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Review : Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for PS2
Last week I picked up Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for PS2. This is sort of a follow up to Street Fighter Anniversary Collection but it has all the Street Fighter Alpha games including Pocket Fighter (aka Super Gem Fighter MiniMix) on a single PS2 DVD disc. This is a deal for just 30 bucks.
The games look great on the PS2 and there is virtually no noticeable loading time. All the frames of animation are there and these are even better than the import Sega Saturn versions of Alpha 2, Alpha 3 and Pocket Fighter. There is a nice autosave feature and all the games use a common options interface as well as rumble feedback.
Pocket Fighter is the super cute super deformed fighting game that is based on the character designs from Puzzle Fighter. It is damn nice to see it in english and not have to play the import Saturn version over at BBQ's place or the choppy animation PSOne version.
A decent joystick or a fighting game pad is a must for a fighting game bonanza such as this.
If you beat Street Fighter Alpha 3 and then hold select when picking Alpha 3 again from the game select menu the expanded character version of Alpha 3 is available. This has every character in all the Street Fighter 2 games as well as Street Fighter 2 and Super Street Fighter 2. You can also pick what version of the rules you want to use in this mode so you can have Ken from Street Fighter 2 vs Chun Li from Alpha. It is a wonderful thing and make for some damn nice fighting sessions.
I am glad to have an accessible copy of Street Fighter 2 Alpha Gold since that game has a special place in my heart. Sure Street Fighter Alpha 3 has all the characters but there are some great background and music in Alpha 2 Gold.
I have a bad habit of buying Street Fighter Alpha 3 when they make a new port of it. I have it on the PSOne, Dreamcast and Gameboy Advance. My friend BBQ has gone one step further and has the excellent import Sega Saturn version but I have so far not been tempted by the PSP version of Alpha 3.
I consider myself and BBQ some serious Capcom fighting game masters and I hope that they follow this up with more anthologies of Capcom fighting games. These games are a wonderful example of how good 2d fighting game play can be and are a timeless testament to the hand drawn artwork of 2d games. These games looked great in the late 1990's and they look great now. These are some of the best fighting games ever made and it is worth your 30 bucks to have them all together on one PS2 DVD.
Jake at July 6, 2006 
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Street Fighter II is the first game I really remember playing, besides Super Mario Bros on NES. It was an experience that sticks with me. This is definitly a game I will keep an eye out for.
Remember the arcade version of Capcom vs X-Men? The arcade version, not the crappy console port. That was my favorite. They should re-port it again to the ps2, but make it like the arcade version. God I miss that game.
PS: I miss your video reviews. They were massively excellent.
Posted by: Shawn L ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.8bitjoystick.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 7, 2006 6:25 PM
You might want to get Street Fighter Anniversary Collection first. It has all the SF 2s
Xmen Vs Streetfighter.. yeah! That is exactly what I was thinking about. The Sega Saturn version with the Memory cart was way better than the PsOne port.
Well I might start them again but I'll have to hook up my equipment and go and upload it at the library. Being on dial up again greatly hinders podcasting.
Posted by: Jacob Metcalf at July 7, 2006 7:44 PM
That's the good version! I knew there was one, but couldn't remember. I never had the pleasure of owning a Saturn, so I could never play it.
Podcasting: You could always make then and save them on your mac, then whenever you have time, upload one here and there from the library. But you'll at lease be making them. Which I don't think you should stop, because then it's like a flat tire, and it's hard to get going again.
As long as you know that we all enjoy them. I do at least.
Posted by: Shawn L at July 8, 2006 1:56 PM
The video reviews were PIMP! And so is that collection. Zangief smash!!
Posted by: BBQ at July 8, 2006 9:09 PM
