Released at the end of 1996, Street Fighter Zero 2 (Alpha 2 in the West) was one of the last releases for the dying Super Famicom. This SFC release was heavily compromised in terms of graphics and detail, but remains a testament to the power of the SFC, even at the end of its life.
Zero 2 features all 18 fighters from the arcade original. Sprites are heavily downsized compared to the arcade/Playstation/Saturn. Lacking the same amount of animation, they nonetheless are a decent approximation of the original. Music is generated by the SFC sound-chip, far inferior to the stellar "rebook" CD audio of the 32-bit ports.
Besides the lower-quality audio and cut-down sprites, the game features some odd loading times. For a cartridge release, load times are a puzzling features. About 4-5 seconds before matches, they don't cripple the game, but are quite annoying.
Gameplay is one area where this port shines.Fighting with the SFC controller is as fluid as ever, and those who enjoyed previous Street Fighter games on the SNES/SFC will feel right at home here. The speed of fighting feels slower than the PS/SATURN versions, most likely due to the slow processing speed of the SFC/SNES.
Zero 2 is my personal favourite of the Zero/Alpha series. The combo/super move system is wonderful, and the game has a rich and deep fighting system that is not as convoluted as later SF games.
Many have stated that there is no purpose in playing this cut-down version of the game on the SFC. This may be true, as it offers no advantages over the vastly superior Saturn port. However, it is a interesting curiosity from the late 16-bit era. Not a terrible port, but a curiosity for sure.
+Showed the power of the SFC/SNES
+A decent port given the hardware limitations
+Great controls and fighting system
+All characters present
-Load times
-Cut-down animations
-Fairly rare game
-Chip sound is inferior to CD versions
RATING: 6.9/10
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