Street Fighter Alpha 3
Encyclopedia
Street Fighter Alpha 3, known as in Japan and Asia, is a fighting game
by Capcom
originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2
. The gameplay
system from the previous Alpha games was given a complete overhaul with the addition of three selectable fighting styles based on Street Fighter Alpha (A-ism), Street Fighter Alpha 2
(V-ism), and Super Street Fighter II Turbo (X-ism), new stages, a much larger roster of characters, and for the first time since the original Street Fighter II
, new theme music for all the returning characters.
The controls for several actions has been modified from previous Alpha games. For example, the level of a Super Combo move in A-ism is now determined by the strength of the attack button pressed (i.e. Medium Punch or Kick for a Lv. 2 Super Combo), rather than the number of buttons pushed; and throwing is now done by pressing two punch or kick buttons simultaneously.
and Vega
. Characters new to the Street Fighter series includes R. Mika, a Japanese female wrestler who idolizes Zangief
, Karin, Sakura's rival who was first introduced in the Masahiko Nakahira
manga
Sakura Ganbaru!, and Cody from Final Fight
, who was transformed from a vigilante into an escaped convict, makes his Street Fighter debut.
The single player mode consist of ten or eleven matches against computer-controlled opponents. The fifth and ninth opponent is a rival of the players character who exchanges dialogue before and after the match. Unlike previous Alpha games, the final match for all the regular characters is against a more powerful version of M. Bison
(officially known as Final Bison) who uses a more powerful version of the Psycho Crusher as a Super Combo. When playing as Bison and Evil Ryu, however, Ryu
and Shin Akuma become their final opponents, respectively.
Depending on the player's character, the final match with Bison will be preceded with either: a one-on-two match against Bison's female bodyguards Juni and Juli (who uses the same techniques as Cammy), or the boxer Balrog
. In the arcade version, Balrog, Juni and Juli were secret characters.
, T. Hawk, Dee Jay
and Fei-Long, to the selectable roster. In the PlayStation version, the player can also gain access to the arcade version of Balrog, called EX Balrog, as well as Guile
, Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, by fulfilling certain prerequisites in World Tour mode. In the Dreamcast and Saturn versions, while Guile, along with Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, became regular characters, the player can also gain access to Final Bison.
peripheral, which allows players to build up their character's strength. In this version, Shin Akuma serves as the final boss for Evil Ryu, as well as a secret boss in Final Battle. Due to RAM limitations, the only unique pairings available for a complete campaign in the Dramatic Battle Mode are Ryu & Ken or Juni & Juli; other character combinations can only be used for one-match battles. This version was re-released for the PSP and PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network
The Dreamcast version, titled Street Fighter Alpha 3: Saikyo Dojo (or Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō in Japan), uses all the added features from the PlayStation version of the game, but features a different World Tour mode. An online mode was added that allowed players to display their high scores. In addition, a Saikyo Dojo mode was added which pits a very weak character of the player's choice against two very strong opponents. The Dreamcast version was re-released in Japan in as Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō for Matching Service, which was released as a mail order title via Dreamcast Direct. The Matching Service version differs from the original due to the addition of an Online Versus Mode.
The Sega Saturn
version of Street Fighter Zero 3 was also released in 1999 shortly after the initial Dreamcast version in Japan only. The Saturn port makes use of Sega's 4-MB RAM cartridge and uses all the features from the PlayStation version except the polygon usage and the PocketStation mode. The Saturn version uses the extra RAM to include more frames, sprites, and minimal loading times than the PlayStation version making it near arcade perfect. Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma and Guile are immediately selectable. While the World Tour and Survival modes are virtually unchanged from the PlayStation version, Dramatic Battle received major improvements with the addition of Reverse Dramatic Battle and allowing three different characters to be used. Also, this is the only port to feature dramatic battle against the entire roster of characters. All other versions limit dramatic battle to boss characters.
Street Fighter Zero 3 was re-released for the arcades in Japan in under the title of Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper (officially promoted as Street Fighter Zero 3↑). The game was released for the Dreamcast-based NAOMI
hardware (rather than the original game's CP System II hardware) and features all the added characters from the console versions of the game. Upper also allows players to upload any customized characters from the Dreamcast version of the game by inserting a VMU
into a memory card slot on the cabinet.
