Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, released in Japan as Street Fighter Zero: Fighters' Generation, is a 2006 fighting game compilation that collects the Street Fighter Alpha games, Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, Street Fighter Alpha 2, and Street Fighter Alpha 3. The game also includes a remixed version of the console-exclusive Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix, as well as two "secret" games.
Overview[]
The original Street Fighter Alpha, as well as Alpha 2, Alpha 3 and Gem Fighter are ported from their original arcade releases, while Alpha 2 Gold is a remixed version that combines elements from the previous console version and the Japanese arcade release Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha. The version of Alpha 2 Gold allows players to select Cammy in all the game modes, including the single-player "Arcade Mode" (in which she is given her own storyline and ending), not just Versus and Training. The soundtracks for each game are from the arcade version, with the exception of Alpha 2 Gold, which uses the arranged soundtrack from the PlayStation version. The original Alpha gives player a choice between CPS and CPS II-style soundtracks, the former based on the CPS Changer version of the game.
All the games in the compilation includes the standard Arcade, Versus and Training modes, as well as Survival mode and "Dramatic Battle" for the Alpha games. The "Dramatic Battle" mode featured in the original Alpha, Alpha 2 and Alpha 2 Gold is the same one featured in the Japanese arcade version of Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha, allowing players to create their own team of characters and fight against a specific series of opponents (Adon, Sagat, M. Bison, and Akuma). The original Dramatic Battle mode from the first Alpha, which features Ryu and Ken against Bison, is still available in the game as a secret feature.
Secret features[]
In addition to the default games, this compilation also includes Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper, based on an updated arcade version of Alpha 3 released in Japan that includes the extended character roster from the console versions of the game. Neither the original Alpha 3, nor Alpha 3 Upper, includes the "World Tour" mode introduced in the PlayStation version of Alpha 3 nor any of the additional characters in the portable versions of Alpha 3.
After the player completes all the default games (as well as Alpha 3 Upper) at least once, a second secret game titled Hyper Street Fighter Alpha will become available. Based on the same concept employed in Darkstalkers Chronicle and Hyper Street Fighter II, Hyper Alpha is a Versus/Training Mode-only version of Alpha 3 where the player can select between different versions of the characters featured in the Alpha games. Hyper Alpha also features secret fighting styles in addition to ones featured in Alpha 3 as well as a soundtrack that not only spans the Alpha series but includes music from the earlier Street Fighter II and Final Fight games.
In Super Gem Fighter: Mini Mix, there is a hidden mode, called Random Survival, which has a system similar to Running Battle, and an hidden battle mode, in which characters can be randomly selected from preset characters and played endlessly are present. In Ramdom Survival, the BGM of Running Battle is played instead of the normal stage's music. In the secret Hidden Battle mode, the battle theme for each character is played. For example, Zangief's is from Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Tessa's is from Red Earth, Ibuki's is from Street Fighter III, and other characters will have their battle theme from Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo.
A secret options menu is also accessible in each game, which allows players access to specific revisions of the game and gain access to all of their features or create their own custom revision by enabling and disabling certain features.
Regional differences[]
The Japanese version of the compilation, Fighters' Generation, differs slightly in its content of games. The Japanese version of the compilation features each of the Street Fighter Zero arcade games, with the Japanese arcade versions of Street Fighter Zero 2 and Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha as part of the default lineup. The US version of Street Fighter Alpha 2, as well as Street Fighter Zero 2 Dash (the Japanese version of Alpha 2 Gold) as secret "arranged" versions of Zero 2 and Zero 2 Alpha are featured in the Japanese compilation due to their additional characters (Evil Ryu in the US Alpha 2 and Cammy in Zero 2 Dash). In the North American and PAL version of the compilation, the default versions of Alpha 2 and Alpha 2 Gold are the same as their "arranged" counterparts in the Japanese compilation.
In the main menu, the Japanese compilation uses the same illustrations that were used in the sales flyers promoting the original arcade versions, while the Western versions of the compilation uses the art used for the American flyers. Since Alpha 2 Gold was never released for the arcades in North America, the cover artwork of Street Fighter Collection (which features the Super Street Fighter II renditions of Ryu, Chun-Li and Cammy, as well as the other "New Challengers" who were not in Alpha 2 Gold) was used instead.