Episode 458: Street Fighter III (Patreon)

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Remember last year when Street Fighter II turned 30 years old and we here at Retronauts used that opportunity to talk a lot about Street Fighter II? Well the time has come to talk about a 25-year-old video game (as of February 2022): Street Fighter III.

$5 patrons might have caught Diamond's This Week In Retro column addressing said anniversary, but this is Street Fighter III! No mere thousand words can sum up Capcom's sequel to the company's biggest arcade hit, especially when said sequel turned into a critical and commercial flop of the highest order.

Diamond Feit returns to host this week's extra-long conversation with the always enthusiastic Shivam Bhatt (from Casual Magic) and new guest John Learned (creator of The Annotated Third Strike video series). These three breakdown the development hurdles that set Street Fighter III back and detail how two arcade revisions (and a certain EVO moment) completely turned the game's fortunes around. Can you parry every hot take we serve up in this episode? Not even Daigo can handle that!

Edits by Greg Leahy, art by Greg Melo (W Greg Attack!). Our music cues:

• 10:34 - New Generation: Character Select
• 20:56 - New Generation: Good Fighter (Ryu & Ken)
• 28:01 - New Generation: Jazzy NYC Underground (Alex)
• 35:14 - New Generation: Sharp Eyes (Ibuki)
• 50:23 - New Generation: Crowded Street (Yun & Yang) | 2nd Impact: Continue?
• 1:00:32 - New Generation: Leave Alone (Dudley)
• 1:16:26 - 2nd Impact: Tomboy (Elena)
• 1:27:36 - 2nd Impact: Nile (Gill)
• 1:41:48 - 3rd Strike: Beats in My Head (Elena, Rd.1)
• 1:53:58 - J-MUSIC Ensemble: "Jazzy NYC '99" Live Cover
• 2:03:40 - 3rd Strike: China Vox (Chun-Li, Rd.1)
• 2:13:41 - 3rd Strike: Spunky (Makoto, Rd.2)
• 2:23:21 - 3rd Strike: Theme of Q (Rd.1)
• 2:29:54 - 3rd Strike: Ending 1
• Closing - 3rd Strike Arranged Soundtrack Album: Staff Roll/Moving On/Third Strike Remix