Street Fighter Alpha Anthology - PlayStation 2

Street Fighter Alpha, not only a prequel to the highly acclaimed Street Fighter II games, but also a game changer for fighting games.This compilation comes with the entire Street Fighter Alpha series (Street Fighter Zero in Japan) all on one disc, which is very helpful. Alpha 2 and 3 are considered sequels and yet updates to the first one, which kind of confuses and makes it hard for people to choose which one is the right one to get, especially for those who aren't avid followers of the series and is trying to really get into it. Each game takes place between the infamous first Street Fighter (released as Fighting Street on consoles) and the highly acclaimed Street Fighter II games, so all characters are younger and just starting their careers as warriors. However, despite this, these games introduced elements of the series that would not be present until Street Fighter III.Street Fighter Alpha 1 introduces grab/throw escapes and counter attack follow-ups to escapes. Not only that, but the super combo system of Super Street Fighter II Turbo has been upgraded. In addition to more than one super combo in a character's moveset, each one has three different levels of damage. Doing a Shinku Hadoken with two punches pressed rather than a single punch button press results in a stronger version of the attack, at the cost of more energy from the super meter. Street Fighter Alpha 2 adds more fighters to the roster, as for what else is added to this game is a mystery to me at the moment. As for Alpha 3, the super combos have been simplified slightly, requiring presses of a punch and kick of the same level in order to perform stronger super combos, which works better with the fingers on the Playstation 2 controller.This game has the original Alpha 2 as well as the Alpha 2 Gold update, which was originally released on Street Fighter Collection on the Playstation in the U.S. Not only that, but as an added bonus they added in Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, known as Pocket Fighter in Japan and on the Playstation, to the collection. This game is so good, it's much simpler a 2D fighter and much more light hearted, as well as very fun. It implements the super deformed chibi artstyle used in Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and uses a pickup upgrade system, gems get knocked out when you hit an opponent or open a treasure chest knocked from your opponent, which can contain gems or food items that restore health. There is a sub meter with 3 colors corresponding to a specific combo attack, nabbing a gem of that color upgrades the combo attack and makes it stronger when it gains a level up, gems also fill the super meter which is referred to as the mighty combo meter in here.Punches and kicks aren't restricted to individual buttons for different attack strengths, there is only a punch and kick button. Kicks are only individual on their own, but punches can land multiple hits, up to 4, and with the punch button hit first you can even kick multiple times, and these include costume changes for all character for each hit, except for Ryu who looks the same the whole time. The is also a special button that uses charged attacks to knock down your opponent as well as get bigger gems, this special attack is unable to be blocked by normal blocks, but the special button includes a block that is impervious to special attacks and even counters special attacks. Super combos, referred to as mighty combos in this game, are performed by doing the control stick movements for regular combo attacks with the special button. The roster includes characters from Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, and a character from an arcade exclusive fighting game "Red Earth" all in super deformed chibi designs.All in all, despite the difficulty of all Alpha games compared to Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, I am really happy to have bought this, I regret not buying it when it first released back in 2006. I do recommend getting this, especially if you're a fan of fighting games.

This collection is amazing. But to properly review this, I'm going to have to review each game in the Alpha Anthology. So, here we go!Packaging: The Game comes in a standard later run of the PS2 game case. Plastic is thin in certain areas and there is no slot for a memory Card in the case. The manual in printed in black and white and features necessary information for the games many modes. It also features a character chart letting you know who's available in what game (Useful for players new to the series). The manual also hints at the secrets the game has to offer (that I will spoil in this review).Street Fighter Alpha: Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Akuma, and M. Bison from Street Fighter II, along with then newcomers Charlie Nash, Sodom, Dan and Rose and returning Street Fighter I veterans Birdie, Adon and Sagat make up the roster of this fantastic game (Also Guy from Final Fight). There are 3 Unlockable characters (Dan, Bison and Akuma) for arcade mode, but fret not, they are already available to play as in all other modes.The fighting is pretty top notch (Save for the lack of dashing, but that was added in Street Fighter III along with EX special moves), the game adding a 3-tier super meter that can be expended for 1 stock for good damage, or 3 stock for great damage.Street Fighter Alpha 2: This game adds Dhalsim, Zangief, Sakura, Rolento, and Gen to the cast. The game retains the special meter system from Alpha 1.Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold: The game has the same roster as Alpha 2, with the exception of Cammy, who is a secret character (Press Start on Bison twice). The balance is a little wonky, nothing too bad though.Street Fighter Alpha 3: This game adds Rainbow Mika, E. Honda, Cody, Karin, Vega, and Blanka to the mix. There is now multiple levels of Super gauge (Light, Medium and Heavy). Alpha 3 also adds Ism's to the game. X-Ism plays like Street Fighter II, A-Ism plays like the alpha series and V-Ism is a custom combo system. The game also features a completely different aestheticStreet Fighter Alpha 3 Upper: Additions to this roster are Guile, Fei-Long, Dee Jay, Evil Ryu, Juni, Juli, T. Hawk and Balrog.Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix: This game is a fun little diversion, not competitive in the least.Hyper Street Fighter Alpha: This Versus/Training mode only game is pretty much Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper with some hidden styles (When selecting a mode [before you select your character] hold START over Mazi and press left [Or right] to access Street Fighter III mode [No Dashing/Ex Moves, just Parrying] ).Conclusion/TLDR: Buy this game!

In spite of being a big fan of Sega's Virtua Fighter series, when I want a really addictive, fun, less realistic fighting game I've always turned to Capcom's Street Fighter series on the Sega Saturn or the various great SNK fighting games on the Neo Geo AES home system. I don't think these classic 2D games can be equaled for pure fun factor.There aren't a lot of extras here, but there are five different games to begin with and two to unlock. SF Alpha, Alpha 2, and Alpha 3 along with Alpha Gold and Gem Fighter are there from the beginning. Since I only care about the original arcade versions, I don't really miss the World Tour mode from the SF Alpha 3 Saturn release. What you have are excellent arcade ports of Capcom's very popular Street Fighter Alpha series. The games play flawlessly with excellent graphics and sound, just like the arcade versions.Although I prefer the Sega Saturn versions of these games, the PS2 version was done very well and is a worthwhile purchase, especially considering the low price. My only complaint is that using the PS2 controller is giving me some difficulty pulling off certain moves (the same was true of the Dreamcast versions). This is because for years I played these games on the Sega Genesis and Saturn, whose 6 button controllers were very practical in their button layout and simplified the special move process, being very similar to the arcade button layout. Other than that, the PS2 version contains great arcade ports of some of the most popular 2D fighting games ever released. For $10, you can't beat that!

Fast shipping and disc in GREAT condition