Is Street Fighter Zero 3 Worth getting on Sega Saturn?

[ClassicGameTrader]

I was wondering this,

I consider myself somewhat of a saturn collector and I have recently started thinking about getting street fighter zero 3 on saturn, which appears to be very hard to find and expensive. I have read a very detailed review that explained the suttle improvements between this and the Dreamcast version (Which I own). If I were to buy it then it would be because it is the best available version. The review I read sounded a little biased, so I am wondering if the Saturn version is a marked improvement over the DC and if so, why. I really appreciate it, thanks!!!

[chrisbid]

the load times are awful, but the saturn controller is much better for fighting games. as far as the animation goes, i didnt notice much difference. but hardcore players might

[Steven]

the load times are awful

Huh??? Saturn SF Zero 3 has next to non-existant loading time.

Anyway to the original poster -- I duno. It's a great game and port, one of not a lot of Saturn games I'd give a 10/10... but yeah its price has soared these days. I think it's now in the triple figure ranger? Ouch.

It's up to you..

[MegaDrive20XX]

SF Zero 3 for Saturn > DC and PS1 version...

All because of the 4MB RAM Cart...

[MegaDrive20XX]

Saturn has always been better on 2D for one reason...the 4MB RAM cart makes all the difference...you get no loading time what so ever....Dreamcast relies on the motherboard itself

The only time Saturn looks out of date, is because of it's 3D processor is outdated....

That's when Dreamcast picks up the slack...but still gives off the great 2D gameplay

Dreamcast port of SF Alpha 3 was rushed, that's why it seems half-arsed...plus you have to remember how long SF Alpha 3 was delayed on Dreamcast...because Alpha 3 used an entirely different arcade engine....CPS-2..the Saturn port was seriously worked on with care...especially when it comes in it's own unique little casing that includes the 4MB RAM Cart..and since it's just a build up of SF Alpha 2...it's super easy for the Saturn to handle...and Capcom is so used to using Saturn's hardware for many titles (MSH Vs. SF....X-men Vs. SF....Vampire Savior)

See Dreamcast uses "NAOMI" a spin off the Arcade board of the same name...which is a variant of the CPS-3 (Street Fighter 3) and Naomi and the main brains behind Marvel vs. Capcom 1 and 2...alot more advanced....

So Alpha 3 on Dreamcast had to be downgraded in animation, because trying to make the Naomi read this program was a pain to translate and so you had to loose some of the factors of animation

Yet what makes no sense is that is how SF Alpha 3 suffered....but Super SF2 Turbo (Match Edition) and Vampire Chronicles on Dreamcast is amazing! I have no clue how the two drifted apart...

[ubersaurus]

It's the best home port as far as arcade-perfetion goes. outside of some slowdown and some other very minor things, it's arcade SFA3.

PS1 and DC both had some major differences for the arcade, so if you have the opportunity, go for the saturn one.

[Richter]

Sat = port of the Arcade version
PS1 = watered down port of arcade version; missing frames, smaller character sprites
DC = port of the PS1 version

[ClassicGameTrader]

SF Zero 3 for Saturn > DC and PS1 version...

All because of the 4MB RAM Cart...

Well obviously that is not true, with the saturn 4 meg cart the saturn has around 7.5 - 8 megs of ram and the DC has 26 or so.

[Lemmy Kilmister]

SF Zero 3 for Saturn > DC and PS1 version...

All because of the 4MB RAM Cart...

Well obviously that is not true, with the saturn 4 meg cart the saturn has around 7.5 - 8 megs of ram and the DC has 26 or so.


Maybe so, but the saturn version is still superior to both the Dreamcast and PS versions.

[Muscelli]

playing both, i can say that the saturn one is better... i like it a lot more

most games are akward with the dreamcast controller, though racing games are the bomb with the sat controller

[MegaDrive20XX]

SF Zero 3 for Saturn > DC and PS1 version...

All because of the 4MB RAM Cart...

Well obviously that is not true, with the saturn 4 meg cart the saturn has around 7.5 - 8 megs of ram and the DC has 26 or so.

In this case, Saturn defied the odds, I can't explain how they pulled it off, but there it is

[buttasuperb]

I hear the Saturn version is the best port. Never played it though, I have the CPS2.

