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Once upon a time Capcom released 3 new Street Fighter games in a span of 5 months
- Thread starter Cantona222
- Start date
I remember MK4 having bigger draw at my arcade than SF3. And MK4's draw was tiiiiny compared to MK3 or MK2. It's like you could see the bubble pop in real time.
I remember being surprised the first time I saw MK4 that I could walk up and immediately plop in a token without having to put it on the glass first because there was no line. Which was very, very strange.
Even though it was near the end of the arcade scene I still wish I was around during this time. Having the Alpha and 3 series come out intertwined year after year sounded incredible, must have been an amazing time even if it didn't last for much longer.
That was also a turbulent time for Midway. They did the console tie in game Mythologies Sub-Zero which overlapped with MK4 in Arcades, and then John Tobias left the company. After that the terrible PS2/GCN/XBOX trilogy of Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon.
I think it was mainly a budget thing. Ed Boon has gone to note that Midway gave him some freedoms but there was always budget restrictions.
Although Shaolin Monks was fantastic, it probably wasn't enough and then eventually Midway closed its doors. Although the acquisition by WB was a small blessing, I guess a sign of something happening behind the scenes was there with MK Vs. DC being a thing.
It's amazing with a good budget what Boon could do, as evident with MK9 basically going back to series norm along the lines of MK2 and 3.
I think it was mainly a budget thing. Ed Boon has gone to note that Midway gave him some freedoms but there was always budget restrictions.
Although Shaolin Monks was fantastic, it probably wasn't enough and then eventually Midway closed its doors. Although the acquisition by WB was a small blessing, I guess a sign of something happening behind the scenes was there with MK Vs. DC being a thing.
It's amazing with a good budget what Boon could do, as evident with MK9 basically going back to series norm along the lines of MK2 and 3.
they had also lost the rights to the name "NBA Jam" to acclaim around the same time. So, despite NBA Hangtime being NBA Jam 3 (and by far the best of the entire series, showtime included) it got the smallest reception. I remember hearing people call it an "NBA Jam clone" not realizing it was the real NBA Jam 3. NBA Jam was one of Midways biggest money makers.
Their attempts at 3D MK before MK4 also failed, with wargods and mace (although i have a soft spot for Mace).
I did like their arcade sports titles though. Super High Impact being the precursor to NLF Blitz.
I think a real surprise Gem that was overlooked was the overhead shooter Total Carnage which was basically a expanded version of Smash TV.
I'd like Netherealm to revisit that genre and not turn it into something like Contra: Rogue Corps.
I like them too, they just didn't have the draw that NBA Jam had. One big plus for NBA Jam at the time is that the NBA actually retains part of the license to the game, and thus they incorporated it into the product. The NBA itself became a commercial for NBA Jam. This persists to today, the Houston Rockets said we had permission to use any NBA Jam voice clips or references we wanted in a project.
I know War of the Gems definitely used some of MSH's assets sparingly. The character select screen in War of the Gems straight up used the CPS2 sprites for Cap, Spidey and Iron Man as their character portraits.
Hey, the only reason MK lived after MK4 was because of the success of MKV. Midway capitalized from it and built two more sequels. Funny thing about to think about, considering that both games are still relevant in the MK mythology these days
Probably not exactly what you're looking for, but I always thought the old skool lore write up on SRK did a great job catching the feeling of the time.
Info on the Old School SF Scene?
old skool lore (LONG) The next day the young man returned again and found the old man at the back of the bar with a cue stick in his hand, engrossed in a game of pool against some of the regulars and leaning against a Golden Tee game in the corner waiting for his shot. “You see, boy? You see...
forums.shoryuken.com
jcasetnl posts, start at the top. Language warning.
OP
OP
I recommend watching the below videos. A great channel that focuses on the history of fighting games:
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That was the thing, I remember SFIII's launch in the arcade, huge sit down cabinets. No interest with Tekken 2 / 3. While I loved those games, I think 3 lost out big time despite being the better game (3s being the best of them).
SF III NG was in development hell for a long time. It should've been released in early 1996, instead it took 3 years. Compared to the games of the competition it was crap.
The problem with SF3 was that it was just bland. It looked amazing, but it only had like 10 characters? And they weren't as iconic as the SF2 cast. SFA2 had come out prior to it, with about double the amount of characters and much more flash. I think I would rather play SFA2 and X-men vs SF back then. I think the plan was to even axe Ryu and Ken but Capcom backtracked on that.
Second Impact was quite a bit better but somehow didn't really catch on either. I think lots of arcades didn't really bother with the 3 series. It also didn't help that there wasn't a (popular) console capable of running SF3. SFA also gained awareness since the console ports were succesful.
SF3 is rather cursed. It didn't set arcades on fire and the only console that got them initially and for years exclusive was the ill fated Dreamcast. Third Strike would gain popularity due to tournament play and shared online footage. Though I immediately liked it on DC, the overall vibe of it was spot on. Prior to 3S the 3 series felt a bit dull tbh.
Second Impact was quite a bit better but somehow didn't really catch on either. I think lots of arcades didn't really bother with the 3 series. It also didn't help that there wasn't a (popular) console capable of running SF3. SFA also gained awareness since the console ports were succesful.
SF3 is rather cursed. It didn't set arcades on fire and the only console that got them initially and for years exclusive was the ill fated Dreamcast. Third Strike would gain popularity due to tournament play and shared online footage. Though I immediately liked it on DC, the overall vibe of it was spot on. Prior to 3S the 3 series felt a bit dull tbh.
Not a hot take. Everyone was viable in Alpha 2. Even Dan. Plus it plays (IMHO) like ST.
A2 is liked better by a lot out there. Aesthetics and OST go a long way. And besides custom combos (I don't like it in either game), A2 is probably more fun to play too. A3 has too much shit going on. I rather play A2.
If Cody was in Alpha 2 I'd probably never play Alpha 3. A2 is by far the best in the Alpha series imo.
Yep, I saw it there too, and it even had the 16:9 display, which was awesome and I'd never seen before. Was sad I was running late for a flight, totally wanted to play.
This isn't that crazy considering that in just over a year back in 2011, Capcom released these on consoles in the following order...
Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition - Dec 2010
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Feb 2011
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition - Aug 2011
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Nov 2011
Street Fighter X Tekken - Feb 2012
Over saturated AF.
Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition - Dec 2010
Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Feb 2011
Street Fighter III 3rd Strike Online Edition - Aug 2011
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 - Nov 2011
Street Fighter X Tekken - Feb 2012
Over saturated AF.
In a way, I'm actually thankful that Capcom only supports one or two fighting games for the entirety of the generation (or at least it would have been 2 games if MvCI's situation didn't turn out the way it did).
And Squaresoft released Final Fantasy games annually, along with a ton of other interesting and sometimes amazing games. Those were the days. I'd rather have simpler games that came out more often than 10 year development cycles for a single title.
That's even forgetting Marvel Super Heroes Vs Street Fighter (which was pretty forgettable honestly). Pocket Fighter was 1997 as well, and was there some Darkstalkers in there?
Well, they made changes based on feedback and such. This was before widespread online games and patching. Many fighting games had multiple versions for this reason.
So the New Generation gave way to 3S.
I'd love a 4th version of SF3. Remove the meter build up on whiffs for example.
that was the prevailing opinion of everyone I knew back in the day
and it's correct
I think it's confusing because MvC feels like the next evolution up from XvSF, whereas Third Strike is still clearly building upon the foundation set by New Generation.
