Street Fighter Alpha 3 vs Street Fighter IV
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is a fighting game from Capcom (1998) while Street Fighter IV is a fighting game from Capcom (2008).
Quick answer: Street Fighter Alpha 3 has the higher Metacritic, 93 to 91.
Street Fighter Alpha 3
What each one is
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is filed under Fighting. In contrast, Street Fighter IV under Fighting.
Street Fighter Alpha 3, released as Street Fighter Zero 3 in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1998 fighting game developed and published by Capcom for arcades. It is the third and final installment in the Street Fighter Alpha series, and runs on the same CP System II hardware as previous Alpha games. Alpha 3 further expanded the playable fighter roster from Street Fighter Alpha 2 and added new features such as selectable fighting styles called "isms".
Street Fighter® IV brings the legendary fighting series back to its roots by taking the beloved fighting moves and techniques of the original Street Fighter® II, and infusing them with Capcom's latest advancements in next generation technology.
Story, characters and reception
Characters
The game brings back all eighteen of the characters that appeared in Street Fighter Alpha 2 . As with the previous Alpha titles, several characters were added to the game: Cammy , who was previously featured in the console-exclusive Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold , E. Honda , Blanka , Balrog (who is an unlockable character), and Vega . (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception In Japan, Game Machine listed Street Fighter Alpha 3 on their September 1, 1998 issue as being the second most-successful arcade game of the month. Its April 15, 2001 issue reported that Zero 3 Upper was the best-selling arcade game of the month. On release, Famitsu magazine scored the Sega Saturn version of the game a 32 out of 40; they later scored it 30 out of 40. (Wikipedia)
Plot
Street Fighter IV takes place several months after the events of Street Fighter II and before the events of Street Fighter V (thus is chronologically set before Street Fighter III which takes place four years in the future of the late-1990s). After M. Bison 's survival following his encounter with Akuma , the S. (Wikipedia)
Characters
Main article: List of Street Fighter characters Chronologically set between the Street Fighter II series and the Street Fighter III series, the playable character roster of the arcade version includes the cast of the original Street Fighter II (all 12 characters, including the four Shadaloo Grand Masters) and four new characters. Akuma from Super Street Fighter II Turbo also appears as a hidden playable character, as well as a special opponent, for a… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Both the home versions of Street Fighter IV have received an aggregate rating of "universal acclaim" from Metacritic based on the reviews of critics. The game received an aggregated score of 94 out of 100 from Metacritic for its PlayStation 3 version, 93 out of 100 for its Xbox 360 version, and 91 out of 100 for its Microsoft Windows version. The arcade version of Street Fighter IV was voted Best Game of 2008 in Japan by the editorial staff of… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 | Street Fighter IV | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | — | 6.7/10 |
| Steam rating | — | Mixed (67%, 534) |
| Critic aggregate | 93/100 | 91/100 |
| Price | Unknown | Not listed |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | Untested | unsupported |
| Released | 1998 | 2008 |
| Developer | Capcom | Capcom |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 vs Street Fighter IV, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Street Fighter Alpha 3Fighting gameStreet Fighter IVFighting gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Street Fighter Alpha 3No descriptive tagsStreet Fighter IVFighting, Action, ArcadeThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Street Fighter Alpha 3 ✓Metacritic 93Street Fighter IVMetacritic 91Metacritic's critic aggregate, from the game's Wikipedia reception where it was never on Steam.
Content and scale
Street Fighter Alpha 3—Street Fighter IV534 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Street Fighter Alpha 3UnknownStreet Fighter IVNot listedRead live from Steam and subject to change.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The better reviewed of the two: Street Fighter Alpha 3 (Metacritic 93)
Where they differ
FightingActionArcadeLocal MultiplayerMultiplayer2D Fighter
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Street Fighter Alpha 3 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Street Fighter IV is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Street Fighter Alpha 3 | Street Fighter IV | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | DirectX 9.0c/Shader3.0 and up supported (operation on-board is not guaranteed) |
| Minimum CPU | — | Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz and up |
| Minimum RAM | — | 1 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Street Fighter Alpha 3 · Street Fighter IV.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Street Fighter Alpha 3 and 1 for Street Fighter IV. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Street Fighter IV in scope?
Street Fighter Alpha 3 lists little scope data. Street Fighter IV has drawn 534 Steam reviews.
Is Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter IV better?
Neither carries enough reviews for us to score it reliably, so we do not call a winner. The table above shows what each does have.
Which is cheaper, Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter IV?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Should I get Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter IV?
Street Fighter Alpha 3 has the higher Metacritic, 93 to 91. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.