A Game Boy Advance version developed by Crawfish Interactive was released in . The GBA version is titled Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper on the title screen. The port is compressed and lacks several stages and music from the previous arcade and console versions, although all characters were present. In addition, Eagle, Maki and Yun, all whom were characters from Capcom vs. SNK 2
(released during the previous year), were also added to the game. Only a small amount of character voices were ported over to this version and the developers raised Ken
s voice to a higher pitch and used it as Sakura's voice.
The PlayStation Portable
version, titled Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX (Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper in Japan, officially promoted as Street Fighter Zero 3↑↑), was released in and features the additional characters from the GBA version as well as Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution. This version is a near faithful port of the arcade version with minimal (almost non-existent) loading times and all frames and sprites intact. All the added characters now feature their own in-game storylines and endings. The downloadable version on the PlayStation Store
has faster loading times than the UMD.
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
for the PlayStation 2
(Street Fighter Zero: Fighters' Generation in Japan) was also released in 2006. It contains the arcade version of Alpha 3 as one of the immediately available games, along with a revised version of Alpha 3 Upper as a secret game. Being a compilation of arcade games, the World Tour Mode that was featured in the previous home ports is not included in this version, nor are the extra characters introduced in the portable versions of the game, although it uses the soundtracks from the home versions. In Upper, said characters are readily available, and since Balrog's theme is used in one of M. Bison's stages, Balrog's stage features his theme from Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition.
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware. It is the third game in the Street Fighter Alpha series, following Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams and Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as in Japan, Asia and South America, is a fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is both a sequel and a remake to the previous years Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is itself a prequel to the Street Fighter...
. The gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
system from the previous Alpha games was given a complete overhaul with the addition of three selectable fighting styles based on Street Fighter Alpha (A-ism), Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2
Street Fighter Alpha 2, known as in Japan, Asia and South America, is a fighting game originally released for the CPS II arcade hardware by Capcom. The game is both a sequel and a remake to the previous years Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, which is itself a prequel to the Street Fighter...
(V-ism), and Super Street Fighter II Turbo (X-ism), new stages, a much larger roster of characters, and for the first time since the original Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
, new theme music for all the returning characters.
Gameplay
Street Fighter Alpha 3 discards the "Manual" and "Auto" modes from the previous Alpha games by offering the player three different playing styles known as "isms". The standard playing style, A-ism (or Z-ism in Japan), is based on the previous Alpha games, in which the player has a three-level Super Combo gauge with access to several Super Combo moves. X-ism is a simple style based on Super Street Fighter II Turbo, in which the player has a single-level Super Combo gauge and access to a single (but powerful) Super Combo move. The third style, V-ism (or "variable" style), a unique style that allows the player to perform custom combos similar to the ones in Street Fighter Alpha 2. In X-ism, players cannot air-block nor use Alpha Counters. Alpha 3 also introduces a "Guard Power Gauge" which depletes each time the player blocks – if the gauge is completely depleted, then the player will remain vulnerable for an attack.The controls for several actions has been modified from previous Alpha games. For example, the level of a Super Combo move in A-ism is now determined by the strength of the attack button pressed (i.e. Medium Punch or Kick for a Lv. 2 Super Combo), rather than the number of buttons pushed; and throwing is now done by pressing two punch or kick buttons simultaneously.
Characters
As with the previous Alpha titles, several characters were added to the game: Cammy, who was previously featured in the console-exclusive Alpha 2 Gold, makes her official Alpha debut in the game along with several characters from Street Fighter II including E. Honda, BlankaBlanka
is a video game character from the Street Fighter series of fighting games. Blanka is depicted as a feral savage, with green skin and long orange hair, resembling a monster more than a human...
and Vega
Vega (Street Fighter)
Vega is a fictional character from the Street Fighter fighting game series. Vega is a masked, claw-wielding warrior from Spain who uses a personal fighting style combining Japanese Ninjutsu and Bullfighting, earning him the nickname the "Spanish Ninja".Vega first appears in the original Street...
