Street Fighter III

Street Fighter III: New Generation (ストリートファイターⅢ NEW GENERATION^?) is a fighting game in Capcom's Street Fighter series, originally released as coin-operated arcade game in 1997. Street Fighter III was produced for the CD-ROM-based CP System III hardware, which allowed for more elaborate 2D graphics than the CPS II-based Street Fighter Alpha games (the previous incarnation of the Street Fighter series), while revamping many of the play mechanics. The game, which was designed as a direct sequel to Street Fighter II, initially discarded every previous character except for Ryu and Ken (hence the "New Generation" subtitle), introducing an all new character roster led by Alex. Likewise, a new antagonist named Gill took over M. Bison's role from the previous games as the new boss character.

Street Fighter III was followed by two updates: Street Fighter III 2nd Impact in 1997 and Street Fighter III 3rd Strike in 1999. A single home version of the game was released for the Dreamcast in a two-in-one compilation titled Street Fighter III: Double Impact, which also included 2nd Impact. It remains the only home version of the first Street Fighter III ever released.

Gameplay

Released in February 1997, the original Street Fighter III features ten unique selectable characters (not counting Yun and Yang separately) and a non-selectable computer-controlled character as the game's final opponent. In the single-player mode, the player will face seven computer-controlled opponents, including Gill.

The gameplay of the original Street Fighter III has several new abilities and features introduced. Players can now dash or retreat like in the Darkstalkers series, as well as perform high jumps and do a quick standing after falling from an attack. The game also introduced "leap attacks", which are small jumping attacks used against crouching opponents. As well, the player cannot block in the air like in the Street Fighter Alpha series.

The main new feature is the ability to "parry" an opponent's attack. Parrying (blocking in the Japanese version) is the ability to deflect an incoming attack without receiving damage. At the exact moment an opponent's attack is about to hit his or her character, the player can move the controller toward or down to Parry the attack without receiving damage, leaving the opponent vulnerable for a counterattack. Additionally, this also allows the player to defend against Special Moves and even Super Arts without sustaining the normal minor damage that blocking normally would incur. However, parrying requires precise timing.

The other new feature introduced in Street Fighter III is the inclusion of Super Arts. A Super Art in Street Fighter III is a powerful special move similar to a Super Combo in Super Turbo and the Alpha games. After selecting a character, the player will be prompted to select from one of three character-specific Super Arts to use in battle. Like the Super Combo gauge in previous games, the player has a Super Art gauge which will fill up as the player performs regular and special moves against an opponent. The player can only perform a Super Art once the gauge is filled. Depending on the Super Art chosen by the player, the length of the Super Art gauge will vary, as well as the amount of filled Super Art gauges the player can stock up.

Also, as this and the next two Street Fighter III games run on the CPS III engine, more elaborate 2D sprites were created. Among the elaborated sprites include multiple hit stun sprites, including a new "turned-around state," in which a character is turned around (his or her back faces the opponent) after being hit. Only certain attacks can put characters in a turned-around state, and grabs and throws can now be comboed, as it typically takes longer for an attacked character to recover from this new type of hit stun.

Characters

• Alex - The lead character of the Street Fighter III series. He fights with close-range grappling techniques and powerful punches. His initial goal is to avenge the defeat of his friend Tom at the hands of Gill. Voiced by Michael Sommers in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and Patrick Gallagan in 3rd Strike.
• Dudley - A gentleman British boxer who seeks to recover his late father's antique Jaguar convertible from Gill. Voiced by Bruce Robertson in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Francis Diakowsky in 3rd Strike.
• Elena - An African princess from Nairobi who uses the fighting style of capoeira. She seeks to make new friends. All of her attacks are kicks, even the punch button attacks. Voiced by Hotaru Fujino in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and Mie Midori in 3rd Strike.
• Ibuki - An aspiring ninja who is sent to retrieve the G File from Gill's organization. Voiced by Yuri Amano in all three games.
• Ken - As the current U.S. martial arts champion, Ken seeks to test his strength against his old friend and rival Ryu, once again. Voiced by Koji Tobe in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and Yuji Kishi in 3rd Strike.
• Necro - A Russian man who was kidnapped and experimented on by Gill's organization. Voiced by Michael X. Sommers in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Lawrence Bayne in 3rd Strike.
• Oro - A seclusive hermit who seeks a fighter worthy to inherit his fighting style. He binds one arm while fighting, to keep from accidentally killing his opponent (except when performing specific special techniques). Voiced by Kan Tokumaru in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Takashi Matsuyama in 3rd Strike.
• Ryu - As usual, Ryu seeks to better his skills and find worthy opponents. Voiced by Wataru Takagi in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Toru Okawa in 3rd Strike.
• Sean - A young Brazilian-Japanese fighter who becomes Ken's self-appointed apprentice. Voice by Isshin Chiba in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and Mitsuo Iwata in 3rd Strike.
• Yun and Yang - Twin Kung Fu experts from Hong Kong who are guardians of their hometown. While the two brothers are head-swaps, their move sets are identical and they share the same slot in the player select screen. Yun was voiced by Wataru Takagi in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Kentaro Ito in 3rd Strike. Yang was voiced by Koji Tobe in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and by Masakazu Suzuki in 3rd Strike.
• Gill - The leader of a secret organization which seeks to turn the Earth into a utopia. He can manipulate fire and ice. He is the final opponent for all the characters in New Generation and 3rd Strike, and for most of the characters in 2nd Impact. Gill is only playable in the console versions of the series. Voiced by Bruce Robertson in New Generation and 2nd Impact, and Lawrence Bayne in 3rd Strike.

Home versions

• In 1999, Capcom released Street Fighter III: Double Impact (Street Fighter III: W Impact in Japan) for the Dreamcast, a compilation containing the original game and 2nd Impact. The compilation features an Arcade, Versus, Training and Option Mode for both games, as well as a "Parry Attack Mode" in 2nd Impact, where the player gets to test his or her parrying skills in the game's bonus round. This compilation also allows players to use Gill (in both games) and Shin Akuma (in 2nd Impact only), who were exclusively computer-controlled characters in the arcade version.

Music

The themes for the games are predominantly drum and bass, with some jazz, hip-hop, and techno elements. While Yuki Iwai worked on the soundtracks for New Generation and 2nd Impact, Hideki Okugawa worked on all three games. The soundtrack to the first game in the series was released on CD by First Smile Entertainment in 1997, while the 3rd Strike original soundtrack was released by Mars Colony Music in 2000 with an arranged version afterwards. The soundtrack to 3rd Strike features three songs and announcer tracks by Canadian rapper Infinite.

Sources

• Studio Bent Stuff (Sept. 2000) (in Japanese). All About Capcom Head-to-Head Fighting Games 1987-2000. A.A. Game History Series (Vol. 1). Dempa Publications, Inc.. ISBN 4885546761. 

External links

Official sites

• Street Fighter III W Impact for Dreamcast (Japanese)

General resources

• Street Fighter III at the Killer List of Videogames
• Street Fighter III guide at StrategyWiki
• Street Fighter III on Street Fighter Wiki, an external wiki