REVIEW:  Street Fighter Alpha Anthology is a disc-based compilation of the entire Alpha series. The game also released under the title "Street Fighter Zero: Fighter's Generation" in Japan. Yes, Capcom totally borrowed the name of your favorite fighting game website (which was up and running over 6 years before this game). Not to mention the title of their 2006 DVD release, Street Fighter Alpha: Generations, also sounds familiar.  It seems someone over at Capcom acknowledged this, because they sent me a free copy of the game! TFG was also invited to participate in the SFA: Anthology online advertising campaign, which I kindly accepted.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business. Street Fighter Alpha Anthology includes arcade perfect versions of SFA, SFA2, SFA2 Gold (which features different versions of some characters and extra character Cammy), SFA3, and as an added bonus, Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix! This package is indeed arcade perfect, so don't expect the exclusive characters from PSP's SFA3: Max to appear in Street Fighter Alpha 3. However, the console-exclusive characters: Guile, T. Hawk, Fei Long, Evil Ryu, and Dee Jay from the home versions of SFA3 do make the cut as "secret" characters. (Once you beat the game with one character, you unlock the "home version" of SFA3).

 

 

Another awesome unlockable is a little something called Hyper Street Fighter Alpha, which is similar to that of Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo as it appears in Street Fighter: Anniversary Collection. Players can select all the different "Alpha" versions of the characters and pit them against each other for the first time ever. The character selection is pretty much Street Fighter Alpha 3's, but you can select several alternate versions of characters. This mode even features a 3-ISM option which enables characters to parry like in Street Fighter III. There's also an ISM allowing characters to throw huge projectiles and perform moves from the Marvel VS series.


Unfortunately this mode can only be played 2-player, or training for 1-player... and sadly, you're limited to Dramatic Battle stages only for some strange reason. All characters have their own theme at least, specific to their Street Fighter Alpha 1, 2 & 3 versions, which is pretty cool. The Hyper Street Fighter Alpha mode also includes a kickass sound test menu, with tracks ranging from Super Street Fighter X2 to Final Fight, and of course all the original tracks from SFA 1-3 (CPS1 AND CPSII if that means anything to you). 

 

 

To sum it up, the entire Alpha series has finally been ported to a home console near-perfectly. Load times are non-existent (besides the opening menu where you select your game), the original story modes & endings of all the games are intact, and everything you loved about the individual games (classic intros, BGMs, character dialogue, and stages) is all there! One slightly disappointing thing I noticed about Anthology is that the "sharpness" is bit toned down from the pixel-perfect arcade versions, by default. You might not notice it much, but I do remember the games appearing a bit blurrier than I remember in Anthology.


The good news is, you can venture to the Options menu and turn the sharpness all the way up, and bingo... your 2D sprites are back to their original goodness (mostly). For the first time ever, you can also play "Dramatic Battle" in Street Fighter Alpha and Street Fighter Alpha 2! Although you and your partner share the same life bar, which is a bit awkward and doesn't make much sense (unless they're attached by some invisible string), because if your partner is KO'ed, you are too.  It adds some interesting strategy, but I'm sure most players will prefer SFA3's style of Dramatic Battle.

 
 

 

Anthology is definitely an awesome package all around. As a Capcom fan since the late 80's, I (along with many others) always hoped Capcom would eventually pack up the entire Alpha series in one box and rerelease it. And they definitely did it right... every version of Street Fighter Alpha you could ever want (besides SFA3:Max) is here! The addition of Pocket Fighter (AKA Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix) also nicely breaks up the monotony of the more serious 2D fighters for some extra fun!

 

Page Updated: September 13th, 2021 Developer(s): Capcom Publisher(s): Capcom Platform(s): PlayStation 2 Release Date(s): May 25th, 2006     June 13th, 2006     July 7th, 2006        Characters:  Ryu, Chun-Li, Guy, Ken, Dhalsim, Gen, Sakura, Rolento, Adon, Zangief, Charlie Nash, Birdie, Rose, Sodom, Sagat, Akuma, M. Bison, Dan, E.Honda, Cody, Karin, Vega, Blanka, Rainbow Mika, Cammy, Balrog, Juli, Juni, Dee Jay, Guile, T. Hawk, Fei Long, Ibuki, Morrigan, Lei Lei, Felicia, Tessa, Evil Ryu, Shin Akuma Related Links:  (NEWS: Sep. 13, 2021): Desk Demonstrates SFA: Anthology Parry Combos Featured Video: Related Games: Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, Street Fighter Alpha 3 Max, Street Fighter Anniversary Collection, Street Fighter: 30th Anniv. Collection, Pocket Fighter, Ultra Street Fighter 2    Gameplay Engine  9.0 / 10 Story / Theme  8.0 / 10 Overall Graphics  8.0 / 10 Animation  8.0 / 10 Music / Sound Effects  7.5 / 10 Innovation  7.5 / 10 Art Direction  8.0 / 10 Customization  7.5 / 10 Options / Extras  7.5 / 10 Intro / Presentation  9.0 / 10 Replayability / Fun  8.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor  8.0 / 10 Characters  9.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE  8.6 / 10      Final Words: A few extra options, features, and modes wouldn't have hurt the package, but overall, Street Fighter Alpha: Anthology is any 90's era Street Fighter fan's dream come true. It's also a great accompaniment to Street Fighter: The Anniversary Collection. By owning both compilations on PS2, it's almost like having the best of 90's arcade Street Fighter games in your living room. And for the "new blood" fighting game players who missed out on these great games when they came out, now's your chance to catch up on your Street Fighter history! If you didn't notice, the Japanese version carries quite a flashy name I must say... Looks like The Fighters Generation is officially endorsed by Capcom now! Haha. If you remember correctly, TFG actually advertised for this game before it came out (and I was honored to do so). I also received a free copy of the game (which is the least they can do since they "borrowed" the name of this website!) lol. It's all good Capcom. To me, it's actually an honor to have TFG's name appear in such an epic Street Fighter compilation. ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen    Click Here for all box artwork!   Click Here for all Screenshots!  FOLLOW    ON:                             TFG NEWS CHARACTERS GAMES