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General: Also known as Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper Upper, Capcom's first Street Fighter project for the Sony PSP! ...And they nailed it. Finally, a handheld Street Fighter that is "arcade perfect," (and then some)!!! SFA3 was no doubt one of the best Street Fighter games ever, and in many opinions, one of the best 2D fighting games ever. Capcom tried valiantly once before to bring SFA to a handheld with Street Fighter Alpha 3: Upper for Game Boy Advance, but it lacked arcade quality; however, it did add the characters Yun, Maki, and Eagle to the line-up, which are also found in SFA3: Max.
   Now, Capcom has a more advanced handheld to work with, and with a snap of their fingers, they threw in Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution, some kick ass modes, and just made one of the best 2D fighters ever, better! Capcom is certainly loyal to their fans, and will most likely create some new ones with this title. It rocks.
   ALL the classic features from the console versions of SFA3 are back: Arcade mode, Training mode, Survival Mode, Dramatic Battle (1 player & 1 AI VS another AI), Reverse Dramatic Battle (2 AIs VS 1 player), World Tour mode, Edit mode, etc.  And if that's not enough for you, Capcom went ahead threw in a brand new mode, exclusively for the PSP, called "Variable Battle." AKA... Tag mode. When you're close to your opponent, you hit LP and MK, or LK and MP to tag. Your partner will jump in with a flying kick, similar to that of MvC2. I thought this mode was gonna be 2 vs 2, which would have been great, but unfortunately it can only be done 2 VS 1...  Grrrrr. However, 3 people with 3 PSPs can play at the same time, in either Dramatic or Variable Battle. Very cool.
   The 2 VS 1 battles are intense... Having 3 street fighters on the screen at the same time is always entertaining, and quite a challenge if you're going up against 2 decent computer AIs, or perhaps two skilled human opponents. An awesome mode, and much more complete than the "limited" Dramatic Battle found on the original Playstation version of SFA3.
   The graphics are as sharp as ever on the PSP's superb high definition screen. All the background and character details that you might have missed before are now more vibrant than ever. As the fighters move around, they also create "trails," a common trait of the PSP's graphics when certain colors/contrasts blend together. This creates an exceptionally cool effect... some bonus eye candy to an already beautiful work of art that is SFA3: Max. The transparent-like trails also allow for a better appreciation of the smooth animation in this game (and they look especially cool when you're buzzed).
   So how are the controls, you ask? Well... I can pull off perfect 360s, shoryukens, hadoukens, and double hadouken movements with absolutely no trouble at all... And can nail my custom V-ism combos consistently.  Diagonals take some getting used to, but you can find a replacement D-pad for the PSP if the default pad bothers you... It doesn't bother me a bit. Don't judge the control the first couple times you play the game, it takes getting used to.. AKA Practice!!
   "But I'm used to a 6 button controller!" I can hear the excuses for your losing already...  Well, most likely the problem lays within your fingers, not the buttons on the PSP. Arcade sticks and 6 button controllers are fun, but there's no reason why you can't play the game using the shoulder buttons as MP and MK as I do... It works for me anyway.
   Throwing might be difficult for some; since by default you have to hit two buttons at the same time to throw... but that all depends on how you set-up your buttons. You can either make it easy or hard for yourself, it's not the games fault if you cant get a throw off, you're just special...  Ohh, but forget about hitting 3 buttons at once. It's quite hard to get a PPP or KKK off consistently, but you can assign that command to one button, so theres usually no trouble there... And don't forget, you can always use the select button if you need to.
   The load times are quick, and sometimes nonexistent! Thanks Capcom. All in all, SFA3: Max is definitely among the best Street Fighter games ever... and that's saying a lot. With the most characters and modes EVER in a Street Fighter game, this title has substance and style. A solid solid effort from Capcom... The "Capcom" that us Street Fighter vets remember. This is a game that many of us will NEVER really get bored with. Now we can play Street Fighter all day, anywhere, and make up new combos on the run... or on the pot. Wherever.
   Another cool thing about Street Fighter on PSP.. is if you don't have time to finish all 8 stages in Arcade mode for example, you can turn your psp off... Do what you have to do, then turn it on a few hours later, and you're in the same spot you were when you last played. F*ing awesome.
Manufacturer: Capcom
Platforms: PSP
Year: February 2006
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, Ingrid
Comment: Along with MP3s, movies, videos, internet, and porn; now arcade perfect Street Fighter is in the palm of your hands. So if you don't have a Sony PSP, it's time to buy one. I'm going to seriously play the hell out of this... And I'll be looking for competition. So what do I always say? Practice up... bitches. See you on the streets... And bring your skill if you have any from the past. Just like the crazy announcer in this game says, "It all depends on your skill!"
Rating: 9.5