so. it's good. but it's not great. it's difficult to not feel a little disappointed going from Alpha 2 to this game in terms of roster. it's not as drastic as the drop from SSFIIT to Alpha 1, but it's still a drop. i guess first entries in SF games are just doomed to have lean rosters? either way, at least the roster here is good for what it is. i think this game has probably the most unique and unusual (in a good way) designs in the series so far, with standouts being necro and oro. this cast probably has the highest ratio of characters i enjoy playing as, which is a huge positive in its favor.
the backgrounds and animations in this game are pure eye candy, by the by. the SF games have always had animated backgrounds with detail, but this game really steps it up a notch in terms of visual detail and spectacle. stage backgrounds have so much more going on and feel like areas with life to them, and they'll change between rounds to give the feeling of a fight progressing throughout a scenery. the animations are the best in the series thus far as well, and it's a treat to see the detail on animations from characters. they feel so... lovingly crafted.
i feel that going through every SF game we reach a point where i have to talk about the poorly designed final boss fight of arcade mode. here, we have gill. he has obscenely good projectiles, great air mobility, and his specials will freeze you. oh, did i mention that his super is a passive that will automatically revive him to full HP if he dies? shockingly enough, gill didn't frustrate me as much as he probably should've. i guess i'm just sort of tolerant now of bullshit in these games. just used save states to get through him with every character. can only imagine how much more nightmareishly annoying he'd have been without them.
i guess i can't rate this higher because it's just... light on content. i would probably have rated this higher if alpha 2 hadn't been so much better. this just feels like a bit of a downgrade in some ways, unfortunately. i know this isn't the quintessential SFIII experience either way, so i'm not knocking this game down a peg or anything. it's just a good foundation for what came later.
the backgrounds and animations in this game are pure eye candy, by the by. the SF games have always had animated backgrounds with detail, but this game really steps it up a notch in terms of visual detail and spectacle. stage backgrounds have so much more going on and feel like areas with life to them, and they'll change between rounds to give the feeling of a fight progressing throughout a scenery. the animations are the best in the series thus far as well, and it's a treat to see the detail on animations from characters. they feel so... lovingly crafted.
i feel that going through every SF game we reach a point where i have to talk about the poorly designed final boss fight of arcade mode. here, we have gill. he has obscenely good projectiles, great air mobility, and his specials will freeze you. oh, did i mention that his super is a passive that will automatically revive him to full HP if he dies? shockingly enough, gill didn't frustrate me as much as he probably should've. i guess i'm just sort of tolerant now of bullshit in these games. just used save states to get through him with every character. can only imagine how much more nightmareishly annoying he'd have been without them.
i guess i can't rate this higher because it's just... light on content. i would probably have rated this higher if alpha 2 hadn't been so much better. this just feels like a bit of a downgrade in some ways, unfortunately. i know this isn't the quintessential SFIII experience either way, so i'm not knocking this game down a peg or anything. it's just a good foundation for what came later.