What set it apart was its higher focus on technique, as well as required mastery of strict combo link timing and new skills like parrying. At its foundation, the series staples are all there: six buttons, a wild cast of relatable characters, exotic locales, and best of three takes the win. Street Fighter vets really appreciate 3rd Strike for being a more technical take on the SF formula. I actually never played 3rd Strike with any regularity until it got a port over to the Xbox 360 as Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition in 2011. I played a good amount of fighting games very casually in arcades growing up like Street Fighter II, Primal Rage, and… Mega Man 2: The Power Fighters (hey, it was fun, and I was a Mega Man fan!).

The late 90s and early 2000s marked a sharp decline for the industry, closing tons of arcades and leaving a lot of us to be patient while companies like Capcom ported their highly demanded arcade games to the generation’s consoles.

We weren’t all as lucky as some growing up near a well-stocked, regularly updated arcade. Today, I hope you’ve been in the lab practicing your execution because we’re going to shoryu-get into the delightfully 90s original soundtrack for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike: Fight for the Future, originally developed by Capcom in 1999 and composed by Hideki Okugawa! What’s up, nerds? We’re back for another iteration of Sound Test, our feature where we delve into exceptional video game music and how it enhances the experience of the game it soundtracks.

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