Street Fighter 3

Here it is! Yes it is a reality, Capcom can really count to three. While there is virtually no solid information about the game at deadline, our EGM editors have been able to analyze the three-minute Street Fighter III segment which was tacked on at the end of Capcom's standard arcade product demo tape.

First of all, the game appears to be back to the 2-D fighting game perspective. There are no polygon characters as there are in Capcom's newest game-SF EX. Also, there are a lot of new characters in the game. The only ones who were positively identified from the names shown in the full-screen shots are Ken (from the old SF series), Sean. Yun and Elena. Ryun should also be included in this version based on conversations with Capcom staff who are knowledgeable about the game. Another half dozen characters have been identified from the many close-up screen shots that were on the tape but as of yet, they haven't been named.

One interesting change in this game is the fact that the playing area now scrolls upward at least another one half screen. This is above and beyond the normal left-and-right scrolling of the ground area in the playfield.

Beyond this, there is little hard information. The game appears to be quite a way along as the 10 characters appear to be. Animated and at least some of the moves are already in. Knowing this, Capcom will probably have the game ready for test in spring but might hold off in order to let Street Fighter EX run its course. We'll try to get an update by next issue. Stay tuned.