Street Fighter Alpha 3

by Capcom

Product Details

• ASIN: B00000K115
• Item Weight: 5 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,229 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Product Description

Street Fighter Alpha 3 features various modes of fighting action. The Arcade mode is a direct translation of the arcade version, though the home version now includes added special effects during combat sequences. The Versus mode allows you to select all playable characters for hand-to-hand battle. New to the Alpha series is the World Tour mode, which allows you to fight opponents throughout the world. The popular Street Fighter series continues with a multitude of new moves, specials, and super combos.

GameSpot Review

Street Fighter Alpha 3 on the PlayStation was a great translation, and the extra modes really brought a lot to the game. The Dreamcast version of Alpha 3 keeps all the great modes and additions from the PlayStation version but also uses the more powerful hardware to its benefit, delivering larger character sizes, sharper and more colorful graphics, and extremely minimal load times.

With Street Fighter 3 shooting off into an entirely new world with lots of new characters and Capcom's versus series of fighters pitting the Street Fighters against various comic book characters, the Alpha series is really the only "classic" Street Fighter line left. That's not to say that it's grown stagnant. Even though it's chock-full of characters that we've been extremely familiar with for close to a decade, the little touches here and there and the addition of new fighters keep the game fresh enough to maintain its relevancy.

Moving on from Street Fighter Alpha 2, Alpha 3 maintains the same gameplay, though a few new options bring a lot of variety to the game. After you select your character, you're given a choice of three different fighting styles, termed "isms," which govern the way your super combos work. A-ism gives you multiple super combos that can be executed at three different levels, much like the standard alpha combos in Alpha 1 and 2. V-ism gives you variable combos, which behave much like the custom combo feature introduced in Alpha 2. X-ism returns to Super Street Fighter II Turbo-style combos, where you only have one combo, but it's much more powerful than your average A-ism combo. There are also a few other subtle differences in the isms, such as the ability to air block.

World Tour mode brings a ton of single-player value to Alpha 3. The mode is basically set up a lot like Soul Blade's edge master mode. You travel from stage to stage, fighting in matches that have various requirements, such as time attacks, survival matches, and fights where only combos do damage. As you progress, you'll earn experience points and add-ons called ism-pluses, which grant you things like air blocking, charging super meters, and increased block meter damage. You can then import these world-tour fighters into the game's other modes, but they won't gain any experience in other portions of the game. Add to this little quick modes like survival and dramatic battle (which lets you play a three-player, two-on-one game), and you've got enough modes to keep you busy whether you're playing alone or with friends.

Graphically, Street Fighter Alpha 3 has an outstanding look. The characters are large, colorful, and well animated. The backgrounds also look quite nice. The audio is about what you'd expect from a Street Fighter game, making good use of stereo separation as the action travels from one side of the screen to the other. The music is also quite good.

The Dreamcast controller again proves that it isn't cut out for Street Fighter-style fighting games. Though not as bad an offender as Marvel vs. Capcom was, the controller's top buttons simply aren't as responsive as they need to be for this type of game. It may work well if you're driving a car, but trying to pull off Dragon Punches with them is a different story. Again, as with Marvel vs. Capcom, you're going to want to spend a little extra money and get Sega's arcade-style joystick, which solves every single problem posed by the DC's standard controller.

If you've already purchased Alpha 3 on the PlayStation, that may very well be enough. But the Dreamcast version is a flawless conversion of the arcade game, with more options than its PlayStation counterpart. It'd be worth an import if the domestic version wasn't scheduled to ship so soon. Wait for the US release, which is currently scheduled for October. --Jeff Gerstmann
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Currently the best fighter out there., November 13, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Video Game)

If your one of those people who refuse to buy 2-D games simply because they are 2-D, then do not buy this game. Go buy Tekken 3 or something like that. But if your actually looking for fighter because of its gameplay, then read on. Street Fighter Alpha 3 simply, at this point (Nov., 1999), has no other competition in the fighting world. With more modes than you can count, and almost every character in Street Fighter history, it has no equal. The controls are easy to learn so your little brother (who has never played) can pick it up and still beat the stuffing out of you. The good thing is though, that only someone who takes the time to learn the moves will be able to perform the game's harder moves. In order to learn some of the super combos a lot of practice is needed. Also included is a story mode. This mode basically allows you to unlock various other modes while building up your character. A true master will beat this mode entirely while a newcomer won't get that far. But don't let that turn off you newcomers. This game is not hard to learn, just don't expect to pick it up and beat the entire story mode. Practice, practice, practice. Overall, if you are looking for a challenge, then buy this game. If you are a Street Fighter fan buy this game. If you are tired of 3-D buy this game. If you have never played a fighter in your life but you think you want one, buy this game. In closing, BUY THIS GAME!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Look out non stop action, here I come!!!!, March 24, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Video Game)

If you are lookig for a reasonably priced fighting game for the dreamcast then Street fighter alpha 3 is definately for you. With over 30 plus characters it may very well be one of the widest selections on the market. There are tons of modes to play and with world tour mode you can pick a fighter and build their strengths to your liking. The only downside is that some peoples moves require all three punch buttons to be used at the same time, and with the awkward shape of the dreamcast controller that might be quite a challenge in it's own right. But with a little bit of practice you will hardly notice it. This game is a must buy to street fighter fans

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best SF to date, July 5, 2000

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Video Game)

Certain games, as good as they may be, can get boring quite fast. We've seen this with Pocket Fighter and Street Fighter Alpha 2. But Street Fighter Alpha 3 is different. You can't get bored of this. First of all, over 30 characters! Classics like Ryu, Chun Li, Bison, Zangief, and even returning characters like Cammy, Vega, Blanka and Guile. Not only that, but great new characters: Karin Kanzuki, Sakura's arch rival. Cody, star of the original final fight. R. Mika, a bizarre wrestler. Plus Juni and Juli, mysterious workers for Bison, and rivals of Cammy. Secondly, every character has 3 fighting styles, with different styles and moves. And two adventure modes, the original arcade/story mode, and a world tour mode, where you can build a fighter increasing their strengths and abilities. Plus, tons of game modes like survival and dramatic battle. You can't get bored of this. If you don't like Capcom fighters, you may or may not like this. Unlike many others, this game is different, and stands out among fighting games.