The first handheld version of Street Fighter Alpha 3 looks pretty good on the GBA, but the super-condensed sprites, though charming, definitely aren't arcade perfect. If you're well-acquainted with the visuals on the arcade or previous console versions, you'll immediately notice a few "cut corners" here and there. Character sprites have drastically been shrunk down in size, offering less pixels and far less detail... but at least they still retain the excellent "anime" art style of the SFA series and do resemble the originals fairly well. Once again, the graphics in the GBA version might be disappointing to those who are used to the arcade version's animated sprites, but a 9 year old kid who never played Street Fighter in his life wouldn't know the difference.

 

 

Even as a deep appreciator of SFA3's original arcade graphics, I'll admit the stages translated rather nicely to the Gameboy Advance. There's a certain charm to seeing the character sprites and especially the backgrounds "condensed" into smaller versions — which actually still look impressive on the tiny GameBoy Advance screen. The stage music / BGMs translated fairly well... but definitely have a lower quality "midi" sound to them. The excellent soundtrack of the arcade version is obviously far superior, as the "tinny" and over-synthesized GBA soundtrack might hurt the ears a bit. Even so, the updated tracks are still kinda interesting to listen to if you're a fan of the original SFA3 soundtrack.

 

 

The main flaw of SFA Upper in GameBoy Advance is expectedly, the controls. Depending on the character you choose, the controls will either feel "subpar at best" or just plain bad. The GBA directional pad can mange your typical Hadoken and Shoryuken motions halfway decently, but 360s were damn near impossible (at least on the GBA I was using to test this game). The obvious limitations of the GBA pad are indeed the main flaw... potentially rendering great grappler characters like Zangief and R. Mika pretty useless. And that's a major flaw if you like using grapplers like I do. I haven't tried playing this game on a Nintendo DS, but I'd imagine there's a slight improvement in the controls on DS or 3DS.

 

 
Street Fighter Alpha 3 UPPER on GameBoy Advance features the following modes: Arcade, Versus (requiring 2 GBA systems / 2 games), Survival, Time Attack, and Dramatic Battle — making the impressive jump from the Sega Dreamcast version to the humble GameBoy Advance. Dramatic Battle is arguably the most enjoyable aspect of the game, with lots of action on screen thanks to three characters fighting at once. Three-man free for all battles are still pretty fun... even with non-arcade-perfect graphics and controls.

 

Page Updated: November 14th, 2024 Developer(s): Capcom Publisher(s): Capcom Artwork by: Bengus Shinsuke Komaki Harumaru     (Rough drafts for ending art) Uji Platform(s): Arcade, Gameboy Advance Release Date(s): March 2001               Arcade December 2002       Gameboy Advance Characters:  Ryu, Adon, Chun-Li, Guy, Ken, Dhalsim, Gen, Sakura, Rolento, Zangief, Charlie, Birdie, Rose, Sodom, Sagat, Akuma, Bison, Dan, E. Honda, Cody, Karin, Vega, Blanka, R.Mika, Cammy, Balrog, Juli, Juni, Guile, Fei Long, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, Yun, Maki, Eagle, Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma Featured Video: Related Games: Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Capcom Fighting Collection 2, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha: Anthology, Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival, Ultra SF2, Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, Guilty Gear X: Advance Edition, King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood, King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood, Tekken Advance, SNK Gals Fighters, SNK Vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium    Gameplay Engine  7.5 / 10 Story / Theme  9.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  7.0 / 10 Animation  8.0 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  7.5 / 10 Innovation  7.0 / 10 Art Direction  8.5 / 10 Customization  9.0 / 10 Options / Extras  7.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation  9.5 / 10 Replayability / Fun  5.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  6.0 / 10 Characters  9.0 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  7.8 / 10   Review based on GameBoy Advance version       Final Words: Throughout its lifespan... Street Fighter Alpha 3 had many welcomed (yet confusing) enhancements and title changes, with limited releases to make the matter all the more confusing. I never saw a SFA3 UPPER arcade machine anywhere in North America, for example... and I only heard of this game when it released on GameBoy Advance in 2002 (and wasn't interested because it was on GameBoy Advance). The addition of great characters like Guile, Dee Jay, Fei Long, T. Hawk, and others made SFA3 a more visually impressive and enjoyable fighting game for arcade-goers who got to experience this game in 2001. Owning SFA3 UPPER was probably a no-brainer if you were a Gameboy Advance owner. It was a decent attempt at handheld version of Street Fighter Alpha 3, but had noticeable flaws for arcade perfectionists. The downgraded and condensed graphics and potentially stiff controls held it back at the time.   I preferred the Arcade and Dreamcast version for obvious reasons (controls). On the bright side, you could say SFA3 UPPER on GameBoy Advance was a stepping stone to Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX released on PSP... which ended up being a much better portable version of SFA3 that Capcom could really be proud of. SFA3 MAX (also called Upper Upper) offers the same impressive character roster as the GBA version, with the addition of Capcom Fighting Evolution's cute magical girl, Ingrid. If you're looking for the best handheld version of SFA3 to play (and one of the best Street Fighter titles on the market) you should definitely check out SFA3 MAX for PSP. ~TFG Webmaster | @FIGHTERS_GEN      Click Here for all Posters / Box Artwork! Click Here for all Screenshots! FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES