Even though Street Fighter Alpha was a fairly successful game, it wasn't what Capcom originally wanted because they were rushed, and couldn't put everything they that they wanted. But, that's one reason for a sequel. Street Fighter Alpha 2 (Street Fighter Zero 2 in Japan) came out in 1996, one year after the original. There were new features such as custom combos, totally re-done stages and music and of course new characters, one of which was Rolento. Guy and Sodom haven't really been changed from the previous game, but they still look good.
Below is a moves list with a few images of the characters in action. Keep going below and you can see their stages, endings and some other information.
THE CHARACTERS
GUY
Guy and his master Zeku have sensed a great evil. Master Zeku has sent Guy to destroy this evil. Guy has the power of Bushin Ninjitsu to help him.
SPECIAL MOVES:
Bushin Sen Pu Kyaku (Hurricane Kick): D, DL, L then K
Bushin Izuna Drop: D, DR, R, P then P
Haygake (Dash) D, DR, R then K
Kage Sukui (Dash then slide) D, DR, R then MK then K
Kubikari (Dash then flying kick) D, DR, R then HK then K
SUPER COMBOS (At least level 1 super combo gauge required)
Bushin Hassoken: D, DR, R, D, DR then P
Bushin Goraikyaku: D, DR, R, D, DR then K
CAMEO MOVES FROM FINAL FIGHT:
Combo from Final Fight: Press LP, MP, HP, HP then HK
Off the wall jump: Go to wall of screen, jump to wall, then when hitting the wall, press opposite direction.
Knee Bashes: When close to opponent, press K, then L rapidly to do more hits.
Throw: When close to opponent, press L or R and P.
SODOM
Sodom is back from Final Fight, and is trying to resurrect the Mad Gear Gang after it got destroyed. Instead of his Katana Masamune swords, he now has Sais. He looks pretty cool, and has a great voice and victory animations.
SPECIAL MOVES
Jigku Scrape: R, D, DR then P
Butsumetsu Buster: 360 Degree turn then P
Daikyo Burning: 360 Degree turn the K
Shiraha Catch: R, D, DR then K.
SUPER COMBOS (At least level 1 super combo gauge required)
Meido no Miyage: D, DR, R, D, DR, R then P
Techchusatsu: 360 Degree turn (twice) then P
ROLENTO
Ready? Rolento is trying to create a powerful army led by himself. He has little weapons, but has hired the El Gados from Final Fight to be his troops. His sprite is well drawn, and he still has his stick to whack people with and has grenades to use in throws and supers.
SPECIAL MOVES
Patriot Circle: D, DR, R then P (Up to three times)
Stinger: R, D, DR then K then P or K
Mekong Delta Attack: PPP then P when landing
Mekong Delta Air-Raid: D, DL, L then P then P
Mekong Delta Escape: D, DL, L then K then P or K
SUPER COMBOS (At least level 1 super combo gauge required)
Take No Prisoners: D, DR, R, D, DR, R then K
Minesweeper: D, DL, L, D, DL, L then P
THE STAGES:
After the some what boring and rubbish stages of the first Alpha game, Capcom went back and produced some of their finest yet for the sequel. All the Final Fight character stages are brilliant and most have something to do with Final Fight.
Let's start with Guy's stage first. It's set in Metro City, and has just about every character from the first Final Fight game. To the left we have Andore, Cody and Jessica. Andore doesn't do anything interesting but there is a neat little trick you can do with Cody and Jessica. Simply play as a female fighter on Guy's stage, and Cody will keep looking at the fighter. Jessica is having none of this and so slaps Cody across the face, with a load of blood coming out of his mouth! Quite cool.
Rolento's stage is set on a elevator. During the first round it doesn't do anything, but in later rounds it moves up. People in buildings behind will stop and stare at the fight, and as the elevator goes up it'll eventually get to the very top, giving you a very nice view of the city.
