Dusted off Street Fighter Zero 3 (Saturn) this past weekend...

[Steven]

Hadn't played it in about 3, 4 years. Man, I remember how excited I was the day some guy off GameTZ.com agreed to sell his CIB copy for $43 on April 4, 2001 (the fact that I remember that off the top of my head is so sad, lol)... and how when it arrived I couldn't believe what an arcade-like experience it was. I remember fighting Chun-Li on her beautiful stage (the one where all the old timers are doing synchronized tai-chi or some shit in the background) on an early Saturday morning, thinking to myself, "Where the hell is the coin slot?!"

Picking it up again was like ole times. The graphics are still as pretty as they ever were. The 4 Meg RAM does wonders. Although I still prefer Alpha 2 in terms of sheer gameplay, Zero 3's -ism's and juggles added a funky element to the game, not to mention the clusterfuck of characters (all the old neglected "World Warriors" and "New Challengers" plus brand-new fighters) made it a true must-own for any SF diehard. It was like Capcom took all their old characters, added in new ones, popped it all in a blender and said "MOTHERFUCKING HERE."

It's not perfect, but it's definitely in my top 3 SF games list. Don't forget the awesome 2-on-1 Dramatic Mode either. I was able to beat Blanka/Dan, Honda/Sodom, Birdie/Bison, Cody/Guy, but Dhalsim/Rose owned me hard.

Still an impressive port after all these years. Made me glad I never sold my Saturn. Every once in a while, during a slow weekend, you rediscover a gem like this and you remember why you bought it in the first place. A good feeling for sure :)

[Mimi Nakamura]

Hadn't played it in about 3, 4 years. Man, I remember how excited I was the day some guy off GameTZ.com agreed to sell his CIB copy for $43 on April 4, 2001 (the fact that I remember that off the top of my head is so sad, lol)... and how when it arrived I couldn't believe what an arcade-like experience it was. I remember fighting Chun-Li on her beautiful stage (the one where all the old timers are doing synchronized tai-chi or some shit in the background) on an early Saturday morning, thinking to myself, "Where the hell is the coin slot?!"

Picking it up again was like ole times. The graphics are still as pretty as they ever were. The 4 Meg RAM does wonders. Although I still prefer Alpha 2 in terms of sheer gameplay, Zero 3's -ism's and juggles added a funky element to the game, not to mention the clusterfuck of characters (all the old neglected "World Warriors" and "New Challengers" plus brand-new fighters) made it a true must-own for any SF diehard. It was like Capcom took all their old characters, added in new ones, popped it all in a blender and said "MOTHERFUCKING HERE."

It's not perfect, but it's definitely in my top 3 SF games list. Don't forget the awesome 2-on-1 Dramatic Mode either. I was able to beat Blanka/Dan, Honda/Sodom, Birdie/Bison, Cody/Guy, but Dhalsim/Rose owned me hard.

Still an impressive port after all these years. Made me glad I never sold my Saturn. Every once in a while, during a slow weekend, you rediscover a gem like this and you remember why you bought it in the first place. A good feeling for sure :)

It's one of the best arcade ports ever.

Like you, I prefer the gameplay of Zero 2, but Zero 3 is visually magnificent.
It's well worth shelling out the cash for this one!!

[123►Genei-Jin]

X-Ism (with its custom combos) is what breaks/ruins this game for me (and also killed it competitively). That being said the saturn port is pretty impressive for a 32bit era port, almost no load times, all animation intact and very responsive controls. The PS2 version included on Alpha Anthology is currently the best one out there and is almost arcade perfect.

[Mimi Nakamura]

X-Ism (with its custom combos) is what breaks/ruins this game for me (and also killed it competitively). That being said the saturn port is pretty impressive for a 32bit era port, almost no load times, all animation intact and very responsive controls. The PS2 version included on Alpha Anthology is currently the best one out there and is almost arcade perfect.

But it's all about the Saturn controllers too. It's like they were built for 2D beat 'em ups. Way better than the awful PS2 pads... Those Saturn style pads for the PS2 are pretty nice though.

[crom]

But it's all about the Saturn controllers too. It's like they were built for 2D beat 'em ups. Way better than the awful PS2 pads... Those Saturn style pads for the PS2 are pretty nice though.

funny you said that, I actually bought this game for $4 at a flea market about 3 months ago and when I popped it in and started to play I was amazed at the D-pad for saturn...

usually I cant stand anything but a stick for my fighting games but the saturns controller was amazing...

[Mr Mort]

Zero 3 for the Saturn is literally my favourite game of all-time.
Until the PS2 version came along, this was the most arcade-accurate, if not arcade-perfect port you could get, and it kicks ass. The DC and PS1 ports are vastly inferior to the Saturn one. I still play this on a regular basis, and still like it better than the PS2 version.

[Tron 2.0]

Good as get's for playing SFZ3 at home.Though i prefer SFA2 a little more at least SFA3 Xism adds enough on the gameplay.

