History YMMV / StreetFighterIII

* HypeBacklash: llStreet Fighter III'', particularly ''Third Strike'' is largely considered a CultClassic amongst the Competitive Community, but there's also those who resent the acclaim of it being considered the "Best Street Fighter Game" let alone one of the Greatest Fighting Games of All Time. With detractors critiquing the balance and the parry system undermining both footsie and zoning playstyles.

* HypeBacklash: llStreet Fighter III'', particularly ''Third Strike'' is largely considered a CultClassic amongst the Competitive Community, but there's also those who resent the acclaim of it being considered the "Best Street Fighter Game" let alone one of the Greatest Fighting Games of All Time. With detractors critiquing the balance and the parry system undermining potential playstyles.

** The game came out as the arcade scene was dying ''and'' while 3D games like ''Francise/{{Tekken}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur]]'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' were becoming increasingly popular. ''III'' was also developed on Capcom's new CPS-3 arcade system board, which allowed for more fluid and detailed sprites than had previously been seen. Unfortunately, this also made ''III'' much more expensive, and this, coupled with the declining popularity of 2D fighters and arcades in general, meant that many arcade owners passed on ordering the game.

** '''Top Tier:''' The most generally fixed in terms of character order. The best character in the game is Chun-Li[[labelnote:Details]]Chun-Li has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. [[StealthPun The real kicker]] is her ''Hoyoku Sen'' Super Art; it's insanely fast to start up and launches her across the screen in an instant, which makes it usable in just about any situation. And not only does it shave off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands, it launches the victim such that Chun-Li can follow up and carry the opponent across the entire stage. While this should make her reliant on meter to deal damage or transition from defense to offense, stronger attacks in this game build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed; Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation, so she's often got a super ready before other characters can mount a response.[[/labelnote]], with the only other S-tier and close second being Yun[[labelnote:Details]]Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game: he's got a great walk speed and super jump, and his divekicks give him a degree of unpredictability in the air that most characters can't challenge. He's also got a ton of mix-ups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' Super Art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it also has a short enough meter that Yun can reliably activate it two or three times ''a round''.[[/labelnote]]. A not-insignificant gap exists between these two and 3rd and 4th place, those being Ken [[labelnote:Details]]Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he has good movement speed, EX Tatsu allows him to escape corner pressure more easily, he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral or apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a Hadoken, and his ''Shippu Jinrai Kyaku'' Super Art gives him a damaging hit-confirm alongside a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit.[[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote:Details]]Makoto excels at getting in her opponent's face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her Hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mix-up situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX Oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX Hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichusen Godanzuki'' Super Art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' Super Art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into Hayate.[[/labelnote]] respectively, though some place Makoto higher.
** '''High Tier:''' The 5th best character was previously considered to be Akuma[[labelnote:Details]]Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His Demon Flip has a bunch of follow-ups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for Supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he also has the smallest lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]].[[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]]Dudley has an incredible mix-up game, especially in the corner. He has a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX Machine Gun Blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' Super Art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him (conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th. Yang[[labelnote:Details]][[MovesetClone Yang's moveset is largely similar to Yun's]], including his excellent mix-ups and divekick. The two deviate in special moves, where Yang trades Yun's leaping punch and shoulder check (both of which see the bulk of their use in ''Genei Jin'') for a rekka with good corner carry and high damage (particularly its EX version, which also builds just below half a stun bar for most characters) and a command dash that gives him a lot of freedom when timed right. While Yang can take any single hit further than Yun can, the lack of ''Genei Jin'''s unstoppable offense means he can't get force opponents to give him that hit nearly as consistently (Yang's equivalent Super Art, ''Seiei Enbu'', doesn't give as much flexibility as ''Genei Jin'' and the lack of meter means that Yang will have none to spend on EX rekka). Yang has to be more patient to get openings, which is easier said than done in a game where most characters rely on insurmountable offense or preventing their opponent's offense from ever starting.[[/labelnote]] and Urien[[labelnote:Details]]Urien's claim to fame is his ''Aegis Reflector'' Super Art, which can lock down an oppenent and force them to block for several seconds or else get hit. Urien can use ''Aegis Reflector to create absolutely ludicrous pressure and combos, including unblockables and even Touch of Death combos if he's got full meter. Beyond this, he's also got excellent meterless combos, most of which either carry an opponent to the corner or juggle for large damage. Despite all this, Urien lacks many solid options to actually mount this offense; his pokes in neutral are solid but struggle to confirm into anything, and his best defensive options require meter that he would otherwise want to put towards his combos or ''Aegis Reflector'' setups, none of which are totally guaranteed (it's also worth noting that much of Urien's biggest combos or mix-ups are character-specific). Ultimately, Urien has a lot of risk for truly astronomical reward, and he's highly reliant on meter outside of his combo game.[[/labelnote]] are generally considered similar to Dudley and Akuma in viability, if a bit lower.
** '''Mid Tier:''' Ryu[[labelnote:Details]]Ryu, like Ken, is a jack of all trades, but gets a lot less reward out of any given situation compared to Ken. Ryu has two serviceable super arts in ''Shinku Hadoken'' and ''Denjin Hadoken''; the former augment's Ryu's basic gameplan thanks to being a two-bar meter (thus giving more room to use EX specials) and hitting consistently in combos; the latter is unblockable, builds a bunch of stun meter, and can be held to throw off the opponent's parry timing and build even more stun, making it an inconsistent yet powerful offensive tool. He also has great moves for neutral and can hit-confirm into a wide variety of specials. Unfortunately, compared to the higher tiers Ryu's offense is inconsistent and he can struggle to keep up offensively without spending meter. He's also forced to choose between an offensive super or a versatile one whereas most characters have access a single super that satisfies all their needs.[[/labelnote]], Ibuki[[labelnote:Details]] Ibuki has highly unpredictable pressure and excels at baiting out her opponent's defensive options. This is thanks to the fastest walk speed in the game, a great jump that can be altered with her kunai, and amazing frame data that generally lets her stay advantageous at best and safe at worst. This attack speed is offset by having poor range, so she struggles to poke and hit-confirm in neutral and is thus forced to rely on risky movement to get in--while she has the movement to make this work, her low health means that any mistake will hurt. Ibuki often relies on using EX moves for damage and her general gameplan, and generally poor supers means she's got less overall tools than other characters.[[/labelnote]], Oro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Elena[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Necro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]]

