One of my fondest moments as a young
gamer was investing dozens of quarters into the Street Fighter II arcade
machine almost every day at the local bowling alley. When Street Fighter II
was released on the SNES, my life was complete. Since then, there have been
numerous revisions to the Street Fighter franchise, some of which have been
lacking in quality. I can easily say that Alpha 3 Max delivers the most
solid fighter experience I have ever played on a handheld system.
Alpha 3 Max carries a laundry
list of 40 playable characters, including all the old favorites like Ryu, Ken,
and Chun Li, an assortment of characters from later titles, and 4 new brawlers
featuring unique attacks and combos. The developers have done a great job in
selecting a wide assortment of characters from the many SF revisions.
The PSP, however, may not have been built with the fighting genre in mind.
Movement can be directed with the analog stick, but I found the classic SNES
approach of using the D-Pad worked better in my hands. Still, there were a
couple times I botched a combo because my fingers couldn’t come to grasp with
handling the PSP for fighting.
Almost as impressive as the cast of
characters, the number of different game modes is quite surprising for a
handheld system. Arcade Mode pits you against 10 computer-controlled opponents
to reach the story ending. Training Mode lets you practice your moves with all
the characters against a dummy opponent you can adjust in skill level. Edit
Mode allows you to customize the characters to your liking, assigning points to
various attributes. Variable Battle is a tag-team fighting mode against one
computer opponent. Dramatic Battle Mode teams you up with a computer partner to
fight another computer opponent 2-on-1 (there is also a Reverse Dramatic Battle
Mode…you can probably use common sense to figure that out). Survival mode
gives you a limited amount of life as you fight a list of opponents.
World Tour, a special mode allowing
you to train a particular character while traveling around the world fighting in
different arenas, is my particular favorite. The number of arenas offered in
World Tour mode is quite impressive and the level up process will dramatically
alter your player’s stats. You can also customize attack modes, called ism
select. X-ism is a simple fighting style that works for beginners, A-ism is the
standard fighting style seen in arcades, and V-ism is based on customized
combos.
The PSP version also has four modes
that utilize the networking capabilities of the handheld, although its all
Ad-Hoc (no online infrastructure): Versus Mode, where you go head-to-head with
another player, Team Mode, similar to Versus Mode with three characters facing
another three characters, Variable Battle with two human players against one
computer opponent, and Dramatic Battle where three human players throw down.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find another PSP with this game to judge the
multiplayer component.
The size of the PlayStation
Portable’s screen allowed the graphics team to really make this game look good.
The backgrounds are vibrant and the character animation has improved since the
original. The sound is also put together well with authentic sound effects,
music, and voice work.
Capcom’s attempt to bring a fighting
game to handheld systems was a success in nearly every aspect of the title.
Despite a questionable control system, Street Fighter: Alpha 3 Max has
proven that the fighting genre still has some kick left in it, even in the
portable world.
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Gameplay: 8.4
Alpha 3 Max offers a wealth of character and game type
options, compensating for a sometime rigid control structure.
Graphics: 8.6
Alpha 3 Max displays improved graphics from
it’s predecessors (much because of the PSP’s screen).
Sound: 8.0
Everything you’d expect to hear from a Street
Fighter game….Hadouken!!!
Difficulty:
Medium
Concept: 8.5
Bringing a fighting game to the PSP comes with risk,
but this game works.
Overall: 8.5
Despite a questionable control
system, Street Fighter: Alpha 3 Max has proven that the fighting genre
still has some kick left in it, even in the portable world.
