There comes a time in everyone’s life, when they have been doing something for long enough, they need to take a step back, realize they have been doing said thing for long enough, and they move onto the next bigger and better thing. This was pretty much the process Capcom went through whenever they decided they were finished with Street Fighter II after SSFIIT, and while this certainly wouldn’t be the last time that we would see that specific iteration of the series (the ride never ends), it was clear that Capcom had exhausted everything they could from that game, and they needed to move onto other things. So they pressed on, making several other fighters, until ultimately deciding to return to the world of the Street Fighter universe for a new prequel game, and the start of a brand new sub-series for the franchise, which would all stem from one game known as Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors’ Dreams.
Not gonna lie, I was actually somewhat nervous to get into this game, because after constantly playing and talking about SFII for god knows how long, I figured I was gonna be in for a rude awakening whenever I tried out another title in this series. It also doesn’t help that, from this point on, I am tackling this series completely blind, because aside from some matches of SFIV here and there, I have never really played any other SF game. But hey, I do typically have a pretty good time with the fighting games I choose to play for this website, and SF hasn’t let me down (yet), so I was willing to jump into the game either way, and yeah, I did end up having a pretty good time. I wouldn’t say I prefer it over SSFIIT, but it still manages to be a fun, tough, and flashy fighting game that definitely shows promise for where this series is gonna be going later down the road.
The story is one that isn’t told to us in the game whatsoever, nor could I find any sort of summary of it online, but going off of what Alpha 2 says, it is essentially just another tournament story, most likely about M. Bison trying to fuck shit up again, so it is up to Ryu, Ken, and all the other fighters to step up to the plate, take him down, and triumph over the rest, which is as bland as you can get with a fighting game plot, but I’m pretty sure Street Fighter doesn’t care about story, so neither do I at this point. The graphics are absolutely wonderful, taking a page out of Darkstalkers book with wonderful designs for all of the different characters, with plenty of very impressive animations to go with them, even if the stage designs can be pretty lacking, the music is pretty good, having plenty of sweet tracks to accompany you as you kick the shit out of all of your opponents, but I for the life of me could not name you any tracks even if I tried, so uh… oops, and the gameplay/control is what you would expect from SF, feeling a little heavy, and it can take some getting used to (especially after previously playing King of Fighters), but it still manages to be fun and satisfying regardless of that.
The game is your typical 2D fighter, where you take control of one of ten different characters, which has most returning from previous Street Fighter games, two newcomers, and even two characters from Final Fight, which is pretty cool, take on many different opponents in fights that take place around the world, throw out plenty of different kicks, punches, and special moves to deplete your opponents’ health down to nothing while also making sure to dodge and block wisely, charge up your super meter to unleash some devastating attacks to get the upper hand on your opponent in many different cases, and rejoice as you stand victorious, proving that you are indeed the best street fighter to ever live…….. or at least, that’s what I hope I can achieve one day by getting good at one of these games. When it comes to Street Fighter, Capcom knew quite well from SFII that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, which is the mentality they stuck with when it came to this game, and it mostly worked out, because not only does it keep the same solid gameplay that we all know and love at this point, but it also adds onto it in several ways that makes it more interesting to tackle.
For starters, the super meter that was introduced in SSFIIT returns in this game, except now, it has been upgraded, making it a lot more useful and complex at the same time. Now, instead of just charging up the bar once and firing away whenever you need it, you can now charge it up to three times, with each different bar representing a different level of power for the super abilities you can use, each one requiring a different sequence of buttons you need to enter in order to pull them off. Of course, shit like this may seem like second nature for those that have played plenty of other fighting games later down the line, but with this being the first time we would see this kind of super meter mechanic for Street Fighter, as well as fighting games in general, it is not only a pretty sweet addition to your super arsenal, but it also adds another layer of strategy to any fight, making you wonder whether you should use a super right away to get an advantage over your foe, or try to build it up even more so you can unleash an absolutely DEVASTATING attack on them.
