Street Fighter, as a game series, an intellectual property and a cultural phenomenon, is timeless. It is a game that has brought me friendships, earned me respect, taught me humility, placed me on the top of the mountain and pushed me tumbling back down. It has had nights devoted to it, conversations debating its tactics, and vicious arguments over each characters’ worth. This is a compilation of some of its finest moments – the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Welcome to the most biased review ever.
Before we begin, please note that this review will not be telling you what Street Fighter games are about, or how to play them. It’s presumed you know this already. Such is the power of the legend. If you care not for Street Fighter, you probably won’t have any interest in this product at all. Go home and be a family man. I’m presuming that the rest of you are fans and want to know if it’s worth investing again in the old school battleground again. Well, dear reader, read on.
In true Capcom fashion, the developers have never let us forget just how much they accomplished with this series – they made one groundbreaking game and then flooded the market with a crazy number of sequels (Think Resident Evil). Practically every year since Street Fighter II arrived has brought with it at least one related sequel or spin-off, but since the (frankly idiotic) Fighting Jam, they’ve been taking a break from updating the series. They haven’t let us stop for breath however - they’ve instead directed their energies into a series of compilations, this being the latest. Capcom have in recent years maintained a reputation as producers of excellent retro compilations, so will this follow the trend and provide a great service for the fans, or smack them in the face with the Tiger Uppercut of disappointment? In short, if we can presume that you are indeed a Street Fighter fan, is this compilation worth getting?
Street Fighter Alpha
After the massive success of the Street Fighter II series, Capcom were allegedly at a loss as to where to take their newest and bounciest baby. The fans wanted the predictable sequel, Street Fighter III, but the developers had different ideas – a prequel. Set in the time between the first and second SF games, Alpha would bridge the gap between the two – reuniting us with revisited characters from the first game and other Capcom branded brawlers, most notably Final Fight. Inspired by the (then recent) movie, Capcom changed the art style to reflect the anime look, giving the franchise a bright overhaul. The Alpha series made continuity complex and garbled, as the endings did not lead smoothly into Street Fighter II, but who the hell plays 2D beat ‘em ups for the plot?
That was a pretty boring paragraph. If you found it interesting, you’re more than likely a massive SF head and you’ll probably find this game interesting. For the rest of you, the later games on this collection exceed this one in quality and substance, relegating it to a mere curio. It plays well, but it’s mostly only for sheer retro value - you can get more out of its sequels.
Street Fighter Alpha 2 & Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold
Pardon my briefness with the above game, but this is where the going gets good. This prequel sequel (?) boasted 18 characters, which wees all over Alpha’s 12 (even at the time, that was considered stingy). The strength doesn’t just lie in the boosted character line-up though – Alpha 2 is a prettier and stronger game than its predecessor. The graphics won’t smack you upside the eyes in 2007, but it still plays like a comically-violent, hyper cartoon. With the first appearance of the Survival Mode (a nice addition that pits you against an endless stream of enemies, and adds to the game’s longevity), this is a classic addition to the beat ‘em up series and deserves a good thrashing today.
Alpha 2 Gold was an update to the game that tweaked a few things and added Cammy to the mix. I guess it’s the superior version of the second game, but it’s really quite redundant. Nice to see it here though, if only for the sake of the fanatical.
Street Fighter Alpha 3
With the Alpha 2 engine pretty much tuned to perfection, all Capcom could do here was throw some more characters in. And didn't they do that! The remainder of the SF II line-up have been packed in, even the muppets from Super. We also say a big hello to Cody (from Final Fight), Juni, Karin, Juli, R. Mika and Yun, all of which are as useless as they sound. The massive roster reeks of overkill and is fairly bloated, but I guess there's nothing techically wrong with that. I would call Alpha 2 the best of the series, simply because it seems more controlled. Perhaps I’m being picky, but sometimes less is more.
All of the games are arcade perfect, which is a first for home console conversions. This means there are no longer any loading times, making the gameplay that little bit sweeter. Isn’t this paragraph small? That’s because I didn’t know where else to put that fact. It’s good to know though, isn’t it?
Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix (AKA Pocket Fighter)
A gimmicky game, where characters from SF Alpha and Darkstalkers have been shrunk, super-deformed (it’s funny, apparently) and thrown into a bizarre fighting competition where they can transform into Capcom characters from other games. Weird but fun. It'll keep you entertained for twenty minutes. I’ld say it was for kids, but I kind of like kids.
But, stop press! If you’re a SF fan, then this next point will make you drop this review (or headbutt the monitor to make a point) and rush down to the local shop suggested by the links of the side of the page to grab it. You see, if you manage to beat all the games, you can unlock Hyper Street Fighter Alpha – a secret game which allows you to combine your favourite bits from all the Alpha titles and, essentially, custom build your own Versus battle. With this, Capcom have done it again – a comprehensive, exhaustive retro collection going for cheap, and with enough exclusive material to make the fans wet themselves. Not that I’m suggesting that you’re… Well, you would know if you had.
In conclusion, if you've already got a modern Street Fighter game, you might not want to bother with this unless you're a massive fan. Capcom Vs. SNK II does what this game does but better, although it doesn't have the nostalgic points, nor does it have five games for the price of one. However, if you’ve somehow missed the whole series or haven’t played it since you got whooped down the local kebab shop, how dare you not headbutt your screen right now. Headbutt it!