Collection of various translated material regarding the release and reception of Capcom’s CPS3 board and its marquee games.
Gamest Magazine (September 30, 1996)
Capcom’s Private Show was open for business in August, and what awaited us was…
Street Fighter III
Although it was only a video, we finally got a look at Street Fighter III. We’ve published a part of the video they played in this column.
Go to the Private Show!
August 8th was the day of Capcom’s Private Show. The main subject was the announcement of their new CP System III board. For the board’s debut title, Capcom announced Warzard, a fantasy themed action game. Outside of Warzard, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold was also on the show floor. Other than that, some slighter titles like a rock-paper-scissors game [Go! Go! Connie-chan Jaka Jaka Janken] were also there.
The biggest announcements
I’m writing this on the following day, the 9th, and they’ve announced “we’re going to show a video of (…) now” (I already forgot exactly what they said). I was a bit curious so I took a look, and they started screening Warzard. Then when Warzard was over, oh my gosh! Street Fighter III was on screen! The video was short, but it seemed like quite a change for the series. From what I could tell from the video, Ryu looked more like how he appeared in Street Fighter II than Alpha. Seems like it’s going to take place after Street Fighter II after all (though that’s still not 100% clear).
They showed off quite a few characters, and ones that personally stood out to me (this is Wilder KEI writing) were a character who looked like Linn Kurosawa and one who looked like a grown-up version of ○○i from that certain anime [my best guess is he’s talking about Rei from Evangelion and referring to Elena due to having a similar light-colored haircut. They couldn’t really get a very clear look at the footage].
It seems like Street Fighter III will be released as the second title for CP System. All surrounding people were briefly frozen in place with their eyes fixed on the video. I truly cannot wait to see what they show next for the game.
Gamest Magazine (October 15, 1996)
AM Show 1996 Report
Gamest Special Correspondent Reports
[This is a collection of guest opinions written by show attendees Gamest solicited]
[…]
Out of all of these kind of action games, our top pick was Warzard (Capcom).
Warzard is a game that strongly interweaves elements of action and fighting, and although at a glance it looks like your standard 2D fighting game, the heavy story elements leave an impression similar to Capcom’s Dungeons and Dragons games.
Another key feature is the use of passwords, an element of action games since classic titles like The Return of Ishtar.
Thanks to this, I think each playthrough will become more and more interesting. The characters and the game’s style also have a unique flavor.
This game is my top pick because even though puzzle and quiz games suited for all audiences are fine and good, I’ve been wanting this kind of action game that you have to learn and master like you did back in the day.
I hope everyone who’s able to gives Warzard a play.
(Tokyo, Kaiji of the East)
Which game was the strongest?
Operator Top 20
The games that, from an operator standpoint, seem like they have a lot of value, and they would like to buy, or think will sell well.
1. Virtua Fighter 3 (282 votes)
2. X-Men vs Street Fighter (106 votes)
3. Street Fighter III (54 votes)
4. Warzard (52 votes)
5. G Darius (51 votes)
6. Dead or Alive (40 votes)
7. Street Fighter EX (31 votes)
8. Tokyo Wars (23 votes)
9. Sega Touring Car Championship (22 votes)
9. Samurai Shodown 4 (22 votes)
[…]
Player Top 20
The games judged on the impressions of players to tried them on the show floor.
[Street Fighter III and G Darius are not on the list because they were only present in video form]
1. Virtua Fighter 3 (547 votes)
2. X-Men vs Street Fighter (489 votes)
3. Warzard (277 votes)
4. Dead or Alive (185 votes)
5. Samurai Shodown 4 (176 votes)
6. Street Fighter EX (167 votes)
7. Terra Diver (102 votes)
8. Tokyo Wars (100 votes)
9. Waku Waku 7 (98 votes)
10. Taisen Tokkae-dama (75 votes)
[…]
General Top 20
Games with a strong impact, that left an impression regardless of whether or not you played it.
