(LAST UPDATE: 10/16/09)
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Developer(s): Capcom
Publisher(s): Capcom
Platform(s): PSP
Release: February
2006 (PSP), October 15th 2009 (PSN)
Characters:
Ryu,
Adon,
Chun-Li,
Guy,
Ken,
Dhalsim,
Gen,
Sakura,
Rolento,
Zangief,
Charlie,
Birdie,
Rose,
Sodom,
Sagat,
Akuma,
Bison,
Dan,
E. Honda,
Cody,
Karin,
Vega,
Blanka,
R.Mika,
Cammy,
Balrog,
Juli,
Juni,
Guile,
Fei
Long, T. Hawk,
Dee
Jay, Yun, Maki,
Eagle,
Ingrid, Evil
Ryu, Shin Akuma
Related Games:
Street
Fighter, Street Fighter 2, Street
Fighter 2 Champion Edition,
Street Fighter
2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter 2,
Super
Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Super Street Fighter
2 Turbo: Revival, Super Street Fighter
2 Turbo HD Remix,
Street Fighter 3: New Generation,
Street
Fighter 3: Second Impact, Street Fighter
3: Third Strike,
Street Fighter 4,
Street
Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street
Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper,
Street
Fighter Alpha: Anthology,
Street
Fighter Anniversary Collection,
Street Fighter
EX,
Street Fighter EX 2, Street
Fighter EX 3, Street Fighter: The Movie,
Super
Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo,
Super Puzzle Fighter
2 Turbo HD Remix, Pocket Fighter
Review: Also known
as Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper Upper in Japan, Street Fighter
Alpha 3 Max is the latest (and possibly last) installment to the Street
Fighter Alpha series, and Capcom's first Street Fighter project
for the Sony PSP! With this release comes the best handheld Street Fighter
title in existence... Finally, a handheld Street Fighter that is 'arcade
perfect' (and then some)! SFA3 was no doubt
one of the best arcade & home Street Fighter installments ever made,
due to the engaging gameplay and large character roster. Having such a solid
fighting game perfectly translated to a portable system has been a long time
coming, but it's finally arrived. 
Capcom tried valiantly once before to bring the Street Fighter Alpha series to a handheld with Street Fighter Alpha 3: Upper for the Game Boy Advance, and although decent, it lacked arcade quality due to the GBA's control pad and, of course, graphical limitations. The best part about Upper was the fact that Yun, Maki, and Eagle (ripped straight from CVS2) were added to the roster, and now these great characters are selectable in SFA3: Max along with another new face to the series, Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution. Looks like it's time to put down that GBA, now that Capcom got it's hands on the Playstation Portable. Although the PSP doesn't have a preferable 6 button layout, the PSP really is the ideal handheld system for a game of this caliber. Along with seemingly arcade perfect gameplay and much better controls than GBA's Upper, there are also a ton of extra modes available that make this title stand out on it's own!
All the classic
features from the console versions of SFA3 have returned in Max: Arcade mode, Training
mode, Survival Mode, Dramatic Battle (1 player & 1 AI VS another AI),
Reverse Dramatic Battle (2 AI's VS 1 player), World Tour mode, Edit mode,
etc. 
And if that's not
enough for you, Capcom went ahead threw in a brand new mode exclusively
for the PSP called "Variable Battle." AKA... Tag mode. When you're close
to your opponent, hitting LP & MK or LK & MP will allow your current
character to tag out. After tagging, your partner
will jump in with a flying kick similar to that of MVC2.
I thought this mode was gonna be 2 vs 2, which would have been great, but
unfortunately it can only be done 2 VS 1... 
Grrrrr. 
However, 3 people
with 3 PSPs can play at the same time, in either Dramatic or Variable Battle...
Very cool indeed, and especially fun if you have friends with varied skill
levels. The dramatic battles are still as intense as ever... Having 3 street
fighters on the screen at the same time is always entertaining, and quite
a challenge if you're going up against 2 decent computer AIs, or perhaps
two skilled human opponents. In closing, it's an awesome new mode and much more complete than
the "limited" Dramatic Battle found on the original Playstation version
of SFA3.
Street
Fighter Alpha 3's graphics are as sharp as ever on the PSP's bright screen. All the background and character details that you might
have missed before are now more vibrant than ever. As the fighters move
around, they also create "trails," a common trait of the PSP's graphics
when certain colors/contrasts blend together. Although some may consider
this a graphical flaw, the trails are actually a rather cool effect if you ask
me... some bonus
eye candy to an already beautiful work of art that is SFA3: Max. The transparent-like
trails also allow for a better appreciation of the smooth animation in
this game (and yes, they may even look especially cool when you're buzzed). 
So how are
the controls, really? Well... If you're asking me, I can pull off
perfect 360s, shoryukens, hadokens, and double hadoken movements with
absolutely no trouble or hesitation at all. I can even nail my sub-par
custom V-ism combos rather consistently. 
However, finding those diagonals may take some getting used to on certain
PSP's, but you can find a replacement D-pad for your PSP if the default
pad isn't working for you. With
a little practice, you'll be pulling off all your usual combos and gameplay
strategies... "But I'm used to a 6 button controller!" Yes, yes,
we all know you have an excuse for losing now... 
Well, for those of you that are in love with your arcade sticks,
there's no reason why you can't play the game using the shoulder buttons
as MP and MK... It works for me anyway. It's called "adapting,"
you should try it out. 
On the flipside,
there are some moves that are notably tougher to pull off... "Throwing"
can be difficult, since by default you have to hit two buttons at the same
time to throw in Alpha 3... But of course, that all depends on how
you set-up your buttons. You can either make it easy or hard for yourself,
it's not the games fault if you cant get a throw off, you're just "special"...
I kid, I kid. 
Ohh,
and for all 4 of you that use Akuma's
teleport (I kid again), you guys can pretty much forget about hitting 3
buttons at once. Yeah, it's damn near impossible to get a PPP or KKK off
consistently, but you can assign those commands to one button...
And don't forget, you can even use the select button if you need to, so
there's usually a way to make it work. See... "Adapt."
Thankfully
the load times are quick, and sometimes nonexistent! That's pretty damn
impressive for a handheld... Thanks Capcom. All
in all, SFA3: Max is definitely among the best Street Fighter games
ever, not only for a handheld...
and that's saying a lot. With the most characters and modes ever in a Street Fighter game, this title has substance and style. A solid solid
effort from Capcom... The "Capcom" that us Street Fighter vets remember.
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9.5 / 10 |
Closing Comment:
Along with mp3s, movies, videos, internet, and porn; now 'arcade perfect'
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is in the palm of your hands. If you don't have a Sony
PSP and you're a Street Fighter fan,
this game should give you reason enough to buy one. Now we can play Street Fighter all day, anywhere, and maybe even come up
with a few new combos on the run... or on the pot. Wherever.
One last cool thing about "Street Fighter on the PSP"... is that if you
don't have time to finish all 8 stages in Arcade mode for example, you
can "turn off" your PSP... Do what you have to do, then turn it on a few
hours later, and you're in the same spot you were when you last played...
Sorry, but that's just awesome.
~F.Yagami,
Webmaster
of TFG
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