While the biggest events host the latest games, it’s always nice to revisit classics. In Japan, love for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike never waned, thanks to a vibrant arcade scene. The Cooperation Cup over the weekend highlighted the best of the best in a game almost 20 years old.
Cooperation Cup pits teams of Street Fighter talent against each other, brawling for the top spot. This year’s Cooperation Cup is streaming in English as well as Japanese, and it’s been a joy to watch some 3rd Strike played by those still perfecting their craft in it.
It’s neat to remember older versions of classic characters like Ken and Chun-li, as well as 3rd Strike favourites who have yet to make their way to modern titles (cough Q cough).
The setup on-stage is sublimely nostalgic, with actual arcade cabinets back-to-back and cameras wired to the sides of them. Actual cabs!
But the beauty is in the fact that these players are still playing 3rd Strike, still honing their mastery. Few games have that kind of competitive longevity while still being intact, untouched by code and patches for so long.
It’s truly wonderful, and hey, we’ll get to relive it soon with that 30th anniversary Street Fighter collection.
If you want to rewatch the games, the English stream is available through Twitch.
Comments
2 responses to “3rd Strike Was Alive And Well At The Cooperation Cup”
That’s so friggin awesome.
Third Strike has been one of my favourite games for many years; and was one of the main reasons I bought a Dreamcast.
Can’t wait to play it on Switch!
Still the greatest fighting game of all time. Can’t wait for SF 30th anniversary so hopefully people here play it online again