Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future

one of the best soundtracks, art styles, and roster in any fighting game ever

And I mean it too. Third Strike is probably the closest to perfect a fighting game will ever get, even as the genre moves forward. Packing one of the coolest aesthetics in fighting game history with a gritty urban art style and a heavily breakbeat influenced ost, along with gameplay that likely won't be beaten for another century.

I'm confident that it'll be a very long time until another game can come close to touching the gameplay quality of Third Strike. While there the issue of the top tier characters being a little too powerful (Chun, Yun, etc.), and the bottom tier characters being comically terrible (Remy, Twelve, Sean, Etc.), It's made up for in a game that has a skill ceiling so high that it's likely that it'll never be reached by humans. No fighting game is perfect, but this one is just that good.

The gameplay is also very freeform compared to other fighting games, so much so that just about anyone can find something to enjoy in the mechanics of Third Strike. Some will say that Third Strike is the only fighting game that a jump-in could be a 50/50 mixup, and they're right! The diverse set of options that every character gets can lead to just about any interaction possible. Not to mention, the classic parry system of the game is something that makes any fighting game developer wish they had done as well as they had. Not many things on Earth are as satisfying as parrying multi-hits, and getting a punish for it. Third Strike is the definitive fighting game, and it has deserved that title since the day it launched. While other fighting games, even ones released after Third Strike, and even ones made by Capcom themselves, will all come to be "optimized" in how they are played, Third Strike will always have something new to throw around the corner. Always.

this game is incredible. the only reason im a little reticent about considering it the best fighting game ever is because of how centralizing the chun/yun/ken meta is, even though thats to be expected of a 20year old game that has seen everything its ever going to see. the technicality behind this game is great, but the game itself is unforgiving and there is no point in playing it if you can only button mash. its a very defensive oriented game because of the parry mechanic, which is a crucial reason why characters with dominant offense like chun yun and ken were even more dominant. parrying is a divisive thing, something some people actually loathe with all their being, but I actually prefer it as a spectator sport for the reason it can contribute to some very major upsets.

you can enjoy the craftsmanship of this game even if you dont know how to play. the portrait and spritework is so good. the aesthetic is unmatched. the ost is probably the best sf ost to ever exist. this game is hot, its really the sexiest fighting game to exist in a lot of ways. despite its troubled history it represented a capcom at the top of its craft.

It's friday night. Your buds are hyped up. Banter is going on. Bets are being made.

"Let's see if you can beat my Q."

3rd Strike is a treasure of fighting games. Aesthetically, it went against every norm. The proportions are different. The game is FAST. Late 90s Hip Hop and general japantronica jazzy goodness will stick to your brain and never let go. The cast is not that cool, at first sight. The yellow one-armed man, the Andre the Giant rip-off, the white blob dude, they are outcasts. But god damn if they don't ooze style. This is a cool game, for cool kids.

That was NOT the sentiment at the time, but nowadays everyone loves it. All this time that went by, people mastered the hell out of this game, and the unbalanced/unfinished nature of it started showing through the cracks. But it doesn't make this title any less of a fun, unique ride through 2D fighters. To play this game, you need a different mentality. Where as in other fighting games, you worry about spacing and advantage, here you can add "attacking" to your list of worries. This game will punish you if you are previsible, "parrying" being the main feature in this that everyone remembers both positively and negatively. In any regular fighting game, you can Block to stop incoming damage. It puts you in a defensive position, meaning you can't always attack back, in regular circumstances. But parrying is an "aggressive" kind of block. Your character stops any incoming damage, and is immediately able to bring hell to your opponent, before he can even react. The catch? To parry, you press Forward (as in, the opposite of what you press to Block). This means that, if you miss the chance to correctly Parry (it's a really small, fraction of a second window), you are totally defenseless. It's such a smart idea, which adds stakes to any fight, and makes sure everyone is always at their toes. It's JUST as dangerous to attack as it is to do nothing.

It's stressful, complex, and super fun. And the aforementioned characters all have their own style. Even though the game is generally at a fast pace, you have methodical brawlers, technically agile guys/girls, long range zoning dudes, and big strong behemoths. It makes sure you can find at least one to fit your style. When you figure out which one you want to play, get ready. You'll get your ass beat, boy. But don't give up.

"We await your return... warrior!"

A pitch perfect port once your actually playing, but the menus just look awful and the extra features and artwork are effete. The simplistic arcade machine experience is better than all the extra stuff Iron Galaxy added.