365//365: Day 231 – Street Fighter Alpha (PSX)

Capcom went to great lengths denying fans of a Street Fighter game that ended with the number three. While they saw fit to release about five hundred revisions of the classic Street Fighter II game, it took nearly ten years before the digit went up one. In-between the mass of Street Fighter II titles came what was once thought to be the prequel, in Street Fighter Alpha. While the storyline takes some convoluted twists and turns, thanks to other spin-offs, canon changes and whatnot, the one thing that will not change is the fact that Street Fighter Alpha began a sub series that had no weak link to it.

Being that this is a supposed prequel to Street Fighter II, there are several mainstays that did not make the trip over. These omissions were addressed by introducing brand new fighters, fighters from other Capcom titles, as well as fighters from the very first Street Fighter title. While the roster isn’t very large, there’s enough diversity between each character to feel satisfied enough. Whether it be the grappling powerhouse that is Birdie, or the rushdown antics of Guy, you have every type of fighter you would have wanted.

Of course Ken and Ryu are featured in this somewhat prequel to the Street Fighter II series. Though Ken seems to have let both his hair and eyebrows grow out some.

Mix into that some brilliant character models, all brand new for its time. They have a very subtle anime-like quality to them. The amount of detail on each character is increased over what their SFII models. The backgrounds have taken a similar boost in quality, although there’s not a whole lot going on while you fight. They do look almost like a painting — a pretty picture, but nothing more. There’s a lack of animation quality, which is understandable, as all Sony PlayStation Capcom brawlers had to sacrifice some frames in order for the game to even be possible. While it’s no where near as problematic as the PSX version of Alpha 2, you will notice it here and there.

With the shift over to all new engines, the audio department has undergone a positive change. The traditional vocals for all of the special moves have been revamped, with more clarity and a bit less gruff to them. The voice actors do a commendable job portraying each character, and making that voice seem appropriate for them. The one sore spot in the Street Fighter franchise for years after Street Fighter II, the music, is actually well composed, with slight remixes of classic tunes. The new character receive some equally celebrated tunes as well, rounding out a very solid audio line up.

Adon makes his first appearance in a Street Fighter game since the very original, and boy does he look better than ever.

Playing each character presents the same tight and responsive controls as every other true Street Fighter game after the second (keyword: true, meaning Street Fighter: The Movie doesn’t count). Gone are the floaty jump feelings of the SFII series. Jumping feels proper for a title such as this, where you’re not sailing in the air, nor dropping like a rock. Along with the jumping tweaks are a plethora of additions to the gameplay.Air blocking debuts in Street Fighter Alpha, which acts as a standard standing or crouching block, but in the air. This removes a lot of the predictability in terms of the outcome of an aerial assault coming towards you, but infuses the predictability of your anti air maneuvers being snuffed by a block. While some think this cheapens the game as a whole, there’s a lot worse in the franchise that can be considered a cheapening tactic (kara throws are an unnecessary addition to SF3 and SF4, but I’m not complaining). Added to the air blocking are chain combos, which lets you link together weak to medium to strong button presses to perform combos. This could lead to some flashy combos, as well as extra damage before a sweep. It opens up experimentation up significantly, and is a lot user friendly than the narrow minded chain timing from the SF4 series.

Finally, super combos have been tweaked from their debut in Super Street Fighter II: Turbo. Each character has two super attacks that can be stocked up to three levels. Performing the proper motion twice plus one punch will perform a level one super, while each subsequent button pressed within the same attack line will raise the strength up to level three. Depending on the character, the higher level the super, the more potent it becomes, whether its an extra sonic boom from Charlie, or attacks, a launch and then air throw from Rose. As with chain combos, experimentation is encouraged and often rewarded.

Bison debuts his omitted from SF4 fireball, which replaces his Psycho Crusher, which has become a super move.

Three things really kick Street Fighter Alpha in the face. As explained earlier, the frame rate loss is visible, though not very severe. The character roster is pretty meager, yet there’s enough variety and diversity in the line up to stave off any lasting negative feelings. Finally, the biggest issue has to do with disc access time. The loading can get really annoying, with loads up to 13 seconds between fights. While it does not dilute the enjoyment of the game in an overall matter, the wait time between fights can become tiresome.

As much as people wanted a Street Fighter III for years and years, Street Fighter Alpha was the perfect appetizer for that main course. Thanks in part to this title, we have seen an evolution in the core series that was based off many elements from the Alpha series. Most importantly from top to bottom it’s a strong fighting title that more than worth your time, even with Super Street Fighter IV being the big thing with all the kids today.

Rating: 8.3