. Characters new to the Street Fighter series includes R. Mika, a Japanese female wrestler who idolizes Zangief
Zangief
is a fictional character in the Street Fighter series of video games. Created by Akira Yasuda for Capcom, Zangief first appeared in Street Fighter II, later appearing in other games, media, and promotions related to the Street Fighter franchise...
, Karin, Sakura's rival who was first introduced in the Masahiko Nakahira
Masahiko Nakahira
is a manga artist from Kōchi City, Japan. He is best known for his numerous manga adaptations of the popular fighting game series Street Fighter...
manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Sakura Ganbaru!, and Cody from Final Fight
Final Fight
is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up game originally released by Capcom as a coin-operated video game in . It was the seventh game released by Capcom for their CP System arcade game hardware...
, who was transformed from a vigilante into an escaped convict, makes his Street Fighter debut.
The single player mode consist of ten or eleven matches against computer-controlled opponents. The fifth and ninth opponent is a rival of the players character who exchanges dialogue before and after the match. Unlike previous Alpha games, the final match for all the regular characters is against a more powerful version of M. Bison
M. Bison
M. Bison, known in Japan as Vega, is a video game character created by Capcom. First introduced in Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, he is a recurring character in the Street Fighter series of fighting games, acting as the final boss and primary antagonist of the Street Fighter II and Street...
(officially known as Final Bison) who uses a more powerful version of the Psycho Crusher as a Super Combo. When playing as Bison and Evil Ryu, however, Ryu
Ryu (Street Fighter)
is a video game player character created by Capcom, the main protagonist of the Street Fighter series. Having premiered in the first Street Fighter in 1987, Ryu appears as the lead character from the game along with his best friend Ken Masters participating in the Street Fighter tournament...
and Shin Akuma become their final opponents, respectively.
Depending on the player's character, the final match with Bison will be preceded with either: a one-on-two match against Bison's female bodyguards Juni and Juli (who uses the same techniques as Cammy), or the boxer Balrog
Balrog (Street Fighter)
Balrog is a character from the Street Fighter fighting game series.Balrog is depicted as an African American boxer wearing blue trunks with white trim and a torn white shirt under a blue tank top. He wears red boxing gloves and boxing shoes...
. In the arcade version, Balrog, Juni and Juli were secret characters.
Home version additions
In the home versions, Balrog, Juni and Juli became regular characters with their own storylines, win quotes and endings. The home versions also added the remaining three characters introduced in Super Street Fighter IISuper Street Fighter II
is a head-to-head fighting game produced by Capcom originally released as a coin-operated arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the Street Fighter II sub-series of Street Fighter games, following Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting...
, T. Hawk, Dee Jay
Dee Jay
is a character from Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. He is a Jamaican kickboxer who also works as a recording artist and breakdancer...
and Fei-Long, to the selectable roster. In the PlayStation version, the player can also gain access to the arcade version of Balrog, called EX Balrog, as well as Guile
Guile (Street Fighter)
is a fictional character in Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games.-Street Fighter series:Guile made his first appearance in Street Fighter II as one of the eight selectable characters featured in the first release of the game...
, Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, by fulfilling certain prerequisites in World Tour mode. In the Dreamcast and Saturn versions, while Guile, along with Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, became regular characters, the player can also gain access to Final Bison.
Versions
Street Fighter Alpha 3 was initially ported in for the PlayStation, and sold a million copies. This version replaced "hit" sprites with "hit" polygons in order to focus more memory on character animations. T. Hawk, Fei Long, and Dee Jay (the remaining "New Challengers" from Super Street Fighter II, who were not in the original arcade version) were added to the roster. Balrog, Juni and Juli were also added to the immediate regular roster, and they were given new character portraits and their own storylines. Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma, and Guile were also added as secret characters in the World Tour mode, a mode that allows players to strengthen and customize their chosen characters fighting style while traveling around the world. An additional feature in the Japanese version also made use of the PocketStationPocketStation
The is a peripheral by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation home video game console. Categorized by Sony as a miniature personal digital assistant, the device features a monochrome liquid crystal display , infrared communication capability, a real-time clock, built-in flash memory, and...
