Street Fighter Zero 3 (Japan 980727) - MAME machine

Capcom CPS-II cart. published 26 years ago:

Street Fighter Zero 3 © 1998 Capcom Company, Limited.

25 fighters mix it up to have a shot at Shin Vega in the height of his power! Featuring 3 fighting styles for each character.

TECHNICAL
Runs on the "CP System II" hardware.
Green Board [Japan]

Players: Up to 2.
Control: 8-way joystick per player.
Buttons: 6 per player.
= > [1] LP, [2] MP, [3] HP
= > [4] LK, [5] MK, [6] HK

TRIVIA
Street Fighter Zero 3 was released in June 1998 in the Japananese arcades. It was known as the 29th video game released on the CPS2 hardware.

Known export releases:
"Street Fighter Alpha 3 [Blue Board]"
"Street Fighter Zero 3 [Grey Board]"
"Street Fighter Alpha 3 [Orange Board]"
"Street Fighter Alpha 3 [Pink Board]"

Guy, Cody, Sodom and Rolento are from Capcom's "Final Fight" - Guy and Cody as selectable characters, Sodom as the second boss and Rolento as the fourth boss in "Final Fight". "Final Fight" boss 'Edi E' makes appearances in some of Cody's finishing poses.

The reason for Mike Haggar's (the third selectable character in "Final Fight") non-appearance in Street Fighter was that he was too similar to Zangief. Furthermore, it could be because during the "Street Fighter Zero" storyline, Mike Haggar was assumed to be the mayor of Metro City (a part of New York) at the time.

In Guy's stage there is a group from "Final Fight" cheering Guy on. They consist of: Mike Haggar, Andorre Jr., Axl and poison. Also in the background against one of the buildings there is a advert for a Rockman Drink just under the Capcom Logo.

Karin Kanzuki is the first Street Fighter to have originated from a comic book (actually, a manga). She first appeared in a girls' manga that had Sakura Kasugano as the main character.

The three ISMs have some symbolic meaning:

• X-ISM represents "Super Street Fighter II X - Grand Master Challenge". That is, this ISM matches closely to the gameplay style found therein. There are, however, a few differences between X-ISM in Zero 3 and Super Street Fighter II X, mainly because of the Zero 3 game engine.
• Z-ISM represents Zero. That is, it is closest to the style of the previous Zero games.
• V-ISM represents Variable, as in 'Variable Combination', meaning 'Custom Combo'. This merely represents how you can use your super bar.

Even though "Super Street Fighter II X - Grand Master Challenge" is known as "Super Street Fighter II Turbo" outside Japan, X-ISM is still known as X-ISM in all export releases of Zero 3.

Attack of the Vega Dolls: Each Vega doll is named after a month of the year in the language of their supposed origin. It is said that they wield different tools, but generally share the same style. It is said that they generally worked as a team.
1) Enero (January) from Spain uses a microphone.
2) Fevrier (February) from France uses a gun.
3) Marz (March) from Germany uses a laptop and dyes her hair. Enero and Marz are the information and recon members of the team.
4) Aprile (April) from Italy is the medical member of the team. At the beginning of SFA3, Aprile's brother had asked Rose to find her whereabouts.
5) Satsuki (May) is Japanese and wields a sword. Some say Sakura was supposed to be kidnapped instead of Satsuki, but Sakura evaded capture. This belief is consistent with the fact that all 12 dolls (and Cammy) were 16 at the time of SFA3.
6) Juni (June) is German and fights unarmed.
7) Juli (July) is also German and also fights unarmed. Despite the claims of some sources, Juni and Juli are not related (none of the Bison dolls are).
8) Santamu (August) is Vietnamese, but of African heritage. SANTAMU is the equivalent of Vietnamese's 8th month. However, the Vietnamese's spelling should be 'Thang Tam'. It's a compound word of 'month' & 'eight', obviously. She wields a spear and can also unleash a small monkey to attack for her.
9) Xiayu (September) is Chinese and wields the nunchaku.
10) Jianyu (October) is also Chinese and wields a staff.
11) Noembelu (November) is Mexican and is a member of T. Hawk's tribe (thus T. Hawk was looking for her and not Juli as the story implied). She wields a pair of hatchets on ropes.
12) Decapre (December) is Russian and her appearance is similar to that of Cammy.

Cammy had tried to save the Vega dolls in her SFZ3 ending because, due to the extent of their brainwashing, they would have died with Vega otherwise. It is said that the inspiration of the Vega dolls was Yuka Minakawa's novels named collectively as 'Cammy History'. Before the fight, Cammy throws a red coat, this comes from Street Fighter 2 the Animated Movie.

