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| Title: |
Street Fighter Alpha |
| Publisher: |
Crawfish Interactive |
| Features: |
GameBoy Color Only |
| Format: |
Fighting |
| Reviewer: |
Jason Cirillo |
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Introduction
Well, here it is! As some of you know, I have been waiting for this one
for a long time! The Street Fighter name has been around since 1987, and it should be no strangers to gamers. Even
if you don't like fighting games, chances are you've had difficulty moving through an arcade at least once due
to those infamous "Street Fighter Crowds." Well, you don't have to worry about crowds or quarters this
time, because Street Fighter Alpha explodes
onto the small screen of the Game Boy Color.
First off, I must say that I was very skeptical of this one after having to suffer through some admittedly not
so good fighters for the Game Boy. Also, I was quite diverted away from my Game Boy for a few weeks after playing
"SNK vs. Capcom" on my Neo Geo Pocket. Well, thankfully, this one gave me good reason to get excited
about Game Boy fighters again. The folks at Crawfish deserve big kudos for this title.
Sound, Graphics, and Controls
Graphically, the game is marvelous. You won't see really much of any facial expression on the characters, but the
animation is excellent.
There are a surprising number of frames per character, which make gameplay smooth and attractive. The game is based
on the original Street Fighter Alpha, so characters and moves found in the later installments of SFA will not be
present. But, all moves and characters are intact from the original.
The characters are not super-deformed ala MOTM, but this will be warmly accepted by SF purists. The backgrounds
are fantastic, and some even feature animation! This was really a surprise to me. It just adds to the depth. You'll
find lots of small yet very pleasing surprises all throughout the game.
One thing that bothered me about NGPC fighting games is the lack of vertical scrolling...well, SFA's got it.
The sounds are all right, they serve
the purpose. The music is pretty well done, and you'll find all the familiar Street Fighter tunes. A few spots
are missing appropriate music, but it's nothing really detrimental.
Gameplay
Gameplay is extremely smooth and accurate, and you'll find that you can
pull
off your favorite combos without any difficulty.
You really won't even have to adjust your play style...all the moves and maneuvers are pulled off as easily as
you would do them on the Playstation. Alpha counters, supers and hidden characters are all included in the package.
Big fun.
One thing that I have to say I was a little disappointed in was the lack of good
endings. I am really not going to take points off for this because I don't care much about endings, but I'd imagine
some people do. Anyway, take into
consideration that Crawfish probably had to cut a few unimportant corners to make this game the shockingly good
title that it is.
Final Comments
If you have been starved for Game Boy fighting games, you need to wait no
longer!
This game absolutely rocks. I waited a long time since I first heard this one was coming out, and it was worth
every minute of the wait.
If you are a Street Fighter fan and own a Game Boy, there is no question as
to weather or not you should get this. Shoryuken!!! |