peripheral, which allows players to build up their character's strength. In this version, Shin Akuma serves as the final boss for Evil Ryu, as well as a secret boss in Final Battle. Due to RAM limitations, the only unique pairings available for a complete campaign in the Dramatic Battle Mode are Ryu & Ken or Juni & Juli; other character combinations can only be used for one-match battles. This version was re-released for the PSP and PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network
The Dreamcast version, titled Street Fighter Alpha 3: Saikyo Dojo (or Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō in Japan), uses all the added features from the PlayStation version of the game, but features a different World Tour mode. An online mode was added that allowed players to display their high scores. In addition, a Saikyo Dojo mode was added which pits a very weak character of the player's choice against two very strong opponents. The Dreamcast version was re-released in Japan in as Street Fighter Zero 3: Saikyō-ryū Dōjō for Matching Service, which was released as a mail order title via Dreamcast Direct. The Matching Service version differs from the original due to the addition of an Online Versus Mode.
The Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
version of Street Fighter Zero 3 was also released in 1999 shortly after the initial Dreamcast version in Japan only. The Saturn port makes use of Sega's 4-MB RAM cartridge and uses all the features from the PlayStation version except the polygon usage and the PocketStation mode. The Saturn version uses the extra RAM to include more frames, sprites, and minimal loading times than the PlayStation version making it near arcade perfect. Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma and Guile are immediately selectable. While the World Tour and Survival modes are virtually unchanged from the PlayStation version, Dramatic Battle received major improvements with the addition of Reverse Dramatic Battle and allowing three different characters to be used. Also, this is the only port to feature dramatic battle against the entire roster of characters. All other versions limit dramatic battle to boss characters.
Street Fighter Zero 3 was re-released for the arcades in Japan in under the title of Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper (officially promoted as Street Fighter Zero 3↑). The game was released for the Dreamcast-based NAOMI
Naomi
-Literature:* Naomi * Naomi , by Junichiro Tanizaki* "Noémi", part IV of the novel The Man with the Golden Touch by Mór Jókai-Music:* Noemi , Italian singer and music video director...
hardware (rather than the original game's CP System II hardware) and features all the added characters from the console versions of the game. Upper also allows players to upload any customized characters from the Dreamcast version of the game by inserting a VMU
VMU
The VMU, or Visual Memory Unit is a memory card peripheral for the Dreamcast. Its official name was changed by Sega for each of the three key regions:-* Japan = Visual Memory System * North America = Visual Memory Unit...
into a memory card slot on the cabinet.
A Game Boy Advance version developed by Crawfish Interactive was released in . The GBA version is titled Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper on the title screen. The port is compressed and lacks several stages and music from the previous arcade and console versions, although all characters were present. In addition, Eagle, Maki and Yun, all whom were characters from Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2
Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001, known as Millionaire Fighting 2001 in Japan, is a sequel to the fighting game Capcom vs. SNK. This game was released on NAOMI hardware in the arcade...
(released during the previous year), were also added to the game. Only a small amount of character voices were ported over to this version and the developers raised Ken
Ken Masters
, originally spelled in Japanese as , is a video game character created by Capcom. As a main character, he has appeared in all of the Street Fighter games along with his best friend and rival, Ryu...
s voice to a higher pitch and used it as Sakura's voice.
The PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
version, titled Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX (Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper in Japan, officially promoted as Street Fighter Zero 3↑↑), was released in and features the additional characters from the GBA version as well as Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution. This version is a near faithful port of the arcade version with minimal (almost non-existent) loading times and all frames and sprites intact. All the added characters now feature their own in-game storylines and endings. The downloadable version on the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
has faster loading times than the UMD.
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, released in Japan as Street Fighter Zero: Fighters Generation, is a fighting game compilation that collects the Street Fighter Alpha series...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
(Street Fighter Zero: Fighters' Generation in Japan) was also released in 2006. It contains the arcade version of Alpha 3 as one of the immediately available games, along with a revised version of Alpha 3 Upper as a secret game. Being a compilation of arcade games, the World Tour Mode that was featured in the previous home ports is not included in this version, nor are the extra characters introduced in the portable versions of the game, although it uses the soundtracks from the home versions. In Upper, said characters are readily available, and since Balrog's theme is used in one of M. Bison's stages, Balrog's stage features his theme from Hyper Street Fighter II: The Anniversary Edition.