Note: This was a playthrough of Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold on the Alpha Anthology for the PS2 (which is somehow not listed on the Release list??)

Street Fighter Alpha 2 feels like a mild step up from Alpha, iterating and adding five new characters. While the flashy new additions for mechanics, characters (and a hidden stage) look like a big step up, they don't quite replace the original game's appeal and I found myself torn between the newer and older versions.

As an interim between Alphas, Alpha 2 is in an odd place for story. Retconning, overwriting, and tweaking stories as well as adding new ones for the added characters - Zangief, Dhalsim, Gen, Rolento, and Sakura. Sakura and Rolento are the most welcome additions as their movesets are a huge step up over the rest of the cast. The game features all the bells and whistles from the first Alpha (3-section meter, rolling recovery, Alpha Counter, air block, chain combo, etc) as well as a new type of Custom Combo mode that cancels recovery animation of normal and special moves, allowing a whole slew of neat combos. That said, if you're not super combo-savvy past a few strikes it can be very difficult to get much damage out of it, leaving Supers as the main way to go unless you're dealing with characters with really bad supers.

The balance of the cast is very much balanced towards a handful of characters at the top versus the rest - for struggles with the mid the low tier it came down to execution (charge moves felt IMPOSSIBLE in this version, 270 was surprisingly doable) and this iteration is still fairly strict so using input windows for training didn't help too much. Most struggle with solid moves/matchups until players start hitting shoto characters, followed by some unique and satisfying movesets with Rolento and Rose. There are plenty of advanced and unique mechanics/interactions as well as additional moves, but for players attempting the arcade mode there are a few options to reduce difficulty and speed since Turbo 2 as a default can be vicious to start out with.

Presentation was somewhat lacking compared to its predecessor - the anime portraits and colorful stages are still there (varying from USA to China to Japan to more Japan) and the addition of the background stage from the movie is exciting fanservice but it doesn't feel too distinct from the first Alpha. Music is also somewhat bland, save for tracks that hearken back to SF2 themes or the big exception: Sakura's extremely peppy and memorable theme song.

Alpha 2 adds more characters and the Custom Combo mechanic to pump up the original, but I tended to struggle a lot more with enjoying this one. Perhaps it was because it was too similar to the original Alpha so the excitement of the original's foundation has worn off but Custom Combos didn't quite replace Supers for usefulness and a large amount of the cast is still pretty unwieldy. That said, this did give me Rolento and I do love me some Rolento!

Gameplay, Story and Value:

Core gameplay is the same as it's ever been with Street Fighter. Each button is assigned to weak, mid and strong versions of either punch or kick, and each character has access to their own slew of special moves. Controls are quick and solid and there's really no sense dwelling on the excellent gameplay that has been in place since the first iteration of Street Fighter II.

That's not to say Street Fighter Alpha 2 doesn't bring anything new to the table for 16-bit fighter fans though. Aside from an expanded roster, Alpha 2 introduces a Super Gauge used to pull off super-powered variants of special moves or burst into a high-speed combo attack. Ending a fight with one of these new mechanics results in a special finish, which really just means some flashy visuals and extra points. All of these new mechanics are easy to use and great to look at, resulting in a fighting game that's as much fun to watch as it is to play.

One casualty to come as a result of all this new flare is the introduction of load times at the start of each fight. Before you can actually take control and start beating each other, there's an awkward pause of upwards of three seconds. Also, while I didn't have any issues with my Super Famicom copy, I've heard that this cartridge has a tendency to heat up pretty quickly.

Presentation, Music and Sound:

The visuals in this game have taken on more of an anime style than previous titles, which only serves to preserve it moving forward. Characters and animations are highly detailed and look fantastic. My biggest complaint is that you still have that letterboxing effect during fights. It's not something you really notice during gameplay, but looking back over it I think it would have been nice if they found a way to use that extra space.

Music is as good as it's ever been and all the digitized voice samples and weighty sound effects you'd expect to hear are present in full force.

Afterthoughts:

I think I can safely say that this is my favorite fighting game available on 16-bit consoles, and if not my single favorite then at least tied with Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. Sure, there aren't a ton of titles to choose from really, but this one just hits all the right chords for me. Characters are fun and easy to pick up and it's quick to get into the action. All in all a fantastic fighter, and it has me excited to take a closer look at Alpha 3, which I'll be playing as part of the PS1 list!

Review:

Playthrough: