STREET FIGHTER EX3
Original Release: Capcom, 2000, PlayStation 2
Capcom's launch title for the PS2 ended up being the final entry in its 2.5D Street Fighter branch, but went out offering some creative gameplay modes and neat characters
Street Fighter EX3 (PS2, Capcom, 2000)
Where to Buy: Amazon
How to Emulate: PlayStation 2 Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
The release of the PS2 was the beginning of a major slowdown for fighting game releases in arcades, in at least small part indicated by Capcom opting to make this title exclusive to the console (as one of its launch titles). At a quick glance you might think they decided to kiss off this little "EXperimental" branch as some kind of Tekken Tag copy, but it actually introduces a fun (if not particularly well-balanced) range of team modes.
While I did find it enjoyable overall, it's definitely not a top-tier fighter. I mean, if you're out to criticize it, there are plenty of places to start. We can begin with the overall substance of it, before we even get into the more fussy technical details for more hardcore fighting game fans. Aside from two-player matches the only real option is "Original Mode", which puts you through the same series of six fights (with some randomized characters). Unlocking the 10 or so hidden characters involves just playing this mode over and over, winning through without using any continues.
The only other mode of play is an odd "character creation" mode that has you build up a newbie called "Ace" who kinda looks like an Arab WWII fighter pilot (however that happened). This is kinda like common create-a-wrestler modes, except with no altering of your appearance; you just go through an assortment of fights with Ace beginning with an extremely simple moveset, and can then use points you earn to buy moves from other characters and make your own custom setup. The game also basically provides two slots so you can have two different Aces with their own move sets on the roster.
The default difficulty is very easy, I would guess due to not balancing out the various multi-man modes properly. Each "Original Mode" game begins with a fight against three dudes with limited life bars, and along the way you'll also be on the good end of a two-on-one simultaneous handicap match (where the CPU partner can either shadow your moves or control itself) and a final battle against a juiced-up M Bison that all four of your fighters can line up for turns in. You just pick one fighter to start each new game, but you'll have the option to recruit one of the defeated foes in each bunch until you're toting a roster of up to four. The partners carry over any health lost to the next match, but if you have them as an active tag partner sitting out during the match they'll recover health.
The EX games were generally kept out of serious competitive tournaments due to their two central gameplay features: the "Guard Break" system and their ridiculously damaging Super Combos. Guard Break is taken out in this entry, changed to a much more nerfed and blockable "surprise move." But the Super Combos are arguably worse than ever now as you can have teams of two to four jumping in on them in Marvel vs Capcom 2 style.
 |
| Who let the Persona character in here? |
I can see how people would have been seriously disappointed by this if they picked it up at full retail during the PS2 launch, which is probably what drove tepid reviews of the time; Capcom kinda released it as a placeholder to have SOMETHING out, and probably picked this branch of the series as it was considered expendable and having a rushed or incomplete entry wouldn't really hurt them. But I feel like this would be perfect these days as a no-more-than-$5 digital download, and it's a shame Capcom seems dead-set against ever touching the EX games again for whatever reason (probably rights issues/soured relationship with developer Arika). It offers a lot of unique characters and play modes never seen again in the series for big Street Fighter fans to explore, the "Ace" mode is also unique and teaches some of the more general finer points of series gameplay, and it's easy-but-fun for the more casual player with nice presentation and a good soundtrack.
Comments
Post a Comment