History VideoGame / StreetFighterAlpha

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/street_fighter_alpha_arcade_flyer.jpg]]

* ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' capped off the sub-series in '98. It introduced selectable fighting styles called "isms" that confusingly change your movelist, so you won't be able to access moves that the other modes have. A-ism and X-ism are the easiest to get used to: In X-ism[[note]]named after, and patterned upon, ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Super Street Fighter II X]]'', known in the West as ''SSFII Turbo'', albeit with an AscendedGlitch from earlier versions of ''II'' included[[/note]], you get one Super level, can only use the characters' first Super Combo, and you can't air block or Alpha Counter. On the plus side, you get a longer Guard Meter, can perform [=CPS1=] Chains, and you deal more damage in general, especially with your Super. A-ism[[note]]"A" for ''Alpha'', as this mode is closer to the previous two games; appropriately, it is called "Z-ism" in Japan[[/note]] is pretty versatile with average damage and defense. You still have 3 Super levels, can use all your Super Combos, and can Alpha Counter at the cost of 1 bar. V-ism[[note]]for Variation[[/note]] is [[DifficultButAwesome very tricky to use, but allows you to break the game]] with [[CycleOfHurting Custom Combos]]. Activate it with at least 50% of the meter to make the Combo short, medium or long. Because this mode is geared towards Custom Combos, Super Combos cannot be used. The isms can seem overwhelming at first, which is why many gamers tend to stick with both ''Alpha'' ''1'' and ''2'' respectively.\\\

* The first game, subtitled ''Warriors' Dreams'', brought back Super Combos from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' that drain your Super Meter. The strength, or "Level" of your Super is dependent on how full your meter is: L, M, and H deplete 1, 2, or 3 bars, respectively. Next is the Alpha Counter: a quick motion done while blocking (quarter-circle motion in ''1'' and ''2'', hold down two buttons of equal strength in ''3'') which, when timed correctly, [[CounterAttack will deflect an opponent's special moves with one of your own]]. You also get a Guard Meter which whittles down whenever you block someone's attacks, and will stun you (Guard Crush) if it runs out.\\\

In addition to Cammy, the ''Alpha 2'' roster were joined by the now wildly-popular Karin Kanzuki (DistaffCounterpart to Ken and a CanonImmigrant from the manga ''Sakura Ganbaru!''), Rainbow Mika (a colorful female wrestler) and Juni & Juli (two more of Bison's minions), along with Cody from ''Final Fight'' and most of the ''Street Fighter II'' warriors who were absent in previous ''Alpha'' titles: namely Blanka, E. Honda, and Bison's underlings (Balrog and Vega). The console versions (and a later ''Upper'' revision released only in Japanese arcades, now on the Sega Naomi hardware) brought back Guile and the rest of the "New Challengers" from ''Super Street Fighter II'' (Fei Long, T. Hawk and Dee Jay), assembling the entire ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' roster -- in addition to Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, who missed out on the original arcade version. A UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance port, developed by Crawfish Interactive and released in 2002, added Eagle (yet another returning fighter from the original ''Street Fighter''), Maki (a fellow ninja and rival of Guy's from ''Final Fight 2''), Yun [[AssistCharacter and his brother Yang]] (from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', with their depictions here [[ArtisticAge meant to be]] younger versions of the pair [[AnachronicOrder due to the chronology]]), all fresh from their appearances in ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]''. Lastly, in 2006, Ingrid from ''VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution'' was added to the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Portable}} version, along with the GBA bonus characters.

** Cammy was added to the roster in ''Alpha 2 Gold'' (the console version of the Asia-only ''Zero 2 Alpha'') after her appearance in ''VideoGame/XMenVsStreetFighter'', although she did not have a proper in-game storyline until the game was re-released for the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}} as part of the ''[[CompilationRerelease Street Fighter Alpha Anthology]]''.

