Street
Fighter Alpha 2 / Street Fighter Zero 2
REVIEW:
Street
Fighter Alpha 2 is the 1996 sequel to Capcom's original Street Fighter Alpha
"reboot," which saw considerable success at the arcade scene and
brought excitement back to the hit franchise. Branching off from the wildly
successful Street Fighter 2 series, the Alpha series still had a
lot to prove at the time... especially in such a competitive era of the fighting game
genre. Thankfully, SFA2 was a much bigger, badder, more vibrant,
and more playable fighting game than the prequel!
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Street
Fighter Alpha 2 character select screen.
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SFA2 gave returning Street Fighter Alpha players exactly what they wanted: more characters, more moves, and
more balanced gameplay. New characters in SFA2, include: Gen from Street
Fighter ( 1), Dhalsim & Zangief
from Street Fighter 2, and even the mysterious mid-boss
from the arcade version of Final Fight, Rolento. All returning characters
received some solid updates to their movesets and became even more fun to use in
SFA2 all around, also in part thanks to the
expanded gameplay system...
Street Fighter Alpha 2 retains most of
the mechanics introduced in the prequel. Returning from the prequel, are the
Super Combo Gauge, Air-Blocking, Alpha Counters, and Fall Breaking. What's new this time around is the Custom Combo
System,
allowing players to perform a series of basic and special moves to create
a custom combo of their own (until the timer gauge for the custom combo runs
out). Universal Chain Combos from the prequel were removed, although Guy & Gen can still perform a
select few. Street Fighter Alpha 2 also fixed up the balance and
high-damage combos from the original Street Fighter Alpha.
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The Yoga master
returns!
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Presentation-wise, Street
Fighter Alpha 2 succeeded the original in every way imaginable. For
starters, the visuals are brighter, the backgrounds are more exciting and lively
(with some featuring epic character cameos), and the special moves and hit
sparks are more vibrant. Simple things like the HUD gauges
are even more appealing to the eye, and the amazing in-game artwork by Bengus speaks for
itself. Every character now has his or her own unique stage (with no cheap
re-colored versions like in SFA1), and the new music tracks are
incredible. You'd be hard pressed to find a 2D fighting game with a more
well-rounded presentation than SFA2 in 1996.
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Epic
and humorous background character cameos!
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In closing, Street Fighter Alpha 2 pretty much had it all together for a fighting game in
the mid 90's... a great character roster, fun gameplay with an open-ended combo
system, a badass intro, an amazing art direction (Bengus, Edayan & Dai-chan), catchy new music
tracks, and plenty of throwbacks for fans of classic Capcom games. All of these elements came together in harmony, making SFA2
a very impactful and memorable fighter for its time. No doubt, fighting game
players in 1996 knew they
were looking at a "quality" 2D fighting game when SFA2 was on the screen.
This game was ahead of its
time!
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Cammy
is a playable character in SFA2 Gold.
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 FUN FACT:
In 1996, Capcom released an updated version of Street
Fighter Alpha 2 in Japan titled "Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha". This version gave characters several new moves and
added additional game modes, including: Dramatic Battle, Shin Gouki
Mode, and Survival. The update also added new playable "classic" versions of returning SF2 characters, along with Evil Ryu.
The updated version later arrived in North America / PAL as Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold (Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash in Japan),
which also hosted the first Alpha series appearance of Cammy. However,
the NA / PAL version does not
feature Dramatic Battle mode.
