Why is Street Fighter Alpha 2 better than SFA3?

neo_mao

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Irrelevant discussion...

Blade Strangers > All
 

Kid Panda

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Kitchen sink gaming is not what makes a game better. Like Asid said, a smaller roster means more characters are different from each other and the lack of *isms* there's less lopsidedeness, if that's even a word. I've always liked A2 for as long as I can remember and only played A3 a handful of times. I can see the draw to it, but I feel A2 is more refined in many aspects.
 

100proof

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A2 is better in every conceivable way (presentation, music, announcer, no busted hit-boxes, basic systems, etc.) except high level play.

Then it's the Chun c. mk -> fireball x 1,000 show, Ken ACs and brain-dead CCs until you fall asleep. V-ism is really powerful in A3 and crouch cancel infinites would suck if anyone outside of Japan could do them but most of the cast is still viable and some of those combos are actually creative. Chun's 75% Level 3 CC is activate, cr. rh, mash rh for 4 seconds and then do up-kicks right before the timer runs out. Her Level 1 CC is exactly the same except you mash rh for like 1 second instead and does 50%. Shit is stupid and she's easily the best character. Plus blowthrough/Valle CCs. The lifespan of that game competitively was trying to break turtling Kens and eating a million c.mk -> fireballs trying to get anywhere near Chun. Good times.
 

Morden

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Zero 2 is where it's at, but I do like Zero 3 for its flashy visuals, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Capcom went all out with the menus, the ever changing palette on round numbers, etc. I even like that insane announcer. I used to like Zero 3's soundtrack a lot more back in the day, but have since grown somewhat tired of its samey metallic reverb.

Aside from the gameplay and balance arguments, Zero 2 feels more like a classic Street Fighter game. It's the overall audiovisual tone. Plus, it has the best sounding QSound jingle!
 

Morden

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Oldie but a goodie

These have to be tool assisted. They remind me of 3rd Strike 100% combos.


While obviously possible to perform, the timings are just too brutal. I've seen dozens upon dozens of 3rd Strike tournaments and nobody plays like this. At least not consistently. Same goes for Zero 3. There's a lot of crazy stuff that can be performed within the confines of the game, but people can't be nailing those 1/60th of a second inputs, unless it's luck.
 

Taiso

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Alpha feels incomplete and Alpha 2 feels like a completed version with better gameplay, a properly expanded roster and enough aesthetic flair to feel like a natural progression and a satisfying sequel. Alpha 3 feels like an abandonment of the previous games for no understandable reasons.

It doesn't feel tight or focused and the mechanics are frustrating at times. The game doesn't 'flow' for me when I play it and I think it's overstuffed with options to the point where it just feels like a bloated mess.

Too many characters, -Isms that add the illusion of choice and technique when they were never needed to advance the series (this is probably the biggest reason the game's mechanics feel 'off' as an Alpha entry) and bad/lazy/unpolished aesthetics. By the time of Alpha 3's release, the older sprites haven't aged well, the music is good but doesn't feel like it belongs in an Alpha game and is therefore distracting and distances me from what I feel is a patented Street Fighter experience. Even things like the Attract mode feel like a sloppy pastiche of game engine resources that don't respect the series' aesthetic roots.

I don't think the game was rushed, but it certainly feels that way. Overall, I just feel like Alpha 3's focus on mechanics come at the expense of the franchise's appeal.

Them's my thoughts.
 

ChuChu Flamingo

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These have to be tool assisted. They remind me of 3rd Strike 100% combos.

Some probably are, but these do pop up in tournaments since you start with 100% meter (who thought that was a good idea) at the beginning of the round. You have 4 frames to crouch cancel iirc or else people auto tech. Some are harder to do than others since you need to setup up the person properly.

.
 
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DevilRedeemed

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Alpha feels incomplete and Alpha 2 feels like a completed version with better gameplay, a properly expanded roster and enough aesthetic flair to feel like a natural progression and a satisfying sequel. Alpha 3 feels like an abandonment of the previous games for no understandable reasons.

It doesn't feel tight or focused and the mechanics are frustrating at times. The game doesn't 'flow' for me when I play it and I think it's overstuffed with options to the point where it just feels like a bloated mess.

Too many characters, -Isms that add the illusion of choice and technique when they were never needed to advance the series (this is probably the biggest reason the game's mechanics feel 'off' as an Alpha entry) and bad/lazy/unpolished aesthetics. By the time of Alpha 3's release, the older sprites haven't aged well, the music is good but doesn't feel like it belongs in an Alpha game and is therefore distracting and distances me from what I feel is a patented Street Fighter experience. Even things like the Attract mode feel like a sloppy pastiche of game engine resources that don't respect the series' aesthetic roots.

I don't think the game was rushed, but it certainly feels that way. Overall, I just feel like Alpha 3's focus on mechanics come at the expense of the franchise's appeal.

Them's my thoughts.

I agree with this but Alpha has a certain charm I find Alpha 2 done away with. The fact it was bare bones to me was a double edged sword. On the plus side, what was there was brilliant, simple and to the point.
 

Dr Shroom

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Pretty sure Alpha 1 was rushed as fuck or was meant to come out earlier than it did, seeing as there's a CPS1 version of it. 13 character roster when ST had 17, what's up with that?
 

Taiso

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I agree with this but Alpha has a certain charm I find Alpha 2 done away with. The fact it was bare bones to me was a double edged sword. On the plus side, what was there was brilliant, simple and to the point.