[Tron 2.0]

The PS2 version included on Alpha Anthology is currently the best one out there and is almost arcade perfect.
Not realy from what i hear capcom used the PS1 version of alpha 3 for the PS2 collection.As it still stands,the saturn port good as it's get for playing it at home.Not to mention how simple it useing the standard saturn controll pad to play it.

[Nirvana]

My God, I freakin loved Street Fighter Alpha 3. I actually bought it on eBay around 2000 or 2001. I think the music in that game is what really put the icing on the cake. Cammy, Karin, and Ryu have the best music in that game, IMO. But they're all classics.

Edit: BTW, where can I get the Saturn controllers for the PS2? Seems like it's impossible to find nowadays...I'd totally buy one.

[123►Genei-Jin]

Not realy from what i hear capcom used the PS1 version of alpha 3 for the PS2 collection.As it still stands,the saturn port good as it's get for playing it at home.Not to mention how simple it useing the standard saturn controll pad to play it.

Nope, there's a bunch of different stuff added to the PS1 version that's nowhere to be seen on the PS2 version. The PS1 version features a bunch of graphical enhancements like hardware transparencies on the HUD (CPS2 arcade hardware cannot do this) reworked hit effects and some "sprites" are actually texture maps pasted on flat polygons to enable higher compression rates for the graphics (the main reason the PS1 was never regarded as a 2d system was because the system only has 2MB of V-RAM, using flat polygons was a decent work around since the PS1 was better at processing polygons and texture maps)

The PS2 version is just the arcade [CPS2] version with the extra characters from the home versions (Dee Jay, Guile, Fei Long, T-Hawk, Evil Ryu & Shin Akuma) No transparencies, no polygons, no special effects. Also, no input lag (other capcom classic colections on the PS2 are plagged with input lag)

The Dreamcast version has all the polygon HUD and hardware transparencies that the PS1 version has, plus all frames of animation (there were 2 separate releases, the 2nd one has online trough the japanese matching service) so it's like a hybrid of the arcade version and the PS1 version.

[ShinobiMan]

My God, I freakin loved Street Fighter Alpha 3.

My thoughts exactly. At the time it was the perfect Street Fighter game, a great fan service by Capcom. They never really topped it in my opinion, although Street Fighter 3 Third Strike comes close. The sheer amount of characters in Zero 3 is amazing.

[kupomogli]

Easily the best. A little unbalanced with certain characters like M. Bison and his bs special and Zangief with his insane defense and attack(SF4 Zangief sucks compared to SFA3 Zangief.) Akuma hasn't been watered down in SFA3 either, so until SF4 he's really the best Ryu clone.

[Kevincal]

For whatever reason, I stopped caring about Alpha after the first one. Then again, I've never been a very big fighting game fan. Although I've heard nothing but praise for SFA 2 and 3...

[Mimi Nakamura]

For whatever reason, I stopped caring about Alpha after the first one. Then again, I've never been a very big fighting game fan. Although I've heard nothing but praise for SFA 2 and 3...

Erm.... thanks for your truly valuable input.

[Kevincal]

Sorry, Sega fanboys are just annoying me with their gushing lately... ;) :P

[ubersaurus]

X-Ism (with its custom combos) is what breaks/ruins this game for me (and also killed it competitively). That being said the saturn port is pretty impressive for a 32bit era port, almost no load times, all animation intact and very responsive controls. The PS2 version included on Alpha Anthology is currently the best one out there and is almost arcade perfect.

You mean V-ism? X-ism was the REALLY shitty one.

I disagree though; while V-ism was the go-to mode for most of the cast, there were a number of characters who are better in A - hell, A-Dhalsim is(was? I'm not up on the Japanese scene) considered to be the best character in the game. The game still gets play in Japan, who seem to have a higher tolerance for custom combos than we do over here, and taking them and the infinites into consideration, the game isn't much worse for wear than most other fighters. I'd argue the only reason it really died stateside was that the learning curve for it is abnormally high, even for a fighting game.

[AB Positive]

I still can't get over SFZ2 - my fav. in the series.

All the extra chars thrown in for the home version only actually killed it for me. WHAT is Bison doing in a Zero game? *grumbles*

Still, if you want 2D gaming bliss sans-stick - saturn pads are tops. Got a magic box back in the day just to use the saturn pad on my xbox.

[123►Genei-Jin]

You mean V-ism? X-ism was the REALLY shitty one.

I disagree though; while V-ism was the go-to mode for most of the cast, there were a number of characters who are better in A - hell, A-Dhalsim is(was? I'm not up on the Japanese scene) considered to be the best character in the game. The game still gets play in Japan, who seem to have a higher tolerance for custom combos than we do over here, and taking them and the infinites into consideration, the game isn't much worse for wear than most other fighters. I'd argue the only reason it really died stateside was that the learning curve for it is abnormally high, even for a fighting game.

