Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike

Introduction

Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike is the latest revision of the SF3 series, the two previous games being SF3: New Generation and SF3: Second Impact. The main differences found in 3rd Strike include: a new way of performing throws (done by pressing LP+LK), universal overheads (MP+MK), a "choose your opponent"-style path in Arcade mode, the return of the "Crush the Car" bonus round, a new soundtrack, new stages and 5 new characters. (Chun-Li, Q, Twelve, Remy and Makoto)

Home versions of Street fighter 3: 3rd Strike can be found on the Dreamcast, PS2 and Xbox. The Dreamcast version was released in 2000 with slight differences to the arcade version. In 2004, Capcom released 3rd Strike as part of the "Street Fighter Anniversary Collection" for the Xbox and Playstation 2 which also included Hyper Street Fighter 2. Today, the Playstation 2 and Xbox versions of the game are widely considered the tournament standard since those two versions are very close ports of the original arcade game. However some differences are still debated to be present, the Xbox version is frequently said to be slightly faster than the original arcade version, and the PS2 version slightly slower. This most notably affects gameplay when the parry system is employed.

Notation

Joystick Notation

• F - Forward - Tilt stick forward/towards the opponent. (X-axis)
• B - Backward/Back - Tilt stick backward/away from the opponent. (X-axis)
• U - Up - Tilt stick upwards. (Y-axis)
• D - Down - Tilt stick downwards. (Y-axis)
• QCF - Quarter circle forward/Hadouken/Fireball - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• QCB - Quarter circle backward - Tilt stick downwards, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• HCF - Half circle forward - Tilt stick backwards, then to downwards and backward, then to downward, then to downwards and forward, then forward.
• HCB - Half circle backward - Tilt stick forwards, then to downwards and forward, then to downward, then to downwards and backward, then backward.
• DP - Dragon punch - Tilt stick forwards, then to downward, then to downward and forward.
• 360/FC - Full circle - Complete a full rotation of the stick.
• 720 - N/A - Complete a 720 degree rotation of the stick.
• Charge - Hold a tilt - Hold the stick in either B or D (Depending) then move to F or U respectively.

X-axis functions can be used interchangeably with Y-axis functions and vice versa. X-axis functions cannot be used in conjunction with another X-axis function and vice versa.

Six Button Notation

Expressed in the form: Notation - Move - (X-box Default Map) - (PS2 Default Map)

• LP - Weak/Light/Low/Jab Punch - (X) - (Square)
• MP - Medium/Middle/Strong Punch - (Y) - (Triangle)
• HP - Heavy/Hard/High/Fierce Punch - (Right Trigger/White) - (R1)
• P - Any punch - (X/Y/Right Trigger/White) - (Square/Triangle/R1)
• LK - Weak/Light/Low/short Kick - (A) - (X)
• MK - Medium/Middle/Strong Kick - (B) - (Circle)
• HK - Heavy/Hard/High/Roundhouse Kick - (Left Trigger/Black) - (R2)
• K = Any kick - (A/B/Left Trigger/Black) - (C/Circle/R2)

Occasionally people may use "Notation" and "Move" interchangeably.

Descriptors

Connectors

• +: Used between two other pieces of notation to signify that they should be performed at the same time. i.e. "X" + "Y", "X" should be performed at the same time as "Y".

e.g. F + MP

• -> (Sometimes > or ,): Indicates the next part of a sequence. i.e. "X" -> "Y" -> "Z", After "X" is performed, "Y" should follow, then "Z".

e.g. Dash -> Fierce Jet Uppercut

• xx (Sometimes x): Used between two other pieces of notation to signify that the first should be cancelled (Interrupted earlier than it would finish otherwise) into the second. i.e. "X" xx "Y", "X" should be cancelled into "Y". Moves can be cancelled from in ascending manner in this way: Normals > Specials > Supers.

e.g. MP, HP xx SA III

• ~: Indicates that the preceding action should link (immediately follow with) into the next action. i.e. "X" ~ "Y", "X" should be followed immediately by "Y"

e.g. LK ~ MP ~ HP

• /: Used to show when two or more options are available at that point in a sequence, invariably to show that they both produce similar if not identical results.

State Modifiers

• s. - The following move should be performed in the standing position (neutral in the Y-axis). i.e. s."X", perform "X" whilst standing.
• c. - The following move should be performed in the crouched position (held down in the Y-axis). i.e. c."X", perform "X" whilst crouching.
• j. - The following move should be performed in the "in the air" position (After having held up in the Y-axis). i.e. j."X", perform "X" whilst in the air.