Of course. I didn't mean to imply that Alpha was somehow 'worse' than Alpha 2 simply because it feels like, well, an 'alpha' of a forthcoming video game. I still think Alpha is a good fighter. But to me, it's clear that it was a test bed for Alpha 2, which was always the intended product (or seemed to be).

The backgrounds were bland as fuck but I feel the OST for Alpha is actually superior to the Alpha 2 OST. The tracks are more 'crunchy' and hard edged. The Alpha OST almost has a SNK Sound Factory sharpness to it. The tracks in Alpha 2 seem softer and more subdued by comparison. I also thought the voice samples in Alpha were superior to what we heard in Alpha 2 for the most part.
 

DevilRedeemed

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Of course. I didn't mean to imply that Alpha was somehow 'worse' than Alpha 2 simply because it feels like, well, an 'alpha' of a forthcoming video game. I still think Alpha is a good fighter. But to me, it's clear that it was a test bed for Alpha 2, which was always the intended product (or seemed to be).

The backgrounds were bland as fuck but I feel the OST for Alpha is actually superior to the Alpha 2 OST. The tracks are more 'crunchy' and hard edged. The Alpha OST almost has a SNK Sound Factory sharpness to it. The tracks in Alpha 2 seem softer and more subdued by comparison. I also thought the voice samples in Alpha were superior to what we heard in Alpha 2 for the most part.

I get you but the impact Alpha had as a concept supercedes whatever improvements Alpha 2 brought to the table (I'm exaggerating a bit). I found the move by Capcom to go in this direction as bold as SNK with KOF'94
But I agree it did feel like something of a placeholder. I just like the fact it was so cut down that what shown was a well made game

Also:
hqdefault.jpg
I have great love for this background (Final Fight's greatest stage to boot)
 

Dr Shroom

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this and the japanese street are the best backgrounds in that game, the rest is just lame.
 

LoneSage

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My earliest memories of Alpha 1 were screenshots of the game's cutscenes and I was thinking, WHOA, they can put cartoons in video games now. That was pretty wild for me at the time.
 

DevilRedeemed

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My earliest memories of Alpha 1 were screenshots of the game's cutscenes and I was thinking, WHOA, they can put cartoons in video games now. That was pretty wild for me at the time.

You where barely out of diapers hah
 

Ip Man

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My earliest memories of Alpha 1 were screenshots of the game's cutscenes and I was thinking, WHOA, they can put cartoons in video games now. That was pretty wild for me at the time.

1+

my first encounter with alpha 1 was a historical moment for me. i walked into my local arcade and i saw it. the thoughts that run through my mind was indescribable. street fighter 2 the anime movie at the time was one of my favourite movies ever. so seeing a game that was based off the flash backs to ryu and ken's youth was like a dream. i couldn't believe how close the animation was to the movie.

it was an instant favourite. i fell in love with it. and this is also how i discovered snk. kids in the play ground were arguing over which is the better game, my beloved street fighter alpha or this game they were calling king of fighters 95. we all went to the arcades after school to see this new game, and when i saw it i didn't think it was better than alpha but i was really impressed by the realistic but still very manga looking artwork and the fact that sam seed from drunken maser (chin) was a playable character was something i found to be amazing. i loved the way kyo looked and played and the rivalry he had with iori . they were like the ryu and ken of the series.

and both those games were released to the home consoles of the time in almost arcade perfect form. it was a glorious time.
 

DevilRedeemed

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1+

my first encounter with alpha 1 was a historical moment for me. i walked into my local arcade and i saw it. the thoughts that run through my mind was indescribable. street fighter 2 the anime movie at the time was one of my favourite movies ever. so seeing a game that was based off the flash backs to ryu and ken's youth was like a dream. i couldn't believe how close the animation was to the movie.

it was an instant favourite. i fell in love with it. and this is also how i discovered snk. kids in the play ground were arguing over which is the better game, my beloved street fighter alpha or this game they were calling king of fighters 95. we all went to the arcades after school to see this new game, and when i saw it i didn't think it was better than alpha but i was really impressed by the realistic but still very manga looking artwork and the fact that sam seed from drunken maser (chin) was a playable character was something i found to be amazing. i loved the way kyo looked and played and the rivalry he had with iori . they were like the ryu and ken of the series.

and both those games were released to the home consoles of the time in almost arcade perfect form. it was a glorious time.

Man I wish I had been as young as you back then. I grew up with Atari 800xl and Master System, a load of imperfect ports. I was a teenager by the time 16 bit era came around and a young adult with the arrival of the 32bit generation. It was an amazing time for sure and I loved everything about it, but had I been younger I think the impact would have been even greater
 

Ip Man

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Man I wish I had been as young as you back then. I grew up with Atari 800xl and Master System, a load of imperfect ports. I was a teenager by the time 16 bit era came around and a young adult with the arrival of the 32bit generation. It was an amazing time for sure and I loved everything about it, but had I been younger I think the impact would have been even greater

i think there's something that's lost in translation here :lolz:. when i say i was in school when street fighter alpha was released, i meant high school. i was a teenager when all of this went on, and i also grew up with the master system and nes. the master system was my first ever console which i picked over the nes and still regret doing to to this day.
 

Steve

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I too prefer Alpha 2 (especially Gold on the Saturn). But Alpha 3 is also a shit ton of fun. Nice to have both options available! They're different enough too where it justifies having both. Alpha 1 really suffers because for me personally I can't think of a reason to return to it. Alpha 2 renders it obsolete. Plus I have no nostalgic ties to Alpha 1.
 
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