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: As a result of removing all of the old cast except Ryu and Ken, 75% of all players picked Ken, 20% picked Ryu, and 5% picked one of the other characters. It got a little better in ''2nd Impact''. But in ''3rd Strike'', not only was Ken a tad bit easier to learn than Ryu in the ''III'' series, but he was ''top-tier'' (alongside Chun-Li and Yun) in ''3S''. In other words, TournamentPlay was filled with Ken, Chun-Li, Yun, and the occasional Makoto, Dudley, and Akuma. This status followed him into ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' and ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterV V]]'', with lukewarm reception (especially in the former). There's a reason the trope [[Administrivia/RenamedTropes used to go by the name of]] "That Damn Ken."

* CultClassic: ''Street Fighter III'' didn't do particularly well when it was released, and is the only ''Street Fighter'' series to ship less than 1,000,000 units on a single system (excluding compilations). It started picking up in popularity through the early 2000s in the Fighting Game Community, with many considering ''3rd Strike'' the best ''Street Fighter'' game for competitive play, even if it was still largely forgotten by the general public. Come the release of ''3rd Strike Online Edition'' in 2011 and later the arcade port in the ''30th Anniversary Collection'' in 2018, and ''Street Fighter III'' is considered a classic with deep gameplay that has aged much better than its polygon-based contemporaries like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' or ''Tekken 3''.

** A strange example comes in the form of Ryu's Joudan Sokutogeri, [[FanNickname colloquially known as the "Donkey/Mule Kick."]] As the first legitimately ''new'' special move Ryu picked up since the Shakunetsu Hadouken all the way back in ''SSFII'',[[note]]if one discounts the Hado no Kamae fake-out move from the ''Alpha'' series, that is[[/note]] fans repeatedly clamored for it to be added back to Ryu's moveset in future appearances, but Capcom would only oblige in crossovers such as ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' (as well as, oddly enough, ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter''). This led to a bit of an uproar when [[CapcomSequelStagnation the final update]] of ''SFIV'', ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'', ''still'' didn't include the attack in Ryu's move list despite him using it in the earlier ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken''. When the Joudan Sokutogeri ''finally'' showed up in ''SFV: Arcade Edition'', Ryu mains were able to breathe a sigh of relief at last (even if its animation and range weren't quite the same as before).
* FountainOfMemes: Dudley.

** In the first version, Ibuki was this due to an infinite juggle combo using her close standing hard kick. Even worse: It could be started from one of her supers, meaning landing it guaranteed the game.

** In ''3rd Strike'', Akuma's Fierce Shakunetsu Hadouken can juggle opponents completely across the screen, provided they hit the tip of the fireball at just the right angle.

** Necro's girlfriend Effie.

** Much like ''Street Fighter III'', ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting 3'' abandoned most of the previous characters in favor of an almost entirely new cast, and introduced a smoother, more detailed animation style. It also did all of this in 1996, a year ''before'' ''Street Fighter III''.