* ArrangeMode: The UsefulNotes/PlayStation, [[UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn Saturn]], [[UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast Dreamcast]], and [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable PSP]] ports of ''Alpha 3'' adds the "World Tour" mode, where you pick a character and their "Ism", and go around the world to fight around the world in locations consisting of 1-3 matches each. After each match, you are given a score, which is translated to experience points for both your character and their "Isms", which can be used to level up both. As you gain levels, you get "Power Balance Levels", which allow you to increase either your attack or defense at the cost of the other stat, and "Ism Pluses", which give you abilities ranging from immunity to dizziness, automatic blocking to high attacks, and the ability to cancel normal moves into special moves or special moves into Super Combos. This mode is the only way to unlock [[spoiler:Guile, Evil Ryu, and Shin Akuma in the [=PlayStation=] version]] by way of secret locations, which can only be achieved by reaching certain levels for your selected character.

* BonusFeatureFailure: The instruction manual entry for "Akuma Mode",[[note]]a mode where you get thrown against a super-hard A.I. version of Shin Akuma, even harder than his secret boss appearance in Arcade Mode[[/note]] added to ''Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold'' port as part of the ''Street Fighter Collection'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation and UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn, states that it takes you on "...a whirlwind tour of all the battlegrounds in ''Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold''. If you defeat Akuma, you face him again in the next setting." However, in-game if you beat Akuma, the mode just ends after the first fight (which always takes place in the Australia background).

** ''Street Fighter Alpha Anthology'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, featuring all three ''Alpha'' games plus ''Alpha 2 Gold'' and ''Alpha 3 Upper'', as well as ''VideoGame/SuperGemFighter: Mini Mix''.

* DoomedByCanon: Charlie always dies at the end of each ''Alpha'' game. Because otherwise, what else will inspire Guile to pursue his revenge on M. Bison? This was almost averted in ''Alpha 3'', where Charlie actually survived his ending, but the console version "fixed" this by adding Guile to the roster and having Charlie die in his ending instead. However, ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' would later reveal that Charlie's ''Alpha 2'' ending is actually canon, rendering Guile's ''Alpha 3'' ending non-canon in the process.

* The first game, subtitled ''Warriors' Dreams'', brought back Super Combos from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' that drain your Super Meter. The strength, or "Level" of your Super is dependent on how full your meter is: L, M, and H deplete 1, 2, or 3 bars respectively. Next is the Alpha Counter: a quick motion done while blocking (quarter-circle motion in ''1'' and ''2'', hold down two buttons of equal strength in ''3'') which, when timed correctly, [[CounterAttack will deflect an opponent's special moves with one of your own]]. You also get a Guard Meter which whittles down whenever you block someone's attacks, and will stun you (Guard Crush) if it runs out.\\\

* ProductPlacement: Rolento's ''Alpha 2'' stage has a giant mural and billboard for Fujitsu computers.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* OffModel: Ingrid's sprite in ''Alpha 3 MAX'' looks ''very'' different compared to the other sprites. Eagle, Maki and Yun also count to a lesser extent. This is justified in that their sprites were made [[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium for games]] [[VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution released years after]] the ''Alpha'' series ended.

In 1995, Creator/{{Capcom}} released a long-awaited sequel -- or rather, an {{interquel}} to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', ''Street Fighter Alpha'' ([[MarketBasedTitle also known as]] ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'' in Japan, Asia, and South America). With a distinctive [[{{Animesque}} anime look]] based on ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie'', the ''Alpha'' trilogy, serving as the collective third installment of the series, took place between the [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI first]] [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII two]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games and expanded the {{backstory}} of some of the major characters, notably: Charlie Nash being deployed on a [[ForegoneConclusion doomed mission]] to fight M. Bison, Ryu's flirtation with TheDarkSide and his run-ins with a BloodKnight named Akuma, Cammy's past as a {{Bodyguard Babe|s}} for Bison, and Bison's true nature as an evil entity who keeps [[BodyBackupDrive jumping between bodies]] to survive.