Miscellaneous Notation

• SA (I, II, III) - Short for "Super Art", and the number indicates which Super Art it is for each respective character.
• EX - EX Special - Used to show that a special move can be "EX-ed". i.e. Two of the same appendage buttons pressed at the same time during a special motion to produce a better version of it. (Consumes Super Meter)
• Twds/Twd - Towards or forward in the direction in which your character is facing.
• x(Integer) - Number of times - Shows how many times that particular part of a sequence can be repeated.
• xx - Cancelling a move into another, usually used for canceling a move into a super art (example: Ken mp, hpxxSA III)
• Tap/Rapidly - Repeatedly press a button.
• Deep/Close - How close a move is performed - When the sprites are overlapping.
• Far - How close a move is performed - When the sprites aren't overlapping.
• Tick - Refers to it's viability for tick throw attempts (throwing immediately after a safe attack, to confuse)
• Reversal - Executing a move in the exact frame that you are granted the ability to do so.

Game Mechanics

Parrying

(Also known as "Blocking" or "Teching" in Japan) A defense mechanic that gives a slight frame advantage to the defender and leaves the opponent open for a counterattack. The Parry can also be done in the air.

As a general rule:

• Against High/Mid attacks: Tap Forward

• Against Low attacks: Tap Down

• Against Air attacks: Tap Forward

However some moves can be parried with either.

When an attack is parried, the parrier and the object being parried are frozen for 16 frames. Note that the object may actually be a projectile, in which case the projectile would be frozen and not the character who threw it. During this 16 frames, the parrier can cancel into block and parry, and can tech throws (note that since you cannot intitiate a throw, you can only tech after the throw connects). In addition to this intial 16 frames, the object is frozen for another few frames, depending on the attack: Jabs/Shorts--4 more frames; Strongs/Forwards--3 more frames; Fierces/Roundhouses--2 more frames; Specials/Supers--0 more frames. Once the object is unfrozen, the attack resumes its animation and can be cancelled into another attack as if it had connected.

(Some projectile attacks do not seem to freeze when parried because they are actually several individual attacks that approach you at the same time, rather than one multi-hit attack as is the case with Akuma's Red Fireball for example. Oro's EX Yagyou Dama and Akuma's KKZ act in this way, even though they seem like one big projectile.)

If a parry is successful, your character will automatically parry any other attack that hits you within the next 2 frames.

The game ingnores your inputs during the freeze for air parries. However, you can still buffer inputs during the freeze for ground parries.

If a jumping attack is parried, the attacker is reset to a neutral state upon recovery of the attack if it recovers before he lands. This means he is once again free to attack or parry, and even block low upon landing (trip guard). If it does not recover before he lands, he will be stuck in a small recovery upon landing.

Parry resets the juggle count (and thus resets all scaling).

You cannot parry 1 frame before the end of YOUR attack's recovery

Throw

A close-ranged grappling maneuver. Throws can be also be Teched (avoided) by pressing the throw command when your opponent reaches for a throw. Holding a direction while doing the command launches the opponent in that direction.

• LP+LK

• (B/F + LP+LK)

Every character normal throws have 2 frames of startup, 1 active hitting frame, and 21 frames of recovery if the throw misses.

A normal throw can be teched during the 5 frames after it connects by inputting LP+LK. A normal throw that connects while the opponent is in the startup of a normal throw will cause a tech. You cannot tech a throw if you were grabbed out of an attack.

You cannot be grabbed while you are in blockstun. You cannot be grabbed while you are airborne or in prejump. And in general, you cannot be grabbed during hitstun.

Kara-Throw

This is a special version of a normal throw which makes your character move forward by cancelling the first few frames of a normal move into the throw.

Kara-throws are very useful. They seize your throw range.

Not every character has got a (useful) Kara-Throw.

How to perform : In Alex's case: Fierce cancelled into Jab + Short (this has to be done very quickly).

