Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for PS2 Announced
Capcom has announced plans to release Street Fighter Alpha Anthology on the PS2.
It will include arcade ports of…
- Street Fighter Alpha
- Street Fighter Alpha 2
- Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold
- Street Fighter Alpha 3
- Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (aka Pocket Fighter)
I admit, it would have been nice to see these included in the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, but this is the next best thing. This collection of direct arcade conversions will ship exclusivly for the PS2 in this summer. While I’m sure many brawler fans will be upset there is not an XBox port yet (let alone a GC one), I wouldn’t be surprised if we see one later on down the line. XBox Live support would be a great bonus.
The bad news with the whole PS2 thing is that I’ve heard that almost every PS2 version of a fighting game sucks compared to any other port that exists. The only good one I’ve really heard of is the Third Strike port on the Anniversary Collection. Also the online play on the PS2 version will most likly be a laggy, unplayable joke. XBox and the Live setup would be a more fitting environment.
You may wonder why bother having all the different variations of the Alpha series. Being a collector of games and enjoy seeing series develop, I think it will be nice to have have complete, arcade perfect versions on one disc… plus Gem Fighters. I enjoy the unique charms each entry in the series brings. They each have different backgrounds and music, unlike the mere tweaks of SFII’s revisions.
Street Fighter Alpha is considered a bit weak, but it was interesting when it originated. Alpha introduced a bunch of new game systems that are very common now (air block, alpha counter, multi-level supers…), brought us some original characters and very nice reimaginings of old characters. It was also great to see Ken & Ryu Vs. Bison at the end.
Alpha 2 polished the system, brought the character selection to a more respectible level and turned out to be an all-around incredible game. I still argue that Alpha 2 feels more solid that Alpha 3 did.
Alpha 2 Gold obviously is Alpha 2 taken to the next level — going all crazy with Supers. Alpha 2 Gold is only available in the US on the kind of hard to find Street Fighter Collection for the Saturn and Playstation, so it’s great that it’s coming here again (again hopefully reported from the arcade like that Third Strike port).
Alpha 3 is still an amazing game and brought a massive fighter roster to the table. It even rivals Marvel vs Capcom 2. It is worth mentioning that SFA3 is a port of the original SFA3 and not SFA3 Upper or any of the console ports of SFA3? There are many significant gameplay differences between these versions. I think this is why I don’t like the Dreamcast version of Alpha 3 too much. The hit detection is off, WAY off.
The Dreamcast version does have a some cool modes though; “SAIKYO DOUJO!” mode, wherein you pick a character and then travel to different locations fighting different characters with some pre-requisites to get upgrades for how your character plays. Stuff like being able to charge your gauge faster, gaining new movement options. It’s really fun and then I believe you can pit your upgraded guy against others your friends bring over on their Dreamcast VMUs. Anyway, it would be great if these were in the new collection, but if they are going for arcade ports it probably won’t happen. The PS1 version of Alpha 3 handles well, but has many animations cut out.
And finally, the added bonus — the Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (also released on consoles as Pocket Fighter) is added into the package. While it is by no means a deep fighter, I enjoyed it on my Saturn since I like anything that is Street Fighter 
Would have been extra cool if they would have included Super Puzzle Fighter 2, but I won’t push my luck.
Bottom Line: If the loading times are quick and the ports good, it’ll be worth it. Otherwise, you may be better off staying with the Saturn or Playstation (which has all of these games).
One Comment:
You know I had to comment. I own all of these games for the Saturn, including Zero/Alpha 3. This looks nice, but it isnt exactly what I would consider a propper collection. The only time I’ve ever seen Capcom get a collection right was when I briefly got to play Street Fighter Anniversary Collection for the arcade. That included all the variations of Street Fighter 2 the american market was privilaged to recieve, and as a bonus had Alpha 1-3 all on one arcade unit with a great animated select screen. Now, if they ever released that on the X-Box or PS2 *shudders*, I’d have to get that console just to own it. Until then, I’ll enjoy my perfect, near-perfect arcade translations on my Saturn, which by the way still has the only versions of X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter that I would consider arcade perfect. Now, if Capcom wants to follow up this collection with a CPS-2 Vs. collection, it would be a waste of money, but atleast the american gamers who didnt import would be able to play these great games.
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