Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is Street Fighter at its Best
Street Fighter is a game I feel for most gamers needs no introduction. Street Fighter has been the standard when it comes to competitive fighting games. It’s one of the first and has lasted the test of time. When most people think fighting games, their first thought will likely be something related to Street Fighter. Last year around this time, I wanted to cover the original Street Fighter II, and how it laid the ground work for one of the most hardcore and competitive genres of gaming in fighting games. However things got in the way and it got sent to the back burner. I was going to give it another go this year but then noticed that there was an anniversary of one of the most insane and epic moments in competitive gaming history.
That moment is known as “EVO Moment 37”. Also known as “The Daigo Parry”.
To set it all up, EVO is a major fighting game tournament where fighting game players all around the world meet up and hold a massive tournament to see who is the best in the world. It’s in a sense the Super Bowl of the fighting game circuit. On August 1st, 2004, a finals match between Daigo and Justin Wong is taking place in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. As it looks like Justin is about move on with the easy win, one of the greatest moments in competitive gaming takes place… Just watch…
To understand what’s happening, the blocks Daigo (Ken, fighter in red) is doing are “parries”, a special block you can execute if done at the exact perfect frame of time to avoid taking any damage. This frame exact input was done… 15 times… in a row. For people who are not really in the understanding of fighting games, this is still a hell of a come back, but those who do and understand what is happening, this is absolutely insane. Keep in mind this was before EVO was held in arenas and what not, heck steaming like Twitch was not really a thing, so it was such a “You had to be there” moment. It’s insane enough that if it was not caught on tape, I’d debate and argue with you that it never happened at all. The crowd also was hyped for this moment as if they knew what they just witnessed was history. It’s also inspiring for any fighting game player as it shows that until it’s over, it’s never over. I think that’s the glory of fighting games as a whole, it’s the euphoric joy of competitiveness to really see who is the best at what they do. There must be a winner, there must be a loser, results are absolute. The saying goes “The ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat”.
Daigo would go on to grand finals only to come up short, losing to Kenji “KO” Obata. However, EVO Moment 37 no doubt stole the show and is the moment people remember from that tournament.
The game this happened on as I mentioned was Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Today, many fighting game fanatics consider it one of if not their favorite fighting game of all time. But this was not always the case, 3rd Strike is the kind of game where we did not know what we had until later in its lifespan, after the fact if you will. It was a case of right game, wrong time. It’s a fighting game luxury people did not appreciate until much later, and EVO moment 37 might have helped people realize that there was something special with this game.
Many if not everyone pretty much knows about Street Fighter II. However there would be updates of Street Fighter II after that, keep in mind this is before the days of online patches and you had to have new arcade hardware in order to have the most updated version. Street Fighter II: Championship, Super Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II Turbo, SUPER Street fighter II Turbo, it goes on. It’s become somewhat of a meme looking back as there was the case of “Where’s Street Fighter 3?”
After what felt like forever, the first Street Fighter 3 would be released in 1997. Now with updated graphics and sound, the game ran fantastic, however like I said, I think it was a case of right game, wrong time. Many fighting fans were moving on from the traditional 2D fighters and moving on to more 3D fighting games such as Tekken. Crossover games that were much more fast pace were also starting to take over the fighting game scene, a few months later we would get the first Marvel VS Capcom game, then in 2000 we’d get the legendary Marvel VS Capcom 2. I think fighting games wanted something that had more speed and was much more flashy. Street Fighter III to me feels more like chess than other fighting games in this ear. You really got to plan things out and can’t just rush everything. This is the kind of game where patience along with your knowledge of fighting games will be tested, but in a good way. It’s not about high speed game play, cutting edge graphics, or high combo counts. It’s a thinking mans fighting game, and I think 3rd strike does a fantastic job at this.
Another thing that turned people away from Street Fighter III was the new roster. The tagline for Street Fighter III was “New Generation”. Here’s the list of returning fighters from Street Fighter II that were in first Street Fighter III
-Ryu
-Ken
That’s it! Everyone else was a brand new fighter with their own styles and ways to play. As you can guess, some of the new fighters did not mesh well with more dedicated fans of the game. Shame too because some of the new fighter designs I think are really cool.
