Street Fighter Alpha is the latest home step for this pioneering 2D fighter
series, featuring classic characters from older capcom titles, like guy
from Final Fight, and birdie from the original Street Fighter.  in addition
to a few brand new characters, the game features another more modern
update--the anime-style graphics, seemingly inspired by another capcom
fighter called Dark Stalkers.  Street Fighter Alpha, like its predecessors,
favors grandiose, "bigger than life" attacks over traditional martial arts
(as seen in Tekken and Virtua Fighter), and could be noted as the game that
started the "fireball" trend in fighters.  often imitated, but never
duplicated (except by capcom), the Street Fighter series carries with it
one of the most loyal followings in the video game industry.  but is
lineage enough?

in numbers:

ORIGINALITY - 3 - to be sure, Street Fighter Alpha is the latest in a
family of games that could be considered fighter "royalty," but the series
continues to move sideways instead of forwards--the game engine here is
virtually identical to the Street Fighter II coin-op that i played at my
favorite local arcade about three or four years ago.

RESPONSE - 6 - maybe it's just the fact that i'm using a control pad, but
certain special attacks in Street Fighter Alpha can be notoriously
difficult to execute.  the regular attacks are rather effective, and
combinations using strictly normal punches and kicks are relatively easy to
execute, but blocking is obnoxiously difficult--since the animation is so
scaled back, your reactions need to be preternatural to be able to block a
low shot after deflecting a series of high shots.  please note that my
complaints about control here do not reflect on the entire Street Fighter
series--quite the contrary, i found the super nintendo version of Street
Fighter II Turbo to control quite easily.

GRAPHICS - 3 - i like anime as much as (and probably more than) the next
guy, yet i found the character art in Street Fighter Alpha to be just plain
bad.  add to the amateur profile art some hideous day-glo colors that are
spread liberally throughout the game, toss in a few (and i do mean FEW)
very flat backgrounds, and top it off with the historically un-feminine
chun li, and you've got some pretty bad graphics.  the characters are
certainly sharp enough, but the pasty look they carry is just too much of a
step back from the rich tones they've had in previous versions.  i'll give
Street Fighter Alpha this one concession: the super attacks, with
shadow-versions of your character following their blazing attack across the
screen, do look pretty cool--but that only adds one point.

ANIMATION - 2 - Street Fighter Alpha is a game of speedy attack, and as
such, the animation is scaled back to allow for super-fast movement, and
lightning-speed combinations.  while it makes for some pulse-pounding
gameplay, it's just not a lot of fun to watch.

SOUND FX - 7 - Street Fighter Alpha features some pretty amusing voice
clips, along with some nice, bassy impact sounds.  the classic "ha do ken!"
has never sounded better--but the fact is, i've been hearing this battle
cry for about four years now, and it's just not terribly exciting anymore.

MUSIC - 8 - i never really payed much attention to the difference between
the "original" and "remixed" music options in Street Fighter Alpha, but i
did enjoy whichever of the two it was that i listened to.  it's kind of
like fast-paced elevator music--very ersatz, but still effective as a game
enhancement.

in practice:

on the M.A.R.C.H. scale (of IGNORE IT, RENT IT, or BUY IT)...

STREET FIGHTER ALPHA
CAPCOM

IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT IGNORE IT

the Street Fighter games can be likened to the Rolling Stones--sure they
were fun once, but now i just want them to stop.  to go away.  to let the
next generation show me what they can do.  i like a good 2D fighter, but
ever since Mortal Kombat II, there haven't been any.  this is about as
tired a rehash as you can get for your money, and even if you just want
some good old-fashioned Street Fighter action on your playstation (like i
did), this title simply doesn't cut it.  this is one of the worst fighters
i've ever played.