Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams, called Street Fighter Zero in Japan, Asia, South America, and Oceania, is a 1995 fighting game made and sold by Capcom for arcade machines. This was the first new Street Fighter game made by Capcom since Street Fighter II in 1991. The story is a prequel to Street Fighter II, showing younger versions of known characters and including characters from the original Street Fighter and Final Fight games.
The game added new features, improving the Super Combo system from Super Street Fighter II Turbo. The graphics look similar to those in Darkstalkers and X-Men: Children of the Atom. After being released in arcades, the game was also released on PlayStation and Sega Saturn home consoles. Street Fighter Alpha was mostly well-received. It was followed by Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 as part of the Alpha series.
Gameplay
Street Fighter Alpha updates the Super Combo system from Super Street Fighter II Turbo by introducing a three-level Super Combo gauge. Similar to Super Turbo, the gauge fills as the player uses regular and special moves. When the gauge reaches Level 1 or higher, the player can perform a Super Combo technique. The number of punch or kick buttons pressed at the same time during a Super Combo determines how much of the gauge is used. In addition to Super Combos, players can use a special counterattack called an Alpha Counter (called Zero Counter in Japan) after blocking an opponent’s attack. This action uses one level of the Super Combo gauge.
After choosing a character, players can select between two playing styles: "Normal" and "Auto." In "Auto" mode, the character automatically blocks a limited number of attacks (as long as the character is not performing an action). "Auto" also allows players to perform a quick Super Combo by pressing a punch and kick of the same strength at the same time. However, this reduces the maximum level of the Super Combo gauge to one.
New basic techniques include Air Blocking, which lets players block while in the air, and Chain Combos (also called Alpha Combos or Zero Combos in Japan). Chain Combos happen by interrupting one move’s animation with another move of equal or greater strength. Players can also roll on the ground after falling from an attack, in addition to recovering from an opponent’s throw.
The single-player mode includes seven random computer-controlled opponents and a final opponent whose identity depends on the story of the chosen character. M. Bison is the final boss for half of the characters. Two hidden characters are available: Akuma, who returns from Super Turbo as an alternate final boss after meeting specific in-game requirements, and Dan, a new character (a popular Capcom parody) who challenges the player if certain requirements are met.
The game also includes a secret two-on-one Dramatic Battle mode where two players control Ryu and Ken, fighting against a computer-controlled M. Bison. This mode was inspired by the final fight between characters in Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. The Japanese arcade version plays a music version of the movie’s battle theme, "Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokoro Zuyosa to," but overseas versions replaced it with M. Bison’s regular theme due to licensing issues.
Characters
The list of characters available right away includes Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Sagat from the Street Fighter II series, as well as Birdie and Adon (Sagat's former student) from the original Street Fighter. These characters are playable for the first time in this game. Guy, a main character from Final Fight, appears along with Sodom, a boss from the same game. New characters include Charlie Nash, Guile's fighting partner who uses the same special moves, and Rose, an Italian woman who tells fortunes and uses energy called "Soul Power." Rose is connected to the series' main enemy, M. Bison.
In addition to the ten regular characters, there are three boss characters. M. Bison, the main villain from Street Fighter II, appears as a final opponent in single-player mode. Akuma, a boss from Super Street Fighter II Turbo, returns as a secret final opponent. Dan, a character inspired by SNK's Ryo Sakazaki and Robert Garcia, makes his first appearance in this game. Players can choose these three characters by entering specific codes for each.
Development
Production for the game began in October 1994, after the release of Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors. The development team had only three months to create the game from the start, but it took six months to finish Street Fighter Alpha.
During development, Capcom was buying back CPS-1 boards from arcades to help sell CPS-2 boards, a practice that was happening at the time. This led to a large number of CPS-1 boards being stored. Street Fighter Alpha was first made for the older CPS-1 hardware to use the leftover CPS-1 boards. Later, when Capcom had a large number of CPS-2 boards during the switch from CPS-1 to CPS-2, the game was also developed for the newer CPS-2 hardware. Both versions were created at the same time, with the CPS-1 version having differences, such as a different-sounding soundtrack with fewer sound effects. Making a CPS-1 version allowed Capcom to sell the game to arcades that could not afford to upgrade to CPS-2 hardware. Limited test versions of the CPS-1 version were sent to arcades for publicity.
The game was first called Street Fighter Classic because it was meant to come between Street Fighter and Street Fighter II. The name later changed to Street Fighter Zero. However, Capcom’s Public Relations team in North America disliked the name because it sounded negative. In the U.S., the game was announced as Street Fighter Legends, but it was later renamed Street Fighter Alpha in western regions (except Brazil) to sound like a fresh start.
