I think this was also for some kind of Gamesradar Games Guru competition.
“The Street Fighter saga may have gone on and on, but in my mind, Street Fighter Alpha 2 was the zenith, the epitome, the finest one on one versus fighting game in history. Capcom stuck to its “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” strategy, and merely fine-tuned the existing Alpha engine to near perfection, as well as adding new characters and increased turbo options into the mix. Remember, the all-new Street Fighter 3 was already in development deep within the company’s creative annex at the time of SFA2’s release.
The most impressive aspect of SFA2 is the balancing of the different characters skills. Even when using the sloth-like but mighty Zangief, you feel you have a chance against the nimble Sakura (the comedy version of Ryu, if I’m being cruel). It must have been hard enough for Capcom to balance the original eight fighters in the ground-breaking Street Fighter 2, let alone balance the near twenty of this version.
As a Capcom fanboy, it was nice to see Rolento join the cast alongside fellow Final Fighters Guy and Sodom. While it was slightly disappointing not to see any truly new characters, the fact I knew the new cast members’ faces and I had an idea of what their general skill sets were made them fit in and not seem like random interlopers, a fate R-Mika could not avoid in the sequel, Street Fighter Alpha 3.
Capcom’s artists didn’t just draw new characters, they also fashioned a whole new set of backgrounds. In a rush to get the original Street Fighter Alpha to market, the backdrops were clearly hastily cobbled together, looked disgusting, and were instantly forgettable. Needless to say, SFA2 improved on them immeasurably, not only from an artistic viewpoint, but also from a technical angle. Some of the parallax effects were, for the time, mind-blowing. And they were anything but forgettable; Birdie’s manky public toilet anyone?
The attention to detail in the gameplay is as polished as ever; get together with another experienced player who can perform all the special and super moves, and knows exactly when to pull them out of the hat, and you can expect fast-paced, evenly matched and exciting games, often ending with fireworks… or exploding kaleidoscopic backgrounds at the very least. Sadly, the opposite is true when playing against the scourge of Versus Fighting Game aficionados, the ‘Button Basher’. As with any other game, the match quickly goes from a duel of wits, cunning and skill, to a frenzy of name-calling, silly faces and distractions as they land a 5 hit combo totally by fluke.
In retrospect, I don’t think I ever truly appreciated Capcom’s work of genius at the time. It is only in recent years upon booting up a second-hand PSone version that, after the disappointing mish-mash of SFA3 and the dull and forgettable characters of Street Fighter 3, I have come to appreciate that it was after all: the Fighters Destiny.”
Ooh, Street Fighter III was a “disappointing mish-mash”! I didn’t really play it properly until it was released on the Xbox to be fair – but nevertheless, Street Fighter Alpha 2 still remains my favourite. And two mentions in two articles for those accursed casual gamers! I’m still hating on the button bashers to this day, have no fear – only this time I can beat them online with Dan in Street Fighter IV.
