REVIEW:
Following
Capcom's tradition with the Street Fighter series, Street Fighter III receives
its first fan-anticipated update! SFIII: 2nd Impact adds 3
new characters: Hugo, Akuma,
and Urien... Yang
also received a brand new moveset (instead of simply being a copy of Yun), technically
making him the 4th new character in the game.
The most notable
new addition to SF3's line-up is the massive pro-wrestler, Hugo... or "Andore"
as old school Capcom fans knew him from Capcom's classic arcade hit, Final Fight.
It should be noted that SF3:
New Generation didn't really have a "big" guy besides Alex, so Hugo
definitely filled the role as the new BIG guy in Street Fighter...
and damn is he big. Hugo also shows off some impressively smooth animation
for such a big character sprite.
If you're looking for
Akuma... he's above Sean (hidden). ;)
With a more well
rounded roster, the gameplay of SF3 has become more fun and even slightly more
technical thanks to some new gameplay enhancements. "EX Specials" have been added
in, which allow players
to use their Super Gauge energy to make character's special moves faster
and/or more powerful. Players still select from 3 Super Arts, but now have
the choice of using their Super Art, or using EX Specials to mix things up.
EX Specials help speed up the overall gameplay, which was an issue that many fans had about
New
Generation. On a side note, 2nd Impact's "EX Specials"
would later carry on to many other fighting games for decades to come. The parrying
system was also tweaked in 2nd Impact, and turned out to be more solid
and more challenging than in the original.
Hugo is tired of
being just a random Final Fight baddie.
Graphically, 2nd Impact is just as superb as the prequel. The character artwork
was borrowed from the first game (which is badass enough to be re-used), and of
course the new characters were drawn in the same awesome "sketchy" style,
which really sets the series apart from others from an artistic point of view.
2nd Impact presents a variety of brand new, hand-drawn stages, and some of the
classic returning backgrounds feature new visual elements (and catchy new BGMs).
Although Akuma & Urien
are "sprite clones", they still have a handful of unique moves and animate
with incredible fluidity. Hugo is the only 100% "new" 2D sprite in the
game, and honestly, I don't think I've ever seen such a alrge 2D character move quite so
fluidly (even though he fights in a rather sloppy manner).
I mean give it up for Hugo's animation, he even sticks his tongue out and licks the ground when he takes a fall...
gotta love those details.
Of course it's not a completely
new game, but it's still Street Fighter, one of the defining
"traditional" 2D fighting games and arguably still the absolute best. 2nd
Impact's new characters,
new gameplay enhancements, and bigger movelists make for a better game in all
areas.
I loved the original Street Fighter III, and quickly fell in love with 2nd
Impact.
2nd Impact is still one of my favorite 2D fighters of all time,
and on that note, I actually prefer the
music & voice acting in 2nd Impact over the sequel (3rd Strike)... but of course,
3rd Strike is where it's at when it comes
to the character roster & gameplay. Still, 2nd Impact will always have a
special place in my heart. ~TFG
Webmaster
.
I mean give it up for Hugo's animation, he even sticks his tongue out and licks the ground when he takes a fall...
gotta love those details.
