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Ha-do-can't!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Long before I bought the Nintendo DS, I already resolved to get a Game Boy Advance game to test the system's backwards compatibility. And one title has always been first on my list. From Capcom's classic fighting series, "Street Fighter Alpha 3" for the GBA is probably one of the best fighting games for a system that, ironically, just wasn't built for fighting games.

Though graphics and features alone don't make a video game, it's amazing that so much (perhaps too much) was stuffed into one little cartridge. While some sacrifices had to be made (the announcer's gone and the music's average at best), the graphics are pretty close to what you'd find in console versions of the game. You also get to choose from a whopping 30 characters (including 3 hidden characters from "Capcom vs. SNK"), with all their special moves, super moves, and "ISM" fighting styles intact. The game also has 6 playing modes to keep you busy (half of which are unlockables but hey, that's what cheat codes are for). And best of all, the game's battery backup saves everything.

The game's most obvious drawback is, of course, the controls. As frustrating as it is to perform Ryu's Hadoken fireball with a D-pad and an awkward 4-button layout, the developers did all they could given the hardware. But sometimes even the easiest attacks can take half a beat to perform. And "SFA 3's" single mode might as well be its story mode; if you choose a new character while you're on a roll with another, you're forced to start from scratch.

In spite of the kinks, "SFA 3" is still a sweet setup for the GBA. But simplified controls would have made it perfect. Of course, if you got to have Street Fighter on the go, you can either make due with this or play "SFA3 MAX" with the PSP's control nub. Either way, your thumbs will get quite a workout.

This game is rated T for Teen: Violence.

bleh...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 15, 2007
Author: Amazon User

One of the better handheld console fighting games that I've played, but still, far from anything substantial to a competitive fighter. The original game has only bee replicated in the Playstation 2 version, via Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. None of the other renditions have been as good, expect possibly the Sega Saturn version. This version, by comparison to those two, the Playstation 1, and the Dreamcast versions is by far the worst and least competitive.

Handheld fighting perfection... almost.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The graphics, amount of characters and special moves, amount of fighting options, and sheer quality of this fighting game is borderline crazy. You get so much for a portable game thats two inches square.

Having Street Fighter with over 30 characters for on the go is awesome. You cant ask for anything more... well you kind of could.

The only thing that stinks in this game, and its a big stinker, is the control. On a console controller or in the arcade i could bust out 50 fireballs in a row without a sweat. This game is a different story. The small size of the GBA/DS makes performing these special moves extremely tough. After 10 minutes of this game i feel like i need Bengay or some cream from the arthritis that this game is giving my fingers and hands. ;)

All in all this is a terrific title for short periods of time even though the control of some of the moves are painful to pull off.

Fun, but pointless

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: June 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Despite the beautiful graphics and multiple characters to choose from (including several from Final Fight) I just can't see any REAL difference between this and the endless other 1-on-1 beat-em-ups out there.

I never really mastered all of the special moves but there weren't needed as fighting with simple punches and kicks was good enough. It's fun for a while but in no way a game I would spend ages playing and finishing as every last character. I'm not that sad and I've got better things to do with my time.

Graphics A
Sound B
Gameplay B
Lasting Appeal B-

Great Game on the go!!!!!!!!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: April 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is a very close port of the original SFA3 arcade game. The game really shows off the power of the GBA pretty well. The fighters move smoothly and all the little subtle animations are there too. Overall I was blown away at how good this looked on the GBA. The controls are a little hard to pull off but you do get used to it, I just forget about doing certain moves that are too hard and stick to the easy ones. Overall I would recomend this game if your a HARDCORE fighting game fan and need your fighting fix on the go!!!

Good translation ruined by controls

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: March 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'll keep this brief: If you want Street Fighter on the GBA, buy Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival. That game handles the fact that the GBA only has 4 buttons by letting you assign punches and kicks to brief-vs-long button presses. It's not ideal, but it works. Alpha 3 doesn't even give you this option, instead it forces you to assign them to combinations of the triggers and the A&B buttons. Try throwing a fireball with L+B. It just doesn't work. I partially blame Nintendo for refusing to give a portable more than 2 face buttons, but I mainly blame Capcom for not giving you the brief-vs-long button assignment options.

near perfect

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: December 30, 2003
Author: Amazon User

the games translates very well from console to handheld. all moves come over intact and graphics aren't too noticably scaled down. the only think i've noticed is that it is hared at times to do a combo correctly when the directional pad is smaller. that isn't a problem with the game though, just the gameboy. you may find it easier to use an older gameboy instead of an sp though.

Street Fighter In The Palm Of Your Hands

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Street Fighter Alpha 3 is one of the best in the series but this port lacks its full potential because of its difficult controls. If only the game boy advance had 6 buttons instead of 4 this would be true to the arcade. It may take awhile before I can get use to these controls but so far its a great game.

Awesome game!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: November 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

IÕve been a SF fan for a long time. After purchasing my GBA earlier this year, I discovered that SF alpha for GB color does not play too well on the GBA. Well in response to the GBAÕs screen glitch I purchased this version of the popular Capcom title, and I chose a winner! This game has more pack and punch than any SF game I have ever played! It just simply rocks! Some recommendations as to the choice of fighters that are poweful are: Choose Fei-Long, heÕs a Bruce Lee imitator and almost fights like him. HeÕs my favorite character in this version, and typically pounds most of his opponents! Guy was extremely powerful in the GB color version, but in this version he cannot drop throw as easily like he could before. Purchase this game and have fun!

Sluggish controls. Wrong game for Game Boy Advance.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: October 19, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I am a 12-year Street Fighter veteran who's played over a dozen permutations of this series on seven, eight different consoles, mostly pad-based. The prospect of any SF game working well on the Game Boy Advance looked slim, and sure enough,
the game just doesn't translate.

My main concern, adapting to the four-button layout, turned out to be minor compared to the poor response. Every attack takes half a beat to be executed, requiring the player to "pre-execute" moves before their time, thus making the delicate, complex Street Fighter fighting system impossible. The graphics are impressively close to the old PlayStation version that I played, and they managed to keep all the characters, but this is no compensation for the fact that the control pad is too unresponsive to handle Street Fighter-style combos, super moves, and charge moves. Where I used to be able to pull off a 10-hit combo with Karin, now I struggle to pull off even a two-in-one fireball, and my left hand was cramped after two or three fights.

I can't blame the game developers all the way; the game and the console were simply not a compatible match. Nevertheless, most of my Gameboy Advance games (excluding the incredibly poor 007 Nightfire) are far more responsive than this. I can't help but think if they had sacrificed some graphics and scaled down the character roster a little, they would have had a much more playable game.

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