1. Virtua Fighter 3 (608 votes)
2. X-Men vs Street Fighter (509 votes)
3. G Darius (242 votes)
4. Warzard (211 votes)
5. Dead or Alive (166 votes)
6. Samurai Shodown 4 (148 votes)
7. Street Fighter EX (135 votes)
8. Street Fighter III (111 votes)
9. Waku Waku 7 (92 votes)
10. Tokyo Wars (80 votes)
AM Show Roundtable
All eyes in the fighting genre are on VF3 and XvSF
Kawata: Just by looking at the rankings, and the fact that Virtua Fighter 3 and X-Men vs Street fighter top every list, you can see these are the big two. How do you feel about that?
Senji: In Virtua Fighter 3’s case, I think that’s because it’s about to make it to market. People have high expectations for it, so it’s only natural that it would place how it did.
CHU: The visuals have definitely gotten prettier, but I have to wonder how much the game itself changed.
N.O: I think that it’s changed quite a bit thanks to the E button and individual character changes. It’s just that the general public and editorial department are still only playing it like Virtua Fighter 2.
MVP: At a show you have lots of people lined up, so it’s the kind of environment where people just do what works. Like when you’re at an arcade and the cabs are on the same side and you have a crowd of people watching.
The quality of XvSF
Kawata: X-Men vs Street Fighter was popular enough to give Virtua Fighter 3 a run for its money.
Hummer: It was pretty popular. It felt like it broke the rules in a good way. Like, are you really allowed to shoot a Hadouken that big.
J-Sasa: Letting you pull off so many crazy moves so easily gives it a lot of appeal. You take one look at it and you’re like “whoa, this game is awesome, I gotta try it”.
But having something be difficult is what gives you a feeling of satisfaction when it’s done, so I wonder how this will feel.
DS: I think one thing that stood out to people who played X-Men or Marvel Super Heroes is how little damage Aerial Raves do.
N.O: Nerfing them just makes me feel like I need to do more of them.
Hummer: That’s because you’re still attached to Aerial Raves as someone who played Marvel Super Heroes.
DS: Right now Aerial Raves don’t do much damage, but Hyper Combos do a ton of damage. Based on this, it feels like safe play is the way to do.
Gii: Particularly for Street Fighter characters.
Senji: There’s parts of the game that are really fun, but there’s also characters where I have to wonder why they made them so weak, and characters who seem particularly strong. Where if you pause for a second you get hit by a devastating attack. The kind of feeling where you don’t really get what’s going on. All we can really do is play the game and find out. But at a fundamental level, I think there’s a kind of appeal in that confusion, and that’s what the game is aiming for. So I think it’ll be very popular at arcades for some time.
Mixed feelings on the polygonal Street Fighter!?
Kawata: I think Street Fighter EX stood out in the scheme of polygonal games. What did you think of it?
Gii: Like, did you land crossup body press into repeated crouching light punch into Spinning Piledriver.
RED: I got destroyed by medium kick into Final Atomic Buster. It felt like playing SFII again.
Kawata: Meaning it feels like 2D? So it doesn’t have anything like a dodge. Was there anything about it that felt 3D?
MVP: It feels just like SFII. So I’m really wondering why it’s even 3D at all. There’s obviously the visual element, but it seems like the gameplay hasn’t particularly changed.
Senji: I think the way hitboxes on special moves work has changed. So I think the reason they made it polygonal is more to try to give it a Street Fighter II type appeal rather than as a sales gimmick.
RED: I think SFII fans can jump in and have fun with it without feeling like something’s off.
D.S: Being able to start playing like “wahaha, everything I know works the same way” is fun and all, but there’s no joy like “alright, let’s give this a shot”, “so this crosses up, huh”, where you get into the game and try to learn how it works.
Jockey Sasaoka: I would’ve liked to see some new systems that weren’t in Street Fighter II. I think that kind of novelty would be enough to get me to play it.
[…]
Kawata: It’s not exactly a fighting game, but what did you think of Warzard?
Gii: Just based on looks, the colors are really nice and the characters are dope.
