As @DarthEnder said the “SF2 spinn-off” argument die quickly as soon you involve SFA, wich got strong identity without lose SF vibe
SFA3 may end up a bit guilty of that (SF2ism, not that i disliked it LOL), but still added stuff like Cody, Mika and Karin (+ less memorable JuniJuli crap)
Also i will not excessively romanticize SF3 move as simple omg youngboldfreeawesome
To me SF3 Team looked bitter af at SF2 legacy and tried to impose theyr vision over it, BUT while having the immense advantage of having theyr thing named after the most succesfull and important fight brand ever
I remember read an inteview, the vibe was’nt that nice, lol at “love letter”
Let’s be clear: shit was’nt called Martial Arts People: New Generation
It was called STREET FIGHTER III: New Generation
It was an immense help for them to start like that, but came with duties
Also let’s not pretend no slot for vets was possible because they got so many incredible and various ideas, ridicolous % recycled sprites lol, and a couple of chars were far from masterpieces
I LOVE the good half of SF3 cast, but let’s not pretend no better slot use was possible lol, SF3 cast had visible flaws too
They chosen in a bit asshole way to play with fire, they got burnt (and SF with them)
PS: all this from somebody that is absolutely on favor of get new characters and supported SFV S2 when everybody was spitting shit on it (and admitting SFV Newcomers are’nt all great)
Alpha actually takes a decent step in going in a different direction like I said capcom could have met somewhere in the middle ground, but don’t get it twisted like alpha was super popular either
And plenty of people felt like sf4 was similar to sf2, please don’t take that literally as I know you are. But sf4 was indeed another sf2 spin off.
So much for giving the players who keep asking for new and completely different out takes on things something.
But they got it right now, as does every entertainment medium. Popular characters don’t get killed or replaced and they just pump out sequel after sequel with the same main cast or characters and different mechanics.
You’ve got your mind made up, your right sf3 with the mechanics and art work it had would have revitalized the series if only the original WW would have been included… sure
But that’s not what people were asking for and that’s my point. You can’t listen to fans because they say one thing and then turn around and do another.
Undeniably SF Alpha and SF5 is the best and most diverse casting we had. It’s hard to say which is which with the 2 but both are the best casting so far.
Did people ask for that in SF3? Never saw anybody asking for that. Just like I never saw anybody asking for a time skip and new characters to replace the old ones in Soulcalibur 5. Most people disliked the new characters.
The issue with what Soul Calibur did was they replaced old favorites with “new” characters with near identical play styles. Although it has taken some time, the 3S cast developed a fanbase because they were their own characters. They had their own playstyles. They weren’t just pale imitations of the original.
When it comes to the failure of SF3 to take off, people always discount the trends of the time. 2D was out. 3D was in. Plus arcades outside of Japan were going the way of the dodo bird and SF3 could only run on Dreamcast.
-Great episode, I like Max, so it was nice watching his reflections on the scene
1: I would like a new style to refresh things. Many of us have discussed an alpha 3 art style, a SF2AM style, etc. I personally am somewhat flexible as long as it doesn’t look too realistic but keeps the stylization and eastern influences. I don’t ever want aSF game looking like Injustice. I want stylized character designs, saturated colours and flair. I don’t want an attempt to lean realistic.
2: Max said “It’s about dreams coming true” BINGO, Capcom has a fantastic roster of characters and they’ve been SITTING on them for EVER. I’d love to see more of those forgotten classics get another chance at life. There are so many things across genres that ripe for a revival. If we did a Smash style celebration of the characters and stages, I’d be all for that, especially if the more obscure choices lead to their games returning. I’d love to see Captain Commando in a fighting game again, but I’d love a brand new, spirited approach to his games. A combo of fun, action, and charming hero style antics with the Japanese flair. I’d love to see Armored Warriors back, I’d absolutely love a new take on DnD as a beat 'em up (it makes sense given how popular it is in this modern era).
Overall there’s no reason to just rely on SF, RE5, and throwing Mega Man and Ds an occasional crossover bone. They can do this the way Max said and build up little by little, or go in big and strong. You don’t have to worry about Marvel licensing issues this time around and can keep things in Capcom’s wheelhouse. With all the alt costumes in SF5 I really do hope they’ve been testing the waters to see if people still want these classics brought back.