** Ibuki's ''2nd Impact'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjFOLxk3khY stage theme,]] interestingly enough, sounds ''a lot'' like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pth79-bpgGs "Copacabana"]] by Music/BarryManilow.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bzb93DV0Joo Q's theme]] is often compared to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbBX6aEzEz8 theme]] of ''Series/TheXFiles''. Considering that the two FBI agents pursuing him are named after ''X-Files'' stars Creator/DavidDuchovny and Creator/GillianAnderson, this is probably intentional.

*** While still getting a fair amount of flak from newer players due to [[CurbStompBattle how fights tend to go with him]] in the hands of a competent player, Yun actually managed to mostly avoid this despite being one of the top-tier characters in ''3rd Strike.'' While unquestionably one of the best characters in the game, he has a bit of a learning curve thanks to his Genei-Jin combos, and his GlassCannon status means any mistake will hurt. However, Yun is easily a pain to fight in upper levels of play where players have maximized their Genei-Jin combos and mixup game. Yun's high tier-induced scrappy status would return in ''SSFIV: Arcade Edition'' and ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'', [[YMMV/StreetFighterIV as explained here]]. Some of [[UsefulNotes/FGCAces the top tournament players]] like Daigo, however, found their interest in ''3rd Strike'' waning long before the advent of ''SFIV'' due to Yun's shenanigans.

*** Sean was easily one of the best characters in ''Second Impact,'' as a result Capcom nerfed him going into ''3rd Strike.'' Capcom might have over done it, as Sean is considered the worst character in ''3rd Strike.'' To briefly explain, he has similar normals as Ryu and Ken, but Sean's frame data is slightly worse. The thing that really launches him into bottom tier is his terrible special moves, as it's really hard to get a knockdown or apply pressure, as you can't combo into his tackle and his dragon punch has really crap range. Most infamously, his tornado kick is ''unsafe on hit'' (the EX version is safe however). Meaning his best combo ender leaves Sean open to get punished. Other than some decent normal and anti air attacks, Sean has virtually nothing going for him. Even in same character team tournaments in Japan, you'll see one or two all Twelve or Hugo teams, it's rare to see an all Sean team.

** Right off the bat, the decision to replace most of the cast from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' proved to be a disastrous one. While Creator/{{Capcom}} had previously been able to successfully pull off a near complete cast changeover from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterI'' to ''II'', that was largely because the first ''Street Fighter'' game wasn't particularly successful, meaning few fans cared about those characters. Conversely, the characters from ''II'' had proven to be extremely popular and had subsequently reappeared in the ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' games and the various adaptations based on the ''Street Fighter'' franchise. This meant there was far more backlash to their omission than there had ever been over the cast of ''I'' not returning for ''II''. It was particularly telling that at first, Sean was going to be the sole representative of the Shoto archetype, but Capcom made the move to at least bring back Ryu and Ken to satiate long time fans. Those two, along with Akuma in ''2nd Impact'' and Chun-Li in ''3rd Strike'', were the only veterans from either ''II'' or ''Alpha'' to return in this sub-series.
** The game was more complex and difficult to master than the previous ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games, alienating casual players even further. While ''III'' did later gain a major following among tournament players and in the UsefulNotes/FightingGameCommunity, to this day it has a reputation for being very unfriendly to newbies.
** The game came out as the arcade scene was dying ''and'' while 3D games like ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'', ''VideoGame/SoulCalibur'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' were becoming increasingly popular. ''III'' was also developed on Capcom's new CPS-3 arcade system board, which allowed for more fluid and detailed sprites than had previously been seen. Unfortunately, this also made ''III'' much more expensive, and this, coupled with the declining popularity of 2D fighters and arcades in general, meant that many arcade owners passed on ordering the game.