Senji: I personally like them, but it seems like feelings may vary on the characters.
MVP: I’d rather try to tackle this game like an action game than have fights with other players in it.
ACE: The game’s still in development, but as it is now I have some concerns about the balance in the fights. I feel like it could use something like more scaling effects. There’s just a lot of areas that are a bit lacking.
Senji: It’s something I’d like to be excited about just because it’s a brand new type of game. But I feel like balancing it will be difficult for just that reason.
AM Show Writer Top Picks
Gii: 1. X-Men vs Street Fighter, 2. Samurai Shodown 4, 3. Waku Waku 7
N.O: 1. Samurai Shodown 4
Risshuta: 1. G Darius, 2. X-Men vs Street Fighter
Hummer: 1. Waku Waku 7, 2. Taisen Tokkae-dama
MVP: 1. Twinkle Star Sprites, 2. Terra Diver, 3. Warzard
J Sasaoka: 1. Twinkle Star Sprites, 2. Taisen Tokkae-dama, 3. Kizuna Encounter
Kyokyuu Freak: 1. Samurai Shodown 4, 2. Waku Waku 7, 3. X-Men vs Street Fighter
DS-1: 1. X-Men vs Street Fighter, 2. G Darius
Keijou: 1. Dancing Eyes, 2. Purikura Daisakusen
RED: 1. Terra Diver
Kenkou Tasoku: 1. Twinkle Star Sprites, 2. Street Fighter III
CHU: 1. Samurai Shodown 4, 2. Twinkle Star Sprites, 3. G Darius
Dr. ACE: 1. Magical Date, 2. Quiz Sailor Moon, 3. Twinkle Star Sprites
Senji Ishii: 1. X-Men vs Street Fighter, 2. Street Fighter EX, 3. Dancing Eyes
Shakkin: 1. Street Fighter EX
MoMo: 1. Street Fighter III, 2. Tokyo Wars
C-LAN: 1. Virtual Fighter 3, 2. G Darius
Kirari-ya: 1. G Darius
Inarin: 1. Magical Zunnou Power 2. Quiz Sailor Moon
Zuruzuru: 1. Sega Touring Car Championship, 2. GTI Club, 3. Dancing Eyes
Reader Comments
[There’s many more but I’m focusing on relevant fighting games]
Virtua Figther 3
The VF3 demo was insane. XvSF was busy but good.
Warzard
I’m not particularly excited for VF3, XvSF or Macross Plus. On the other hand, Warzard left an impression thanks to how novel it seems by comparison.
(operator, male, 25)
X-Men vs Street Fighter
This was the game I’m most anticipating. VF3 looks more like Last Bronx than Virtua Fighter.
(unknown, male, 20)
Warzard
It seems a bit lacking as a head to head fighting game, but the action and graphics looked amazing.
(developer, male, 23)
Street Fighter III
It’s great to see Capcom focusing on 2D. I’m looking forward to everything about it.
(operator, female, 20)
X-Men vs Street Fighter
Being flashy is one thing, but this is just hard to see.
(operator, male, 20)
X-Men vs Street Fighter
I’ve been hoping Capcom would release something like this.
(operator, male, 28)
Warzard
It feels like it’s really pushing being a vs fighting game.
(student, male, 22)
Virtua Fighter 3
I haven’t really played much of VF1 or 2 but I definitely want to get into this.
(businessman, male, 24)
Virtua Fighter 3
The movements look realistic, but it’s frustrating that you can’t move around how you think you should.
(businessman, male, 24)
X-Men vs Street Fighter
It’s too flashy and you can’t tell what’s going on, but it’s fun.
(ordinary person, male, 18)
Warzard
Using passwords for fights seems fun. The story is also well-made for single player.
(college student, male, 20)
Virtua Fighter 3
I only got to play it a bit but my opponent was too strong (they were on a 30 win streak).
(gamer, male, 22)
Warzard
Capcom’s fighting games always make good balance look so easy.
