| Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper review |
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They say it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. This clearly isn’t a turn of phrase to which Capcom are paying any attention, as they grant us the fifth home conversion (and the second portable version) of their classic Street Fighter Zero 3 (Alpha in the West) coin-op. Although the Gameboy Advance can hold claim to getting it first – and by a good few years as well – this PSP incarnation is attempting to be the most ‘complete’ version available on any machine. However, no matter how many neat extras are shoehorned into a game, forces beyond the control of the developers can often conspire against them.
Capcom have certainly spared no expense in bringing the arcade to the palm of your hand. It goes to show just how far technology has advanced in the space of the past few years – what we have here is basically a direct port of the original game, with all the animation, sound and characters. The colourful 2D visuals are ideally suited to the PSP’s bright and vibrant display. Although you may have seen this game many times in the past, the initial impact of witnessing it on such a crisp, pin-sharp screen is amazing. As was the case with Capcom’s previous 2D fighting effort, Darkstalkers/Vampire Chronicle, the actual image is not optimized to fill the PSP’s wide-aspect screen and as a result there are borders on each side in then ‘normal’ setting. There is an option to play the game in ‘full screen’ mode, which does result in a loss of clarity and a distortion of image, but it’s still a perfectly acceptable choice. Because the sprites are moving at quite high speeds there is some ghosting, but this is easy to adjust to after a few moments play. With so much animation and so many detailed sprites, it would be fair to expect extended loading times, but thankfully those found here are slight in PSP terms, and are only really noticeable when compared to those found in other versions of the game.
Although SFZ3 is suited to the PSP’s sublime LCD display, it struggles with a more basic aspect of the machine’s design – control. Through no fault of its own, SFZ3 is harder to play on the PSP than any other system on which it has appeared. The guilty party is the appalling d-pad found on Sony’s handheld. It is practically useless for playing this type of game – so useless in fact, that Capcom took it upon themselves to ship a limited number of copies with a special d-pad adapter. This piece of plastic sticks over the existing d-pad and,to a certain degree at least, allows the game to be played as it should. It's not an ideal solution but it's better than nothing – assuming, that is, you are one of the lucky few to receive the d-pad. The copy used in this review is lacking the adapter, and as a result, the game has had to be played with the standard setup. The PSP’s pad makes pulling off diagonal jumps a very hit and miss affair. It’s often more effective to use the analogue stick (which at least mimics an arcade stick to a certain degree) but then performing basic special moves and 'supers' is difficult, and some of the more demanding maneuvers in the game are near-impossible to execute. To obtain the a suitable control method, the player will often find themselves switching between the d-pad and the stick, but in the middle of a battle this is less than practical.
It’s not just the d-pad that causes headaches – the fascia buttons aren’t ideal for fighting games (as has been the case with the PSX and PS2 also) and the fact that the flimsy shoulder buttons must also be called into play in order to make the most of SFZ3’s six-button control method only amplifies the problem. There are in-game solutions included – players can customise the button setup, and various moves have had their procedures simplified. While it's unrealistic to expect Sony to build a machine around 2D fighters - the genre no longer carries the importance it once did – it’s an unavoidable fact that the PSP is not the best machine in terms of controls for hosting this conversion.
As the subtitle ‘Double Upper’ suggests, this version expands on the Gameboy Advance edition. Eagle, Jun and Maki are included in the fighter roster, along with Ingrid, who made her debut in the underwhelming Capcom Fighting Evolution. Over 35 different fighters are available for selection, which equals a stunningly high number of play styles to master. In terms of game modes, the game is just as impressive – as the crowded main menu testifies. Some of the modes on show here will be familiar to SF fans – the usual suspects like Arcade, Versus and Practice are all present and correct (as one would expect them to be). World Tour mode, which has also featured in previous conversions of the game, is the mode that will most likely swallow up a player’s time. Operating very much like the quest mode found in Namco’s highly-esteemed Soul Calibur series, World Tour is a seemingly never-ending series of bouts across the globe, each of which have certain parameters which must be met before victory is assured. The majority of these fights are basic ‘last man standing’ affairs, but others involve the player performing tasks such as breaking their opponents guard in order to inflict damage on them. These ‘oddball’ fights were often frustrating on the home console versions of the game, but with the added difficulty of wrestling with the PSP’s terrible d-pad, the annoyance they cause is amplified. Control niggles aside, World Tour can be extremely rewarding as progress grants experience points, which can be utilized to boost the fighting ability of your character. Some obscenely powerful avatars can be created in this manner, and once saved to the memory stick, they can be used in other parts of the game. A multitude of other play modes are included, but to be perfectly honest, aside from the ‘dramatic battle’ options, they’re not likely to soak up much time.
No matter how flush a fighting game is with modes, the most important aspect is always the multiplayer experience. Nothing beats fighting against another human player, and thankfully SFZ3 has this area nailed down solidly. Wi-Fi battles are supported and are blissfully easy to configure. The wireless revolution still manages to impress and bouts are totally lag-free. Two-player rivalries are as much fun as ever, although with the PSP’s woeful controls, long-time SF players will turn the air blue for a very different reason than usual.
Capcom have crafted a fine portable version of one of their finest one-on-one fighters, but all their hard work is ultimately undone by the host hardware. The PSP was simply not built around 2D fighting games. Even putting the d-pad issues aside, the console’s button layout does not lend itself to Capcom’s ever-present ‘six button’ system. Fighting games are all about split-second timing and fluid control, and any sacrifice in these areas is going to impact on the player’s enjoyment of the game. As soon as the player feels they cannot rely on the controls, then the game becomes frustrating as key moves are missed and chances spurned. Capcom must be applauded for trying to rectify the issue with the free d-pad – but as it was not included with every copy it cannot be seen as a proper solution. As a result, it’s hard to endorse a game that is bound to cause so much annoyance and frustration.
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System: Sony PlayStation Portable
Genre: Fighter
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Players: 1-2
Version: Japan
Reviewed: Apr 2006
Writer: Damien McFerran
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Pros:
- Pixel-perfect conversion
- Impressive depth
- Excellent Wi-Fi battle option
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Cons:
- PSP d-pad limits playability
- Not hugely different from other versions
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Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper Video: 4.4MB
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