Street Fighter Zero 3

Street Fighter Zero 3
Copyright © Capcom Japan
Sony PlayStation (1 CD-ROM)
2D Fighting
1-2 Players
SLPS-01777
¥5800
Available now in Japan
Where to buy
FAQ

—by Kenneth Lee

"Capcom PlayStation Games." These three words have had mixed messages over the years, and PlayStation owners know far too well their (in)famous implications. While Capcom's 3D efforts have excelled and set new standards (STREET FIGHTER EX+ALPHA, RESIDENT EVIL series), Capcom's 2D PlayStation conversions are decent at best. Choppy animation, missing frames, and slowdown have plagued all of Capcom's 2D PlayStation efforts. To be fair, the PlayStation only has a very tiny amount of RAM, which is the most obvious cause of the aforementioned problems. In fact it seemed the only way to get killer Capcom home conversions was to buy a Saturn, because its versions were far superior to the PlayStation ones—the system had more RAM. With the death of the Saturn, Capcom initially announced only one version of STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3, for the PlayStation. Yet before any groans could be heard, word came out of Tokyo that this version was the best conversion yet. This was a "new Capcom," and they'd set out to prove that they could make a kick-ass 2D PlayStation conversion. After playing it for days on end, let me tell you that Capcom's STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 for the PlayStation is the best 2D conversion of a fighting game ever for Sony's machine. Capcom has managed to do the impossible: No slowdown, ~90+% of the frames of animation are in, smooth gameplay, minimal loading times, and all in a 2D PlayStation fighter! This game is so well done that it puts every other company's 2D efforts to shame. Now this is what we expect from Capcom Japan: A solid, brilliant conversion of STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3, complete with 5 redrawn new characters (not found in the arcade), tons of new modes of play, new options, and remixed music. This is the best 2D fighting game for the PlayStation. Period.
One of the most interesting rumors that went around the Net before STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 hit the arcades was that Capcom was going to put everyone from the entire STREET FIGHTER II universe in the new ZERO (ALPHA) series. Of course, when the game finally hit arcades, a slight disappointment set in, as only E. Honda and Blanka made it in. Ironically, while the game died in most arcades in the USA, the PlayStation version of this game is looking to set new standards in 2D home conversions and be a top-selling game on the PSX! Why? Capcom went out of their way and redrew and added in just for the PlayStation version, Fei Long, Dee Jay, T. Hawk, Evil Ryu, and yes, the best reason to get this game, Guile! Oh yeah, the Man is back! So, in the end, the original rumors of having everyone in the STREET FIGHTER II universe come back, actually came true! Everyone is back. In addition to the classic characters, there are also the new warriors in ZERO 3: (official introduction) Cammy, Rainbow Mika, Cody (from FINAL FIGHT), and Karin (Sakura's high school rival). On top of that, there are 2 more "secret" characters now immediately selectable in the PSX version: Juri ("Yuri") and Juni ("Yuni"), 2 of Vega's (M.Bison in the USA) killer assassins. This is by far the biggest STREET FIGHTER yet, with the most characters ever seen in a Capcom fighting game!
The graphics are phenomenal; Crisp, solid 2D character sprites for all the fighters, smooth animations for all the moves, and no slowdown. The only downside to this achievement is that the fighters are a bit smaller (but not too much). There are also a bunch of new backgrounds, and some nice "parallax scrolling" on many of the stages, done via 3D polygons. Yup, you read that right. Capcom has applied a bit of genius short-cutting in this PSX port, as they decided to use polygons to help reduce the sprite workload. This has been mainly applied to hit sparks and other hit effects, and on some stages, to background objects (look at the wing of the fighter jet on Nash's stage). Also as a nice bonus, the instruction manual and CD cover contain tons of new Capcom 2D art and illustrations. And thankfully, they look far better than the original ZERO 3 art (in the arcade game). There are also tons of new 2D art for the loading screens as well.
Two areas where the PSX versions have always been better than the Saturn versions are the sound effects and music. The sound effects and voices are crystal clear and sharp, and the music has been remixed. What's amazing is that the music quality is so good you'd swear that it was Redbook Audio, but it is not! It's a nice blend of techno-ish tracks and overall it is phenomenal.