[Richter]

SF Zero 3 for Saturn > DC and PS1 version...

All because of the 4MB RAM Cart...

Well obviously that is not true, with the saturn 4 meg cart the saturn has around 7.5 - 8 megs of ram and the DC has 26 or so.

In this case, Saturn defied the odds, I can't explain how they pulled it off, but there it is^ read my previous post. DC used an inferior port as it's base.

[MegaDrive20XX]

yeah I read that, and that's pretty much solid truth Richter

[buttasuperb]

Is the Saturn version a port of the CPS2 version or the Naomi version (SFA3 Upper) ?

[MegaDrive20XX]

good question, I'm gonna say CPS-2 version probably, since Saturn couldn't even go near what Naomi can do

[MegaDrive20XX]

which reminds me, there was an old EGM article, about Saturn was so close to having a Marvel Vs. Capcom 1 port...but it never happened (Issue from Nov or Dec of 99 I think)

[Kid Ice]

If you're a *real* Street Fighter fan (or like me just above casual) you definitely must have the Saturn version. It may be the best console version of a pure SF game ever.

One thing that bothered me about the Saturn game though...in the "world tour" mode or whatever that was called (like in Soul Calibur), all the objectives are in Japanese. So when you get into a fight in that mode, you don't know exactly what you're getting into.

But if you're into it strictly for the SFA3 arcade experience, there is no substitute. The Saturn version is better than the DC version, and the Saturn has better joysticks. Although you can use the Saturn joysticks on a DC via converters, but that brings its own set of headaches.

[Jorpho]

Wasn't there a Street Fighter Alpha 3 Gold for the PS1?

[buttasuperb]

I'd say if you're a real SF fan, you'd want the original arcade board.

But I'd think the Saturn version is a good substitute if you have no means to play arcade games (cab or supergun)

Saturn ports of Capcom fighters are 2nd only to the originals.

[Richter]

whoops -edit-

[buttasuperb]

Is the Saturn version a port of the CPS2 version or the Naomi version (SFA3 Upper) ?Naomi, it was the DC version but in arcades

Has 4 added characters right? (I know Guile isn't in the CPS2, I forgot who the other 3 are)

edit: just saw the edit, does the Saturn version have Guile?

[Lemmy Kilmister]

Wasn't there a Street Fighter Alpha 3 Gold for the PS1?

No, that was Alpha 2.

[Richter]

Is the Saturn version a port of the CPS2 version or the Naomi version (SFA3 Upper) ?to expand on that "equation"

Sat = CPS2 port
PSX = watered down CPS2 port; missing animation frames, smaller character sprites
DC = port of the PSX version, 3 player Dramatic Battle Mode
SFA3 Upper = arcade version of the DC port, pretty much made all hidden characters already availilbe
GBA = watered down port of Upper :roll: added Yin (or was that Yang?) & Maki

CPS2 board = Sat > DC = SFA 3upper > PSX > GBA

butta -
was getting things mixed up, hence the edit

[MegaDrive20XX]

Wasn't there a Street Fighter Alpha 3 Gold for the PS1?

No, that was Alpha 2.

Which was included with SF Collection Vol. 1 on Saturn and PSX

[MegaDrive20XX]

Is the Saturn version a port of the CPS2 version or the Naomi version (SFA3 Upper) ?Naomi, it was the DC version but in arcades

Has 4 added characters right? (I know Guile isn't in the CPS2, I forgot who the other 3 are)

edit: just saw the edit, does the Saturn version have Guile?

Yes Guile is in the Saturn version, so it is a port of the Arcade, I guess they added the extras from what Im reading in old reviews of it

[buttasuperb]

hmmm, then it's not a direct port of the CPS2 version then? The CPS2 doesn't have Guile.

