For PSP owners and Capcom lovers alike, rejoice because Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max is here.
Starting with story, the Street Fighter series was never known for its in-depth storytelling. But from my knowledge, the Alpha series takes place in between Street Fighters I and II. It's not an overarching theme for the story, but instead each of the characters has their own story as they fight their way to M.Bison.
Design: This game has a lot to do, and I mean a lot. With 13 game modes to choose from, there's a bunch of over the top fighting action the series is known for. This range from the typical Arcade, Free Battle, and VS modes the series is known for, a world tour mode that's incredibly deep, Team Battles, a robust character customization mode, and for the ADD in all of us, a punishingly difficult Final Battle, and everything in between as well as various options in the robust Survival Mode.
Gameplay: Don't be fooled by those videos on the internet, this game requires strategy. Button mashing will not end well for you .There are over 37, that's right 37 playable characters in this game to choose from. And, to deepen the Strategy, there are 3 different fighting styles to choose from as well called ISMs. They are known as X-ISM, A-ISM, and V-ISM. The Standard choice A-ISM,used in Alpha Series features various super moves dependent the strength of the button combination and energy in the meter, X-ISM is the fighting style reminiscent of Super Street Fighter 2, which is highly recommended for newcomers, allows for more ease of use, and more memorable attacks, but only has one super move to choose from. V-ISM is a little more different from the other ISMs because you can link and chain combos easier and freestyle your own super moves, but at the expense of being able to block enemy attacks while chaining move. Each one adds more depth to the fighting mechanics, and caters to your strengths and weaknesses as a fighter. If there is one gripe that I have, is that it's the control. If you played any of the Street Fighter games on the SNES in the 90's, then you'll be right at home with the button mapping of the PSP, but if you want something more custom, then your free to map the buttons any way you'd like in the options. Pulling off half and quarter circles with the PSP's D-pad or analog nub can be annoying at first, but if you keep losing, remember that it's the controls and not you. The World Tour Mode adds even more replay value to the already meaty package. You basically take a character, and take them on a string of fights around the globe and level them up as you go, adding a light RPG element to the game. It also features Ad-Hoc and network support for up to 8 players in tournaments and tag team battles. Overall, the game handles smoothly (control issues and slight input lag aside)and is just a blast to play.
Presentation: This game looks just as good as it did in the arcades and is presented beautifully, thanks to the PSP's Widescreen Functionality. It runs incredibly smooth with no dips in frame rate (with the exception the loading screens every now and then). The game features a nice soundtrack of music, but being able to listen to them while not in-game would have been nice. Its Graphics also deserve a gold star, because they are just as good as in the arcades in 1998.
Is Street Fighter Alpha 3 an old game? Yes. Does this stop it from being a superb fighting game and a great addition to the PSP's Library? Absolutely not. This game is a nigh on perfect arcade port on a handheld system, which is reason enough to celebrate. With a plethora of new modes, network and Ad-Hoc support, and lots of over the top Fighting action, this is one game that both fans of the series and PSP owners looking for a good title in their collection will definitely want to pick up, and at 20-30 bucks, it's a deal you don't want to miss.