"Collection for the ages"

Street Fighter Alpha Anthology is the collimation of classic Street Fighter Alpha titles. It includes Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter Alpha 2, Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold, Street Fighter 3, and Pocket Fighter. These games appeared on the original Playstation. While playing these games sparsely over friend's house, I never really got a chance to get into the core of these games. Recently, I borrowed Anthology from my cousin and was able to delve deeply into the games' game play.

While all the games do play like most Street Fighter titles I have ever gotten hands on, I notice subtle improvements between each title. Playing each title in succession, I was able to notice how the game's improved game play wise and graphically. Street Fighter Alpha 3 of course was the best version with more features and responsive game play. After playing through Street Fighter Alpha, it felt much like other Street Fighters I have played. The controls were still responsive and the game play was still tight. The featured moves were still present such as Ken and Ryu's fireball. Street Fighter Alpha 2 was more of the same, but felt a little more polished. Finally, Street Fighter Alpha 3 felt faster and tighter. The games felt like a 3 phase project, where each phase improved on the other. In addition, Pocket Fighter was also a game that was playable. I have a separate review for that game, so I won't touch up on that game in this review.

The graphics for the most part held up quite well. Of course, for the first Street Fighter Alpha game, you can notice some of the jaggies. With that said, the game's bright colors still showcased what some well designed backgrounds and character designs can do. The character designs and multi-featured backgrounds were a major addition in keeping the graphics so fresh to this date. The sound held up fairly well as well. Some of the sound effects sounded a bit repetitive after a while, but the music was still a strong point in the games.

All in all, this is a great collection for anybody to collect. This is especially true if you're a fan of Street Fighter. Even to this day, I felt the games held up very well. It's simply a great collection of games to have. If you have a PS2 (who doesn't?), then by all means pick this game up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/07

Game Release: Street Fighter Alpha Anthology (US, 06/13/06)