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Why is Third Strike the end of Street Fighter's story?

With 4 they were trying to win back the mainstream audience and wanted to bring back the cast of 2, so I guess it made sense to set it between 2 and 3. And 5 continues on from 4, so.....

I mean stories in fighting games, does anyone really give a shit? I never understand why they kill someone off, and if they do, who cares just bring them back. It's a game with green man-beasts, impossible limb physics and energy balls released from your hands, I think ressurrection can surely be added to that list without suspension of disbelief shattering too much.
 
SFIII takes place way in the future and most of the "classic" characters are canonically either dead or no longer interested in fighting. SFIII has some fan favourites but it's the II and Alpha characters people end up being most nostalgic for and the ones that they want to see back.

Third Strike also was a nice place for the storyline to end and considering how V's story ended up, it's probably for the best they leave that ending as it was. The fact that it came out right at the end of the millennium and was the end of the series for almost a decade makes it a poignant place to leave off too.
 

DR2K

Banned
3rd strand me is completely retconned. It's not the end of the story, it's not even a thing.
 

Piers

Member
Ken doesn't make sense, but Akuma does look older in SF3 compared to SFV

That's true — granted, some grey hair on Akuma isn't quite a radical change as a new hair style. The designers wanted to break some conventions here (which is great!) but it's at the expense of chronology.
Ageing should have an easy solution, too: just don't make them look old. They have the benefit of not being constrained by casting live actors for these characters.

But the SF3 bomba is a good point. Wasn't that game originally going to include none of the past Street Fighter characters?
The majority of the cast just seemed too fucking weird and Darkstalkers like. That was the obvious problem. And Gil was clearly a big deal but the story just doesn't really do anything with it.
 
Because they wrote themselves into a corner with stuff like Oro training Ryu and they don't want to commit to that shit when its much easier to recycle the "Ryu is trying really hard to not go full Satsui no Hado" story over and over.
 
SF3 was originally designed to be an entirely new cast of characters with new mechanics to go along with them. It was only later in development were Ryu and Ken were added, and Chun Li didn't even show up until 3rd Strike.

In my opinion, it is the pinnacle of the series. The shit called SF4 and 5 being pumped out by Dimps is a pale shadow of what 3 was and will never reach that echelon again.

Oh well.
 

Sheroking

Member
SF3 characters were a mixed bag at best and they made a decision with SF4 to re-focus on the much more beloved SF2 cast. Going later than SF3 in the timeline means a lot of those characters are going to have to be 50+.

It's one thing for them to give Bison grey hair or give Dhalsim an old-man beard, I don't think they want to it be Seniors Fighter.
 
Uhm Netherrealm games?

Theres a reason why their games outsell most fighting games multiple times.

There are many reasons but story is a huge part of it and people do actually care more than you think.

But the stories are so terrible and not even the focus of fighting games. If you want that type of experience why not play an action game instead?

The real stories are in esports. You guys are missing out.
 

leroidys

Member
SF3 characters were a mixed bag at best and they made a decision with SF4 to re-focus on the much more beloved SF2 cast. Going later than SF3 in the timeline means a lot of those characters are going to have to be 50+.

It's one thing for them to give Bison grey hair or give Dhalsim an old-man beard, I don't think they want to it be Seniors Fighter.

Lies. Every 3S character is great. Even Twelve and Remy.
 
Is Bison actually dead by the time SF3 happens? People keep saying that but isn't that just based on the outdated idea that he canonically died in SF2?

Actually, is anyone even dead? SF4 shows that Rose and Gen are still kicking too.
 

jwhit28

Member
When people say SF3 sales flopped, do they mean arcade sales? SF3 released in arcade in 1997. It was a Dreamcast console exclusive for 4 years after releasing in 2000. 3 of those exclusive years were after Sega killed the thing. Even if the game was an arcade hit that would be a tough situation to have a successful console port in.
 

pizzacat

Banned
Is Bison actually dead by the time SF3 happens? People keep saying that but isn't that just based on the outdated idea that he canonically died in SF2?

Actually, is anyone even dead? SF4 shows that Rose and Gen are still kicking too.
One of Uriens quotes suggest that chun li (and others) were responsible for the downfall of shadaloo which also suggests that dictator is dead
 

Tizoc

Member
Why does every game that's come out since SFIII Third Strike (3S) take place before 3S instead of after? What is it about 3S that makes it the end-all of the Street Fighter story? Is it because Chun Li retires from fighting..?

latest


I never understood why Capcom decided to make every new game a prequel to 3S rather than just continuing the story. Thoughts?
Sf 3 3s was never the 'last sf story' or the end of whatever even constitutes a story narritive in th sf series
Regardless of what capcom would want to state, sf3's events are metely sbout these martial artists duking it out and movng n with their lives and goals
 

pizzacat

Banned
Also the way sfv ends is in line with most of what sf3 says happens

It's almost like they used their old game as a blueprint
 

leroidys

Member
Your terrible personal opinion notwithstanding, there's been no big outcry for half that cast to join SF5. There was no real demand for SF4 either.