Various characters of the game make a cameo in a marvel comic-book of Deadpool, the Merc with a mouth, vol.1 number 8. They appear in the shadows like mercenaries of the infernal house, the place where Deadpool obtains his merc jobs. We can recognize Adon, Dhalsim and Akuma as shadows, Sagat appears drawn and coloured. There are two more fighters, one appears to be Cammy. The artist of this Deadpool issue is Ed McGuiness.
In number 27 of Deadpool's comic, the author Joe Kelly, makes a homage to the Street Fighter series. In this comic Deadpool does a "Shoryuken" to Kitty Pride to make Wolverine attack him.

The background music from Dan Hibiki's stage (Performance) samples "Welcome To My Mind", a song by techno group Psykosonik released in 1993.

Suleputer released a limited-edition soundtrack album for this game (Street Fighter Zero 3 Original Soundtrack - CPCA-1012, 1013) on September 21, 1998.

An upgraded version of SFZ3 appeared as "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper" in 2001. Previously hidden characters M. Bison, Juni and Juli are playable from the start. In addition, past Street Fighter legends Guile, Dee Jay, Fei Long and T. Hawk are now playable as well. This brings the total count to 34 playable characters!

An even further upgraded version of SFZ3, called "Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper" appeared for the Sony PSP in 2006, and adds Eagle (from the original Street Fighter), Yun (from SFIII), Maki (from the Super Famicom Final Fight 2) and newcomer Ingrid. This now brings the total count of playable characters to 38!

UPDATES
Green Board revisions:

REVISION 1:

• Build date: 980629

REVISION 2:

• Build date: 980727

REVISION 3:

• Build date: 980904

Revision 1 had two bugs involving Karin: First, she could do her Kanzuki-ryuu Kou'ou Ken super in X-ISM (which she shouldn't be able to do, as it was her second super). Second, Karin's normal throw in Mazi Mode could do 99% damage.

TIPS AND TRICKS

• Title Color Chart: The color of the title screen denotes what secrets are currently available. After a few weeks of play, the title screen will change color, so in a few months after your SFZ3 machine has been installed, it should reach the final color (light blue). The explanation of the colors is shown below:

Cream - (default color)
Green - Classical Mode
Red - M. Bison, Juni and Juli become playable
Dark Blue - Mazi Mode
Purple - Saikyou Mode
Light Blue - Can select one of the three Battle Modes

• Random Select: The Random Select squares are normally invisible. But, there are two for the first player and two for the second. The 1P squares are located in the upper-right corner of the diamond and the lower-right. The 2P squares are in the upper-left corner and the lower-left corners.
• Hidden Characters: The three hidden charactes are M. Bison, the boxer and Juni and Juli, two prototype 'dolls' created by Vega's Shadowloo organization. Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), their score listing will show up in the High Score listing and they become playable...

1) To choose M. Bison, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square, hold the Start button and press any button.
2) To use Juli, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square. If the square is on the left side of the screen, choose her by holding Left and pressing any button. If the square is on the right side, then hold Right and press any button instead.
3) To use Juni, pause on Karin for five seconds, then move to any Random Select square. If the square is on the top of the screen, choose her by holding Up and pressing any button. If the square is on the bottom, then hold Down and press any button instead.

• Hidden Modes Of Play: There are three secret modes that affect basic gameplay. Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), you can select a hidden mode to use...

1) To use Classical Mode, insert your coin, hold down HP+HK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character. When you start the round your super power bar will be gone and you will have Street Fighter 2 moves.
2) To use Mazi Mode, insert your coin, hold down MP+MK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character.
3) To use Saikyou Mode, insert your coin, hold down LP+LK and press Start. You can release HP+HK once you're at the Player Select Screen. Then, pick your character.

• Hidden Battle Mode: Once the game's title screen has become the proper color (see 'Title Color Chart', above), you can select a hidden battle mode...

1) Final battle mode: After picking your ISM, hold Start+LP+MK+HP. You'll fight Shin Vega for one battle only. It's just like the last battle; win and you get your ending, lose and you get the bad ending.
2) Dramatic battle mode: Hold LK+MK+HK, then press Start. Keep holding those buttons at Player Select Screen for a moment. You'll fight a 2 on 1 battle for 6 rounds, in which you face two CPU-controlled opponents.
3) Survival mode: Insert your coin(s), hold LP+MP+HP and press Start. Keep holding those buttons at Player Select Screen. You'll get to fight all 27 characters in continuous one-round battles.

• Secret Messages (this trick only works on Japanese SFZ3 machines): After winning a battle, press and hold Start as well as any other button. Between battles, a message will appear on the screen, depending on the button you're holding.
• Sally In Every Stage: In Dhalsim's stage you may have noticed a girl who cheers for him. That is his wife Sally, known as Sari in the Street Fighter comic book series by Udon. When you play as Dhalsim, its possible to make her appear on every fight by holding down LP+HK before the fight starts (you must do this at the beginning of every round).
• Alternate Sodom BGM: When fighting against Sodom (VS or CPU), you'll get to hear a different tune if it is on X-ISM mode. Apparently the tune is inspired on his boss tune in "Final Fight".

