Street Fighter III : 3rd Strike, Fight for the Future

Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike - Fight for the Future on PlayStation 2 brings Capcom's final Street Fighter III update to the console. Built around one-on-one matches with six attack buttons, it asks players to combine normal moves, throws, jumping attacks, cancels, EX techniques, and one chosen Super Art for each fighter.

The central defensive system is the parry: a precisely timed forward input against a ground attack, or downward input against an aerial attack, negates the strike and creates an immediate opening. 3rd Strike also permits air parries and a difficult Guard Parry, commonly called a red parry, during block stun. These options make timing, spacing, and reading an opponent as important as blocking.

The 19-character roster retains the fighters from 2nd Impact and adds Chun-Li, Makoto, Remy, Q, and Twelve; Akuma is also selectable. Their styles range from Chun-Li's quick kicks and Makoto's close-range karate to Remy's projectile game, Q's heavy defense, and Twelve's transformations, while Gill serves as the usual final opponent in the single-player route.

Arcade mode sends a selected fighter through ten opponents, including a character-specific rival before the final battle. Versus, Training, and options modes support practice and local competition, with normal and parry training helping players work on the game's timing. The returning Parry the Ball bonus game is joined by Crush the Car, and the post-match Judgement System grades the winner's offense, defense, technique, and bonus accomplishments.

This PS2 release includes the Dreamcast version's home features, including unlockable extra settings and a choice of arcade or Dreamcast soundtrack arrangements. It instead uses an earlier arcade revision, preserving certain Urien and Oro unblockable setups that had been removed from the later revision used for the Dreamcast port.

Released as a standalone title in Japan in 2004, 3rd Strike reached North American PS2 players in Street Fighter Anniversary Collection alongside Hyper Street Fighter II. Unlike the Xbox version of that collection, the PlayStation 2 release does not add online Versus play.