History Videogame / StreetFighterIII

-> ''Make your first move. So what's it gonna be?\\

The 3rd Strike, y'all, it's Street Fighter III!\\
Make your first move. So what's it gonna be?\\

The 3rd Strike, y'all, it's Street Fighter III! III! III!"''

'''WE AWAIT YOUR RETURN, WARRIOR!'''

* {{Bowdlerise}}: Also counts as AllInTheManual, NoExportForYou, and GuideDangIt. The entire backstory of ''Street Fighter III'' and information on the Secret Society/Illuminati were strongly withheld from being known outside of Japan during its release era, and in tandem with ''III's'' then lukewarm reception, Gill and Urien's backstories were presented extremely vague as if to not stir controversy. It was only into the 2010s by translation from [=GameFAQ=] plot guides, transcribing efforts by the Street Fighter Wiki, and ''Street Fighter V'', that helped to bring more exposure on ''Street Fighter III's'' events as a whole.

* Bowdlerise: Also counts as AllInTheManual, NoExportForYou, and GuideDangIt. The entire backstory of ''Street Fighter III'' and information on the Secret Society/Illuminati were strongly withheld from being known outside of Japan during its release era, and in tandem with ''III's'' then lukewarm reception, Gill and Urien's backstories were presented extremely vague as if to not stir controversy. It was only into the 2010s by translation from GameFAQ plot guides, transcribing efforts by the Street Fighter Wiki, and ''Street Fighter V'', that helped to bring more exposure on ''Street Fighter III's'' events as a whole.

* PostHistoricTrauma: Thematically, the Illuminati/Secret Society. As to ''III's'' themes of to "Fight For The Future", they have basis in being inspired by religious cults and real world terrorist attacks and events by them throughout the early 1990s, specifically that of Aum Shinrikyo, who caused the infamous 1995 sarin gas attacks in Tokyo's subway system, and groups like them all over the world anticipating Y2k and the 2000s as the coming of the End of Days and the Apocalypse. This includes even outwest fringe groups like far right Christian fundamentalist and supremacist groups anticipating the year 2000 as the Second Coming of Jesus, providing the Secret Society's more Christian and even Nazi-like extremist and eugenics based undertones. As the world of popular media would show, Aum's attacks and the overall darker anticipation of the 2000s would lead Japan's entertainment world to highlight themes of beating back religious extremist and blind dogmatic activity, debunking and dismantling apocalyptic and cabalist cults, and facing off against powerful villains and antagonistic entities that threaten the world at large by their influence threatening to take mankind down another era of darkness and chaos by coveting command of the future of humanity for their own gains. In regards to ''Street Fighter'', this is evident by the Secret Society having overall themes of being a globally connected AncientConspiracy who have outlived ancient powerful civilizations and lived off of their spoils upon their downfalls, and brings to question the martial arts and the nature of fighting in relation to this aspect of the human condition and its progress, and as Gill would say to Elena, of the perspective that the martial arts are but a means that "serve solely to assert one's dominance over another".

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: ''III's'' soundtrack goes for a more hip hop, jazz, and overall 1990s influenced feel, while ''Third Strike'' alone kicks this UpToEleven and turns all sorts of genres with a beat with Drum & Bass styled remix backing. Elena's theme, for example, mixes up African drums with house music with some saxophone thrown in, and Q's theme can only be described as funky ''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' music.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: A few of the themes on the soundtracks have some pretty weird genre mashups. Elena's theme, for example, mixes up African drums with house music with some saxophone thrown in, and Q's theme can only be described as funky ''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' music.

* {{Nerf}}: Sean's infamous downgrade between ''2nd Impact'' and ''3rd Strike''. In the former, he had some excellent combos, good speed, and even a glitch that allowed him to build his EX meter twice as fast as any other character. In the latter, he's lost some of his best combos, and his speed and priority are abysmal.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: The way the Elena and Ibuki are injured in ''New Generation'' and ''2nd Impact'' after losing sees them having little body damage while showing off some Fanservice in their own way. The men especially Gill are all absolutely fucked up.

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Reappears in ''New Generation'' and ''2nd Impact''.

* CompilationRerelease: ''Double Impact'' for the Dreamcast can't really count since it's the ''only'' way the first two versions of ''Street Fighter III'' even got released at the time. It wouldn't be until ''30th Anniversary Collection'' where they'd ever officially see the light of day again, alongside ''3rd Strike'', which is the only true compilation of ''Street Fighter III''[='s=] entire lineage.

* CompilationRerelease: ''Double Impact'' for the Dreamcast can't really count since it's the ''only'' way the first two versions of ''Street Fighter III'' even got released at the time. It wouldn't be until ''30th Anniversary Collection'' where they'd ever see the light of day again, alongside ''3rd Strike'', which is the only true compilation of ''Street Fighter III''[='s=] entire lineage.