** '''Top Tier:''' The most generally fixed in terms of character order. The best character in the game is Chun-Li[[labelnote:Details]] Chun-Li has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. [[StealthPun The real kicker]] is her''Houyoku Sen'' super art; it's insanely fast to start up and launches her across the screen in an instant, which makes it useable in just about any situation. And not only does it shave off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands, it launches the victim such that Chun-Li can follow up and carry the opponent across the entire stage. While this should make her reliant on meter to deal damage or transistion from defense to offense, stronger attacks in this game build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed; Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation, so she's often got a super ready before other characters can mount a response. [[/labelnote]], with the only other S-tier and close second being Yun[[labelnote:Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game: he's got a great walk speed and super jump, and his divekicks give him a degree of unpredictability in the air that most characters can't challenge. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that Yun can reliably activate it two or three times ''a round''. [[/labelnote]]. A not-insignificant gap exists between these two and 3rd and 4th place, those being Ken [[labelnote:Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he has good movement speed, EX tatsu allows him to escape corner pressure more easily, he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral or apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art gives him a damaging hit-confirm alongside a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote:Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] respectively, though some place Makoto higher.
** '''High Tier:''' The 5th best character was previously considerd to be Akuma[[labelnote:Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th. Yang[[labelnote:Details]][[MovesetClone Yang's moveset is largely similar to Yun's]], including his excellent mixups and divekick. The two deviate in special moves, where Yang trades Yun's leaping punch and shoulder check (both of which see the bulk of their use in ''Genei Jin'') for a rekka with good corner carry and high damage (particularly its EX version, which also builds just below half a stun bar for most characters) and a command dash that gives him a lot of freedom when timed right. While Yang can take any single hit further than Yun can, the lack of ''Genei Jin'''s unstoppable offense means he can't get force opponents to give him that hit nearly as consistently (Yang's equivalent super art, ''Sei-ei Enbu'', doesn't give as much flexibility as ''Genei Jin'' and the lack of meter means that Yang will have none to spend on EX rekka). Yang has to be more patient to get openings, which is easier said than done in a game where most characters rely on insurmountable offense or preventing their opponent's offense from ever starting.[[/labelnote]] and Urien[[labelnote:Details]]Urien's claim to fame is his ''Aegis Reflector'' super art, which can lock down an oppenent and force them to block for several seconds or else get hit. Urien can use ''Aegis Reflector to create absolutely ludicrous pressure and combos, including unblockables and even Touch of Death combos if he's got full meter. Beyond this, he's also got excellent meterless combos, most of which either carry an opponent to the corner or juggle for large damage. Despite all this, Urien lacks many solid options to actually mount this offense; his pokes in neutral are solid but struggle to confirm into anything, and his best defensive options require meter that he would otherwise want to put towards his combos or ''Aegis Reflector'' setups, none of which are totally guaranteed (it's also worth noting that much of Urien's biggest combos or mixups are character-specific). Ultimately, Urien has a lot of risk for truly astronomical reward, and he's highly reliant on meter outside of his combo game.[[/labelnote]] are generally considered similar to Dudley and Akuma in viability, if a bit lower.
** '''Mid Tier:''' Ryu[[labelnote:Details]]Ryu, like Ken, is a jack of all trades, but gets a lot less reward out of any given situation compared to Ken. Ryu has two serviceable super arts in ''Shinkuu Hadouken'' and ''Denjin Hadouken''; the former augment's Ryu's basic gameplan thanks to being a two-bar meter (thus giving more room to use EX specials) and hitting consistently in combos; the latter is unblockable, builds a bunch of stun meter, and can be held to throw off the opponent's parry timing and build even more stun, making it an inconsistent yet powerful offensive tool. He also has great moves for neutral and can hit-confirm into a wide variety of specials. Unfortunately, compared to the higher tiers Ryu's offense is inconsistent and he can struggle to keep up offensively without spending meter. He's also forced to choose between an offensive super or a versatile one whereas most characters have access a single super that satisfies all their needs.[[/labelnote]], Ibuki[[labelnote:Details]] Ibuki has highly unpredictable pressure and excels at baiting out her opponent's defensive options. This is thanks to the fastest walk speed in the game, a great jump that can be altered with her kunai, and amazing frame data that generally lets her stay advantageous at best and safe at worst. This attack speed is offset by having poor range, so she struggles to poke and hit-confirm in neutral and is thus forced to rely on risky movement to get in--while she has the movement to make this work, her low health means that any mistake will hurt. Ibuki often relies on using EX moves for damage and her general gameplan, and generally poor supers means she's got less overall tools than other characters.[[/labelnote]], Oro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Elena[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Necro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]]

* CreepyCute: Twelve might be a HumanoidAbomination, but it has something of a cute charm to its design that earn Twelve a small fanbase.

*** Chun-Li is this in ''3rd Strike''.

*** While still getting a fair amount of flak from newer players due to [[CurbStompBattle how fights tend to go with him]] in the hands of a competent player, Yun actually managed to mostly avoid this despite being one of the top-tier characters in ''3rd Strike'', but would later fall prey to this in ''SSFIV: Arcade Edition'' and ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'', [[YMMV/StreetFighterIV as explained here]]. Some of [[UsefulNotes/FGCAces the top tournament players]] like Daigo, however, found their interest in ''3rd Strike'' waning long before the advent of ''SFIV'' due to Yun's shenanigans.

*** Sean was easily one of the best characters in ''Second Impact,'' as a result Capcom nerfed him going into ''3rd Strike.'' Capcom might have over done it, as Sean is considered the worst character in ''3rd Strike.'' To briefly explain, he has similar normals as Ryu and Ken, but Sean's frame data is slightly worse. The thing that really launches him into bottom tier is his terrible special moves, as it's really hard to get a knockdown or apply pressure, as you can't combo into his tackle and his dragon punch has really crap range. Most infamously, his tornado kick is ''unsafe on hit'' (the EX version is safe however). Meaning his best combo ender leaves Sean open to get punished. Other than some decent normal and anti air attacks, Sean has virtually nothing going for him. Even in same character team tournaments in Japan, you'll see a one or two all Twelve or Hugo teams, it's rare to see an all Sean team.