You're right, I haven't played SFZ3 for a long time so I get the ISMs mixed up ("X" I believe was reminiscent of ST). I agree there are several characters that can be highly competitive with A-ISM but for the most part V-ISM is heavily used more than anything else. Is not really a problem with the idea of custom combos (hell I'm a Yun player and love Genei-Jin, hence my forum handle) I just don't like it when it becomes something available to every character in the game as it becomes monotonous.

[kupomogli]

Well if you're playing with people you know and don't prefer V-ism, then just play A-ism only match-ups.

It's not like SFA3 is online except on the PSP if you have ad-hoc party for the PS3 as well as the Japanese game(since Sony hasn't been working on making any US games compatible due to the beta released only in Japan. If a US game is compatible it's because it just works, not because they specifically got it working.)

[LaughingMAN.S9]

funny you said that, I actually bought this game for $4 at a flea market about 3 months ago and when I popped it in and started to play I was amazed at the D-pad for saturn...

usually I cant stand anything but a stick for my fighting games but the saturns controller was amazing...


4 DOLLARS? FUCKKK, I bought this 2 years back for like 50, u caught the deal of a lifetime. im jealous :(

[fahlim003]

Superb port of a very good game pardon the issues with advanced abuse of V-ism.
Otherwise, match-ups with any other -ism are fair enough although like any fighting game some characters just dominate moreso than others (in SFZ/A3 Charlie(Nash) and Akuma(Gouki) come to mind).

Most loading is masked and it works out well and the graphics are well executed on the Saturn. The expansion memory really does wonders in both cases. Not to mention getting to use an official Saturn pad is a huge incentive.

The PS2 Alpha Anthology (SFZ Fighters Generation) comes not only with the original CPS2 but with SFZ3 Upper the NAOMI iteration, which I believe is based off the Dreamcast game. Sadly, some people complain that crouch-cancelling being nullified or nerfed in Upper means it's not where the action is, meaning V-ism is stifled to an extent.

[segagamer]

Does anyone know whether the Dreamcast Japan-only version of SF Zero 3 for Matching Service has stereo sound, since the non-Matching Service version only has mono sound (regardless of the audio setting on the options menu)?

[ClassicGameTrader]

I had 2 originals of this game at one point, I came across a copy mega cheap for Saturn that was SEALED a few years ago. I believe I sold it on here if my memory serves me.

Saturn version is so amazing, it has the best color of any 2D SF game IMO.

For some reason, I have a special emotional attachment to the original Street Fighter Alpha. It was the first game I ever bought on PSX. Hands down the best music of any SF game ever made. The levels, characters and overall presentation feels perfectly executed as well.

I never was a fan of the announcers used AFTER that game. It sounds stupid, but it almost ruined SFA3 when I first played it.

Great game though

[kupomogli]

some characters just dominate moreso than others (in SFZ/A3 Charlie(Nash) and Akuma(Gouki) come to mind).

I played it recently with a friend and started off using Charlie. Either I got alot better with him due to my recent playing SF4 repeatedly or Charlie is just that good.

Because I started playing as Guile on SF4 but ended up dropping him before Championship mode came out and all I use in Ryu. Playing with Charlie I was doing some pretty good up close combos consisting of his charge attacks added to them. Is it two seconds on SFA3 for the charge attacks because it seems so much easier to do charge attacks in combos(either that or I'm just getting good at doing them.)

[Mr Mort]

You mean V-ism? X-ism was the REALLY shitty one.

X-ism is most certainly NOT shitty, depending on the character. It may seem like you're losing a lot (air blocking, only one super with no levels/tiering, alpha counters, etc), but certain characters do considerable damage in X-ism, you get a bigger guard meter, moves have higher priority, and their supers can be devastating. Also, some characters gain extra moves, like Guile's step-in kick, which helps a lot in pressure tactics, and DeeJay gets his Jacknife Maximum back in X and V-ism, which can change his game entirely. Do not underestimate the power of the X-ism...

[Nirvana]

X-Ism was pretty powerful, but personally, I think V-Ism is just insanely good when compared to all of the other isms. For the majority of the characters, at least.

It'd be awesome to have another Street Fighter with all those characters.

[Jorpho]

SFA has always struck me as a particularly inaccessible fighter. What the heck is a "custom combo" supposed to be, anyway?

(By the way, I guess the PSP port has been pretty much forgotten?)

[VACRMH]

What the heck is a "custom combo" supposed to be, anyway?

You customize what you want the combo to be? You're able to make a ton of long lasting combos with it. So if you know what you're doing, you can cause alot of damage.

Try it out and just go nuts mashing buttons, you'll get the idea.


(By the way, I guess the PSP port has been pretty much forgotten?)

I've been playing it alot recently, PSP exlusive characters are nice. And I can play it on my laptop with a pad using a program that the name escapes me.

[Nirvana]

The PSP's D-Pad is too stiff for that game o_O

[emceelokey]

The Saturn was total badass when it came to 2d fighting games. I remember a few year back I was going through my games and I played DarkStalkers on the Saturn then played one for the PSX and there was a world of difference. The PSX version was almost unplayable compared to the Saturn version.