(programmer, male, 27)
Virtua Fighter 3
Outside of the E button it feels like VF2.5. I wonder if you can’t really understand the fun of it until you get used to the E button? Though I did have fun with it.
(operator, male, 22)
Street Fighter EX
If you can’t even do jump-in attacks in a polygonal game, it’s no fun.
(developer, male, 30)
Warzard
It looks totally different than in a recording. Your eyes betray you in a good way.
(operator, male, 26)
Street Fighter EX
Street Fighter characters still retain their flavor in polygons.
(operator, male, 26)
X-Men vs Street Fighter
You gotta hand it to Capcom for making a 2D with presentation and sound that lets it stand up to polygonal games.
(operator, male, 22)
Virtua Fighter 3
If you watch the game it seems speedy, but when you actually play it it feels slower than the previous game. Getting up after being downed also feels slower.
(operator, male, 23)
Virtua Fighter 3
It’s kinda sad that the large number of shooting games you saw at the AOU show is so few here. And it’s a shame that there’s so many large-scale showpiece games rather than plain video games. VF3 is amazing. I haven’t been this moved looking at a game demo in a long time.
(unclear, male, 20)
All About Warzard (December 25, 1996)
Developer Interview
[…]
– Did you plan on having this be the debut CPSIII title from the start?
Funamizu: It was a CPSII game at the beginning, but when it was determined that we would need more games for CPSIII, Warzard was one of the targets chosen. But at that point the CPSIII board itself still had a ways to go in development, so that drew out the completion of the game (laughs).
[…]
– Mr. Yasuda oversees the graphics of Capcom’s games as a whole, but do you have any particular memories regarding Warzard’s graphics?
Yasuda: I’m always approaching games with the policy of “let’s make the most beautiful thing in the universe”, but I think this time we made something that’s just that.
– The best in the universe! So that aim to make certain parts of a game “the best in the universe” is present in each game?
Yasuda: Of course, if a game doesn’t have a selling point, that won’t do. What 3D games can do with polygons, 2D games need to do with sheer manpower. But in the end, however much you toiled on a game doesn’t affect the user’s valuation of it. So this time, we wanted to use all of the hardware’s power and make something cooler than anything out there. Setting foot into a graphical level that humans haven’t yet reached. And even though I feel like we would die if we did more than this, I still want to do even more next time (laughs).
– How many of Warzard’s graphical elements were only possible due to the performance of CPSIII?
Yasuda: We wanted to make something that couldn’t be done if it wasn’t on CPSIII. CPSII had a maximum of 4096 colors, but with CPSIII we can use up to 32000 colors. And the number of color shades we could use going from 16 to 32 was big. We were able to add some depth to the backgrounds with this.
[…]
– Were there lots of people working on sprites?
Funamizu: Not that many compared to Street Fighter III. We had plans for it to be even fewer, but thanks to Yasuda’s schemes it ended up like this (laughs).
[…]
– Is this technique [using 3D models for effects and to assist with spriting complex characters] something you did because it’s CPSIII?
Yasuda: That’s part of it. We had to know how to make things in 3D, but we also needed to make a 2D game. So when we tried to figure out what to do, this is what we came up with.
Funamizu: Since the number of sprites a game needs increases year after year, we were fumbling around for a way to develop graphics for a game more quickly. So we integrated this technique, but because we were learning while we were developing, it ended up actually taking twice as long (laughs).
[…]
– Were there any changes to the sound component of the game thanks to CPSIII?
Iwai: The sampling quality improved. Because Street Fighter Alpha 2 had 18 voiced characters and Warzard only had 4, we thought we could have them talk 4 times as much. But monster voices and sound effects ended up taking up a lot of space, so in the end we had to tone it down quite a bit. Though we thought that if the game is constantly talking it will seem more lively, so we tried to implement voice as much as we could.
[…]
– I’d like to hear from the programmer some, so were there any particularly difficult parts of this game’s development?
Uragou: I figured I would start by studying the CPSIII board, and then work on the game’s base systems… but reaching the point where I understood the capabilities of the board didn’t progress like I had expected.
