Essential for any fighting fan (Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2))

Member Name: sagat

Product:	Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2)
Date:	12/01/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hyper Alpha- what more do you need?

Disadvantages: Bit lacking for solo players

Although many people complain of Capcom releasing endless versions of their Street Fighter franchise, alot of people seem to miss the point that earlier releases are not arcade perfect, something that the fighting game community insist on.

So, Capcom did the unthinkable and released this Anthology, not only with the original Alpha games and Pocket Fighter, but also with a remixed Hyper Alpha version incorporating all the characters, with brand new moves and grooves!

The original games appear to be arcade perfect (or unfinished perhaps in the case of Alpha 1). Alpha 2 is my personal preference in the series, but many people prefer Alpha 3. Both have their merits, and Alpha 3 may appeal to more due to it's increased roster.

Intitially, new comers may just head for Alpha 3 due to its larger roster, but each version has a different engine and required skills.

Alpha 1 has the smallest roster, but Dan, M Bison and Akuma are hidden characters which can be fought and used by the player. This game was generally acknowledged as a rush release when it first came out, and the game does have a sloppy feel to it, with its limited cast and small amount of backgrounds. It incorporates the chain combo system from Darkstalkers, but it is far more broken here, meaning that a light jab can result in a combo and super, draining huge amounts of life. Additionally, Alpha Counters can be used regardless of meter usage, emaing they are used far too often.

Alpha 2 and Alpha 2 Gold are essentially the same engine. Gold came out on the Saturn and Western territories, featuring Cammy and Evil Ryu. Gameplay wise, I felt Alpha 2 was the best release of the Alpha games due to its combo system and lack of complication via grooves that Alpha 3 introduced.

Alpha 2 introduced more characters, more backgrounds (the fight in the lightning storm is a personal favourite), more balancing and new super moves. This time around, characters can access a custom combo mode when enough meter has been gained.

The only problem with teh game is the ability to use infinites on your opponent via 'crouch cancelling' although for most players this would not present a problem as it is a very advance (and boring to watch) technique.

Alpha 3 futher expanded the roster, and in the home ports added even more characters not in the arcade. Every playable World Warrior up to Super Street Fight 2 Turbo is present. However, it is not my favourite version. The combo system feels a lot lighter, as you are able to juggle opponents out of the air and hit them on the way down, something that did not fit the game for my liking. The super abilities were now split into grooves which meant you could access Super combos or Custom Combos, but not both, or if you prefered, have no combo meter.

Hyper Alpha is probably of most interest to newcomers though as you can take control of your warrior and choose a greater variety of modes for them, including a 3rd Strike style parrying groove or a Marvel style Shadaloo groove which gives Bison his shin psycho crusher and Dhalsim his Marvel flame styles.

Graphically, the game is superb. The sprites were all created for the game, so no awkward copy and paste jobs as seen in the Vs series of games. The game has a far more cartoony feel than the original Street Fighter, almost being the yin to Darkstalkers' yang. Although many backgrounds are very well done, they are not as good as the those from the Darkstalkers series.

In single player mode, these are simply arcade conversions where you battle the computer. There is no World Tour as found in other versions on Alpha 3, but there is a practise. As a result, single players may find this release a bit empty for them. This game really needs a re-release on ps3 and xbox 360 to take advantage of the online community.

Summary: Well worth the budget price for arcade perfection.