[MegaDrive20XX]

True, I gotta do some more research on this...brings up a very good point

[Richter]

could be that since Guile was added in the PSX and already been optimized for that system, they simply plugged him into the Sat?

he wouldnt have any frames missing since his source was PSX

:hmm:

[FurinkanianFrood]

I will have to get the Sat version sometime soon. The DC port always seemed rather off, even more so than the PSX one when the contoller is taken into consideration. I usually prefer the DC controller but I can't bring myself to play Capcom fighters with it. The PSX port was actually rather impressive when you consider the hardware, but on the DC it's just sad. Something seemed a little off about Vampire on DC but I'm pretty sure that is just from being used to the Saturn controller. Usually end up using the ASCII stick... it would be nice if I could have gotten a second one of those. I bought one in Jan 2000 and haven't seen another one in person since.

I've been playing a lot of 2D fighters on the XBOX with a Saturn controller recently, and combined with the Sega games released on it earlier and MSlug3, DOA and what have you I sometimes can almost pretend that I am playing some kind of extension of older Sega systems, but not quite. The adapter was well worth it IMO.

How much is the Saturn version running these days anyhow?
I think I'm off to go look.....

May Sega be with you, always.

[Richter]

what convertor lets me hook up my Sat pad to the XB?

[buttasuperb]

what convertor lets me hook up my Sat pad to the XB?

magic box

link (http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=23&products_id=1892&PHPSESSID=2d2c1e28b73b8610fb3772882ba9538b)

playasia.com has it too, but it's down right now.

edit: it's back online. link (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-2a-77-1-15-magic%2Bbox-70-1gk.html)

[-hellvin-]

To throw my hat into the ring, I would say if you have the chance to get it, go for it. It's an incredible game and the best port you could ever play. I used to play this soooooo much on my saturn but moved on from saturn to some other systems for a while so I haven't played it in ages. Damn...gotta get back to showing the saturn some attention ;D.

[Mr Mort]

Saturn Street Fighter Zero 3 is my favorite game of all-time.

Technically, the sprites in the Saturn version are larger and much crisper that the DC version, and in actuality the DC version is missing some minor animation that the Saturn isn't, such as some character's backwards walking animation.

The V-ism combos are most accurate in the Saturn version as well, as the DC version is considered to have differences from the arcade in respect to V-ism combos.
Another good thing about the Saturn version is that like the DC version, you can have 3 different characters in dramatic battle, whereas the PS version restricts you to 2 different characters.

A few negative aspects of the Saturn version are:
-only 2 players can play in dramatic battle at the same time, while the DC version lets 3 people play simultaneously.
-there is no random background select in VS mode. The background is determined by the character player one selects (the DC version lets you select random backgrounds).
-The transparencies present before and after each round are replaced with the standard Saturn "mesh" pattern since the Saturn does not have hardware transparencies. There is a way to enable the transparencies with a mode in the option screen, but I've found that it *can* slow the game down in spots.
-The DC version has one extra background not found in the Arcade, PS and Saturn versions, but it's a cheesy, generic background with a dirt suface with clouds passing by in the background, hardly interesting.

Mind you, these are only anal-retentive and miniscule differences IMO, and despite these, the Saturn version is superior to the PS/DC versions in every other way particularly in the visuals and gameplay.

Also, whoever said the load times are long is dead wrong. The load times are only slightly longer than the DC version, which means matches load in about 1-2 seconds at most. The PS version has you waiting for an unbearable amount of time.


If you're looking for arcade-perfect, the order from best to worst would be:
Saturn, PSX, DC, GBA.

Now, the CPS2 version did not have Guile, Dee Jay, Fei-Long, Juli, Juni, Balrog/M. BIson, T.Hawk, Evil Ryu, and Shin Akuma/Gouki as playable characters. (Although you can play against Juli, Juni, and Balrog/M. Bison).
Obviously all the console versions have the above characters playable. So depending on how you look at it, none of the console ports are a "true" CPS2 conversion.

The arcade/Naomi version of Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper includes all the characters from the console versions, and the gameplay has been tweaked (damage amounts, properties of certain moves & combos, etc.), it is NOT a straight port of the DC version.

[ubersaurus]

Actually the CPS2 version of A3 had Juni, Juli, and Balrog hidden characters. You had to put in a code to play as them-I believe Apoc was a beast with Xism Balrog.

I think it was Juli(the redheaded one at any rate), who was really freakin good in the arcade, but I could be wrong. Better then Cammy and the brunette, at any rate.