During the game's release, I did not immediately rush for a personal copy...Alpha envy kept me away and a certain Chinese female fighter, err...nevermind. Moving on though, I finally did encounter the game and its glorious packaging of 3 acclaimed titles. Once the game was powered up, loading quite quickly I might add, I was awestruck. "This is the PlayStation?" I balked. Not only is SFC2 visually sharp, but the fanfare of the classic intro, elation overcame me as I rushed for a controller. Emotionally riled up you may think, but truly gamers, SFC 2 is an excellent conversion and PlayStation has succeeded in another successful 2D conversion.

So what's inside?

For starters, Capcom hard core fans will truly find this game to be total nirvana, and not because of some hallucinogenic preservative! Noting the exceptionally appealing introduction (cue classic SF2 theme), you'll see the evolution flash before you as the three titles are casually displayed with very subtle hardware effects, (nice touch with the glass shattering). Within seconds, a resurgence of energy begins seeping through your body, at least with me it did. After all, this is when gaming was truly a spectacle to be entertained. Capcom's CPS board may not have had the highest degree of animation such as demonstrated in Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike but the gameplay was solid, the quarters were plentiful, and Ryu's Dragon Punch was truly a force to be reckoned.

Let's start of by explaining in detail what the entire set offers, as there are so many goodies packed in. The menu screen lists: Title Select, Collection, Stereo (which can be toggled in Monaural by pressing left or right), and Screen Adjust. Naturally, you'll be selecting Title Select, but perhaps the other options will get some attention after you're done ogling the game in your midst. ^_^. The screen will pan in three layers and a new menu appears listing The World Warrior, Champion Editon, and Turbo Hyper Fighting. Upon your confirmation, a very sharp static load screen of a Street Fighter 2 will be displayed, very keen!

Each Street Fighter title features a universal selection system for the main screen and Options menu, respectively. In a surprise move from Capcom, a Training Mode is provided to aid in getting the rust out. Each Options menu includes Difficulty, Background Music and Sound Effects volume settings, which can be configured on a gauge of 8 stars. Additional options include a sound test, Time Limit (only On/Off, an unlimited time option is not present for any version), Short Cut (to minimize load times), Vibration (dual shock option), Key Configuration and Backup.

Moving into the actual game itself, as by now you'd be playing rather than pursuing the options unless of course you're looking into the Collections feature which will be elaborated on shortly. Each title is complete in its animation, sound effects and the overall atmosphere. Naturally, this may not surprise most gamers as these early titles were designed on the CPS2 and therefore wouldn't hinder the PlayStation's RAM limitations as with previous attempts for 'arcade perfect conversions'. Again, as with Zero/Alpha 3, you'll find very little to complain about, unless of course, you're unaccustomed to play with Sony controllers.

Saving the expense to elaborate on storylines, although I will note at one point in time, one DID exist; we'll jump into the Collections feature. Up until now, a library of art, tips, and more would only seem to fit with a title released for Saturn. Yet, Capcom has included more goods then I've come to expect to find on a PlayStation game. Not only are there over 7 dozen set of pictures, but tips (complete with high-res thumbnails showing you techniques to win). There's also a Cast option for the World Warrior and Champion Modes describing the storylines of all characters featured in the game. The final option, SECRET will unlock a special surprise upon beating each title in the Arcade Mode. What's that? No, I won't tell you what it is, there's simply no fun in that! :P

Great, so when can I play?

As one of the most hard core gamers, I personally found the game to be much greater than I expected. For starters, the entire series was always fun to play, but you'll actually find that returning to relive all of those moments again aren't nearly as tiresome as you may think. In fact, you just may find that you'll actually play these as good as the current titles in the arcade scene. Capcom has demonstrated that with effort, time and some of the finest compression techniques, the PlayStation can truly be enjoyed as a viable option to enjoy 2D fighters. Though it isn't Marvel vs. Capcom, SFC 2exudes nostalgic element that rekindles a memorable sensation of a time when these classics marked the pinnacle of gaming.

· · · Bahn