*** Twelve is also a low-tiered version, thought by many to be the hardest character in the game to learn. It's often pointed out and joked about that Twelve's best move is X.C.O.P.Y., since it lets him temporarily become a different character.

** Ken's top-tier ''3rd Strike'' incarnation receives much flak he gets for [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome being used 99.9 percent of the time online]]. Oh Ken, how you've been a flowchart over the years...
** Chun-Li is this in ''3rd Strike''.
** Makoto gets this from certain players due to the fact that from a specific spot on the screen, she can kill you in one combo.
** Elena is the low-tiered version, as her lengthy animations make her parry-bait.
** Twelve is also a low-tiered version, thought by many to be the hardest character in the game to learn. It's often pointed out and joked about that Twelve's best move is X.C.O.P.Y., since it lets him temporarily become a different character.
** While still getting a fair amount of flak from newer players due to [[CurbStompBattle how fights tend to go with him]] in the hands of a competent player, Yun actually managed to mostly avoid this despite being one of the top-tier characters in ''3rd Strike'', but would later fall prey to this in ''SSFIV: Arcade Edition'' and ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'', [[YMMV/StreetFighterIV as explained here]]. Some of [[UsefulNotes/FGCAces the top tournament players]] like Daigo, however, found their interest in ''3rd Strike'' waning long before the advent of ''SFIV'' due to Yun's shenanigans.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Elena's theme is a magnet for this.
--> BEES GOT BEES GOT BEES BEES IN MY HAIR![[note]]Beats, beats, beats in my head![[/note]]

** '''Mid Tier:''' Ryu[[labelnote:Details]]Ryu, like Ken, is a jack of all trades, but gets a lot less reward out of any given situation compared to Ken. Ryu has two serviceable super arts in ''Shinkuu Hadouken'' and ''Denjin Hadouken''; the former augment's Ryu's basic gameplan thanks to being a two-bar meter (thus giving more room to use EX specials) and hitting consistently in combos; the latter is unblockable, builds a bunch of stun meter, and can be held to throw off the opponent's parry timing and build even more stun, making it an inconsistent yet powerful offensive tool. He also has great moves for neutral and can hit-confirm into a wide variety of specials. Unfortunately, compared to the higher tiers Ryu's offense is inconsistent and he can struggle to keep up offensively without spending meter. He's also forced to choose between an offensive super or a versatile one whereas most characters have access a single super that satisfies all their needs.[[/labelnote]], Ibuki[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Oro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Elena[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Necro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]]

** '''Mid Tier:''' Ryu[[labelnote:Details]]WIP a[[/labelnote]], Ibuki[[labelnote:Details]]WIP b[[/labelnote]], Oro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Elena[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Necro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]]

** A strange example comes in the form of Ryu's Joudan Sokutogeri, [[FanNickname colloquially known as the "Donkey/Mule Kick."]] As the first legitimately ''new'' special move Ryu picked up since the Shakunetsu Hadoken all the way back in ''SSFII'',[[note]]if one discounts the Hado no Kamae fake-out move from the ''Alpha'' series, that is[[/note]] fans repeatedly clamored for it to be added back to Ryu's moveset in future appearances, but Capcom would only oblige in crossovers such as ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'' (as well as, oddly enough, ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter''). This led to a bit of an uproar when [[CapcomSequelStagnation the final update]] of ''SFIV'', ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'', ''still'' didn't include the attack in Ryu's move list despite him using it in the earlier ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken''. When the Joudan Sokutogeri ''finally'' showed up in ''SFV: Arcade Edition'', Ryu mains were able to breathe a sigh of relief at last (even if its animation and range weren't quite the same as before).

** In ''3rd Strike'', Akuma's Fierce Shakunetsu Hadoken can juggle opponents completely across the screen, provided they hit the tip of the fireball at just the right angle.

** '''Mid Tier:''' Ryu[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Ibuki[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Oro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Elena[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]], Necro[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]]

** '''High Tier:''' The 5th best character was previously considerd to be Akuma[[labelnote:Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th. Yang[[labelnote:Details]][[MovesetClone Yang's moveset is largely similar to Yun's]], including his excellent mixups and divekick. The two deviate in special moves, where Yang trades Yun's leaping punch and shoulder check (both of which see the bulk of their use in ''Genei Jin'') for a rekka with good corner carry and high damage (particularly its EX version, which also builds just below half a stun bar for most characters) and a command dash that gives him a lot of freedom when timed right. While Yang can take any single hit further than Yun can, the lack of ''Genei Jin'''s unstoppable offense means he can't get force opponents to give him that hit nearly as consistently (Yang's equivalent super art, ''Sei-ei Enbu'', doesn't give as much flexibility as ''Genei Jin'' and the lack of meter means that Yang will have none to spend on EX rekka). Yang has to be more patient to get openings, which is easier said than done in a game where most characters rely on insurmountable offense or preventing their opponent's offense from ever starting.[[/labelnote]] and Urien[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]] are generally considered similar to Dudley and Akuma in viability, if a bit lower.

** '''High Tier:''' The 5th best character was previously considerd to be Akuma[[labelnote:Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th. Yang[[labelnote:Details]][[MovesetClone Yang's moveset is largely similar to Yun's]], which gives him an amazing set of tools off the bat, including the divekick and many of Yun's mixups. The two deviate in special moves, where Yang trades Yun's leaping punch and shoulder check (both of which see the bulk of their use in ''Genei Jin'') for a rekka with good corner carry and high damage (particularly its EX version, which also builds just shy of half a stun bar for most characters) and a command dash that lets him bypass projectiles and escape the corner if the Yang player times it right. While Yang can take any single hit further than Yun can, the lack of ''Genei Jin'''s unstoppable offense means he can't get force opponents to give him that hit nearly as consistently (Yang's equivalent super art, ''Sei-ei Enbu'', actually builds quicker but doesn't allow Yang quite as much flexibility in his strings, so most matchups see Yang players running his ''Tenshin-Senkyutai'' super art for its larger total meter and reliable damage, with ''Sei-ei Enbu'' being relegated to larger characters where it can be used for unblockable setups). Yang has to be more patient to get openings, which is easier said than done in a game where most characters rely on insurmountable offense or preventing their opponent's offense from ever starting.[[/labelnote]] and Urien[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]] are generally considered similar to Dudley and Akuma in viability, if a bit lower.

** '''High Tier:''' The 5th best character was previously considerd to be Akuma[[labelnote:Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th. Yang[[labelnote:Details]] WIP[[/labelnote]] and Urien[[labelnote:Details]]WIP[[/labelnote]] are generally considered similar to Dudley and Akuma in viability, if a bit lower.

** '''Top Tier:''' The most generally fixed in terms of character order. The best character in the game is Chun-Li[[labelnote:Details]] Chun-Li has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. [[StealthPun The real kicker]] is her''Houyoku Sen'' super art; it's insanely fast to start up and launches her across the screen in an instant, which makes it useable in just about any situation. And not only does it shave off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands, it launches the victim such that Chun-Li can follow up and carry the opponent across the entire stage. While this should make her reliant on meter to deal damage or transistion from defense to offense, stronger attacks in this game build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed; Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation, so she's often got a super ready before other characters can mount a response. [[/labelnote]], with the only other S-tier and close second being Yun[[labelnote:Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game: he's got a great walk speed and super jump, and his divekicks give him a degree of unpredictability in the air that most characters can't challenge. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that Yun can reliably activate it two or three times ''a round''. [[/labelnote]]. Ken [[labelnote:Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he has good movement speed, EX tatsu allows him to escape corner pressure more easily, he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral or apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art gives him a damaging hit-confirm alongside a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote:Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively.

* CharacterTiers:
** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he has good movement speed, EX tatsu allows him to escape corner pressure more easily, he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral or apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art gives him a damaging hit-confirm alongside a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. 5th best is where the lists tend to get muddy; it was previously considered to be Akuma [[labelnote: Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th.

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. 5th best is where the lists tend to get muddy; it was previously considered to be Akuma [[labelnote: Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has an incredible mixup game, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops. His ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art is much more consistent as a combo ender compared to his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes it hard to anti-air him(conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching.[[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th.

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. 5th best is where the lists tend to get muddy; it was previously considered to be Akuma [[labelnote: Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has a mixup game second only to Makoto's in damage and Yun's in ability to lock down an opponent, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops in the corner virtue of his crouching heavy kick, both of which are enhanced by picking his ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art, which hits more consistently than his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes him very safe against anti-airs (conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching [[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th.

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. 5th best is where the lists tent to get muddy; it was previously considered to be Akuma [[labelnote: Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley [[labelnote:Details]] Dudley has a mixup game second only to Makoto's in damage and Yun's in ability to lock down an opponent, especially in the corner. He's got a functionally unreactable overhead, an amazing throw game, and plenty of combos including a launcher in EX machine gun blow and long juggle loops in the corner virtue of his crouching heavy kick, both of which are enhanced by picking his ''Corkscrew Blow'' super art, which hits more consistently than his other supers and gives him a ton of flexibility to use EX moves thanks to being a 3-bar meter. Dudley also has some great mobility; his ducking special allows him to dodge attacks and quickly punish, and he's got a very low jump, which makes him very safe against anti-airs (conversely, Dudley has quite a bag of anti-airs himself). Unfortunately, Dudley doesn't do great when he's on defense thanks to a wide hitbox that makes him the victim of character-specific combos, and he can struggle in neutral due to his best pokes being easily avoided by just crouching [[/labelnote]] with Akuma in 6th.

