The arcade classic hits xbox live and is a near faithful recreation of the original but with one or two issues online.
While Mortal Kombat and King of Fighters 94 helped keep it alive, along with updates to the original Street Fighter II in the shape of Turbo & Super, the influx of fighters over a short space of time sent the craze into a quick downward spiral. It took several years before a true spiritual successor to Street Fighter II arrived.
1999 heralded the release of Street Fighter III to the arcades. It was not a Super or Turbo addition but instead totally rebuilt from the ground up with a new cast and mechanics.
Eventually receiving two updates, 2nd Impact and 3rd Strike, the latter is still seen as the best fighting game ever crafted among purists. Not only did it single-handedly keep the fighting scene alive, but also helped to fix the annual fighting game event EVO into the gaming calendar – EVO itself bringing us one of the most memorable gaming moments in games history and the Diago "moment".
So it's understandable that Capcom would wish to revisit the game after the success of Street Fighter IV and the sudden influx of new players to the scene. Especially in a time when the online infrastructure is so refined and anyone can play against anyone else, and at any time. The original Street Fighter II was already revisited in the shape of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, with some help in the visuals from Udon, which was also a success. But here comes the pinch; Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is a port of the Dreamcast edition, with a wealth of extra modes and features. Yet, it somehow manages to be less than the game it's ported from.
The big feature behind Street Fighter III was its parry system – deceptively simple in its function, but endlessly malleable. Quite simply at any point you can tap forward or down on the D-pad to parry a rival's attack, leaving the game open to endless tactical variables. Stuck in a corner and facing a barrage of attacks, a quick tap forward can not only save your life but also turn the match around in your favour.
It's what lead to that "Evo moment" mentioned earlier and what gave the fighting community something to sink their teeth into. Deep, but simple enough that anyone could attempt to pull it off, it remains a stand out design choice to this day. Also, new to the series was the multi faceted Super Arts. At the start of a match or mode you choose not only your character, but also from a selection of Super Arts. More or less the Super Moves or Ultra Combos of other Street Fighters, depending on your choice the Super bar will differ in length and maximum charge number. One Super Art might have a longer bar and only be charged once, while another will use a shorter bar but can be charged two or three times over before use. This factors itself into the EX system using some of your charged Super bar to pull off enhanced editions of standard special moves.
With all this remaining the basis for Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online, yet adding in more features, it's unfortunate that something has been lost.
Firstly the game uses the same ten year old sprites and art. While brilliantly animated and visually interesting, they are also aged by the larger HD quality screens we use today. There's a wide range of visual filters to play with to tailor your experience how you like, but none of them seem to make much of a difference; the original sprites look overly blocky and the smooth filter smudging things a little too much. These issues are things you can look past quite quickly, but are still jarring for those used the HD-loveliness of games like Turbo Remix or King of Fighters XIII. Quite why Capcom didn't look to re-enlist the help of Udon here is unknown.
One of the other problems is with its primary feature, the online modes. The game uses the GGPO net code to keep online matches smooth. In short this means that unlike Street Fighter IV, when there's connection issues you won't see the game slowing down to compensate. Instead, the game keeps going and updates the condition of the match to show what's actually happening. While this can help to keep things smooth, it can be disruptive. Whereas you might see yourself pull off an impressive Super Art that brings your opponents health to within a sliver of defeat, the match will update to show that your opponent actually managed to block most of your combo and you're suddenly facing a much harder task then before.
This system is about as good as any other fighting game, but can be disorientating for those not used to it – that is, if you actually manage to get into a match online. Almost from day one Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online has been dogged with issues regarding match set up. Select to play a ranked match and more often than not you're likely to be faced with failed connection after failed connection. We noted waits of up to 40 minutes for a match up when the game was at its worst.
The best luck with the games online features seems to be with its Tournament mode. Probably the best mode in the game, it allows for the creation of two to eight player tournaments with differing rule sets. Feel like holding a Pro-Tournament where each round is made up of three matches to progress? Perfectly fine here. On top of this, the online mode also allows for the banning of up to three characters, so if you're someone who is a little bored of seeing everyone play as Ken or Ryu, this might be right up your street.
In addition to the new online features, the game has also been given its own set of internal "achievements" that, when completed, reward you with points that can be spent on the game's gallery section. Sadly this feels like a paper thin reward incentive, but it is filled with high quality fan and official arts of all the games cast, as well as ending videos and tracks from the games soundtrack.
You'll also find the addition of more in depth training modes. Built to allow you to get to grips with the many combos possible and the parry system on which the games structured. The final task being the EVO moment. While many people won't spend as much time on these training sessions, they are a great addition for those who do want to learn more.
Let's be clear here, Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online is by no means a bad game but the additions to it have had very little positive impact on the already great game on which it's built. Offline the game still runs as smoothly as ever and is perfectly acceptable as a deep and competitive fighting game – it's just a shame that the online features contain such issues.