more extensive sequences. Although that kind of detail is fluff, it's fluff like this that helps give the game its unique character and endears players to sign.
Speaking of personality or attitude, everyone remembers "hadouken" voice sample from Street Fighter II. Similarly, someone who stepped into an arcade or owned a Super Nintendo back in the day can probably still hum Chun Li or Ryu's stage music note by note. Capcom established a reputation early on for memorable melodies and quotable voice effects and pedigree continues strong in Street Fighter Alpha 3rd Each stage has its own music, composed in Q Sound virtual surround sound. Not all compositions are memorable, but there are certainly a few that will keep your head when you turn the game off. The various battle-happy sounds of movement and drops suitable for on-screen action perfectly. More importantly, all characters have a bunch of accompanying vocal eruption of their main features. Ryu and Ken each call off their "hadouken" and "shoryuken" attacks in their own distinct voices, Dhalsim's Yoga Fire "reflects the raucous sound of an old man's voice now, and Zangief's" Final ... Atomic ... Buster " is the perfect accompaniment to the three arrows drivers he performs during his super attack. Tie it all together is the game's noisy announcer. Not content to just call the typical "round match" and "you win," this guy trust also cheering players before and after matches with comments like "you have fists of God" and "beat 'em up guy, go to bread! "He brings so much attitude in the matter. He is probably the best announcer franchise has ever had.
Capcom visceral delights have not lost anything in the transition to the PSP hardware either. The backgrounds and characters look crisp and clean on the PSP screen. LCD "ghosting" is not a problem, despite the game's relatively rapid pace. By default, the GUI stretched to fill the entire screen. The text of the menu items and dialogs are somewhat distorted in such a "broad" view, but the characters and backgrounds look fine. You can choose a "normal" 4:3 display setting in the options menu that will revert the graphics to their normal dimensions, although you'll end up with small black borders on the left and right side of the screen. Surprisingly, the game's sound comes through loud and clear from the PSP's much maligned speakers. Character and narration is well defined as they should be, and the music piping through on a high volume with all its surround sound nuances intact. Somehow has Capcom's sound gurus managed to push the music out of the PSP at a high volume, and in surround sound no less. Other developers take note.
Compared to all previous versions of the game, the PSP version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 have most in common with Dreamcast games. Played side-by-side, it's obvious that Capcom have used Dreamcast assets to lay the groundwork for PSP games. All combinations and strategies that are working on Dreamcast also work on the PSP, most of the game modes are the same, and backgrounds and animations are all pretty much identical too. Not long after the Dreamcast game was released, Capcom produced a version of SFA3 for Sega Saturn, who made use of the company 4MB RAM cart. This version had extra animations, opening scenes, and creates victory that was not the Dreamcast version. Capcom must like PSP owners because all those extra "fluff" animations made it into the PSP game.
We have been conditioned to believe that games should strive to emulate the original arcade game as closely as possible. In case of SFA3 it has nevertheless home versions continually expanded and improved, what Capcom originally admitted to the arcades. PSP game benefits from all the upgrades that the Dreamcast and Saturn games received (multiple characters, multiple backgrounds, better CPU AI, and fewer game breaking exploits), and then tacks on a couple of extra characters and modes just for good measure. A vocal minority of "arcade snobs" condemns home versions because Capcom toned down some signs and remove exploits that allow some characters to perform antilock or infinite combos, but it is re-balancing that has actually helped the home versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 still sought after, while the arcade has all but disappeared from the world's game centers. A few characters in SFA 3 MAX is still overpowered, and a few are still grossly underpowered, but by and large character balance is pretty fair (especially considering the size of the game's roster).
Owners of previous versions of the game will understand that the PSP version includes additional characters and modes not found in the PlayStation and Dreamcast releases (and to some extent, Game Boy Advance games). Eagle and Maki from Capcom VS SNK 2 and Yun from Street Fighter III was first introduced in Game Boy Advance version and has been argued on the PSP game's roster. Bind them is Ingrid, a spiritual waif who made his debut in the much hated Capcom Fighting Evolution. Her quick attacks and SNK-style special moves make her an interesting addition to the cast. People who enjoy playing characters that keeps the pressure on will fall in love with her. Unfortunately, Chuck Norris still has not found its way onto the roster, although many write-in campaigns calling for the bearded legend entry. Whatever the reason, Capcom has not conjure up some new backgrounds for the latest additions to the cast, but they all do at least have their own dialogue scenes ending sequences, and fun match-openers when facing certain opponents. A few years ago, added Capcom characters to the GBA version without giving 'em dialogue or inferences. Fortunately, it is not the case with PSP games.
The new team play option, along with the three different 2-on-1 modes, also injected a bit of freshness in the game. If you have any experience with SNK's King of Fighters games, you already know how team play works. Both players choose a team of three characters. When a character is KO'd, a fresh character comes in to replace the fallen one. The winner is the player who manages to KO all three of his opponents. The three 2-on-1 modes, on the other side is setup as handicap matches. Dramatic Battle Reverse dramatic battle has three fighters on the show field simultaneously. The difference in naming refers to whether it's you and another character ganging up on a lone enemy, or it is you who are on the receiving end of the double-team. Variable struggle, on the other side is setup as a handicap tag team match in wrestling. A player gets to choose two characters, while the other has to make do with one (albeit with double health). Play happens like it does in a normal 1-on-1 battle, except that the player with two characters can swap one for the other anytime. When a boxer gets low on health, you simply have to push two buttons at the same time immediately replace fatigued fighter with the fresh one. In WiFi matches, two players team up against the CPU in a dramatic battle or variable Battle, or a player can join up with a CPU-controlled opponents to gang up on the other. Of course it would have been nicer if Capcom had implemented a true 2-on-2 tag mode that resembles Marvel Vs. Capcom, but those 2-on-1 options do at least provide a sufficient conversion from standard 1-on-1 setup.
Finally someone who rented, purchased or otherwise tolerated Capcom's first fighting game on PSP Darkstalkers Chronicle should take note: Capcom reduced load times and the standard controls in Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX. Load times clock in at a very reasonable six seconds between each match, but they are almost "invisible" because they occur during the animated match-up screens that appear between each match. Best of all, control is not rigid and unresponsive, as was the case with Darkstalkers. Special moves that require quarter-circle, half circle, and "recharge" inputs are relatively easy to pull off in SFA3.
PSX Extreme Loyal readers will remember from our write-up of the Japanese version of the game that Capcom included an adhesive control pad attachment with each copy of the area's original shipment. Thanks to numerous fan surveys are Capcom USA also do the d-pad connection available to customers in North America. Anyone that orders Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX from Capcom's website will receive the d-pad free as long as supplies last. Controls are pretty responsive without the "d-pad topper," but there is no doubt that it will actually increase the overall comfort and responsiveness of an extra little bit, enough to make it impossible to live without once you've played the game with the attached. Just for fun, we also tested the topper of Darkstalkers Chronicle, and was surprised to discover that it actually improves the responsiveness of the controls in the game by a significant margin. Previously-impossible attack, such as Demitri's demon cradle and Donovan's lightning sword, was easy to perform with the new d-pad. We sincerely hope that Capcom USA will continue to make the control pad attachment available for as long as possible because it really is a wonderful accessory.
Whether you can get your hands on Capcom's sticky d-pad attachment that you owe it to yourself to get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, if you had any of the previous versions, is a fan of 2-D fighting game or happens to be the least bit curious as to what the genre is about. Capcom has once again failed to include Chuck Norris as a playable character, but they managed to take what was already a fun and slickly produced game and make it even better by making it portable and by incorporating characters and functions previously versions of the game had not.
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Get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX Now
Whether you can get your hands on Capcom's sticky d-pad attachment that you owe it to yourself to get Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, if you had any of the previous versions, is a fan of 2-D fighting game or happens to be the least bit curious as to what the genre is about. Capcom has once again failed to include Chuck Norris as a playable character, but they managed to take what was already a fun and slickly produced game and make it even better by making it portable and by incorporating characters and functions previously versions of the game had not.
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