Completion time: 30:00, 32:15

I started PSX Mania with a fighting game, moreover the first game I got with the console (Tekken). It….didn’t age well at all. For the start of Dreamcast Mania, I wanted to do another fighting game, but something I knew would click on all cylinders. Having not played Street Fighter III: Double Impact for many many years (but a diehard 3S fan), I felt that this would be the perfect launchpad for the project. And it was.

The biggest adjustment for me, aside from certain moves being a bit different from those in 3S, was adjusting parrying timing. Once 3S came along, Capcom streamlined the rhythm of most parries performed throughout the game, with little bits of a deviance depending on the super art. With these two games, the timing is either significantly quicker (though not as fast as Capcom vs SNK 2) or significantly slower. It was difficult to adjust to parrying certain attacks with multiple hits, but that did not detract at all from the overall package, as New Generation and 2nd Impact are still an absolute thrill to play.

The main thing that sticks out to me is how much more colorful and vivid the backgrounds are in these two games when compared to the third. Gill’s stage especially is a lot more of a visual tour de force compared to the mostly bland version in 3S. Character animations are still slick as hell, and the controls are spot on. I think the only oddity I could mention with the controls outside of parrying timing differences, is the kind of pushback you receive when air parrying something, which negates a lot of space closure that you’re attempting to perform. The music was mostly forgettable, bit it wasn’t anything negative.

I’m pretty sure Street Fighter III: Double Impact fetches an insanely high price these days; I remember it being quite pricey back when Gamestop used to carry used Dreamcast games in store. Nonetheless, if you’re going to play Street Fighter III in any capacity, although this bundle is spectacular, Capcom perfected the system all around with Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike, though that one can be pricey as well. Luckily there are a myriad of consoles that the latest Street Fighter Anniversary Collection is housed, so it’ll make playing these absolute classics a cinch – it’s just rough for someone trying to flesh out their physical Dreamcast library. We’ll talk about 3rd Strike sometime in the next two years, when we’re actually done with this project!

Rating: 10, 10

Twitch VOD:
001: New Generation – Link
002: 2nd Impact – Link

YouTube video:
001: New Generation – Link
002: 2nd Impact – Link