* The first game, subtitled ''Warriors' Dreams'', brought back Supers from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' that drain your Super Meter. The strength, or "Level" of your Super is dependent on how full your meter is: L, M, and H deplete 1, 2, or 3 bars respectively. Next is the Alpha Counter: a quick motion done while blocking (quarter-circle motion in ''1'' and ''2'', hold down two buttons of equal strength in ''3'') which, when timed correctly, will deflect an opponent's special moves with one of your own. You also get a Guard Meter which whittles down whenever you block someone's attacks, and will stun you (Guard Crush) if it runs out.\\\
It stars returning characters from the original ''VideoGame/{{Street Fighter|I}}'' who were merely A.I. opponents (Sagat's BastardUnderstudy Adon and British hoodlum Birdie), as well as characters from Capcom's BeatEmUp ''VideoGame/FinalFight'' (Metro City savior Guy and the [[ForeignCultureFetish samurai wannabe]] Sodom). It also introduced a few new characters: Dan Hibiki (the quintessential JokeCharacter and TakeThat to ''Street Fighter'' copycat ''VideoGame/ArtOfFighting''), Guile's [[DoomedByCanon soon-to-be-dead]] comrade Charlie ([[DubNameChange who was called Nash in Japan]] and now goes by that name in all regions), and Bison's GoodCounterpart Rose. They are joined by the returning ''SFII'' characters Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Sagat, M. Bison, and Akuma.

* ''Street Fighter Alpha 2'' was released less than a year later in '96 and expanded upon the previous game, with the addition of a "Custom {{Combo|s}}" system: activating it will cause a chain of shadows to mimic your attacks. You have a window of a few seconds to launch any series of attacks in quicker succession, and the length depends on how high the Super Combo Gauge is filled. In addition, any special attacks will be performed much faster and without any recoil or charge time (if needed). Lastly, it eliminates MercyInvincibility, so if your opponent gets knocked into the air, you can juggle them with impunity. It's best-used to block strings, relieve pressure or avoid getting Guard Crushed; skilled players can create lengthy combos out of thin air that cannot be escaped from. However, the Custom Combo does have drawbacks: If your character is struck, it ends immediately and the Super Combo Gauge will be drained (completely emptied in ''2'', cut in half in ''3'').\\\
Among the five new characters are Sakura (a Japanese schoolgirl who idolizes Ryu), Rolento from ''Final Fight'', and Gen from the original ''Street Fighter'', as well as returning World Warriors Zangief and Dhalsim. The American arcade version added Evil Ryu to the roster, along with extra versions of Zangief and Dhalsim in addition to the BonusBoss "Shin" Akuma and "Classic" Chun-Li (whose default sprite doesn't wear her [[IconicOutfit trademark qipao]]). ''Alpha 2'' was revisited in Japanese arcades under the title of ''Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha'', which included all the extra characters from the American release, new versions of the ''Street Fighter II'' characters including Classic Chun-Li, and new moves for some returning characters, along with minor changes to the fighting system; particularly in the Custom Combos, which are [[BalanceBuff easier to perform but consume a larger amount of the Super Combo gauge]]. ''Zero 2 Alpha'' was ported to home consoles as ''Alpha 2 Gold'', which added Cammy to the roster--though she was only playable in the Versus and Training modes at first; ''Alpha Anthology''[='s=] version of ''Alpha 2 Gold'' added her to Arcade Mode, and offered an exclusive new ending for her as well.

In addition to Cammy, the ''Alpha 2'' roster were joined by the now wildly-popular Karin Kanzuki (DistaffCounterpart to Ken and a CanonImmigrant from the manga ''Sakura Ganbaru!''), Rainbow Mika (a colorful female wrestler) and Juni & Juli (two more of Bison's minions), along with Cody from ''Final Fight'' and most of the ''Street Fighter II'' warriors who were absent in previous ''Alpha'' titles: namely Blanka, E. Honda, and Bison's underlings (Balrog and Vega). The console versions (and a later ''Upper'' revision released only in Japanese arcades, now on the Sega Naomi hardware) brought back Guile and the rest of the "New Challengers" from ''Super Street Fighter II'' (Fei Long, T. Hawk and Dee Jay), assembling the entire ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' roster--in addition to Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma, who missed out on the original arcade version. A UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance port, released in 2002, added Eagle (yet another returning fighter from the original ''Street Fighter''), Maki (a fellow ninja and rival of Guy's from ''Final Fight 2''), Yun [[AssistCharacter and his brother Yang]] (from ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', with their depictions here [[ArtisticAge meant to be]] younger versions of the pair [[AnachronicOrder due to the chronology]]), all fresh from their appearances in ''[[VideoGame/CapcomVsSNK2MarkOfTheMillennium Capcom vs. SNK 2]]''. Lastly, in 2006, Ingrid from ''VideoGame/CapcomFightingEvolution'' was added to the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Portable}} version, along with the GBA bonus characters.