– What was programming for CPSIII like?
Uragou: It was tough because I lacked know-how from working on the system, but the actual programming was easier thanks to the programming language changing from assembly to C. I think when we move on to the second and third CPSIII games, they’ll get more and more polished.
[…]
– Are you worried about whether you’ll be able to bring a game with such huge characters and so many sprites to home systems?
Funamizu: Part of the plan was to develop a home version, but it’s definitely tough to do with the way the game is now. But we want to figure out some way to release a Warzard you can play at home.
Yasuda: But we also don’t necessarily want to make games that you could just easily plop onto consoles.
– Meaning, part of the appeal of arcade games is that there are parts you can’t experience at home?
Funamizu: That’s right. Arcade fans consider it something of a status symbol, and I’m not so sure myself about the idea of just putting anything and everything on home systems. Either way, when I think in terms of trying to retain the game’s quality, and considering current home hardware specs, I think Street Fighter Alpha 2 is pretty much the limit of what we can do.
– So, for instance, a home version of Warzard would need to become a true RPG?
Funamizu: It wouldn’t be like that. If we were to do it, we’d need to shrink the size of the player characters, and get rid of Hauzer, replacing him with another enemy, but we’d still want to port it in a way that retains the core foundation of the game.
– When you also consider Street Fighter III, I’m sure you all are hoping for home game systems to get more RAM.
Funamizu: We’re hoping for it, but factoring in price, it seems like it’d be tough so we’re not too optimistic. Either way, if we do release a home version, I think it’ll be quite a bit after the arcade version, so it’d be nice if the price of RAM drops by then…
[…]
Gamest Magazine (April 15, 1997)
AOU Show 1997 Report
AOU Show Game Popularity Ranking
* The operator category is only for questionnaires given to operators. The playable category covers all respondents, but only for video games actually playable on the show floor (as opposed to those which were only videos, or prize games). The general category is for all respondents, for any game shown at the show.
The total number of votes tallied was 3927. Thank you for your cooperation.
General Category:
1. Vampire Savior (1095 votes)
2. Tekken 3 (448 votes)
3. Street Fighter III (370 votes)
4. Densha de Go (324 votes)
5. G Darius (192 votes)
6. Samurai Shodown Neo Geo 64 (147 votes)
7. Armadillo Racing (103 votes)
8. Tokimeki Memorial Oshiete your heart (89 votes)
9. The House of the Dead (88 votes)
10. Dodonpachi (71 votes)
[…]
Playable Category:
1. Vampire Savior (1080 votes)
2. Tekken 3 (480 votes)
3. Street Fighter III (455 votes)
4. Densha de Go (232 votes)
5. G Darius (218 votes)
6. Magical Drop 3 (114 votes)
7. The House of the Dead (111 votes)
8. Armadillo Racing (94 votes)
9. Kosodate Quiz My Angel 2 (80 votes)
10. Dodonpachi (78 votes)
[…]
Operator Category:
1. Vampire Savior (243 votes)
2. Tekken 3 (123 votes)
3. Street Fighter III (114 votes)
4. Densha de Go (97 votes)
5. Tokimeki Memorial Oshiete your heart (53 votes)
6. G Darius (31 votes)
6. Armadillo Racing (31 votes)
8. Virtua Striker 2 (28 votes)
9. Samurai Shodown Neo Geo 64 (25 votes)
10. The House of the Dead (22 votes)
What game at ’97 AOU show was the strongest!? Gamest Editor Roundtable
Shimoden: Let’s start by talking about impressions of the show as a whole.
C-LAN: It seems like fighting games are as strong as ever, and you really can’t get away with making anything but well-made games now. And this is a recent trend, but it seems like we’re seeing more video demonstrations of in-development titles now.
Su-san: Looking at each booth, I feel like Taito in particular stood out. You had Densha de Go at the front, the Magical Date girls drawing you in further, and then G Darius at the center holding it all together.
