Street Fighter Questions

[QUOTE="metal_snake33"] Well i dusted off the old Dreamcast this weekend and popped in SF Alpha 3. I then realized what a total noob i am at this game. I couldnt even get past the second guy in arcade mode! Are there any good FAQS out there for a somebody like me? Also, is there a character that is easier to use than others? Thanks a lot guys.Nitrobrain07

I have a SFA Anthology (PS2) game guide that has some seriously in-depth info in it (I'm talking about counting frames of block stun and stuff like that), so if you really want to study up, it wouldn't be a bad idea to track that down.  I'd imagine the same strats that work for the PS2 version carry over to the DreamCast version, but there's a possibility they don't.  If not, shoryuken.com is a sight dedicated to fighting games, so you're sure to pick up some good info there if you hit the forums up.

As an aside, I wouldn't really sweat what's going on against the AI anyway, because the AI has a completely different way of playing than a human.  Basically, it has near-instant (if not instant) responses to your button presses, letting it pull of blocks, combos, and counters that a human usually wouldn't even dream of.  Other times it works the opposite way, where the AI's "nanosecond calculations" work against it, because you can force the AI to do stupid things (like making Guile throw a flash kick that he couldn't possibly connect, just to make him vulnerable), making them highly exploitable. Not only that, but AI characters tend to fall into patterns, and when they change them they just go into a new pattern that can be countered.

Hopefully you have at least a friend or two that will play SF with you.  That's the best part about fighting games anyway :)

DC version is SFA3 Upper, which is different from SFA3 and nobody plays. SFAA for PS2 has arcade perfect SFA3 in it.

SFAA Official guide is very good for anybody who likes the Alpha series. However, some of the strats in there may not apply to the DC version, since that's different game. The guide has basics strats, combos, etc. For more in-depth stuff, one would be better off searching for info at SRK, though.

Good guides on GameFaqs: Movelist by Kao Megura, Systems Guide by jchensor.

Good starting chars: any shoto, Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Sakura, Sagat, etc. V-Akuma is the best character in the game but it takes good execution and good strategy to play him. Other good characters: V-Zangief, V-Sakura, V-Sagat, V-Ryu, A-Guy, A-Dhalsim, A-Chun Li.

Learn the properties of normal moves; speed, recovery, range, damage, whether or not it's cancelable, etc. Then do the same for special & super moves. By knowing the properties of the moves you'll by able to decide which move is best suited for certain situations as well as avoiding doing random crap that doesn't work.

Also, learn the game system. Air blocking, recovery rolls, alpha counters, tech throws, counterhit effects, avoiding neutral states, etc. Learning all of that stuff is essential to become good at the game.

Watch good match videos and try to understand what the players in the video are doing.