** Cody's Final Destruction Super, specifically the full animation in the Level 3 variant, is a reference to his DifficultButAwesome infinite combo in ''Final Fight''--Cody jabs twice, then turns his back to his opponent and throws a third punch, "whiffing" it before facing his foe and starting over from Step #1.

** Zigzagged with Cammy. In the original release of ''Alpha 2 Gold'' (for the Sega Saturn and [=PlayStation=] in ''Street Fighter Collection''), she was a bonus character who was only playable in Vs. and Training. When ''Alpha 2 Gold'' was released as part of the ''Alpha Anthology'', she was included as a secret character who could be played in Arcade Mode, and she was given an ending to boot. Unfortunately, [[BonusFeatureFailure it's just text overlayed over her character portrait]], as opposed to the standard "text-plus-still-images" endings the other characters get. Furthermore, the canon had long been established before Cammy's scenario was created for the ''Alpha Anthology'' release.

* ClearMyName: In ''Alpha 3'', Fei Long is mistakenly accused of being involved in Shadaloo's drug trades, and he goes to see what's going on. Yun's story mode has him actually believing the accusations and setting off with Yang to capture Fei Long himself. [[spoiler:After the Yun vs. Fei Long mid-boss fight, Fei Long explains what happened to Yun, so they decide to team up and protect Hong Kong from the real culprit: Bison. Then, Bison himself shows up: Fei Long stays behind to fight him and Yun goes against Juni and Juli, then after Bison when Fei Long loses.]]

* DubNameChange

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: To sum up the ''Alpha'' series appropriately:
** The first ''Alpha'' was a transitionary title from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', which is why it mostly expanded on the Special Combos system, added Alpha Counter and added balancing to Guarding alongside air throws/guards and fall recoveries. With a straightforward roster of 10 main characters, plus 3 boss characters, and only 6 of them being returning characters from ''II'' (with two returns from the very first ''Street Fighter''), it was also incredibly to-the-point and fairly simple in its presentation despite the ArtEvolution, playing more like a refined and advanced ''Street Fighter'' game off of what came before.
** ''Alpha 2'' would expand the roster with five more characters plus Akuma officially becoming a standard roster character (with additional extras like Shin Akuma, Evil Ryu and EX modes for certain veteran characters) as well as bring in the more advanced Custom Combo system. Sakura and Dan, both a BreakoutCharacter in their own right, were formally introduced (though Dan was a SecretCharacter in the first game). Otherwise, this plays like what ''Alpha'' should've started as. ''Alpha 2 Gold'' also reintroduces Cammy, though it takes until the ''Anniversary Collection'' release to give her a proper Arcade story.
** ''Alpha 3'' would completely overhaul the entire presentation, add six more main roster members, add the ISM System that effectively results in nearly every character having three alternate versions of play style to mess with, and top it off with the Guard Gauge, which was meant to promote aggressive play by letting you guard break turtling defenders if they guarded too much. ''Alpha 3 Upper'' and the home console ports would add even more characters, finalize the entirety of the ''Street Fighter II'' roster by re-adding Guile at last, and result in ''the'' most roster-packed and content-rich title in the franchise until ''Ultra Street Fighter IV'' finally usurped it.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first ''Alpha'' was a transitionary title from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', which is why it mostly expanded on the Special Combos system, added Alpha Counter and added balancing to Guarding alongside air throws/guards and fall recoveries. With a straightforward roster of 10 main characters, plus 3 boss characters, and only 6 of them being returning characters from ''II'' (with two returns from the very first ''Street Fighter''), it was also incredibly to-the-point and fairly simple in its presentation despite the ArtEvolution, playing more like a refined and advanced ''Street Fighter'' game off of what came before. ''Alpha 2'' would expand the roster with five more characters plus Akuma officially becoming a standard roster character (with additional extras like Shin Akuma, Evil Ryu and EX modes for certain veteran characters) as well as bring in the more advanced Custom Combo system, and ''Alpha 3'' would completely overhaul the entire presentation, add six more main roster members, add the ISM System that effectively results in nearly every character having three alternate versions of play style to mess with, and top it off with the Guard Gauge, which was meant to promote aggressive play by letting you guard break turtling defenders if they guarded too much. Both games make the first one look positively barebones, and this isn't even getting into ''Alpha 2 Gold'', ''Alpha 3 Upper'', and the various home ports that add an extraordinary amount of characters in their own right.

