Part 18

Master parrying, Guard Parries, Super Arts, and EX Special Moves in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Learn mechanics and costs.

Parrying in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is a core mechanic that functions similarly to blocking. To parry, you tap forward or down just as an attack would hit you. A successful parry causes your character to flash blue and take no damage. Like blocking, some attacks require a standing parry (tap forward) while others require a crouching parry (tap down). You can also parry in the air by tapping forward as an attack connects, though unlike older games, your aerial trajectory after an air parry remains the same as before the parry.

A new addition in Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike is the Guard Parry. This allows you to block the first hit of a multi-hit attack or a rapid succession of attacks, and then parry subsequent hits. To perform a Guard Parry, block an attack, and immediately after blocking the first hit, tap forward (for a high attack) or down (for a low attack). Your character will flash red upon a successful Guard Parry. After the Guard Parry, you can continue to parry subsequent hits normally. Guard Parries are useful for reducing block damage from multi-hit Super Arts or for escaping blockstun to perform your own attacks or parries. You can even chain different parry types, such as Guard Parrying a second hit and then performing a standard blue parry on the third hit of an attack.

If mid-air blocking is enabled via the System Direction (refer to the System Direction Menu section for details), you can perform an air Guard Parry. However, only the forward Guard Parry (tapping forward after blocking a hit) is possible in the air.

The key difference between parrying and blocking is timing. Parrying requires precise input at the moment of impact, unlike blocking where you can hold the direction. However, a successful parry grants a brief window where you can move, attack, block, or parry again, which is essential for dealing with multi-hit moves.

Super Arts (SA) are powerful special moves similar to Super Combos in other fighting games. They generally deal high damage, offer better invulnerability, and can only be used when your SA gauge is full. Each Super Art has a unique gauge that takes a varying amount of time to fill and can hold a different number of 'stocks' (full gauges). For instance, Sean's Hadou Burst is a Super Art with a short gauge that fills quickly, allowing him to store up to three stocks. Conversely, Hugo's Gigas Breaker has a long gauge that takes time to fill but only holds one stock.

Generally, more potent Super Arts have longer gauges and fewer stocks. This means characters with more stocks can continue building SA power even after filling one gauge, unlike characters with single-stock Super Arts who must use their SA before accumulating more power. SA gauge power, including stocks, carries over between rounds but not between battles.

EX Special Moves are enhanced versions of regular special moves, inspired by the ES-special moves from the Vampire Hunter series. Performing an EX move typically involves pressing two attack buttons simultaneously for a specific input. These moves often hit more times and deal more damage. For example, Yun's Zesshou Hohou (qcf + P) becomes an EX move (qcf + PP), traveling further, hitting twice, and dealing more damage. EX moves are indicated by your character flashing yellow.

The drawback of EX moves is that they consume Super Art power. The cost is consistent for any EX'able move, but the overall impact on your SA gauge depends on the SA's gauge length and stock size. This creates a strategic choice between saving SA power for Super Arts or using it for EX moves. The following provides an approximate number of EX move uses possible with each character's Super Arts:

• Alex
  • Hyper Bomb: 3.2 uses
  • Boomerang Raid: 4.8 uses
  • Stun Gun Head: (No uses listed)
• Chun-Li
  • Kikou Shou: 2.1 uses
  • Houyoku Sen: 5.2 uses