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face and sports an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. 5th best is where the lists tent to get muddy; it was previously considered to be Akuma [[labelnote: Details]] Akuma has a lot of tools, and particularly excels at offense. His demon flip has a bunch of followups including air fireball, a divekick (see Yun's details for why that matters), and a command grab. His combo routes offer good damage and corner carry, and in general allow him to mix up an opponent into oblivion. Akuma can also play defensively to an extent thanks to having a projectile--something that Yun, Makoto, and Dudley all lack. Unfortunately, he can only use his meter for supers, most of which don't offer much beyond more damage (he does have an unblockable setup by kara-cancelling into ''Raging Demon'', but this costs all his meter); [[GlassCannon he's also got the worst lifebar and stun gauge in the entire roster]]. [[/labelnote]], but nowadays the spot usually goes to Dudley with Akuma in 6th.

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face, where she has an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her Hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX Oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX Hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into Hayate.[[/labelnote]] are considered 3rd and 4th respectively. Akuma has dropped down to B-tier and is considered slightly worse than Dudley now (though he still has some disgustingly cheap bullshit according to Kuroda).

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken [[labelnote: Details]] Ken in ''3rd Strike'' is the epitome of MasterOfAll; he's got moves that allow him to be successful in neutral as well as apply pressure when he's at an advantage, he can easily make himself safe by ending his combos with a hadouken, and his ''Shippuu Jinrai Kyaku'' super art allows him to easily land good damage and gives him a ton of meter to work with. While he doesn't have anything truly outstanding the likes of the other top tiers, he has no outstanding weakness to exploit. [[/labelnote]] and Makoto [[labelnote: Details]] Makoto excels at getting in her opponents face, where she has an offense that is riskier than Yun's but makes up for it with massive damage. Makoto's command grab gives her access to great damage and lets her combo into her Hayate dash punch, which leaves her opponent standing and forced into a mixup situation that they can't escape with a delayed wakeup. She also has excellent uses of meter: her EX Oroshi chop covers most options that her command grab doesn't and knocks down to ensure that the offense doesn't stop, EX Hayate allows for extra damage in the corner, her ''Seichuusen Godan-zuki'' super art offers a consistent source of burst damage, and her ''Abare Tosanami'' super art allows Makoto to ''stun the opponent in a single combo'' if she lands a command grab in the right spot. If this wasn't enough, Makoto doesn't struggle to get into this position thanks to the fastest forward dash in the game and a set of long-reaching pokes that either score a knockdown or combo into Hayate.[[/labelnote]] A+. Akuma has dropped down to B-tier and is considered slightly worse than Dudley now (though he still has some disgustingly cheap bullshit according to Kuroda).

** Modern consensus is that Chun-Li is best in the game[[labelnote: Details]] Chun has amazing neutral thanks to pokes that box out most characters in the game and the best Kara-throw in the game. She can easily hit-confirm off of these pokes thanks to her ''Houyoku Sen'' super art, which is insanely fast, causes her to rocket towards her opponent, and shaves off about 30% of their lifebar if it lands (this would make her a very meter-hungry character, but stronger attacks build a bit of meter even if they're whiffed, and Chun-Li is able to throw out buttons in neutral without much fear of retaliation). [[/labelnote]], with Yun a close second [[labelnote: Details]] Yun boasts some of the best mobility in the game thanks to a great walk speed and a divekick that allows him to be incredibly unpredictable in the air. He's also got a ton of mixups, including a command grab and the aforementioned divekick. His biggest selling point, however, is his ''Genei Jin'' super art, which gives him several seconds of improved frame data and combo routes that make his offense virtually airtight; it's also got a short enough meter that if Yun lands a hit in ''Genei Jin'', he can keep comboing after the super ends and it'll fill up most of his super meter. [[/labelnote]] and the only other S-tier. Ken and Makoto at A+. Akuma has dropped down to B-tier and is considered slightly worse than Dudley now (though he still has some disgustingly cheap bullshit according to Kuroda).

** Chun-Li is S+ tier in the ''Arcadia'' list, and Ken is A+, with Akuma not far behind. Especially tragic since this plays into ComplacentGamingSyndrome (see below). Let it be noted that these are not tiers decided at the margins, Chun and Ken all have 7-3 and 8-2 matchups against much of the rest of the cast. Thankfully, the high tiers are also populated with new, fun and unique characters like Yun, Makoto, and [[EnsembleDarkhorse Dudley]].
** More tiers have Chun-Li and Yun at S-tier, with Ken and Makoto at A+. Akuma has dropped down to B-tier and is considered slightly worse than Dudley now (though he still has some disgustingly cheap bullshit according to Kuroda).

* CultClassic: ''Street Fighter III'' didn't do particularly well when it was released, and is the only ''Street Fighter'' series to ship less than 1,000,000 units on a single system (excluding compilations). It started picking up in popularity through the early 2000s in the Fighting Game Community, with many considering ''3rd Strike'' the best ''Street Fighter'' game for competitive play, even if it was still largely forgotten by the general public. Come the release of ''3rd Strike: Online Edition'' in 2011 and later the arcade port in the ''30th Anniversary Collection'' in 2018, and ''Street Fighter III'' is considered a classic with deep gameplay that has aged much better than its polygon-based contemporaries like ''VideoGame/MortalKombat4'' or ''Tekken 3''.

* PolishedPort: ''Street Fighter III 3rd Strike: Online Edition'' for the [=PlayStation=] Network and Xbox Live Arcade is the best way to play the game. It has a better Metacritic score than the original ''3rd Strike'' Dreamcast port (86 vs 84, respectively) and runs borderline arcade perfect. [[note]]Borderline in that the code is taken from the [=PS2=] port.[[/note]] It has both original and remixed soundtracks, a ton of visual options, tutorials (including how to perform the parry and finish from EVO Moment #37), and in-game challenges where players can earn XP to unlock bonuses like concept art, movies, the soundtracks and colour palettes from ''New Generation'' and ''2nd Impact''. There's also an unlockable dip switch that lets the player customise almost all of the game's settings. The only thing that could make it better would be the inclusion of the stages from ''New Generation'' and ''2nd Impact'', along with the previous iterations of the cast from those games a la ''Hyper Street Fighter II''.
** The original ''Street Fighter Anniversary Collection'' port of ''3rd Strike'', released on Xbox and [=PS2=], is the very same port that ''Online Edition'' is based off of, and with good reason. Prior to ''Online Edition'', it was the best possible version of ''3rd Strike''. It contained everything from the Dreamcast version, but fixed all of its issues to make it more arcade perfect, even having the "Guard Judgment" feature set to "Old" by default so it played more like the arcade version, as the Dreamcast version featured several balance changes. It was also possible to play with the original arcade version's soundtrack as well as the arranged one only heard in the Dreamcast version. The Xbox version could also be played online, and while not perfect it was the only way to do so before the original Xbox Live servers were shut down and ''Online Edition'' was later released with rollback netcode that surpassed the original.
* SequelDisplacement: ''3rd Strike'' is so widely treasured that the fact it's actually the third revision of the ''Street Fighter III'' series is approaching lost knowledge (not even ''Super Turbo'' displaces the installments that came before it, aside from possibly ''The New Challengers''). It is the only game from the lineage that has been revisited multiple times past its initial home release on the Sega Dreamcast and the first two games weren't even revisited ''period'' until 2018's ''30th Anniversary Collection'' (which is also the only time the entire family has been in a single compilation).
* SignatureScene: The one thing everyone remembers about this game's competitive scene (which also set into motion the eventual [[GenreRelaunch revival]] of 2D fighters)? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzS96auqau0 Evo Moment #37.]] It's to the point where [[AscendedMeme it's referenced in multiple videos made by Capcom]].

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: There's a reason the game ended up being a FranchiseKiller until ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV''

* AudienceAlienatingPremise:

** The game came out as the arcade scene was dying ''and'' while 3D games like ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' and ''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' were becoming increasingly popular. ''III'' was also developed on Capcom's new CPS-3 arcade system board, which allowed for more fluid and detailed sprites than had previously been seen. Unfortunately, this also made ''III'' much more expensive, and this, coupled with the declining popularity of 2D fighters and arcades in general, meant that many arcade owners passed on ordering the game.

** Those advanced graphics meant that ''III'' could not be ported to most of the then-current consoles without [[PortingDisaster sacrificing animations and features]]; the only console which could have handled the game without major difficulty was the UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn--which was not only the least successful console of its generation, but had Sega pull the plug on it less than six months after the game was released to arcades. Consequently, the ''Street Fighter III'' series was initially ported exclusively for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, which barely sold better than the Saturn did! It wasn't until 2004 when ''3rd Strike'' was re-released as part of ''Street Fighter Anniversary Collection''. [[note]]In Japan, it was re-released exclusively as a standalone game for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2.[[/note]] Because of the failure of the CPS-3, Capcom's future 2D fighters, such as the ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'' and ''VideoGame/SNKVsCapcom'' series, were either developed on the CPS-2 or Creator/{{Sega}}'s new NAOMI system board. ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' was released the following year on the CPS-2, and while the sprites weren't as good as the ones used in ''III'', it was significantly more affordable for most arcade owners. The less-refined graphics also meant it could be more easily ported to the UsefulNotes/PlayStation, where it sold a million copies.