Shows its age and is hindered by the PSP controls...but still fun.
The PSP has always been great for playing PS1 ports, and Alpha 3 Max is no different. The screen's resolution is perfect for them, as the colors remain rich and true to their own, and all "ghosting" effects are null-and-void. The colors are much more vibrant and distinguishable thanks tot he PSP's LCD screen. Framerate is solid, but the game will never look impressive....but also never look bad.
The only shame here is that the screen is stretched to fill the PSP's Widescreen. There is an option to play in original 4:3 format with a choice of some forgettable wallpapers filling in the side bars, but it's downright sad that in 2006 we're still receiving direct ports of 7-10 year old games instead of remakes.
Gameplay: 9
All of the modes of the original are here, along with the usual PSP tricks suck as Ad-Hoc (sorry, no online multiplayer...again). This is a game that will prove itself to be a "true handheld game," as it's pick-up-and-play functionality is top-notch. With the PSP's Sleep Mode, it's absolutely perfect for playing on the go, or just when you need a 2-10 minutes to keep you occupied with a couple of quick matches. Arcade mode is where most of your time will be spent, as you'll find that you will hardly play the game for more than 15-min. at a time, but rather in hundreds of hundreds of micro-sessions (5-min.), before it's time to pick up your order from the Taco Bell counter. World Tour is available to build up your chosen fighters stats and abilities, but most will find it as a novelty. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max is purely for quick gaming bursts on the go.
Control: 6
First of all, let's get over the obvious: a) The PSP's D-Pad is horrible for fighting games; b) The PSP's Analog Nub doesn't fare much better, and is at risk of breaking; and c) The two Trigger buttons have never felt clunkier to use than in a fighting game.
Now, let's get to the un-obvious - Button Delay. The PSP has always been mildly criticized for having a slight input delay in button commands - or "Button Lag." No where is this more apparent than in Alpha 3 Max. The handheld is just not designed for fighting games, or games where fast button combo input is required. You will first notice this whenever your fighter is knocked down and attempt to do a quick strike attack (i.e. sweep as soon as you're on your feet). The the Original game - and others - this is never an issue and serves as a balance in order to keep from getting pinned in a corner, but in this version, you will find yourself at the mercy of a series of blows and specials that you can only seem to guard against.
Another example of the button-lag is the counter after blocking - In normal circumstances, you've always been able to launch a special to punish an opponent whose special you have just blocked, but with the lag, sometimes they will be able to immediate fire off 2,3...hell, even 4 specials that you'll either have to block, or take the damage as you will get nailed in your move's startup animation.
The second un-obvious control issue has to do with unbalanced characters, partly due to the PSP's Button Lag . Some fighters are downright pitiful in their attack speeds, start-up and stop animations, and ability to attack after blocking. While many will not notice this since a majority of players will use just a handful of characters, others might be upset if their fighter of choice is the likes of Rose, Eagle, Rolento, or Fei-Long.
The game has always been slightly unbalanced, but it was able to make up for that by offering (at the time) an unheard of amount of characters to select. But when making landfall on the PSP - combined with Button Lag - these issues once again resurface. The only real savior here is that the controls are completely customizable, including the ability to map Specials and Super Combos to any button. Hardcore fans might find this cheap, but it's really the only way to effectively counter the control issues.
Replay Value: 10
This is a game that you'll find sitting inside your UMD drive the most. Hop into Arcade, complete a match or two, and then put it in sleep mode. Great for quick car drives, waiting for a Pizza, or even one of America's great past-times....sitting on the can. The game Auto-Saves, but you'll never really care unless you're in World Tour, which most-likely won't be the case. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max is no where near a perfect game, but it is perfect for the concept of "Handheld Gaming."
Overall: 7.5/10(Not an average)