Fight for the Future - Looking back at Street Fighter III: Third Strike

Games from 1999 generally haven't aged well, and there's fewer still that would be regarded as ahead of their contemproray peers, yet a decade after its release, people are still playing Street Fighter III Third Strike: Fight for the Future and it features regularly in every major fighting game tournament. Yet it also remains a deeply divisive game, with some arguing it represents the zenith of the 2D fighter while others maintaining it was a major misstep that failed to capture the magic of its famous forebear Super Street Fighter II Turbo.  As ever, the truth lies somewhere in between.

Technically, SFIII is probably the most perfect fighter ever made. Keeping the familiar joystick motions and basic mechanics from Street Fighter II, it made several important changes and tweaks. Most notable of these was the infamous 'parry' system. Supplementing (but not replacing) the basic blocking system, the idea was simple in principal. By pressing forward or down-forward at exactly the point an opponent's attack connected, the attack would be deflected away, not causing any 'chip' damage and not breaking any blocks. Furthermore, a spilt second window would be opened in the combo to allow a counter-attack.

In practice this worked brilliantly. The problem was that parrying was a) Very difficult. In a typical SFIII match  the hits come so thick and fast that parrying was near impossible for the average player and b) Very powerful, since it could break combos and provide near invulnerability, even against super attacks.  Therefore it was practically a requirement at high level play, which made the gulf between amateur and dedicated players even wider than before.

The other major change made to SFIII was the way the super combo system worked. Renamed to 'Super Arts', each character now had up to three super arts which could be selected before a game began. Each different character and art would have a differing length of super maeter, and each would also have a 'stock' counter where full super meters would be stored, up to a maximum of three. This created intriguing tactical possibilities, as there was now a contrast between characters with short super meters who could unleash weaker moves more often, while longer barred characters would have to wait but could perform more damaging attacks at the end. The stock system also allowed constant building of the super meter even when specials were not needed, and added another layer to character and Super Art selection.

Ken vs Alex - Note the use of the parry at 0:11 and the Super Art finish.

The character roster was probably the most controversial thing about SFIII, seeing as it practically erased the cast from SFII. Only Ryu and Ken returned, and even then only as supporting characters. Instead, as the original subtitle suggested, a 'New Generation' carried on the fight, led by burly grappler Alex. They were an odd bunch indeed, ranging from the freaky failed experiment Necro to the dapper British boxer Dudley (who has surely the best motivation in a fighting game ever - he's trying to get his car back). Subsequently, Second Impact and Third Strike added back Akuma and Chun-Li respectively, but also delved deeper into unusual territory for new characters, ending up with the robotic trenchcoat wearing Q and the truly insane Twelve, who could shape his limbs into weapons and whose special move involved transforming into the character he was fighting.  Despite their oddities, the new cast is likeable, and it's a shame none of them carried over into later games, as there's real potential here.

Yun and Yang were originally reskins of each other but by 3rd Strike had become separate characters 

Playing it today, Third Strike holds up extremely well. Graphics are crisp and well designed, defying their low resolution, and the much admired animation is as good as it ever was, with the super arts in particular still visually stunning.  It's great to play as well, feeling a much more rapid, focused game than the increasingly sprawling Street Fighter II sequels, with a great deal more depth than any other game out there. The issue remains however, that only those of similar skill levels will ever enjoy matches. This isn't a game where the underdog will ever have any chance, where anything less than perfect timing and total knowledge of a character will triumph.  There's more here than anybody could ever know, and that remains the issue. With Street Fighter IV seeming to take the franchise in a new direction, it's unlikely that Third Strike  will ever be bettered as a pure fighting game, and its technical  brilliance cannot be denied. I'll end on a controversial note because it deserves it. It's better than Street Fighter II and always was, it's perhaps only now people realise it. A game to lose yourself in and to teach yourself endlessly.