The Excel from Street Fighter EX2 Plus was essentially replaced with the Critical Parade, a new mechanic added to Street Fighter EX3 wherein the standby character in a partner match would join their teammate and both characters could use unlimited Super Combos for a brief period of time, not unlike the Duo Team Attack from Marvel vs. Guard Breaks were replaced by the somewhat similar Surprise Blow, losing their unblockable properties but able to stun crouching opponents, floor airborne ones, and inflict chip damage as well as costing no meter to use, while Momentary Combos, two special inputs for each character allowing them to cancel from one special move to another unique special with the press of a precisely-timed single punch or kick, were added. Ace, the sole new character for the game, was a character that could have moves from other fighters added to his move list at the player's discretion. Everyone from Street Fighter EX2 Plus (except Hayate) returned, as did Sakura, from Street Fighter EX Plus О±. A Tag Team and Dramatic Battle system was added, complete with various new gameplay mechanics such as Meteor Tag Combos.

In 2000, Street Fighter EX3 came out exclusively for the PlayStation 2. Aside from Super Cancels, EX2 allowed for Super Combos to be cancelled into a Guard Break (Cancel Break, which could then be followed up by another Super Cancel if the player had enough/infinite meter) or a Meteor Combo (if the game allowed the player at the time to have infinite super meter or more than three bars).

EX2 Plus also added Meteor Combos, a precursor to the Ultra Combo system later introduced in Street Fighter IV. Hayate was dropped from the arcade version of EX2 Plus, but returned for the PlayStation version.

Street Fighter EX2 Plus brought back Pullum, Darun, and Bison and then added Ryu's rival Sagat, Area (a young inventor with a giant mechanical arm), and Vulcano Rosso ( fiery Italian fighter).

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In their place came Street Fighter II veterans Blanka and Vega and four newcomers: Bison, Cycloid ОІ, Cycloid Оі, Pullum, Darun, Allen, and Blair were cut. This game also marks the first time that a Street Fighter game within its own sub-series removes characters from the roster as Akuma, Sakura, M. In 1998, Street Fighter EX2 was released and added Excel Combos ('Excel' being an abbreviation for ' Extra Can cel'), Custom Combos similar to the ones seen in the Alpha series. The game played similar to Street Fighter Alpha, but with the addition of side-stepping (albeit only as an aesthetic element of certain specials unlike, say, Tekken, it was not a universal mechanic), guard-breaking attacks that makes the opponent temporarily dizzy, and special moves and Super Combos that can be cancelled into other Super Combos. PlayStation-exclusive Street Fighter EX Plus О± added familiar faces Dhalsim and Sakura. Two Updated Re-releases were created as Street Fighter EX Plus, adding dark versions of Ryu (Evil Ryu) and Hokuto (Bloody Hokuto), and Cycloid-ОІ (Beta) and Cycloid-Оі (Gamma), two cyborg Ditto Fighters with no faces (Gamma's a wireframe).

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