In 1997, Creator/{{Capcom}} finally released the long-awaited true sequel to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', ''Street Fighter III: New Generation''. It cut the roster of familiar characters down to Ryu and ([[ComplacentGamingSyndrome more infamously]]) Ken Masters; Akuma and Chun-Li were added to the ''2nd Impact'' and ''3rd Strike'' [[UpdatedRerelease updates]] respectively and quickly became upper/top-[[CharacterTiers tier]]. In their place is a slew of oddball fighters, plus the [[FashionVictimVillain weirdly-painted]] tournament organizer and [[TheIlluminati Illuminati]] leader, Gill.

The game had incredible hype given its lineage. [[AcclaimedFlop It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it flopped.]] Most likely it was a strong case of [[ToughActToFollow unrealistic expectations]]. Some say years of updates/prequels to ''Street Fighter II'' resulted in [[CapcomSequelStagnation franchise fatigue]]. The [[ReplacementScrappy unfamiliar cast]] were less-memorable, and most of them failed to generate a large following, let alone leave a mark on pop culture like the others. The learning curve of the game had also [[SequelDifficultySpike increased exponentially]], in part because series veterans had become too good, and partly to throw off newcomers who knew what to expect from ''Street Fighter'' given its outsized footprint on [[FightingGame the genre]]. The lack of a console port at the time of release killed a lot of exposure when compared to both ''II'' and the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' line, all of which were {{Killer App}}s in their day. ''III'' has never really recovered from that.

* From ''Street Fighter I'': [[SpiritedCompetitor Ryu]], [[PlayingWithFire Ken Masters]]
* From ''Street Fighter II'': [[KickChick Chun-Li]], [[EvilCounterpart Akuma]]
* Introduced in ''Street Fighter III: New Generation'': [[WrestlerinAllofUs Alex]], [[CulturedBadass Dudley]], [[BashBrothers Yun and Yang]], [[BadassAdorable Ibuki]], [[RubberMan Necro]], [[StrawLoser Sean]], [[OldMaster Oro]], [[DanceBattler Elena]], [[TheEmperor Gill]]
* Introduced in ''Street Fighter III 2nd Impact'': [[TheGiant Hugo]], [[TheStarscream Urien]]
* Introduced in ''Street Fighter III 3rd Strike'': [[FrenchJerk Remy]], [[MalevolentMaskedMan Q]], [[CuteBruiser Makoto]], [[ShapeshifterWeapon Twelve]]

Given its high demand of mastery, the game is still popular for TournamentPlay, [[VindicatedByHistory giving it some recognition]] which was denied at time of release. Due to fervent fan requests, Capcom re-released this game on UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade and the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Network}} in 2011 as ''3rd Strike Online Edition''; it features online play, enhanced visual settings, and other bonus content. The arcade version was later re-released in 2018 as part of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection]]'' on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}, the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, and UsefulNotes/XboxONE.

Given its high demand of mastery, the game is still popular for TournamentPlay, [[VindicatedByHistory giving it some recognition]] which was denied at time of release. Due to fervent fan requests, Capcom re-released this game on UsefulNotes/XboxLiveArcade and the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Network}} in 2011 as ''3rd Strike Online Edition''; it features online play, enhanced visual settings, and other bonus content.

** The second is his N.D.L. Twelve shoves his arms into the ground, and they resurface as spikes at different ranges depending on which button you've used. While this doesnt seem like much at first glance, it can be used to punish projectile spammers; the spikes go underneath the stage, which means they don't get nullified by projectiles and will hit before the opponent recovers. N.D.L. can also be used to punish jumping opponents if positioned correctly, [[NotCompletelyUseless but the light N.D.L. works perfectly as an anti-divekick tool]]. The EX version is also a [[HomingProjectile homing weapon]] that will have the spikes surface at any location the target is, ''including crossups.'' This gives Twelve an effective weapon against Ken, who is one of his most dangerous matchups.
** The third is his X.N.D.L, his first Super Art. Again, it's slow and easy to parry if you don't combo into it. However, [[InvulnerableAttack it gives Twelve invincibility on his upper body]]. If timed well, it will let you dodge and counter projectile Super Arts like Ryu's Shinkuu ''and'' Denjin Hadoukens, Akuma's standing Messatsu Gou Hadou, Sean's Hadou Burst, etc. It will also go through Urien's Aegis Reflector and beat out Necro's Electric Snake. It can also counter Remy's Light of Justice, but you need to be mid-range and trigger it before the second wave of projectiles come out. In short, it can be used as a counter Super Art in certain matchups.