Legend for the table: S=Standing C=Crouching F=Forward B=Back

Character	Standard Throw Range (pixels)	Moves allowing Kara-Throw	Kara-Throw Range (pixels)
Hugo	32	S.MK / S.HP	?? / ??
Alex	30	C.LP/ F.HP / S.LK	46 / 46 / 38
Urien	26	??	??
Necro	26	B.HK / S.MP / B.MK	34 / 32 / 30
Chun-Li	26	Far S.MK / Close S.HK	58 / ??
Oro	25	Far S.MK / S.HK / Close S.MP / Close S.MK	53 / 39 / 35 / 35
Ryu	24	B.MP / C.MK / C.HK	40 / 37 / 37
Ken	24	C.MK / C.HK / B.MK / S.MK / S.HK	37 / 37 / 34 / 32 / 32
Akuma	24	F.MP / C.MK / C.HK	44 / 37 / 37
Q	24	B.MP / S.MP	58 / 49
Remy	24	Far S.HK / Far S.MP	51 / 45
Elena	22	F.MK / S.MP	50 / 34
Twelve	22	Far S.MP	??
Dudley	20	F.LP / F.MP	32 / 32
Sean	20	F.HP	??
Makoto	20	S.LK / S.HK	?? / ??
Yun	18	S.LK / S.MP(Genei-Jin)	28 / ??
Yang	18	S.HK / S.LK	31 / 28
Ibuki	16	S.MK	20

Universal Overhead

A quick mid/overhead attack that hits crouching opponents. Low attacks will miss your character when the UOH is performed.

• MP+MK

Stamina

Stamina (or defense) is the term used for explain how much health or life a character have. The health bars are all the same lenght, but this doesn't mean that every character can take the same amount of damage. Every character have different stamina values (defense ratings). Remember, the more stamina a character have, the more damage they can take. Here's the ranking, from the higher to the lower in terms of stamina (numbers are a very close aproximation of the damage they can take, and are when their health bar are empty, but they aren't KO yet)

• 1. 2050 - Q (with 3 taunts)
• 2. 1870 - Hugo (with 4 taunts)
• 3. 1705 - Q (with 2 taunts)
• 4. 1670 - Hugo (with 3 taunts)
• 5. 1535 - Hugo (with 2 taunts)
• 6. 1400 - Q (with 1 taunt) / Hugo (with 1 taunt) / Chun-Li (with 1 "back stretch" or "shoulder tap" taunt)
• 7. 1385 - Hugo
• 8. 1300 - Gill
• 9. 1285 - Urien
• 10. 1200 - Alex / Q / Ryu / Ken / Dudley / Makoto
• 11. 1120 - Sean / Chun-Li / Oro / Elena / Necro / Remy
• 12. 1050 - Twelve
• 13. 1035 - Ibuki
• 14. 1020 - Yun / Yang
• 15. 985 - Akuma

Stun

Under the health bar, there is a black little bar. This is the "Stun Bar". When you take a hit, this bar will fill at different rates, and depend on what attack you've been hit, some attacks will fill the bar a lot, others not so much, and even others don't will fit it at all. When the bar is full, you're stunned or dizzy, and you cannot move in a short period of time. Like with stamina, not all the characters have the same lenght in the Stun Bar. There are 3 types of Stun Bars, the long (72), the normal (64) and the short (52). With the long Stun Bar you will not be dizzy easily, while the short one means "be careful". Here's a list of what Stun Bar the characters have:

• Long Stun Bar (72) - Hugo / Gill / Alex / Q / Dudley / Oro
• Normal Stun Bar (64) - Urien / Ryu / Ken / Makoto / Sean / Elena / Chun-Li / Necro / Twelve / Yun / Yang / Ibuki
• Short Stun Bar (52) - Remy / Akuma

Like any other Capcom game, a direction or button (not including start) reduces dizzy time by one frame per input. With a programmable pad, you can shave down stun time to 1/7th of the figures given below.

Depending on the last attack that you ate before the stars/birdies/angels/reapers appear, the game will randomly choose one out of 4 numbers. This number is the number of frames you would be dizzy without mashing.

• Normal move - 90 or 110 or 130 or 150 frames
• Normal throw - 120 or 140 or 160 or 180 frames
• Special hit - 150 or 170 or 190 or 210 frames
• Special throw - 120 or 160 or 200 or 240 frames
• Super hit - 120 or 160 or 200 or 240 frames
• Super throw - 150 or 190 or 230 or 270 frames

UOH's and taunts aren't mentioned, but I'd assume they count as special moves.

Personal Action

(Commonly abbreviated as "PA") A taunt that gives your character a stat bonus in either attack power, defense, stun ability, etc. The bonus is different for each character and only lasts until the round is over.

• Alex:

Unheld taunt - Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 9.4% for the first taunt and 6.3% for each additional taunt. Maximum: 6 taunts, 37.5% bonus.