There has been an outcry for the most popular characters. People understand that they aren't going to put every single character from 3S into V. I don't understand how some characters being more popular than others means that most of them are terrible.
 

Sheroking

Member
There has been an outcry for the most popular characters. People understand that they aren't going to put every single character from 3S into V. I don't understand how some characters being more popular than others means that most of them are terrible.

The most popular characters being like 4 or 5 out of the dozen.

I can believe people would be hype for Q or Makoto, but Necro? Twelve? Remy? Not a chance. I actually think people would be pissed about the twins or Elena right now.
 

NeonZ

Member
SF3 characters were a mixed bag at best and they made a decision with SF4 to re-focus on the much more beloved SF2 cast. Going later than SF3 in the timeline means a lot of those characters are going to have to be 50+.

They didn't visibly age most characters from Alpha to IV though, and they've stopped tying the games to specific years ever since they started doing these prequels anyway.
 

Scotia

Banned
The most popular characters being like 4 or 5 out of the dozen.

I can believe people would be hype for Q or Makoto, but Necro? Twelve? Remy? Not a chance. I actually think people would be pissed about the twins or Elena right now.

I actually really want Necro but yeah, if you don't like them then they're not worth coming back, right?
 

cj_iwakura

Member
But the stories are so terrible and not even the focus of fighting games. If you want that type of experience why not play an action game instead?

The real stories are in esports. You guys are missing out.
People get invested in the characters they play as. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean they're not enjoyable.
 

Whompa02

Member
It iratates me as well...as someone who actually enjoyed both the fighting game as well as the story, Capcom is just spinning its wheels in the narrative section of the franchise.

I really want to see them continue the story.
 

Peltz

Member
The only SF2/Alpha characters that have died before SF3 is M.Bison and Charlie Nash. Everyone else from those games are still alive.

I mean, it's not like they can't make up some plot that revived those two characters. Clones or something?

It's not like Street Fighter needs to make sense anyway. They could easily move past SFIII in the timeline and still have all the characters if they wanted to.
 

pizzacat

Banned
Bison had separate bodies that he could transfer to

Nash was implied to be some sort of thing like Twelve in Uriens sfv story iirc
 

Peltz

Member
When people say SF3 sales flopped, do they mean arcade sales? SF3 released in arcade in 1997. It was a Dreamcast console exclusive for 4 years after releasing in 2000. 3 of those exclusive years were after Sega killed the thing. Even if the game was an arcade hit that would be a tough situation to have a successful console port in.

Yes, both arcade and console sales flopped. It was on CPS3 which wasn't widely purchased hardware and didn't have a lot of games compared to CPS2. Plus there were issues with CPS3 cabinets (they had suicide batteries) that made arcade owners leery:

The game specific cartridge has a CPU and the decryption keys held in a custom ASIC. If the battery dies or the CPU detects tampering, the keys are erased. The tampering includes variations in voltage, static electricity, pulling the cart out while the game is running or even touching the bottom part of the board while turned on. There are even rumors that connecting the kick harness while running might cause this as well, but this is unconfirmed.

The battery can be changed to prevent it from committing suicide, and this should be done once every 5 years or whichever is the expected life of the battery used....Nothing can be done by the community regarding suicide cartridges. Capcom of Japan is rumored to still service them through local retailers, but this is unconfirmed .

http://wiki.arcadeotaku.com/w/CPS3
 
In fighting games I really don't care about the story.
Take away my favorite characters and there will be a riot.

The absolute worst thing to do in fighting games is the removal of a character that you like.
Franchises have ended entirely for me because of that.
 

Eolz

Member
But the stories are so terrible and not even the focus of fighting games. If you want that type of experience why not play an action game instead?

The real stories are in esports. You guys are missing out.

SFV has proven that you don't sell a game with just esports.

edit:
Is there any good SF lore analysis video on yt?

Don't think so, the lore is a mess, especially once you go into power levels.
 

NEO0MJ

Member
I actually really want Necro but yeah, if you don't like them then they're not worth coming back, right?

He's not wrong about certain characters, though. How many people would be excited to see Twelve as the next SF V character?
 

Seik

Banned
I'd love to see an older Ken teaching the art of fighting to his son, Mel, who could become a new fighter down the line.
 
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