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The ''Street Fighter Alpha'' ('''''Street Fighter Zero''''' outside the USA and Europe ) series of Fighting Games is part of the '' Street Fighter '' series by Capcom . The series serves as a Prequel to '' Street Fighter II '', and explains the events which happen before that game. GAMES There are three games in the series:
The names of the game are commonly abbreviated to ''SFA'', plus the series number. There are also many versions of the game with slight modifications, as well as ports to home Consoles . The series has been ported to the PlayStation , Sega Saturn , Sega Dreamcast , Game Boy Color , PlayStation Portable , and Game Boy Advance . ''SFA'' and ''SFA2'' were ported to the PC ; ''SFA2'' was also ported to the SNES , making it the last ''Street Fighter'' game for that console. Capcom will be releasing ''Street Fighter Alpha Anthology'', which includes ''SFA1'', ''SFA2'', ''SFA2 Gold'', ''SFA3'', and '' Pocket Fighter ''. DEVELOPMENT After '''' Movie , ''Alpha'' was born. The game was drawn in the Sprite style that was used for '' Darkstalkers '', a similar fighting game. Also borrowed from was the concept of a super bar with multiple stocks (''Darkstalkers'' had allowed for three while ''Super Turbo'' allowed only for one), as well as the (although eventually dropped) ''Chain Combo''. One particular secret feature of ''Alpha'' that supports the claim that ''Alpha'' was inspired by the movie is the ''Dramatic Battle'' mode, in which two characters ( Ryu and Ken ) would fight a third ( M. Bison ) at the same time, similar to the ending of the movie. This feature was a fairly popular part of ''Alpha'', and at least one version of each game would have a hidden option to fight in ''Dramatic Battles''. SERIES PROGRESSION Each game in the ''Alpha'' series can be seen to be updating the storyline in the previous games. This combined with Capcom's decision to Change some of the storyline after the games have been released has made the ''Street Fighter II'' story confusing. Each game in the series introduced more characters from ''Street Fighter II''. Characters were also introduced from other games such as '' Final Fight '' and the original '' Street Fighter ''. Gameplay The fighting system of ''Street Fighter Alpha'' is based on those of previous ''Street Fighter'' games, with a different super combo gauge from that of ''Super Turbo''. The super combo gauge, similar to ''Darkstalkers'', was divided into three levels. The amount of super combo gauge that was required to perform a super combo depended on the number of buttons pressed, and later on, the strength of the button. The one major addition to the ''Alpha'' system was the introduction of ''Custom Combos'' or ''Original Combos'' in ''Alpha 2''. A ''Custom Combo'' would allow a character to chain any move into any other move, while the super meter gradually decreased. Although the ability to perform super combos were unaffected, characters were kept in forward motion, so the character was left vulnerable should the opponent end up on the other side of the character. In ''Alpha 3'', and other fighting games where ''Custom Combos'' are used, characters were not kept in forward motion, but the ability to perform super combos were restricted or eliminated altogether. The Gameplay and characters used in ''Alpha'' were the basis of many ''Street Fighter'' spinoffs, and some characters considered to be central characters in the plot were first introduced in the ''Alpha'' series.
''Street Fighter Alpha'' The original ''SFA'' was released in 1995 as the prequel to ''Street Fighter II''. Fans were disappointed that the game did not feature nearly as fluid animation as ''Darkstalkers''. In addition it was felt by many fans that the game was rushed to release, with a low number of characters and stages. ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'' This was released in 1996 as an update to the original ''SFA''. The story behind this game is a retcon of those found in ''Alpha'', and Canonically , all but one ending ( Charlie's ) occurred. ''Alpha 2'' brought back every character from ''Alpha'', including the Hidden Characters Dan , Akuma , and M. Bison. ''Alpha 2'' also brought back Gen , Zangief , and Dhalsim from previous ''Street Fighter'' games (the latter two allegedly due to popular demand), as well as Rolento from the ''Final Fight'' series. Sakura made her first appearance in this game. The US home version (for the PlayStation and Saturn) featured several characters not found in the arcade version which includes classic versions of Dhalsim and Zangief that had no super moves and played like their original versions in the ''Street Fighter II'' series. An update of game was released in Japanese arcades called ''Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha'', which added these characters and classic versions of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li , Sagat , and M. Bison. This game reached the US in the form of ''Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold'', which is only available on ''Street Fighter Collection'' for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, and further presented the first ''Alpha'' appearance of Cammy , who was wearing the same outfit and had the same moveset she had in '' X-Men Vs. Street Fighter ''. Trivia
''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' This game was released in 1998 , with updated graphics and characters compared to ''Alpha 2''. ''Alpha 3'' reintroduced many characters from previous ''Street Fighter II'' games. The most notable absence (and indeed, the only one out of the eight World Warriors) was Guile , although he was available for use in the home versions, starting with the PlayStation version. The remaining "New Challengers" ( Dee Jay , Fei Long , and T. Hawk ) were also reintroduced for the home versions. In Japan, an update of the game called ''Street Fighter Zero 3 Upper'', (which was based on the Sega Dreamcast version) was released featuring many gameplay tweaks, with a port to the Game Boy Advance that included three ''Street Fighter'' characters from ''Capcom vs. SNK 2'' ( Eagle , Maki and Yun ) that were not in the original version of ''Alpha 3''. A second update, titled ''Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX'' (a.k.a. ''Street Fighter Alpha 3 Double Upper'') was made for the PSP , which introduces the Crossover character Ingrid to the ''Street Fighter'' canon. This game was released on February 9, 2006 and is currently only available for the PSP. This game is very much like the other games but has featured every single fighter plus additional ones totaling forty different fighters. The game contains different modes which include a story mode where you can create you own custom fighter with raised abilities of attack and defense. This is a new feature which is only available on this game. The rest of the game is similar to the others like the Arcade mode and Practice mode and even includes a multiplayer feature, where you can battle head to head or in a tournament. the game also has some bits redesigned and has new features of gameplay such as controls and combos. ''SFA3'' is considered by many fans to be the best ''Street Fighter'' game (to date), containing almost every character to date (excluding many ''Street Fighter III'' characters). The Sega Saturn port (released only in Japan, as one of the last games for the system) is notoriously hard to find but is often considered to be superior, surpassing even the Sega Dreamcast version. However, upon close inspection of both the Sega Saturn version of ''Street Fighter Zero 3'' and the PSP version, ''Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX'', visually they seem identical. CHARACTERS Featured in ''Street Fighter Alpha''
Introduced in ''Street Fighter Alpha 2''
''Cammy appears only in Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold for the PS1 and Saturn as a secret character, and is only selectable in versus mode. She was carried over to Street Fighter Alpha 3 as a regular character.'' Introduced in ''Street Fighter Alpha 3''
''Guile, T. Hawk, Dee Jay, Fei Long, and Evil Ryu were added to the console versions. Eagle, Maki, and Yun appear in the GBA and PSP versions of Street Fighter Alpha 3 from their appearance in Capcom Vs. SNK 2 . Ingrid from Capcom Fighting Evolution was added to the PSP version, which is called Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX (a.k.a. Street Fighter Alpha 3 Double Upper).'' EXTERNAL LINKS
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