Street Fighter Alpha 2 / Street Fighter Zero 2 - TFG Review (2024)

StreetFighter Alpha 2 / Street Fighter Zero 2


REVIEW:StreetFighter Alpha 2 is the 1996 sequel to Capcom's original Street Fighter Alpha "reboot," which saw considerable success at the arcade scene andbrought excitement back to the hit franchise. Branching off from the wildlysuccessful Street Fighter 2 series, the Alpha series still had alot to prove at the time... especially in such a competitive era of the fighting gamegenre. Thankfully, SFA2 was a much bigger, badder, more vibrant,and more playable fighting game than the prequel!

SFA2 gave returning Street Fighter Alpha players exactly what they wanted: more characters, more moves, andmore balanced gameplay. New characters in SFA2, include: Gen from StreetFighter ( 1),Dhalsim & Zangieffrom Street Fighter 2, and even the mysterious mid-bossfrom the arcade version of Final Fight, Rolento. All returning charactersreceived some solid updates to their movesets and became even more fun to use inSFA2 all around, also in part thanks to theexpanded gameplay system...

Street Fighter Alpha 2

retains most ofthe mechanics introduced in the prequel. Returning from the prequel, are theSuper Combo Gauge, Air-Blocking, Alpha Counters, and Fall Breaking. What's new this time around is the Custom ComboSystem,allowing players to perform a series of basic and special moves to createa custom combo of their own (until the timer gauge for the custom combo runsout). Universal Chain Combos from the prequel were removed, although Guy & Gen can still perform aselect few. Street Fighter Alpha 2 also fixed up the balance andhigh-damage combos from the original Street Fighter Alpha.

Presentation-wise, StreetFighter Alpha 2 succeeded the original in every way imaginable. Forstarters, the visuals are brighter, the backgrounds are more exciting and lively(with some featuring epic character cameos), and the special moves and hitsparks are more vibrant. Simple things like the HUD gaugesare even more appealing to the eye, and the amazing in-game artwork by Bengus speaks foritself. Every character now has his or her own unique stage (with no cheapre-colored versions like in SFA1), and the new music tracks areincredible. You'd be hard pressed to find a 2D fighting game with a morewell-rounded presentation than SFA2 in 1996.

In closing, Street Fighter Alpha 2 pretty much had it all together for a fighting game inthe mid 90's... a great character roster, fun gameplay with an open-ended combosystem, a badass intro, an amazing art direction (Bengus, Edayan & Dai-chan), catchy new musictracks, and plenty of throwbacks for fans of classic Capcom games. All of these elements came together in harmony, making SFA2a very impactful and memorable fighter for its time. No doubt, fighting gameplayers in 1996 knew theywere looking at a "quality" 2D fighting game when SFA2 was on the screen.This game was ahead of itstime!

FUN FACT: In 1996, Capcom released an updated version of StreetFighter Alpha 2 in Japan titled "Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha". This version gave characters several new moves andadded additional modes, including: Dramatic Battle, Shin GoukiMode, and Survival. The update also added 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 notfeature Dramatic Battle mode.

Page Updated:	January 25th, 2023
Developer(s):	Capcom
Publisher(s):	Capcom
Designer(s):	Noritaka Funamizu Haruo Murata Hideaki Itsuno Akiman Character Design
Artwork by:	Bengus (CRMK), Dai-Chan, Edayan
Platform(s):	Arcade,Super Nintendo, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Windows
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, EvilRyu, Shin Akuma
Featured Video:
Related Games:	StreetFighter Alpha, StreetFighter Alpha 3, SFA3: Upper,SFA3: Max, SFA Anthology, StreetFighter, 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, PocketFighter, 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
GameplayEngine 9.0 / 10 Story/ Theme 10 / 10 OverallGraphics 9.5 / 10 Animation 9.5 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 9.5 / 10 Innovation 9.0 / 10 Art Direction 10 / 10 Customization 8.0 / 10 Options / Extras 8.0 / 10 Intro / Presentation 10 / 10 Replayability / Fun 9.0 / 10 "Ouch" Factor 8.0 / 10 Characters 8.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 9.0/10 Review based on Arcadeversion
Final Words:	Not only is SFA2 an attractive gamevisually, 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 customcombo system (and other reasons). If I had to choose, I personally still prefer SFA3... but I have to agree, SFA2'scustom 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, SFA2was definitely a huge step for the Street Fighter series... particularly making a statement to fighting game enthusiasts who appreciate the "smalldetails". 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, andis still on my "all time faves" list. I'll throw down in some Alpha2 (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, forexample. However, Capcom answered fans prayers with with yet another brilliant sequel to thehit Alpha series, the epic SFA3! ~TFG Webmaster | @Fighters_Gen
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