RSS
Review:How does Street Fighter preform on the PSP?
February 23, 2006 | 3:30 PM PSTby: Matt Furtado
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max marks the Street Fighter debut for the Sony PSP and is the second fighting game for the handheld from the Capcom. They originally gave us Darkstalkers: The Chaos Tower at launch and that was able to fill the void of a solid 2D fighter at launch for fighting fans. Just like Darkstalkers, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max features beautiful 2D animations and the same solid 2D fighting engine of past Street Fighter games.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 originally hit in 1998 and has become a fan favorite, thanks to its superb fighting system, massive number of game modes, and the most solid roster of fighters for the series. The game has gone through a complete overhaul with new features, characters, and now with the inclusion of WiFi battle.
Graphics
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max is one of the most beautiful games on the PSP. The art styles of the 2D sprites are simply remarkable. The game looks just as sharp and clean as the original game except better due to the PSP screen. The characters are full of detail and are all very sharp and colorful to look at. The characters look even better than the Darkstalker characters and for anyone who played that game you know how much detail were those characters. The environments are clear and full of life. During one fight you’ll be fighting during a thunderstorm and you’ll see the lighting flash and you’ll even see a skull be created by the clouds in the sky every so often. Once you get to this fight, the skull will fit into place very well. The menus of the game though are nothing to marvel about. They are basic but they get the job done. Of course, this is a fighting game so you aren’t really worried about the menus of the game to begin with.
Gameplay
Overall, the time tested 2D fighter formula is applied. It is basically the "beat the hell out of the other character" to achieve victory idea. However, Capcom has thrown in tons of extras and a bunch of new modes for the PSP. Like previous Street Fighter games, Alpha 3 Max has an Arcade Mode. It lets you choose a fighter and compete against 10 opponents to reach the character's ending. Then there's Training Mode, which lets you practice moves, combos and counters against a fighter of your choosing. You can set a number of options, such as an opponent's stance and defensive capabilities, and you can record a number of moves you want an opponent to execute, should you want to practice a specific string of moves. There is also an edit Mode lets you modify characters, such as stamina, power and special moves. You're also given points to buy upgrades. All of these features add to the game some depth. In World Tour, you can choose a character, train them and then enter them in a bunch of battles. It's the most in-depth and addicting mode in the game. As you play through the World Tour your character will change and may not be the same as you started off with. It also lets you sample all the arenas and stages in the game in a way that feels a little more adventurous.
Capcom also included several WiFi modes. Unfortunately, the game only supports local area play and not online play. You’ll be able to compete with friends in versus, team battle, variable battle, and dramatic battle. Versus lets you take on a friend in your traditional one-on-one match. Team battle lets you pick a three-character team. Variable battle lets you pick a team of three, with up to two fighters controlled by human players and a third handled by the AI. Dramatic battle lets up to three players engage in two-on-one battles. The game will still feature world tour, reverse dramatic battle, survival, versus-100, final battle, free battle, and team battle modes.
Putting the smack down, one 2D sprite at a time
Control
You have two choices of control for the game. You can either use the analog stick or the D-pad. I personally used the D-pad because it gave me a feel of total control in my moves over the analog stick. Now this isn’t saying that the D-pad controls are flawless either. The D-pad control will take sometime get use to. It’s not as precise as a console D-pad, and it feels awkward at times. You’ll still be able to pull off your special moves, but you may have a slight setback in the amount of times you pull them off.
Sound
The game sounds great. You can hear to characters shout out their special moves and the sound effects from the hits or when you power up a special attack. Nothing really takes full advantage of the PSP’s sound system, but it is still well done. You’ll hear familiar tracks from the original game and some remade tracks as well.
Overall
This is definitely must a buy for all Street Fighter fans and 2D fighting fans. You won’t find a better 2D fighter out on the PSP right now or in the near future. The variety of different modes add a nice mix to the Street Fighter formula and will keep you going back for more. Once you get over the controls, you’ll find a fun and addicting fighting game.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 originally hit in 1998 and has become a fan favorite, thanks to its superb fighting system, massive number of game modes, and the most solid roster of fighters for the series. The game has gone through a complete overhaul with new features, characters, and now with the inclusion of WiFi battle.
Graphics
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max is one of the most beautiful games on the PSP. The art styles of the 2D sprites are simply remarkable. The game looks just as sharp and clean as the original game except better due to the PSP screen. The characters are full of detail and are all very sharp and colorful to look at. The characters look even better than the Darkstalker characters and for anyone who played that game you know how much detail were those characters. The environments are clear and full of life. During one fight you’ll be fighting during a thunderstorm and you’ll see the lighting flash and you’ll even see a skull be created by the clouds in the sky every so often. Once you get to this fight, the skull will fit into place very well. The menus of the game though are nothing to marvel about. They are basic but they get the job done. Of course, this is a fighting game so you aren’t really worried about the menus of the game to begin with.
Gameplay
Overall, the time tested 2D fighter formula is applied. It is basically the "beat the hell out of the other character" to achieve victory idea. However, Capcom has thrown in tons of extras and a bunch of new modes for the PSP. Like previous Street Fighter games, Alpha 3 Max has an Arcade Mode. It lets you choose a fighter and compete against 10 opponents to reach the character's ending. Then there's Training Mode, which lets you practice moves, combos and counters against a fighter of your choosing. You can set a number of options, such as an opponent's stance and defensive capabilities, and you can record a number of moves you want an opponent to execute, should you want to practice a specific string of moves. There is also an edit Mode lets you modify characters, such as stamina, power and special moves. You're also given points to buy upgrades. All of these features add to the game some depth. In World Tour, you can choose a character, train them and then enter them in a bunch of battles. It's the most in-depth and addicting mode in the game. As you play through the World Tour your character will change and may not be the same as you started off with. It also lets you sample all the arenas and stages in the game in a way that feels a little more adventurous.
Capcom also included several WiFi modes. Unfortunately, the game only supports local area play and not online play. You’ll be able to compete with friends in versus, team battle, variable battle, and dramatic battle. Versus lets you take on a friend in your traditional one-on-one match. Team battle lets you pick a three-character team. Variable battle lets you pick a team of three, with up to two fighters controlled by human players and a third handled by the AI. Dramatic battle lets up to three players engage in two-on-one battles. The game will still feature world tour, reverse dramatic battle, survival, versus-100, final battle, free battle, and team battle modes.
Control
You have two choices of control for the game. You can either use the analog stick or the D-pad. I personally used the D-pad because it gave me a feel of total control in my moves over the analog stick. Now this isn’t saying that the D-pad controls are flawless either. The D-pad control will take sometime get use to. It’s not as precise as a console D-pad, and it feels awkward at times. You’ll still be able to pull off your special moves, but you may have a slight setback in the amount of times you pull them off.
Sound
The game sounds great. You can hear to characters shout out their special moves and the sound effects from the hits or when you power up a special attack. Nothing really takes full advantage of the PSP’s sound system, but it is still well done. You’ll hear familiar tracks from the original game and some remade tracks as well.
Overall
This is definitely must a buy for all Street Fighter fans and 2D fighting fans. You won’t find a better 2D fighter out on the PSP right now or in the near future. The variety of different modes add a nice mix to the Street Fighter formula and will keep you going back for more. Once you get over the controls, you’ll find a fun and addicting fighting game.
November 20, 2009