3: I’m not sure what to think about the RE engine with SF. As Max said, the SF division doesn’t have a lot of experience with it. I want them to go in fully baked with SF6 and not make a new set of stumbles with something that they’re just learning, though I don’t know how fast they could pick up the RE engine and master it. I haven’t seen anything incredibly stylized and leaning heavily away from realistic with it, so I’m not sure how it’ll handle. I want to keep SF anime-ish and flashy. Do not give us a grey, desaturated SF world, please. I think there could be exciting things for the future of SF. I’d like a larger jump from SF5 to SF6 not just in the overall look, but I’d like the aesthetics to change, the HUDS, the visual design of the game’s elements too.
I think people here should make a breakdown on what do you feel wrong with SF3 and also what it did correctly in your own opinion.
Talking about HUDS…
SF4, SF3NG and SF-Alpha2 had the best HUDs out there. IMHO.
You can even see those fonts used and referenced in many parodies, tributes, accessories and also clothing to represent SF in a way compare to the other SF games HUDs and fonts.
We’re not including SF3 gameplay mechanics debate here because that can differ into personal preference and also trends of what’s better in terms of gameplay do change time to time.
I would have added a couple of popular returning characters in addition Ryu, Ken, and Chun Li. Cammy and Guile. Also one more new character, a Muay Thai rep.
Fight brand nothing. At that point, Street Fighter was possibly the most successful and important VIDEO GAME brand ever.
Yeah, you know what? Those people are stupid and don’t deserve to be listened to.
People who want something new and completely different should want a NEW THING. Instead of wanting an old thing that people already love to change into something it’s not.
If you want something that’s not Street Fighter, play something that’s NOT Street Fighter. And stop trying to ruin something that people already love for some misguided sake of novelty.
Or, and this is just a crazy theory, a series that has millions of fans actually has people in that want opposite things from each other. That some fans wanted something completely new, but most didn’t. And when they made a game targeted at that minority, they pissed off the majority that never wanted that to begin with.
Keep in mind though that Chun Li didn’t show up until 3rd Strike.
But if we’re talking about what we would have done differently with SF3’s roster, I definitely would have just left out the characters that were just redoing things old characters already did to just have those old characters instead.
Like, I would have replaced Necro, Remy, Twelve and Q with Blanka, Guile, Dhalsim and Balrog.
Definitely wouldn’t have had Sean there either. And since the people he was copying were already in the game anyone, you could give that slot to anyone. I’d just do Zangief.
Probably also would have just made Urien the main boss and not had Gill at all, as they’re pretty redundant. Give that slot to Sagat.
So 3rd Strike’s roster would have been:
Ryu
Ken
Chun Li
Guile
Blanka
Dhalsim
Zangief
Balrog
Sagat
Akuma
Alex
Dudley
Yun
Yang
Ibuki
Elena
Makoto
Oro
Hugo
Urien
Looking at SF3’s history, it was pretty much doomed to fail from the start. It started development soon after the release of SSF2T but was delayed because Capcom wanted to work on the Darkstalkers and Marvel games. Several characters and concepts (like Sakura) were moved over to Alpha 2 (the development story of the first two Alpha games is a crazy one as well). Development was then switched to the CPS3 system in early 1996 and if the E3 trailer is any indication then several characters were actually incomplete in NG. Not to mention Hugo was cut out at the end because they wanted a “big” game for the CPS3 system and so rushed it. The high cost of the CPS3 board as well as its heavy maintenance meant that nobody saw any profit in buying the board. In 1997 SF wasn’t as popular as it was in the early 90’s.
External factors included the shift in 2D to 3D meaning that SF3 was already at an disadvantage as well as the growth in the console market. The fact that it was only up until the Dreamcast coming along that SF3 could successfully be ported meant that for about 3 years SF3 was stuck on arcades. By the time 3rd strike came out, everyone was apathetic to SF in general and as evidenced in that 3rd strike interview I linked way back Capcom were already getting ready to migrate out of the arcade business before 3S was even released.
Random SF3 trivia: Chun-Li was actually intended to be in 2nd impact. The sound test contains clips of her Alpha voice actor. Sagat and Zangief were also suggested to be added if SF3 had a 4th version.