Title: Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX

Date: 03.30.2006

Genre: Fighting

Platform: Sony PSP

Developer: CAPCOM

Publisher: CAPCOM

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX is a port of the original Alpha 3 from the PS1 to the PSP. New characters were added, new gameplay modes were added, and all the graphics and Street Fighter fun have been left intact.

The games graphics have been left COMPLETELY intact. If you’ve played the PS1 version, you’ll know what this looks like. All the character models are just and fresh and crisp. The animations for all the special moves like Ryu’s Hadoken and Super Bisons Psycho Crusher are also intact. The music has also been left completely intact. So basically anybody who’s a fan of the original won’t be disappointed. For anyone whose ‘unfamiliar’ with the game (which I think is impossible, but some people DO live under rocks apparently…), Street Fighter is a 2D fighting game where you select a character, and your opponent, whether the computer or another player, selects a character. You then fight it out to the death, and whoever drains the other players’ life bar first wins the round. Whoever wins the most rounds wins the entire match. Each character in the game is unique, each possessing their own strengths and weaknesses.

That said, the Alpha series introduced the ‘Super Combo’ gauge at the bottom of the screen. With certain button combinations, you launch a special attack, which executes more powerful moves like an Enhanced Hadoken or a 10hit attack combo. This adds another element to Street Fighter, as all you had to watch out for in Street Fighter 2 was basic moves. There is also a guard gauge now. When you guard too many attacks, you take the risk of getting ‘Guard Crushed’, which leaves you dazed and vulnerable to an attack.

Alpha 3 introduced different types of gauges as well. There was the A-ISM, which is the basic 3 level Super Gauge. It’s the best ISM for beginners and people who like using different levels of Super Combos, X-ISM lets you use only one Super Combo when the gauge is full, but increases the power of all your attacks. It’s best used for players who like to be on the offensive the whole match. The V-ISM is a gauge that activates when you hit two attack buttons at once, and the bar is at least 50% full. The V-ISM is the Custom Combo ISM, allowing the user to execute multiple hits when regular attacks. Whenever you do a regular attack with the ISM active, a small delayed hit is also done. Meaning a 3 hit Sho-ryu-ken can become a 5 to 6 hit attack instead. And firing a Hadoken will fire a delayed one right behind it. However, getting hit when it’s active turns the ISM off, and drains a large portion of your Custom Combo gauge. This ISM is most effective for players who don’t need Super Combos to deal damage, and it one of my personal favorites.

This game introduced many new modes as well. It features a 2 on 2 battle which is exactly like how the fights in Marvel vs. Capcom 1 did it, a Dramatic and R Dramatic battle that pits you and a friendly CPU against an opponent, or two CPU opponents against yourself, respectively. World Tour mode is also available, although the arrangement of the fights has been changed due to the addition of 4 new characters to this game. Survival Mode has been left intact as well, and being able to use a character from World Tour mode as a playable fighter in versus matches. This allows them to benefit from any ISM-Plus you gathered while in World Tour Mode.

This game has a ton of replay value, being a fighting game and all. You can go through World Tour mode multiple times with different characters, you can go through Survival mode or the 100 Man Battle if your bored, and of course you can fight your friends and get your ass kicked when they start spamming Hadokens. You get the point.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX is the best port of the Alpha 3 series since it was released on the PS1. The PSP has no problem handling the game, and outside of the initial UMD load to start the game there are practically no load times at all. If your looking for a good fighting game, or just a game that you can use to kill time when you have it, Alpha 3 MAX is the PSP game you need to buy. Its current retail price is $40.00, so it’s a good deal. Considering GTA is still $50.00, it's DEFINITELY a good deal.

Game Score

9.0

Reviewed By: Contributed