** His Super Arts aren't very good. The first sends out a wave of spikes that deals a ton of damage if it connects. But the start up is incredibly slow; if you don't combo into it (for which very few moves work), you'll simply telegraph and allow yourself to be easily punished. The second requires you to be airborne, but the angle and hit detection are finicky. Your opponent needs to be standing on the ground, too; if you connect in midair, the damage output is drastically reduced. The third is the only truly useful one; it lets you shapeshift into your opponent. You have the option of playing as the character normally, or repeatedly taunting to gain stat boosts. But you can't use the mimicked character's EX moves or Super Arts. Also, the meter burns up quickly (and using this Super Art makes utilizing Twelve's EX moves impractical); once it runs out, Twelve will enter a painfully slow transformation sequence that leaves him wide open.

** Oro has EX versions of all of his Super Arts, including a Anime/DragonBallZ-style Spirit Bomb. You need to fully charge his meter and use all three punch buttons to trigger them.

** Similarly, Hugo's taunts have a few variations depending on the input. The first two versions boost his stats. But if you hold down the Start button and taunt, Poison will walk onscreen and do her own taunt.

** You can alter the difficulty level of the parrying bonus round by holding certain button combinations when the "Parrying" message appears on screen.
** Remy has several incredibly detailed [[IdleAnimation Idle Animations]] that you'll probably never see due to him being a charge character and the time limits in each round. The only way to see them all is to go into practice mode and just watch him. The one you're most likely encounter in an actual fight is when he brushes his long hair away from his face with his hand while he's crouching. If this happens enough times, he'll get annoyed, take a deep breath, and blow a strand of hair away instead.

** Necro's seemingly slow, awkward moves make him potentially nigh unstoppable when his opponent is in the corner. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql6s06ecSQ0 The high-level strategies must be seen to be believed.]]

* IdleAnimation: The game runs at 60 fps, and animators went all out to make the characters move as fluidly as possible. This includes when they're standing still. While every fighter looks awesome, some - particularly a few who were added in ''3rd Strike'' - got extra attention:

** Both Q and Oro's eyes will briefly glow or change color respectively.

* TheCameo: Infinite, who recorded the vocal songs for ''3rd Strike'', is also the game's announcer.
** Take a closer look at Ryu's ''New Generation'' hot springs stage. Linn Kurosawa from ''Alien vs. Predator'' is sharing the pool with Chun-Li, who would later return as a playable character in ''3rd Strike.''

The game had incredible hype given its lineage. [[AcclaimedFlop It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it flopped.]] Most likely it was a strong case of [[ToughActToFollow unrealistic expectations]]. Some say years of updates/prequels to ''Street Fighter II'' resulted in [[CapcomSequelStagnation franchise fatigue]]. The [[ReplacementScrappy unfamiliar cast]] were less-memorable, and most of them failed to generate a large following, let alone leave a mark on pop culture like the others. The learning curve of the game had also [[SequelDifficultySpike increased exponentially]], in part because series veterans had become too good, and partly to throw off newcomers who knew what to expect from ''Street Fighter'' given its outsized footprint on [[FightingGame the genre]]. The lack of a console port at the time of release killed a lot of exposure when compared to both the ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' line, all of which were {{Killer App}}s in their day. ''III'' has never really recovered from that.

The game had incredible hype given its lineage. [[AcclaimedFlop It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it flopped.]] Most likely it was a strong case of [[ToughActToFollow unrealistic expectations]]. Some say years of updates/prequels to ''Street Fighter II'' resulted in franchise fatigue. The [[ReplacementScrappy unfamiliar cast]] were less-memorable, and most of them failed to generate a large following, let alone leave a mark on pop culture like the others. The learning curve of the game had also [[SequelDifficultySpike increased exponentially]], in part because series veterans had become too good, and partly to throw off newcomers who knew what to expect from ''Street Fighter'' given its outsized footprint on [[FightingGame the genre]]. The lack of a console port at the time of release killed a lot of exposure when compared to both the ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' line, all of which were {{Killer App}}s in their day. ''III'' has never really recovered from that.

The game had incredible hype given its lineage. [[AcclaimedFlop It's hard to pinpoint exactly why it flopped.]] Most likely it was a strong case of [[ToughActToFollow unrealistic expectations]]. Some say years of updates/prequels to ''Street Fighter II'' resulted in franchise fatigue. The [[ReplacementScrappy unfamiliar cast]] were less-memirable, and most of them failed to generate a large following, let alone leave a mark on pop culture like the others. The learning curve of the game had also [[SequelDifficultySpike increased exponentially]], in part because series veterans had become too good, and partly to throw off newcomers who knew what to expect from ''Street Fighter'' given its outsized footprint on [[FightingGame the genre]]. The lack of a console port at the time of release killed a lot of exposure when compared to both the ''II'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' line, all of which were {{Killer App}}s in their day. ''III'' has never really recovered from that.