Alongside this, there are also plenty of new moves that you can pull off, such as air blocking, as well as being able to change up your fighting style between Normal or Auto, with Normal being exactly what it sounds like, and Auto being basically the handicap mode of the game, allowing the player to block things automatically up to ten times and allowing much easier inputs of super moves. I chose to stick with Normal the entire time, because I’m not a pussy-ass BITCH, but for what it’s worth, I do really like the idea of having an Auto mode in there, just in case you have players that are new to the series that want to be eased in while still having a great time. Mix all of that with the option to change your fighting speed, and you have a set-up here that is even more customizable than SSFIIT, able to give you just the right style of fight that you are looking for, which is definitely a plus in my book.
Having said all that though, if you were to ignore all of those new features entirely, then what you got here is just yet another basic arcade fighter from Capcom at the end of the day. Yes, it looks much nicer, still plays pretty well, and can be a lot of fun with the right people, but it is more or less what we have seen from many other fighters in the past, so how much you enjoy this game will not only be based on how well it does as a fighter in your own opinion, as well as whether or not you are sick of these games at this point. To drive that point home even further, the game also has fighting game syndrome, which comes in pretty brutally too, with a good number of the fights being pretty manageable, but then you get to the final boss, and good GOD, you will get completely destroyed if you don’t know what you are doing. Whether you are facing against Sagat, M. Bison, Akuma, it doesn’t matter who: they are all hungry for blood, and your sorry-ass is just what they are looking for, so you better bring your A-game and plenty of patience, otherwise you will just end up as a bloody corpse lying in the street that you chose to fight in.
Overall, despite not too much change to the formula and fighting syndrome being the evil that never dies, Street Fighter Alpha feels like a natural way to progress on from what Capcom had done with SFII, and is overall a pretty good game, still providing the same fast and fun gameplay you have come to love, having a gorgeous art style that is miles better than what came before it, and adding just enough changes to the gameplay to make fights that much more exciting and customizable for whatever makes you feel right at home with a game in this genre. I would recommend it for those who are big Street Fighter fans, as well as those who are big fighting game fans in general, because while this will definitely not live up to the later Alpha games (I’m calling it now), it is still fun regardless, and you can have a great time beating the fuck out of your friends with a smile on your face. Before we do end off this review though, there is one thing I forgot to mention about this game, which may just be the absolute best addition that this game brought to the entire Street Fighter franchise as a whole……….. it introduces Dan Hibiki, a character that is meant to be a parody of Ryo and Robert from Art of Fighting, who completely sucks at fighting, and is without a doubt the worst character to come from this series so far in terms of power and skill………. and we all love him for it.
Game #584
Not gonna lie, I was actually somewhat nervous to get into this game, because after constantly playing and talking about SFII for god knows how long, I figured I was gonna be in for a rude awakening whenever I tried out another title in this series. It also doesn’t help that, from this point on, I am tackling this series completely blind, because aside from some matches of SFIV here and there, I have never really played any other SF game. But hey, I do typically have a pretty good time with the fighting games I choose to play for this website, and SF hasn’t let me down (yet), so I was willing to jump into the game either way, and yeah, I did end up having a pretty good time. I wouldn’t say I prefer it over SSFIIT, but it still manages to be a fun, tough, and flashy fighting game that definitely shows promise for where this series is gonna be going later down the road.
The story is one that isn’t told to us in the game whatsoever, nor could I find any sort of summary of it online, but going off of what Alpha 2 says, it is essentially just another tournament story, most likely about M. Bison trying to fuck shit up again, so it is up to Ryu, Ken, and all the other fighters to step up to the plate, take him down, and triumph over the rest, which is as bland as you can get with a fighting game plot, but I’m pretty sure Street Fighter doesn’t care about story, so neither do I at this point. The graphics are absolutely wonderful, taking a page out of Darkstalkers book with wonderful designs for all of the different characters, with plenty of very impressive animations to go with them, even if the stage designs can be pretty lacking, the music is pretty good, having plenty of sweet tracks to accompany you as you kick the shit out of all of your opponents, but I for the life of me could not name you any tracks even if I tried, so uh… oops, and the gameplay/control is what you would expect from SF, feeling a little heavy, and it can take some getting used to (especially after previously playing King of Fighters), but it still manages to be fun and satisfying regardless of that.
