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
The first Alpha didn't age really that greatly, but it's the first one to adopt a more anime artstyle fresh from the 90s that I absolutely love.
Curto, divertido e revolucionário
Muito divertido. Muita coisa nova em relação aos anteriores.
Street fighter com algumas mecânicas que mudaram tudo pra melhor. Bom demais
This game is considered good in my eyes because it wasn't just another SF2 rehash and it gave us cool as fuck Charlie Nash
Almost felt like this could've been the best SF so far, but holy crap was Bison bullshit, rest of the game felt pretty balanced though. Also quite a few characters cut from the roster and also a pretty small one over all.
I played as Rose.
I played as Rose.
Pretty big upgrade from SF2. Character designs are really cool looking, the arcade mode is actually playable this time, secret characters, Final Fight characters, dramatic battles and combo cancelling being introduced is a cool touch up from previous games. Character rival cutscenes in arcade mode is also really exciting and adds a really nice touch to the early lore beginnings for this series.
This game still got hella crust to it tho. Inputs (especially for supers) don't always register. The AI is seemingly trained to constantly run away from you and its frustrating to try and enter when the stages (which are also kind of bland) are unnecessarily long so it gives them constant room to run and dodge you. Combo cancelling is fun until Bison's AI starts queueing up like 20 charge moves and keeps you in a string. And when taking into account the bad input registration, it makes charge characters a nightmare to play. Also any AI character with a fireball is an asshole and spams 30 fireballs at you the moment the round starts to zone you out.
This game still got hella crust to it tho. Inputs (especially for supers) don't always register. The AI is seemingly trained to constantly run away from you and its frustrating to try and enter when the stages (which are also kind of bland) are unnecessarily long so it gives them constant room to run and dodge you. Combo cancelling is fun until Bison's AI starts queueing up like 20 charge moves and keeps you in a string. And when taking into account the bad input registration, it makes charge characters a nightmare to play. Also any AI character with a fireball is an asshole and spams 30 fireballs at you the moment the round starts to zone you out.
An all right follow up to SF2, huge step up in presentation
Gosto muito da arte desse jogo, a trilha sonora é bem característica também dessa linha de jogos, porém eu achei a máquina muito roubada kkkkkkkkkk. Passei um sufoco tremendo no Ryu, ele simplesmente largava combos gigantes e eu simplesmente não conseguia acertar um hit nele porque ele bloqueava todos. Mas com muita luta eu derrotei ele. Outro ponto são os personagens. Eu não reclamo da quantidade, mas sim da escolha dos que aqui seriam jogáveis, maioria não tem graça, me forçando a jogar com o Ken. Bem curto, é uma experiência de começo-meio-fim bem legal. O começo do que viria a ser uma das melhores sagas de SF
wacky hitboxes: an essential for every fighting game
Alpha 1 is a guilty pleasure for me, sure it's got a small roster, it's blatantly unfinished with recycled stages for over half the roster and competitively it's a broken mess but I just love how it feels, how easy to pick-up-and-play it is with the combo system, the amazing Alpha-era art, how god damn good the music is and the game has a really cozy atmosphere, Sonson Market... home.
Very good Street Fighter game.
It improves the gameplay of Street Fighter II, its graphics are beautiful, the character designs are great, etc.
I like a lot.
My only problem would be the small roster of characters, because unlike other Street Fighter games of that time, there are not many characters to choose from.
Great game, and one of my favorites, since it started the Street Fighter Alpha saga.
Its sequels surpass it, but this one is good.
It improves the gameplay of Street Fighter II, its graphics are beautiful, the character designs are great, etc.
I like a lot.
My only problem would be the small roster of characters, because unlike other Street Fighter games of that time, there are not many characters to choose from.
Great game, and one of my favorites, since it started the Street Fighter Alpha saga.
Its sequels surpass it, but this one is good.
Absolutely strong start to the spin off of Alpha labeled Street Fighter games
Apresentando diversas novas mecânicas para a franquia, Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams tem o seu charme e a sua essência.
Besides the broken super combo system, this is just a better SF2 with a weirder roster.
Impactante e promissor.
I find the gameplay of Fighter on Alpha Street: Dream Warriors to be responsive and visually legible, especially compared to predecessors not named Super II Turbo. It simply feels good to play.
The art style is clean and refined, and it stands as one of the most aesthetically cohesive games in the series. Alpha is just a straightforward, outwardly appealing, stripped-back experience. Well, stripped-back aside from the slightly bigger focus on character and story (Pre-match dialogue bubbles? What is this an NRS campaign?)
Unfortunately:
A. I’ve dipped into Alpha 2 and Alpha 3, and immediately found both more robust and just generally better than this. For some reason I’m more drawn to Alpha 2 but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
and
B. I recently discovered Third Strike. While I was playing this I was like… mm kinda wanna go back to Third Strike.
But I don’t think another game being better makes this game bad. Warriors Dreams Don’t Die is one of the most accessible entry-points to the series, and I’d recommend it to new fighting game fans curious about the nuts & bolts Street Fighter.
The art style is clean and refined, and it stands as one of the most aesthetically cohesive games in the series. Alpha is just a straightforward, outwardly appealing, stripped-back experience. Well, stripped-back aside from the slightly bigger focus on character and story (Pre-match dialogue bubbles? What is this an NRS campaign?)
Unfortunately:
A. I’ve dipped into Alpha 2 and Alpha 3, and immediately found both more robust and just generally better than this. For some reason I’m more drawn to Alpha 2 but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
and
B. I recently discovered Third Strike. While I was playing this I was like… mm kinda wanna go back to Third Strike.
But I don’t think another game being better makes this game bad. Warriors Dreams Don’t Die is one of the most accessible entry-points to the series, and I’d recommend it to new fighting game fans curious about the nuts & bolts Street Fighter.
My favorite Street Fighter game. Well, toss up between this and SFA2.
I was glad to see the change up in sprite style. More in line with the Darkstalkers’ style.
And giving the characters more than one super.
Also introduced the world to the greatest martial artist in the known universe: Dan Hibiki!
It’s not very well balanced (Akuma will destroy everyone lol), but there’s some fun to be had in that.
I like that the boss depends on who you choose. That was a nice addition to the genre that is still underutilized.
Bring it!
I was glad to see the change up in sprite style. More in line with the Darkstalkers’ style.
And giving the characters more than one super.
Also introduced the world to the greatest martial artist in the known universe: Dan Hibiki!
It’s not very well balanced (Akuma will destroy everyone lol), but there’s some fun to be had in that.
I like that the boss depends on who you choose. That was a nice addition to the genre that is still underutilized.
Bring it!
A série alpha é o ponto mais alto da franquia. O jogo é maravilhoso mesmo, tudo nele é perfeito, desde art style até a gameplay. Mas, assim como em todos os de arcade, a máquina é bem roubadinha viuKKKKKKKK
The blocking sound effect in this game is my ASMR Trigger
okay? eu gosto de quase todos elementos apresentado nesse jogo mas tenho q dizer q a gameplay dropa combo e a maquina ladrona e algo triste de ver nesse jogo.