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Street Fighter Alpha Anthology Mini Review
Chris Leyton
11/07/2006
Capcom compiles some of the finest 2D fighters known to man...
It's testimony to the way in which Street Fighter shaped the digital landscape of videogames throughout the 1990's, that Capcom can still release compilations of a 15 year-old series to the present day.
Comprising each of the three Alpha titles that sat between the Street Fighter II series and Street Fighter III (though chronologically sitting before the events of the original Street Fighter II), Street Fighter Alpha Anthology includes the three chapters of the entire Alpha series, along with the simplistic, but still entertaining, Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix (Pocket Fighter).
Making its way to the arcades at a time when Street Fighter II had been done to death - Capcom staff themselves not knowing how to push the series further - Street Fighter Alpha successfully introduced a handful of fundamental changes, re-inventing the franchise just enough to boost dwindling popularity.
Sharing the same anime inspired visual look introduced in the DarkStalkers series, Street Fighter Alpha provided Capcom with the chance to take it back to where it all began, with a cast of characters that included fighters from the original Street Fighter, the Final Fight series and old favourites such as Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Sagat. Despite criticisms surrounding the game's lack of balance and shallow line-up, Capcom followed suit in traditional fashion, with two successive titles that refined the series to near perfection, marking a true second era for the franchise and a highlight of the genre to the present day.
Regardless of quality a 2D fighter is unlikely to fly off the shelves; however, Capcom have ensured a compilation of superb attention to detail for those that still fondly recall the motions for a "Shoryuken" or the sequence for Akuma's deadly "Shun Goku Satsu". Each of the games (along with hidden variations) have been ported across in their entirety, with a variety of options to set screen dimensions and apply filters to smooth the somewhat pixellated visuals. More significant is the complete lack of loading sections once you're into a game (unlike the previously released Capcom Classics Collection); it's just a continuous bout of 2D fighting precision and perfection, without a pause to breathe - just as it should be.
Capcom fanatics will also have fun with the multitude of hidden options to be found within the game, such as dip switches to emulate the settings arcade operators could tinker with or access the many different variations of each game released in the arcades. The same techniques to unlock and compete against hidden characters such as Shin Akuma are there to test your memory and SF devotion, whilst the added extras featured in the various ports throughout the years have also made the grade.
Street Fighter Alpha Anthology represents everything that any SF fan could possibly want or ask for. One of the finest series of fighters has been compiled with due care and respect, and will instantly bring back memories for those that recall shoveling coins in the arcades, challenging any pretenders to the throne.
Although 2D fighters tend to get overlooked in this day and age of first-person-shooters and countless derivative third-person clones, Street Fighter Alpha Anthology still manages to entertain with a level of skill, precision and dexterity that is sorely missed - games this good will never die...