The game is your typical 2D fighter, where you take control of one of ten different characters, which has most returning from previous Street Fighter games, two newcomers, and even two characters from Final Fight, which is pretty cool, take on many different opponents in fights that take place around the world, throw out plenty of different kicks, punches, and special moves to deplete your opponents’ health down to nothing while also making sure to dodge and block wisely, charge up your super meter to unleash some devastating attacks to get the upper hand on your opponent in many different cases, and rejoice as you stand victorious, proving that you are indeed the best street fighter to ever live…….. or at least, that’s what I hope I can achieve one day by getting good at one of these games. When it comes to Street Fighter, Capcom knew quite well from SFII that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, which is the mentality they stuck with when it came to this game, and it mostly worked out, because not only does it keep the same solid gameplay that we all know and love at this point, but it also adds onto it in several ways that makes it more interesting to tackle.
For starters, the super meter that was introduced in SSFIIT returns in this game, except now, it has been upgraded, making it a lot more useful and complex at the same time. Now, instead of just charging up the bar once and firing away whenever you need it, you can now charge it up to three times, with each different bar representing a different level of power for the super abilities you can use, each one requiring a different sequence of buttons you need to enter in order to pull them off. Of course, shit like this may seem like second nature for those that have played plenty of other fighting games later down the line, but with this being the first time we would see this kind of super meter mechanic for Street Fighter, as well as fighting games in general, it is not only a pretty sweet addition to your super arsenal, but it also adds another layer of strategy to any fight, making you wonder whether you should use a super right away to get an advantage over your foe, or try to build it up even more so you can unleash an absolutely DEVASTATING attack on them.
Alongside this, there are also plenty of new moves that you can pull off, such as air blocking, as well as being able to change up your fighting style between Normal or Auto, with Normal being exactly what it sounds like, and Auto being basically the handicap mode of the game, allowing the player to block things automatically up to ten times and allowing much easier inputs of super moves. I chose to stick with Normal the entire time, because I’m not a pussy-ass BITCH, but for what it’s worth, I do really like the idea of having an Auto mode in there, just in case you have players that are new to the series that want to be eased in while still having a great time. Mix all of that with the option to change your fighting speed, and you have a set-up here that is even more customizable than SSFIIT, able to give you just the right style of fight that you are looking for, which is definitely a plus in my book.
Having said all that though, if you were to ignore all of those new features entirely, then what you got here is just yet another basic arcade fighter from Capcom at the end of the day. Yes, it looks much nicer, still plays pretty well, and can be a lot of fun with the right people, but it is more or less what we have seen from many other fighters in the past, so how much you enjoy this game will not only be based on how well it does as a fighter in your own opinion, as well as whether or not you are sick of these games at this point. To drive that point home even further, the game also has fighting game syndrome, which comes in pretty brutally too, with a good number of the fights being pretty manageable, but then you get to the final boss, and good GOD, you will get completely destroyed if you don’t know what you are doing. Whether you are facing against Sagat, M. Bison, Akuma, it doesn’t matter who: they are all hungry for blood, and your sorry-ass is just what they are looking for, so you better bring your A-game and plenty of patience, otherwise you will just end up as a bloody corpse lying in the street that you chose to fight in.
Overall, despite not too much change to the formula and fighting syndrome being the evil that never dies, Street Fighter Alpha feels like a natural way to progress on from what Capcom had done with SFII, and is overall a pretty good game, still providing the same fast and fun gameplay you have come to love, having a gorgeous art style that is miles better than what came before it, and adding just enough changes to the gameplay to make fights that much more exciting and customizable for whatever makes you feel right at home with a game in this genre. I would recommend it for those who are big Street Fighter fans, as well as those who are big fighting game fans in general, because while this will definitely not live up to the later Alpha games (I’m calling it now), it is still fun regardless, and you can have a great time beating the fuck out of your friends with a smile on your face. Before we do end off this review though, there is one thing I forgot to mention about this game, which may just be the absolute best addition that this game brought to the entire Street Fighter franchise as a whole……….. it introduces Dan Hibiki, a character that is meant to be a parody of Ryo and Robert from Art of Fighting, who completely sucks at fighting, and is without a doubt the worst character to come from this series so far in terms of power and skill………. and we all love him for it.
Game #584