Street Fighter III: 2nd Impact

Less than a year after the release of Street Fighter III: New Generation, Capcom came out with an updated version subtitled 2nd Impact: Giant Attack, which responded to what players had missed most in the first installment of the third series. The most visible change was the return of Akuma, the popular secret fighter from Street Fighter II and Alpha, whose absence in the original game had disappointed many. Alongside him came Hugo, a giant wrestler and rival of the main hero Alex, and Urien, an arrogant member of the same lineage as the later main antagonist Gill.

2nd Impact wasn't just about new faces, though. Capcom reworked the combat system by adding EX specials - stronger versions of special moves that cost part of the Super Art meter and are activated by pressing two or three attack buttons at once instead of one. This option gave players another layer of decision-making in every fight: save the meter for a full Super Art, or partially sacrifice it for an immediate advantage in the middle of an exchange of blows. Character and parrying balance were adjusted based on experience from the early tournaments, and the game became the version of the third installment played longest in arcades and at tournaments, before being replaced a year later by the definitive 3rd Strike.

The expanded roster also better balanced the fighting styles within the game - Hugo brought a slow but extremely powerful grappler in contrast to the faster, more technical characters, while Urien and Akuma offered aggressive, offensive styles built around fast pressure and dangerous combinations. It was precisely this variety of the 2nd Impact roster that helped the series find its own identity independent of the earlier installments, since the previous New Generation, with its twelve fighters, had been criticized for too narrow a selection of styles. Many of these characters, including Urien and Hugo, later returned in the subsequent 3rd Strike and in other Capcom crossovers.

Why play it: For anyone who likes New Generation but wants a more varied roster and a deeper combat system - 2nd Impact is the bridge between the raw beginnings of the third installment and its peak in the form of 3rd Strike, and Akuma fans will especially get their money's worth here.