is a
fighting game in
Capcom's
Street Fighter series, originally released as coin-operated arcade game in .
Street Fighter III was produced for the
CD-ROM-based
CP System III hardware, which allowed for more elaborate
2D graphics than the
CPS II-based
Street Fighter Alpha games (the previous incarnation of the
Street Fighter series), while revamping many of the play mechanics. The game, which was designed as a direct
sequel to
Street Fighter II, initially discarded every previous character except for
Ryu and
Ken (hence the "
New Generation" subtitle), introducing an all-new roster led by
Alex. Likewise, a new antagonist named
Gill took over
M. Bisons role from the previous games as the new
boss character.