The Aesthetic Success of Street Fighter Third Strike
Street Fighter Third Strike, released in 1999, is one of the most celebrated fighting games of all time. The game is still widely popular and tournaments are held for it across the globe. The thing that makes Third Strike stand out so much is it’s distinct, self-designed aesthetic. Third Strike is embodied by its over-the-top 90s style, shown by the vibe of each of the character’s themes and designs as well with the atmosphere of each stage, creating an aesthetic that’s so unique to itself.
The art style of the game is absolutely iconic. It introduces a diverse cast of characters from ninjas, to boxers, to fireball wielding kung fu masters. Their designs, combined with the detailed stages, play a crucial role to the vibe that is presented by Street Fighter Third Strike. Where most fighting games at the time were moving towards 3D models, Street Fighter remained as a 2D fighter. In my opinion, the retro pixel sprite designs gave Third Strike style and stand out much more from late 90s - early 2000s video games.
Alongside the art, Third Strike’s soundtrack finds itself within the genre of 90s hip hop. The vibe of the game is greatly influenced by these trends that the US was going through during the 90s. A good bit of the 90s boom-bap hip hop genre bled into songs for the soundtrack while combining with other electronic, more video-game style elements. Other than hip hop music, the game features production including breakcore inspired beats as background music and character themes that fit each moment perfectly.
In fact, quite a few of the songs on the soundtrack feature samples from older songs; a common practice in hip hop music. For example, the song “Snowland” samples a drum beat from “Amen Brother” by The Winstons, a very popular song to sample from. That same beat has been included in countless songs; one very prominent example being N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton”.
The most defining part of Third Strike’s musical aesthetic is the presence of the rapper Infinite. Infinite both wrote and raps on three of the main songs for the game. “Third Strike”, “Moving on”, and “Let’s Get it On” are some of the best songs on the soundtrack and their production definitely feels like a product of 90s hip hop. Along with recording these original songs Infinite adds even more influence into the vibe by being the announcer. His voice starts and ends every match as well as including commentating during the fights, adding so much more style to every moment in Third Strike.
The aesthetic that Street Fighter Third Strike was able to accomplish has had an extremely lasting impact on the realm of fighting games. The fact that even today there are still large scale tournaments going on for a game that was released 25 years ago is quite impressive. The thing that draws people towards Third Strike is its hyper stylized approach that just makes you feel cool while playing it. From the music to the character design, Third Strike proves itself as one of the most renowned, stylish fighting games out there.
By Ian Peyghambary
Design by Ryan Kaufman