Held taunt - Increases damage for the next hit/combo or throw by 6.3% per extra arm turn. Maximum: 8 turns, 50% bonus.

• Akuma:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 43.8% and increases stun damage for the next hit/combo by 28.1%. One taunt is the maximum.

• Chun-Li:

Yawn (happens 100% of the time) - Increases stun recovery rate by 10% for the first yawn and an additional 21% for the second yawn. Lasts the whole round. Maximum 2 yawns, 33% bonus.

Shoulder tap (happens 21% of the time) - Increases defense by 18.8%. Lasts for the whole round. Maximum one shoulder tap.

Neck stretch (happens 38% of the time) - Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3%. Maximum one neck stretch.

Back stretch (happens 15% of the time) - Increases defense by 31.3% (more than the shoulder tap) for the whole round. Also increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3%. Maximum one back stretch.

• Dudley:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 25% if a rose is thrown. Like Sean, there's no bonus if the rose isn't actually thrown. One taunt is the maximum.

• Elena:

Increases stun damage for the next hit/combo by 18.8% per taunt. Maximum 4 taunts, 75% bonus.

• Hugo:

Unheld taunt - Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 18.8% (maximum 1 taunt). Also increases defence for the rest of the round by 6.3% per taunt (maximum 4 taunts, 25% bonus).

Held taunt - Increases damage for the next hit/combo/throw by 25%. One taunt is the maximum.

Poison - No bonus.

• Ibuki:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo/throw by 43.8% only if she gets the leapfrog. Otherwise you get nothing. Maximum one taunt.

• Ken:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3%. One taunt is the maximum.

• Makoto:

Part 1 - Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3% per taunt. Maximum 2 taunts, 62.5% damage.

Part 2 - Replaces a second Part 1 taunt. One two-part taunt is the maximum.

Part 3 - Increases stun recovery rate by 10% for the first full taunt and an additional 21% for the second full taunt. Lasts the whole round. Maximum 2 full taunt, 33% bonus.

Hayate taunt - No bonus.

• Necro:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3%. Holding the taunt does nothing bonus-wise. One taunt is the maximum.

• Oro:

Recovers stun by 600-800% as the taunt is held longer.

• Q:

Increases defense for the whole round by 12.5% (maximum 3 taunts, 37.5% bonus). Also increases stun recovery rate for the whole round by 10% (one taunt is the maximum).

• Remy:

Increases stun damage for the next hit/combo by 18.8% per taunt. Maximum 4 taunts, 75% bonus.

• Ryu:

Increases stun recovery rate by 10% for the first taunt and an additional 21% for the second taunt. Lasts the whole round. Maximum 2 taunts, 33% bonus.

• Sean:

Increases stun damage for the next hit/combo by 12.5% per ball thrown. If Sean throws nothing (ie. another ball on the screen), there is no bonus. Maximum 3 balls thrown, 37.5% bonus.

• Twelve:

It turns you invisible for a while.

• Urien:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3%. One taunt is the maximum.

• Yang:

Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 31.3% and increases damage for the next throw by 6.3%. One taunt is the maximum.

• Yun:

Unheld taunt (works for held too) - Increases damage for the next hit/combo by 6.4% for each taunt/hat twirl. Maximum 8 taunts/twirls, 50% bonus.

Held taunt only - Increases damage for the next throw by 6.3% for the first extra twirl and 3.1% for every additional twirl. Maximum 7 extra twirls, 25% bonus.

Dash

A method of moving your character quickly over a short distance. You cannot block whilst you are dashing.

• Forward Dash: Tap Forward, Forward

• Backward Dash: Tap Back, Back

Every character have different speeds and moving distances. The bigger the "moving distance" number, the larger the distance they travel. Frames means how much time they need for a dash. For the speed of a dash, you should compare the moving distance with the frames from the different characters to see who is quicker than another. Here's the information about the characters:

Character	Dash Forward (frames)	Moving Distance	Dash Backwards (frames)	Moving Distance
Alex	17	1,5	19	1
Akuma	13	1,5	13	1
Chun-Li	16	2	23	2
Dudley	18	2	17	1,5
Elena	13	2	24	2
Hugo	22	1	20	1
Ibuki	19	2	33	2,5
Ken	16	1,5	13	1
Makoto	11	2	12	1
Necro	22	3	18	3
Oro	17	2	11	1,5
Q	19	2	21	2
Remy	17	2	17	2
Ryu	13	1,5	13	1
Sean	13	1	13	1
Twelve	20	1,5	16	1,5
Urien	15	2	17	1,5
Yang	23	2	27	2,5
Yun	23	2	27	3

Super Jump

Similar to a regular jump, except that it carries you furthur, and takes longer to start up.

