$20 Game of the Week: Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (PS2)

Capcom’s Street Fighter series was a first in gaming, particularly in the one-on-one fighting game genre. While it didn’t create the genre, it helped launch it into mainstream. It introduced the popular 6-button attack scheme, multiple selectable characters, and combo attacks that made use of joystick motions. Unfortunately, it was also one of the first games to receive multiple revisions, particular with Street Fighter 2. By 1995, we had no less than 5 different versions of the game. Players were begging for more, and Capcom’s inability to count to three became somewhat of a running gag in video games. Thankfully Capcom finally gave us something new. Street Fighter Alpha, with a storyline that took place between Street Fighter 1 and 2, gave the series a much needed update with new characters (including many from the original Street Fighter and Final Fight), attacks, and a new fighting system. It wasn’t exactly Street Fighter 3, but fans ate it up all the same.

In time it would receive 2 sequels, both of which improved on the system even further. Street Fighter Alpha 2 improved the graphical quality, added in a more balanced moveset, and bought back fan favorite characters from Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter Alpha 3 (considered one of the best games in the Street Fighter series) added in three selectable character styles, known as ISMs, which determined the type of moves each character could preform, as well as the length of the super combo meter. Its cast added in more new characters as well as bought back even more Street Fighter 2 characters. Home versions of the game would expand the cast to include pretty much every character that’s even been in Street Fighter 2 or Street Fighter Alpha, and portable versions included characters from Capcom vs SNK 2 and Capcom Fighting Evolution. Although they received Championship Edition-like revisions of their own, it never got as bad as it did with Street Fighter 2. With Street Fighter 2 Anniversary Collection being released sometime prior, it was only a matter of time before the Alpha series was collected as well.

Street Fighter Anniversary Collection includes the arcade versions of all three Street Fighter Alpha games, as well as Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, an enhanced version of Street Fighter Alpha 2 with Cammy as a playable character. Also thrown in is Super Gem Fighter, a game geared toward younger gamers containing super deformed versions of Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper and Hyper Street Fighter Alpha are enhanced versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 that are unlockable on the disc, with the former containing all the extra characters that have been released on the various home console versions of Street Fighter 3 and the latter being a versus-mode only with new ISMs and animations. Other than a color editing mode, there isn’t much in the way of extras. Moreover, since these are the arcade versions of these games, many of the extra modes that were introduced on home versions of the games (such as SFA3’s world tour mode) are nowhere to be found. Even with these faults, you’ll still enjoy the arcade versions of these classic games. If you’re a fan of the series, then check this disc out, and you’ll see why Capcom’s name is synonymous with 2-d fighting games.