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Review: Street Fighter Zero 3 |
Released just one month after the Dreamcast version, SFZ3 was an interesting event – a chance to see just how well the Saturn compared to its recently-released “successor” (ahahaha) and a final opportunity for the console to strut its stuff. The results make me proud to be Saturn owner – while there are a couple of minor hitches – for the most part, Saturn SFZ3 holds its own admirably, and, unbelievably, actually improves upon the DC version in some areas.
A 4MB RAM CART-only release (naturally), SFZ3 is an extremely accurate port of the arcade game that includes all the extra characters (Guile, DeeJay, Fei Long, T.Hawk, Evil Ryu and Wyler) as well as the ‘Dramatic Battle’ modes; unlocked from the start like the Dreamcast version. It also includes the ‘World Tour’ mode, ‘Entry mode’ (hohoho), ‘Final Battle’ and ‘Survival mode’ goodies.
Initial impressions reveal a bitty, fragmented version of the game with stop-start load times, pauses and fat characters, lacking the fluid front end and general slick presentation of the Dreamcast game. However as I played on I began to realise that I was actually in the presence of something truly wondrous, dusting the coal off a CD-shaped diamond even.
SFZ3 is a graphically intensive game, with a large character roster, massive amounts of animation, special effects and big slidy flashy presentation. I was pleased to note that the Saturn version sees all the animations and graphics included – the winposes, the towards/away walk cycles, the additional winpose sprites (ie Mika’s trainer or Karin’s butler), the spark effects etc. are all there. In fact T.Hawk has a backwards walk animation that is not in the Dreamcast (or PSX) version!
So everything is included, but at some cost. The Saturn may be a 2D Juggernaut but A3 is Professor Xavier .. or Magneto or some shit .. argh, worst analogy ever. Sorry.
Basically it can’t quite keep the game running as fast and smooth and pause-free as the DC could. Certain moves and character states (ie on fire whilst an attack is happening, or during a V-Combo) at certain times on some stages will slow the game down slightly – only for a moment, but enough to mess up your timing and make you generally go ‘huh?’ – or ‘eh?’ (depending on which continent you’re on.) It’s pretty minor, and the precise conditions needed mean you only see it very rarely. Nevertheless it’s a fault, and deserves mention. Indeed.
The same is true for the load times – they’re there and they annoy at first, but are barely noticeable after a while. The load time between fights is actually longer than it appears, thanks to some clever stealth loading. Although the time between the “next character” screen and the next fight is only two or three seconds – those who are more observant, and, indeed those who steal such observant folks’ discoveries from GameFAQs will have noticed the “NEXT CHARACTER” animation sequence can no longer be skipped, or sped up. Sneaky, but better than a big fat NOW LOADING screen for 20 seconds straight.
At some points in the game the loading is more blatant though. Those nifty ‘now loading’ artworks that the Playstation port had all over the place make a comeback – but only in-between switching game modes – never in the normal ‘arcade’ game. Which is fair enough.
I’m not sure if it’s a loading syndrome or not, but I don’t like the way the music stops so early at the end of a fight. Instead of playing until the win quote screen, it cuts off a second or so before the winning character can even perform their winpose. It’s a kind of embarrassed silence, and sort of annoying. Doesn’t ruin the game or anything, but hey, I can’t disguise the lack of content in my reviews by posting pictures of breasts every time.
Speaking of sound – although you can still keep the underwater concert memories of Saturn SFA2G repressed (OH, SORRY!) for the moment – there are several instances where speech, or effects just aren’t as crisp or clear as the DC/Arcade version – a clear case of reducing sample rates to save on storage space. Or processing power or something. The music comes out fine, it’s mostly bits of speech – particularly the announcer that gain the dreaded low sample-rate lisp. THAT WATH THE BETHT FIGHT I EVER THAW! Quite.
However, to my astonishment – the Saturn version actually contains voice samples and sound effects that aren’t in the Dreamcast version! ! (!)
!
At first it was just the odd little swish, or zoom every so often, and then I found Juli and Juni at the flaming pink version of the Point 48106 stage – and upon losing a round (they ganged up on me ;_;) – the dolls stood together, posed and squeaked “Target Destroyed!” in the most truly adorable voice. This adds a good 30 or 40% to the score straight off and makes me wish there was more Juli/Juni hentai. Nonetheless – for the Saturn to contain any feature, no matter how small, that improves on the conversion over its successor (oh if only failurecessor was a word) – in any technical area of a game, let alone several is a testament to its supreme powers and majestic black brickness.
Saturn Z3’s greatest triumph lies in the visuals. Much as with the Dreamcast, the Saturn runs at a different screen resolution to that of the CPS2 board, and while DC CPS_ ports have the sprites and backgrounds scaled from the slightly more ‘widescreen’ CPS display to fit the ’square’ res of the system, the Saturn versions see a different workaround – namely, nothing being done. This has the effect of making everything on the screen look super wide. There have been some attempts to lessen the effect – the character portraits next to the life gauges have been shrunk and cropped so they fit on screen, but it’s still altogether entirely noticeable – especially at first, when every character seems twice as fat. I also noticed that although the characters are wider, their hitboxes aren’t – and spent my first half-hour or so messing up jump-in combos by either attacking too early or by (duh) jumping over the opponent. It sounds more serious than it is, it’s a simple matter of adjusting to the new widths and compensating really.
After playing it for a couple of days, I thought I’d toss in the Dreamcast version for a comedic comparison at the poor old Saturn’s expense.
Well crap – the Saturn version just blows the hell out of the DC one visually… and I was just as surprised as you are. What the ’scaled’ look of the Dreamcast port does is effectively turn the detailed lines and shading of the sprites into a fuzzy, collapsed, indistinct mess; if you’ve ever used “PIXEL RESIZE” in Paint Shop Pro, you’ll know what I mean – the faces have just turned to mush. So while the Saturn sprites could perhaps lay off the Bacon Double cheeseburgers now and then, all the vivid line work and fine detail is retained – leading to a much brighter, smoother, clearer look – and coupled with the FULL ANIMATION (and then some) this version has makes it a lovely game to look at.
Aside from these differences it’s still SFZ3 through and through – love it or hate it – and as such it’s not the most essential purchase/pirate on the planet. Especially if you’ve already bought the PSX/DC versions like I have, and downloaded the arcade rom, like I uh haven’t. But it’s still a great game and easily one of the Saturn hardware’s finest hours.
In fact the more I played it, the more I grew to like it. The minor flaws became less and less of an irritation, and the improvements just made it all the more enjoyable. Strange as it may sound, Saturn Z3 is by far the most enjoyable Z3 I’ve ever played – whether it was the little extras, the big clear, chunky sprites, the Saturn pad (I’m sorry for ever doubting you!) the overall smoothness of the engine (slowdown not included, of course) or just the fact the Saturn was COMING BACK FROM THE GRAVE TO KICK SOME ASS LIKE ZOMBIE BELGER.
I might as well also use this article to finally settle my love/hate relationship with Zero 3 once and for all. It’s great, as long as I don’t play it straight after King of Fighters ‘98. There.
Streetfighter Zero 3 is a fitting end to Capcom’s enduring Saturn commitment, as well as to the great machine itself and is my personal recommendation for the best home Z3 conversion – definitely the one to get if you’re able.
Now I must depart, as Juli and Juni want to take me on together. Hyuck.