So needless to say the original Street Fighter III did not really get the respect it deserved. The first two games did have issues with balancing and a few glitches that really throw the gameplay off a bit. Later we would get an update known as Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact. It was better, but still seen as somewhat of a disappointment in the fighting game scene as most had moved on to other much more faster pace competitive fighting games.
Then we get to Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike where to me I feel like they got everything right on the money. Released in 1999, the tag line for the game was “Fight For The Future”. The game play has not been reworked and perfected. There are 20 fighters to choose from this time around, most not your traditional Street Fighter faces. You got classics like Ryu, Ken, and even Akuma and Chun-Li showing back up in the 3rd game, but other faces from Street Fighter III along with some new fighters fills the roster with charm. Every fighter feels and plays way different from each other. The line up here no doubt has anything with the fun and over the top, to just flat out weird. Some fighters might even some moves that seem familiar, such as Remy, a goth rocker doing Guile’s Sonic Boom, or Hugo, a massive wrestler who plays the games grapple fighter role much like Zangief in the classic games. Honestly I’m all for something different and new, like I said, it really doesn’t feel like two fighters are the same. Tons of variety here. When you pick a fighter, you have three special moves to pick from. Some specials might be a super hadouken that can zone your opponent away, or you can chose a super movie that’s hard to hit but could deal some massive damage if done correctly. This adds way more strategy to the game and might make you want to think what super move would be best for the battle you’re about to enter into. Each fighter brings something different to the table and honestly, some of the characters in this game are some of my favs in the series. So… who are you going to pick?
Once you get into the game itself, the game as not as fast as other arcade hits around this era say like a Marvel VS Capcom, but it still feels fantastic. Fast but not too fast, jumps feel great, every punch and kick is satisfying when it connects and the games parry system feels so good when you pull it off correctly. Street Fighter to me has always felt best when it’s played like a game of chess. Picking when it’s the perfect time to punish and strike (no pun intended) it when to go on the defense to slow the action down to regroup. Nothing feels super over the top but feels balanced and everything just feels… right. It’s the perfect balance of game play and you never feel like you were cheated when you lose. A game that’s easy to pick up and still have fun all while being deep enough that you can master it if you really want to go competitive. To me that’s the secret sauce to a great fighting game. Something that can still be fun even if you’re just trying to get your fighting game fundamentals down. Easy to learn, hard to master. That’s what makes a fantastic fighting game.
And the music… the music is top quality as it really puts the Street in Street fighter, with the main theme being rap along with the character selection music. The main theme itself is one of my most loved songs not just in fighting games but gaming as a whole. You’ll be pumped up and ready to punch anything in your way after hearing this.
The game also has other genres of music from techno, breakcore/drum and bass, and others. There’s guaranteed to be at least one song in this game that’s an ear worm that will be stuck in your head for days. One of the best soundtracks you can dig your ears into.
Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike after a few years people would notice and realize that this was a fantastic game that flew under their radar. After much wait, 3rd Strike would get a digital release on Online Edition. Even leaving all the strange glitches and faults of the game to keep the authentic experience.
As 3rd Strike was released in 1999, it did have a cult following but again at the time people were more hooked and fascinated with much more faster crossover games. It’s kind of a shame because 3rd Strike is a fantastic game. But this game thankfully gets a happy ending. Now people have gone back to this game and realized “Hey… this game flew under the radar, this is great!” The game’s rise to populatirty I think was helped due to EVO moment 37, that it shows the joy and adrenaline of fighting games at its peak. There’s a reason 3rd Strike is to many their all time favorite fighting game and personalty it’s one of mine as well. If you are a fighting game vet or just trying to get into this genre for the first time, Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is a game where you can’t go wrong. It’s a thinking mans fighting game and did not see many eyes as it did not have the flash or flair as other fighting games at the time. The game was overshadowed when it was released but I’m glad this game did get the respect it deserved because yeah… the hype is real on this one. Highly recommend playing this if you are a fighting game fan.
