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Have You Played...Street Fighter III: Third Strike?

You had to be there

When the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection came out, there was one game I wanted to get my arcade stick out for. That was Street Fighter III: Third Strike, a game that went relatively under the radar at time of release in the UK, and sadly so. It's still, to this day, the prettiest 2D fighting game ever made.

The roster may have been mostly new, but it was Street Fighter at heart. You still threw out fireballs, set up combos, and fought against a ridiculous final boss in the arcade mode. But it had two important features that made it stand out. The first is that you could choose your "super art", your super special move, before the start of every match. You had a choice of three for each character.

Street Fighter III: Third Strike's other feature, and in my eyes the best thing ever introduced to Street Fighter, was parrying. This defensive move requires you to press forward (or down for a low attack) as the frame from your opponent's move hits you, and if timed correctly, it negates damage. It's the ultimate risk-vs-reward strategy, as you have to time the press for every hit, even for multi-move combos or super arts.

As any fighting game esport fan will tell you, this is the reason why Evo Moment 37 is still talked about. It's the reason I check out YouTubers like "Maximillian Dood" whenever he plays the game, as he makes even trash characters like Q seem godlike. I could talk about why I love this game for days.

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