ACE: Capcom’s booth felt nice and unified. You had all these games meeting various player needs lined up all nice.
Shimoden: Alright, let’s get right into the games that caught our attention.
Shimoden: In first place on the poll, we have Vampire Savior. What did you all think of it? I’d like to ask those who got to play it on the show floor.
DS1: I like the game’s characters enough that I’ll play it regardless of the actual content of the game. Though I personally can’t come to like Buletta.
Hummer: Bulleta’s the best for me.
MOMO: Q-Bee stood out to me the most of the new characters, but seeing her movement and attacks in action was better than I even imagined. Particularly the move where she lays an egg in her opponent, dies, and is born again from her opponent is the kind of move you could only have in Vampire Savior. They really nailed the bug-like element.
DS1: I’d like to see a little bit more work done on the game, though. Some of the movement is still rough, and the old characters really haven’t changed…
N.O: I hope they change some of the old characters’ moves before launch.
Senji: Some of the characters’ signature moves, like Shell Kick, are gone, and I feel like they’ve had some general changes to their ability. I understand getting rid of something that’s a bit absurd, but I hope they can balance it so the characters don’t lose their unique appeal. So it would be nice if they had some other moves that feel as good to land…
KAL: One thing that stood out to me is the life system. Once you run out of life, it fills back up. I feel like a system where you need to empty two life gauges in one round is hard to understand.
Jockey: If you get Perfect-ed on the first round, then it’s your one life gauge against their two full bars. It seems like it makes comebacks extremely difficult. I feel like there will be a lot of Time Ups.
C-LAN: I get wanting to try something new, but since it’s still in development we’ll need to see how it actually ends up. I hope they can take their time and make it into something good.
Shimoden: And how about the other main focus of the event, Tekken 3?
SHO: This is a really easy game to get into if you’ve played Tekken 2, so I think people who have been spending time with the PlayStation version will feel at home.
MVP: There are a lot of people who have been gradually getting into Tekken 2 on the PlayStation, so this seems like it should do well.
Momoyan: On that note, even the people on the show floor were all good, and I was knocked out before I even knew it. I get the feeling playing in arcades will be brutal.
Kyasao: I think so too. There will be quite a gap for people who are starting with Tekken 3. But there’s all kinds of new stuff in the game, so I think it’s still worth a shot.
Adois: The new moves feel like they have purpose and will be key to learn, so that part left a good impression.
Shimoden: Seems like there’s some high hopes for Tekken 3. Let’s talk about Street Fighter III next.
KAL: Street Fighter III feels different from previous Street Fighter games in that the play tempo feels faster. You can play Ryu and Ken the same way you have before, but I think that with the new characters it won’t be quite so easy.
MVP: It seems like a game you’d get hooked on. I can’t really tell if it’s the kind of game where you start playing it and immediately go “wow this is so fun!”. But I think that if you learn the game and get a feel for the mechanics, you’ll have some fun matches.
Shakkin: I think the thing that will get people to really learn the game is how deep the characters in SFIII are. I was totally in sync with Elena, but I think there are a lot of people who will have trouble getting into it. A concern that learning such unconventional new characters won’t end up being worth it.
ACE: By “unconventional” you mean not necessarily every character has a Hadoken and Shoryuken, so the way you have to play them differs. Though I think that just like Zangief back in the day, there will be a point where lots of people want to learn them because they’re unconventional.
MVP: Personally, I like how the difference between the characters means I have to consider not just my own fighting style, but also how to counter the opponent. I think that element of “how do I fight each character” is what will get people into the game.
Jockey: I’d like to see a bit more flash. The effects are pretty plain, and you don’t have any really cool-looking moves that you have to think carefully about using. Fighting games are the kind of thing where impressive visuals you notice at a glance can be enough to get people interested in playing.