• Tap D,U

Wake Up and Quick Stand

When falling to the ground, your character enters in a "Wake Up" state, and they will wake up at the character standart speed. However, you have the option to perform a "Quick Stand". A "Quick Stand" will make your character roll backwards into a standing position, and you will wake up faster than the character normal wake up. Extremely useful in avoiding wakeup games after you are knocked down, where you must guess in order to defend properly against an opponent's attack (i.e. high, low, throw). Do not quick stand in the corner, because your opponent may be able to dash through the roll and cross you up, making it extremely confusing to defend properly.

Note: You cannot quick stand after being knocked down by a super.

• To perform a quick stand tap D as soon as your character hits the ground

Every character wakes up at different speeds, this is also for "Quick Stand". All the information below are in frames, a higher number of frames means a slow wakeup, and a small number of frames, a faster wakeup.

Character	Normal Wake up (frames)	Quick Stand (frames)
Dudley	55	45
Yang	57	41
Twelve	59	49
Necro	59	53
Yun	60	41
Elena	64	50
Alex	67	49
Remy	67	47
Ibuki	68	53
Hugo	69	54
Makoto	71	43
Oro	71	52
Q	72	46
Ken	75	48
Urien	76	56
Ryu	77	50
Akuma	77	50
Sean	77	50
Chun-Li	88	61

Tiers

Please note: Tiers are HIGHLY debatable so all lists should be taken with a grain of salt. If a character is only a place or two away from where they "should" be, please refrain from wildly editing this section.

Tier-list

A tier list from Arcadia magazine, showing match-ups (Order is the same)

(Formatted from matchup chart, large gaps in points change the tier)

Top Tier:

Yun

Chun-Li

Makoto

Upper Tier:

Ken

Dudley

Yang

Akuma

Urien

Middle Tier:

Akuma

Urien

Ryu

Oro

Ibuki

Elena

Low Tier:

Necro

Alex

Remy

Q

Hugo

Twelve

Bottom Tier:

Sean

Representative Tier-list

When considering a tournament, with a large number of competitors, you find that there is invariably more people playing the higher tier characters. Almost to the point where very few (if any) lower tiers appear.

As such, it is sometimes improper to base a Top level tournament tier list on ALL the match-ups. After taking a flat tier list, and selecting those characters with the highest frequency of appearance (In this case, Yun, Chun-Li, Ken and Makoto). By ranking every character by their match-ups against those four characters, you end up with a more tournament based tier-list.

This list, essentially, ranks characters on their ability to place in a large scale tournament.

• Characters who have ranked up are marked by a bold font.
• Characters who have ranked down are marked by an italic font.

Top Tier:

Yun

Chun-Li

Upper Tier:

Ken

Dudley

Makoto

Middle Tier:

Akuma

Urien

Yang

Ryu

Ibuki

Oro

Elena

Low Tier:

Necro

Alex

Remy

Hugo

Q

Twelve

Sean

Strategy

Strategy is a very basic concept. It is the principle of using X to beat Y, where X has some sort of advantage over Y. Be it a flat statistic superiority, or a mind game.

Here are some general tips to help you begin.

• Know your options (and your opponent's). Consider how easy a move might be to super counter. If you keep doing a c.HK with Ryu, sooner or later, your opponent will catch on and punish you, and you DON'T want it to be a super that they choose to punish with.

• Super after Parry, if you have been parried by someone, hope is not all lost! Try supering. If you are against someone who parry-counters excessively, it can really throw them off, as invariably a super will beat the move they attempt. This is very risky however, as the opponent always has the option to block.

• Bait Throws. Particularily basic players will try to throw whenever you are close to them. So get close to them, avoid their throw, then punish it. Justin Wong, to name just one name, does that all the time.

• Mix-up can roughly be interpreted as: "Doing something that is different to what you have just done, to force the opponent to change his block zone". If you aren't hitting high, try hitting low! A mix-up is a using a variety of moves that make your strategy unpredictable.

The Characters

• Alex
• Akuma
• Chun-Li
• Dudley
• Elena
• Gill
• Hugo
• Ibuki
• Ken
• Makoto
• Necro
• Oro
• Q
• Remy
• Ryu
• Sean
• Twelve
• Urien
• Yang
• Yun

Miscellaneous

Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike