THE BEST OF THE BEST (Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC))

Member Name: mr_nice_man

Product:	Street Fighter Alpha 3 (DC)
Date:	16/02/02 (245 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classic Gaming, Hours Of Play, Tons Of Modes

Disadvantages: Repetetive, Not Much Change

The Street Fighter games have been very popular ever since they were first made back when the Snes was the coolest thing to have. It is nice to know that Street Fighter Alpha 3 sticks to the same routes as the original with many new and improved features.

One of the biggest differences is the amount of characters in the game. There are some 50+ characters and in some way you seemed spoiled for choice. These characters are basically all of the characters from the original and the sequels. All the characters have been put into this game and they are unique and have there own trademarks and special moves.

The graphics have not changed from the old 2D style graphics originally on the Snes. What has changed though is the speed of the game, it is very fast paced action and you have to be fast in order to win. You can actually change the speed of the game back too like it is on the Snes, but really it is better played fast. The characters have a lot more of a cartoon feel to them now and they look like animated comic character (which they really are) Overall the graphics have been enhanced greatly for the dream cast and a lot more detail and animation has been added to them.

Sound is one of the best parts of Street Fighter Alpha 3. It has very techno sounding background music to it and this suit?s the fighting mood of the game very well. Also each character has there own voice in it so when you perform one of the characters special moves then they will say that move before or when they are doing it. This is something that the Street Fighter series has always done and it gives it a very Arcade feel to it. There is no real voice acting as there is not much of a story so that does not make much of a difference.

This game does not really have much of a story, basically each character has a rival whom they must defeat and they get involved with. In arcade mode a story is told and you meet two bosses in the whole mode and the story of each cha
racter is told on the way. Once you have defeated your rival you have sort of accomplished your mission and therefore completed the game.

There are so many modes in this game; this is one of the best parts about this because there is so much replay value with this game. You can try out all sorts of different modes. You have all the classics like VS Battle and Team Battle, but you are given a lot more than the original. You can do the whole knew world tour mode which gets harder as you go on and each character takes a different route and therefore it will take you some time to finish this. My favourite mode is the 2 Player co-op battles where two players take on one strong computer player. This is one of the hardest bits in the game and will keep you entertained for hours.

The moves system has undergone a complete make over. Instead of each character having the basic kick, punch, throw and special you are given a lot more. You still have everything you had before but each character has about 20 of there own signature moves, which only they can do. Also the best part about the game is each player has 3 Super Combos, which they can use in the battles. As you fight a kind of energy bar builds up and you are given 3 levels, these can be used to do special moves, which inflict a lot of damage on the energy. There are so much more you can do with each character and it will take you along time to understand the timing and buttons to press to do these. You also have 3 different levels of skill you can use which affect, which different moves you, can use. This adds even more replay value to the game.

However the game does get very repetitive after a long time and you will find you will go off the game completely so it is best that you play this game in small amounts as too much can just ruin it. In small doses though this game is great fun, especially when you have three controllers and you do a two VS one. If you were not a big fan of the original
on the Snes then do stay away from the new one as not much has really changed and this game is for fans of the old game.

As I have said this game is very similar to the old games and is like a merged version of the old series with the Alpha Series. This is the best game of them though so do buy it if you see it cheap as it is well worth the money and if you are a fan of the older games it will take you hours of play to become a master.

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