Few series have taken up so many hours of my time as Street Fighter, and so few companies have managed to so effectively milk my affection for a series like Capcom. I have their Fighting Evolution, their Street Fighter Anniversary, their 32-bit collections, and now I finally have what I have been waiting for: a collection of the Street Fighter Alpha titles. I stand by my claim that Street Fighter Alpha 2 is one of the finest 2D fighters to date; yes, its sequel and subsequent releases in the genre have built upon it, but its selection of fighters, simplicity in presentation, and flow are fantastic. So, yes, another compilation from Capcom. What? Street Fight Alpha Anthology comes with two Street Fighter Alpha 2s?

While the packaging is barebones, the games certainly are not. Selectable from a main menu are Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, Street Fighter Alpha 3, and Super Gem Fighter MiniMix (originally titled Pocket Fighter). The two more notable titles are SFA2 Gold and Super Gem Fighter MiniMix, the latter being available only on 32-bit systems and released in the mid ‘90s while the former was once an upgrade not released in North American arcades, eventually making its way into the early PlayStation and Saturn collections. There is also an additional mode that is unlocked, an amalgamation of all of the fighters and styles (and even some styles from other series), requiring an extensive amount of time spent with all titles to gain access to.

I still remember reading a review and supplemental material for Street Fighter Alpha in a copy of EGM. “What? A prequel? Are they ever going to make a 3?” Having played, and still owning, the original Street Fighter on PC, I recognized several familiar faces that had vanished in the numerous versions of Street Fighter II:  Adon, the Pre-Sagat Muay Thai Kickboxer, and Birdie, the English punk. They were back with what was supposed to be the introduction of the already popular Ryu, Ken, Chun Li, Sagat, and M. Bison. From Capcom’s Final Fight, Guy and Sodom made an appearance, as did the anomalous Rose, as well as the soldier made famous by Guile’s storyline, fellow soldier Charlie. The latecomer and mysterious Akuma and soon-to-be cult favorite and SNK insult Dan made their playable appearance as well.

Instead of the darkly shaded, slim models of before, the character were now bulky, with flashy effects and brighter colors used to bring out a more traditional Japanese animation style. The combo gauges and grandiose super moves were also carried over from later versions of II. It was all very attractive and intriguing – and, more importantly, awesome. I accumulated many a calluses from my PlayStation controller with this gem. Like the other titles, it still manages to hold up over time. It’s the slowest of the bunch, but the smaller move-set, limited options, and the smallest amount of selectable characters makes it the perfect way to be introduced to the series.

Street Fighter Alpha 2 followed the story, as well as something so loose can be followed, and brought back Gen, the shoulder-straight gentlemen fighter, from the original Street Fighter, and Dhalsim and Zangief from the second. Sakura, a young fan of Ryu, and the paramilitary Rolento were also introduced. Custom Combos were added to the system as well; the max meter no longer goes up 3 levels but represents a charge that when released will string moves together. Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold adds some extra secret characters, like Cammy (now playable in Arcade Mode), and evil versions of Ryu, Akuma, and more hidden extras. It also tweaks the engine, altering various aspects of some moves and adding others.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 is a noticeable change from the previous entries, upping the character count significantly with ten new characters, new modes, and changes to the engine. Returning from previous titles are Vega, Blanka, E. Honda, Balrog, and Cammy. The new characters include the prisoner Cody, female wrestler R. Mika, scary young lass Karin, and the military-esque Juli and Juni. One of the more entertaining additions was the Dynamic Battle mode, which allowed one player to face numerous opponents (two friends against one on the Dreamcast version), but this feature has since found its way happily into the previous games in the collection as well. In addition to Dramatic Battle there are is also Arcade, Versus, Survival, and Training. If you have the Dreamcast version, then you will notice the absence of Team Battle, World Tour, Entry Mode, and Final Battle. Similarly, the Alpha 2 lacks the Saturn’s gallery mode. These are the arcade ports, but to not include material that’s already been released in the series seems a bit lazy.

There are also options to enhance the graphics for all of the games. You can soften the image, giving the game a more fleshed-out appearance, or keep the original sharper look. I’m an original one, myself, but the option is nice. The hard drive can also be used to reduce the load times, which aren’t that bad to begin with and are only slightly improved; but I suppose it’s nice to utilize the option just to have a use for the 40 gig black sheep. Unfortunately, there are no commercials, flyers, sketches, or any promotional material of the sort from the game’s decade-long existence to enjoy. You’re killing me, Capcom.

Overall: 8.5/10

One day Capcom is going to release a true Street Fighter collection. There will be no more all Street Fighter II versions with some combined abomination and a release from the III to placate fans; nor will there be absences of materials and modes that fans have become used to. No, one day there will be an almighty package that includes all things Street Fighter and then, and only then, will those still interested in the series be able to enjoy themselves without fear of having to dole out another $30-40 for an as yet unannounced follow-up in the semiannual collection packages series. It’s impossible to deny these games though, and you would be doing yourself a disservice in trying to do so.