** The Level 3 Super Combos for Ryu and Fei-Long in ''Alpha 3'', Metsu Shoryuken and Ryuu Yassai, both have stronger versions, Shin Shoryuken and Shin Ryuu Yassai, that also look a lot better than the base versions, but to get them to come out instead of the normal versions, you need to hit the opponent with the very last active frame of the attack that triggers the rest of the move, something that's nearly impossible to use in practice since accomplishing that requires for the attack to hit the opponent from as far away as possible, although Fei-Long can combo into his with very precise timing.

* AwesomeButImpractical: The Alpha Counter is this in ''Alpha 3''. [[CherryTapping It deals as much damage as a light punch]], costs one portion of the guard bar, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and has no personalized finisher icon]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first ''Alpha'' was a transitionary title from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'', which is why it mostly expanded on the Special Combos system, added Alpha Counter and added balancing to Guarding alongside air throws/guards and fall recoveries. With a straightforward roster of 10 main characters, plus 3 boss characters, and only 6 of them being returning characters from ''II'' (with two returns from the very first ''Street Fighter''), it was also incredibly to-the-point and fairly simple in its presentation despite the ArtEvolution, playing more like a refined and advanced ''Street Fighter'' game off of what came before. ''Alpha 2'' would expand the roster with five more characters plus Akuma officially becoming a standard roster character (with additional extras like Shin Akuma, Evil Ryu and EX modes for certain veteran characters) as well as bring in the more advanced Custom Combo system, and ''Alpha 3'' would completely overhaul the entire presentation, add six more main roster members, and add the ISM System that effectively results in nearly every character having three alternate versions of play style to mess with. Both games make the first one look positively barebones, and this isn't even getting into ''Alpha 2 Gold'', ''Alpha 3 Upper'', and the various home ports that add an extraordinary amount of characters in their own right.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: By ''Alpha 3'', the roster caps out at a staggering 28 characters, ranging from newcomers, to veterans even as far back as the first ''Street Fighter'' game. With console and handheld ports like ''Alpha 3 MAX'', the roster hits ''37'' characters. Compare even ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' having 17, and ''Street Fighter III: Third Strike'' topping out at 20. It would take until ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Ultra Street Fighter IV]]'' to beat it out at 44 characters overall in 2014.

In 1995, Creator/{{Capcom}} released a long-awaited sequel -- or rather, an {{interquel}} to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', ''Street Fighter Alpha'' ([[MarketBasedTitle also known as]] ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'' in Japan, Asia, and South America). With a distinctive [[{{Animesque}} anime look]] based on ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie'', the ''Alpha'' trilogy took place between the [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI first]] [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII two]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games and expanded the {{backstory}} of some of the major characters, notably: Charlie Nash being deployed on a [[ForegoneConclusion doomed mission]] to fight M. Bison, Ryu's flirtation with TheDarkSide and his run-ins with a BloodKnight named Akuma, Cammy's past as a {{Bodyguard Babe|s}} for Bison, and Bison's true nature as an evil entity who keeps [[BodyBackupDrive jumping between bodies]] to survive.