[…]
Gamest Writer AOU Show Top Picks
[They only did one pick each this year so I’ll just tally them]
Tekken 3 – 5 picks
Vampire Savior – 8 picks
Densha de Go – 3 picks
The House of the Dead – 1 pick
Battle Circuit – 1 pick
Dodonpachi – 2 picks
Sol Divide – 2 picks
Street Fighter III – 1 pick
Virtua Striker 2 – 1 pick
Samurai Shodown 64 – 1 pick
Prize game – 1 pick
None – 2 picks
Reader Survey Comments
[Going to translate ones I think are more relevant]
– General show impressions
Compared to last time where it felt like nothing but fighting games, this one felt a lot more interesting with more variety.
(operator, 23, male)
My honest impression is “pretty uneventful”. I felt like shooting games and large-scale cabinets are in good shape (putting aside income), but fighting games aren’t looking very lively. I feel like from here on it’s going to be a decisive battle between originality and aesthetics.
(other, 22, male)
I wish people playing fighting games would’ve followed the rules and handed off to the next person after one game.
(other, 23, male)
There were lots of polygonal games, but Capcom’s 2D games are still fun all the same. I’m not convinced the Neo Geo 64 is actually going to come out. I think the need to focus on improving quality a bit, and maybe it would be better to just not worry about 3D.
(other, 27, male)
– Game impressions
Vampire Savior
It’s a shame about the cut characters. I hope they take their time with balancing the game.
(student, 20, male)
Vampire Savior
Just by nature of it being the sequel to the perfection of mechanics and balance that is Vampire Hunter, I have huge hopes.
(student, 21, male)
Street Fighter III
It may not be the flashiest game, but it seems fresh in a back-to-basics kind of way.
(freeter, 19, male)
Street Fighter III
The way it returned to the era of Street Fighter II to try something new seems fun.
(operator, 21, male)
Tekken 3
It seems like an extremely complete game, with every character being interesting.
(other, 19, male)
Tekken 3
If they port this to PlayStation, they’re going to be making even more income.
(operator, 25, male)
[…]
Gamest Magazine (January 30, 1998)
Gamest Awards 1997
Overall Awards:
1. Vampire Savior (320 pts)
2. KOF97 (269 pts)
3. Densha de Go (224 pts)
4. Dodonpachi (199 pts)
5. G Darius (171 pts)
5. Tekken 3 (171 pts)
7. Street Fighter III (154 pts)
8. Marvel vs Street Fighter (89 pts)
9. None (76 pts)
10. Twinkle Star Sprites (74 pts)
11. Samurai Shodown 4 (42 pts)
12. Pocket Fighter (35 pts)
13. Street Fighter EX (30 pts)
13. Breakers (30 pts)
15. Virtua Fighter 3tb (26 pts)
16. Waku Waku 7 (20 pts)
17. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (19 pts)
18. The House of the Dead (17 pts)
19. Dead or Alive (13 pts)
20. Top Skater (12 pts)
* Points are the total number of votes converted to 1000
7. Street Fighter III
The game that one could call the true successor to the game that kicked off the current fighting game boom, Street Fighter II.
Worth special mention is the new system added to the “attack, block, throw” foundation set by SFII, “parrying”. Unfortunately, actually using it and understanding how to integrate it into attack and defense is a bit difficult for many.
The game currently has a sequel releasing, with a third iteration confirmed. I think that when we reevaluate it in the future, it’ll soon be considered a masterpiece.
Best Action Game:
1. Densha de Go (396 pts)
2. The House of the Dead (216 pts)
3. None (209 pts)
4. Warzard (182 pts)
5. Battle Circuit (129 pts)
6. Magical Drop 3 (199 pts)
7. Dancing Eyes (110 pts)
8. Puyo Puyo Sun (78 pts)
9. Tokimeki Memorial Oshiete your heart (55 pts)
9. Final Furlong (55 pts)
4th place is Capcom’s Warzard, the first title for the CPS3 board. The graphics are beautiful and the password system leaves an impression, but as a game it’s a bit lacking, so it misses the podium.