Perhaps the biggest area of contention as to whether or not SFZ3 is a good fighting game or not, is inherent to the engine itself. Basically, the biggest change to STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 (from ZERO 2) is the modification of the gameplay engine, with the addition of "Air Juggling." While there are still true combos in the game that require skill, Capcom has decided to add an "edge" to the STREET FIGHTER universe by adding in the hallmark of their own VERSUS series (X-MEN, etc.). Air Juggling definitely does open up room for more combos, but they can also be seen as pretty cheap—just use Gouki (Akuma) Z-ism and let the Juggling commence! You can destroy many an opponent with the vast amount of Air Juggle combos. The problem is that after you pop someone in the air, they are essentially open and defenseless to additional hits. This allows the attacker get in free hits while the victim can do nothing but take damage. While Capcom added in Air Recoveries (a good thing), which allows you to snap out of the hit, and try to retaliate, there are still quite a few Air Juggle combos that work regardless of Air Recoveries. Overall it isn't that bad, and in the end you can play any style you want to.
Besides that, the other major addition is the "Isms" engine. Basically, SFZ3 allows you pick whatever fighting style you want. "X-ism" is essentially the old-school SF SUPER TURBO (SSFII "X") style, where you have only One Super Move, no air-blocking, and you do more damage overall. "Z-ism" ("A-ism" in the US) is "ZERO style," like SF ZERO 2, where you can build up 3 Supers and you have Air Blocking and ZERO Counters. Finally, "V-ism" stands for "variable" combos, where you have one long Super Bar that you can use in much the same way as Rose's "Soul Illusion" Super—you have multiple shadows of yourself and the shadows can do attacks and damage in addition to yourself. This Ism engine is an excellent addition to the STREET FIGHTER game, and it allows you to play the way you enjoy. One other addition is the Guard Gauge, which is the perfect anti-turtle device. For those of you who can't stand playing trench warfare against "turtling" people, rejoice. Basically, if the opponent blocks too many moves (constantly blocking and not attacking), then this Guard Gauge will shrink until he loses his Guard ability for a second or two!
Finally, it is the addition of the World Tour mode in the PlayStation version that really adds the icing to the cake. This is a totally original game that is essentially a STREET FIGHTER RPG! You pick any character, and from there you travel the world and fight against various fighters in different countries (the classic premise of SF). You can pick the Ism you want before each fight. If you win, you gain experience points based on how well you fought. Eventually, you can become master at each Ism style, and learn bonus powers called "Ism Plus." With this, you can equip up to 3 slots of Ism Plus power per character. The possibilities are endless. Some Ism Plus powers you can learn are Air Block, Infinity Guard (no more Block meter), and my personal favorite, Super ZERO Cancel. Yes, you can now play with Super Cancels, just like STREET FIGHTER EX 2 and other games. A basic example with Ryu: you can jump in Roundhouse kick, low Jab punch, 2-in-1 into a Hadoken fireball, Super Cancel into his Shinkuu Hadoken Super Fireball! After you beat this mode, you can then enter your character—permanently—into the regular STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 game! You can play him/her in Vs. Mode or what have you. There are also extra modes that you can unlock, such as the excellent Team Battle mode, which plays like SNK's KING OF FIGHTERS 3-on-3 fights! They allow even more customization so that if you think you're good enough you can pick 2-on-3, or even 1-on-3 against a buddy! And Dramatic Battle is back in, which is where you and a buddy can play 2-on-1 versus the computer. They also allow full customization with options, and you can even adjust how much damage you want for Regular moves or Super moves!
The PlayStation STREET FIGHTER ZERO 3 is Capcom's best 2D PlayStation conversion yet. As the final farewell to the STREET FIGHTER ZERO (ALPHA) series, it is fitting that STREET FIGHTER went out with a bang. Even if you don't play STREET FIGHTER any more, this is a quality video game that any PSX owner should check out. You're sure to find all of your favorite classic characters from back in the day, like Balrog (Vega), E. Honda, or Guile. In addition, this is PocketStation supported, so eventually you'll be able to download your fighters onto the new memory card and train them and fight! As Capcom Japan's Funamizu-san went on record to say, this is going to be the last STREET FIGHTER ZERO (ALPHA) game, and they are even reconsidering what to do about STREET FIGHTER IV. As the farewell STREET FIGHTER game on the PlayStation, it does justice to the greatest fighting game series of all time.

Rating: 9.5/10