In 1995, Creator/{{Capcom}} released a long-awaited sequel -- or rather, an {{interquel}} to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', ''Street Fighter Alpha''. With a distinctive [[{{Animesque}} anime look]] based on ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie'', the ''Alpha'' trilogy took place between the [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI first]] [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII two]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games and expanded the {{backstory}} of some of the major characters, notably: Charlie Nash being deployed on a [[ForegoneConclusion doomed mission]] to fight M. Bison, Ryu's flirtation with TheDarkSide and his run-ins with a BloodKnight named Akuma, Cammy's past as a {{Bodyguard Babe|s}} for Bison, and Bison's true nature as an evil entity who keeps [[BodyBackupDrive jumping between bodies]] to survive.

* The first game, subtitled ''Warriors' Dreams'' ([[MarketBasedTitle marketed as]] ''Street Fighter [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning Zero]]'' in Japan, Asia, and South America), brought back Supers from ''Super Street Fighter II Turbo'' that drain your Super Meter. The strength, or "Level" of your Super is dependent on how full your meter is: L, M, and H deplete 1, 2, or 3 bars respectively. Next is the Alpha Counter: a quick motion done while blocking (quarter-circle motion in ''1'' and ''2'', hold down two buttons of equal strength in ''3'') which, when timed correctly, will deflect an opponent's special moves with one of your own. You also get a Guard Meter which whittles down whenever you block someone's attacks, and will stun you (Guard Crush) if it runs out.\\\

* ''Street Fighter Alpha 3'' capped off the sub-series in '98. It introduced selectable fighting styles called "isms" that confusingly change your movelist, so you won't be able to access moves that the other modes have. A-ism and X-ism are the easiest to get used to: In X-ism[[note]]named after, and patterned upon, ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterII Super Street Fighter II X]]'', known in the West as ''SSFII Turbo''[[/note]], you get one Super level, can only use the characters' first Super Combo, and you can't air block or Alpha Counter. On the plus side, you get a longer Guard Meter and you deal more damage in general, especially with your Super. A-ism[[note]]"A" for ''Alpha'', as this mode is closer to the previous two games; appropriately, it is called "Z-ism" in Japan[[/note]] is pretty versatile with average damage and defense. You still have 3 Super levels, can use all your Super Combos, and can Alpha Counter at the cost of 1 bar. V-ism[[note]]for Variation[[/note]] is [[DifficultButAwesome very tricky to use, but allows you to break the game]] with [[CycleOfHurting Custom Combos]]. Activate it with at least 50% of the meter to make the Combo short, medium or long. Because this mode is geared towards Custom Combos, Super Combos cannot be used. The isms can seem overwhelming at first, which is why many gamers tend to stick with both ''Alpha'' ''1'' and ''2'' respectively.\\\

* AscendedGlitch: Cody's Final Destruction Super, specifically the full animation in the Level 3 variant, is a reference to his DifficultButAwesome infinite combo in ''Final Fight''--Cody jabs twice, then turns his back to his opponent and throws a third punch, "whiffing" it before facing his foe and starting over from Step #1.

In 1995, Creator/{{Capcom}} released a long-awaited sequel -- or rather, an {{interquel}} to ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', ''Street Fighter Alpha''. With a distinctive [[{{Animesque}} anime look]] based on ''Anime/StreetFighterIITheAnimatedMovie'', the ''Alpha'' trilogy took place between the [[VideoGame/StreetFighterI first]] [[VideoGame/StreetFighterII two]] ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games and expanded the {{backstory}} of some of the major characters, notably: Guile being deployed on a [[ForegoneConclusion doomed mission]] to fight M. Bison (as well as the events that lead to the demise of his friend, Charlie), Ryu's flirtation with TheDarkSide and his run-ins with a BloodKnight named Akuma, Cammy's past as a {{Bodyguard Babe|s}} for Bison, and Bison's true nature as an evil entity who keeps [[BodyBackupDrive jumping between bodies]] to survive.