In the world of reborn classics, Capcom continues its rampage with Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. Alpha Anthology collects all three Street Fighter Alpha titles, Street Fighter Alpha II Gold, and Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix in one PlayStation 2 disc. Much like the Mega Man Anniversary Collection or Capcom Classics Collection, Alpha Anthology brings the entire Street Fighter Alpha series into one convenient location.

The main screen of this collection just features movie poster-style images from each game. It’s a bit of a boring way to present the games, especially after the awesome game select screen in Mega Man Anniversary Collection. They could have been a lot more creative with the menu structure, especially considering that the game lacks in extras of any kind.

A cool feature offered in this game, however, is the ability to install it to the PS2 hard drive. There are only a handful of games out there that feature this option, so that kind of allows Alpha Anthology into the club of hard-drive supporting games. The biggest advantage to installing the game to the hard drive is a dramatic decrease in load times. So if you don’t have a hard drive it isn’t a big deal; you aren’t missing anything, you’re just waiting a little bit longer.

Aside from the three Alphas, this anthology includes Super Gem Fighter Mini Mix as an added bonus. Similar to Pocket Fighter, Super Gem Fighter is a parody of the Street Fighter and Darkstalkers games. The gameplay is a lot simpler, using only three buttons total. Appearing in the game are tiny, cute, deformed versions of familiar characters from the previously mentioned series’.

Capcom pokes fun at itself in many ways; including characters exploding into little energy balls when defeated, a la Mega Man. Executing combos usually causes your character to change costumes after each hit, which often leads to cameos from other Capcom titles. The goal is still to defeat your opponent by fighting them, but the gameplay and style is very different from a normal Street Fighter. Either way, it’s a very fun game, and before now was only found in arcades.

Ports of Street Fighter Alpha, Alpha 2, Alpha 2 Gold, and Alpha 3 fill out the rest of the package. The first two Alphas seem to have been smoothed out a bit, since they look almost as good as Alpha 3. Even so, they aren’t the most beautiful 2D fighters around. The sprites are still pretty pixilated, but the excellent gameplay is still intact.

The three Alpha games play almost identical, besides the different styles of special move execution and character selection. Going into the intricacies of each game would be redundant, since they’ve all been out for years and are practically untouched in this compilation. But I will still say this: the Alpha series is a wonderful series, and possibly one of the best 2D fighting series out there.

Each game’s information is stored separately, so high scores and options are saved for each game individually. And even though there aren’t any obvious unlockables, there are plenty of secrets and hidden options to discover.

There are multiple reasons to pick up Street Fighter Alpha Anthology. If you don’t own any games from the Alpha series, but are a fan of fighting games, this is a must-own title. If you’ve always wanted a copy of Super Gem Fighter, this game is also for you. If you love one of the Alpha games, but haven’t had a chance to try the others, you can’t go wrong. Mainly this title is meant for Street Fighter fans or collectors - you can usually find a comparable fighting game for pretty cheap these days. But if it’s Street Fighter you’re looking for, you aren’t going to get a better deal than five titles for 30 bucks.        

Gameplay: 9.0
Gameplay was the strong point of the Alpha series, making it many gamers’ favorite Street Fighter series. The cast of characters is varied, and the action is fast but strategic. The addition of Gem Fighter spices things up a bit by adding a completely wacky twist to the gameplay you’re normally used to in a fighter.

Graphics: 7.4
The graphics weren’t cleaned up too much in the transfer to PS2. Sprites still look pretty pixilated and many backgrounds are plain. But since this is a collection of games revived from the past, this isn’t a huge issue. Dated graphics should be expected.

Sound: 8.3
Exactly what you would expect from Street Fighter, nothing new here. It’s the same old good music and classic unforgettable sound effects. The main menus don’t even have music, so the collection itself doesn’t even apply.

Difficulty: Easy/Hard
The difficulty of each game can be changed in the respective options menu. The difficulties are pretty well-balanced, with easy being easy, hard being hard, and the middle being perfect for intermediate players.

Concept: 6.0 
I personally haven’t grown tired of these resurrections of classic titles. I find it a lot more convenient from both a collector’s and a gamer’s standpoint. I still have to admit that it’s getting dangerously close to being overdone.

Multiplayer: 9.3
The biggest reason anyone plays a fighting game is to beat up their friends ... virtually, of course. Playing against the computer only lasts so long. Multiplayer in the Street Fighter Alpha series is some of the most furious fighting-game action around. If you find an opponent with the same skill as you (or a little better) you’re in for an intense fight.

Overall: 8.2
The gameplay is there, but with the power of the PlayStation 2 there was potential to do a lot more. New features, new modes, new characters, or even updated graphics; Capcom could’ve given us a little more. Even the game select menu is greatly underwhelming. Aside from these gripes, though, collecting one of the best fighting-game series in one place was a great idea and is much appreciated.