Best Fighting Game:
1. Vampire Savior (363 pts)
2. The King of Fighters ’97 (298 pts)
3. Tekken 3 (263 pts)
4. Street Fighter III (237 pts)
5. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (145 pts)
6. None (125 pts)
7. Waku Waku 7 (97 pts)
8. Pocket Fighter (93 pts)
9. Samurai Shodown 4 (87 pts)
10. Street Fighter EX (78 pts)
In 4th place is Capcom’s Street Fighter III, with the debut of the new parrying mechanic. It’s a very hardcore mechanic, so it’s gotten high praise from a subset of players. We’re looking forward to supporting the sequel.
Best Graphics:
1. Street Fighter III (227 pts)
2. G Darius (214 pts)
3. Virtua Fighter 3tb (107 pts)
4. Vampire Savior (96 pts)
5. None (85 pts)
6. Tekken 3 (80 pts)
7. Dodonpachi (58 pts)
8. Densha de Go (57 pts)
9. Warzard (55 pts)
9. Dead or Alive (55 pts)
[…]
And the title chosen for the glorious top spot in the graphics division is Capcom’s hot title, Street Fighter III.
The latest title in the Street Fighter series replaces the CPSII board used up until now with the brand new CPSIII board. With this high-spec, high-capacity board, the all-important color count and smoothness of movement have improved, bringing about a huge growth in animation quality. Giving Capcom, already renowned for their animation skill, this kind of high-end board is literally like giving a demon a metal club.
I’ll never forget how shocked I was when I first saw Elena.
(Tokyo, Shinsuke Yamazaki)
We’ve gotten lots of these kind of comments singing the praises of the game’s lively animations, with a direct line from previous 2D fighting games. I think it’s more than fair to call this the peak of 2D graphics up until now.
Best Music:
1. G Darius (492 pts)
2. None (383 pts)
3. Vampire Savior (187 pts)
4. The King of Fighters ’97 (145 pts)
5. Street Fighter III (78 pts)
5. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter (78 pts)
7. Samurai Shodown 4 (67 pts)
8. Tekken 3 (51 pts)
9. Densha de Go (42 pts)
9. Dodonpachi (42 pts)
Favorite Developer:
1. Capcom (743 pts)
2. SNK (296 pts)
3. Taito (263 pts)
4. Namco (163 pts)
5. Sega (125 pts)
[…]
Yearly Ranking Charts:
Player Popularity:
1. Virtua Fighter 3 (3997 pts)
2. Tekken 3 (3045 pts)
3. X-Men vs Street Fighter (2282 pts)
4. Vampire Savior (1754 pts)
5. Dodonpachi (1358 pts)
6. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (1354 pts)
7. Street Fighter III (1331 pts)
8. Samurai Shodown 4 (1311 pts)
9. Street Fighter EX (1215 pts)
10. Battle Garegga (1123 pts)
11. The King of Fighters 97 (1098 pts)
12. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On (1061 pts)
13. The King of Fighters 96 (987 pts)
14. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter (854 pts)
15. Raiden Fighters (819 pts)
16. G Darius (778 pts)
17. Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (699 pts)
18. Warzard (502 pts)
19. Dead or Alive (467 pts)
20. Raystorm (288 pts)
Income Ranking:
1. Virtua Fighter 3 (4510 pts)
2. Tekken 3 (3106 pts)
3. X-Men vs Street Fighter (2419 pts)
4. Street Fighter III (2091 pts)
5. Vampire Savior (1688 pts)
6. Samurai Shodown 4 (1501 pts)
7. Real Bout Fatal Fury Special (1474 pts)
8. Cyber Troopers Virtual-On (1184 pts)
9. The King of Fighters 97 (1061 pts)
10. Dodonpachi (944 pts)
11. Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (935 pts)
12. The King of Fighters 96 (916 pts)
13. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter (911 pts)
14. Street Fighter EX (872 pts)
15. Raiden Fighters (774 pts)
16. Virtua Striker 2 (541 pts)
17. Dead or Alive (488 pts)
18. Battle Garegga (410 pts)
18. Kosodate Quiz My Angel 2 (410 pts)
20. G Darius (398 pts)