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| Page Updated: |
November
3rd, 2024
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| Developer(s): |
Capcom |
| Publisher(s): |
Capcom |
| Designer(s): |
Noritaka Funamizu
Haruo Murata
Hideaki Itsuno
Akiman Character Design
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| Artwork
by: |
Bengus
(CRMK), Dai-Chan, Edayan |
| Platform(s): |
Arcade,
Super Nintendo, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows
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| Release Date(s): |
Feb. 27th, 1996
 Arcade
Mar. 6th, 1996
 Arcade
Aug. 9th, 1996
PS1
Sept. 30th, 1996
PS1
Sept. 14th, 1996
Saturn
Sept. 30th, 1996
Saturn
Nov. 1996
SNES
Dec. 20th,
1996
SNES
Mar. 12th, 1998
Windows
1998
Windows |
| Characters: |
Ryu,
Adon,
Chun-Li,
Guy,
Ken Masters,
Dhalsim,
Gen,
Sakura Kasugano,
Rolento,
Zangief,
Charlie Nash,
Birdie,
Rose,
Sodom,
Sagat,
Akuma, M.
Bison,
Dan Hibiki, Evil
Ryu, Shin Akuma
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Featured Video:
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| Related Games: |
Street
Fighter Alpha, Street
Fighter Alpha 3, SFA3: Upper,
SFA3: Max, SFA Anthology, Street
Fighter, Street Fighter 2, SF2:
CE,
SF2 Turbo, Super SF2,
Super SF2T, Super
SF2T: Revival, Super SF2T HD Remix,
Ultra SF2, SF3: New Generation,
SF3: 2nd Impact, SF3: 3rd Strike, SF3: 3rd Strike
OE, Street Fighter 4, Super
SF4, Super SF4: 3D Edition, Super
SF4: Arcade Edition, Ultra SF4, Street
Fighter 5, SF5: Arcade
Edition, SF Anniv. Collection,
SF30th: Anniv. Collection, Street Fighter EX,
SFEX2, SFEX3, SF: The Movie,
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo,
Super PF2T HD Remix, Pocket
Fighter, Art of Fighting 3, Samurai
Shodown 4, King of Fighters '96, Killer
Instinct Gold, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Warzard,
X-Men VS Street Fighter, Final
Fight Revenge |
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Gameplay
Engine
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9.0 / 10
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Story
/ Theme
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10 / 10
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Overall
Graphics
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9.5 / 10
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Animation
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9.5 / 10
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Music
/ Sound Effects
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9.5 / 10
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Innovation
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9.0 / 10
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Art Direction
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10 / 10
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Customization
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8.0 / 10
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Options / Extras
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8.0 / 10
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Intro / Presentation
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10 / 10
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Replayability / Fun
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9.0 / 10
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"Ouch" Factor
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8.0 / 10
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Characters
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8.5 / 10
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BOTTOM LINE
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9.0
/
10
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Review based on Arcade
version
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| Final
Words: |
Not only is SFA2 an attractive game
visually, but for decades, SFA2 has held up as a particularly fun & competitive Street Fighter installment... one of the all time best, for sure! Some hardcore fans would even swear up and down they prefer SFA2 over
SFA3 for the custom
combo system (and other reasons). If I had to choose, I personally still prefer SFA3... but I have to agree, SFA2's
custom combos are stupidly fun. The memorable soundtrack, gorgeous backgrounds, and cool vibe of SFA2 also makes me want to return to the game regularly. SFA2 is indeed something special, and definitely one of Capcom's strongest, yet most underappreciated fighting games of the mid/late 90's.
In 1996, SFA2
was definitely a huge step for the Street Fighter series... particularly making a statement to fighting game enthusiasts who appreciate the "small
details". Lots of other fighting games were competing for "attention" and, some, "shock value"... but SFA2 was an honest fighting game that 2D fighting game fans loved to play. There's so much beauty, polish, and fan-service packed into this game.
SFA2 instantly became one of my top favorite Capcom fighters when it debuted, and
is still on my "all time faves" list. I'll throw down in some Alpha
2 (or Alpha 3) any day of the week.
As great as SFA2 was, certain disgruntled fans might've thought the game
"wasn't all that" because it was still missing fan-favorite
SF2 characters such as Vega (Claw), Blanka, or E. Honda, for
example. However, Capcom answered fans prayers with with yet another brilliant sequel to the
hit Alpha series, the epic SFA3!
~TFG
Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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