Release
Because there was not much character animation data in Street Fighter Alpha, Capcom was able to create a version for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation that closely matched the arcade game. The source code from the arcade version was used in both home versions. Both versions include a version of the music, with a choice between the Arranged and Original versions. A special two-player "Versus Mode" was included, and these versions were the first console Street Fighter games to offer a "Training Mode," allowing players to practice moves and combinations against a non-hostile character. As part of the licensing agreement, the home versions were released in Europe by Virgin Interactive Entertainment instead of Capcom. The PlayStation version of Street Fighter Alpha was re-released for the PSP and PlayStation 3 through the PlayStation Network on August 14, 2008, in North America. The CPS-1 version of the arcade game was made available for Capcom's CPS Changer as a mail-order release in Japan in 1996. A version for Windows PC was released in 1998, based on the PlayStation version.
A Game Boy Color version, created by Crawfish Interactive, was released in 1999. This version used smaller graphics and sound. It does not support a link cable and is only for one player. The Japanese version of the Game Boy Color version used the name "Alpha" instead of "Zero."
The original Street Fighter Alpha and its sequels are included in Street Fighter Alpha Anthology for the PlayStation 2. This version includes Arcade, Versus, and Training modes, like the earlier PlayStation and Saturn versions, as well as Survival and Dramatic Battle modes. The Dramatic Battle mode on the main menu is different from the original arcade version, as players can choose any character pair to face four computer-controlled opponents (Adon, Sagat, M. Bison, and Akuma), not just Ryu and Ken against Bison. Players can also enable an option to cancel a special move into a Super Combo.
Street Fighter Alpha was one of twelve games included in the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection as an emulated arcade version. This version is available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows, with the ability to save game progress.
Reception
In Japan, Game Machine listed Street Fighter Zero as the second most successful arcade game in July 1995. It became the second most successful arcade game of 1995 in Japan, after Virtua Fighter 2. In North America, RePlay reported Street Fighter Alpha as the most popular arcade game in August 1995. In the United Kingdom, it was one of the nineteen best-selling PlayStation games of 1996, according to HMV.
A review in Computer and Video Games praised the improved graphics and new game features, such as the updated Super Combo system and the Alpha Counter mechanic. The review described the game as "fast, exciting, visually impressive, and a sure success." A critic for Next Generation noted that the game did not have major changes from earlier versions of the series but concluded that "Capcom is correct, in a way. Street Fighter only needs small changes for now; it already has the most important thing: great gameplay."
Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded the PlayStation version their "Game of the Month" title. Reviewers from Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro, and Maximum said the PlayStation version was very similar to the arcade version, though some mentioned longer loading times. GamePro called it "easily the best example that the PlayStation is not just a system using 3D graphics," while Maximum described it as "the next step in the most popular fighting game ever." Reviewers also liked the game’s new mechanics, such as alpha counters.
A review of the Saturn version in Sega Saturn Magazine said, "The graphics are great, the sound is great, the game plays very well, and it is challenging enough to keep players interested for a long time even without a second player." However, the magazine also said the game was not as good as the recently released X-Men: Children of the Atom and suggested most gamers should choose that game instead. GamePro criticized some new characters for not being as strong or fun to play as regular characters in the series but praised the gameplay additions and called the Saturn version "a nearly perfect arcade conversion." Maximum noted that while the Saturn version had fewer characters and backgrounds than Super Street Fighter II Turbo and made few changes to the series, it was refined to the point where "Everything that Street Fighter does well has been improved in Alpha." They praised the accuracy of the Saturn version and gave it their "Maximum Game of the Month" award. Both GamePro and Maximum especially liked the color of the Super Move shadows in the Saturn version. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 43rd on their list of the "Top 100 Games of All Time."
The Game Boy Color version was a runner-up for GameSpot’s annual "Best Game Boy Color Game" and "Best Fighting Game" awards, losing to Dragon Warrior I & II and Capcom vs. SNK: Millennium Fight 2000, respectively.
Legacy
Street Fighter Alpha was followed by two sequels: Street Fighter Alpha 2 in 1996 and Street Fighter Alpha 3 in 1998. These games were first released in arcades and later came out in upgraded versions and for home consoles. All three games and their different versions were part of the Street Fighter Alpha Anthology, which was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006.
A manga adaptation based on the original Alpha and Alpha 2 by Masahiko Nakahira was published in a Gamest magazine from 1995 to 1996. It was later translated into English by UDON in 2007. Two animated versions were also made: Street Fighter Alpha: The Animation in 1999 and Street Fighter Alpha: Generations in 2005.