SERIES

• Street Fighter (1987)
• Street Fighter II - The World Warrior [CP-S No. 14] (1991)
• Street Fighter II' - Champion Edition [CP-S No. 21] (1992)
• Street Fighter II' Turbo - Hyper Fighting [CP-S No. 24] (1992)
• Super Street Fighter II - The New Challengers [CP-S II No. 01] (1993)
• Super Street Fighter II X - Grand Master Challenge [CP-S II No. 03 Bis] (1994)
• Street Fighter Zero [CP-S II No. 11] (1995)
• Street Fighter Zero 2 [CP-S II No. 15] (1996)
• Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha (1996)
• Street Fighter III - New Generation (1997)
• Street Fighter III - 2nd Impact: Giant Attack (1997)
• Street Fighter Zero 3 [CP-S II No. 29] (1998)
• Street Fighter III - 3rd Strike: Fight For The Future (1999)
• Hyper Street Fighter II - The Anniversary Edition [CP-S II No. 38] (2003)
• Street Fighter IV (2008)
• Super Street Fighter IV (2010)
• Ultra Street Fighter IV (2014)
• Street Fighter V (2016)
• Ultra Street Fighter II - The Final Challengers (2017, Switch)

STAFF
Producer: Noritaka Funamizu (poo)
Director: Naoto Ohta, Mamoru Ohhashi, Buruma, Ohko Zero5
Visual Planner: Haruo Murata
Programmers: CHam, Hard.Yas ~?-ism~, Pon, Hyper SHinchan, 24 ~Nishi~, Minomi ~Rocan-ism~, Reiko Toh, Senor, Knight Rider Giu, Ittetsu
Character Design: Akiman, Osusi
Title Design: Shoei
Object Design: Eri-N, Fujihara, Mizuho, Takemoto, Hitoshi Igarashi, Mizupyon, Kimo Kimo Jinzin, Ball Boy, Yuesuke, D-Durita, A.Iwasaki, Kaname, Fuzil & Peliko, Chimorin Shogun, Sagata, Ikusan Z, Katasan, Yu-Ten Nakano, Tomohiko Ohsumi, Hiro, Rimichan, Reiko Komatsu, Kozuchi Tamura, Touichi Matsuo, Makoto Ishii
Scroll Design: Asae Nisituji-Ba, S.Mukai (Jijii), H.Yonezuka, Kohama Akeguro, Y.Tanoue (Tanopu), Ryo Uno, Yoko.Fukumoto, Takako Nakamura, Kazu.T, A.Ohnishi, N.Niiyama, C.Iwai, Sawatch, K.Yamahashi, H.Ohnishi
Main Music Compose: Anarchy Takapon
Sub Music Compose: Yuki Iwai, Isao Abe, Hideki Okugawa, Tetsuya Shibata
Sound Direction: Hiroaki Kondo (X68k)
Sound Design: Moe.t, Satoshi Ise
Test Play: Nuki, M.P Oni_Suzuki, SKill Smith-Bug, Skill SMith-TTK, M Kunishige, Miura.F.Katsusuke, Yoshihiro Tomita, Akimon Murata
Special Thanks
Market Producer: Kouji Nakajima
General Producer: Noritaka Funamizu (poo), YOshiki Okamoto

• Voice Actors:

Narrator: Greg Irwin
Ryu, Nash: Tohiyuki Morikawa
Ken, Guy: Tetsuya Iwanaga
Chun-Li: Yuko Miyamura
Dhalsim: Yohiharu Yamada
Blanka, Balrog: Yuji Ueda
E. Honda: Masashi Sugawara
Cammy, Juli, Juni: Akiko Komoto
M. Bison, Cody: Koichi Yamadera
Sagat: Miki Shinichiro
Gouki, Vega: Tomomichi Mishimura
Birdie, Gen, Adon, Zangief, Sodom: Wataru Takagi
Rolento: Jin Yamanoi
Rose: Michiko Neya
Dan: Osamu Hosoi
Sakura: Yuko Sasamoto
Karin: Miho Yamada
R. Mika: Junko Takeuchi

PORTS
NOTE: These are ports released in Japan only. For further details on most of these ports, please see the "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper" entry.

• CONSOLES:

[JP] Sony PlayStation (Dec.23, 1998) "Street Fighter Zero 3 [Model SLPS-01777]"
[JP] Sega Dreamcast (jul.8, 1999) "Street Fighter Zero 3 - Saikyooryuu Doujou [Model T-1203M]"
[JP] Sega Saturn (Aug.6, 1999) "Street Fighter Zero 3 [Model T-1247G]"
[JP] Sony PS2 (may.25, 2006) "Street Fighter Zero - Fighters Generation [Model SLPM-66409]"

• HANDHELDS:

[JP] Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Sep.27, 2002) "Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper [Model AGB-AZUJ-JPN]"
[JP] Sony PSP (Jan.19, 2006) "Street Fighter Zero 3 Double Upper [Model ULJM-05082]"

CONTRIBUTE
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