Street Fighter III (9 Fighter) (Unl) is an ambitious unlicensed fighting game for the NES. Despite the title, it is primarily a bootleg 8-bit demake of Street Fighter II rather than the actual third installment. Developed by underground pirate groups, this version manages to squeeze nine playable world warriors into an NES cartridge, bringing recognizable special moves, stages, and familiar themes to the 8-bit console. It stands as a fascinating piece of bootleg history, showcasing how developers bypassed hardware limitations to deliver a remarkably functional fighting game experience.
How to play
The objective is to defeat your opponent in a best-of-three martial arts tournament by depleting their health bar. Because the NES controller only has two action buttons, the game simplifies the traditional six-button arcade layout. The D-pad is used for movement, jumping, and blocking (by holding away from your opponent). The A button and B button handle your punches and kicks, with standard special move inputs (like Ryu’s quarter-circle forward fireball motion) still working surprisingly well on the simplified control scheme.
Tips
- Execute specials early: The input reading can be slightly less forgiving than the arcade originals, so try to input your fireball or dragon punch motions decisively and a fraction of a second earlier than usual.
- Rely on jump-ins: The AI often struggles to counter aerial attacks properly, making a jumping kick followed by a crouching attack a highly effective combo.
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