Sodom's stage is somewhat boring compared to the other two. It's just Sodom's truck in the background. This truck goes on to make an apperance in Sodom and Rolento's Alpha 3 endings, but in this game it just sits there. However, sometimes you can "Americanise" the truck. Basically the truck will sometimes have a slight change in appearance, but it happens randomly, and the chances of seeing it is slim. But hey, good luck if you are going to try anyway!
The music for each stage is also Final Fight related. Guy and Sodom have the same music from the first Alpha game but re-done, so you have the re-mixed versions of the first round of Final Fight for Guy and the second part of round 1 for Sodom. Rolento has a completely new tune. Well, not new, as it's the music from the first part of round 5 in Final Fight! It sounds awesome, of course.
THE ENDINGS
Guy finds the inner secret of Bushin, and then has a fight with his master, Zeku, who shows up. Of course Guy doesn't kill Zeku, but he does defeat him and Guy then becomes the next Bushin Master. Zeku, by the way, seems to have the same costume as Guy but it's green and he has different shoes.
Sodom's ending is about how that he wants to re construct Mad Gear so he can be the leader of it himself. So he goes off to Japan to hire what he believes is the strongest type of warriors, sumos. Sodom asks the sumos if they wanted to join his gang, but they aren't that impressed with Sodom's entrance. So Sodom challenges a sumo, who turns about to be E.Honda! The music for this ending is from the second part of round 1 from Final Fight.
Now that Rolento has beaten the likes of Guy, he thinks he has no opposition to take over the country, so he can make it the most powerful in the world. In Metro City, Mike Haggar receives news that some guy is attacking Metro City in a tank! And, of course, it's Rolento.
I think only Guy and Sodom's endings happen (as in count to the plot canon) Guy's happens because in his Alpha 3 intro text it mentions that he is the Bushin Master. If you play as E.Honda in Alpha 3, his 9th opponent is Sodom and E.Honda mentions the tournament in Sodom's Alpha 2 ending. Rolento's can't happen because in Alpha 3 his entire story is about that he wants the money to get/build a powerful army.
A year after Alpha 2 came out in the arcades cut down versions appeared on consoles. The Saturn version was the best one but the Playstation isn't that far behind either. The game also made a PC appearance, just like Street Fighter Alpha. All versions aren't that difficult to pick up today for less than £10.
Now some people may be aware of an update to this game, called Street Fighter Zero 2 Alpha in Japan and Street Fighter Alpha 2 Gold over here. This game was only released in Japanese arcades, but Capcom released Street Fighter Collection, a game which had 3 Street Fighter games on, over here. One of the games was Alpha 2 Gold. This collection was only released on Playstation and Saturn, and on the Saturn it is very rare. This update for Alpha 2 had new moves and versions for some characters, as well as a ton of new options.
This update was created originally for the Japanese only because we (the US and Europe) got a better version of Alpha 2 than them-ours had secret characters (Evil Ryu and different versions of other characters) and their version did not. So Capcom created a new version just for the Japanese with new moves and more secret characters, and a few new modes. The new versions of characters had different moves, such as Bison having a standard Psycho Crusher and Chun Li had her original Street Fighter 2 costume and moves.
However Capcom brought out the game to the US and Europe (not in the arcades, Playstation and Saturn only) and it did very well. The Final Fight characters were all unchanged apart from Guy- he had a new super combo, that was like Akuma's Raging Demon but less violent. You have to have a level three super gauge to do it though, and be close to the opponent you're going to do this move on:
Bushin Musourenka: R, DR, D, DL, L, R, DR, D, DL, L then all three punch buttons (level 3 only)
Guy grabs the opponent, the screen goes black, then you see 1 second images of Guy hitting the opponent, and the screen flashes a lot. This is move is powerful and does 10 hits.
Even if you have a very slight interest in fighting games, then you should definitely get Street Fighter Alpha 2. Most fans agree it is the best in the series. There are plenty of characters, the game plays very well and there are lots of little things that Final Fight/Street Fighter/Capcom fans will enjoy finding. One of the best 2D fighting games around, if not one of the best fighting games ever made.
